True to the name, dive bar/party bar. The space is huge and it is typically rented out by the sororities and fraternities. The music is loud, the beer is cold, the service was fantastic. You can dance on the bars, which at my age, I shouldn't do, but did in full college girl fashion! I adore this bar. read more

I was there for less then 2 minutes. Went in, saw a lady playing pool and said, "hey just want to say, I like your look and I hope you're winning." And she looked at me like I was a cockroach. Totally rude response. I gave her a thumbs up and got the fuck out of there. I'm 34 and not interested in being around assholes. My recommendation: skip it. This is not a friendly place or even remotely a party bar, it's a place for people to pretend they're having fun for appearances. read more

Bartender was good and beer was cold and priced well. Don't know what these other bad reviews were talking about, probably a bunch of people that have never been to a dive bar or small city bar. read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - Shot wheel - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

$66 for 2 vodka sodas?? Then the old man bartender became quite defensive, condescending, and aggressive when asked for an explanation. There's more to the story, but I'll wait to see if I get a response from this dirt bag bar. read more

Fun local spot. We wandered in here for a beer and ended up closing the place down. Drank and shot pool with some locals. Definitely check it out read more

Great place to go and get a little tipsy with a big group. You will feel dirtier walking in than you did walking out but it's all part of the experience. read more

Wish I could give this bar no stars. It's a dump, the bartenders were super rude and the bouncer Chris was aggressive and physical towards women. read more

While visiting Raleigh my husband and I stopped in to check it out all because of the name. It's your typical billiards bar. Good drinks at a decent price. We were visiting after Thanksgiving so the bar wasn't too crowded. read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - a man at the bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Great music and great company keep it going...until the next time Great music and great company keep it going...until the next time

Bartender was wonderful as always. I Came to drink and do a little karaoke after work....Didnt happen. Two loud and obnoxious girls standing on the bar screeching for over an hour. Finally decided to leave when it was my turn bc one of them didn't want to get off of the mic. Ruined the vibes. Might have to find another bar to visit on the regular... read more

Misty always is a great bartender and a pleasure to be served by her. They added safety features aka the chain but if I wanted to be chained I'd stay home ;) the keep health and safety to a maximum and security is always great not sure what's up with the chain recently but if you can not handle drinks or liquor best to stay out of downtown Raleigh! For a good time and service hit up the ugly monkey welcoming customer and service side! read more

Love the ugly monkey!!!! Visiting my sister in law from ct so she took us here to have a great time! Exceptional service and great vibes. We love you Misty!!! read more

Party bar? What's that? Take a bunch of beer signs, add in some flashy lights, some pool tables, a lit beer-pong table and looks like you've got yourself a party! And yes, cheap drinks and beers for all. I've walked by the Ugly Monkey many times and finally decided to stop in the other night. We're talking a youngish crowd, under 30 bar with lots of distractions. The Ugly Monkey is a big, cavernous space with picnic tables outside if you want some fresh air. They've even got some poles over the bar for any ladies that want to get a little Coyote Ugly as the night wears on. Take the Ugly Monkey for what it is, a casual, after-college dive bar to get a little crazy in. We only stopped in for a quick one and to check out the place. Not sure if I'll be back any time soon but I'm glad I finally know whats behind all those glass windows at the Ugly Monkey... read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

See all

Great dive bar, fantastic 90s music, inexpensive drinks and great service! We were surrounded by overalls with one strap, Fanny packs and choker necklaces... this place is awesome. Enjoyed it much more than Coglins! Bar top dancing, poles and even a "cage"! So much fun. read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - You can dance on the bar and they have poles! - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Laid back, inexpensive bar that definitely lends itself to some late night shenanigans

My husband and I stopped in for a quick drink and stayed for an hour plus. I forgot my purse which had my insulin in it. The next morning I realized where I forgot my purse and called them. They were amazingly helpful. They kept my purse behind the bar with a kind note attached to it. They are all very respectful and courteous. read more

