We came here about 11am this last Saturday after searching for a place to have an early lunch and a drink or two. Â It was the right decision. I got a bloody mary, which was very strong and very delicious. Not the cheapest bloody mary that you'll find in the area but I was pleased.
Then our burgers came out. I got the Barrel Coos with curly fries and my boyfriend got the Merchant of Venice (which is truly something to behold) with steak fries. The flavors melted together and everything was cooked to perfection. This was the best burger I've had in a while. (Some of the other reviewers on this page that complained about the food must have not ordered the right thing) The burgers are DEFINITELY recommended.
We were incredibly pleased with this place. The only reason I can't give a full 5-star rating is because there were issues with the check. We tried to split it but there was some sort of technical issue that caused my credit card to get charged half of the final check and my boyfriend's card to get charged the full amount. The waitress apologized but said the issue wouldn't be fixed till the owner came in later that day. This was a little disheartening since we pretty much had to take the waitress's word that it would all get sorted out. Â Once I know for sure that the issue is taken care of, I'll most likely update this review to a full 5 stars.
on the 4th of July at about 12 they were sort of busy but still had about 7 tables open and only one waitress I waited 20 minutes to get a ice tea that literally tasted like sewage water LITERALLY and I left. My recommendation... only go here if u want a beer...not food, or fast service.
Review Source:Food is terrible. I came here to eat once while watching a football game and it was not good.
I do come here for drinks and people watching though. The Mucky Duck never fails to entertain!! Live music in the back patio and crazy people everywhere. I've enjoyed myself and 3/5 times have been fun nights.
Food & service last night were pretty good, but what the hell is management thinking? They hire a band to play on the patio, yet provide zero personnel to serve drinks or food on the patio. And they leave the sound on the TVs blaring while the band is playing? No heat lamps were lit. It was survival of the fittest out there on a chilly February evening.
On the positive side, Meredith (server/waitress) is great. She knows the menu, the specials, etc. The other personnel are friendly, hard working & competent, too...but there aren't enough of them. It's like a scrum trying to get a drink at the bar sometimes.
The fish tacos (3 tacos of any kind for $9.95 on Tuesdays) were good--better than at some taquerias--but it would have been nice to have some rice &/or beans on the side.
One strange customer/character got escorted out for bothering customers--this was handled well by the big guy at the bar.
Update: The bartender's name is Eddie. Last night he was kind of a jerk. It says on the "Specials" board (among other specials) that Bulleit bourbon & rye are $5. No ifs, ands, or buts. So I order Bulleit bourbon on the rocks. Eddie starts giving me & my buddy the (paraphrased) "Well, the bourbon is supposed to be $8(?), but since one of you is ordering a pint, I'll give it to you for $5." I'm like, "it says on the board it's $5." Doesn't penetrate his brain. Either it's on special for $5, or it isn't. If you have to buy something else in order to get the special, it should say so. Don't act like you're doing someone a favor for charging the advertised price.
One other note--the band, from Canada, played outside in the rain last night, but quit after one set, since their equipment was getting ruined. Too bad, since they were good. Not only was the band mistreated, but there were no bar stools at the outside bar for customers! Hello?
0 stars (if that was possible)
Simpy put: don't waste your time. Â The bar is crowded, dirty, and has terrible traffic flow. Â This is compounded by putting a dance floor between the bar and bathrooms so one has to navigate a crowd of intoxicated patrons to reach the restrooms. Â Additionally, the only smoking area is outside, past the hallway reserved for the bathrooms. Â Terrible layout compounded with bad music and worse drinks.
Hard to know where to start:
The line to get inside, and then the second line to get out on the patio?
The smell of vomit, tears, and desperation inside that predicates the desire to get out to the above mentioned patio?
The certainty of violence between one patron and another or one of the bouncers (who seem to be just itching to kick someone's ass)?
The stale-dirty tasting beer?
No. It's the feeling you get after about 10 minutes that there should be a sign at the entrance that reads, "Abandon standards all ye who enter here".
It's tough to find a reasonably priced restaurant in Downtown Monterey/Fisherman's Wharf. Â With the tourist industry, there are a lot of places peddling for their patronage. Â I just wanted something low key. Â Funny enough, Mucky Duck was the first restaurant I saw and, after walking down to the wharf and back, it was where I ended up eating.
