The Monkey’s Paw

Stumbled upon this place from Chicago Restaurant Week. I got there early and was sat pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the table was really wobbly and really close to another table. I tried to discretly ask to move to another table, instead, the server said she’d adjust the table. When my dining companion arrived, he also noted the same issues, so we asked to change tables again. We ended up at the bar. I felt bad that the server lost the table, but she was swamped and probably relieved to give up a table.
Everything we had was great, the winter salad, wild boar meatballs for starters, the short rib and chicken thighs for entrée and cookies for dessert. The bartender was great — even recommending a few cocktails for us to try.
This place was a little out of the way for me, but if I’m ever in the neighborhood again, I’ll be back!

Recently moved into the area and such a treat to have found Monkey’s Paw. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent food, and great drinks selection. Also found it to be well priced and absolutely love the burger. Return often and always enjoy. Highly recommended.

Good food & I like the Wed ½ price bottles of wine. Service is attentive. Desserts are homemade and very good.

I love this place — the food is wonderful, the bartenders are knowledgeable, the staff is very friendly. I love the design and décor for winter and their outdoor seating is very nice in the summer. A native southsider I don’t typically venture to far north — but this place is definitely worth the trip!

Went here for my birthday and had a horrible Sunday brunch. Over cooked burger — medium rare came out well done, the bartender never checked to see how the food was which leads me to the horrible service we received. Bad food, bad service and overpriced. Won’t be returning.

We were seated in a little nook by the fireplace. Started with a nice Manhattan, but the cocktail menu is huge. I’m going to need a lot more visits to work through what looks good. I had the chicken thighs with Moroccan spices, figs, and much more. She had the (huge) burger with its tasty house-​made ketchup and green tomato relish, house made pickles, and seriously good bacon. I wish we’d had room for desert. We’re going back to try to work our way through the menu.

This is our neighborhood favorite. The food never disappoints, the staff is totally friendly and it is a great place to sit outside on a warm evening. It’s also very kid friendly and has a number of great food options.

Found this place on Unilocal while looking for a good Sunday brunch spot. The atmosphere was great and the food was delicious! I am coming back and would definitely recommend this place to others.

It was okay. a bit overpriced for just fish and chips. Service took forever to come around.

1 star for the good service. 1 star for the atmosphere. 0.5 stars for the food.
Came here with a few friends for a bite around 9:45 pm on a Wed as this was the only place that was open late till 2 am in the Lincoln Park area. We had:
1. Octopus «Sausage»: Not really a sausage that’s filled with ground up octopus meat, but basically one piece of a somewhat thick octopus tentacle sitting in a gravy sauce. Although the octopus tasted good, I wouldn’t have called it a sausage as sausages are known to be some kind of ground up meat encased in a casing. My friends were excited upon the idea of an octopus «sausage»; however, when the waiter brought it out, it was just a piece of an octopus tentacle. The dish was considered an appetizer (about $ 11).
2. Wild Boar Meatballs: Also was an appetizer and consisted of 6 normal sized meatballs served with a small bed of broccoli rabe. Although a little salty, it was probably the best tasting dish in my opinion.
3. Pork Belly: Square piece of pork belly the size of a standard one serving of lasagna would be the best description I can think of. Considered an entrée. Between my friends and I, we agreed that the pork belly was the least special dish. We had expected it to be tender, fall off the bone texture but to our surprise, it was not. It was hard to cut with the knife and tasted like basic pulled pork on some gravy.
4. Scallops: Basic scallops served on a tiny bed of some small greens thrown together for décor (could not make out the veggies as I wasn’t so focused on it). The dish was considered an «entrée» but only consisted of 3 pieces of scallops which was a complete ripoff for the price we had paid. If my memory serves me correct, this dish was either $ 23 or $ 30. Definitely not worth over $ 20 just to be served 3 pieces of scallops that was supposedly an «entrée» size. Scallops were decent but it tasted like any sauteed scallop you can find in other restaurants or probably make yourself throwing in some butter and salt in the pan. Nothing special about the seasoning on this dish. Not worth getting it for the considerably small portion size to price value either.
All in all, I would not come here again for the food. Maybe for drinks, but not the food. This place tried too hard to be one of those small plate, expensive, high-​end restaurant when it really wasn’t.

