This goes into my list of top ten meals of all time! We received a text ten minutes before our reservation time stating that our table was ready so we would have time to walk across the casino. We arrived and the host showed us immediately to a table, but we requested the bar since there were still seats available. The restaurant was romantic and dark, with an open kitchen so you could watch the chefs create their magic. Tyler was our bartender, server, and entertainer that evening, and helped explain the menu to us, which included a tablet with pictures and descriptions of each meal so you wouldn't be left guessing. He also kept us laughing and we ended up staying longer than planned (and ordering a LOT more than we had planned) because we were enjoying his conversation so much. To start us off with drinks, at Tyler's recommendation, I went for the Smoke Signal (I'm a sucker for Mezcal) and loved the balance of alcohol, smoke and sweetness. Our appetizers were the Fry Bread Esquites - pillowy fry bread topped with perfectly seasoned charred corn, cotija and zesty chipotle aioli, and the Pan Seared Shrimp served with blue corn tortillas, guacamole and the most delicious tomato macha. The shrimp aren't completely peeled, so beware there is more than the tails to remove! For the main meal we split the Pork Tomahawk - the most expensive thing on the menu (besides the steak offerings), and it was worth it! The most tender and moist pork I've ever had, with sweet potato purée, grilled mushrooms, fresh broccolini and a sweet honey chipotle sauce. We were too full for dessert (I honestly haven't consumed so much in one sitting, but it was too good to stop!), but we were able to fit in one more drink at the end. I chose the Sweet Venom, recommended by Tyler, which was a sweeter drink with a floater of Tingala which makes your tongue go numb. Tyler offered us a little splash of the Tingala on its own which was a fun experience! It was a pricey meal for sure, but worth more than every cent we spent. Highly recommend the dishes and beverages we got, and if you're lucky enough to snag a seat at the bar when Tyler is working, you're guaranteed to have a great night! read more

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Food is wonderful. I am a sucker for Yuca fries and the ones at Mariposa do not disappoint. Their newer item; an appetizer of latin inspired shrimp scampi are delicious. And kissed by the fire grill. I would not order the so called char broiled care asada, as the kitchen pre slices the beef, so it doesn't actually get a char grill. It's a sad expression of a charrasco. All cook should have knives to slices a properly cooked steak, one would think. One major frustration is the fact that the open kitchen staff are blasting their own music whilst the Spanish guitar trio is also playing. While perhaps those sitting farther in the restaurant cannot hear the kitchen staff music. Those at the bar fale and the communal table behind the bar are going to be annoyed by having to listen to music by a kitchen staff that should not be having music playing. It is an open concept kitchen! The bartender Tyler did an excellent job of explaining the menu with descriptions and suggestions based upon my tastes. And assisted when items didn't meet expectations though. Monarch and Mariposa are lucky to have him! read more

I genuinely enjoyed both my time and my meal at Mariposa. While the portions--especially the tacos--could have been a bit larger, the overall experience was impressive. The ingredients were fresh, the dishes were thoughtfully crafted, and the staff was warm and welcoming. Even without a reservation, on Valentine's Day, the bar seating worked out perfectly for us. The space itself has a great vibe. It reminded me of a refined, resort-style restaurant somewhere in the Caribbean--very cool atmosphere. The appetizer was excellent, and the mushroom tacos surprised me in the best way. Even without meat, they were flavorful, with a subtle hint of garlic that tied everything together. Dessert was a standout as well. So many elements came together to create a burst of flavors that really made the meal memorable. Would I return? Absolutely. There are several well-crafted dishes I'd be excited to try. read more

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This place is a hidden gem sitting inside Monarch. The steakhouse is the most popular. We came on a Wednesday night and the specials they had were outstanding. The place was not crowded at all and the waiter along with tableside service was well above average. These guys know how to treat their guests. Give them a try as you will not be disappointed. read more

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Good ambience and service. Food was fresh and flavorful. Live music was fabulous. Would recommend! read more

Bistro Mariposa - Salsa - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

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Mariposa is a gorgeous bistro in the Monarch casino. It is beautifully decorated and feels very special. The menu is small but has a nice variety of items. We enjoyed the salmon and the chicken fajitas. The grilled shrimp starter was tasty, but the shrimp should have been shell free considering they are served with guacamole and other sauces on top. You have to get all the stuff off in order to peel the shrimp before eating. Very messy and frustrating. The service was near perfect. The prices are high but the experience makes up for that somewhat. read more

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Wife and I came because my company gave us gift cards. However we will come back to just to eat here on our own dime. The food, service and environment are top notch. Highly Recommend! read more

