We ended up at Cowboy Monkey by accident, to be honest. The patio we had planned to eat at was full so we wandered. Cowboy Monkey has a nice outdoor space, and they were totally dog-friendly. The service we experienced was top notch. We ordered several kinds of taco, all of which were unique and flavourful. We also had tortilla chips with salsa, quac, and a queso dip, all of which were really quite good, too. They also have a nice selection of beers and other drinks. And the bill was entirely reasonable. No complaints! read more

Came for brunch on a Saturday (opens at 9:30am). Very Tex-mex forward menu. Mimosa flights can include flavors: original, pineapple, mango, peach, or grapefruit. Choose 4. All were excellent. Hubs & I split masa pancakes & the Sonora omelette. I loved the hash browns in the omelette (ask for onions on the side if you don't want them piled on). Masa pancakes were good, but different with the strawberry syrup. read more

Cowboy Monkey - Masa pancakes - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I enjoyed Cowboy Monkey: very friendly service, flavorful salsa, crisp chips and nice tacos. It's a good, casual, easy place to grab some food and catch up with friends. read more

I really enjoyed the food. We came as soon as they opened so we did not wait long at all for food and other items. It was very nice. read more

Cowboy Monkey - The red pepper crisp - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Cool styling but everything else is mid at best. High prices but small portions. Less authentic and just okay food quality. My server was awkward but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. There are so many much better Mexican places in CU (Maize is a personal favorite) so my advice is just to skip on this one. read more

I haven't been here since the remodel but they have always had good food. They did not disappoint this time around. The atmosphere is different from before but the brunch was a good time. Definitely suggest the quesidallas and masa pancakes. read more

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The music is terrible and it's blasting loud outside. Unless you want to tear your ears off don't bother. I wanted to get food, but couldn't handle the music selection or the volume. read more

My friends and I have been here every Taco Tuesday for the past 4 months and a lot has changed, and not in a good way. I want to start with the pricing. We love Tuesdays because they have half priced tacos, and because we are a group of 6 we always have the %18 tip added on automatically. But recently they added a Taco Tuesday 18% on top of the group of 6 tip. This just felt unneeded and defeats the purpose of having half priced tacos. Next the quality of the food has gone down. I order the chicken tacos every week and there was barely any chicken on them today. Again not a big deal just very disappointing. Overall I do still love it here, Im just angry that I had to write this review. read more

They're open for brunch and they have the cutest little outdoor seating in little Greenhouse Igloo type things. I love that they have amora coffee now. Good vegetarian options and the candy jalapenos are great. Our waiter Elijah was super nice and attentive! read more

Cowboy Monkey - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

I absolutely loved the old cowboy monkey. But now my mother and I will never return. Sad to see they had changed.

We were seated immediately not far from the host stand but after 20+ minutes no one ever came to take our order or drop off water. It's like we were invisible. Numerous waitstaff passed our table a few dozen times and didn't even acknowledge us. We left and had a lovely dinner at Hamilton Walker across the street. read more

One of the cutest restaurants with outdoor seating in the C/U area! My roommates and I came to celebrate the end of the school year. The atmosphere outside so was fun - especially with beautiful weather on the weekends when it's hustling and bustling! We ordered the Cowboy Nachos, the fish tacos, and the Tangy Avocado Salad. The food itself was mediocre - nothing special. The nachos were pretty good but by the time we received the dish, half the cheese had already solidified. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of eating just regular cheese - especially on my nachos. Points docked on that for sure. The fish tacos were kinda bland. My salad was pretty good - the veggies were all very fresh! The service was also just okay. To be fair, it was really packed when we went so I can totally understand. Overall, I would recommend only for a celebratory dinner if you're hoping to dine outside. read more