I visited this place for a friends 30^th birthday party. The place was chill. I really liked it. They accommodated 20 of us nicely. They’re known for their whiskey which I didn’t try unfortunately but the draft beer they had on tap made up for it.
Their food was very good, we didn’t get a whole bunch but the appetizers we got were gone within 10 minutes. Probably because we were all getting drunk off of whiskey or beer. Ha!
Nice, laid back atmosphere and a good beer list. Oh and don’t forget their whiskey too.

Great service. Great drinks. Great ambiance.
The food was ok. It was getting there… We ordered 4 dishes and 3 of the 4 tasted smokey.
My biggest complaint is their braised pork belly which did not taste smokey. It was hard to cut… Making it hard to believe that the hunk of meat has been braised. It tasted like pulled pork basically.
The best thing I ate was the scallops though. Yum.

Met here for a long overdue catch up with a girlfriend.
Ambience is amazing! Lots of windows and candlelit tables and wooden floors. Both of us agreed this would make an amazing date spot.
Food was great! Very enjoyable!
The prices are a bit much. $ 14 for a burger, $ 16 for polenta and $ 12 for a cocktail – and those were the cheapest options. Even the apps were all over $ 10. For a casual bar/​restaurant the prices were kind of a bummer, but otherwise great experience!

Wow. So yum. We found this place on Unilocal just searching around the neighborhood and I’m glad we made it our Sunday morning brunch stop. We were the first to arrive here but drink service began promptly at their opening so that was a win for everyone.
Try the Bloody Mary. Get it spicy. I like to fancy myself a Bloody Mary connoisseur and the MP Bloody rates pretty high on my list. It offered a kick without lingering and feeling like all-​out burning and the accouterments were a nice touch. My hubs got a morning Manhattan and loved it. It was crisp, cool and offered a maple twist on the original, so perfect for breakfast.
All of our food was delish and served hot and fresh. I ordered the Biscuits and Gravy and really enjoyed the flavor of the gravy. My only complaint was that there was a bit too much pimento cheese in the whole thing — I would have liked a bit of that flavor without feeling like it was everywhere all over my biscuits. Also, order a biscuit or two on the side — you’ll have enough leftover gravy to sop up. My dining companions enjoyed everything and had no complaints.
Definitely worth a stop on the Brunch Tour of Chicago. The next time someone tries to make a brunch date, I’m going to suggest MP as the place we hit up. So yum.

Live in the area and this is a great neighborhood place!
They typically change their menu out on a seasonal basis, but I’ve had brunch and dinner here and everything has been delicious!
The atmosphere is great, especially in the winter. They have a cozy fireplace section that is awesome to sit next to, have a drink and eat some comfort food (may I suggest their Mac n cheese or mussels?).
A local fave!

Very, very good food. Surprisingly empty on a Sunday night. My boyfriend and I were literally the only ones there. This was fine, as we got great service. We started with $ 4 cans of Spiteful Brewing pale ale, an order of the chicken liver spread, and an order of the Brussels sprouts with kimchi. These were possibly my favorite sprouts ever. Super spicy but you could still taste the good stuff! The chicken liver pâté came with tasty pickles and grapes and was a good sized portion. Then I ordered the summer salad, which I admit was really good, but just so tiny! It was like the size of a side salad. Get something else if you want your money’s worth. My boyfriend ordered the burger and added the fried egg. It was huge, cooked perfectly, and very juicy. The fries that came with it were really good, and we both loved their house made ketchup… It was sweet (almost tasted like apples) and I could’ve eaten it with a spoon like a soup! I ordered another beer and he got the margarita which was also yummy and had a smoky taste to it. We headed to Taste of Lincoln shortly after with full, happy bellies!

