What to Order at The Monkey Bar

The Monkey Bar is the nearly hundred-year-old Midtown clubhouse relaunched as a retro American grill, and its menu rewards diners who order the pastas, the prime rib, and the fries instead of treating it like a conventional steakhouse.

What should you order at The Monkey Bar?

Order the vodka rigatoni, share the prime rib in some form, and get the fries. The Infatuation rates the room an 8.5, and Ryan Sutton's February 2025 review in The Lo Times calls the party officially back on. Both reviews converge on the same short list.

1. Vodka rigatoni. Chunky vodka sauce and ribbons of melted Parmesan. The Infatuation admits it is "significantly better than it has any right to be."

2. Gorgonzola-aged prime rib. Sutton's headline dish: the kitchen ages its prime rib with gorgonzola, and his review treats it as the reason to come to 54th Street.

3. Prime rib French dip. The Infatuation suggests it may beat the version at the group's sister restaurant, which built its reputation on it.

4. King crab rangoon. Blistered, chewy, deep-fried dumplings with a creamy filling, the standout starter in The Infatuation's review.

5. Spicy shrimp trofie. Garlicky pasta with Calabrian chilies that the review ranks a "close second to the vodka rigatoni."

6. Fries with garlic aioli. The Infatuation's verdict runs "10/10. No notes." Order them regardless of the main.

7. Sticky toffee pudding. Sutton's dessert pick to close the night.

What should you skip at The Monkey Bar?

Skip the ribeye steak frites, and this one is unusually well-attested: The Infatuation calls the cut "flimsy and poorly charred" and Sutton's review also steers red-meat orders to the New York strip or filet instead. The roasted chicken earns The Infatuation's driest line, that "you aren't going to congratulate yourself on ordering it," and the crispy potato pancakes lose to the fries at their own game.

How does ordering actually work at The Monkey Bar?

The room runs like a jazz-age grill: red booths, murals, stiff drinks, and a menu that mixes steakhouse cuts with pastas and a double cheeseburger. Groups do best splitting a starter or two, keeping one prime rib order on the table, and adding pastas rather than more steaks. The walk-in tavern up front pours full cocktails without a reservation, which makes it the fallback plan and the pre-dinner move at once.

How do you get a reservation at The Monkey Bar?

The Monkey Bar books through Resy, and the revival crowd since the relaunch keeps prime weekend slots scarce. Booking when a date first opens beats hunting later, and a watch on your date catches the cancellations that a buzzy Midtown room reliably produces. The tavern's walk-in bar absorbs dateless optimists.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Monkey Bar a bar or a restaurant?

Both. The front tavern is a true walk-in bar, and the back room is a full grill-style restaurant with its own reservation book.

Is The Monkey Bar expensive?

It prices like a Midtown grill: steaks and prime rib at steakhouse numbers, pastas and the burger meaningfully cheaper, as of mid-2026. The pasta-forward order is the value play.

Can you walk into The Monkey Bar?

The front tavern, yes: it runs walk-in only, pours the full cocktail list, and works as the consolation prize when the dining room is booked. The back dining room itself books through Resy.

Getting the table is the harder half of the plan. DinnerElite tracks when The Monkey Bar releases reservations and how far ahead it books, and it emails you the moment a cancellation opens up. Start from DinnerElite's Monkey Bar page.