Awesome local bar atmosphere on a Friday night. Great food, great service, live band.

A historic local bar with amazing food. Sometimes they're specials and I got a creation from the chef so it doesn't have a name. The bartender staff is very attentive and accommodating so much that they provide all this water for me. They are known for their wings as well and $5 burgers. I usually get a nice beer to help wash down the burger with a vast assortment of rotating taps. read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Chicken burger - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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We spent the evening with our daughter and son-in-law at Monkey's Uncle, listening to the "Off-the Wall band" the service at our table was great, though we can't remember the server, she was outstanding ! I'm not always good with a combination of elbow to elbow crowds, chatter, alcohol and loud music. ( we found a corner booth) It actually turned out good. I had a hot coffee with Bailey's. My wife stuck with water, I was told the drinks were pretty good, and the loaded fries were excellent. The band played well, the crowd was laid back and we all got along. My daughter and I goofed around doing the "wobble" while my son-in-law, Dawn, & Nanna all enjoyed the show. The prices were ok, and we will probably visit again the next time they have another live band, (When we are in the area). read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Monkey's Uncle Tavern-Sports Bar and Restaurant! - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Had an interesting night at Monkey's Uncle Tavern-Mandarin A patron had a disliking to me and made it apparent to me directly. So I went and told the staff that I wanted no trouble and this patron wanted to fight me. I was instructed to "keep my distance" I tried to do so but me and the patron wound up in the same area at the same time Unsurprisingly an altercation ensues, I'm not trying to fight but I'm not backing down from anyone ‍ Security arrives, which you would expect, to break up and deescalate the fight Except this dullard of a man wearing a security shirt says to me verbatim, "Quit being a pussy and go fight him" I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what you're paid to do I want to leave, so I go inside to close my tab, and while doing so I point at the security guard who sucks So that's when I get attacked by that security guard It goes to the ground and I get pummeled by random people kicking and punching me (probably from "the patrons" friend group) It finally breaks up and I get to leave So I would like to express...I'm extremely disappointed in this establishment. I pointed out a problem and asked for help. Instead of helping, I was insulted and attacked by the staff I was entrusting "This is the way Mandarin is now" was the message conveyed and no wonder why I left read more

Terrible place. They told my finance that he couldn't come in because he had a tank top, but then 20 minutes later another guy came in and was allowed in with a tank top just because he had a pitbull with him. I love dogs but why only allow people with a "service" dog to break all the rules? He had the same style shirt, but didn't get denied service. I just didn't understand. It's not like monkeys uncle is a nice place or anything. read more

Two words: $5 burger. This well known beach bar has always saved a special spot in my heart due to their famous five dollar burger..... and yes, it comes with fries!! From karaoke competitions to sporting events, You will always find something to entertain you at monkeys Uncle. They also have a pool table and dartboard in addition to their weekly scheduled events. They have both bar seating and full tables for larger parties. I walked in last week & unfortunately i was met with a foul odor upon entering that made my stomach churn. It's an older bar with a lack of sanitation...you can tell by looking up at the ceilings however locals love it for a reason! Dependable bar with affordable prices! read more

Everything was great!! Think over server name was Blaze!! He did great, he checked frequently and earned a great tip from us because of his service , the wings were exceptional!! Crispy and the wing sauces were both great , no funny after tastes and the pizza was very flavorful!! Great atmosphere, a lot of activity here at night as well!! read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Naked wings with a side of Nuked sauce and Hot Sauce , Ranch and Cole slaw on side - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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A fun local bar in Mandarin that hosts musicians every month. On this recent visit I came to see one of my favorite local bands. What a great crowd and everyone enjoying a hot July summer night with great music. Staff was friendly and professional as with every visit I make either daytime or evening. For non alcohol drinkers as myself, the bar has an excellent selection of NA beers. On my return trip I'll make sure to order some of their tasty wings and delicious burgers for lunch. Look forward to hanging at Monkeys again soon! read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Mandalla Music Band Live tonight on 7/21/23 - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