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We had a great experience this past Friday. Our server, Catherine B., was super helpful with going through the menu with us - patient, friendly, and professional. I loved the modern/trendy design of the restaurant. As far as the food, everything we had was delicious - 10/10! The queso fundido was giant and had a great flavor profile - the mushrooms were sooooo good! My only recommendation would be a pair of little food scissors because it had a crazy cheese pull. We shared the short rib special and charbroiled carne asada - great flavors and cooked to perfection. For dessert, we had the manzana. Highly recommend. It was so interesting - basically a cooked apple with a tequila candied shell and some amazing fried ice cream. I would definitely return next time we visit Black Hawk. Little tidbits - we started with complimentary chips and salsa and ended with complimentary cookies with the check. read more

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This is a beautiful restaurant located in the Monarch. They have a wonderful happy hour on Wednesday where portions of the menu are half off. Tons of potential but the place can be hit or miss. We've gone 3 times and found a few items were pretty inconsistent. One visit we loved the chili Relleno. The last visit and it was awful and shell overcooked and inedible. Beware on the one, all the drinks have been delicious. The great : Smokey Paloma Jalapeño marg Yuka fritas Chips and green salsa Tacos The bad: Chili Relleno (depends on the chef, the one with the hard shell is bad. Mariposa Salad - hard and incredibly difficult to chew. Oysters - way overly salted In the end, I give it 4 stars because we will be back again for the fabulous drinks , tacos and chips & salsa, and the excellent service. read more

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Fantastic service and food. The servers and cooks were friendly, smiling, and welcoming. The decor was great and there was live music. We ordered the duck empanadas with plum sauce, prime carne asada tacos, and seafood enchiladas. I have zero complaints. Its underrated. read more

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The service was great, the food was amazing and the ambiance was delightful! Our service was quick, the food was so tasty and a good amount. Price was very good. read more

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Love this spot. Smoked pork tacos and grilled shrimp tacos were awesome. 2 choices with the chips and salsa, both yummy. Fast service, Tj is the best! Spicy marg was also great. read more

Bistro Mariposa - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

Fancy delicious Mexican restaurant inside Monarch casino. Everything was delicious minus the fried plantains. It was extra hard to bite on. The wine bone marrow dipping sauce with the Prime Rib tomahawk is perfect! read more

This place is unique and provides great service. There's one of seating and the decor is beautiful. It's a great place for date night and the food is good. If your looking to have a nice dinner, this is the place to go read more

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The service from Cadie was wonderful! We were in on a slow Thursday night with a big group but had a fabulous time! The drinks were flowing and we really enjoyed the espresso martini's especially. The blood orange marg needs a little less salt or no salt so it wasn't my favorite. Each of us shared fajitas which was a great move since it was a lot of food. It wasn't the easiest to find, so when you step off the elevator on the 3rd floor, follow to the right and it's all the way in the back. read more

The food was amazing, the service was great, and the ambiance was outstanding. Zero complaints. Five stars. It's a must visit! read more

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Don't waste your money. Service was nonexistent. At Monarch, go to 24/7. Great food. Great service. Great value. read more

Nice restaurant! Situated on the third floor of the hotel casino, it is an handsome spot for a meal. Upon entering you will see the kitchen as chef prepare dishes. The hostess greets you and seats you. They take reservations but we walked in after a day scouring the mountains. They have a lot of traditional dishes paired with takes on others. It was hard to choose but I went with the lobster tacos and my sister the shrimp but we shared. So, so good! The waiter was helpful, poised and pleasant. They have specials and the Bass was tempting, but the tacos were outstanding. I ate every bite. Satisfied for sure memorable and so much more to try! read more

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The husband and I decided to bring his mom up for the night of fun. She looked over the menu and picked things that caught her eye. This was a to go order. To start chips & salsa- like I said safe. Not spicy for us but not bad. Next up a salad -( Ensalada a la Parrrilla). This was a miss. We didn't even get half of the ingredients in the salad. Total waste of money. $14 Last was the Posole de Pollo. My mother in- law really enjoyed it. She said the portions were more than enough and as for the taste it was a 4.5. On more than one occasion she said she had whole garlic and liked the chicken and squash. read more

Bistro Mariposa - The Posole on the left & chips and red & green salsa. - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

I would give this place any amount of stars if I was able to actually get in the establishment. To start, I was given vouchers for my birthday stay which they were not open those days. So we came back. Once we entered, the hostess was not about it, despite being open for another hour and a half. We asked to sit and the bar and were told she needed to talk to the manager, to which he said no, despite patrons sitting there. So we left and will not be returning. Fortunately because of this we were able to find our new favorite eatery in Black Hawk, JKQ Barbecue! read more

