Apparently, there is a disparity after reading the reviews of the Overton Sq vs the Front St dtwn premises. (Disclosure, I have not been to the midtown location). As a local living near Blue Monkey Front St, I cannot believe the decline. They HAD the most precious staff; waiters, servers and bartenders. So kind, informative and patient. Food is good and reasonably priced. Menu hasn't been updated in the last 7 yrs I have moved here, but good comfort food. Does offer a wide selection. Surprisingly, smoking is allowed. And u will reek. Workers sit at the end of the bar and smoke during their breaks!? A very high turnover staff. The current female bartender (brunette Caucasian) and evening bartender (blonde pony tail) r snarky. Approx a yr or so ago, I was picking up a takeout order. Early evening. A woman , whom the staff confirmed, was the wife of one of the owners. She was sobbing and we were told that she was allegedly confronted by a carjacker in their parking lot. Police squad cars came. To the best of r neighbors knowledge, and we could b unaware, it was not reported in the news. I asked the nice gentlemen working the desk if we would walk me to my car in the lot. He happily obliged. Safety first. read more

Great place for a good drink and appetizers! We had the Trolly car crisp (Bluff city) and the Hot wing rolls........Yummmmo!!!!! Service was excellent. Will return if we come back to Memphis! read more

The Blue Monkey - Blue Moon at the Blue Monkey! What a great little bar - Bars Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

"Shareese" or whatever her name at the bar is rude. I STOOD at the bar approx 8-10 mins to place a to go order yet my presence was never acknowledged. This bartender continued to talk to two guys using profanity about one of her coworkers in the kitchen. She continued to drink her chocolate liquor in her clear plastic cup at the end of the register near the cash register. You've LOST a customer. How UNPROFESSIONAL! read more

I have been to the Blue Monkey in midtown quite a few times back in the day. This was my first visit to this location. It seemed appropriate to visit since it was within walking distance of where I was staying. It's located in the middle of the South Bluffs, so I am sure a lot of locals come here for their fix. My friend and I got here around 9:30p, to get a drink and a snack. She got a vodka martini with olives and I got a cosmo for $6 each. She got a basket of fries, and I got some crawfish bisque. Drinks - they started out good, but it didn't take long for me to notice mine was watered down. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it anyway. It was $6, and I can't find a $6 martini anywhere in the city I live in. The crawfish bisque was good. I liked that it was heavy both on the meat and the cream. I'd order a bowl of this next time instead of a cup. Fries... they were not that amazing. Overly salty and soggy. Service was alright. She was nice enough and had a good sense of humor. What I enjoyed most is the vibe of the place. It's really chill. That's the kind of evening we wanted, and that's what we got. Side note -- smoking is allowed in one side of the bar and the other side is non-smoking. There are no doors separating the two rooms. If you're sensitive to smoke, this might not be the ideal place for you to get a drink. read more

Honestly, I wasn't blown away by The Blue Monkey (which kind of sounds like the beginning of a crime noir novel), but they were nice enough. This is one of those spots that I think would really benefit were Memphis ever to entertain a non-smoking ordinance, but in between the hazy fog about the place, conversation filtered about freely. They were relatively slow the night that I was in, and most folks congregated about the bar -- from the looks of it, they're beer forward -- the locals were pretty content to grab a stool and flap their gums for awhile. The beer selection, for as much of it as their is, is pretty pedestrian (with some obvious outliers - I did manage a Chimay red, the old Anchor Steam stand-by, and talked them into an Especial with a little salt on the rim, just like home. No one was Blue at the Blue Monkey, and a trip in here won't change your life, but it's pleasant, all the same. read more

No, simply no, the stale smell of alcohol, food and something else just does not sit well with me. We did not eat but a couple in our group did and after sampling it, I thanked the Lord I had already eaten. My Tito's and soda did not taste quite as usual. Service was good but the grunge was not. read more