One of my favorite local dives. Seriously. Amazing service. Live music all the time. Reasonably priced. Decent bar food too. They host some super fun events - this past weekend was Christmas in July! We didn't realize the event but came to see one of our favorite bands (Julia Gulia!). The servers came around and gave us some bling so we could participate in the festivities. It was a blast and we can't wait for the next round of shenanigans. read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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My friend and I went here for the first time thinking it was the same restaurant as the one at the beach. It's not, but we were not disappointed. The service was FANTASTIC!!! Every waitress was friendly and accommodating (one of them was Michelle, she was great!), the bartenders were on point and our drinks were perfect, and the manager Adam was also friendly and welcoming. Even the customers were friendly and inviting to two strangers! We had such a great time and we will be back SOON! read more

They threw my friend out because he was wearing a tank top (not a wife beater) but a legit nice tank top. Meanwhile girls are wearing nothing and are okay to stay. Definition of sexism? read more

This pub and eatery rocks! Arrived on a Thursday night about 8pm, had a table and amazing service from Autumn. Swear we didn't wait one minute from sitting down to place our drink order, drinks were at our bar table in less than 3 min! Ordered a yummy salad and quesadillas. Great live acoustic guitar player w a strong voice, country rock! Really enjoyed. There is a serious pool league that was fun to watch. Young and old playing side by side. This place is great!!! Ty Autumn for making us feel welcome! read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - a can of white claw hard cid - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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In A Nutshell: -Monkey's Uncle is a local bar in the JAX Beach area. -I like the $4 Pinot Noir they have, the wine is really good for that price. -Even better, is their popular $5 burger w/ fries. -I tried out their Mahi Sandwich, which was perfect. -Hey when in Florida, eat Mahi! Overall, I really liked the vibe & service here, it's very chill. read more

This establishment maintains a high standard of cleanliness and consistently provides excellent service and quality food. Suggestion: Please forgo the orange cones for bike parking if you continue to allow lifted trucks to back in and park in the places during busy hours. Thank you read more

I am from Boston, so I think this is a fun place where "everyone knows your name" We stop here after work..OK so the food is not fine dining but it is what you need and expect for a pub. The service is friendly, helpful and fun! If you get lucky you will be there when the celebrate a holiday even if it is Christmas in July read more

Dropped into Monkey's Uncle this past weekend for a couple of cold beers that turned into several more than I should have had. A lot complaints on here about it being a smoky bar, but while I was there everyone was going outside to smoke; however it did smell like it once was a smoking bar that needs to be aired out and refreshed. The bartenders were delightful and welcomed me as if I were a regular my first time there. The beers were cold. However they don't have a great selection of imports or crafts; about the best you'll do is Stella and I-10. I would love to see them get some better beers on tap. The crowd was friendly and welcoming as well. Everyone was open to having a conversation. I am looking forward to visiting again in the near future; maybe on a band night. read more

What a good place to stop and have a beverage and pleasant conversation! The bartender was amazingly sweet and friendly! She made great Bloody Marys. Prices for happy hour are on point. I like the music they play for a happy atmosphere. **This place is clean, but I left smelling of cigarette smoke. read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Bloody Mary cocktails - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

The best place In town Jess during the week best bartender hands down. You will not get better, friendlier and on the ball staff then Adam and Maddie Saturday and Sunday days!!! I love this bar!! read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Best battenders ever Maddie and Adam - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Disappointing! Went into watch a game that they didn't have televised. Asked if they would change a television that no one was watching. The Bartender snarkly replied we don't change the TV's. Seems like a small business would be more accommodating to clients. Oh well we drove 3 minutes away to Millers Ale house where they were extremely accommodating. read more

Cool place to hang out, have a couple of beers and chat with interesting folks and fun staff.

Uncle is open for business! Always friendly and good Pub grub. They added outside seating also. Some of the nicest people in Southside hang out here. read more

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Well. It's a 3.5 for me. Definitely a divey situation, but I find that it met my general expectations and leaned towards exceeding. I visited for the sole purpose of seeing an ensemble of the Band Be Easy play on a Saturday night! Did I have a great night and experience here? --Heck YES! (Book The Band Be Easy and they will come!) Did the service blow me away? -- Kinda'! (Maegan was a pretty good server and uber attentive!) Did I find a drink that I could stand? -- Yep! (Being a craft cocktail snob, this truly worries me in most bars but the green tea smash was a hit!) Did I leave the area by the dance floor to even view the rest of the bar? -- Nope, no need! I came, I danced, I conquered, and I'd do it again!-- 'nuff said! read more