The place definitely feels like a local destination, not meant for tourists. Â Still, I walked in and the kitchen cook greeted me from behind the stove. Â He was very professional. Â I finally got seated in one of the booths. Â I ordered their muscles and a pint of beer. Â The muscles were excellent -- they were big and flavorful in a garlic broth. Â And it comes with toasted bread. Â Very yummy. Â Plus, the atmosphere was just the right amount of liveliness. Â Reminded me of a pub I frequented back in Boston (sniff).
My biggest complaint is that they are seriously understaffed. Â The waiter was horrible about checking up on me. Â I had to ask for water several times and on one occasion he completely forgot. Â Then he took forever to pick up my credit card. Â But when I looked around, I realized he was the only staff for the whole floor (not including the bartender and some greeter who seemed useless).
Been here twice & WALKED OUT twice! I can't say much about the drinks or food because we have NEVER been served. The 1st time my friends & I were there, we got seated after a 10min. wait (note: it wasn't even busy at the time). After we sat down, we waited some more...got some water to wait even more. After an additional 10min. of waiting (it's probably almost 1/2 hr. of waiting by now) we gave up since nobody cared enough to come by & ask if we wanted anything. FAILED!
Months later, we decided to give this place another shot. We noticed the place was under-staffed that night so we tried to be understanding of the situation. However, 1 chef & 1 waiter (who is also moonlighting as a bartender at the same time) WILL NOT & CANNOT handle a bar/restaurant with at least 20 patrons present. Needless to say, we were invisible for too long and had to leave again. DOUBLE FAILED!
In conclusion, horrible service...terrible management. When you're in the restaurant/bar industry & your customer wasn't even given a chance to rate your establishment, you need to reconsider your business plan.
This review is strictly for the night life.
I didnt stay here long.I was with my guy friend and we basically had one drink. It did seem pretty crackin and the place was packed. I dont remember where I had heard this but I heard Monetery Nighlife sucked. Didnt seem that way to me! Although it was hard to get drinks,we had to wait like five minutes and you have to scream for the bartender or wave your hands around to make sure she seen you.But im guessing this is a issue at every packed bar/nightclub? Depends. The crowd definitley seemed more preppy than anything,ill probably be back:)
And the drinks did cost more than other places but they seemed way stonger...just sayin and I think they have two dollar drinks at midnight or 1oclock,not sure
I like The Mucky Duck. Â Bartenders were really nice & helpful & friendly. Â Drinks were good- quite strong in fact. Â Colorful local patrons. Â Bathrooms could use a little attention (they certainly are "mucky") but the atmosphere is casual and inviting. Â This place has the ol pub charm.
Review Source:I only came here out of sheer, desperate hunger and I wish I'd taken the extra 20 minutes to find another restaurant nearby that was open on a Sunday morning. Anything would have been better than the excruciating pain of food poisoning I experienced after having Mucky Duck's seafood linguine. Fire daggers in your belly.
Never again.
While taking a walk down Alvarado Street, which is where our hotel was located, we decided to stop in at The Mucky Duck for a drink before retiring for the evening. Â What drew our attention to choose this place over other nearby bars, was that it seemed more lively with happy patrons. Â
This bar and grill looked pretty spacious with plenty of booths and tables for people to dine, or sit at the bar. Â Luckily for us, there was two bar stools open at the far end of the bar right near a wide screen TV with the game on. Â Near us were three men enjoying the game AND their beers. Â Immediately, two of the men struck up a conversation with us in slurred, drunken voices. Â The third guy remained silent and looked a little embarrassed. Â I thought it was pretty amusing, but they were having a good time and were actually interesting to talk to. Â
During this time, the bartender dressed in her sexy best, took our drink orders. Â I asked for something sweet, so she surprised me with the perfect drink that quenched my thirst right off the bat. Â Believe me; a second round wasn't necessary here! Â And for $7.00, I should hope so! Â I never could ask what the name of that drink was because the bartender was too busy to notice us again. Â
Anyway, my boyfriend and I spent a nice long hour enjoying the dive bar atmosphere and just relaxing. Â It seems to get a lot of poor reviews for multiple reasons, but as a bar goes, it does well and people still spend time there! Â I'm not sure the high prices for cocktails are worth it though! Â At least we didn't have to drive anywhere, and we happily walked back to the Monterey Hotel.....
