Monsoon Room

It's so great to see the former Dusty Monk spot transformed into a new bar--and the bumper pool table lives on! The vibes in here are vintage and warm with low lighting and lots of plants. The food menu includes a variety of pintxos (Basque apps) for $2-3 as well as larger shareables, all from the connected Jojo's Restaurant. My friends and I tried the patatas bravas (so crispy, and the garlic aioli is amazing), tamarind BBQ cauliflower wings (pretty tasty) and the nachos (solid but nothing out of the ordinary). I had the Gin Elderflower Mule, which tasted really fresh with a nice botanical flavor. My friends tried a mezcal cocktail, and we also tried the house white wine. I like the variety of $8 cocktails, plus some pricier options, as well as a whole section of spritzes. Overall I'm glad to have a new neighborhood spot, and I look forward to trying it out again!

We went out to celebrate my promotion to full professor on the 15th. After eating at JoJo's a few months ago, our waitress recommended the Monsoon Room, so we gave it a try. While you may enjoy stopping here for a drink while waiting for a table at JoJos, I did not care for the experience. It reminds me of when teenagers go through that awkward identity phase of trying to fit in. It seems like this place is supposed to be a tiki bar, yet they have religious pictures up on one side and the Grim Reaper on the other, and signs of the previous establishment's name, and this hideous shade of green on the walls with 1950 tiki movies with no sound, but new age music playing from the bartender's phone. It was a Saturday evening, and the gem show was going on, but nobody stayed. Besides my wife, there was one other couple having a drink here while everyone else looked inside and turned around. It was a weird, uncomfortable vibe.We stayed for one drink and left. There were numerous drinks crossed off their menu. I had a banana drink, which was okay.On a positive note, the place has potential. I would hire a design consultant and focus on a theme.