The oysters are the only reason this spot is getting three stars from me. They were hands down the star of the show and packed great flavor. The service was..odd. We were some of the only guests in the restaurant and it was well before closing time and it took forever for anyone to even greet us. It was very awkward experience. We ordered guac, oysters, and lobster tacos. The guac was fine but the chicharrons served with it was hard as rock. We requested more tortilla chips to eat it with and that was edible. The oysters were truly delish. They have east coast and west coast oyster to choose from and we went with east coast! The lobster tacos were truly terrible. The "lobster" was a joke. There was maybe two or three small slivers of it and they were super chewy. I did not finish the plate. I alerted the server and chef to this and no remedy was provided nor was it removed from the final bill. read more

Bistro Mariposa - Terrible lobster tacos - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

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Our server was amazing, but we thought the food was just so, so. Maybe we didn't try the right things. Drinks were very good though. We were really hoping the queso would be good, but it was soooo thick. Like basically cheese stick texture. You couldn't just dip your chip in it, you had to use a fork. Maybe this is typical but we were not expecting it. read more

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BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT! Such a great time every time! Great service yesterday from Karan, thank you! Attentive service, delicious high quality steak/fajitas, delicious chips, salsa and queso. Highly recommend! read more

Bistro Mariposa - Carne asada / bone in rib-eyes DELICOUS! - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

Came here for a birthday dinner and we couldn't have asked for a better experience! We were able to be seated in a private room with a TV. Our server was Deysi and they gave a very thorough run down of the menu and how to use the tablet. They were attentive and checked in on us and refilled our water frequently Given that this restaurant is inside a casino, the food was pretty good and decently priced. Portions of many of the entrees are huge and can definitely be shared. For dinner, they bring out a basket of blue corn chips and 2 salsas - a red, smoky salsa and a green salsa. PESCADO FRITO - fried whole fish without the head. Not sure what kind of fish it is but it was big and fried quite nicely. Skin was crispy and the meat was soft. Came with a side of Saffron rice and black beans. The fish was so bland though. Looks like there was a bit of sauce on the plate for it but it was definitely not enough.Paired with chimichurri or the salsas that came with the chips made it a lot better All my friends enjoyed their dishes as well. Definitely recommend if you're looking for some good eats while at Black Hawk read more

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We were looking for a more low key place to get dinner when we were staying at the Monarch and we sure found it! The decor is beautiful and felt very open and not cramped. We tried the Chile relleno and the fajita plate and were equally blown away by both. The relleno had the perfect amount of crisp and flavor. We will absolutely be back!! read more

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Enjoyed tacos and margs here on Friday night. I had made a reservation, but honestly we could have just walked in. We had a cushioned corner bench that was very cozy for our date night. Our server (Colin?) was very attentive and informative. I loved the digital menus on the table- lots of pictures & descriptions for food & drink. Chose a blood orange margarita (omg it was so smooth & tasty & well balanced) and I liked my shrimp tacos (pictured) too. Kudos to the manager for walking around & checking in at each table- love that! read more

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My other half and I had the pleasure of dining at Bistro Mariposa recently for some apps and drinks and our minds are BLOWN! This place (and Monarch Casino in general) just completely changed my mind on casino hotels/restaurants/Black Hawk vibes. First, this space is just GORGEOUS and even though we didn't get into the entrees, I have NO DOUBT that the rest of the menu is just as phenomenal. Bistro Mariposa is serving up elevated Latin cuisine. It's tacos and queso and guacamole, all the usual suspects, but with a twist that you never knew you needed! Some of our faves below: 1) Chips and Salsa- I will very likely never highlight a complimentary salsa again, but they serve two here: a smoky red salsa and a green tomatillo version. Both are delicious, but that smoky red one was my fave! Smoky, thick (I'm not a fan of watery salsas that do nothing but make your chips wet), and so flavorful. The warm blue corn tortilla chips are a nice touch too! See? An unexpected, but much appreciated twist. 2) Queso Fundido - this is hands down the best queso I've ever had! They start with a wild mushroom bechamel, add hatch chile, spanish chorizo, porcini dust. The mushroom flavor is mild, but absolutely comes through and I am craving this again now! 3) Guacamole - fresh made and chunky like I like it, but they serve it up with chicharron which is just genius. Their Fry Bread Esquites and Carne Asada Tacos were also wonderful. And we loved our Smoky Paloma and Jalamango cocktails. They also have some AMAZING sounding desserts on the menu and we HAD to take home their Cajeta - goat milk cheesecake with mango ice cream, white chocolate crumble and lace cookie - you guessed it: some of the best cheesecake I've ever had. Bistro Mariposa was an absolutely surprising experience I did not expect. Chef Austin and the rest of the staff were wonderful. A special shout out to our server Bulut who took such great care of us! If you find yourself at Black Hawk (or even just driving west on I70), you need to stop in here! read more