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDRaUIju05Kk&s=d525860285c8221d099c62a3d943069ef9eb678dcb9a547acdda6fafddefe893" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>
Hated this place when I was here nearly 10 years ago and nothing has changed.
Have gone twice in the past few months... Last night we figured we'd give it another go. OMFG. What a disaster.
First it was so crowded you couldn't walk, the bathrooms were heinous (toilets overflowing, no tp, long lines etc) and the nasty smells spilled out into the hallway.
Next it is almost entirely a DLI first termer crowd so if you're a career military member and don't want to be around a bunch of kids, stay away.
The place is full of rif raff (my mum used that word the other day and I'm going to try and bring it back), people who are completely wasted (mind you, I was also drunk but these people were all bombed), grabbing on you, pushing you, having SEX on the dance floor (yes we saw that) and just overall a terrible crowd.
The bartenders here are the worst. You will eeeeeeeasily wait 20 minutes to be served at the bar. They are rude and snobby and act as though by asking for a drink, there is something wrong with YOU. Hellllllllo? You're a bartender. You're in customer service. I'm the customer, now serve me, and do it with a smile you stupid cow. And I'm not being sexist, the male bartenders were no better (though we dud have one guy on the patio who was pretty good but then again, we literally ordered $140 worth of drinks in 15 minutes).
The DJ was pretty terrible and he kept trying to make Pauly D references-- I'm sorry but it sounds so lame when a flamingly gay guy is shouting "yeeeeeah buddy"... Just does not work. And why try to be like another DJ anyway?? Have your own style, your own saying. It was really lame....
Lesson learned, will NOT give this place another shot.
We were bar hopping on a Saturday night, and we were told this was the "place to be". We didn't stay long enough to eat, so I can't comment on the food, but I enjoyed the live music playing in the back, the band's "white wedding" dedication to our bride-to-be, and the crowd.
Pretty fun for a Saturday night, but don't order the Jello shots, they weren't that good.
It was alright. I only drank which is pretty normal. The selection of beer is pretty good. The clientele and staff are what turned me off. The staff were very cliquey and didn't seem like they wanted to serve me. The other patrons were pretty rude, but I have fairly thick skin and shrugged it off.
I'll probably return if I am with a friend who is somehow able to convince me. Basically a little apprehensive.
this place has been known for years as the "Sucky Puck" the "Yucky F&*%" ....well, you get the picture. Â The food is terrible. Â Dry, overpriced, tourist trap type menu.
 with the spread out layout of the restaurant, there are lots of places to sit depending on what you want.  the back patio is good, if you want to smoke.  Late nights, the back patio is a DJ/dancing area---that often turns into the BattleGround. Â
Fights often break out based on the very young clientele (on fri/sat, the average age is probably 21 on the nose) Â if they do kick everyone out of the bar, angry bar patrons have been known to THROW bottles & chairs over the wall back into the patio area (where u may still be standing) Â its a nasty 'meat market" type atmosphere after dark and there's a good chance you'll get an STD if you touch anyone.
The place smells like its been soaked in alcohol from Steinbecks days, mold & mildew odor to go with it. Â
they do have dart boards and touchscreen games, a jukebox inside,.....
but i can recommend at least 3 BETTER places to find entertainment, GOOD food and a clean(er) environment!!!!!
woulda given the mucky duck NO STARS but thats NOT an option.
save yur money!
Wow, this place has really gone downhill. Had lots of fun here in the late 90s and it was still pretty good when I was there in 2007. Now it's just awful. An English pub blasting Ke$ha? We couldn't wait to finish our drinks and get out of there; should have known it was bad news when the bouncer inside the door wasn't just checking IDs, but actually scanning and saving copies of them. Not on a crazy Saturday night, but at 10pm on a Tuesday with about ten other patrons in the whole place.
Worst bar in Monterey (which is saying something, considering the horrible Britannia Arms is right across the street).