The drinks are decently priced, and the entertainment was great. However, they do allow smoking inside so if you are sensitive to this, the atmosphere may not be great for you. read more

usually we love monkeys, uncle, but what a disappointment last night was. I happen to be in town for a family event this week. So my sister and I decided to take our niece and her boyfriend up to monkeys uncle, our favorite bar in town. We arrived about 4:45 in the afternoon and while the bar was busy, the rest of the establishment wasn't. We took a seat in the pool room. Then we headed to the bar to get cocktails. we stood at the bar, for I don't know a good 15 minutes with three bartenders, wandering back-and-forth in front of us. No one acknowledged us. The bartenders kept greeting customers that they evidently already knew, serving them cocktails and standing around having conversations with them while ignoring us. Finally one of the female bartenders tapped the male bartender, he was standing 8 inches away from us, ignoring us, and told him to wait on us. He then took our cocktail order. We took our drinks and went back to our table. Where we proceeded to sit with no service. We finally headed to the bar to order food at which time we were told to go back to our table and a waitress would wait on us. She finally showed up. She did take our food order. She never came back to check on drinks until she brought our food order. At that point we ordered a to go order for someone at the house. I think we only had two cocktails there cause we could never get any service. We have kept having to go back-and-forth to the bar to get a cocktail and being ignored by the bartender. we put in an order to go, which was forgotten by our waitress. When we reminded her about the to go order, she asked us "what, you ordered food to go?" At which point, we pointed out to her that we had seen her write the order down 30 minutes ago. After another 30 minutes went and I had to track our waitress down to ask about the to go order. It appeared about 15 or 20 minutes after that. In addition, all our food was over cooked...chicken fingers, egg rolls, french fries. we were so hungry we didn't bother to complain. We just ate what was served to us. I've never had such poor service at monkeys uncle before. it'll be a long time before I wander back into monkeys uncle, and especially before I take friends and family there to treat them to the poor service and the poor quality of food that we received. Hopefully monkeys uncle will work on their staff and the quality of service that they provide on Thursday evenings. read more

Here on vacation, heard good reviews. It looks nice inside and out. However, I got the feeling that since I wasn't a local, I was ignored. They were not staffed properly. Bartender had his back to me for five minutes. He was talking to the folks at the bar by name and taking care of them while not even taking our drink order. Walked out. read more

Great place to chill with live music on Friday & Saturday nights. It's a sports bar that's not Smokey but still has darts, billiards, and an unpretentious menu and staff. It has outside seating that's covered (although is usually smokey but that might be your thing) The live music is always local and lively and with such a chill atmosphere people often feel free to get up and dance, so it really has a little bit of everything except for stuck up people. So if you order a super snooty cocktail they'll make it for you but it'll likely be served in a regular glass. Only room for improvement is sometimes (not always) they seem a little under staff so it can be a little difficult to wave down a server at first bc it's seat yourself but once they see you the service is pretty descent. Give them a try; I bet you have fun. read more

A-Aron is awesome at monkeys knuckle He be slangin dranks like your momma slang that thang read more

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. This bar is pretty cool! You'll find it tucked away in the corner of the strip mall/shopping plaza that's next door to Whole Foods and The Aveda Institute. The bartenders are friendly and remember my face, but that's probably because I look like I'm 18. The specials here change daily and it's usually a good value. You can smoke inside if that's your jam. Honestly there's nothing particularly special about this place, at least not that I've discovered but I tend to like that characteristic. It's just what you'd expect... Dart boards, pool tables and a pretty large wrap-around bar with plenty of tables as well. Definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a dive-like scene in the Mandarin area. read more

After an event at Comedy Zone, I ended up over at Monkey's Uncle because that's where my friends wanted to go. I can sympathize with folks who have also been dragged here. Monkey's Uncle is definitely not my kind of place, but definitely a spot for folks with more of an inclination for a country type bar. There are a few pool tables, darts, TVs, and there was a live cover band playing that night. Let's start with the good. I was impressed by the service. We waited at the bar for no less than a minute and 30 before Tara Reid's clone took our drink order. After finding a seat, we were checked on every 5-10 minutes by wandering bartenders. And that's where my praise of Monkey's Uncle ends. My first strike for Monkey's Uncle was a complete lack of local beer. I'm not sure how having just one beer on tap makes them a supporter of local breweries. They had Duke's by Bold City Brewery, but that was all. I don't expect our bars in town to not have inBev products, but I do expect them to have more than one local, Florida or Georgia brew in their selection to be considered a supporter. Again, that may just represent the clientele who frequents this bar. My second strike is the smokiness. I typically go to bars that cater to smokers and I'm not bothered as ventilation is much better at those places. I also don't leave smelling like smoke. At Monkey's Uncle, there are these weird fan type things on the ceiling that just seem to wave the cigarette smoke back down on the patrons. It's gross and you can barely breathe. I can deal with going to bars that really aren't my style, but Monkey's Uncle struck out for those two reasons on their own for me. read more

