Cowboy Monkey

Having enjoyed coming here for drinks a couple of times, I figured I would try their food and wish I had not. The guacamole was a crime to avocados everywhere, and the rest of the food was subpar at best. Come here for drinks, do not stay for the food.

Went in, sat down and waited 25 minutes with no one acknowledging our presence. We left and went somewhere that appreciates our business.

I went to Cowboy Monkey with some friends for their Sunday night trivia. We got there a little early to ensure we got a spot, but the trivia ended up starting a half hour later than it was supposed to. They had decent food and drink specials, and my friends and I decided to split a plate of their nachos, which were $ 5 that night instead of $ 10.
The service was very fast and attentive, the outdoor seating was lively, and the trivia (once it got going) made for a fun night.

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.

Outdoor seating is awesome! Great location. Food is yummy. Can be spicy. My friends love the bean dip. Servers can be on the slow side. However, Emily is an excellent server.

Food is always consistent and tastes well. Beware things can be a bit spicy. The waitresses on the other hand are not good. They tend to have a difficult time bringing drinks in a timely matter and are just not that smart when it comes to their job. On a positive note their manager is very friendly and the bus boy takes pride in keeping the place clean! Patio atmosphere is nice but music tends to be a bit too loud.

Ooooohhhhhh… I am SO on the fence with the star rating for this place.
Definitely an amazing patio situation happening. I mean, seriously… sipping on a beer at a table under the shade of a large tree is my happy place. In addition, the beer options were solid — not only was Left Hand Milk Stout on tap, but they also had Left Hand Good JuJu in the bottle and make a decent Grey Goose martini. The service also was quite friendly, attentive and spot on.
The weak bit is their food. We started with an order of nachos which was basically a pile of chips with a drizzle of melted cheese product and guacamole and non-​strained pico-​type-​mix that caused a sogginess to happen with the nekkid chip situation. With that first foray into the food situation, we opted for dinner options elsewhere.
As a pre-​dinner (or even post dinner) establishment — solid.
As the dinner establishment — not so much.
So with the minus and plus of star rating based on experience, going with 3 stars. If based on patio and beverages alone… well, would definitely rank higher.

Horrible experience! Not only did they have terrible live entertainment, but something fishy happened at their cash register. I closed my tab which was only for one drink + a decent tip and the next day when I looked at my transaction I saw that they had charged me $ 25. Not an honest business. Will not be returning.

The best part of our visit was the jazz band outside and the service which was excellent! They have a huge drink menu. My margarita tasted like orange juice… no hint of a margarita:(. The nachos were just average mostly goopy. I will go back for the music but will only order a glass of wine as they need to work on shortening their list and doing something inside the kitchen/​bar outstanding:)

Great outdoor seating. Elevator techno music and an overall frat boy scene is not my usual choice in drinking establishments, but good pick for a summer night.

OK, Let me start by saying the whole «bar scene» isn’t really my thing. But we went here for a friend’s birthday and I was thoroughly impressed. The staff was welcoming, kind and understood exactly what we wanted. We had chips and salsa, (a huge portion) and it was fresh and yummy! Sitting outside was relaxing and lovely. Peaceful décor and just all around great night! Can’t wait to return!

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!

Cowboy… I came here literally every Wednesday night for latin dance nights even when I had a final exam the next day or was tired. Thank you for being free entry. I understand that you had to stop serving us dancers free water after so long, just keep hosting the crazy latin dance crowd and we’ll love you forever. Also the bouncer is so nice, which is saying something for the usual downtown champaign bouncer crew.

Great food & patio

Great during the spring/​summer/​early fall because of outdoor seating! Also during this time the food is great! Trivia is fun on Sunday’s with Dave. I don’t frequent during the winter because the inside is pretty dark and decently small. I hope they expand their inside into where Carrie’s used to be and do food year round!

Good combo of patio seating, draft beer and pulled pork tacos with live jazz music on the side.
Heated patio area was much appreciated this time of the year.

I have to admit, the name alone got my attention, but it’s the outdoor patio that makes CM truly outstanding. It’s the perfect place to spend a warm evening (as well as, I assume, many other times of day). A tad crowded on the weekends, even when school is not in session, but service at the outdoor tables is spot-​on. I can’t wait to go back!

Cowboy Monkey is a solidly mediocre bar. I don’t dance, but I’ve been there plenty of times for food or for the Sunday-​night trivia. I’ll get my biggest complaint out of the way first: their kitchen is closed during the winter. What the hell? I understand why their beer garden isn’t open during the winter, but the kitchen?! At least they’re okay with you bringing your own food for that part of the year. When the kitchen *is* open their menu is Mexican with a couple of tweaks, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had to eat there. The liquor and beer selection is about average for Champaign. The beer garden outside is pleasant; it’s closed during the winter but on cool fall nights they set up space heaters so you can stay fairly comfortable.
I went to Cowboy Monkey for Big Dave’s Trivia Night every Sunday for a long time. Trivia officially started at 7, with Dave usually getting there around 7:15 and the thing actually starting at 7:30. On trivia night the place was packed, though, and you had to be there by 6:30 at the latest if you wanted a seat.
The bar has a pretty limited amount of seating, and they don’t seem to know how to use it. There were multiple occasions when we found an empty table in the bar but there were no chairs, so either we’d stand the whole time or we’d have to wait thirty minutes for one of the bartenders to go grab some chairs from Guido’s (which I believe has the same owners). We got there one week and the inside and beer garden were both full, but there was an empty table outside with some patio chairs stacked up nearby; the guy working told us that he wouldn’t set up the chairs for us because he didn’t have enough servers working. We offered to go inside to the bar when we wanted drinks, but he still said no. Some weird management decisions at this place.
As long as I’m griping, I want to mention the bathrooms. The locks on the doors were always broken, making it seem like the restrooms were intended for multiple people – they weren’t. This became clear after you washed your hands and realized that the paper-​towel dispenser was located above the urinal some guy was currently using. Fix your locks, cheapskates.
During the summer this is a nice place to sit outside and have dinner and drinks. If you can’t find a table, though, don’t sweat it; just walk to one of the many other good bars in downtown Champaign. We started going to the Tuesday-​night trivia at Jupiter’s at the Crossing, which is run by the same guy but which offers year-​round food and unlimited seating.

Sat out side and had a cilantro, lime & chicken crisper. Overall had a pretty good taste. We also ordered the fresh salsa — way too much garlic in it for me — and the queso dip. I did not go inside so I can’t comment on what the inside is like.
This is a great place to sit outside and enjoy a cocktail and the weather.

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.