Great martini. The bar part of the restaurant is intimate and conducive to conversation and meeting people. The legendary crawfish bisque lives up to the hype. Their blackened shrimp reminded me of New Orleans Creamed spinach is rich but right. Sauteed mushrooms are buttery and garlicky. Service was friendly and attentive. I would have gave 5 stars but the foods are flavored for the first bites and can seem overwhelming by the end of the dishes read more

This place is a 1 star. The customer is the boss. You must respect the customer. Business 101. There is absolutely no reason to be rude to a customer that is not being disrespectful to you. I called at 1150 PM to order food. I was put on hold for 5 mins so I hung up and called 20 mins later, was told they were busy before midnight and they cant sell me food after midnight. Food is average. Value is terrible. Only good thing about this place is a decent beer selection, but it's overpriced and they have no unique beers that you can't buy at the Draught Emporium or a good beer store. read more

A group of friends and I split a bunch of food to share, including the jumbo shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese sticks, and hot wing rolls and my Beef Eater sandwich. I cannot say that these are among the best food items I have ever eaten. However, Blue Monkey does have some good greasy bar food. It is not winning awards any time soon, but there is a time and place for it. I would eat it again. Blue Monkey continues to do what it does best, feature average live music and serve up good drinks. This is why they continue to be a midtown staple. read more

I'm a fan of the Blue Monkey, and here is why: -I always feel at home here. -The hot wing rolls are the bomb. -They have a pretty solid beer/liquor selection. -It's far away from the rowdy, typically annoying Beale Street crowd. -It allows smoking, but it never gets overwhelmingly smoky. Yeah, that's all I've got, but I think it pretty much sums up my opinion of the place. It's a nice getaway if you want to go to a bar, but you're sick of the frat-tastic Beale Street. :) read more

I think this is a locals-only kinda' place. Everyone there was having fun, save me and my companions from Virginia ... Beer selection is pedestrian. Food is average ... Monkey Chips are pretty tasty junk food though. Live music was great. Service was somewhat ambivalent ... but seemed to be better for what we assessed to be regulars. Been to lots of places like this ... it's always better when it's "Your Bar." I'd go back if I was in town on another extended stay. read more

While visiting Memphis for 3 days. This was the best food I had. Well seasoned, not just salty. I had catfish and vegetables. Food was served hot... great, fast service and delicious food. It's a wonderful place to get some excellent food. Great atmosphere. I am glad I stopped in. read more

Great place to hang out for a round or three, and the shrimp is excellent. Also try the catfish po-boy. The staff is awesome! This is definitely a spot to be a regular. The good & drinks are great. read more

Traveling through for work with friends and ended up here for a late lunch. I had the catfish po boy and it was great! Coworkers had the beef eater, cheese steak and the crawfish bisque. All are repeat meals. My friend with the bisque can't stop raving about it. Fries were hot and crispy and we all polished them off despite being full. Atmosphere - very smoky in the bar area. Not too bad in the dining area. Appears to be some dedicated locals and based on the food and service I can see why. read more

Average pub food. I've had better and worse. Service was on point. THEY ALLOW SMOKING. This negates everything positive. If you go wear clothes you can throw away. They obviously have no exhaust. I came away with a burning throat, clothes that smelled like an ashtray and had to shower to get the nicotine off my skin. GROSS!!! And it was not busy. This is just residue...STALE SMOKE. Just nasty!!! read more

Came in and was seated promptly, but waited over 20 minutes and no one came over to take our drink order. Also, several parties were seated after us and were serviced while we were ignored. Won't be coming back. read more

Stopped in for a cold beer & snack after visiting Civil Rights museum...appetizers were unique and very tasty. We had hot wing rolls and trolley car crisp Santa Fe style both were fresh and delicious. Beer was cold and a large selection of bottles. Four or Five draught selections all craft, which is fine for me as I found the local Ghost River beer quite tasty. My husband complains continuously if a place doesn't at least have Miller Lite or Bud Light on draught. Friendly staff and prompt service. They do allow smoking which can be a deal breaker for me but they must have good ventilation because it didn't bother either of us and a few people were smoking. read more

