Monkey's Uncle Tavern

Muncles!! A real, deal dive in South Jax Beach. When I think of Monkey's Uncle, I think smoke rings, green carpet, and surprisingly well-executed karaoke. Their food ain't half bad either. With a big, circular, indoor bar and another on the patio, getting a drink is rarely a problem here. The seasoned bartenders make 'em strong too. You can play ring toss, pool, and photo hunt in relative peace from the crowds that usually flock to the central beach bars. Monkey's provides a good party scene on the weekends, but it never loses the divey-ness factor, and you shouldn't expect to come here without rubbing shoulders with grandpas and groms alike. Now, back to the karaoke. People take it SERIOUSLY on Friday on nights. I once saw a girl belting Carrie Underwood at the top of her lungs as her boyfriend looked on in awe, trying to hold back a tear. Geez. You'd think there was a talent scout in the building. Needless to say, this makes for great entertainment. Despite any issues with seediness, Monkey's is a great bar with zero snobbery. Just a good place to grab a drink.

For those folks who read reviews and wonder if they stay relevant after some time, go to Jonathon S's review of Monkey's Uncle, because his experience from 8 of 2011 was the same as ours from last weekend. First of all, this was our second visit to the Uncle, and I will say that both times I went, we had fun. That being said, I will mention that the DJ running the karaoke machine did play more dance music than had people singing. This was rather annoying, because we had come to hear some good and bad singing, not really to watch a bunch of not really funky people trying to get funky. The crowd is pretty mixed in age, which is cool, the waitresses are very attentive, and the drink special for the night  ($2 Heini) just hit the spot. I love the video game/trivia machines that they have on some of the tables. All in all, able to report that this is a decent place to hang out, but don't count on being entertained by karaoke.

I was out with some friends of mine for a big birthday party and we went to Monkey's Uncle because we all like Karaoke and a lot of the people at the party live at the beaches.  
    The night started off good enough and was fun, but we slowly started realizing that it was going down hill from there.  I was only able to sing ONE song from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Not because there were so many other people singing, but because some people were requesting dance music.  For most of the remainder of the night the Karakoke DJ played dance music instead of calling people up to sing.
    If people want to dance, go to a dance club.  We went here to sing and barely got a chance to.  It was really annoying when he started playing one dance song after another.  He could have at least played one dance song, then call one person up to sing, and keep alternating like that, but he did not.  Not the greatest experience compared to all thre other karaoke bars I've been to.