I made a dinner reservation about 2 weeks in advance for my boyfriend’s 24^th birthday. We went on a Wednesday night which was great because of the half price bottles of wine. We had the Chardonnay which was great.
The tables were really close together so it wasn’t great for date night. I felt like I was on a date with the two women at the table next to us. But the service was friendly and the atmosphere was cute. We were definitely overdressed as it is a pretty casual dining experience.
We started with the frites which were good, but they wouldn’t be nearly as good without the red tomato sauce. My boyfriend regretted the frites though because he got a giant helping of them with the fish and chips as well. I had the amish chicken which was just alright. The menu online had a red quinoa dish that I wanted to try but they had taken that off the menu.
My biggest complaint is that I requested a birthday dessert in advance on Unilocal and even called to have that arranged a week in advance. I got the check and they were completely unaware that it was his birthday. I had to whisper to the waitress who was very caught off guard and of course my boyfriend heard me ask for the dessert. They brought the dessert but it had nuts so I couldn’t try it (nut allergy). Seems weird to bring a free birthday dessert with nuts since that is a common allergy.
I would definitely come here again but not for a birthday or date night.

Came here with some friends on a whim to get a bite to eat. We ended up really liking this place. The atmosphere is really nice, especially coming in from a night in Chiberia. It’s cozy with a fireplace and outdoor seating, which I’m sure is great for summer.
We came here on a Wednesday night which just so happened to be half off of wine! We got a few bottles of white wines and shared them. Our server picked out some great wines that were what we were looking for! We also got wine and beer flights. I enjoy ordering flights because you get to sample a bunch of different beers/​wines and usually find your favorite in them. I ordered the macaroni and cheese and a flatbread, however I wasn’t too impressed. I think for the location of this place they could do a much better job with their menu. Maybe it was just an off-​night, however I was pretty disappointed in the food.
If I’m back around here, I’m sure I will check it out again for drinks/​cocktails with friends!

Monkey’s Paw is truly a neighborhood gem. I have lived nearby for awhile and finally stopped in.
First, Wednesday is half price wine night. We shared a delectable tempranillo that was full-​bodied, smooth and comforting.
I ordered the chickpea polenta with a robust tomato reduction, topped with an herb/​frisee salad and vinaigrette. Every creamy bite of polenta was complimented by a tangy bite of salad and tomato reduction. I quickly ate the entire dish without feeling overstuffed. Delicious.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is warm, cozy and adorable. There’s a fireplace in the back for winter, and outdoor seating with cute lanterns for the summer. Definitely planning to return to Monkey’s Pay again!

About 10 years ago I worked with a guy who was Greek-​Canadian. He had grown up in Toronto. He kept talking about this food called Poutine that they made in Quebec and that you ate after you had been to a bar or two or four. The recipe called for a base of frites that were covered in gravy and cheese curds. «That sounds fantastic!» I said as I tried to pull my finger out of my throat before I choked to death like a three-​year-​old who had found the small pieces in a «four years and older» toy. Like I’m going to trust some Canadian guy (from the British food side of the country) who says, «Opa!» whenever a piece of cheese goes up in flames and who recommends a French-​Canadian dish that would be called «merde!» in Paris. Riiight…
Needless to say, this chap had immediately earned the nickname «Poutine,» until one day he made the mistake of ordering a half pint of Guinness, after which he answered to «half pint.» But hence, I digress.
Fast forward to tonight. I’m sitting by the fire with this gorgeous, hot redhead: the opposite of a red hothead. This girl’s whole body was itching for adventure. She wanted to roll the dice for broke so bad that when I growled, «Let’s get that Poutine and eat it like animals in heat, like it’s our last meal on earth!» she arched her back, showed her manicured claws, and roared softly, yet authoritatively, like the MGM lion.
I don’t know whether it was the fancy short ribs and gravy they used, whether it was the satiated brick house sitting next to me, or whether my Greco-​Canadian, Poutine-​loving, half-​pint colleague was right. But that Poutine was goo-​ood. Even better was that we ate it picnic-​style in front of the fire, and that I had a «Monkey Helper» cocktail to wash it down.
The authoritative roar transformed to a soft, soothing purr, and life was good indeed.