Stopped in here for a quick drink. The beer list was pretty impressive. I'd never had Woodchuck raspberry before, but I really liked it. Service was a little bit over-zealous, but not too bad. Can't say anything about the food, as I was only there for a drink. No problems with the lighting or vibe. It was an after-work sort of place, and made no bones about it. read more

The food and service was off the chain. I had the egg rolls and they was awesome. Tara the bartender made me a few signature drinks and they was great. I will be back again. read more

The Blue Monkey - Bars Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

Blue monkey is my go to downtown burger spot when everywhere else within walking distance of my house is closed or busy. I love that I can get in and out quickly. Service is always friendly and fast. The basic burger hits the spot for me and is always cooked well! There is smoking in there but there's also a non smoking section which isn't too terrible. You do have to walk through the smoking section to get there though. Other than that it's a dependable burger and beer favorite! read more

Walked in and on a Saturday around 5 and there was plenty of room at the bar. Waitress took our order right away. Ordered the veggie burger with fries. Order arrived in less than 20 minutes. Great atmosphere, good amount of people there and good music. Would try again! read more

The Blue Monkey - View from bar and watching Tennessee vs gators game - Bars Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

Too Smokey for a sober experience. Food was good if you were drinking - great location though!

Pretty sure I just stepped back in to the 80's for lunch! Dark as night on a Monday afternoon, Phil Collins on the overhead and cigarette smoke fills the air. I can't remember the last time I sat in a smokey bar! Food and service were good. 3 stars for the time warp. read more

Blue Monkey downtown is home to arguably the best crawfish bisque soup in thee world. This is no exaggeration. The ratio of crawfish to bisque was exactly where I hoped it would be (heavy on the crawfish) the soup receives 5 stars, but because the soup was the only item on the menu I ordered aside from drinks I cannot rate them any higher than 4 stars as a whole. I'd recommend if you're looking for a good lunch spot, or a solid place to watch football on the weekends. read more

The Blue Monkey - Crawfish Bisque Soup - Bars Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

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3 words.....Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls. Although we live within a mile of their midtown location, we drive downtown. Much cleaner and feels less like a seedy bar. read more

This place may be great, but we had two teenagers with us at noon on a Thursday and found a sign on the door saying it was for 21 and over. Totally fine, that's their right but I found NOTHING on their site saying this (maybe I missed it... but I checked again before writing this). Should be a little more forthcoming with this bit of critical info, especially mid day on a weekday. read more

Checking this out for lunch first time. So far it's been 42minutes for food staff is friendly.food is great. Very slow for food service at the bar. not the place for a quick lunch. My co workers waited 50 minutes and had to get it to go. read more

A place with good drinks and good food.... Idk if the prices match with environment and service but it is quite yummy read more

The Blue Monkey - Hotwing Eggrolls - Bars Near Me - Memphis, Tennessee

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The bar doesn't reek of smoke. You can smell it a little, but their ventilation system must be very good. I wasn't bothered by it. This is a plus. It's clean -- surfaces are clean, it's tidy. This often doesn't go hand and hand when you walk into a bar. It's not SO tidy that you feel uncomfortable. You can tell that the owners take pride in the place. We stopped in last night for a quick drink -- my friend had a Captain and Coke -- which was strong, and I asked for Ciroc and cranberry, but unfortunately, they no longer carry it. I was bummed, it's one of the only alcohols that I can drink -- because it's not made from grain. I ended up going with water. The bartender was sweet. Not overbearing, and while I drank my water, I looked around. It's a pretty big space, the bar is a couple steps up from ground level, and behind the bar they boast a glass sliding-doored fridge filled with bottled beers, as there were none on tap. The variety was huge, several that I'd never heard of, sure to please the beer enthusiast -- at least fifty varieties. In addition, there were several top-shelf whiskies and ryes, as well as a good selection of rum, vodka (bring back the Ciroc!), and cordials. The area below was a bunch of tables, and lighted neon signs advertising varieties of beers, including one that I miss, Harp (if you haven't tried it you must). Definitely the type of place that I'd feel comfortable popping into again. read more

