The Chugging Monkey

On the evening of June 10^th 2016, myself and six friends heard music from the street, and decided to go to Chuggin’ Monkey. We were visiting Austin, TX for a bachelor party, from New York City. Ironically, all six of us are bar tenders in NYC, and are well versed in restaurant/​bar etiquette and restaurant management. At 1:55, the disc jockey announced that the establishment was closing for the night. At this point, I asked to use the bathroom, as I knew I had at least a 15 minute walk back to my hotel room. I was told, «no the bathrooms are closed» by one bouncer. When I asked a second bouncer I was told «for $ 20 I’ll let you use the bathroom.» The third bouncer, politely told me to use the bathroom upstairs quickly. When I walked up the stairs, I was met by a blonde female who identified herself as the manager, and told me I could not use the bathroom. When a person spends in excess of $ 200 in your establishment, he is entitled to use the bathroom, despite the fact that it was just prior to closing. Worth noting, is that other customers were still being served while I was refused access to a bathroom. I’m not a «drunk,» I’m not homeless, I’m not a vagrant, junkie, derelict, nor degenerate. I happen to be a well educated Naval Architect and US Coast Guard Reservist. If you value your self respect, avoid this establishment. No one with any respect for another human being would respond to me in such a manner. The argument of «he came in and caused a ruckus» is invalid, as I didn’t cause a ruckus until after being told that it would cost me twenty dollars to use the restroom. Do yourself a favor, and check out one of the friendly establishments in this awesome town. It truly is one of America’s greatest cities, and I refuse to let this experience ruin it for me.

I’m giving the Chugging Monkey a 5 star review for several reasons. The Monkey is the very first bar in downtown Austin that I have visited. So, it was my virgin dive bar experience in Austin. Second, the singer/​guitar player was awesome! Third, my cocktail was delicious and inexpensive!
Thank you Chugging Monkey for popping my Austin cherry!

Stopped in here a few times over a long weekend with 4 friends. The drinks were cheap and the service was always terrific and friendly. Good atmosphere and nice patio in the back.

I was on 6^th St on Monday night on a vacation to Austin, and was immediately drawn in here because of the live music! The band played everything from Foo Fighters to Britney Spears, and they interacted with the bartenders and the bar patrons. Really made my night.
Otherwise, the doorman and the bartenders were all very nice. Drinks were good, ambience was good, a solidly good choice for 6^th St. Only thing I would fix were the bathrooms– dirty, locks did not work, and no toilet paper. So ladies, hold your pee ’til the next bar.

went on a friday– the local band was so good we came back again to catch em playing the next night

I enjoyed my time here and the bartender was really cool and the $ 3 HH wells were a good deal, as well. Had fun here and wouldn’t mind returning in the future!

plays mix of pop/​rock/​throwback/​mainstream hip hop.
fun times. you can dance on the stage.

was a little confused about this place. I walked in on a Saturday night cause of the live music. The band was playing a few garth brooks songs, they were pretty good. I enjoyed a few songs, then went to the bar and bathroom. When I came out the band was done and taking their equipment down. Then they went straight to playing top 40 or hip hop.
I went from liking this place to being like ugh just like every other bar on the street. Prices were good. I didn’t stay long as I wanted to catch some live music not listen to a «dj» play all the radio hits.

Great venue for up close and personal listening to live music.
Drinks are priced well and served quickly. There is an upstairs section that gives a great overhead view of the musicians on stage. Location is popular and can fill quickly. I suggest grabbing one of the booths toward the front across form the bar. If you don’t mind stools, the upstairs has tables with the perfect overhead view near the staircase.
Once the live music is over a DJ begins spinning music well into the early morning.

Solid bar on 6^th street. Was in here just a few hours ago (Wednesday night), and wound up having a blast!
Overall, it was a pretty decent crowd for a weeknight – not too packed and not too empty.
They also had live music playing and the band I must say was pretty darn good.
The bar also carries reasonably priced drinks.
Doorman was nice and the bartenders were quick to serve.
The inside is pretty large and spacious as well…
There is an upstairs, which gives you a great view of the band and also has two jumbo sized jenga games available which is just super fun (especially when you have a few drinks in your system) so i would suggest grabbing a friend and make a drunk game night out of it.
And the downstairs, which offers a full service bar, beer pong (aka water pong) and a smoking area right in the back.
Great spot for big groups, nice late night spot, i woundnt mind paying this place another visit.

This place is not a full bar. The «too cool for you» bartender refused to make 2 mojitos with only a handful of customers to wait on. Offered the cliché Margarita instead which was soso and then expected a $ 4 tip. Unless you want a bottle of beer with an attitude, skip this place. 6^th Street just ain’t what it used to be.

Totally fine, average 6^th street place. Not a huge fan of the beers, but probably still a better selection than most of the places around. It gets LOUD on a Friday night, but if you go toward the back of the bar, there’s surprisingly a lot of room. I can’t say I’d for sure come back here again, but there’s nothing stopping me either. Seems a little more chill than some of the other bars around, so it was easier to sit and chat with friends.

Walk Straight in and head up the stairs. You’ll have a better vantage point of the band down stairs and more room to move/​dance. Also, a number of the air conditioning ducts point directly at the second floor so your group can post up directly in front of a vent if it’s hot.

As we walked down dirty 6^th on Friday night, we realized we made a safe bet coming to Chugging Monkey on a slow Sunday night.
Chugging Monkey seems to always have a live band and they’re always serving deep eddy’s Red. Other than that, you won’t find this place extra special, unless of course you’ve been granted the privilege of walking in with the pickle…

This place has a big bar, great service and excellent music. Not sure what night the deals are but I got a $ 1 beer on Thursday… That works for me.

Fun bar, lots of people and good music the night We stopped in. Drinks are avg, but the staff was friendly. Will come back for more music and fun.

Came in just because it was raining but stayed because it was great.
This place is definitely one not to go to if you want alone time. First the bar tender came over and introduced himself and everyone else at the bar. He told us who’s birthday it was and who everyone was so nobody was a stranger.
This quickly turned into a blast and ended singing with fellow bar mates to songs we all knew. This place really made an impression on me and i hope to go back soon.
Drinks are like six bucks a piece but are def a vegas pour so you get your moneys worth.

Pretty typical dive bar. However the bar tenders were really nice and the band they had playing was GREAT.

Riley made our night! So awesome, would come back for him alone!
Awesome personality & beautiful smile

The Chuggin Monkey is a great place to start or end your pub crawl in Austin.
The bartenders know their drinks and brews and are super friendly and enjoy talking to the customers. The Bouncer/​doorman is pretty cool to talk to as well.
Live music usually starts at 9pm. The band playing area is small but the musicians make due with the space constraints.
The live music of course is great. I don’t mind listening to cover bands as long as they Rock out, which they most certainly do here.
Check this place out past 9pm you will be glad you did.