1 Union Street
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
01224 251120
The Monkey House is a new bar restaurant that seems to be getting into the swing of things on Aberdeen's Union Street.
It had a baptism of fire when it opened on Friday, December 19 last year.
You've heard of Black Wednesday and we have all had a blue Monday. Well, in the licensed trade, the last Friday before Christmas is known as Mad Friday.
Bar staff call it this because it's the day when every office party and once-a-year drinker lets down their hair and gets stuck into the festive spirit and anything else that comes to hand.
Despite, or perhaps because of this daunting first day, the Monkey House seems pretty confident now and is packing in the punters. For years, the building housed the Commercial Union, but it has been a meeting point for Aberdonians for even longer.
Like many other buildings that were previously financial institutions, the Monkey House has an impressive interior.
Huge marble pillars soar up to an ornate ceiling and tall windows look out to the spires of Aberdeen University and various kirks.
It has the kind of solid wooden parquet floor that property programme presenters go misty-eyed over and a bar so long that even Olly Reid in his prime couldn't have had a nip at every stool and made it to the end.
Off to the side of the main bar is a dining area that, among other things, does a whopping chilli burger. Come 9pm, the food operation closes down and the space is turned over to drinking.
There are DJs at the weekends, but the Monkey House tends to attract a slightly more mature, casual smart crowd, so don't expect to see anyone busting funky moves. They save that for later.
The Monkey House is owned by the Epic Group, who also have the Paramount Bar and the Ministry and Priory nightclubs.
If you would rather spend the early hours of the morning filling your face than showing off your silky dancing skills, the Monkey House has a surprise up its furry little sleeves.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the bar shuts at 1am and the staff scurry about stopping the place from looking like it's just hosted a chimps' tea party.
At 1.30am, the staff re-open the doors for breakfast. Until 4am, customers can have a bite to eat or something non-alcoholic to drink.
If your appetite is up to it, you can have a full cooked Scottish breakfast. Or, if you have just pulled and are trying to impress your new friend with your culinary sophistication, the French toast with Lorne sausage is bound to mark you out as a person of impeccable taste.
The only thing stopping the Monkey House getting a top banana rating is the distance of the toilets from the bar. By the time I got there and back, I felt as though I should have taken a packed lunch.
Details
01224 251120
Huge marble pillars soar up to an ornate ceiling and tall windows look out to the spires of Aberdeen University and various kirks.
It has the kind of solid wooden parquet floor that property programme presenters go misty-eyed over and a bar so long that even Olly Reid in his prime couldn't have had a nip at every stool and made it to the end.
Off to the side of the main bar is a dining area that, among other things, does a whopping chilli burger. Come 9pm, the food operation closes down and the space is turned over to drinking.
There are DJs at the weekends, but the Monkey House tends to attract a slightly more mature, casual smart crowd, so don't expect to see anyone busting funky moves. They save that for later.
The Monkey House is owned by the Epic Group, who also have the Paramount Bar and the Ministry and Priory nightclubs.
If you would rather spend the early hours of the morning filling your face than showing off your silky dancing skills, the Monkey House has a surprise up its furry little sleeves.
On Fridays and Saturdays, the bar shuts at 1am and the staff scurry about stopping the place from looking like it's just hosted a chimps' tea party.
At 1.30am, the staff re-open the doors for breakfast. Until 4am, customers can have a bite to eat or something non-alcoholic to drink.
If your appetite is up to it, you can have a full cooked Scottish breakfast. Or, if you have just pulled and are trying to impress your new friend with your culinary sophistication, the French toast with Lorne sausage is bound to mark you out as a person of impeccable taste.
The only thing stopping the Monkey House getting a top banana rating is the distance of the toilets from the bar. By the time I got there and back, I felt as though I should have taken a packed lunch.