Yeah, I didn't go there often with the old owners, and I haven't gone there under the new ownership because from what I hear it's still a hell-hole.
The food from the kitchen is supposed to be killer. If only it would turn into a full-fledged restaurant and no longer be a den of lecherous, skanky, felons.
The Duck has been going downhill for a while; if I were you, I'd just keep walking. But if you're hell-bent on getting an STD, go to the Duck.
Wonderful place if you're an obnoxious college student who really don't care about hospitality.
We went during their karaoke night and:
1. My boyfriend and I wanted to get seated so we can order some food. After standing around for several minutes, I chased down a waitress and told her that we wanted to be seated at a table. She gave me one of those shoulder shrugs, looked around the place, and went about to do whatever useless thing she was doing -- So I seated myself on a table with crumbs and empty cups.
2. Since the lovely waitress didn't bother to take our order, I asked my boyfriend to order me a mojito at the bar. When he asked for a mojito, the bartender motions his hand like he's doing a kungfu chop in the air, and said, "FUCK NO"....... Do I really need to say anything more at this point?
I was not very impressed by the Mucky Duck. Before I arrived in Monterey, my husband would always go to the Duck. So I thought it would become one of my favorite places... wrong! The first time I went to the Mucky Duck, it was ridiculously crowded, like sardine jam packed. Finally, we located a table and pretty much had to fight our way to get to it before anyone else did. I noticed that it was very under staffed. It was a weekend and they knew they were gunna be busy, was that all the employees they could schedule? Took forever for our food to come out of the kitchen and for our waitress to even check up on us. After the meal we decide to have a few drinks... impossible! Only 2 bartenders on duty surrounded by hoards of zombie drunks. The DJ plays the music so loud, you can't even hear the person next to you.
The food is good, but everytime my husband wants to go here, I throw a tantrum. I'd rather go somewhere else not feeling like a sardine missing an eardrum.
On my way back to San Francisco from Big Sur, I decided to stop in Monterey for dinner. Â After walking up and down Alvarado street, I decided The Mucky Duck was what I was looking for.
I sat at the bar and enjoyed a beer while perusing the menu. Â Everything on the menu looked wonderful and I opted for the seafood linguine. Â This dish did not disappoint. Â The seafood was plentiful (mussels, shrimp, squid, and scallops) and most importantly, fresh and the marinara sauce had just the right amount of flavor to enhance this tasty dish.
Warm wood tones and soft lighting emitted a comfortable "settle in for the evening" atmosphere. Â There was a circular fire pit inside with seating around it that added a nice touch. There is also a large patio outside and there was a band playing on this particular night so I hung around for a few songs.
Based on the chatter that was going on around me, I sensed this was a neighborhood bar and I could see why. Â
Good service, great food, awesome atmosphere - I'm a fan!!!
What is with this place?!?!
Apparently, the coolest club in town is at this Irish bar...
First, there's a line to get in. The bouncers decide whether to deny you entry or not. Then, and this is a first for me, there is a second line to get through the back patio area. I guess they keep the Irish part in the first area.
For a college town, I'm not sure where all the trashy people come from. Salinas? It's kind of like a scene from Sons of Anarchy, except the Mayans are partying. There's cheap beer, a weird mix of music to please all crowds and a backyard area to serve as the "dancefloor" as they pack as many people into there as humanly possible. It will be inevitable to have beer spilled on you, yet I did see a lot of people enjoying themselves. My favorite part of the night was when we left through the back doors and went to grab food.
Let me preface my review by saying that I wish I could've given this establishment NO STAR.
The first time I came here was for their Half-off Wednesday Special on steak dishes. We sat around the fireplace and ate our surprisingly tasty filet-mignon. But our experience felt wrong because the food just didn't match the atmosphere. We sat facing a dart board and adjacent to a rather filthy bar that seemed to host the local drunks. This is most definitely a dive bar/questionable night club. Had it not been for the Half-Off menu, I wouldn't have stepped inside this place.
Nevertheless, against my better judgment, I decided to give this place another chance. BIG MISTAKE.
Any doubts I had about the quality of Mucky Duck were put to rest. It was 9PM and my visiting friend and I were incredibly hungry after a long day of sightseeing. Mucky Duck was the only place that had a good amount of people in it so we decided to try it out.
