Such a disappointment! The bar itself was fine. The bartender/server weren't particularly attentive and the food was low quality bar slop but the biggest heartbreaker was the actual karaoke experience. For being a 7 day a week karaoke spot very little singing was happening. The KJ at one point was more concerned eating his burrito than working the rotation. Long empty pauses, YouTube karaoke song catalog, and crappy wired mics that kept shorting out were just the tip of the iceberg on why I wouldn't never suggest the Brass Monkey to anyone looking for a good time. read more

Came for karaoke with at least an hour left minimum and did not let us do karaoke. This was the only reason I came to this bar and I feel like I wasted my time. Very disappointing. Definitely will not be back at all. 0 out of 10! read more

Minimum 2 drinks/food to stay. Karaoke slips needed request songs (free) but super long wait unless you tip the DJ. So free karaoke if you're willing to wait otherwise it's just an ok place. read more

Cafe Brass Monkey - Inside - Karaoke Near Me - Los Angeles, California

DJ tonight was amazing !!!! Had such a great time. Willl love to come back and bring friends

Is it cool? Should I be here? Probably not by myself but here I am on a Saturday with my lonely ass, based on the outside representation of celebrities littering the wall interior you may think you walked into a gold mine of young attractive individuals... instead I pulled up to the bar with two ladies who were using sign language. I was out of place, But I'm making most of it. I ll give it higher ratings based on the sheer amount of celebrities that visited. I'm also surprised that I haven't seen a drunk or douchebag try to harass woman while I was here, as other reviews have stated but it wasn't late either. Also you may think I'm writing this sober but I'm drinking and writing. Oh and my drink Tokyo jungle I think was good I got strongest they had. It was tasty. And I'm buzzed read more

Cafe Brass Monkey - Tokyo monkey strong drink. - Karaoke Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I came on a Friday night, arrived around 1030 and put my name in the bucket for karaoke. By midnight, my name still hadn't been called. It was so loud at my table from people screaming that I decided I needed to leave. Not really the most enjoyable experience. And yes, I understand a karaoke bar is going to be loud. The reason I fault Brass monkey is me and my friends tried to move to a table in the back corner, and they made us move back front and center because they have different servers for different tables and wouldn't accommodate our move. They had 5 of us at a 2 seater table. It was kind of dumb. Good things: they validate parking at the garage Servers and staff are friendly. read more

Came here for my auntie 70th birthday celebration. Part of her multiple birthday shenanigans. We had so much fun! Love the people and the music was great. Perfect ambience for karaoke. Loved the guys you rapped Not Like Us by Kendrick. Amazing should I say! Had the whole going. Will come back again. read more

You'll wait three hours and not get a chance. I asked the DJ about two hours in how far we were and he said 10 songs so we waited 10 songs and asked again, then he said 4 songs.... So we waited another 10.... and never got to go. A scam. They make you buy two drinks but not a good time. The drinks are TERRIBLE stick to beer for sure read more

We came after midnight and it was crowded with a lot of folks having fun, seemingly they all knew eachother/the dj? My friend tipped the DJ to play her song which at the time didn't seem bad - but having read all the reviews now it seems that is the ONLY way to get your song. I did not participate in karaoke and just hung out. When we were ID'd the security guard told us about the two drink minimum which was eh. But then once inside the staff was straight up weird about it saying "you have to buy something" and coming up multiple times to pressure us. So that pressure just made me want to leave LOL and not engage w their unfriendliness. Better customer service = customers that want to spend their money Now knowing that you literally have to pay the DJ to get your song played, PLUS the 2 drink minimum being aggressively pushed, it's a bad look...I get bars need to make money but their behavior really was just weird and made me want to leave not stay and spend money. Do they realize that I could buy a karaoke mic and hook up youtube at home? Lol read more

Divey karaoke bar packed to capacity in the thick of Wilshire Center boarding K/Koreatown. They have limited seating and space however offer security to regulate the environment both in and outdoors. While they don't ask for proof of vaccination at this time, they do ask for ID regardless of age. They have tons of karaoke books, slips and flat screen monitors throughout Bras Monkey making it easy to follow along whether you're a performer or in the mix of many. The karaoke rotation is a bit unfair however they do appreciate their patrons especially on their birthdays. The drinks are reasonable, however watered down to perfection in the worst possible way.... though they have tons of beer and brew and some limited vino as well. Brass Monkey does offer eats however some of the prices are steep compared to portions. Not a ton of restrictions in place in terms of health and safety practices considering the over capacity limit or lack of proof of vaccination. The bathroom will definitely be a wait.. surprisingly a longer wait if you're a guy. We arrive just shy of 11:30 am and never got to perform or even an update that there would be a cut off for us which is very uncommon for a thriving karaoke spot. We did tip our bartenders and kjs, as one always should and will possible try again in the future. Overall not a bad spot just a little unregulated. Parking is free with validation. read more

