Monaghan’s On the Hill

I recently attended a funeral reception at Monaghans, the food was great, the waitress was wonderful and made us feel comfort after loosing a loved one. They worked like a team, something you don’t see to often now a days. Great service good people

Went here for NYE 2015 (going into 2016) and had a great dinner (ordered the steak), had great service (Julien) and great drinks to boot! Try their raspberry lemon drop as well :)

What a treat! Monaghan’s has a fantastic vibe and I enjoyed their french onion soup. Their sliders looked delicious and I will definitely be returning to try them. Great atmosphere and service was provided. I would recommend for gatherings and banquets. This is my new favorite restaurant/​bar to watch the games and it is overall a feel-​good ambience.

Wow what happened to this place? I haven’t been in a few months but this place has totally gone down the hill. Their delicious nachos now taste like some sort of processed cheese. I wish I had taken a picture of the fish «taco» they brought me. Fried tilapia on a small corn taco and nothing else — no tomatos, no cabbage, no sauce. Not worth the $ 2.50 I had to pay for it. Service was super slow and the waitress left and never checked back in with us the whole meal. We probably would have ordered more drinks but… I will not be back.

$ 3 pints are awesome for Happy Hour 3 – 5 pm. Monaghans is under new ownership. They recently upgraded the TV’s for sports viewing. Nice! I hope they pay attention to details. Our French fries were served cold and had to send them back on our last visit.

I keep giving this place chances (only because it is located so close to where I work) and they keep disappointing. The service is beyond appalling. Every time I come to pick up my food it takes at least 15+ minute’s for anyone to acknowledge my presence. Crazy!

2 beers 2 well drinks great tip… Asked for order of fries Halloween night sorry kitchen closed at 9:11 pm.

There’s a great chef back in the kitchen ~ our two dinners were excellent. I had the wild salmon plate, seasoned delightfully with chile accents, accompanied with black bean salsa, and mashed potatoes. I almost licked the dish clean. Partner had rib-​eye, and he was very pleased as well. Nice beverage selection, reasonable prices (the $ 6 Pinot Grigio was disappointing, a little syrupy for a p.g.), good happy hour deals.
We went on a Wednesday night, sat in the patio (quieter), service was very slow. Would have subtracted another star, but fortunately we were in no rush. Will go back on a Saturday, for the music, soon.

I love this place for happy hour gatherings! It’s super cheap with great drinks and even better food! Every time my coworkers and I go here, we sit outside in the patio area. Even if we stay past the happy hour time, it doesn’t matter because there are heat lamps!
It’s family– and kid-​friendly, which works out for everybody. I believe beers on tap are $ 3 during happy hour and food with asterisks indicates that they are half off during happy hour. The food is great and Monaghan’s does not skimp out on their serving portions. They are generous. My favorite snacks to order during happy hour are the sweet potato fries and fried pickles. Both are enough to share among 4 – 5 people with moderate appetites.

I have been to Monaghan’s a few times now, always for dinner. When it was cold, we sat inside close to the fireplace, when it was hot we sat on the back patio. The ambiance inside is a bit more upscale, outside is ok. I wouldn’t mind nicer tables/​table cloth though…
The food was always good. Otherwise I probably would not have come back, since the service unfortunately isn’t. You wait. First for a glas of water, then for the menu. Then, if you want to order from the bar menu, you wait again, for them to bring the bar menu, then wait, wait, wait for somebody to get your order. Another 15 minutes for the drinks. Then another 45 minutes for the food. Appetizer salad comes after entrees (and only after reminding them that you ordererd it — but then it comes within 2 minutes, so it has probably been sitting around for a while… somewhere), silverware and napkins arrive after you have already received your food and have been sitting around for a few minutes looking at your hands.
The service staff is very nice and accomodating, but sooo sloooow. And the place was not even a quarter full.
As for the food, like I said, it was good. We had buffalo wings (which were so spicy that even my spice loving husband couldn’t handle them), great French onion soup, garlic fries were wonderful, burger was good.
A bit strange: getting your burger/​sandwich with a salad instead of fries is an additional $ 3. Hm.
I will makie sure to check out their happy hour and Saturday night live music. I REALLY want to like this place, it would be so convenient for me :-)