Cowboy Monkey - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

Worst restaurant experience ever! Cowboy's brunch was recommended by a colleague, I love brunch and I've explored many of brunch spots in town, and I was excited to try Cowboy's. When I arrived, I was greeted by a waiter with a question: are you here for coffee or breakfast? I said breakfast. He asked me to wait in the entryway for a table to be cleaned. A few moments later, the table was ready and he gestured me to the table, I then proceeded to take a seat. Couple minutes later, the same waiter walked by and dropped two menus on my table, he did not say a word to me, he then asked customers a few tables away if they needed a menu, he then walked away. At this point, I felt something was off. Generally a waiter/waitress would greet you with warmth/friendliness: good morning, how are you, what brings you out today, have you been here before etc? Generally a waiter/waitress would introduce themselves, introduce the menu, talk about their specials or popular items on the menu, ask if you want something to drink etc. These are basic expectations and customer service 101 for a restaurant setting. All this notwithstanding, I decided to give him and the establishment the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's having a bad day, or they're slammed with customers etc, we're all humans afterall. A couple minutes have passed since he dropped the menus on my table, without saying a word to me, he then walks out to the table across from me and greets the family seated there with a very friendly and warm "good morning" bla bla bla. At this point it was obvious to me that he is intentionally treating me in a manner that is disparate, disrespectful, uncourteous and prejudicial. It was clear to me that I was not welcome at Cowboy's at this point. I knew that I had to leave. I happen to be black. The waiter happens to be white. The customers he treated courteously, also happen to be white. I went inside to talk to the manager on duty about my experience, which I did and it turned out the waiter who treated me with unprofessionalism and prejudice, is the other manager on duty. This makes the whole experience orders of magnitude more egregious, because he knows better and he demonstrated that he's perfectly capable of treating white customers with courtesy, respect, and professionalism when his prejudice doesn't get in the way. More concerning to me is how he treats his minority employees (assuming he hired any), if this is the way he treats a total stranger he met 10 minutes ago. Finally, I does pain me to have to write this, because I hate to paint an establishment with a broad brush, I'm sure most of the ppl who work here are good, decent, honest ppl who treat all customers fairly, without discrimination or prejudice. That said, it is important to call out prejudice and racism especially when coming from ppl in positions of authority. I'll never return to this business, and i definitely will not recommend this restaurant to others, except if they're white. read more

This is a review of their dinner service on a busy Saturday evening. We came here wanting a small bite at an affordable price. After looking at the menu, we decided to give it a try, after all, their outdoor seating is probably the most scenic out of the downtown area. You are between restaurants in an allay and not looking at a busy road. I got the cod tacos, they were great! Perfectly tender and crispy outside with a delicious creamy sauce. The price tag was also quite attractive! Next time, I will try the shrimp tacos as those also looked amazing. The service was okay, not the most attentive, but friendly. read more

Cowboy Monkey - Cod tacos, perfect combo of tender and crisp! - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

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I went to Cowboy Monkey on Sunday for trivia night. I had heard that seating is crowded, so my friends and I got there at 6. It wasn't that crowded that night, so we had to linger around until trivia started at 7:30. Trivia "starts" at 7 and begins at 7:30 when Big Dave explains the instructions and hands out the answer sheets. My suggestion would be getting there around 6:30 or 6:45 because Trivia lasts until 10 and 3 hours is a long time to sit at one restaurant. The rounds are weighted from very easy to impossible. Some of the general knowledge trivia is so random. There is no way you can really study for trivia. The prizes are a $10 gift card for each round won, and finally a $60 for winning the whole thing. The special on Sundays is $5 nachos. The combination of guac, salsa, and cheese was pleasing to the taste buds. However, the chips tasted a little old and the cheese outweighed the other ingredients, masking the other flavors. The nachos are originally $10, which in my opinion, is way too much. I also had the quesadilla, which was a tri-cheese quesadilla. It tasted like a quesadilla you could make at home, nothing special. We also had the sopapilla which was fried dough topped with honey, chocolate, ice cream, and brown sugar. I would recommend sharing it with friends because it was pricey and it was a big portion. The service was good that night because the waitress kept coming back to fill our waters and ask us how we were doing. Cowboy Monkey is very good about accommodating larger groups; they pull small tables together to make a large one. read more

Cowboy Monkey - Nachos and quesadilla - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

This places rules! Great Food, Great Drinks, Great Sound Engineer, (he even gave me a wireless mic!) Thanks Derek! Great Staff Rad Stage, Fun Bartenders, Vegan Options, All you can eat Chips and Salsa, Outdoor seating, It's perfect rock n roll club! read more

Cowboy Monkey - Cowboy Monkey Patio - Bars Near Me - Champaign, Illinois

We went here for a late lunch and sat outside. The patio is very nice with umbrellas. We ordered a variety of tacos, the blackened chicken quesadilla, chips and salsa. Everything was very flavorful with a hearty portion size. The service was exceptional. The inside is fun with a good vibe. No complaints! Highly recommend! read more

Great outdoor seating environment so we thought we would try it out! Worst service I have ever experience. I will never be going back again. Food was good but felt extremely sick afterwards. Our group got margaritas too and they were probably the worst we have ever had. read more

