Monkey Barrel

Had a blast here! Great beer selection, friendly staff and awesome food! We will be back!

I stopped in here because it was close to where I was and had good reviews. The bartender was really nice and sociable. The regulars seem to be also. They have a good selection of craft beer. I had a philly with tots and enjoyed it. I wanted to stay longer but had to get on the road. I will definitely try to stop here again when in the area.

This place has changed hands so many times, it’s just not the same. The menu has changed and removed one of my favorite dishes, their noodles with meat sauce. They’ve also changed their pizza sauce, it’s way more garlicky than it used to be and you have to request honey instead of it being on the table. Over all, the pizza isn’t bad, but there is better down the block, especially if you want friendlier service. We came in on a Saturday night at 7. It was dead, no one expect maybe three people at the bar. The female server wasn’t friendly, she was short, curt, and somewhat impatient with us. She also wore a scrub top which to me seemed lazy and weird for a bar. The male who I can only assume was either a manager or owner was way friendly and provided way better service. All in all we left as soon as we got done eating because the atmosphere sucked. Six years ago, this was a great spot for dinner and drinks. Now it just seems sad and I miss the old Mo bar. Also, don’t ask for sweet tea, they don’t have it…

A great watering hole for craft beer lovers
I’ve been here a few times, and never had a bad experience. Their rotating selection of draft craft beers is the best I have found in any Gainesville restaurant, and the Pizzas are excellent. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and always happy to pour you a taste before you order.
I do wish they would start opening for lunch once again… but it’s probably safer for me if they didn’t.

Pizza is fantastic, chix fingers and fries are too! Lots of beers on tap and kids are welcome. If you are close — you need to check it out… no wait and all food is very good! A must try!

Had a great time here on a saturday night! Had some yummy tots, and a killer pizza. Beer selection was great, booze selection is PRIMO!!! All the staff was friendly and FUN! I’ll be back!

The best pizza I’ve ever had. The best draft I’ve ever had. Wow. Just amazing. You’re an idiot if you don’t try.

Was there on a Friday night. Maybe 4 other tables had people, so it was NOT crowded at all. It took almost 45 mins to get our food. When it came out, the crust was burnt The waitress never came to check on us. We had to physically go up to the bar to get a refill on our drinks. The staff seemed very put out that were even there. It was my first and definitely my LAST trip there.

My friends and I stopped here on our way to Helen, GA. This is a casual dining place with food options from salads, pizzas, wings, etc. We had these little garlic bread bites that were pretty delicious. I ordered the chicken tenders with tater tots (recommended by the waitress) and my friends ordered the greek salad and veggie calzone. The portions are pretty big for the calzones. Overall food and service were just A-​OK.

Their food is too salty. Like, it literally tastes like I’m licking a block of salt. If I didn’t have to give them a star I wouldn’t.

Absolute favorite place on the square and possibly in Gainesville. Albert always makes it a fun experience as do the other bartenders who are all very friendly. So many beers on tap-​Albert has a passion. Oh and their food is AMAZING! Great pizza, great salads, and the Philly cheesesteak is the best I’ve ever had. Also-​Garlic Knots!!! They are beyond incredible. I love this place!

1^st time here nice and friendly area. Parking is not bad. Very cold beer and just a nice around quiet place to relax and sit back. Heard the pizza is great didn’t get a chance to try it and looking forward to trying next time I am in town. Definitely a must try if you are in town don’t miss this jewel.

A friend and I stopped into Monkey Barrel last Thursday after leaving a workout class on the square to grab a beer and catch up. For being almost 7:00 on a Thursday before a holiday weekend, I was surprised at how empty it was. Although I hate to see a local favorite this empty, it was nice for us as we were able to easily grab a spot at the bar and had excellent service. It’s been a while since I’ve been in to MB as I no longer live in the area. However, we were both pleasantly surprised at the number of unique drafts that they were serving. The bartender was friendly and very knowledgeable about all of the different beer on draft. He offered us many samples as we tried to decide from all of the options.
We ended up giving in to my love for appetizers and ordered the fried mozzarella. They came with five large size triangles of cheesy fried goodness. They were well seasoned and served hot. Definitely above average for a pizza place’s fried mozzarella. We didn’t order any additional food but saw a few salads served that looks pretty legit. I’ll definitely be ordering one next time I’m in town.

Very cool place to grab drinks and possible some snacks. I do not go there regularly because it is loud and more for the night crowd. When they have trivia it ROCKS!

I heard that the pizza here was good. Sadly we didn’t get to try it since we were on a time crunch. We ended up getting appetizers: mozzarella sticks and sweet potato tots with cucumber wasabi. Yes, the wasabi was most interesting. Both items came out super hot. The mozzarella sticks came with 5 pieces while the tots had way more. Both were fairly expensive appetizers as the bill totaled to about $ 10.
The service was friendly. There is free parking at the deck if you can’t find any around the square.

So let me begin by saying that this place is under new management. … and the difference between now and then, is massive.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a dive bar. But it is now a very cool dive bar. The staff is friendly, they remember your name and what you like to drink, and they pass out free beer samples … as many as you like … so you can get the perfect beer. They keep 24 beers on tap, many more in bottles, and rotate beers every month or so. Add in live music several times a week, and you have a winner.
I’m now frequently found there on any given Friday. … and can’t think why I would want to be anywhere else. They also do decent pizza and fried apps.

Fantastic for fans of salt.
Every food item we got was just caked in salt. It felt like we had a damn ocean on the table. Maybe it’s to encourage you to buy more beer? I don’t know. I just know that I’m not a fan. I’ve enclosed some pictures to show you all the depths of saline hell to which we were subjected.
At least they have good beer variety. Two stars.

Super cool space for drinks after work. I grabbed beers and apps with a friend after work and we are going to start doing it weekly. Great beer selection, awesome vibe, friendly staff.
We got sweet potato tots and hummus and drank a few beers. Owner (Albert) was great and let us try any of the drafts we wanted. Fun, unpretentious place to hang out!

So unexpected. We ordered the garlic knots and tater tots (with cucumber wasabi) as appetizers. The portions were huge. And both were fabulous. Three of us ordered pizzas and one ordered pasta Diablo. The pasta portion could feed a family and was amazing. The balsamic onions (added to a pizza) were unbelievable. And the beer selection was outstanding (and you can sample them). So, don’t walk by the local-​dive-​bar-​like exterior and try it for dinner.

We got the garlic bread knots, homemade chips, and meat pizza.
The apps were very good. There wasn’t much garlic to the knots, but they were nice, sweat, and warm. Loved that. The chips were good, but pretty salty. The pizza had some great flavor, but the crust was the kicker. I think they should just make that into bread sticks and I would be 100% satisfied with that. There were some parts that were a little overdone, but it didn’t put a huge damper on things. Our server was also personable and had good suggestions for their above average beer selection. I would definitely suggest this place.