Restaurant Directory

With a cool, dark-wood dining room, island decor, a hopping bar scene and a varied menu packed with inventive dishes, Monkey Cat came on the scene in Old Town Auburn a few years ago and immediately began drawing crowds. They come for the Monkey Cat house salad—a mix of spring lettuce with goat cheese, sweet dried cherries and toasted hazelnuts—the crab cakes, the porcini-and-rosemary-rubbed rib eye and the desserts. They also come for the drinks: Monkey Punch, with banana rum, pineapple and orange juice, which makes you forget you’re not on a tropical island, Jungle Juice (coconut rum, Midori and cranberry juice) and lots of local wines. Go for lunch or dinner (build-your-own pasta is fun—tortellini with mushroom Alfredo will fill you up for sure), or just a bunch of appetizers and drinks in the Palapa Bar.

Insider Tip: You can order wine by the half glass.

Reservations: Recommended

Payment Methods: AmEx, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Corkage Fee: $15

Hours: Lunch Monday–Friday, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m.; dinner 7 days from 5 p.m.