Looking for a sick spot for date night? As a fellow parent, I feel you - those nights out are few and far between! But when you do snag some alone time, you want to make it worth it. Look no further than Cantina Monarca - this place is lit! First off, the vibe is on point - we're talking 10/10. It's bougie as hell and totally made for your next foodie Insta post. Plus, it's strictly 21+ so you won't have to worry about any kiddos cramping your style.There are two floors- the bottom floor is where it's at for those Insta-worthy snaps! read more

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Went to dinner today and had an amazing experience! My server was Stephanie and she was the best. I have a nut allergy and she made sure my meal was nut-free. The food was delicious. The tacos were moist and so flavorful. I really liked the burria and sea bass ones. I would come back!! read more

This place has great ambiance. You feel like you are in a cantina in Mexico. It's 21+ only and is upscale casual vibe. Be aware they have a 48 hour cancellation policy and charge you $25 per person if you cancel after that. Food was fresh, tasted amazing and service was very quick, even on Saturday night. We got the Old Fashions and they were okay. Over all we loved the food I removed a star because everything but the salad and guacamole was spicer than expected (not good if you are not a heat person) and the seating was odd- our "booth" was in the middle of the main walk way, felt cramped and the cement bench was not deep enough for my 6'4" spouse. read more

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This place is absolutely gorgeous. I booked a reservation for 11:15AM and was seated right away on Friday. It's fairly small when you walk in but it provides a real cozy atmosphere. The theme at this spot seems to be greenery/jungle. Just note that to get a spot you must put in your information/card online and agree to a $25 charge if you miss your reservation. Upon arrival I was greeted by 2 hostess. Really nice and friendly. Servers check on you frequently throughout your meal as well for water, food requests, and drink orders. For Friday it was mildly packed but not too bad. More people started coming in around 1pm for lunch hour. The food itself wasn't bad! For how steep the prices were I was not expecting any less. Each taco I got was $10-13 each. I got the pork belly, sea bass, and carne. The tacos are a decent size and tasted like described. That was my entree. It was okay for me. Definitely a twist on authentic Mexican tacos. For appetizers I got the cheese wrap with tortillas (I forgot the name) but it was delicious! The cheese was soft and stringy and the dipping sauce was really the cherry on top. My chips and salsa were also great! The traditional guac was addicting along with the salsa. If I'm being honest here, I liked the appetizers a lot more than the main dish. For cocktails I got a popular sweet & fruity drink. I forgot the name but it started with an "M" and is pictured belong. Super good! I prefer lighter drinks and this place really executed that with the cocktail & flight margs. If you prefer something more strong I advise you to tell them since most drinks that came out were on the sweeter side. I loved all of the drinks I ordered but my friends (total tequila girl) said it was too light haha. With all that food being said (my friend ordered 3 tacos as well and a cocktail), our bill was nearly $200+ after tips. This place is definitely an experience with some cool twists but expect to drop a bit of money if you wanna leave tipsy and full. Other than that beautiful restaurant with nice staff and overall good food. read more

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The food is delicious. I had the carne asada and it was very moist. My drink was very tasty. Our waitress was very friendly. The restaurant is very trendy. The Margarita flights are yummy. read more

Cantina Monarca - A very tasty drink in a coconut. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Fast and friendly service. Seating space is small and a bit tight but good food and drinks. read more

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We went there for lunch without a reservation and got sat right away. The ambiance was upscale and yet causal. Manager walked us to the table upstairs and a server introduced herself and trainee to us. After 5-10 minutes, a completely server showed up from nowhere and started to take our order. We ordered queso, 2 mock-tails, prime carne asada dos tacos and chicken enchiladas. The food came out quickly and we really enjoyed tacos. The presentation was beautiful. I found chips a little bit oily and chicken enchiladas was a little bit over seasoned to my taste. The service was a little inattentive maybe because we were on 2nd floor. A server offered to help validate parking when she dropped off a check. Parking was complimentary for 3 hours. Overall, we were glad to try this restaurant. read more

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My bestie and I stopped in this weekend after an afternoon of shopping, and we couldn't have asked for a better dining experience! Beca was absolutely fantastic -- warm, funny, and incredibly attentive. She gave great menu suggestions, kept my Diet Coke constantly refilled, and radiated positive energy the entire time. The food and atmosphere were wonderful, but Beca truly made our visit exceptional. We'll definitely be back -- new regulars for sure! read more

