The Blue Monkey

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!!!

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

Decent southern food. Solid po’boys. The buffalo chicken eggrolls were good. The service was very pleasant and quick to refill drinks.

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.

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.

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.

Great drinks at a good price. Friendly staff and above average bar food. Great place!

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.

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.

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! :)

My husband and l are here now. We planned to go to Rizzo, but the wait was too long. We ordered the Hotwings egg rolls they were excellent, along with the fried catfish and succulent shrimps. Enjoyed the atmosphere. Our waitress was Arielle she was excellent. Fast and polite service. Will be back.

Used to love this place after moving to Memphis a year ago and I live 5 mins away. Food is pretty on point but staff/​service is mixed… at best. Prior visit my waitress was more concerned about smoking than closing my check out. Tonight, felt like prime rib after a flight in from D.C., bartender snapped at me after trying to get her attention 2 – 3 times and was being fully patient only to be bypassed for drink orders. Took my $ 50 spend to S.O.B…always been treated good there.

We live right down the street from the Monkey so we are here quite often! The food is great and the bartenders know us and give us drink specials since we visit so often. I enjoy sitting outside on the deck when weather permits. My only complaint is eating up at the bar is difficult due to the lack of legroom, but overall we enjoy hanging at the monkey downtown.

One of memphis’s best kept secrets is the plate lunch here. Specials vary by the day. Pot roast is a winner. Whatever you do, get the creamed spinach. More like cheesy spinach, but a must have dish. You’ll see. Trust me.

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.

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)

Good bar atmosphere. Inexpensive beer and good appetizers. I recommend the sausage platter to have along with the beer of your choice. The staff were very attentive and we never ran out of beer.
The bad: It can be challenging to find a spot to park in their private parking lot.

Cool place for drinks, apps, or dinner. Like everything on the menu except the Philly. The Philly is more like a sandwich than a true, legit Philly steak. Hot wing rolls are awesome. Only reason I don’t give it 5 is the prices are a bit high but the place is fun.

I love the wine bottle label découpage tabletops! I had my first Blue Monkey experience a few weeks ago during Beale Street Music Festival weekend. We were driving around during lunch time looking for a place to eat. Because many roads were detoured for BSMF, we almost were led there by each road block we encountered. That was OK because we found easy parking across the street from the Blue Monkey.
It was busy when we went there, but our waitress was very attentive and she refilled my drink a lot of times. I got the Grilled Chicken Caesar salad and my boyfriend got the Portabello Mushroom Burger with fries. Overall, really good meal and drink selection.

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.