Best Speakeasies in Shirley

The Mad Monarch was such an amazing experience! From the moment I walked into Alice, I was captivated by the aesthetically pleasing ambiance and welcoming atmosphere. The host at the front door made me feel right at home, even though I was a few minutes late for my reservation, and another host escorted me downstairs to the speakeasy. The vibe was so cool, and I’m thrilled I got to experience it before the Halloween season ended! The hospitality was exceptional from start to finish. Both hostesses were incredibly kind and friendly, with one even offering to help me take photos. Another team member went the extra mile to help me get the perfect lighting for my pictures. Such a wonderful team all around! Maddie was personable, patient, and incredibly attentive, even with a full bar. She answered all my questions about the menu and made an excellent drink recommendation. I had the best seat in the house and thoroughly enjoyed my meal, cocktail, and the entire experience. Between the immersive atmosphere, delicious offerings, good music, and outstanding hospitality, The Mad Monarch made for a truly memorable evening for this self-proclaimed Halloween Queen. Thank you for such a wonderful experience. I’ll definitely be back!

This was our first time coming here. Food and cocktails were delicious. Service was awesome. Really chill vibe. My husband was really happy we decided to come here for his birthday 🎂

So this seems like a really good concept that perhaps hasn’t quite decided what it wants to be bIs this a laid back lounge or a loud club? The positives: great music, the food is limited but very good, ambience is swanky and interesting inside, the speakeasy concept…asking for a password, secret entrance, all that’s fun. The drinks are also very good by the way. What wasn’t quite as good was the volume at which music was played tonight. There was a band with the lead singer from Colombia, who had a very nice voice and a lot of energy, but you couldn’t actually hear her vs the sound system. I have a Decibel Meter on my iPhone and I measured that they were consistently playing for about the first hour we were there at 92 to 95 dB which is incredibly loud and hard on your ears. That is earplug level to the point where you it’s hard to talk to the person next to you and virtually impossible to the person across from you. It does not help that The floor is stone and there’s a lot of bright reflected surfaces so it just became a bit harsh at those volume levels. Maybe add some carpets and some sound absorptive wall treatments if it’s a music venue? The band tonight was great by the way and they took a request or two and were super fun and interactive with the tables. After their second set, I mentioned it to her and they toned it down volumes in the high 70s to low 80 decibels and suddenly you could hear yourself talking in there. If it was a lounge and kind of chill and laid-back, could hear glasses clinking, then would be more with the speakeasy theme we felt. Overall, it’s nice to have a music venue at Alewife with good food. We’d come back for sure to have good music played a bit less loudly than it was tonight in this small and intimate venue. One important note: prior reviews have mentioned a $20 cover charge per person. This was not charged to us tonight. The final bill came to $87.50 a person which was not unreasonable for what we eat and drank.