I've been coming here for the last few months, never have I ever had an encounter like the one I had today . Honestly makes me feel like the world has become a shitty place. I've never had a problem with singing SPANISH MUSIC! It's a karaoke , where we can sing in whatever language we can right ? But no it's a Wednesday night and they denied us saying they didn't have the songs right ? But when another employee approached the Dj and gave him the same exact same songs he said we didn't give him those songs. Which I confronted the Dj and told him that was bullshit because I gave him the same exact songs and I quote " look in the books we have over there to see if we have ANY OF YOUR SPANISH SONGS " . I've never had an encounter with someone like that in my life. Made us feel worthless because he kept on playing the ENGLISH songs with no hesitation . Can't believe this place is like this . I made sure to tell the server which apparently he's a Dj some nights too about my experience saying he'll report it . But again this place has always been my go too , up until today . read more

Cafe Brass Monkey - Karaoke Near Me - Los Angeles, California

We came here on last Sunday night (Aug 4) just to enjoy the night. Unfortunately, the bartender woman was very rude and racist that ruined our night. We are two Asian girls and we had beers from the bar, and there were so many empty seats on the bar and as soon as we got our drinks, the bartender woman asked us to move from the bar cuz other people were sitting on those seats on the bar. But we didn't see anyone was sitting there. She was very sensitive for Asians, yet she should realize the bar is in the Korea town, lol... Maybe she should work somewhere in Hollywood or Dtla and not in Ktown. After we were asked to leave the bar seats, we were wondering if anyone is sitting there but nobody was sitting there actually for a long time. Very very disappointing experience and nobody should be treated like this. read more

Cafe Brass Monkey - The bar seats were empty for more than an hour, which obviously nobody was sitting there. The bartender woman didn't allow us to sit there! - Karaoke Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I'm solely rating this place based on the karaoke experience. The staff serving drinks at the bar are fine but the guy working the music for karaoke (especially this evening, 11/16, is not). It's annoying that people who put in requests AFTER you, get chosen to sing songs multiple times. It's very obvious he has favorites/preferences. Just be fair and play in the order requests come in. If you offer to pay him $20 or buy him a drink he'll maybe bump you up the list which is ridiculous. Read the other reviews before coming here. I also didn't appreciate him trying to argue with me about how much worse his day was than mine and telling me to relax when I called him out for cherry picking who gets to sing. I wasn't there to compete with anyone, I was there because I wanted to do karaoke with my colleagues after being stuck in a hotel all week for a work conference. Do not recommend. read more

This is a fun spot, mostly because the cocktails are strong! Be careful with the Monkey mule. That was a pint glass of liquid danger. This bar has food that is typical pub grub: quesadillas, mozzarella sticks, etc. Karaoke is a big draw here but I've yet to take the plunge. It is fun to watch others preform and sing along from your seat. One other thing I appreciate is the *regular people* vibe of the patrons. Sometimes when I go out in la, I feel self consciously old, pudgy, or underdressed. Not here! People look good but not polished for Instagram. One time I went to the bathroom and saw a girl passed out on the floor of the stall. I was too drunk to know what to do. Luckily, my bf's coworker and former sorority girl handled the situation perfectly. I think she got home safely, or at least in a car that someone else was driving. read more

Does the KJ have to waste a whole video between singers. There's 10 people left in the entire bar. They all want to sing and they all could if the kJ wouldn't have to play an entire music video between songs. Get better KJs please. read more

I came with a group last night 6/28 with a bachelorette party, and I was a bit disappointed when we left. When we got there, our table was already reserved, which was nice. All 5 of us put in our songs to sing as soon as we walked in and sat down. We were there for 2 hours and none of us got to sing yet. The DJ was approached by multiple people, and the same people went to take their turn more than twice. We finally had to go up ourselves and ask if at least the bride could be bumped up. At the end of our night, 3 out of the 5 of us finally got to sing our songs, but we were almost out the door by then. The service and drinks were just okay. I wouldn't come back since the DJ kept letting drunk people continue to take their turn and mumble into the microphone. read more