We checked this place out accidentally on a Taco Tuesday. According to the server, they don’t serve their regular dinner menus on Tuesdays, only their bar menu and tacos. I was a little disappointed with that but that boat sailed after 2 drinks. We ordered one of each kind of taco, spinach dip with crab, and pozole. The tacos were decent, the spinach dip came in a huge bowl with nicely charred croutons, and the pozole could have been better seeing the kitchen staff were all Mexican.
The entire dining room was practically empty as all of the action was taking place in the bar/​sports room, which kept the vibe off balance. The service was excellent however, as our server was prompt and courteous to our needs.
I doubt I’ll be coming back anytime soon but overall, this place is decent.

Is there anything worse than your favorite place becoming your least favorite? Much like discovering you’ve been cheated on, you find yourself in a whirlwind of emotions. The disappointment… The betrayal… The endless confusion…
«Why have you betrayed me?»
«Did I mean nothing to you?»
«I thought you were special!»
For the better part of 2 years I was a regular fixture at this establishment. I was there nearly everyday and I trumpeted their praises through the streets of Oakland. Taco Tuesday! Wing Wednesday! Happy Hour that beat the pants off anything you could find! Come one, come all! I brought all of my friends here and got them hooked. This place had it all… and then they didn’t. Who the hell is in that kitchen?
When Oakland raised minimum wage, small businesses had to make some strategic moves. Monaghans is no exception. Happy Hour went from 4 – 7 and 9-​close down to just 5 – 7. I totally understand that! The bar menu dropped some of its Happy Hour specials? Yep, that makes sense. But to put a talentless buffoon in a kitchen that was turning out the best bar grub on the hill along with surprisingly well-​executed weekend dinners is just plain disrespectful and insulting! Do you think I can’t tell that you no longer make the best Blue Cheese dressing in-​house from the owners own recipe? Do you honestly think you can just put some blue cheese crumbles into Ranch Dressing and pass that off as acceptable? Flag on the play! Why are my French Fries flaccid? Why is there no AC running on the hottest day of the year?
This isn’t the first time I’ve made a complaint about this place, but it used to just be that on a busy weekend they didn’t have anyone checking the bathrooms, which would get really disgusting. I emailed management about it to no avail, but it didn’t bother me enough to keep me away. The food being atrocious, however, and the inability to acquire a drink in a reasonable amount of time will repel me rather effectively.
Overall, I miss this place being awesome. I genuinely like the crowd and the regulars here. If they start serving good food again, I’ll come back and bring all my friends with me, but there is a reason it’s dead there at 10pm on a Saturday. And there is a reason no one is eating like they used to. Let me know when the Blue Cheese gets right with the Lord, or just send me the recipe so I don’t have to live out my days in agony, reminiscing about the time when life made sense.

Late night driving around by myself and I remembered this place that I had read about. Open late and reasonable rates for drinks! Parking right in front of the door, not too many people in here but I like the vibe. Good music playing on the jukebox and the bartender LILLY is cool. She told me she called last call 20 mins before I sat my butt down at the bar YET she was nice enough to let me get one drink. The drink was only $ 5.00 and made very nice. The music is good and the atmosphere is cool. I don’t get a chance to go out much in the bay, but the next time I do… I’m coming here!
Special shout out to LILLY for taking care of me!

