We ordered the cheeseburger without onion and without pickles and the burger arrived with some sort of relish on it, which left a nasty after taste, which the server informed us that he had specified that he notated the request to not have onions or pickles on the burger, but we were not able to get another burger remade since we were in a hurry to catch our flight. It left a very bad after taste and that was truly disappointing because it was one of those “New York” experiences that we were looking forward to that now has been clouded.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
L
Firstly to start our night off we walked in and made a booking for a table… we knew this was a very good upstanding restaurant with top quality food! So we made our booking and waited 2 hours for a table, we got the notification to be seated so I made my way to the counter and sorted our booking, for the lady to turn around and say you’re seated under the light at the table… bare in mind it was the bar… only to wait 2 hours to be seated in the corner of the bar where the empty glasses and old fruit/drink mixers were kept… after being seated for 20 minutes a waiter asked if we’re okay which our response was fine Thank you…. Thinking he was making conversation… wasn’t we very wrong! After 30 minutes i asked him “when will The waiter come and take our order” to his response “ I asked if you’re okay” like that’s supposed to mean anything about taking our order without proposing any menu or drinks!!! So I complained about the wait time to be seated in the worst seat in the house…. Which the nice young lady at the reception was very apologetic and moved us, but while waiting, they began bringing our food out which I said were being moved to a table, can you put that on hold until we get our seating area which was fine… until they then brought out our starters which they then gave us on the house which was very kind and we was thankful for but however.
We finally got our table at a lovely booth after 20/30 minutes extra of waiting and then the waiter began to bring our mains to then bring me a steak which I ordered medium rare to then come well done like it’s been cremated like my nans funeral…. The shrimp pasta came absolutely drunk out it’s arse wirh no shrimp to then be called a vodka pasta…. Absolute disaster at a top Tier restaurant.. coming all the way from England excited for our trip to this restaurant where Selena Gomez and Taylor swift visited to only be disappointed
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Zuleyma Leal
Came as walk-in with a friend and we were able to snag a spot at the crowded bar; wonderful bartender. By the time we ordered our second drink we were able to get sat in the bar area. Delicious food, great service and amazing ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alanna Warwick-Smith
An institution for a reason. I managed a 5pm dinner reservation and it was the perfect timing for an 8pm show.
Be prepared to feel rushed. My only critique would be to the service.
I found I was either often left alone for extended stretches with an empty water glass or rushed at periods where I’d barely had a moment to enjoy my cocktail.
The service does not feel like the white glove hospitality it sells rather a “get tables in and out”. There seemed to be a performance management meeting next to my booth where someone expressed the same thing to a new member of the staff.
As a solo diner I was very pleased that they offered half portions for some items. The meal was excellent. Ambiance superb. I was pleasantly surprised at the value I felt for the whole experience but for the effort it takes to serve a reservation, I was expecting better table service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Chip Johnson
Great place for a cocktail and dinner at the bar. Atmosphere can’t be beat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Lola
Service was excellent, drinks and dinner were worth the wait.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ASA
Loved by so many and always packed, so this isn’t meant to detract, just my honest opinion. It’s the epitome of good mid. The scene is a bit too much, some customers need to reeeeeelax. Some of the dishes rely way too much on gimmicky truffles but they’re upfront about it, eating them though is overkill. The burger is alright, it’s like the best Big Mac you’ve ever had. But NYC has better. Pastas ok. The French dip didn’t really do it for me, bread and meat dried out at 9pm or so. One thing though is weirdly awesome: the aioli that comes with the fries is insanely good.
Have had amazing service here and negligent confused service. It’s wild.
Desserts are cute but insane, if you can actually eat this lemon meringue pie you’re a beast. Sadly the lemon part was rubbery. Chocolate cake great tho.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Spenser Steeves
Excellent food/drinks and vibes. We enjoyed the old fashioned and lemon drop drinks, monkey bread (1000% need to get this bread, you haven’t lived until you have), truffle mac and cheese, vodka pasta, wagyu burger, and fries. Reservation strongly advised but very worth it, this place is one of the best in NYC
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Christina Cheung
I was really excited to finally try Monkey Bar and had been looking forward to it for a while. While the atmosphere was lovely, the food and service didn’t quite wow me the way I had hoped. I started with the monkey bread, which was pleasant but not a must get, and the cheeseburger was good, just not a standout.
The service was kind and friendly, though it felt a bit less attentive than expected for such a special spot. Overall it was a nice evening, just slightly underwhelming compared to the anticipation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
David Libespère
Everything at monkey bar is great. Service, food and vibe. Our server Pasquale was outstanding. Really attentive and extremely professional. Hard to get a reservation but worth it.