I've been going to brass monkey for over a decade, but tonight I felt discriminated against. I put in two songs for a friend and I. So, you would assume they would go back to back But no. When my friends song came up I thought I would go next but my name wasn't called until 12 songs after. 9 is those 12 songs were Latin songs, before my song came up. I'm very, very disappointed. read more

Came here for a friends bday on Friday. Dive bar kind of place. Structured parking lot. Security was rude, telling me multiple times to move and get against the wall, I get that it might be a rule but there are ways of telling people things. We are not in the freakin' ARMY! Bar food was ok. 2 drink minimum. Never got a chance to go up and sing after 2 hours. It was pretty packed, diverse crowd. read more

It's a dive bar.... No complaints about that. Bartender was perfectly fine. Two drink minimum, which I get as a business, you don't want people sitting around not buying things. But the karaoke guy on Wednesday 7/19 was pretty lame as far as karaoke goes. Puts the same group of people up repeatedly, my friend went up to ask if he'd have the chance to sing while also putting my song in the lineup; the guy said for $20 he'd put us both up.... Put my song up and that was it. On top of that, one of the girls a few songs before me was yelling into the microphone hurting everyone's ears and this dude didn't bother turning her down at all.... Then when I went up he had it turned down so low I couldn't hear myself; until half way through the song when he finally paid attention and realized there was hardly any sound coming out and turned my mic up..... Anyway, for a bar it was fine but for karaoke, a total bummer. read more

I've been going to the Brass Monkey since 1999. Last night was a major disappointment. The Karaoke DJ did not know how to adjust the volume on the song. You could barely hear the singing voice. The songs were faster in tempo than the original versions. There has been a serious downgrade in the service too. I suspect there has been a management and staff change. In the past, you were able to request a particular key, tempo and style from a knowledgeable karaoke DJ. The DJ they now have was clueless and not helpful. The place was practically empty on a Friday night and the regulars were not there. The vibe is not the same and it's heartbreaking to see this long standing karaoke venue become just another sad dive bar. read more

This place blows. DJ takes money to play your song. You have to get here before 8pm to even attempt to get your song in. Service is also trash. They act like they're doing you a favor by being a patron. Go to any other place in ktown for better karaoke read more

Looking for a good time. They have friendly people, friendly servers, and bartenders. Good prices. Great food. Starts getting crowded at 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays. read more

Cafe Brass Monkey is another interesting bar located in the heart of Koreatown. When looking up the best nightlife spots in the neighborhood, I saw this place featured on a couple different lists, so we decided to stop in to see what it was all about. Karaoke here was definitely lively, and the drinks were reasonably priced. All tables were reserved, so I'd recommend calling ahead if you want to sit. We stood around and watched quite a few performances before heading out to the next stop. The vibes were great. We all had a fun time. read more

If you're not willing to pay the KJ 100$ to sing one song on a Monday around the 10:00pm then don't go. This place is not for people to have fun, but for the KJs friends to sing song after song. I've been here a few times and each time it's exactly the same. Put you're name in and wait for hours while the same 4 people go up time and time again. Pretty rude to the other patrons who would also like to have a little fun. After HOURS of waiting (nearly 1:30am) I went up to the booth to ask if we were up soon, and he didn't even have a few of our Parties names in, even when we handed our songs in directly to the KJ with our cash tips. Go literally anywhere else. LA is full of amazing karaoke bars! read more

SHOUT OUT to ELIAS he held it down on a Sunday evening. He was the only bartender and sever from 5-2am!!!! By himself !!! We came around 7, he was sooo attentive to a busy bar, it was impressive. I come to find out he's the only bartender on the floor til closing Apparently he's been working here for 15 yrs. What a gem of a place. Let's all show love and tip well, This place should never go out of business !! read more