Shit. Smells like dirty laundry. Bartender doesn't know the difference between tonic water & soda water. Worst service in Memphis (and just as a gauge, Memphis in general has the worst service in the world). And the Makers Mark has definitely been cut with Early Times or some other plastic bottle, bottom shelf junk. read more

IF YOU APPRECIATE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY, AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!!! After ordering a round of drinks for myself and my friends, I wanted to order an appetizer.... BAD IDEA!... I decided to go for the Monkey Chips and unfortunately, the appetizer wasn't at all like what it was described to be on the menu. On the menu, the chips were described as having "melted blue cheese" on top of FRESH cooked kettle chips.... HOWEVER, what I received was a cold plate of kettle chips with what seemed to be bleu cheese dressing straight out of a bottle..like a salad dressing bottle. I was disappointed in the appetizer so I asked the server if I could send it back to the kitchen or if I could order something else that has the same value ($6.00). The waitress was very polite and she stated that she would have to take the issue up with her manager...("manager"= caucasion, late 50s female, about 160-180lbs, about 5'6) NOW HERE IS THE KILLER!... The "manager" came over to our table with an obvious disgruntled disposition and asked what the issue was with the appetizer. I smiled at her and then explained to her that the appetizer wasn't at all close to what was described on the menu and that I would like to send it back completely (meaning to not be charged for it) OR order something else with the same price.. She then looked at me square in my face, rolled her neck and said, "No, there was no wrong doing on our behalf, I can't take it off of your check and I will have to charge you for it." I then further explained to her why I wanted to send the appetizer back and she then proceeded to shrug her shoulders and walked away. RIDICULOUS!! My friends and I were completely shocked and disgusted. I have never in my life known for a food/beverage establishment to tell a paying customer that they MUST be charged for food that was absolutely gross and misleading. Mind you, I literally just ate 3 chips off the entire plate!!! Even though the customer service was poor, I wasn't rude, snobbish, nor demeaning in any way at any point during this visit and I definitely wasn't in the mood to argue over a $6.00 appetizer... Why was this lady so rude to paying customers??? We quickly asked for the bill & low and behold, the appetizer was on the bill... I then summed up every item on the bill minus the appetizer, called the waitress over and tipped her VERY well, left the amount that my bill would've been minus the appetizer and then we proceeded to leave without a fuss..... We were then followed out by the waitress and she stated that if we didn't pay for the appetizer that she would have to foot the $6. She asked if we wanted to speak to the assistant manager because the "manager" that we spoke with wasn't really the manager, but just the owner's wife.. The owner's wife being THAT rude?... really???... I felt bad for the young lady because she had done absolutely nothing wrong, so I decided that I would talk to the assistant manager. (assistant manager =bald, African American male, 200+ lbs, about 5'8).. I walk over to this guy and before I could say one word, he says "No, Im not taking anything off of your bill, you guys need to pay for your bill. I've already spoken to my manager and you guys need to pay for your bill or I'm calling the cops."..... MIND YOU, we have already paid for our bill and tipped, we just didn't pay for those disturbingly awful $6.00 chips! I WAS BEYOND INSULTED!!!! He didn't even give us the chance to explain our side of the story! After he threatened to call the cops over $6, I laughed and walked out and headed for another bar to enjoy my night... I've never heard of a food/beverage having such terrible business practices. Bar or not bar, this place is a joke.. This incident happened approximately 2 weeks ago today & I still find it hard to believe that we were treated with such disrespect... I wouldn't dare suggest this place to anyone for any reason. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. read more

I did not give this places 3 stars due to the food quality. I have truly enjoyed everything I have ever ordered from here including quesadillas, shrimp po boy, southern salad, and hot wing egg rolls. I love calling in order and picking them because of the good food. However, the service is often slow and the smokey atmosphere (even on nonsmoking side) is what turns me off. On one occasion in particular, I was told that they were not currently seating anyone despite the overflow of empty tables inside. Because this was a sunny Sunday afternoon, I asked if my friends and I could just sit at an empty seat on the patio and have a beer while we wait for a waiter (or whatever the current hold up was about). When the bouncer told us no, it really put a bad taste in my mouth. I haven't been back since. read more

