worst service i've ever had... appetizers took 30 mins to come out and its now been over an hour and they haven't brought out my burger. waitress claims food takes about 45 mins to come out on a busy day but there's maybe half of the tables filled, not busy at all. And the crazy thing is, it's the second time this has happened to me. never coming back read more

A must My wife and I pulled off the road looking for a bite to eat. This bar looked like a great spot and boy were we right. The Seafood bisque was amazing and their burgers were fantastic. Although we did not get the lobster roll, a women next to us did and it looked incredible. Moreover the prices were a bargain If you are passing by Old Saybrook this place is well worth it read more

My bad experience started bad and then worse, however the blonde woman serving me was outstanding. I walk up and tie up my dog, got gruntly greeted by a very hungover gentleman working here that said dogs are not allowed on their gravel patio. The seafood bisque was great! Me walking into the bathroom and having a fly buzz into my mouth was not great. The bathroom had more than a dozen flies in there. I order a shot at the bar for well whiskey and get charged $5. I go outside to order a shot to kill the bacteria from the fly and get charged $4.25. 75¢ isn't going to change my world but get your _____ together and stop monkeying around with your business. SOME "Deadhead bar". I will never be coming back and/or advising anyone to ever come here. -1 star And the stuffed clams were gooey and gross, didn't taste right. read more

The monkey farm is an old school bar with rustic decor and even more rustic patrons. The atmosphere is casual, drinks are generous and the food is excellent - prime rib Friday rocks. If you love your meal buy the cook a shot of Rumplemintz. This LA native makes it a regular stop when he's in town - 5+ stars!!!!!! read more

Had a great time at the bar, met a charming local couple and had the French dip and loaded tots. Love the history of this place. Sit at the bar and engage, you won't be disappointed. read more

We were in the area and saw the high reviews on Yelp so we stopped in. There was a sign to seat ourselves. We were approached promptly by a waitress who handed us menus and got us drinks quickly. All good so far! We then sat there for 20 minutes while the waitress took every tables order around us and ignored us entirely. I made eye contact with her twice and each time assumed she would come over once she was done with the table she was at. Both times she walked away in the opposite direction. We left $5 to cover the drinks and tax and walked out. I bet she took another 10 minutes to even notice we were gone. Unbelievably frustrating service. read more

Had a very good hot lobster roll last week. Didn't like the skinny shoestring style fries. Don't "get" the cheap white bread that is so typical of lobster rolls. Why not use decent bread? Service was a little slow and food took quite a while (they were not busy), but the food was fresh and well-cooked. read more

Bad day at the Monkey Farm. Waited extremely long time for our food (said the dishwasher was broken?). Once the food did arrive some issues: wrong dressing for the Cobb salad, burger cooked wrong (ordered medium well came out medium rare) and the fries not hot. Sure it was an off day with a packed house but not sure. The fish sandwich and fish and chips were stellar! Would give them another chance based on word on the street. read more

In the middle of staid Old Saybrook, Connecticut there lives a very old, very Rustic DIVE BAR. Loud rock music, pool table next to my table; 4-5 LARGE screen TV's with various sports playing on each. This is a rustic, built in the 1700's, (did I say rustic), dive bar, with the most exquisite lobster rolls, and fried oysters to die for. I can't believe that I have never been here before, but I was generally discouraged by many motorcycles and a couple of cop cars, lights flashing, out front! But this is another time, another reincarnation- by all means go!! read more

Good food, great service, what more could you ask ! Went on a crowded day but still got great attention from server and waited awhile for our food but it was well worth the wait!! When it's busy you must be prepared to wait a bit. Everyone was very friendly and I shall go back again and again. Living just up the road in Essex it's a short hop,skip, and jump to get here and I don't know why I haven't been here before this!! read more

Had lunch and stumbled upon this place on our ride home. Had a lobster roll and fries. Lobster roll had the clear cartilage in the claws and the meat was dry claw meat. I couldn't even eat. Cold fries too. Told her she needs to tell chef and it was horrible. She took it off bill. My husband had stuffed cod special. Tasteless!! Will not be returning. read more

Love the Monkey Farm! Old style roadside bar with no frills and not a lot of rules, either. This is a great spot and part of the tradition of hanging out in Old Saybrook! read more

I can honestly say that I've been here well over 1000 times over the years, and there are many reasons why. I showed up today for the 50th anniversary bash and it reminded me what a special place that the monkey farm is. It has been run by the same great family for the last 50yrs that cares about the patrons, their staff and the community. The bartenders are second to none, some of the funniest people that I have ever met. The food is consistently the best in Old Saybrook. I remember when they only served lunch and I would plan my day so I would be able to eat at the Farm. On a normal day its the most eclectic group of people you could hope to find. If your sitting at the bar you could be next to a guy who just got back from fishing, a guy who just finished a roof, a guy who owns half the state, or a nice older lady reading her new book. I have never experienced a bar/restaurant that offers such diversity. I normally have a great conversation with someone and laugh so hard that my cheeks hurt. I even have grown to love the slanted floor at the pool table. Call it a Dive bar if you want. I'm sure that they are proud to be called a Dive bar because at the end of the day and 50 years its the best bar/restaurant in the State! read more