First thing first, this is definitely a dive bar, which they proudly admit to. There is no dress code, so you can wear almost anything as long as you don't look like a gang member, or hooker. Well, they might let you in looking like a hooker judging by some of the ladies I saw in there the other day. They have a few pool tables, billiards for the ol' fogies reading this, some electronic games, DJ, and a bar. There is nothing else in there except for the restrooms. The DJ plays decent music and takes some request too. The bartenders are very friendly, and might change one of the several TV's in there if you ask nice enough. They do have steps that lead up to the bar top, with a sign that says "LADIES ONLY," so any of you guys that have had a bit too much to drink, keep it seated, because only the gals are allowed to dance on the bar top. One thing I don't like about the place, no food. Come on, you have to give me some food or snack item to munch on. Have the guy in the back make some sandwiches or hot dogs. Just feed me something edible. The best thing about this spot, no cover charge. You know you get tired of paying $10 at every spot to enter just to buy some drinks when not much else is going on. This place is free to enter, and cheap to drink. read more

Covid messed with this bars review. I'm sure this place would be ridiculous amounts of fun if people could enjoy their drinks inside of the establishment. When I visited... they were only allowing people to come in, get their drinks, and leave. It was freezing cold outside so of course you can imagine how enjoyable that really was. I hope to go back and try this place again to see what it's all about. read more

The place seems cool, they've got nice lights and a fun little cage, but the drinks are way overpriced for how much drink you actually get. Id be less mad at how much I got charged for a drink if it wasnt 80% filled to the top with ice cubes in a tiny plastic cup. Wont be coming back. read more

Definitely my first night out ever at a bar here in NC since I moved and this place exceeded expectations the bar tenders were a little slow at first but once I got they're attention they were very attentive and quick! The music was great I went on a Tuesday night and it got packed but not too cluttered loved the whole night and I went out alone. read more

I wish I could give zero stars. Staff was incredibly inconsiderate for no reason at all. Yes it's a dive bar, but the place is a dump. I tipped generously on a WATER but bartenders and bouncers were very rude. I get that bar tenders and other staff at bars are strict but this was just them trying have an interesting night by provoking people. Do not go here if you want to have fun. read more

This place sucks!!!!! I came here on my birthday with friends. I was the first to arrive so I ordered drinks and put my credit card on file. My friends arrived and paid for my drinks and theirs with cash yet they charged ALL of the drinks to my credit card. They charged me over $100 and refused to give me my money back. The manager was rude and disrespectful. You have been warned!!!! read more

This place is amazingly decorated with all kind of beer and alcohol swag. Besides that there's lots of Monkeys, hence the name. 3 pool tables, great sound system and I saw some folks on a multi person 4 wheel bike stop in while they were bar hopping. It's old looking and rustic. The walls are brick which just gives it a really authentic downtown atmosphere. The bar is well revered on Yelp as well as the web. I recommend that everyone visit and have drink. read more

Don't go before 9 or you'll be the only person there- it's a LATE night bar... I have many great memories (or lack thereof) there... which I remember later via induced photojournalism :-) Foosball and pool tables are coin operated. Good classic music plays. This is a dive bar so you better be ready to hang with the boys here. 50% off everything on Tuesdays! read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - sign @ night - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

UPDATE: The music is better now. This place is fun in that you can dance in the bar and hula hoop. BUT, it use to be the place you could come to dance to good hip hop music and now they play stupid remixes and pop music. I won't be coming back until I hear that the music has changed back to good, current and old school hip hop. read more

With a name like "Ugly Monkey" (perhaps they are not to the coyote level? what does that says about their bartenders?) Is there any way you could have mistaken this for anything other than a deep dive bar? How did I hear about Ugly Monkey? A friend and I were just out downtown past Friday, and she told me "Hey! There's a place that has beer pong! It's calle ugly something.... let's go find it" So using my trusty Yelp app I found this little hole in the wall, almost midnight, which is now gathered full of college kids and bar hoppers alike. It's not really appealing on the outside, and it's not much better on the inside either, but there are tons of people here, almost nightly, for the cheap drinks and not too bad fun. There's a stage stair from the ground to the top of the bar, and also some stabilizing poles, so I assume sometimes patrons might like to reenact a few scenes from the famous movie of similar name. It was confirmed that indeed they do have a beer pong table, and how coincidentally the two guys we decided to play against came down all the way from D.C. for a conference in town at the convention center. It reminded me some good old fashioned college year fun. read more

Rough bar. Metal detectors at door, sounds fun online but differs in person. Use caution when attending.

