Monroe’s Bar

«An Anomaly in chintzy Tinseltown.»
Don’t let the big bouncer at the door fool you.
This hip two-​story Melrose Ave. bar and lounge, complete with DJ, dance floor, VIP booths, live performances, and a long stretch bar with movie screen, somehow has managed to charge NO COVER.
In Hollywood land, the hottest nightclubs thrive on charging a $ 20 and up Cover and enforcing an exclusive Celebrity/​A-​List/​You-​better-​know-​somebody-​to-​be-​anybody-​in-​this-​town VIP List, but not Monroe’s, oh no. Instead, they offer all the perks of a fabulous nightclub without the list, the snobbery, or the shelf life of a carton of milk.
Since the overthrow of J. Sloan’s saloon dive hole, Monroe’s Bar is here to stay. Located on 8623 Melrose Ave. just east of the Pacific Design Center, you can tell where Monroe’s gets its nouveau design inspiration. Past the daunting, yet surprisingly friendly, bouncer and through the black & white paneled heavy wooden door, a Retro-​Metro meets ‘Urban Wonderland’ vibe fills the inside. The long stretch ‘woodsy’ walnut brown bar is surrounded by a kitschy beige vinyl-​cushion for your drinking arm’s comfort and black vinyl bar stools for your leg’s support. Alongside the open center dance floor, various black vinyl booths are separated by golden chain curtains and filled with retro lamps and black glass round mini tables. Off to the right is a stage area for live performances, a unisex bathroom, and a black wooden staircase leading up to the glassed off 2^nd floor. Up top is another lounging area complete with plasma screen, white vinyl mini scoop chaises, and round tables. And on the far wall lies a large VIP room with plasma screen and the DJ’s corner — where the ‘music’ happens. The bar’s focal point is the colorfully backlit wall-​mounted entertainment center, featuring vintage flicks or the latest sports game, and surrounded by bottles of Grey Goose, Courvoisier — whatever your liver desires.
And with their nicely priced libations, like $ 4-​$ 5 beers and $ 9 cocktails, it’s no wonder why people keep coming back for more. Even their specialty drinks are $ 9, like the Vinyl Explosion, the Design Center Drug, and Monroe’s Signature Alexander. Tuesday through Saturday you can drink & dance to all the hip-​hop, house, and old school beats you want for NO COVER at all. For birthdays or just to party, VIP Bottle Service starts at $ 250. On Sundays and Mondays, if Live entertainment is what your soul craves, there’s a minimal price to pay — hey, you can’t get everything in life for free! Sunday nights feature Acoustic Folk Rock bands for a $ 5-​$ 10 think ‘Concert Price’ not Cover, and Monday nights feature Live Hip Hop & Rap for $ 10 — but it’s a small price to pay considering all Monroe’s has to offer in this chintzy Tinseltown.

want a great bar/​lounge/​dance club with no cover?
then monroes on melrose ave is what you need
i went here with like 20 people just think that it was a regular bar, but i guess i got it wrong, my friends and i dance all night long, and it was not as crowd as all the tourist going to area, or hyde
monroe’s blends ‘40s retro kitsch with new york decadence, vamped up in zebra prints, glass walls and accents of pink and black, the two-​story space has plenty of room for lounging and partying

Went here on a Saturday night. Met up with some friends here who said it was pretty packed. When we finally found the place, there was no line. When we got in, it was a nice, small bar with sitting areas on the side and stairs to take you upstairs to another section where you could sit and mingle.
The drinks were around $ 6 for beer, $ 7 for mixed drinks. Of course, any «good» liquor and it would be more. The bartenders weren’t mean, or at least the woman I got. My only gripe is that it took forever for the checks to ring up and she sort of took too many orders at once and kept asking me what I wanted. But I got them in the end and thats all that matters to me.
My only problem was how small the bathroom was. 1 stall for each gender and 1 sink. It was so cramped, the line for the ladies would extend out the door. And yet, there was a towel lady sitting inside this small bathroom, handing you a paper towel.
Other than that, I had a pretty decent night here and would come here again!

I lag but I kept forgetting to write my simple but to the point review of this place until it was mentioned in a thread.
Tristen proudly presents and brings to you… Things to look forward to at a night at Monroe’s;
Over priced drinks
Watered down drinks
Watered down/​pricey drinks
Parking
Rude staff
Rude door guy
The crowd
Rude crowd
This has been Tristen’s presentation of… A night at Monroe’s. Please don’t tip your server. They are rude.

