CHEEKY MONKEY,

This place is five years old. The thematic whimsicality was carried to a fault at the beginning, with monkey ties on the waitstaff and "monkey tail" curly fries evidently prompting enough cries of "Enough with the monkeys, already!" to calm things down. But in addition to the slices of French bread, a molasses-sweetened brown bread could very well have been (I forgot to ask the waitress) banana bread. It is, however, yummy enough to go "Ook-ook!" over, if you're so disposed. Fear not. The kitchen takes food seriously. The restaurant is a saucy kid sister of the highly regarded Gatehouse in Providence, where grown-ups sit-across from grown-ups and do not slouch. Proprietor Hank Kates has Gatehouse-trained Jeff Cruff here as executive chef, and the standards have remained high. The half-dozen appetizers, in addition to a lobster bisque, are eclectic, ranging from Chinese dumplings ($8) and a panko-crusted tuna nori roll ($10) to "New Orleans BBQ" shrimp ($12). Entrées number only nine on the menu, plus a daily special, with a good variety of seafood and meat, prices starting at $22.

Full review.