Cynthia S.

Such a cool spot, I loved the monkey thematic interior decor and it felt like such a classic NY bar. That being said, it's quite a splurge of a place, and felt more about the vibes and experience than the actual food. My husband and I went on a Monday night at 7:30 with no reservations and just tried to get a walk in seat at the bar before our show at the Paris Theater. I was a little confused at first because there was no real waitlist system, and it took me a few minutes to realize it's really just operated like a bar, not a restaurant, and it's just standing room until as a seat opens up (you can technically order food and drinks standing but the seat itself is just first come first serve). It definitely made a classy place feel less classy because you're essentially standing behind people eating their meal waiting to swoop in for a seat. At some point a couple at the bar left and there was an awkward moment where I wasn't sure if we should let another woman who was waiting there before us sit, but she was nice enough to give it to us since she was dining solo. We only ended up having to wait 15-20 minutes for a seat which wasn't too bad, but the bartender mentioned it was the quietest night they'd had in forever and that most of the time it's super crowded and people are breathing down your necks waiting while you're eating, which I can't imagine is very pleasant. As for the food itself, everything was quite good but maybe not up to par for what I wanted for the price. The French dip was $40 (!) but it was on a toasted baguette which I felt was too hard to eat even when soaked with dip. Also the jus itself was a bit too salty for me so I didn't want to use as much as was necessary to saturate the crusty bread anyway, which led to a pretty unsatisfying experience. The prime rib itself was thinly sliced and very tasty though, and I liked the horseradish sauce it came with as well. The burger was better but for $39 it was honestly on the slightly dry side. Not the meat itself, which was very juicy and tasty, but the burger as a whole. There was just a lot of bun and not a lot of sauce. Thankfully we also got the fries which came with ketchup and garlic aioli, which helped. The fries themselves were also pretty top notch The chocolate cream pie was rich and delicious and decadent. It was a bit indulgent for just two people, but I don't regret getting it, despite it being a whopping $20. I think it was my husband's favorite dish, which says a lot because he's not a dessert person. All in all, I think it's a really nice upscale place to grab a bite and a couple of martinis if you're trying to impress someone, but for the price of what you're paying, I don't think anything was particularly impressive

SuperFly W.

One word, overrated. Burger did not live up to the hype. I should have known better, the Burger at Au Cheval was terrible. Monkey bar was only slightly better- so barely average. 4 Charles was only slightly better than Monkey Bar, so average at best. These places with scarcity of reservations are getting annoying especially when they don't live up to their hype. Monkey bar is a pass The burger looked good, it was just ok though. Not great. Not above average. Slightly below average actually. If it were to cost $7-$9 less, and the place wasn't so hard to get a reservation, that would help their cause in my opinion. The place was cool though, old school NyC bar vibe. Bar is Too small though. And the ceilings are too low. In the front anyway, we didn't explore. Who cares. The guy you check in with was cool. The servers were ok. Nothing special. Support staff was better than the actual servers. Maybe make those guys servers lol just don't have the time for these overhyped mediocre players.

Wesley S.

Highly Recommend! Great service and the restaurant was very nice and organized with good ambiance. Service was excellent. Staff were very nice and helpful. Food was excellent. Everything we had was fresh. Monkey bread was awesome and the WAGYU burger was amazing.

Jenn W.

Great experience at Monkey Bar! This was my daughter's "must visit" when we were in town for the US Open. It took a lot of effort to score a reservation, but it was definitely worth it! We started with wine & espresso martinis and monkey bread. Oh so yummy! For our entrees, we shared a burger and a French dip. Everything delicious, and service was exceptional.

Kristana K.

Excellent cocktails and food! The caesar with whitefish was delectable with savory and crispy bits of croutons and chips. The black miso cod was amazing! The broth was so light and refined and the fish cooked to flakey perfection. Cocktails were well-balanced - the yuzu cosmo was tart and wonderful. Nigori sake was perfect with the cod.

Cherlynn B.

I had such a great time here. My boyfriend was able to book us a dinner reservation for our 4 year anniversary. (Edit: I just noticed his review is also on here! Lol.) We got to have our dinner in the dining room which was so much nicer and peaceful than the bar area, which I also wouldn't have minded but it was too noisy for a relaxed evening. Service was wonderful and very accommodating! I also loved all the monkey decor, it really tickled me every time we spotted a different monkey haha. We started with the truffle monkey bread! It was so good! For my entree, I got the miso cod, buttery mashed potatoes and a coconut margarita which were all amazing! We even got a complimentary dessert for our anniversary which was a salted caramel ice cream with a candle! We also ordered a banana split for fun and we loved it. I would definitely come back even in the bar dining area because I want to try everyone else's food recommendations! 10/10!

Anushka M.

Everything from food to service to ambiance were excellent! We tried the crab cakes and truffle monkey bread for apps and loved both. The bread was perfectly soft and paired really well with the cheese, truffle and butter it came with. The crab cakes were delicious, crispy and well seasoned. For mains we shared the cheeseburger, steak frites and prime rib French dip. All three dishes were great and all the meat was cooked perfectly medium rare for us. Finally for dessert we had the chocolate pie which we all loved. It was the perfect way to end the meal. If you're able to get a res here I think it's well hyped!

David G.