Great first visit! Amazing vibes at the bar, great service by bartender and good recommendations! Looking forward to be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fabio Alex Rodriguês
Perfect
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Noah Obstfeld
We had an excellent experience at monkey bar. I’ve been wanting to go for years and finally got my shot to go on my girlfriend’s birthday.
When you walk in, it’s not clear where to go in the front area. There should be someone for first timers making sure you know to walk in towards the hostess, which is not visible from the front when it’s busy (which is all the time). I stood there like an idiot for 30 seconds. We waited 15 minutes for our reservation that we showed up on time for. No one told us we could order a cocktail as we watched others (smarter than us) do that.
Chris was one of the best waiters I’ve ever had in New York. The ambience is spectacular. The reason for docking a star is because when you have a reputation and pricing like monkey bar, I expect perfection and the food was great but not perfect. The monkey bread was insane, best thing on the menu. I don’t think bread can get much better than that. The Caesar salad was a little disappointing. I had to remind my girlfriend there was potato chips in it because they had gotten soggy sitting and dressing. Chu Toro tuna was great but the crisp bread it came with it was underwhelming. Crab Rangoon’s were good but not great. Important note is that Chris threw in the monkey bread and crab Rangoon’s and dessert on the house, which is so generous! Shoutout Chris.
Truffle mac & cheese was one of my favorite things. The crispy top is awesome. The steak frites was good. Steak was great, but the Bernaise sauce and fries were very average. Fries particularly confusing. The most disappointing thing on the menu was the famous French dip. I feel like a jerk saying this, but it tasted like something I would get at the bodega. I would enjoy it from the bodega, but that’s not where I’m at. Chocolate pie was fantastic. Would definitely come back, but the food was a bit below what I expected for such an impossible reservation. 4.3/5
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Dianne Fabby
Dining here felt glamorous and classic, with great cocktails and polished American dishes. The atmosphere alone makes it feel like a special night out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Doreen Nelson
I would say I enjoyed myself and the food was good, but the wait without a reservation was a negative for me. Although my waiter Ruben make my first time visit an amazing experience! I wish we had more staff like this young man. He helped me pick great items off the menu and dessert was fantastic! The carrot cake was so delicious ! Highly recommend, next time I'm hoping for a reservation.
We ordered the cheeseburger without onion and without pickles and the burger arrived with some sort of relish on it, which left a nasty after taste, which the server informed us that he had specified that he notated the request to not have onions or pickles on the burger, but we were not able to get another burger remade since we were in a hurry to catch our flight. It left a very bad after taste and that was truly disappointing because it was one of those “New York” experiences that we were looking forward to that now has been clouded.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Firstly to start our night off we walked in and made a booking for a table… we knew this was a very good upstanding restaurant with top quality food! So we made our booking and waited 2 hours for a table, we got the notification to be seated so I made my way to the counter and sorted our booking, for the lady to turn around and say you’re seated under the light at the table… bare in mind it was the bar… only to wait 2 hours to be seated in the corner of the bar where the empty glasses and old fruit/drink mixers were kept… after being seated for 20 minutes a waiter asked if we’re okay which our response was fine Thank you…. Thinking he was making conversation… wasn’t we very wrong! After 30 minutes i asked him “when will
The waiter come and take our order” to his response “ I asked if you’re okay” like that’s supposed to mean anything about taking our order without proposing any menu or drinks!!! So
I complained about the wait time to be seated in the worst seat in the house…. Which the nice young lady at the reception was very apologetic and moved us, but while waiting, they began bringing our food out which I said were being moved to a table, can you put that on hold until we get our seating area which was fine… until they then brought out our starters which they then gave us on the house which was very kind and we was thankful for but however.
We finally got our table at a lovely booth after 20/30 minutes extra of waiting and then the waiter began to bring our mains to then bring me a steak which I ordered medium rare to then come well done like it’s been cremated like my nans funeral…. The shrimp pasta came absolutely drunk out it’s arse wirh no shrimp to then be called a vodka pasta…. Absolute disaster at a top Tier restaurant.. coming all the way from England excited for our trip to this restaurant where Selena Gomez and Taylor swift visited to only be disappointed
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Came as walk-in with a friend and we were able to snag a spot at the crowded bar; wonderful bartender. By the time we ordered our second drink we were able to get sat in the bar area. Delicious food, great service and amazing ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An institution for a reason. I managed a 5pm dinner reservation and it was the perfect timing for an 8pm show.