On a blistering cold Friday night, I went to Monroe’s for a friend’s Red Light Green Light birthday bash — wear red if you’re not single, green if you are. I was surprised at the two negative reviews, I really like how Monroe’s pulls of a good balance between low-​key and classy.
When we arrived at 10, there was no line, the bouncers were friendly, and there were all of 3 people downstairs. We went upstairs, where there are three connecting balconies, two of them with ceiling to floor glass, overlooking the bar/​dance floor area. Above the bar is a giant screen that was playing old movies. The DJ smoothly mixed tracks using a large collection of early 90’s hip hop. It was too dark to see who was wearing green, so I plopped down on the plush little chairs and shared a few drinks with my friends. When I looked up around 11 the place was packed.
The layout of the place is really cool — if you want to share a private conversation with your friends, you can lounge out upstairs, if you want to mingle then you go downstairs. I stayed upstairs and watched through the glass as a friend ran game downstairs while another friend gave me play-​by-​play commentary.
— «See he knows to never lean in, make the girl lean into you.»
— «Look at that one guy over there, he’s outside of the circle, but those girls’ body language says he’s a loser and he’s not getting in.»
— «Oh yeah he’s got her. She’s leaning in now. I am really proud of him right now.»
— «Now he’s paying attention to the other girl, that’s exactly what he should do. Girls are jealous creatures.»
— «I’m reading this book right now, it’s called The Game. Think what you want but…»
Then I stopped paying attention to him. I haven’t reached that point yet where I’m going to resort to reading a book so I can learn how to run game. Yet. In fact, I should probably write a book called «The Anti-​Game.»
Anyway, Monroe’s has made it on my list of laid-​back bars with good atmosphere and good music. I’ll be going back there as soon as I finish reading this book I just bought…

It’s the Friday before Halloween and you are dressed as a tranny hooker (aka one half of a TJ hooker costume). You just came from a house party where 65% of the people were in costume and now you are the only one in a club dressed up. Like a tranny. In a club. With no one else in costume. Are you getting my drift. This is why I am using short sentences. To express the potentially awkward reality of this situation. Got it. Yes. Good.
So, as you can imagine, it would normally be pretty damn awkward, but luckily the club we landed at was Monroe’s and they were more than accommodating to my tranny ass. Wow, I never thought I would type that sentence in my lifetime. Anyhoo, the crowd, while on the smaller side, was very cool and nice and made me feel at home. The drinks were simply trannytastic and overall it was a fun night filled with good music and good people. Would I go back? Sure, but this time I am leaving the TJ Tranny costume at home!

SO overrated.
I’ll break it down like RobbyT did, but in my own words…
1star– no line
0 star– friendliness of doorman
0 star– scenester crowd
0 star– parking in the area, sans valet
0 star– friendliness of bartender
0 star– the compassion with which manager receives complaints
0 star– and the big one…
The worst pull of a Guinness in the history of mankind.
And this is a cardinal sin in my book.

Loved the casual atmosphere (AKA they let me in with my flip flops). Consistent service, old school/​new school music, comfy booths, and great atmosphere.

must say i had fun here. went with a fun guy a while back. got in right away (but he was promoting so you know the deal).
the drinks were good. the dj is so teddy bear i want to hug you so stop spinning cute, and i love the glass walls upstairs and the bathroom too.
dancing looked fun and it was a blast to watch it all go down from up top through the glass. can’t say i would mind going again sometime soon.
just read antonio’s review: dj mike is gone!!! forget the cute teddy bear huggable dj thing i said above: (

Showed up at 12 on a Friday night and it was pretty dead. Felt like a Tuesday in there. Music was nothing special — 80s and top 40.
Maybe it was an off night, but I probably won’t be going back.

Man, I’d forgotten about this place until I was Unilocalping for LA bars. But I give it a 5. Here’s how it breaks down.
1 stars-​Never a pretentious line, but an attractive crowd inside.
1 star-​Bouncer wears top hat
1 star-​Co ed bathrooms
2 stars-​Good drinks and surprisingly good Dj’s w plush seating and ample standing room.