TLDR: This place sucks. 1. Bouncer tells you unprompted at the door theres a 2 drink minimum. It wasn't til I stared at him without saying anything did he mention it doesnt need to be alcohol. PRO TIP, you can just leave without ordering 2 drinks, they don't keep track. 2. All the places to sit are reserved and the place is small so there's a ton of ppl just standing everywhere with empty tables/chairs all over the place. No standing tables. I put my jacket down on a chair and was immediately told to leave bc a reservation was coming. They never showed by the way lmao 3. Servers are PUSHY, I ordered a drink by a table, not the bar, and the server told me I immediately had to pay. I asked if it had to be right now and she was very forceful in saying yes and demanded it be paid right away. When I stood up to grab my wallet on the otherside of the table and came back, she was gone. So I guess it didn't need to be right that second like she said 4 times it had to be?? 4. They use SoundChoice. 5. The DJ uses physical paper for requests, messed up the song for no less than 4 ppl just in the 1.5hrs I was there. He couldnt figure out the screens to dispplay the lyrics. And the time between performers was like 5 minutes while he searched each song, seemed super unorganized. Me and my group of 10 just left. There's a parking garage, 5$ get validated for it to be free read more

Brass Monkey is where you're gonna come to showcase your karaoke skills once you've practiced them at home or in a private room. We came in on a Wednesday evening thinking it would be super quiet but there was a lively crowd already singing the night away. We grabbed a seat at the bar and asked if they had any specials or signature drinks. The less than enthused bartender looked us dead in the eyes and said "NO". Why does he hate his life, I wonder? We ordered two very basic beers to not further aggravate him with inane questions and put a slip in with the DJ. Once our song was called, we jumped up, took over the mic like a BOSS and fled out of there before anyone could boo us! read more

Brass Monkey cafebrassmonkey.com Karaoke Bar #karaokebar 659 S Mariposa Ave Los Angeles, CA 90005 United States Excellent local Karaoke Bar, friendly crowd, and kickback environment. read more

Basic bar food. Not that great. Service is trash. Cheap drinks so that's good. The DJ isn't that good. You have to tip him like $20+ just to sing. Tipped him $5 twice and still waited over 2hrs before I could sing and it wasn't that busy. It definitely pay to play here and totally trash. There are better bars or I would recommend a private room with friends. This place is established and well known but not worth it these days with the DJ they currently have. The music book is HELLA outdated and needs newer songs. Go somewhere else. Thank me later. read more

Cafe Brass Monkey - General area. Crowd at midnight on a Saturday when you'd expect it be busy. - Karaoke Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I love this place and the vibe .. if you love Kareokkee this is the place to be. Service is really good.

Came here for a birthday party last night and the security was extremely tight. Every time I looked around somebody was telling me what not to do. They have a sign that says no bandannas or hoodies, and a bunch of US Marine Corps and other army stuff so that's the vibe if that's what you think is fun. read more

We had a blast doing karaoke here! But you have to wait an hour between your songs, so get your slips in early and make them count. Cafe brass money is located on the sub level of a business building, which is convenient because they have a large parking structure attached to it. And for us, parking was free with validation. Our food was average and our waitress and karaoke DJ were okay, but the drinks were stiff and the guy checking IDs was surprisingly the nicest and most accommodating individual. Keep in mind there was a 2 drink minimum, but the cost of drinks were on par with other places in the area. If you smoke cigarettes, I'm assuming the smoking area was outside near the parking structure. Atmosphere was an average bar with a hint of maybe a dark grunge kind of feel (but in a good rock and roll kind of way). Overall I wouldn't mind coming back the next time I'm in the area. read more

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My favorite spot!!!! I came here last night and was so sad to see the OG DJ is gone! He played all the hits and knew how to work the crowd! This new dj needs some help:(. You don't go to brass monkey to hear house music or techno! Please stick to hip hop In between songs everyone would have so much more fun!!!! But I love this place, cheap drinks and great vibes! I've come here since 21 and will probably continue coming here till in 65 read more

Divey bar with karaoke every night. Brass Monkey is one of our usual meeting spots after conventions in LA. While this location can get PACKED, karaoke with friends is always a good time. Drinks are also fairly priced for the area. There's a parking structure right behind this location. It's paid, but you can get your parking validated at Brass Monkey. It's also VERY close by. PROPS: Friendly spot for drinks and karaoke. SLOPS: When it's busy, be prepared to wait if you want to sing karaoke. Put your name/song in early! read more