Excellent Service and Hospitality! I had a wonderful experience thanks to our server Filipe L , who was incredibly attentive, friendly, and professional from start to finish. They made sure our drinks were always full, offered great menu suggestions, and checked in at just the right times without ever feeling intrusive. Their positive attitude and genuine care for our experience truly elevated the entire meal. It's rare to find service this seamless--definitely one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time! read more

We came here to celebrate our 7 anniversary and we had an amazing time. It was our first time and our beautiful server Stephanie was sooo helpful explaining everything to us. The food was really amazing and the service was outstanding. read more

Cantina Monarca - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

Gorgeous interior with an upstair seating!! I honestly was hesitant on trying this spot out because I heard it's quite pricy but I'm glad I did! My friend and I ordered a Margarita flight ($25), ceviche ($25), guacamole& chips ($16), sea bass taco ($11) and Sakura pork belly taco ($10). I tried the margarita flight and was shocked at how light it was! Didn't taste like alcohol at all! The guac and chips, OH MY GOD, the BEST I've ever had! It was so fresh!!! Pricey but so dang good! I'll come back for the guac and chips! Ceviche was small for its price but surprisingly very filling! It was too salty in my opinion and prob wouldn't order it again. One single sea bass taco cost $11?!?!? Yep very pricey but I was quite full from one taco. It was quite big and the sea bass was VERY tender. My friend liked her pork belly too. Overall for the ambience, pretty good food, and great service, I'd visit again! read more

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We had excellent service from Philipe and Stephanie for our friend's birthday dinner! Thank you!

My server Maria with the sleeve tat on her right arm was phenomenal! She was so sweet and welcoming. Answered any questions we had and made my birthday really special. She needs a bonus! read more

This review is purely for our server Danielle! She gave us the exact experience we wanted! Explained the menu after asking if we'd like the details, gave great recommendations, and overall slayed the customer service. The host bus team as well were on top of keeping our table cleared the whole night, which was appreciated with a group of 13. The downfall to our visit was we waited almost an hour past our reservation time due to them running behind on reservation parties all day. They gave us a free round of drinks and immediately filled the table with chips and guacamole the second we finally were seated and apologized for the inconvenience. I somehow forgot how long we waited after we started eating!! Entrees came out quickly as well. Everything was so tasty. Danielle saved this night with her great attitude, quick service, and thoughtful suggestions. Will be back with my husband who is so jealous from my food pictures!! read more

