How to book Monkey Bar

Monkey Bar is a restaurant and bar at 60 East 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, and it dates its start to 1936^1,2. The room was long known as a celebrity haunt, and it was once owned by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter⁵. A 2012 review from that era described a 2009 refresh that brought in a mural by Ed Sorel⁶.

Today it is run by restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff and his group Hogsalt Hospitality^1,5, the team behind 4 Charles and Au Cheval³. The main dining room is a large sunken space with red leather booths set under a wide mural of Jazz Age celebrities, and a zebra print staircase leads down to it³. A tavern at the front takes walk-ins only³.

The menu is a long a la carte list drawing on steakhouse, bistro and American classics³. Dishes named by critics include crispy potato pancakes, king crab rangoon, vodka rigatoni, a prime rib French dip and a double cheeseburger³, alongside a raw bar, handmade pastas, prime steaks, about two dozen wines by the glass and several martinis⁵.

The restaurant serves breakfast daily, lunch on weekdays, brunch at weekends and dinner every night¹. Tables are released on a rolling basis 21 days ahead at 9 AM, and the full menu is served at the bar for walk-ins^1,4. Time Out counted it among the hardest reservations in New York in 2026⁴.