The Monkey Farm

Took 30min to bring out 5 burgers on a Saturday afternoon where they were at about half capacity. They didn’t apologize about the extra long wait time we had.
Food was extremely average.
Why ever go here?

Not sure what thier food or service is like because when we pulled up there was a large sign that said cash only! Well, tonight I didn’t have cash on me so we went across the street to Aspen, which always has great burgers and is not afraid to pay a little fee to the credit card companies for the convenience of their customers. Did I mention their sirloin burger I’d fantastic?

Very underrated lunch/​dinner menu.
Awesome place to watch the game and grab a beer.

Buddy and I stopped in last nite for dinner at the bar. I ordered broiled flounder and got ¾in thick fish … probably tilapia and not so good. Buddy ordered ribeye steak and got a not very good NY strip. The place was slammed with one bartender and one waitress. We were hungry and ate it but honestly it sucked.

The Monkey Farm is great! It’s all cash so you need to be careful but it’s a must experience if you are in town. I had a corned beef Ruben which was fantastic. My friend had the roast beef sandwich which was ok (we had expected better). Definitely a dive bar but it’s great for all at lunch time (I’ve never been in the evening). Last year I had the lobster roll and it was great too.

Exactly what we wanted. Perfect mix of great food, great staff, eclectic mix of customers. Highly recommend you go.

Love this restaurant! This was our first trip here and the food was great! Bam Bam shrimp is a must try! The Wings were great as well.
Read the blurb on the back of the menu — well worth it!

Food is a hit or a miss, once you discover how disgusting some things are and how that works out around this place, you wouldn’t have an apetite. But dining is not what brings most here, who cares after some drinks. Because, you can find more than drinks and food at this place, they keep themselves for cure alls, including under the counter offerings. Staff cares to grab the cash from you and anything else they can get, including your girlfriend/​boyfriend, husband/​wife; if not for themselves, they arrange it for others. Bartenders play favorites, normal. The girls are helpful and attractive, but if you are interested, don’t go by Bill the bartender who shuffles them himself. Environment has what offers fun in a dive, air gets pretty nasty during hot days. Really depends on what you are looking for.
Definitely would not suggest seeking help from management to solve the problem of dirt varieties because they are used to the stink however.

This is a wonderful spot, it feels kind of like a family friendly biker bar. Given that vibe, you might not expect it but the food is absolutely fantastic! I highly recommend the lobster roll, it’s one of the best around. Also, the onion rings, which at so many places are lack luster, are amazing here. Their pizza is also really great. Though I’ve never had it, I’d be doing a disservice not to mention the steak, which I’ve heard is of such a quality that it puts much more expensive restaurants to shame. The staff is also great – just the other day the bar tender tipped me off to Long Trail Limbo IPA which is now one of my favorite beers. While it’s a fun bar in general, you really should get some of the food when you’re here. It’s too good not to.

Best hole in the wall I’ve been to in ages the food was great prices are outstanding and Bill the bartender is fantastic highly recommended I’d come again any day

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!

This place has always been the spot for townies to go. Good food, a pool table and reasonably priced drinks, what more could you ask for?
Downside, the cops always seem to be lurking around on the weekends but that’s the worst of it.

Average at best & took FOREVER to get a burger & BLT. Fries cold.

Good atmosphere in a historic building which creates a pleasant atmosphere. The burger I had was good and it was huge.

We went out of our way to go here based on the other reviews. It wasn’t terrible, and I could see how people would enjoy this bar, but if you’re going here for the food, I wouldn’t go out of your way.
We ordered the French onion soup due to the many reviews on it. It’s good, and we recommend it. We were sure it had beer added, but the waitress asked the chef and they said it didn’t. We can’t imagine how else it got a strong beer/​Guinness flavor. We ordered it without bread/​croutons — it came wit them anyways.
The stuffed clams (stuffies) were really good — some of the best I’ve had. But dinner went downhill from there — I ordered fried scallops, and they were the large sea scallops, not the small, delicious bay scallops you hope for. Greasy and mostly flavorless. The onion rings were standard — we ended up picking the onion out and eating that, as there was just so much grease in the meal but we were still hungry.
My wife ordered an «Anti Pasta» — it was a completely run-​of-​the-​mill average salad. Generous dressing portion. The waitress was all right, but not very attentive. Very down to business, and very busy. Not a problem, but not exactly delightful.
The tables are nice — good wood bar tables, and plenty of window seats in their patio. It gets _​really_​loud, but we weren’t bothered by it. But if you’re looking for something quiet or relaxing, this is not the place for you.

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.

I’ve always loved this place, I actually own a couple monkeyfarm t-​shirts. But the bartender last night was incredibly unwelcoming and rude.

My NY strip steak was awesome! I have to say a little divey in appearance coming in, but local was at the bar and assured me food was good, service was great, family run and to definitely try it out. Glad i took his advice! Great meal, interesting crowd, obviously a local gathering place which is always a good sign. Another great pic with help from fellow Unilocalers!
Oh when i cashed out they did not take credit cards, just by the way…

Honestly one of my favorite Old Saybrook restaurants.
Their Lobster Roll is seriously one of the best around.
It’s also really cool how they have this dive/​motorcycle bar right in the middle of Old Saybrook — such an excellent change of scenery!

The place has history and character too,
The waitress was great the whole time we chewed,
Although the food and drinks were not the best,
At the end of the day this place passed the test.
My friends and I were looking for good, cheap eats in the area and we landed upon the Monkey Farm. There are no draft beers; only bottles. The bottle list was pretty unimpressive and the prices were higher than I thought they might be.
Girlfriend and I split the French Onion soup (very hot and tasty), Chef Salad (meh), and lobster roll. The lobster roll was OK; it came on a toasted hot dog bun and we found a hard chunk in the meat. However, it was tender and adequately buttered. My friends got sandwiches and they said they were alright.
The waitress and the bartender we dealt with were great people. Very attentive. Overall, not a bad dinner, but nothing that rocked my socks off.
Plenty of parking. Divey décor.