The Hungry Monk

jale

Michigan

2.55/5  rDev -36.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

Review based on visits one year ago and during the recent Arizona beer week. Came here for the Hot Scotchy event. Very busy with a twenty minute wait, no problem. The problem started with a thirty minute wait to receive our first drink order. Then twenty minutes for the second. One and a half hours for our food. Tap list was nothing spectacular compared to last year. I was told by staff, the manager did not prepare them for the event and seldom has enough staff for busy hours. Not a place I will waste time with again until they get things right here.

02-28-2012 16:47:38 | More by jale

mwc115

Arizona

4.13/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I love this place especially for Happy Hour after work. I'm in there almost once a week. The beer selection is what first got me hooked. I'm not big on always trying the same beers, so when I go out to pay for a beer at a bar I want to try something different. They tend to have a lot of IPAs and rotate a lot so that I have been able to try a huge variety of beers.

Also, the owner is a very nice guy who is usually wondering around most days. He puts in a lot of time making up nice beer/food events and invites breweries in frequently to showcase their beers.

I didn't even really start ordering food for quite a while but they have a nice selection. The wings are great, the boneless ones are nice moist chunks of white meat. They also have a lot of other good stuff on the menu, throw in some occasional specials, and sometimes work with other local eateries as guest chefs.

Overall, pretty hard to find a better neighborhood bar. Yeah it can get busy, but just sit back relax and enjoy.

07-30-2012 21:15:49 | More by mwc115

SunDevilBeer

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited during the Final 4 on a Saturday afternoon. Not packed, but a decent crowd. Lots of big flat screens to view sports & a real casual vibe.

Sat at the bar- the server was OK but seemed like he'd rather be somewhere else. Was replaced during his shift by a female who was a bit forgetful & seemed to rather chat with other employees than be working.

Great selection of quality craft beers like Bell's Oberon & Two Hearted, Firestone Walker Union Jack, & several other regional/AZ beers. Fair pours at reasonable prices.

Had a nice grilled chicken nachos plate...fresh & well executed. Saw other plates of food that looked good.

Worth a stop if you're out in the southeast valley.

04-09-2012 02:07:38 | More by SunDevilBeer

Swillbur

Arizona

4.13/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I have been to the Hungry Monk in Chandler now about 20 times so i feel ready to review the joint.

When you walk in this place it looks like your average sports bar with TV's plastered all over the walls with sports on every one. Not a problem for me, i love sports. I knock this place a bit for service because they are under staffed alot but the staff is pretty great and do their best. The food is pretty good. Boneless wings are nice chunks of breast meat. Pulled pork sandwich is money as well. Beer selection is very good with 28 taps and about 10 of them rotate. They do 3 dollar beers on Wednesdays and i have had everything from Abyss to Hopslam for that price. Overall this is my go to place on Wednesday and one of my favorite spots overall. They are kinda pricey on other days but the selection is top notch. The owner is a huge hop head and has a great deal of influence in what they serve, Sometimes they have 10 good IPA's on at once. Cheers

06-30-2011 06:45:31 | More by Swillbur

Retsinis

California

3.78/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Last of three stops over a weekend visiting with family. Cool thing was this spot just happened to be about two blocks from my cousins mom's place, so he could actually leave his kids (their grandkids) with them, walk over there for a pint on a Sunday or Saturday to watch a game, then walk back. He had no idea this spot was here, since I guess the last spot had a much more limited menu, and not nearly as many taps.

We visited with a group of 4, that swelled to 9 when word got out just how close this spot was to the family. It was a Sunday evening, so pretty sparse crowd, so we kind of had the run of the place (but we all had Monday off, so was cool for us) Sports bar, few T.V.s booths, not too much as far as Ambiance goes, no real swag or art work that stood out to me. Didnt try the food, but the tap selection was pretty decent, with some local brews on tap, west coast stuff from California (nothing special for me, but great for the locals) I was most interested in the Left Hand offerings, as they don't distribute to Cali.

The Bartender was friendly, and she had pretty good knowledge of the beers they had on tap. Great that the scene in Arizona is growing, welcome site.

04-28-2011 18:40:48 | More by Retsinis

yemenmocha

Arizona

3.65/5  rDev -9%
vibe: 1 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Sports bar.