We met some new friends here for dinner. The food was tasty but servings were small. The real problem was the music. They had a three person band who played well but was so loud you couldn't hear the person right next to you. There was no conversation that could happen because of it. The waiter couldn't hear what we were ordering either. He said he would ask them to turn it down and I believe he did but we didn't notice a difference. read more

I don't typically go to Black Hawk for fine dining. However, I have found a few places that are absolutely brilliant. I stayed at Monarch Casino and Spa simply because I could get a nice room for cheap during the week. Monarch has a few restaurants. One of them is the Bistro Meriposa and this place is outstanding in every category. The interior is quiet, warm, and inviting. It is a large space and during the week at least not very crowded. The wait staff is outstanding and fun. I ate there for two nights and on both nights was lucky enough to have Dercy (yes that is spelled correctly). She was knowledgeable, friendly, and fantastic. Everything that I ate at Meriposa was plated beautifully, arrived piping hot, and was delicious. I mean really really delicious. Even the chips and salsa were great. Chips were fantastic and you got two sauces, both very good. The first night I was there a bunch of stuff was half off, so I got an appetizer, the REPOLLO AHUMADO. Unbelievable. The main course was Pollo Asado. I mean look at the picture below. It was a work of art in both presentation and taste. The next night Dercy directed me to the CHAR-BROILED CARNE ASADA. Again, just look at the picture. Soooo good! Obviously, I loved everything about Bistro Mariposa. Highly recommended and outstanding. read more

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We stumbled upon this gem while visiting the casinos. Blindly trying it out, we were very impressed! The food was spectacular and different. The ambiance of the restaurant was sexy, the staff was very friendly and professional. They were out of the oysters so the manager came to address us and apologize for the inconvenience. We look forward to returning and trying more items. read more

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The food here is amazing!! My husband and I attended a birthday party here and we had the tacos chicken Al pastor!! Delicious!! The restaurant is so beautiful and just a stones throw away from the casino!! Service was good!! The only thing I would say is that it is quite expensive but worth it and it took a little longer than expected for the food to come out, but our birthday girl was happy so that was all that mattered!!!! read more

This was such a delight for our girls get away last night! The food was fresh and delicious!!! Abbey our server was on point. Definitely WILL be back read more

Bistro Mariposa - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

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Great food! Tastes even better than the pictures look. Carne Asada meat was some of the most tender and flavorful I have ever had!!! The best part of our dining experience was the Waiter, Dave. He was absolutely wonderful, helpful, and quick. He made the meal even better!!! Hopefully Bistro MARIPOSA knows what a great employee they have!!! Give that man a raise!!! Manager was nice also. read more

Would not recommend. Not good Mexican food at all. I think our waiter was sad we didn't order more but it was so bad. Everyone had stomach aches after and the pics on the iPad didn't even make the food look good. read more

Bistro Mariposa - Not sure what this food even is but it's terrible. Would not recommend every dish was trash. - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

Such a great addition to the Monarch. We have been several times, and last night the chef recommended a seafood stew, and boy am I glad he did! It was delicious, with tons of fresh seafood. Beautiful space and the staff is great. read more

Bistro Mariposa - Seafood Siete Mares - Mexican Near Me - Black Hawk, Colorado

All I can say is HORRIBLE.....We frequent Monarch Casino several times a year. My husband and I love the casino and hotel but the Mariposa, supposed to be a mexican type of food offerings. We were there a couple of weeks ago and ordered queso. The queso was so thick and gooey, like they used the wrong cheese. We ordered fajitas and street tacos. The sides of tortillas and fixings did not come out with the fajitas and by the time the fixings were delivere, the meat was completely cold. The street tacos were cold on delivery. Will never go back there, also pretty pricey. Our favorite restaurant is the 24-7, always open, breakfast all day, good food. read more

Loved our meals and our service. The ambiance was nice and elegant. Our server was fabulous he took the time to show us the menu. read more

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Don't let the Bistro in the name fool you. Great restaurant with great decor, good music, Fantastic food and great service! We had the Carne Asada tacos, Yuca Frita, and Churros.. everything was so delicious! Will definitely be coming back every time I'm at Monarch for a Spa Day. read more

Completely odd experience from start to finish. The restaurant is kinda hidden around the corner from the hostess stand. We were asked by the Russian hostess if we had reservations which we didn't and then she asked if we wanted to sit at the bar. We were looking for more of a secluded romantic experience so they sat us at a table in the middle back corner. We ordered a bunch of food and margaritas. The guacamole served with chicharrones that tasted terribly and the rice is really terrible, tasted like bleach. The margs were good, customer service was strange, but we found it interesting that the restaurant was practically empty and we were originally asked if we wanted to sit at the bar.. so just weird. Wouldn't come back. The margs and a few food items were ok, but overall pricey and not worth it. read more

I went with a friend who was well known to the place they were very friendly and sever was expect yes I'd go there again ! Good food