Well I don’t expect much and especially didn’t expect to get a table. Before walking in the bar the patio was littered with regulars enjoying the upscale divey atmosphere… I was immediately greeted by an older gentleman (obvious Warrior fan) asked if I needed a drink-​he was seated at the bar… super sweet! Found a table and this place is packed and people are pouring in! First Western Conference Final Game GO WARRIORS! Haven’t ordered food yet, just a beer. priorities
Ordered tons of food off the Happy Hoir menu and it was taco Tuesday… Warriors won game 1… feeling blessed

I got a note from the owner saying that they now have live music every Saturday night.
We found Monaghan’s because they had live blues on a Saturday night. That is a good start though looking at their calendar they only have music three nights a month. We arrived with no expectations. The beer menu was decent and, to our surprise, prices were not bad at all. We sat out on the patio where the music was, had a few beers and, not being particularly hungry, just ordered baby back ribs to share, a small portion we thought at just ten bucks. However, while not huge it was fairly generous. Ten bucks! Service was decent. Here is the question. Would be travel from Antioch on a night when they do not have music? I doubt it. If we were within 5 – 10 miles we would be regulars.
One thing that puzzled me. This was a Saturday evening, live music, no cover and the place was no more than half full. That I do not understand.

I had a couple buddies visiting from NY and were hungry after their flight. I took them here and was pleasantly surprised with the service and food. Just ordered off the lunch menu Grilled Chicken Sandwich and the Fish & Chips. Both were fantastic and my buddies were happy they got great food after a long flight. Our waitress was great and knew how to smile.
I’ve also gone here for dinner and enjoyed my meal along with the service too. The only complaint would be their hours. I understand not opening until at 3pm on weekdays but not opening for lunch on Friday or weekends just makes it harder for me to spend money there. It’s a choice I wouldn’t have made. The bar area looks good enough to have a beer, lunch, and watch a game. So that’s why I gave them 3 stars instead of 4.

Wow what a difference from our last time here 4 years ago. While they still have the sports bar thing going on in the front they are now more of a casual dining thing in the back.
They have an outside patio with heaters. Inside when the lights along the beams are on its more like a intimate dining experience.
The Monaghan mule is outstanding. My wife had two. Where else can you get a bottle of Sonoma Cutrer for $ 32 besides BevMo?
The oysters were the bomb with real horse radish and cocktail sauce and mignonette. We had an unbelievable end cut of prime rib available on Saturday. It must have been an accident.
The service was outstanding.
We’ll definitely return.

Distant from the hustle and bustle of Berkeley and Oakland, this restaurant reminds me of the restaurants of my suburban hometown. A fireplace and comfortable seating in one area, bar in another, and a room for private parties, Monnaghan’s is a catchall for family, friends, and co-​workers, and quite easily, a staple.
I can imagine spending a lot of time here because of the homey atmosphere, decently priced food, and excellent service. Our server (Alejandro?) was incredibly responsive, curt, and helpful with handling our bill. I will def return when in need of an escape from the busy life of Berkeley.
One thing worth noting is to double-​check the menu as it changes depending on the day of the week.

I’d really like to try to make this my neighborhood bar because it’s just up the hill from where we live. The bar section is always quite lively when we visit, but we always end up sitting in the dining area (next to the cozy fire) … but still end up staring into the bar area where all the TVs (and people are!).
The service here is friendly and what food we’ve had has been solid. I really do like their pickle chips though — it’s not as good as what I’ve had in Kentucky, but the best I can find in the Bay Area. It’s served hot and coated in corn meal. The other food we’ve had has also been solid. It’s a fairly big space, so this might be a great place to host one of our big team get togethers.

Great Happy Hour Spot! I’m always a sucker for a good happy hour spot.
Came here to watch the Warriors game and snack on food. Somewhat decent place to watch the game– TVs were small and the loud atmosphere made it a little distracting.
Now, back to Happy Hour… Monday-​Friday 4pm-​7pm in the bar. On Tuesdays they have Taco Tuesday! $ 2 Tacos, $ 4 margaritas, $ 2 beers $ 1 chips & salsa.
Prices are reasonable and portions are huge! Good place to come hang out with a few friends and enjoy good food.