We half expected Eminem's Without Me playing when we walked into the spanking new Monkey Bar that's reopened after almost four years. Obviously, in our heads, we were singing 'Guess who's back? Back again' as we walked around the space and saw where we'd be monkeying around for the many months to come—the tropical outdoor setting that overlooks the Museum Road and Church Street. Yes, Monkey Bar is located smack in the centre of town, on the first floor of erstwhile The Museum Inn (for the uninitiated, it's bang opposite 1 Sobha).
The space during the day gets a lot of natural light and come evenings, there's that warm glow that we've come to love. We love that tropical jungle vibe on the walls, the upholstery, and even the service staff's uniform. Plus, there's foliage all around. Plus, plenty of monkey motifs all around—the space is designed by Sabina Singh, design director of the Olive Group of Restaurants and WDA, and Raseel Gujral Ansal, interior designer and architect behind Casa Pop. Also, the coffee bar is something that you won't miss when you walk in and if you're sitting by the long bar, you have a view of the performance space too, including the DJ booth.
One thing that we obviously were looking forward to in Monkey Bar's relaunch was food, especially The MoBurger. Happy to report it's there and there are some familiar local flavours rubbing shoulders with global classics. The Fire Pork and Deep Fried Anchovies are the perfect bar snack to go with your drinks -- the pork's spicy, crispy, and zesty while the Anchovies are crunchy and addictive. We mopped the Fire Pork clean. The MoBurger gets a beef and bacon mince patty and bacon rashers, so in short—heavenly. Also, nice touch on serving the burger with tapioca chips.
For those who love their tipple, and from what we gathered from everyone around the table, we recommend The Manga Mule, a sweet and peppy drink, and the Rum Cha, a cocktail with Old Monk and masala tea cordial. There's one Church Street Corner that we spotted with pink guava and bird's eye chilli—reminiscent of the guava sellers on Church Street.
You can end your night of high spirits and monkey business with The Monkey Bar–MoBar’s take on Snickers that’s sweet and good!