Be prepared to feel rushed. My only critique would be to the service.
I found I was either often left alone for extended stretches with an empty water glass or rushed at periods where I’d barely had a moment to enjoy my cocktail.
The service does not feel like the white glove hospitality it sells rather a “get tables in and out”. There seemed to be a performance management meeting next to my booth where someone expressed the same thing to a new member of the staff.
As a solo diner I was very pleased that they offered half portions for some items. The meal was excellent. Ambiance superb. I was pleasantly surprised at the value I felt for the whole experience but for the effort it takes to serve a reservation, I was expecting better table service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great place for a cocktail and dinner at the bar. Atmosphere can’t be beat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Service was excellent, drinks and dinner were worth the wait.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loved by so many and always packed, so this isn’t meant to detract, just my honest opinion. It’s the epitome of good mid. The scene is a bit too much, some customers need to reeeeeelax. Some of the dishes rely way too much on gimmicky truffles but they’re upfront about it, eating them though is overkill. The burger is alright, it’s like the best Big Mac you’ve ever had. But NYC has better. Pastas ok. The French dip didn’t really do it for me, bread and meat dried out at 9pm or so. One thing though is weirdly awesome: the aioli that comes with the fries is insanely good.
Have had amazing service here and negligent confused service. It’s wild.
Desserts are cute but insane, if you can actually eat this lemon meringue pie you’re a beast. Sadly the lemon part was rubbery. Chocolate cake great tho.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Excellent food/drinks and vibes. We enjoyed the old fashioned and lemon drop drinks, monkey bread (1000% need to get this bread, you haven’t lived until you have), truffle mac and cheese, vodka pasta, wagyu burger, and fries. Reservation strongly advised but very worth it, this place is one of the best in NYC
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was really excited to finally try Monkey Bar and had been looking forward to it for a while. While the atmosphere was lovely, the food and service didn’t quite wow me the way I had hoped. I started with the monkey bread, which was pleasant but not a must get, and the cheeseburger was good, just not a standout.
The service was kind and friendly, though it felt a bit less attentive than expected for such a special spot. Overall it was a nice evening, just slightly underwhelming compared to the anticipation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Everything at monkey bar is great. Service, food and vibe. Our server Pasquale was outstanding. Really attentive and extremely professional. Hard to get a reservation but worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great first visit! Amazing vibes at the bar, great service by bartender and good recommendations!
Looking forward to be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perfect
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had an excellent experience at monkey bar. I’ve been wanting to go for years and finally got my shot to go on my girlfriend’s birthday.
When you walk in, it’s not clear where to go in the front area. There should be someone for first timers making sure you know to walk in towards the hostess, which is not visible from the front when it’s busy (which is all the time). I stood there like an idiot for 30 seconds. We waited 15 minutes for our reservation that we showed up on time for. No one told us we could order a cocktail as we watched others (smarter than us) do that.
Chris was one of the best waiters I’ve ever had in New York. The ambience is spectacular. The reason for docking a star is because when you have a reputation and pricing like monkey bar, I expect perfection and the food was great but not perfect. The monkey bread was insane, best thing on the menu. I don’t think bread can get much better than that. The Caesar salad was a little disappointing. I had to remind my girlfriend there was potato chips in it because they had gotten soggy sitting and dressing. Chu Toro tuna was great but the crisp bread it came with it was underwhelming. Crab Rangoon’s were good but not great. Important note is that Chris threw in the monkey bread and crab Rangoon’s and dessert on the house, which is so generous! Shoutout Chris.
Truffle mac & cheese was one of my favorite things. The crispy top is awesome. The steak frites was good. Steak was great, but the Bernaise sauce and fries were very average. Fries particularly confusing. The most disappointing thing on the menu was the famous French dip. I feel like a jerk saying this, but it tasted like something I would get at the bodega. I would enjoy it from the bodega, but that’s not where I’m at. Chocolate pie was fantastic. Would definitely come back, but the food was a bit below what I expected for such an impossible reservation. 4.3/5
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Dining here felt glamorous and classic, with great cocktails and polished American dishes. The atmosphere alone makes it feel like a special night out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I would say I enjoyed myself and the food was good, but the wait without a reservation was a negative for me. Although my waiter Ruben make my first time visit an amazing experience! I wish we had more staff like this young man. He helped me pick great items off the menu and dessert was fantastic! The carrot cake was so delicious ! Highly recommend, next time I'm hoping for a reservation.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
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