No tap beer and cash only....Ok. I can live with that. The food was awful! We had 2 orders of wings. The order was "large" but large means, I guess, about 6 wings. Large wings to be sure. The sauce was terrible. Vinegar in every bite. The burgers were sad. Not bad, Not good. Sad. It was like a burger at a bad company picnic. The Philly Cheese tasted like cardboard. Just nothing to it. French onion was mostly water. This place needs a paint job, a new chef (clearly new owners who won't troll on Yelp and argue about reviews) and need to hire a new food supplier. We dropped about a hundred dollars and I should have just lit $80 on fire and ordered a pizza. I have had more satisfying meals in high school cafeterias. read more

The wings here are so good! Maybe the best on the shoreline. Rest of the food is okay too, but wings are a must try. It's the spot to be with the local crowd on a Friday night. Pool, darts, and a jukebox make this place a lot of fun. read more

Definitely a dive bar- great drinks and okay food. Went here with a group for dinner. The service was on point as we never had an empty glass. The food left something to be desired. Nachos were good but should have been cooked longer so all the cheese melted. Those who had fish and chips throughly enjoyed their meals. The cheeseburgers were prepared as ordered but lacked flavor. I had a buffalo chicken wrap which was average at best. I would return again for drinks but probably not for dinner. read more

Great food, nice friendly staff. Drinks are delicious! Cool atmosphere, good views of the planes on the runway. Every time I come, food is very good. Love their blue cheese dressing, it has nice chunks of blue cheese, delish! Friendly bartenders...I would recommend this place to anyone. read more

Our waitress Alex was amazing! She was beyond welcoming and knowledgeable and I would recommend her to anybody. Great experience!

Favorite food - lunch or dinner - all exceptional and at ridiculously good prices! Staff friendly and efficient. Huge local crowd. Often packed but worth waiting. Very historic location. I love the dive bar atmosphere but if that's not your style you will still be pleasantly surprised by the food quality and taste. Spring/ summer porch seating as well. Cash only, but ATM in house. Dart boards and pool table, juke box. Try it and you'll be hooked! read more

Not from the Old Saybrook area, but decided to stop in when driving through. Service was terrible from the start. Not only was the waitress rude and clearly distracted, but we waited over an hour and a half for a pizza. Multiple times we had to grab forks and knives, napkins, and plates ourselves from a station in the back because our waitress never checked in on us. We even asked a waitress about it and her response was that we could grab them ourselves. Not only was the service rude , but when the pizza came out (after we inquired about it and the response was "it's coming out, calm down" with no apology to the delay in service) it was given to us on a table that needed to be cleared. We stacked the plates and put them on the end of the table to help the waitress out so she could easily grab them. However, she put the pizza down aggressively without saying word and walked away, completely disregarding the dirty empty plates we stacked for her. When the pizza came out, there was no sauce on it? I don't know if that was a kitchen mistake or if your pizza doesn't come with sauce? Just cheese and pizza crust - not that appetizing. We went almost a full 40 minutes with no check up on drinks or anything. We resulted in ordering more drinks on a separate tab from the bartender instead. The bussers helped out our table more than the waitress did. I understand you get busy but quality service should be given to all of your customers. Maybe she wasn't having a good day, that's understandable. Just try to inform the staff that how they treat customers has a huge impact on the customer's experience and how you are viewed as an establishment, as the service we received will not be bringing us back :( read more

The place is very run down and dirty. I had the chicken sandwich and fries which were good but nothing spectacular. They only take cash so make sure you Bring some. It a typical local dive place so if you like that type of place then you will like it . read more

Great bar and food options, always a good time, have yet to get anything I have not liked! Excellent service and ambience. A local option when having a few drinks, awesome pub food. Potato skins and pizza both excellent choices. read more

The Monkey Farm - Pizza - American Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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Came here for an anniversary dinner with family. Server was far from friendly in fact uninterested. Tables that came in after us were served way ahead of us. Took 45 minutes for appetizers to come out and no sooner after receiving our apps dinner. My order was incorrect and steak over cooked. Waitress never came to check on us but the runners did often. When we got home i and my family members became ill. Defenitely will not recommend this place to anyone. After writing this complain on their Facebook page this is what received back, "Our food is fresh daily and prepared to order which takes time. Join your friends at Mcdonalds if you want fast food. Highly unlikely your illnesses started here.." Well never go here again! read more

Love this place. Cheapest drinks, great food, consistent, and super reasonably priced. Total dive bar vibe which just adds to the charm. Cash only!! read more

Greatest food. Best bar. I'm on my way now for the 7th time this week hahaha. Monkey farm is #1

Visited the Monkey Farm last night. Wish I could tell you how the food was, but WE NEVER GOT ANY. In the span of 1 hour and 20 minutes, NOT ONE MORSEL OF FOOD CROSSED OUR TABLE. To make matters worse, our waitress really couldn't have cared less. She never acknowledged the long delay nor did she apologize. We spoke to the manager/bartender and he was also nonplussed by the situation. His excuse was they "had a lot of takeout orders". Pretty sure there isn't a run on takeout at 8:30pm. When we peeked into the kitchen we did not see one person cooking or preparing food. To be fair we couldn't see inside the entire kitchen but it wasn't exactly a beehive of activity. There is no excuse for such poor service and rude staff attitudes. (If I could rate zero stars I would but Yelp doesn't allow for it so one star it is.) read more