Sports bar that has some good craft beers though. It's like Buffalo Wild Wings with the countless TV's, some rather large, and the accompanying obnoxiously loud fans screaming at this or that game that is actually inconsequential for their real lives. But if you're into the sports bar vibe, don't mind the baboons screaching and shaking fists at the TV's, then maybe the atmosphere is for you.

Excellent selection of craft beers for the Phoenix area. I appreciated the designation for local beers, and I liked the options for hoppy beers. It was lame though that they mix beers, give them names, and then add them to the list to make the list look as though they have more beers than they actually do. Also didn't care for all of my pints being served in Coors' Blue Moon glasses.

Hostess & servers were female and more eyecandy than beer-knowledgeable. Food was above average, rather reasonably priced, and typical fare for a sports bar. Parking was tough up front but there's plenty far in the back.

04-11-2011 00:24:16 | More by yemenmocha

pretzel

Arizona

4.53/5  rDev +13%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited twice. First time was for happy hour/dinner about 6 months ago. Service was excellent, food was very good with some interesting selections for bar food. Crowd was a nice mixture of generations and full but not crowded. Owner stopped by to introduce himself and was very friendly, knowledgable about beer and a hockey fan (rare in Phoenix).

Variety of taps are amoung the best I've seen in metro Phoenix, second only to Papago. Nice selection of local craft beer represented, as well as Western US craft offerings with a few imports and specialy one-off items that you don't see other places. Lost Abby Judgement Day appears to be a regular. Liked the custom blends offered.

Most recent visit was on a Friday night around 9:30 PM. Sparse crowd watching college basketball on their many TV's with the sound on. I liked this as a sports bar (hockey channel playing) but was surpised at how empty it was for a Friday night (San Tan was packed). Once the game ended, they switched to music that my 15 year old daughter listens to - teenie bopper pop/rap. It totaly killed the craft beer/sportsbar vibe.

Service has been excellent both times. I'll likely return for dinner or a sporting event if in the area, but won't stick around if they play that insipid music.

03-26-2011 15:12:30 | More by pretzel

ejyoung

Arizona

3.88/5  rDev -3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I really like what the Hungry Monk is doing - it's nice to have a place like this in the SE Valley. The Firestone Walker night they had was great, as was the Stout/Porter fest (they had bottles of Ivan the Terrible for only $14!). The selection is pretty good here, I just wish the taplist was updated more frequently online. Also, it seems like there's quite a few beers that are always on, so the amount that change isn't as big as I might like it. I also wish they had real snifters instead of the goblets they use, but that's ok.

Service has always been good here for me. The food is great - boneless wings actually have meat in them (unlike other wing places) and the sauces are good. I've also enjoyed the pulled pork and the grilled ham and cheese.

Prices are generally pretty reasonable, and are very good on the $3 Wednesday.

Excited to see what else the Monk will do now that they are a bit more focused on craft beer.

02-04-2011 18:15:23 | More by ejyoung

mhaugan

Arizona

4.6/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I had been here prior to the name change/franchise jettison and while I enjoyed my previous experience, they have done nothing but improve. They have some incredible beers on tap all the time including a Rouge, Stone and a Lost Abby. But it is in their support of local breweries and rotating taps that they have made their great strides. As I type they have 5 handles from the valley, 2 from Northern AZ including the only Lumberyard I have seen in the valley. For rotating taps they are sitting on Some nice seasonals, but they have a good problem for them (bad for us) where they can move through a really good keg. The food has gone up with the name change as they move away from wing-centric to a more eclectic selection. I have requirements for healthy food when I eat out an they have several options for me that they didn't before the name change. This is a local beer joint making the right moves to support the scene in the valley. Hopefully this becomes a trend, and good beer is all over this valley.

10-08-2010 18:43:49 | More by mhaugan

freemike

Arizona

4.68/5  rDev +16.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

This place is for Beer advocate people. 27 taps as of June 11th, 2010, all but maybe 6 are craft brews. The line-up changes every week and you can get the current line-up by getting on their e-mail list which comes out every week. The manager Jim is great and tries to get only highly rated beer advocate brews. They are on facebook and have associated specials for facebook friends. $3 craft beers on Wed! This is one of the best places in the east valley to enjoy great beer, not to mention a different one every time you come. Check it out!

06-11-2010 22:02:30 | More by freemike