We stumbled on this gem passing through town- can't rave enough. Food and specialty drinks were all delicious, beautiful presentation, and extremely well priced. We had the Blackened Chicken Quesadillas and Huevos Ranchero! Outdoor patio beautiful. But number one was our exceptional service, from host to server (who brought our food in what felt like 30 seconds), and especially our charming main server Bryn, who really treated us like friends at her own party. read more

Amazing coffee/study area during the day, but dinner time got hectic. We waited over 2 hours for food. The service during this time wasn't great either our waiter refilled our water once during our whole visit. The only reason I'm giving 3 stars is because of the coffee in the day. read more

Great and friendly service. Really cute outdoor space. The food was really good too and drinks were good too. I plan to come back for brunch sometime read more

I highly highly recommend this place!! The food is amazing and the drinks are wonderful!! Our server, Elijah (who is also the Manager) absolutely ROCKED!!! They have done an amazing job providing wonderful food, drinks, and service during these COVID difficulties!! Cheers to the staff at Cowboy Monkey!! We will definitely be back!! read more

Great service, the entire staff is friendly and professional. Above and beyond in accommodating our large group outside today. Food is excellent, our server Olivia was the best. Will definitely be back read more

Taco Tuesday was amazing last night sat in one of the heated huts. Felt great supporting local business and was pretty comfortable. And the food was great as always. read more

Elijah was an AWESOME waiter and the food and margaritas were amazing! Highly recomend Cowboy Monkey!

First place to have Oktoberfest beer Pork burritos are awesome Great staff and now they have brunch

Love the food! Simple menu and great service ordered the carne crisp and the fish tacos and it was blissful. Really glad to have found this place and thankful for their work during covid-19. read more

I am so grateful for this place especially during this time of COVid! The food is exceptional, service beyond excellent and wonderful cocktails. read more

so good and greatly priced! I love the spicy margs!! the service was very friendly and helpful. recommend the chicken crisper

Love love LOVE this place. Cassidy was the best server and we had a great time here while all other bars were lame and boring. Prices are great and atmosphere is even better!! read more

I hated this place. It might have just been a bad time, but, I doubt I'll ever go back. I arrived and found a seat outside, so as to smoke. I go in and get a PBR, it's loud, there's a DJ, I'm happy to be outside. I got pestered by a waitress a few times while sitting outside, but I can't really complain about that, since she was kind and was trying to help us out. I had two beers and was ready to leave, when I went to the bathroom. On my way there I got punched in the face, accidentally, by some chick that was dancing. When I woke up the next morning, I got a call from my bank about a $25 charge at Cowboy Monkey to my account. I checked the receipt in my pocket, and sure enough: it was a $5 bill. Turns out they take a $25 "hold" out on your card when you open a tab, to make sure the card is good. The catch, though, is you don't get your money back for a few days. I'm still out $20 to them, three days later. I paid $25 for two bottles of PBR at this point. So, to sum it up I got punched in the face by an enthusiastic dancer and got WAY overcharged. So, I'm not too pleased with the place. read more

Although I've had a yelp account for a while, I haven't yet been motivated to write a review until now. Over this past Saturday, I had the luxury of organizing a bachelorette party for one of my good friends. I had the perfect downtown adventure planned for us, combining a series of destinations that would feature the best places for food and drink that I could think of for the party, and this plan went out the window when we stopped into Cowboy Monkey. Whereas we had only anticipated staying for 30 minutes to get a quick post-dinner round of drinks, we ended up staying until the lights were hit and the barstools were flipped. Our group entered around 10:00, where the cute bartender enthusiastically greeted us and offered a round of shots to start the night. Amongst the initial options he gave us, we went with some strawberry kamikaze type of shot--Yum! They seriously tasted like a liquid form of Skittles. After taking our drink orders and making our group some overall pretty tasty drinks, he offered to push some tables around so we could sit together (which was great, as it was way too cold and rainy to even consider sitting outside!). As the night progressed, the place got busier and busier with people coming to see the DJ show, and the bartenders kept up with our drinks and still remembered my order throughout the night (Jack and ginger ale, of course). While this type of DJ event wasn't necessarily my type of scene, my friends enjoyed dancing the night away. We also ordered some guacamole and salsa, which provided us with delicious and much needed fuel at some point in the night. The evening flew by, and before we even stopped to look at the hour, closing time hit and we happily concluded our bachelorette party out on the town. I needed to provide a fantastic night out, and Cowboy Monkey delivered for us insomuch that we abandoned the rest of our plans to stay there. I will definitely be taking my friends out this way in the future! read more