Their food is so delicious and their drinks are amazing. I love going there for a great meal and to have a good time. It's definitely a dive bar, but it's the best one around! read more

This was an unassumingly yummy stop on a road trip home from Long Island (thank you yelp). Easy on and off Highway. Lobster roll with option two ways... hot butter and mayo. Both done very well. It was 90 something degrees out so disappointed to not see AC, but the corner porch seat was in the shade and offered a little breeze. Tempted to take our (party of four) inside to the pool table but it was too hot and we still had a long way home. Next time! read more

Food is disgusting. Nachos were burnt and service is TERRIBLE. So rude to out of towners. Don't bother, there are other good places in area

The best ahi tuna dish ever! I usually go down the street to the $$$ place. If you like ahi tuna go HERE!

Okay place with okay food. Went in around 9:00pm one evening (well before the listed closing time) to get a quick dinner & the bartender seemed annoyed that we were there interrupting his good time. Needless to say we ordered quickly and then got out of there as fast as possible. Won't make it a regular place to go but nice to swing by maybe for an easy lunch. read more

Best bar food I have ever had! The first time I went I got the nachos and they were definitely not lacking any ingredients! Second time I went I got clam chowder and the lobster grilled cheese and was not disappointed! Huge chunks of lobster and had great flavor! Will definitely be back read more

The beer was cold, service was quick. The lobster grilled cheese was yummy and hit the spot. Great place if you are traveling and want something other than fast food. Right off I-95! Cool vibe! read more

We were excited to have our first OS meal here, but quickly realized once we got inside that we would need to lower our expectations. We sat ourselves which was fine...there was a table that just opened and needed to be cleared and cleaned off. We watched as it was done, but after the young lady seems to finish there is no acknowledgement that we can sit down or "welcome to our restaurant someone will be right with you"....so we sat down and waited....and waited....and waited. All the while 3 different waitresses walked past us....we still had no menus and still no acknowledgement of our presence. I got up and grabbed a menu from a stand where they keep condiments for the table so my family could at least look at the menu while we waited. FINALLY after at least 15 minutes our waitress comes over and takes our order. Doesn't apologize for us being left to wait....just, "what can I getcha?" Food comes out in a reasonable amount of time. We ordered chicken tenders, large platter of Buffalo wings and a wedge salad. We asked if 3 of the 16 wings could be left without sauce as my son wanted to try the wings with no sauce. The waitress said that would be no problem. Except when the order came out all the wings had no sauce. Not the end of the world as the busboy took them back and got sauce added...it's just given how long everything was taking it was annoying to deal with another delay...food in general was ok...basic bar food. The fryer oil could probably use a change as the tenders looked a bit on the dark side, but again they were ok as chicken tenders go. We probably won't be back as we plan on trying other places while we are hear, but I hope this place starts paying better attention to their guests, especially new guests and not just the people sitting around the bar. read more

We waited a bit for the ladies to stop at our table. Was beginning to feel ignored since they were tending to others that came in after us. But overall the food was very good and served hot. Which is very important to me. I had the shrimps & chips, at first taken back because there were only 4 shrimps (butterflied). I was satisfied at the end of my meal. The brownie sundae was a hit, as recommended by the girls. read more

We liked everything about this local hangout. Sat at bar, bartender was great. Menu is diverse, lots of great seafood, but meatlovers can also be very happy. Servings very generous, food delicious, prices very reasonsble. Bam bam shrimp delicious. I would return in a heartbeat. read more

The Monkey Farm - American Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

We traveled to Saybrook/Essex CT and had no idea where to eat. After looking on Yelp we noticed the Monkey Farm. WHAT LUCK!!! This restaurant was really good. Upon entering, there is a very friendly sign that said, "Seat yourself. " (No waiting at the door for a teenager to direct you to her friend's station.) The servers were real people, not fake, the food was not fancy but tasty and the atmosphere was friendly and inviting. We really liked it. read more

The food is good, but very overrated. The service is marginal, and if it's busy the wait is too long. It is noisy, dirty and there are some funny odors at times. A few of the bartenders are good, but most seem to be very aloof. If it's busy, you may wait to get a drink, especially at the bar. Depending on what bartenders are working, the music can be played way too loud. And, if you ask that it be turned down, one jerk turns it louder. Some of the locals are very loud and lewd. Some of the bartenders and servers do shots with some of the locals while they are working. As much as people give this place high marks, I was very disappointed! The only positive thing to say is that the owner/chef is very nice. read more

Ok food, slow service, wouldn't make an effort to go back but ok for lunch. Loud crowd and on the roudy side

The waitress kept pulling her mask down ,the potato ships were very stale ,and overall ,outside area dirty tables, service wasn't good, has gone downhill read more