Our waitress was, for lack of a more inappropriately descriptive word, uncouth. It took her twenty minutes to get to us mainly because she was philandering with someone who looked like her boyfriend. After she finally took our orders, we waited for THIRTY MORE MINUTES. It was after one hour that all sense of civility and understanding left our beings. ONE HOUR AND STILL NO FOOD!?!?! Are we INVISIBLE? or not drunk enough to put up with your BS and forget about our food altogether?
With great difficulty, I called our waiter three different times to see what was going on as one hamburger plate after another passed our table. She bluntly retorted, "our kitchen is busy" when in fact their restaurant was barely half full. I realized soon after that they were feeding their employees first instead of their PAYING customers. I was infuriated.
So, for the first time in my life, I WALKED OUT of a restaurant. I couldn't with good conscience support this establishment. Suffice it to say, I went to bed hungry and angry. NEVER AGAIN.
So my wife has gone out with friends to this dive, and that's why she knew that they had half-price Wednesdays. So she suggested we go for dinner on a Wednesday, and off we went.
After being ignored at the door for about five minutes, the seater finally comes back to her podium and asks us how many. After waiting about as long as she said we would, we were seated.
Problem the First: Is the Mucky Duck a British-style pub, or is it a sports bar? If it's the former, it's really filling an unfulfilled need in Monterey. After all, with the Britannia Arms, the Bulldog, Bullwacker's, the Crown & Anchor, and the London Bridge in Monterey proper, not to mention other options locally, we really don't have enough Ye Olde Britishe-style Pubbes around. If it's a sports bar, why distract from that with all that extraneous brass and other junk cluttering up the walls? Why not have more jerseys and the like?
Problem the Second: Censored! Let me put it this way: I'm a "Buy American" kind of guy, and that includes patronizing businesses that hire Americans rather than the foreign-born. It's not that I have something against foreigners; it's that I care more about Americans than I do about non-Americans. This is about as [fill in your negative descriptor of choice] as caring more about my own children than I do about someone else's.
The Mucky Duck does not pass this "Buy American" test.
Problem the Third: No seasonal brews. Limited selection of British brews. Not so bad; I always like Guinness, which they have on tap.
Problem the Fourth: No paper towels in the disgusting bathroom; only a broken hand dryer.
So we got kiddie menus & crayons for the kids, but we had to suggest a child seat-thingie to the seater-woman (who did at least carry it for us to the table).
Food took a while to arrive, but it was a full house, so not an unreasonable wait. The drinks and appetizers were prompt, which was good, because the kids had sliders for dinner. The food, when it came, was edible. Nothing great, but within acceptable bounds. Overall, the service was fine--except for being ignored when we came in.
Before coming, I had a negative view of the Mucky Duck. This is partly from the vibe I get from walking by it, and partly from the reviews, and partly from what people say about it. My negative view was not improved by the service or the ambience, and has only gotten worse since the shooting that occurred at the front door on New Year's Day 2011.
Perhaps this is a good place to go if you're college-aged and like to get plastered with your friends. I'm not; I don't; and so I can't recommend this dump.
Two stars, according to Yelp, is "meh. I've experienced better".
And understand that the lack of stars is not because I arrived a night before three people were shot. Not sure what they could have done about that.
What surprised me is how it changed from the days when I used to live/go to high school here and what is is now, a place where beginners drink, guys mad-dog you, and there's really bad DJ's.
Is it the college crowd? Doesn't seem like it. It sure wasn't military either. It feels more like a high school crowd. In fact, that whole end of Alvarado failed hard. Bad vibes, people were WAY too drunk (and not handling it), and way too many douchebag guys trying to pick fights.
The two stars are for daytime visits and the good old days. I can't recommend this to anyone other than those people out of high school with nowhere else to go, and the 30 somethings that haven't grown up.
EDIT: SERIOUSLY? Employees are giving it 5 stars? FAIL.
