We want the Blue Monkey to be inviting, not a pickup joint. A place to feel cool and at ease. The Tiger Room, as it's unofficially called, has a working fireplace, a big screen television, funky arm chairs and a giant green couch that makes you feel small but seats four. The nooks and crannies, low ceilings and dim lights throughout the bar induce intimacy and conversation, giving the Blue Monkey a speakeasy feel. While there are no plans for personal humidors, patrons can bring their own cigars or purchase them at the bar.
People know their cigars.
Here, if they don't have what I want on the menu, they'll let you take a look in the back. But we do have a bigger selection than our menu shows. The Blue Monkey Lounge is not the place to come if you're starving. A fancy finger-food selection of baked feta, bruschetta and peppered Boursin may suffice, but it's the atmosphere, drinks and cigars that keep people coming back. If remnants of segregation still linger in certain parts of the South, the Blue Monkey isn't one of them.