Sigh. This place could be so much better. The food to me is mediocre at best. At worst, you get a large screw on your torta and nearly break a tooth. No, I did not break my tooth. But it was close. The waitress did not seem to think this was a big deal. I did, and so did my entire party of 12. The manager came out and comped the food. I said, well, I am not paying for ANYTHING, sorry. There was a gross screw in my food. He agreed. Waitress gave me a bill and I gave it back politely stating, no, I will not pay for my underwhelming "martini" (made with tequila, my own fault for ordering). She had to go "ask" if this was ok. it was. Very strange interaction. I will go here in a group bc other people want to, but never on my own. I do like the outdoor seating in the summer, though. Music is def NOT my style but others seem to like it a lot. read more

The outdoor seating is nice, but my table was crawling with bugs when I arrived. Ick. Cowboy Monkey tries a bit too hard. And on Friday nights is absolutely infested with frat bros. WTF. That said, the drinks are strong, and the desserts are good. It won't be in the rotation any time soon, but I could see myself coming back here. read more

If you want to talk and laugh with friends, pass this place up. It's loud and frankly, a little too hip to be enjoyable. C'mon people, it's Champaign, Illinois, not Champagne, Illinois! read more

This is a review for their Sunday night trivia. The beer specials are pretty good, I have to give them that. $1 Miller light and High Life pints, plus $3 red bull vodkas. The host is funny and they give good prizes: $10 off your bill for winning a round, $50 for winning the night. Pretty generous. Trivia is a cross between the way Boltini's and Canopy does it. 6 rounds of 10 questions where the host reads the questions and you write the answers down on sheets of paper that you turn in. 6 max per team; you pick your team name. Team names are not as creative as Boltini's nor as vulgar as Canopy, but in time they may be. It is faster and better organized between rounds than the meandering cluster of Boltini's, possibly because the geographic layout, possibly because the skilled an efficient host. There are breaks for bathroom etc. So why two stars? The format needs significant tweaking. The first question of each round is worth 1 and the last 10 points. IMO, they should all be worth one since trivia, by nature, is worthless knowledge. Why should some worthless knowledge be more highly prized? Why should one team that gets 9 answers right lose to a team that got only 6 answers right? The #10 question is not necessarily tougher than #1 for everybody, and even so, should missing one question cost a team almost 20% of the points for a 10 question round? This problem is compounded as points rack up for the final calculation. Really, this scoring makes the night about luck: if you know the bigger point questions, or do really well in a particular category, you will win, even if you get less ?s right. Also, the strict adherence to narrow categories doesn't work. A good category might be 'ancient history', but not 'the 2nd Punic war'. The time I went, there were 10 name that hair metal band from listening to a clip and 10 questions about former World Cup champions and host countries. Unless you had a really deep knowledge (10 point question: name every single team to ever win the World Cup) of both these somewhat arcane topics, you are basically screwed out of competing for the overall prize. Lastly, I ordered the gazpacho. It was bad. It was really just pico de gallo with more cucumbers. Not a soup but more of a raw salsa with large chunks. read more

Awesome beer selection! I came here with my boyfriend for trivia night, which was led by Dave. The questions were perfect for our group of 7. I even got to answer some ;) Since we won that night, we got a gift certificate to the bar and bought rounds of shots. Cannot think of a better way to spend a sunday. read more

When this place opened it was more under-the-radar. Over time, the sorostitutes started showing up (yes, at an off-campus bar) and the whole vibe/crowd got a bit worse. It became a bit generic. But thats just my opinion. * for good drinks * for good shows * * for awesome outdoor seating read more

How can you not serve food after midnight? geez, alcohol makes me so hungry!! it's not like they have really hard-to-make food on the menu .its mostly just finger foods anyway from quesadillas to tacos.. Gr! The outdoor seating is nice as long as there's no one puffing around you. read more

These folks have somehow commandeered a square mile of formerly-public outdoor space which is probably the best reason to go here. Unfortunately the food is only so-so, though I do like that the sandwiches do NOT come with french fries!. Mediocre draft beer list (especially for Champaign), but decent martinis. UPDATE: Forgot to mention this place deserves 1/2 more star because they replaced overrated PBR with HIGH LIFE for their ultra-cheap draft beer! Yum! read more