My girlfriend and I came to Monkey Bar for our anniversary and loved everything. The atmosphere was classy and old school, almost like stepping back into the 1950s. The Monkey Bread was soft, slightly sweet, and delicious. I got the 10 oz filet mignon medium rare, which was cooked perfectly, juicy, and tender. My girlfriend loved the miso cod and mashed potatoes, especially how tender the fish was. Her coconut margarita was her favorite of the night. We finished with the banana split, a complimentary anniversary dessert, and some surprisingly great black coffee. Service was excellent, fast, attentive, and accommodating. Great food, great atmosphere, and a perfect anniversary dinner. Definitely coming back!

Laura W.

The absolute best dining part of our time in the city. No joke! Reservations become open at 9 am on Resy 21 days prior to your desired date. The dinner times WILL FLASH before your eyes. I am not kidding. We chose lunch. Easier to snag a table. It isn't cheap. You get what you pay for so it is WORTH IT!!! Cocktails are divine. Truffle bread as an app is a must. Wedge salad chopped with steak medium. Smash burger with truffle fries. Jill, our server, treated us to a in-home made carrot cake which was life changing. I'd go back to NYC just for the Monkey Bar. So much fun and what an absolutely incredible experience! We will be back.

Jenny C.

As reservations go, this was hard but not as hard as Polo Bar or Carbone! One of my friends opened her TikTok and was trying to try their Monkey Bread so as a good friend, I booked it! Reservations open 2 weeks in advance around 10am and they go super fest so I recommend you try for the day you need as for me I could only have gotten brunch on a Sunday. Those people spam the crap out of their buttons for the dinner spots and when I went I can see why. The place is brimming with old school New York charm and it's completely overwhelmingly beautiful and has an old jazzy vibe to it. It's large and spacious and they sat us in the middle of the entire restaurant. (I had a group of 6) The vibe was so good you don't really want to leave and they also don't really kick you out. I think we were the last ones to exit for brunch but they were so nice they didn't kick us out. Their espresso martinis are ok. It wasn't as amazing as a regular cocktail bar but it is just ok. We started off with a shrimp cocktail, smoked whitefish Caesar salad and the two plates of truffle monkey bread which was soooo good. I really enjoyed this as it's the main reason we came here. It's almost like a honey dinner roll with truffle. We got everything next which some people got their own and some shared. Some people got their own American breakfast platter which was some overdone eggs and a meat with gigantic toast and if you only order scrambled eggs it comes in a bowl but I would much rather order their classics like steak sandwich and the spicy shrimp was pretty good! Fries are top tier! I can see why people just come here for dinner. I would give it mostly 5 stars for the overall ambiance and environment and a few classics. I think their old fashioned is better than their espresso martinis though even though it looks so good in this type of setting! It's hard to get a reservation though so next time I'll need to try some new things if I score another!

Jessica C.

Go for lunch, easier to get a res! Wowed by the truffle bread and mushrooms Ambiance is super moody, the restaurant is darkly lit, it's automatically night when you walk in. Menu - we got steak, truffle bread, chicken parm, fries, and a pasta - solid portions, always tasty, they're reliably delicious

Annie D.

Ambience - beautiful, no notes, lively but not too loud service - as expected, felt a bit rushed drinks -- all the martinis were great but also cost a pretty penny Food -- very mediocre, I was pretty excited to try a sister restaurant of Four Charles but was a bit let down by all the dishes. The monkey bread is good, a bit sweet but nothing crazy. Tasted like something I made in home and Careers in middle school. The dip sandwich was one dimensional and too salty for my taste. The steak frites was pretty average, decent cook on the steak and the horse radish sauce was pretty good but nothing to write home about, the carrot cake was also decently done but I like Martha's carrot cake way more. I think monkey bar is something to experience once with friends, but don't think I'll be going back

Cherry J.

I had such a hard time getting a reservation here! I think they have more availability during lunch, but the dinner reservations are so hard to grab. I went on a Thursday night, and the place was absolutely packed. The front feels more like a bar/casual area, while the dining room is tucked toward the back. My reservation was at 10:15 PM, so I actually had a light dinner beforehand and ordered a little lighter than I normally would. I got: - Truffle Monkey Bread ($34.99) - Prime Rib French Dip ($39.99) - Pommes Frites ($13.99) - Banana Split Sundae ($24.99) I thought the prices were definitely on the higher end when I first sat down, but the Truffle Monkey Bread is divine! Honestly, it's probably in my top 3 bread experiences of my life. If you love truffle, butter, cheese, and basically everything good in life, please get this. It comes out slightly warm and is just incredible. I will probably dream about this bread. The French Dip was good, although it was a little too salty for me. If I get the chance to come back, I'd probably try one of their actual steaks instead. The pommes frites were super crispy, basically McDonald's fries but elevated. The Banana Split Sundae was so pretty. I loved how they placed all the little treats around the crevices/imprints of the dish (not sure how else to describe it ). It's huge, though, so definitely don't expect to finish it yourself. I'd recommend sharing it with 3+ people. I was also celebrating an anniversary, and they brought out a strawberry scoop for us. It tasted homemade and really fresh. I could actually see pieces of strawberry in it, which I loved. The restaurant is definitely on the pricier side, and getting a dinner reservation can be a struggle, but I'd absolutely go again if I got the chance. The decor is cozy and upscale, the food was excellent, and the whole place has a really nice atmosphere. My only real complaint was that our waitress kept pushing us to order more, which got a little annoying, especially since we had already ordered quite a bit. Overall: expensive + difficult reservation, but absolutely worth trying. And please get the truffle monkey bread.