Ugh. The first time I went to the Mucky Duck there was a huge line to get inside. Once inside, it just looked like a dirty sports bar. There was a line inside to go outside. WTF? So friends and I got some drinks. We had to use the restroom and the bouncers were actually taking id's as some sort of fucked up bathroom pass or something. So finally we get outside where the dancing is and there are creeps abound. One douche bag actually tried to stick his hands down my pants. Ick. Good thing was that the drinks were cheap. Bad thing was that said friends and I all got sinus infections after drinking there and after seeing the bartender, I get why. Dude looks like he hasn't showered or washed his hands in at least a year.
Second experience there was alright. Was in Monterey for a conference and in the mood to drink and dance. Got there early, so the crowd wasn't as large. Drinks were cheap and strong BUT I ended up getting a fucking sinus infection again. EW! I don't know if the bartender is spitting in the glasses or what, but cheap drinks or not, I won't chance it a third time.
The mucky duck is the spot when you are first learning how to go out.. It's loud, it's crowded, it might as well be the only bar in Monterey. Everyone is double-fistin' it, because everyone who goes there is an alcoholic. Dancing is fun, drinks are cheap on Wednesdays.. Â This is not my first place to go out to, nor my second or third. Its just a place to go when all else fails. Â Or you're already trashed, because then you fit right in!
I've never eaten the food, I only come to drink the drinks. And wait in the stupidly long line that you can only pass up on if 1.) you went to high school with the bouncer or 2.) if the twins are about to fall out of your dress. Every once in a while a couple of the bouncers will recognize and let you through because they know who you are.. But the last couple times I've been there, its a no-go unless someone pays them a door fee, because I guess they're trying to turn this place into a club with a cover... Sorry, I refuse to pay money so I can spend money to dance with a bunch of skanky hoes and dirt bags. Seriously, go to the Mucky Duck facebook page and look at the pictures. If you think the majority of people who come here aren't coming from cheap-thrill city, well.. Then maybe its time to take a real hard look at yourself.
The bathroom is atrocious (not to mention, small) and the show of people trying to enter usually aren't much different. "OMG, I just puked on my shoe.. MY SHOEEEE" To add insult to injury, the bouncers are ALWAYS yelling into the bathroom for everyone to hurry up. Loud voices in a little room tends to be louder than needed. Thanks Bear.
I don't know. Â I guess all the people who come here are all the kinds of people you'd expect in any regular bar. But seeing how Monterey's night life is pretty limited, all the horrible people you'd see dispersed throughout different bars in any given city, are all cramped into one disgusting little place called the mucky duck. It's fun to go to sometimes.. But for the most part, I'd rather not.
Midday through our own little version of Sideways meets Fear and Loathing, my two best buddies and I arrived in Monterey. Having failed to make the cut at Pebble Beach we were determined to weave our own little brand of magic across the Monterey night.
After a series of unfortunate and desperate places we found ourselves at the last resort, Mucky Duck. Full of local wannabe gangsters ogling over small town bimbos, that was the last place we should have been, as the DJ shouted out to California Love, I was consumed by the prospect of a 2 AM liquor license and fear of sobering up in that dark reality.
Hailing from London, Paris and New York(all by residence not birth) our levels of contempt and general snobbery had reached disgusting levels, my comrades dreamed of butter and fresh baguettes beneath Le Eiffel and Wimbledon roasts, while I simply sang my own little version of Empire State of Mind.
If like us, you get lost and end up in Mucky Duck, ask yourself WTF?
Not my choice for a place to go on my night off but everytime I have come here on a whim I've had a very memorable time. Â Last year when my friend Pee Wee who was visiting from Houston (but we both grew up in Monterey) came into town we ventured into the Duck. Â We didn't have to wait outside but we waited a bit to be allowed in the outside patio. Â A DJ was playing people were everywhere and getting down. Â We were so out of place in our Polo and popped collars (we are actually quite preppy not going to lie) but we sure know our Gangsta Rap. Â
As we started rapping outloud to our favorite songs from the good old days, "Ain't No Fun" - Snoop and the Big Butt song by Sir Mix A Lot and any song by 2Pac (he's still alive by the way haha!) we started to mingle with a group of Gangsta's or that was the look they were going for. Â They were from Georgia no wait sorry, ATL... and they were temporarily living in Marina or Seaside... anyways to make a long story short we quickly became friends with a group of people that we normally would not have and then we ended up going to Doc's (before they closed obvi) and they bought us endless round of Gin & Juice... I'm not kidding.