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I've been coming to Brass Monkey for 22 years, and have had at least ten birthdays there. I will never be coming back, nor will my friends. Had an awful birthday night at Brass Monkey on Saturday, 3/15. About 8 of us put our songs in at 9:00. The DJ said based on the list it would be a two hour wait. I saw his stack of papers. THREE hours later we asked when are we up he said 15 minutes. 30 minutes later my friend gave him $25 so that I could at least sing. I sang. I asked him when my girlfriend is up. I saw him flip through the papers. He flipped through 20 papers until he got to MY original paper, then another 10 til he got to hers. So the "15 minutes" would have taken 30 songs, or another 2 hours. So 5 and 1/2 hours wait for putting songs in at 9. I found out the hustle. Dude will only play if you pay and also just puts girls who talk to him way ahead. It is not a sequential thing. So 75% of my party had left by the time I sang my $25 song, and 7 out of 8 of us did not get to sing. Oh and not a single waiter or waitress came to our table the whole night. I've had amazing memories at Brass over the years (shout out to KJs Lucas and Robert!) but some of the new employees have ruined it. The DJ is absolutely terrible and rude. I heard many people complain about not being able to sing despite waiting hours. . The doorman is extremely rude. Having to empty your pockets and getting wanded down for weapons at a classic karaoke bar is doing WAY too much. My friends and I walked to our new favorite karaoke bar a few blocks and actually got to sing and have fun. We'll be going there now. Bouncer took us to tall white bartender to hear our complaints. He said manager would be back in a week. Hopefully they read this and get their crew in order. Brass Monkey used to be so much fun. read more

BRING BACK THE OLD DJ!!! This place used to be awesome, this new DJ plays house music in between songs and really messes up the vibe. Doesn't have the same feel anymore. He also talks way too much and complains about the way you have to give him your ticket. The in between songs are terrible transitions for the karaoke singers. He also loves to announce right when the best part of the song comes on lol it's like he's oblivious to the music. Only got 3 stars cause I love this place and want the old DJ back. read more

Great place to hang out with friends if they like to karaoke. The place is usually crowded, so you need to get an early start if you want to sing. The atmosphere it's fun. I would appreciate the DJ spending less time with music videos and more karaoke time. I've also noticed that the regulars get a special treatment. read more

DO NOT GO HERE. THIS PLACE IS NOT SAFE FOR WOMEN. I came here a few weeks ago with a group of girlfriends. We were excited for a night out and got all dressed up for the occasion. Once we got to the Brass Monkey, I sat at a table with a girlfriend and the rest of my group went to the bar. After a few minutes, one of my girlfriends frantically ran back from the bar telling us that she was just sexually harassed. She explained that while she was waiting at the bar, a man had reached up her leg and proceeded to move his hand up into her dress by her underwear. Absolutely furious, we approached the bouncer and were confronted by another woman (unsure if she was with the perpetrator, but was defending the perpetrator). She was screaming at us telling us that "we need to control our girls", "my friend asked for it, because she leaned into the man", called my girlfriend a slut, and even said that our arguments were not valid and that we were racially profiling the man. The bouncer proceeded to tell us that because he didn't see anything, it didn't happen. He made no effort to kick out the perpetrator or do anything to help remedy the situation. As a woman who is also a person of color, I am abhorred by the lack of safety and security at the Brass Monkey. How dare they disrespect women and not believe a victim's experience. There was no accountability or responsibility taken and the perpetrator was allowed to blissfully continue his night after touching another woman without her consent. My group of girlfriends had a horrible experience which makes me wonder how this institution treats other women in similar situations. A bar that does not proactively create an environment that respects women should not exist at all. Shut this place down. read more

Me & my partner came to this bar on a Friday night, which is already a very busy night for the bar. The sign in front of the DJ clearly says only one song at a time. It doesn't say anything about paying the dj doesn't say anything about anything. we go in and we submit our songs at 10 PM. at 1 o'clock in the morning my partner realizes that two people have sang songs multiple times and so he goes and asked what's going on and the DJ tells him that those people paid to sing multiple songs early and therefore he asked to get my song sang and then he goes up to him 30 minutes later at almost 1:30 in the morning and asked the DJ if he's ever gonna play his song and the DJ said and I quote "yeah I don't think so." It is very clear that the DJ does whatever he absolutely wants especially the DJ that is there on Friday, Saturdays, and Sunday nights, and he is obviously very selective with the type of music that he likes to play and the people that he will call to sing and play that type of music. This is happened to us multiple times, but tonight on March 14th was the most egregious. The management team needs to do something about the level of control that they're giving the DJs whatever the rules are need to be applied and applicable to everyone in the bar. There is no reason why we should be there for over three hours without our songs getting called at all when people are going three and four times in a row. Unfortunately there was nothing different about us except our race. Disgusting & disappointing. read more

Drinks are too expensive and very weak. Great karaoke vibe though. Prolly won't come back. Service was basic.