The bar has ridiculously good drink specials.....the bartenders are always on point and make up some tasty concoctions for me (I like random new drinks). Its definitely a mixed crowd in there. It kinda looks like a carnival?? They also have some pretty SICK glow in the dark/light up hula hoops for the ladies. I would also recommend going after 10 PM or you'll be a lone ranger. read more

Been coming for years and love it. Drinks are strong and highly recommend the shot wheel. Only complaint is that the DJ on Saturday night plays awful top 40s music and refuses to take requests. The bar doesn't exactly attract the top 40 crowd which is why I go. But if you're looking for awesome drink specials, amazing bartenders and a place to shoot pool, this is it! read more

The Ugly Monkey Party Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Great dive bar! Bartenders are great ! Booze is cheap. Beer pong fell down. Love it. Go to this place

The bartender charged me $120 for three spins on the wheel! Did not even bother arguing. She multiplied each $7 spin by 5 for each shot per person in my party. The weirder part was she would take our shots away when we were still drinking it. I have already filed a dispute with my bank. Don't go there unless you are okay with unauthorized transactions! read more

The Ugly Monkey is somethin' else! Depending on the night of the week you go on, this place is hit or miss. I usually prefer going on Friday nights because the crowd isn't usually as crazy as Saturday's. The drinks are super inexpensive and the bartenders are all amazing! I've literally done a hula hoop contest one night which was so much fun! I have done promotions inside the Monkey quite a few times on Tuesday nights & it's even busy then which is great for business! I definitely suggest checking this place out! read more

I was at this bar for my friends 21st birthday having a fairly good time but the whole bar is trashy. I met the owner and she seemed nice, but we noticed her drinking on the job. The bartender was incredibly rude and the drinks were awful. At the end of the night we saw the owner passed out drunk behind the bar in a pile of her own vomit. Extremely disgusting! What kind of establishment is this?! read more

Offline Weekender recommended this place for spinning the drink wheel. The bartender handed me and my friend our drinks and then a random guy came over and took the drinks from us. We yelled at him and got the drinks back but didn't want to drink them after that. The bartender was still there and saw this happen and he didn't intervene and wouldn't make us new drinks so we walked out. I will never go back to a bar that is going to ignore it's patron's safety. read more

This bar isn't what I expected from the outside. You can't really tell what you're going to find inside of Ugly Monkey, but it's actually a cool spot. I guess it'd be classified as a dive bar. It's got pool and beer pong. The bar is pretty cool with strings of orange lights overhead. There are steps leading up to the bar for "ladies only"--how chivalrous. It's a good place for a group of people to chill and hang out. They play a good variety of music overhead as well, so there's something for everyone here. This bar reminds me of some of the crazier Church Street spots in Orlando, but it's still the Raleigh crowd so not crazy. read more

Great service had a connection with the bar tender but the bouncers we totally out of line I walked outside to smoke a cig and he smashed my beer saying I was off the property and threatened to call the cops. I complied with his "rules" but I will never be returning. read more

I attended the Ugly Monkey a few times. I only attended on Tuesday nights when they have drink specials. The drinks are great! My favorite thing to purchase is the buckets. The DJ was okay. The DJ played a variety of hip hop music to fit the crowd. After 12am, the place was beyond crowded and they continued to let people inside. The only complaint I have it is hardly anywhere to sit. It's no bar stools at the bar and probably a total of 3 small tables. As a result of that people ended up sitting and leaning on the pool tables. read more

I got a super cheesy vibe from this bar. It's slightly awkward because a good dive bar doesn't "try" to be a dive bar, it just is.The Ugly Monkey, however, tries very aggressively to be divey and unpretentious. They push the monkey theme pretty hard via wall paintings and a kitschy cage/ go-go dancing platform (which I was told, gets occupied by drunk women later in the evening). Another bummer was the alcohol. I prefer my drinks straightforward and I'm not a fan of bright colored sugary cocktails with low grade alcohol, but that seems to be what they're pushing here, they even serve em up in plastic buckets. So all that being said, I do have to admit that I had a really good time here. We met some cool people, played some pool and the bartenders couldn't have been nicer. Although the drinks we ordered weren't what I would've preferred they got the job done. Because this bar is ridiculously close to where I live, I'll more than likely be back but it will definitely be after I've explored every other local option available. read more

Cheap drinks and a good selection of drinks. Definitely a dive bar so dont go if that not your scene. I went on a sunday with some friends and it was a fun atmosphere. read more

I wish I could give this place negative stars. Asked the bar tender for a water and was told it would be $2.50, then asked for just tap water and he said I could go stick my head under the faucet in the bathroom. I have never been so appalled, an establishment that makes money solely on people drinking can not deny customers water. Stay hydrated folks, don't go here. read more