In summary, although I'm not a huge fan of the Duck, it has and will always be a very memorable place to visit. Â Even if I don't go, I recommend this place to people who want to have a good time (just not my style)... you know dance, get jiggy with it , get laid whatever you want to call it. Â Last night I went to Mundaka and took with me a group of 8 or so... after we closed that place down I dropped off 1/2 the rowdy crew (I was not drinking) at Mucky Duck. Â See they could have a rowdy good old time at the duck, dance real close, get even more drunk (they started drinking at noon and now it was passed midnight) Â and hopefully take eachother home and F*@# eachothers brains out!
Congratulations, Mucky Duck. You have finally incited me to do something no other god-awful shithole or horrible customer service experience has ever been able to accomplish: you have motivated me to finally get a yelp account. Just so I can let everyone know what kind of a girl, I mean bar, you really are.
Having lived in SF for a while, I know I've been horribly spoiled as far as bar selection, but I've been to Monterey several times and certainly never thought of it as a backwards hick town. Enter the Mucky Duck. Â My friends and I were in town for a wedding and were looking for a bar after the reception. We ended up at there because two of us were sans ID and having been turned away from Lalapolooza, we figured we'd try the bar across the street. Luckily for us the bouncer at the front door was too busy flirting with some girls to do his job, so we were able to waltz right in. Â
At first glance, the place wasn't bad, just your average dive bar. We were able to snag a booth, and the female bartender was nice and whipped up a fancy non-alcoholic beverage for our friend who wasn't drinking. The two creepy guys who leered at my female friends and me every time we walked by to use the restroom were a bit unpleasant, but we could deal. The back patio felt strangely reminiscent of a SD State frat party (with fewer togas) and the claustrophobia and  smell/sight of  fresh vomit quickly drove us back inside.
Here's where the story gets good. My girl friend returned to her seat with one of the bouncers behind her, telling us that she had to leave the bar. Â Why? Â It seems she had used the men's restroom. I wish I were joking. Because none of us have ever done that, right ladies? Now, as a reasonable person she probably would have reluctantly acquiesced and waited a ridiculous amount of time to pee in women's bathroom if the bouncer had said something like, "You can't do that here" or "if you use the men's bathroom we'll kick you out." You know, use adult communication skills to say what he actually meant. Instead he decided to go for a more whimsical note, telling her that she was going to go to jail. Shocking that she didn't take him seriously.
So of course, we attempt to reason with the bouncer. I apologize, politely tell him that we've never been to his fine establishment before, that we're only in town for the weekend, visiting from SF, where we often use the men's room when it's empty and the ladies' is full, that in fact many bars we frequent have only one unisex bathroom, and so we didn't realize things were done differently here, but that it wouldn't happen again. For our troubles attempting to explain ourselves, we were basically called dirty unsanitary whores by said bouncer, whose reaction was an appalled "you do?? Well that's disgusting, you should know better," etc.
He went on to claim that using their men's room is unsafe and they can't protect us from what can happen in there. I really wanted to ask him if there was actually a high incidence of rape in their men's' room, that wouldn't really speak very highly of the establishment, would it? I also wanted to ask him, as far as the cleanliness claim went, if he had SEEN the inside of the women's restroom, but he probably prefers to think of girls as not having bodily functions, most likely he thinks all we do in there is reapply lipstick and gossip.
He then claimed indignantly, "Well I'm from 'Frisco too", to which I had to point out that if he were, he would not only be familiar with the concept of unisex bathrooms, he would also most definitely know better than to refer to it as "Frisco". He finally told us to get out and go home to "Frisco" to resume our dirty unsafe whorish habits there, to which I replied that we were ecstatic to be leaving his shithole of a bar and soon be returning to civilization. Â
I tried to finish the last of my drink as I walked to the front of the bar, at which point bouncer #2 GRABBED THE GLASS OUT OF MY HAND in midair. Now, I have enough of a sense of humor to find bouncer #1's insults rather funny in their complete outlandishness. But you DO NOT mess with my drink. In my stubbornness I refused to let go of the glass while demanding to know what exactly he thought he was doing and did he plan to reimburse me for that, while my poor guy friend tried to calm me down and tell me to just let it go. They almost didn't even let my friend close her tab whilst they were pushing us out. Â
The kickers: 1) apparently another girl had incited the whole bathroom incident, who for some reason they just let go. 2) while my friend was attempting to reason with bouncer #1, another girl walked by and sympathetically told her that the same thing had happened to her several times. Oh, the horror of living in a town where you are forced back to the same awful place again and again! Â I would take any bar in the SF marina district over this place any day, and anyone who knows me (or the marina) knows what a bold statement that is.
