Sugar Monk — Restaurant in New York

UPDATE: We like the place so much the first time we decided to return 2 nights later.

What a horrible change of experience.

We were ignored by the bartenders (2 of them), and we were 2 of 4 people at the bartop.

After sitting there watching the bartender on her phone, I had to reach across the bar and grab our own bottle of water to fill the water glasses.

Once we got some service, it was snippy and rude. I ordered a 16 year old scotch on the rocks and then caught the bartender trying to use an 8 yearold in substitute. When I confronted her about it, she said it was because she "didn't want to have to open the unopened bottle of 16 year." After pouring the shot, she proceeded to stir the scotch in a glass of ice as if it was a cocktail. By the time it reached me, it was watered down and ruined.

After drinking our disappointing drinks and asking for the check, we realized there was a 20% auto gratuity added to the tab.

I was upset to find out, because I had tipped 20% on top of the tab and few nights before that.

I suggest you stay away from this dishonest business.

This place was amazing. The music, the decor, the atmosphere...perfeíct. The only thing I would suggest is that when they drop off the cheese board, they let you know what types of cheese and jams are on it. It did make for a fun guessing game, but it would have been nice to...

I had previously enjoyed visits to Sugar Monk and thought it would be a great spot to take my aunt and uncle after dinner in Harlem. As a local, I’ve appreciated the cocktails and ambiance in the past. We had a reservation and were seated promptly in the outdoor section, which started the evening off on the right foot.

However, things took a disappointing turn. We placed our drink orders with Alejandro and waited patiently... for 35 minutes. When the drinks finally arrived, I politely asked if I could place an order for another, given the unusually long wait. To my surprise, Alejandro refused and told me, "I'm a bartender and have the right to serve people at my discretion depending on how they handle their drinks. I don't know you or if you can handle more alcohol."

That comment was both uncalled for and perplexing. No one in our party had even touched a drink yet—let alone shown any signs of overindulgence. If we had been acting in any inappropriate way, I would understand the hesitation. But in this case, it felt like an unfair assumption made without context.

We immediately asked for our check and paid, including the mandatory 20% gratuity, and left. I won’t be returning to Sugar Monk, and if you choose to visit, I’d suggest steering clear of...

We had a little bit of a hard time finding it because it has a discrete door bell on the outside ( felt very cool ) we were greeted at the door by the owner who was so nice he checked our if and our vaccination cards ... he also let us know before we came in that on Monday nights they have theme night and different drinks than the normal menu... we were happy with that! He walked us in and gave us a choice between some bar seats or a cute table . We ordered some truffle popcorn that was so good and a couple of drinks I can't remember the name of the drinks and sadly didn't get any pictures because it was cozy and dark and I didn't want to disturb anyone with a flash ... after our first drinks we decided to get some food too we got hummus and some octopus salad and a cheese plate all was very good ! The atmosphere was really nice they played amazing music I felt like I was in my own private old movie my only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is my second drink came and it tasted completely different than my first drink that was disappointing since I really loved the first one but I will definitely come back again I really loved the atmosphere don't miss this really amazing...