Monica’s on Astor

The place is awesome. Best bar in Milwaukee no one knows about. Free peanuts, great drinks & awesome atmosphere. Leather couches with fire place. Pool tables and a lot of TVs. No food but great specials & free peanuts.

On a cold night, this place provides a much needed respite from the chilly temps. Cozy seats, plenty of board games and cheaper than average mixed drinks. This place sometimes draws an interesting crowd, so if nothing else, come here to people watch. Great place for a quieter night out with a small group of friends looking for a place without all the bells and whistles.

Oh Monica’s … where do I even begin?
This little basement bar is just off the beaten path, and pretty much right in between, your typical Brady street /​Cathedral Square bars. I’d say it’s one of those little Milwaukee hidden gems.
The inside has a nice assortment of bar seating & comfy lounge type seating, along with a jukebox that’s always bumpin’ and a pool table in the back room.
Bottom line: the drinks are cheap & the crowd is always entertaining.

This is a kind of bar that you are willing to hang out with friends. The bartenders are so friendly! Cant say no for Monica’s. Beer is cheaper than other places.

Monica’s is the business. Earlier reviews call it a dive, but I hesitate to call it a dive bar because that doesn’t quite fit. Monica’s is a friendly neighborhood basement bar. Drinks are super cheap and wonderful, they have peanuts, a pool table, darts, tvs, board games, a fireplace, comfy chairs — what’s not to love?! They also have a front patio area to enjoy when the weather is nice.
As for folks and vibe of the place, it’s an interesting mix. I don’t think I have ever been there when the place was rowdy and obnoxious, which is just my style. This bar is just as good for a casual Tuesday night beverage as it is a fun Saturday night. Seriously, check it out, you wont be disappointed.

Wow, I am all about Monica’s.
The «keep it simple» model is exemplified here. No need to make this place super fancy or trendy. There are TVs with sports. There is a huge bar. There are plenty of seating options with big olé comfy lookin’ chairs. The outdoor seating in front is nice.
It’s cheap. The beer selection is okay. There’s nothing that stands out about the drinks. Just that it’s affordable.
I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the vibe here. It’s downtown/​in the lower east side, but it’s not obnoxious like a lot of the other bars in the area are. It’s tucked away. It’s great. Seriously.

Discovered this the other day with my girlfriends and had a blast! I think it’s my new favorite bar.
We came on a Thursday night, so it wasn’t overly busy, but we got a nice, comfy booth and had some bottles of wine (it’s not really a wine bar though). They had great music playing (though I think it’s by a jukebox so it may have been the clientele selecting it). They have a bunch of board games so we played those for a couple hours.
I kind of feel like you can go here to escape and I will definitely be back!

My friends and I had so much fun at this bar! We played board games and went through a few bottles of wine. It was a Thursday and wasn’t super busy. Music was good and vibe was chill but fun with the game element. Will definitely come back!

The bar itself is quite cozy. There are comfy chairs and a fireplace to sit near. They don’t serve food here, but allow you to order delivery from local places, which we did. We stopped in two different times — day before St. Paddy’s and on St. Paddy’s day. It was very convenient as we were staying next door. The first visit was great. We had a wonderful bartender who was talkative and social. We enjoyed it so much that we had our group of 9 come back with us the next day. Well, our wonderful bartender wasn’t there. The bartender who was working acted like we were imposing any time we ordered a drink. She never smiled. She was downright rude and if we left, there maybe would have been 5 other people in the entire place, so it wasn’t like it was busy. It really soured our experience at Monica’s.

A friend of mine lives at the Astor Hotel so over the years we have made our way to Monica’s for a good time. It is comfortable, cozy, and has a welcoming environment.
I’ve never been much of the type of person to sit at the bar (it makes me nervous) which is why I love the back/​side room. It’s a great place to simply hang out and feel like it is okay to take your time and chat with friends.
If you’re looking for a party bar, I probably wouldn’t recommend this place, it really hold a chill and slightly sophisticated vibe to it.

There’s just something about Monica’s on Astor!
Sometimes you just want to escape the world and head out to hide out for a while. At that moment, Monica’s will take good care of you.
It’s not much to see from the front. It’s tucked away in the basement of a historic brick mansion near the lakefront. Buildings like this are a dime a dozen in East Town. If you didn’t see the string of twinkle lights over the entryway, you might miss it.
Once inside it’s like being inside a bunker. A great, cozy, exposed brick wall bunker. It’s clean and welcoming. Always dark. The square bar always has a group of patrons doing the shake of the day. The bartender is always friendly and efficient. Depending on the season, you can take your drinks on the patio outside or in front of the fireplace that’s tucked away in a cozy corner of the place.
Don’t expect to find Grey Goose here. At least I can’t picture it. Drinks are of the cheap variety here. On a recent visit the specials were PBR tall boys and shots of whiskey for $ 2 each.
You can play a lot of games here. There’s a pool table and a dart board. A great juke box. An array of board games to play. If standard bar games are what you are looking for, Monica’s won’t disappoint. It’s a great date place to flirt outrageously, fool around a little bit and have loads of fun!