My God, this blonde bartender (I think she referred to as LA) was so cool to us last night. She served us strong drinks, had a great personality, and the drinks were incredibly affordable. She had 2 girls sitting at the bar that were completely hammered and they treated her terrible. She was so composed and told them calmly that she couldn't serve them. Their response was ugly, even after she offered to call a cab. Great bar with friendly locals, and an even better staff. read more

I met my brother for lunch here today and it was really quite good! The service was amazing! I had the crawfish bisque to start with, and it was definitely on point! My brother and I both opted for the grilled chicken Caesar salad! It was full of chicken! Their menu is huge, so there is something for everyone! :) read more

We came here twice when we first moved to Memphis, the food had us come back and the surprisingly good bottled wine selection. However we smelled like smoke after leaving the first time, and again the second and because of that we will not be back. (Coming from a state where there is absolutely no smoking in bars where food is served changes your mind about eating in bars/restaurants where smoking is allowed- TN needs to get on board with no smoking in bars or dining establishments) read more

Don't underestimate the Monkey's food. Their blackened tilapia for the Monday lunch special is awesome, and my go to is the blackened chicken wrap with a side of creamed spinach. Service is always quick and pleasant, and food is always great, especially for bar food. read more

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!!! I sat at the bar and waited!!! I'm an African American male and I seemed invisible to Crystal. Three Caucasian ladies came in after me and we're all serviced. The guy working the door had to come to the bar and ask me had I been served and she STILL didn't serve me until he went to the bar to inform her!!!! She came down and didn't even apologize. Terrible service and a terrible way to handle a business I've been patronizing for years. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed my meal and the service was excellent especially considering they were able to accommodate a large group of 17 at the last minute. read more

I called two days before my birthday to arrange to accommodate a group of 20. Stan, a manager, was very nice and indicated we could have several tables in the non-smoking section. Then Stan called back and said he could not push tables together, but we could congregate amongst several tables in the non-smoking section. Then Stan called back a third time and indicated his owner wanted him to call and say they could NOT guarantee us tables, as they would not prevent someone else from sitting there if they got there first to reserve a table for a party. They weren't going to tie up their tables. Really?? Okay. So we arrive there at the restaurant at 8:30 as planned. The ONLY people in the non-smoking section on this "busy" Saturday night are the people there for my birthday. Some of us are still at the bar. They did not card us coming in the door. My boyfriend ordered a beer and showed his license, which he did not know was expired. They would not serve him, which was fine. But his date of birth was CLEARLY stated there on his Florida Driver's License. Not only would they not serve him, but they THREW US OUT. They said because his driver's license was expired, we could not remain in the building and eat, even if he didn't drink. They made us leave MY birthday party guests on MY birthday. Rude, rude, rude. They stated we could not be on the premises with an expired driver's license according to the ABC rules. Well, considering you did not card ANYONE ELSE on the premises, I can only assume your singling us out has to do with the fact that my boyfriend was Latino and Spanish speaking. Thank you so much for throwing us out of my own birthday party. I REALLY appreciate that I had MY birthday dinner in the drive-thru at Burger King while my party guests were allowed to stay...UNCARDED. By the way, our second venue for the night had no problem letting us in with the expired driver's license, as it clearly showed us to be of age. We are 44, by the way. It's not like it was a close call. I will not be giving you any of my business again, and I will not be recommending you to my friends. By the way, I work at a company of over 500 individuals, so the word should spread exponentially. Thanks to Stan for being the only decent person in the place. Too bad he wasn't working the night we were there. I would LOVE to tell you how the food was, but I was never served any. read more

This is an excellent local watering hole. After coming in a few times the servers remember my order and know my particularities. After a few more times they know my name and bs with me when they check in. The food is what you would expect from a BAR/restaurant. I would highly recommend the trolley crisps. I've basically stopped getting anything else. Come to the Monkey to decompress and have a libation or five. read more