Monkey Bar – LOST GEM 2020
Stepping through the doors of the Monkey Bar, I felt as if I had been transported back to an earlier time. Dimly lit, the front bar was sleek and glamorous. In the back room, a large mural snaked around the wall, depicting New York City legends from Fats Waller to Frank Sinatra, many of whom frequented the restaurant. Indeed, it is not difficult to imagine celebrities lounging during New York’s golden age, cigarette smoke spiraling through the air to the soft sounds of a jazz piano.
In speaking with manager Christopher Dorsey, I learned a bit about the Monkey Bar’s history. The restaurant opened in 1936; the front bar is a post-Prohibition era original. Several different restaurants have inhabited the space since then, and the most recent iteration opened in 2009 under the direction of Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter, thus the restaurant’s Old-Hollywood glamor. Carol, the hostess, shared with me that Monkey Bar is a popular stomping ground for well-known personalities, and that episodes of Oprah, Mad Men, and Sex and the City have been filmed here.
The story behind the Monkey Bar’s name is disputed. Though some suggest that the phrase “monkey business” accurately described the early days of the restaurant, when celebrities used the location to engage in scandalous dalliances with one another, the decor is at least partially responsible: the barroom features three monkey-shaped lamps, and the wallpaper depicts monkeys gamboling about. One original panel dates back to the Monkey Bar’s days as a Chinese restaurant; the rest has been expertly restored.
Though many places with a similar backstory survive on reputation alone, the Monkey Bar is not one to let their food go by the wayside. The restaurant serves mostly upscale American fare: the Lobster Bisque, Saffron Risotto, and Rohan Duck are noted favorites. There is no shortage of drinks, either: the wine list is 20 pages long, and the Monkey Bar is renowned for its cocktails. The bartender said that the most popular is “The Monkey Gland,” with gin, pomegranate, molasses, and absinthe; our team sat at the bar and sampled the Beijing Peach and the Southside Fizz.