Monica’s is my go-​to bar and so long as I live in Milwaukee it will be. Don’t be fooled by the outside appearance (conveniently located in the basement of a hair salon/​dance studio… i think), this bar makes a great hang out for people for all ages. There’s a modern and well priced juke box, board games, pool, darts, and a warm fireplace in the winter time. Don’t expect to order any food here though.
Everything is cheaply priced. The beer selection is limited but quality, and for $ 2-​$ 3 bucks a mug there is never a good reason to complain. Guinness is always on tap along with 2 – 3 other rotating options and the bartenders can throw together just about anything you may want (Josh makes an incredible bloody — too bad Monica’s doesn’t open until 4pm).
A few months ago Monica’s renovated, ripping up the old carpet and replacing their high tops with comfortable lounge chairs and coffee tables. It’s been a nice change up, though it was just as comfortable before.
Overall, I’ve come here too many times to give this bar anything other than 5 Stars. It’s the perfect no frills neighborhood bar.

Monica’s is a cozy, cool bar with character.
Some evenings you’ll hear the dancers upstairs which adds to the cool vibe.
I love this place.

I’ve been here couple of times, and every time I go there, I end up asking myself why I haven’t been here more often. Their neon sign outside directs you to the basement which has an eclectic interior with all sorts of boardgames. And even though it was decently crowded, it did not seem obnoxiously loud at all.

I lived a few blocks away from here for years. How did I wind up multiple times at that weird Aura hotel bar and not here? Ah, youth.
So I only stopped in once with some fellow Unilocalers on a lazy Sunday afternoon but what I saw i liked. As many mentioned it reminded me of a friends basement if said friend had a bar in it. But clean, nicely decorated with stone walls, wood floors and vintage pics. Tv’s, board games and a juke box round out the place. As others have mentioned, it would make a nice date stop.
Ok, now I’m having Aura flashbacks…

I really enjoyed Monica’s. My boyfriend and I had a few drinks here while we were visiting Milwaukee last weekend. It’s a fun place to hang out. We sat in some comfy chairs in the corner and people watched mostly. It was a little chilly because people kept coming in and out, but that is my only complaint. I liked the options to play even though we didn’t partake in any activities. They had boardgames, darts, and pool. The bathroom was clean and had lotion and a few other girl products. I fully enjoyed it!

Monica’s feels like a friend’s basement. It is super cozy, has a fireplace, has board games, has pool, and of course, has beer. If it sunny out, it feels more like a dungeon, but in the winter it is perfect.
Why not five stars? For some reason I’m never too pleased with the tap beer selection. Maybe I have just gotten unlucky, but there isn’t a large selection to start with.
The bartenders are A+.

Descriptive phrase: basement dive bar with a lot of heart.
Monica’s On Astor may be my favorite bar in all of Milwaukee. I’ve never left without a smile.
Located in the basement of a building next door to County Clare and across from the Astor Hotel, just look for the neon sign. You go down the stairs and into a dark, but not grungy, 3-​space room.
First, we’ve got the bar area. This oblong bar features the regulars sitting and chatting with the bartenders and watching one of the games on TV. There’s only 1 or 2 beers on tap a night, and the special is on the chalkboard near the door. I don’t know where they get these beers, but it’s always something different and always extremely cheap (usually ~$ 2 for a pint).
Next to the bar is an alcove with high, thick wood tables. Here you’ll find people playing any number of board games (found in the corner). If there’s any ding on the place, it can get a bit loud for conversation here.
In back you’ll find the game room. We’ve got darts, Big Buck Hunter, and pool ($ 1). I live in this space, as it’s got a bit more room to move and it’s not too loud.
Besides serving up good, cheap beer, Monica’s features great crowds. I’ve yet to be in a bar in Milwaukee that draws a more diverse clientele, in gender, age, and race, and walk of life. And everyone is just there for a chill, good time. There’s no dance floor or crazy street life nearby to get rowdy over. This is a watering hole for those who want to enjoy a night with friends and strangers alike.

I have walked past Monica’s no less than ten times during my 3+ years living in Milwaukee. I am ashamed to say it took me this long to set foot inside.
You enter after several steps down and turn to the left, where you’re immediately greeted by a nearly 360-​degree bar (though shaped more like a parallelogram than a circle) and a chalkboard with the drink specials of the day. A quick walk around Monica’s reveals low lighting, comfortable spots, a fireplace, pool table, and of course, plenty of board games.
Belly up to the bar and enjoy a $ 2 beer while you talk shop with friends (or the friendly bartender). Watch a game on the glorious flat screen — which somehow does not subtract from the ambiance of Monica’s. Play bar dice or a board game — heck, bring a deck of cards and sit by the fireplace. I may just do that tonight!
I intend to return very soon, and with the fireplace here, this could be a regular winter evening hangout for me. Monica’s is a hidden gem and I remain ashamed it took this long for me to check it out.

Since I’ve only been here once, I can’t give Monica’s five stars… yet.
I’ve done it before, bestowed five after a first visit. That said, it’s pretty unheard of.
So four for now, with the caveat that I can’t imagine not bumping Monica’s up to five in the very, very near future.
Why the dig after just one visit?
The ambiance, the service, and the vibe. This basement bar is anything but basement-​y in a bad way. A fireplace, ample seating, a friendly bartender, board games/​pool table/​darts, warm woods, low lights, exposed brick, and neutral colors. It’s warm and cozy and inviting. It’s like sneaking away. The bar itself is somewhat communal in nature due to its round-​ish setup, and the whole thing just feels so home-​y and comfortable in the kind of way that makes you want to stay and stay and stay. Our bartender, Chase, was friendly and fun and attentive… as others noted, there was dice, and then? There was Rumchata. #boozycinnamontoastcrunchmilk
You won’t even notice that there aren’t any windows, I promise. Also: bonus points for the fat white Christmas lights adorning the entrance/​smoking patio. Christmas lights always mean bonus points in my book.