Came here for some post-dinner drinks. Â It was definitely very interesting. Â We walk in, and the bar area is pretty empty. Â Our friend who grew up in the area recommended that we go out to the patio area because that's where the party people hang out. Â
The patio is a decent size, but it was a cold night, so unless you were by a heat lamp, you had to find someone to keep you warm with body heat. Â The crowd was different than what I'm used to. Â There was a wide range of ages that night. Â I saw people who looked like they just turned 21, and then there was also a cougar sighting. Â Hmm..I'm not too keen on partying with cougars.
I doubt I'll come back here. Â It kind of reminded me of the old college days in Davis. Â I'm too old to be partying with the young-ins and don't want to fight the cougars for the young-ins. Â =P
The first time I visited this fine establishment I walked out onto their outside patio and the DJ was pumping "Return of the Mack" as a 50+ year old woman was being escorted out of the place while fumbling with her spaghetti straps . Â
With the smell of hot beer and garbage in the air, I realized that the aquarium is not Monterey's only fishy smelling attraction. Â
This place is a real sight. Â Almost worthy of 5 stars just for the experience, except I hit my head so hard on some protruding planter box while trying to order a beer that I almost gave myself a concussion. Â Who puts protruding objects on a wall right next a bar??????
Anyway, more annoying was my whole cell phone fiasco  It was ringing off the hook all night because 1996 wouldn't stop calling and asking for their music back.
Well, is what is. If I was 22 the Mucky Duck would probably be my favorite place to hook up with some drunk sluts. Being that I'm not, I don't really need to hang out here, but being connected, I didn't have to pay a cover or wait in line to get into the patio. So when I go down to Alvarado, I will inevitably end up there.
One thing that bothered me is the fact that they told me to take of my Giants sweatshirt, because sports paraphernalia is not allowed. Not like I'm trying to rep the Giants all over Monterey, but I came ill-prepared for going out in the land of fog, so that's all I had. Meanwhile I enter the patio and every dude is wearing some kind of sports hat...okay...so much for that.
Whenever I manage to find myself here, it becomes blatantly apparent that I don't need to hang out at dance clubs. I mean, they are gross, and I've never really liked them, but I used to put up with them to possibly grind on some girl. But now, even that doesn't make it worth it. I'd still rather sit and have a pint while talking at a normal volume level. I guess that makes me OLD.
Wow. Where do I start with the Duck? Well, it brings out the worst people and the worst in people, yet like a bad case of herpes, it keeps making random appearances in my life.
The Good:
- Chicks dancing on wobbly tables and falling off.
-You always seem to run into someone you know, and then you make fun of each other for being at the Duck.
-Drinks stiffer than a porn stars appendage.
-Drinks cheaper than a balding Detroit streetwalker with an overbite. ($6 Jameson & Coke (90% Jameson) unreal!)
The Bad:
-The music is AWFUL!
-There seems to be a line for EVERYTHING!
- Did I mention that the Patio smells like vomit?
The Ugly:
-Most of the hags that try to pick up on the guys.
-Most of the single guys that think listening to Tupac makes them Tupac.
-Jackasses that drink to much and attempt to urinate on the DJ table.
I grew up in the Monterey area and find myself returning every Thanksgiving, which means one thing...pre-Thanksgiving drinking extravaganza which usually ends up with a pub crawl of Alvarado street's numerous meat markets...The duck has to be the worst one on the block. With very little atmosphere and bathrooms that smell like vomit it truly is a frat boy haven, only with the threat of a knife fight. Oh...and skanky is the rule of thumb here, so wear your spangles and your tube tops.
They do have a fire pit outside though, that doesn't suck!
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,916 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
