Eugene's Monkey Bar

Once labeled “Mobile’s Renaissance Man”, Eugene Walter was a screenwriter, poet, short story writer, actor, puppeteer, chef, translator, editor, playwright¸ cookbook author, novelist, costume designer, and raconteur. Eugene spent most of his adulthood domestically in New York and abroad, in Paris and Rome where, in addition to his own writings, he was a founding member of The Paris Review and appeared in Fellini movies. Also known for his lavish parties, he entertained the likes of T.S.Eliot, Truman Capote, Dylan Thomas, and fellow Mobilian Tallulah Bankhead. While known to be a storyteller of epic proportions, Eugene claimed to have carried two items wherever he traveled. The first was a box of Alabama red clay and the second was a stuffed Monkey named Coco.
It is with this spirit which we designed Eugene’s Monkey Bar. We look to provide Downtown Mobile with a cocktail bar and lounge that through its food, drink, and design is a place that you could find in a city such as Paris, Rome, or New York but maintains a spirit that is distinctly Mobile. The food menu will maintain a distinct Southern featuring local ingredients. The cocktail menu will feature classic and modern cocktails in addition to our versions of some of Eugene’s old cocktail recipes. Eugene’s Monkey Bar will be an ideal setting to have a drink after work, before or after a concert, dinner, or a movie. Or better yet, plan on spending the entire evening with us, enjoying the one of a kind view of Downtown Mobile and Bienville Square. The sidewalk café will also provide an ideal spot for all the Mardi Gras festivities as well as private space for functions. Eugene Walter was unlike anything Mobile had seen before him, and with this spirit we hope to provide a drinking and dining establishment that is equally unique. As Eugene liked to say “when all else fails throw a party”