This place has finally removed the cigarette smokers and put them outside. The place is much more enjoyable and the entertainment is good when Last 2 Leave is playing there. Wait staff could be a little more attentive though. read more

One of my favorite local bars around. Good drinks and the best, most friendly bar and wait staff around. I only give it 4 stars because when I'm there, besides the bar staff, everyone has a cigarette lit constantly. If cigarette smoke bothers you, these may not be your ideal spot. Oh yeah, and the food is great too!! During happy hours they also tend to have free food laid out which is always tasty. The bands are almost always good and the design of the bar creates a pretty decent sound. read more

Went here and loved it! Bartender was awesome and food was great. Played pool and saw a puppy. Best place in my opinion.

Great wings! Definitely a locals hang out. Very "Cheers" like atmosphere going on in there. Service was good I sat at the bar. Alot of customers smoke outside. Was there during happy hour and it was steady for a Monday. read more

We stopped by the Monkey's Uncle to see the band that was playing--the Dirty Gringos. If I could rate the band, they'd get 5 stars. But this bar gets a two--barely. And they only got the extra star because there was no cover charge. This bar was the epitome of a dive bar, but not in a good way. It smelled like an ashtray. I literally reeked of smoke when I got home. And our waitress was not of the friendly type either. I won't be back to visit this bar. read more

Ok....obviously different people are looking for different things. On a Saturday around 2pm....they don't have waitresses you have to go and order from the bar. The food is ok- like average ish bar food. SMOKE SMOKE SMOKE.....helllllooooo smoke. If you love to smoke it up lung cancer style...this is your place! I also came back that night to watch the game and it was wild. PACKED with older people trying to get a slice of the death metal band.... Its like a bad high school reunion. read more

Mallory is the Best and you can't ask for more out of a local Tavern! This is a Local Dive Bar at it's Best!! Great Food, Killer Drink Specials and Great DJ through the week and Live Band Music on the weekends!! If you live in or near the San Jose/295 area, Make this place your local spot!! read more

Monkey's Uncle Tavern - Dive Bars Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Where can I even begin with this place? Anyone who has lived in Mandarin has probably been dragged here for drink or ten. The bar itself isn't that bad. It's a large, square wrap around so getting a drink quickly isn't a problem. There's a plethora of TV's near the bar so watching whatever game is on isn't an issue either. I've never been here before 10 pm so I really have no idea what the decor is. All that I can recall are some weird fans that help move the smoke around the place. Service is pretty good. Last time I went, the bartender kept the beers and fireball coming without me even asking. This left me wondering though, does he think I'm a drunk or is he just that good? I eventually had to tell him to stop and bring my tab. It was clear by the total that he had missed a few items. That's fine by me! On the weekend nights they have a band playing. I don't think it's a house band because it's changes every so often, but the tracklist stays the same. Come here for some rockin' 90's alt. Really, if you're in mandarin looking for a late night drink, this is one of only a few options. You could do worse. If you grew up in the area be warned, you'll probably run into someone from your high school. So for the general good service, i give Monkuncles a 3/5. read more

This could be a coold bar, if not for the SMOKING. Yuck. Who wants to breathe in secondhand smoke all night? The band sounded good as they were setting up but we didn't stick around to hear the set b/c of the smoke. Otherwise it is a fun little bar where I'm certain many, many drunken night have occured! read more

They have at least 3 different menus with various combinations of discontinued or unavailable items (they're all no longer available, by the way) and the only reason to come here is for beer or if you're just a masochist. I'm truthfully not sure how they're still in business, or how much longer they'll survive. And I really don't know why I keep accepting invites here--they are at least 5 better places to go with a mile of this dump. read more

Loved the place but the food needs more Care. Ordered chicken tenders and they were burnt. Otherwise the band was great! And the beers were cold! Will most definitely go back! read more