Cantina Monarca - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

A++++ Btw this is a long a** review, because I have LOTS to say. I don't actually remember the last time I gave a restaurant an A+ in my book. I usually give most places a 4 star because it just was not super amazing. But, boy oh boy, cantina monarca has really outdone themselves. I was really pleasantly surprised by the amazing dining experience I had here for the first time. To all of the negative and low star reviews on here, sorry you did not have a good experience but they are doing a lot of great things, especially for being open only a couple of months. I read that one person said their food is street food and not find dining... No, their food is in fact fine dining. What they have done is taken street food items and elevated it to be fine dining dishes. The whole dining experience here is an upscale and hip fine dining experience. I have been to MANY Mexican restaurants in WA and most of them are just street food experiences. I have not been to a descent finer dining Mexican restaurant in WA. Also, it is probably pricier because of the fact this place is in Bellevue (ritzville) and cost of living here is so high. Definitely a special occasion vs regular visit place for me though! First off, the ambiance and architecture is exquisite. I got to learn a little history behind the design through great conversation with the sous chef. Did ya'll know that each piece of wood in the restaurant on the walls and ceilings is actually hand picked and imported from Tulum, Mexico? How cool and personal is that?! The inside really does remind me of Pinterest photos of Tulum. It is really aesthetic and pleasing to the eye. And... because it is a Cantina, it is 21+ ONLY, so it is also giving those adult only bar vibes that most people look forward to enjoying when they go to Mexico. It really is a great place to hang with your friends/family/significant others/work friends, etc. Great for an intimate date and great for a group outing. Aside from the gorgeous interior, service is amazing. All the servers are super duper friendly. The host/hostesses are also super nice and welcoming when you enter. Not sure what to order because you want to try every single thing on the menu like me? Ask your server what they recommend: what is popular, what are their personal favorites, what is the chef's favorite. They can help you choose the best dishes to start off with :) Okay, now my favorite part of this review... Reviewing the food. As a foodie, the food is always my first and foremost favorite part about going out to eat. I like having an experience with my food. I think this place did well in allowing me to take the best photos and videos while enjoying the visual and flavorful aspects of my meal. All of the tables have this cute little light that changes tones which is great for all the foodie lovers out there who love taking photos and videos of their food experiences. According to the chef (who is such a nice person) informed us that this simple detail was specifically planned and thought out. They wanted to encourage people to take photos of their food, and so they added this small light (kind of like a spotlight) to the tables to give customers the option to get that good photo and video lighting. Way to use the advancement of social media to your advantage! This was personally my first time seeing a restaurant take advantage of the social media influence in this type of way. Each food item we ordered was amazing. The attention to detail not only in their beautiful presentation, but in the flavor profiles was pleasing to my taste buds. Have you ever heard the saying about your tongue coming out and smacking you in the face? or my taste buds are dancing? Well I basically experienced all of these while eating the food. We ordered a lot of food, so I will just say that the Pork Belly taco is going to be my go-to taco because the cook on the pork belly is too good and the pineapple and strawberry with lime really paired well with it. The pork belly was as soft as butter! HIGHLY RECOMMEND the pork. The margaritas were super cute and flavor was amazing too. I am not a huge fan of spicy cocktails but this spicy cucumber margarita actually gave me a newfound appreciation for them. I was also NEVER a fan of rice pudding, but their Arroz con leche dessert gave me a newfound respect for rice pudding too. The way that all of the flavors melded together were surprising and enjoyable. Also, the guacamole that I ordered had watermelon and goat cheese in it, which I have never even heard of! But the flavors worked! It was my favorite dip as far as the appetizers go. My only tip for this place would be continuity in communication with the hosts. I asked one of the servers about sitting at the bar and she said it is first come, first serve, and you do not need reservations to sit there. I was told before that you did need reservations so that was just confusing. Would love to sit at the bar sometime with friends! :) read more

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Best meal I have had in a long time and the service was amazing. Would go back every time I'm in Bellvue

The food is amazing! I had prime cut carne asada tacos and my boyfriend had the wagyu tacos. The meat was super soft and perfectly cooked. The corn esquites was creamy, cheesy, and seasoned perfectly too. For drinks, we got the cocoasis and the crocodile fog which both came with a beautiful presentation. Felipe was our server and he was welcoming and carried the ambiance with such a positive attitude. Overall, amazing experience at this Tulum-inspired restaurant at the heart of downtown Bellevue! read more

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Great ambiance and drinks! and Filipe was great, super friendly and had great recommendations we'll be back! read more

Cantina Monarca - Margarita flight - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

I explored the area, given that there were so many places to choose from. Ultimately, I wanted a place with a great atmosphere and drinks. And I found cantina monarca. They definitely meet the description of elevated Mexican cuisine. It was fancyyy and the price matched it. Honestly, I would classify it as over-priced, but I'm a girl who likes tacos from the street, going for $2 a piece and where you stuff it how you like. But I researched the spot and knew the type of place I was going to eat at. So be mindful of this. I ordered two tacos, each worth $9. They were both flavorful and a handful size. I particularly enjoyed the pastor one, but you can never go wrong with some pastor and pineapple. I was tempted to order another one, but two tacos were filling enough and I decided to just focus on my drinks- a flight of spicy pepiño, la pasión, and smoke and spice. It's a pretty sight and the flavors were notable. I didn't think the glasses would be so small, given that the flight costs $25. Overall, I was satisfied; enjoyed my meal, sipped my beverages in a beautiful setting, and the servers were friendly and attentive. read more

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First Impressions - 1/5 We had a reservation, but received text messages about an hour prior that our table was ready. When we arrived, the restaurant had canceled our reservation, even though we had checked in. We had to wait for available seating before we could get seated, but it seems that the hostess forgot about us - we had to ask before we got seated. Food/Drinks - 3/5 Food was good, but was not outstanding enough for us to justify the price point again. We though the ceviche and the specialty tacos were great, but our duck carnitas was too dry for our liking and lacked significant flavor. We also got the Piña Niña. No qualms here - it was pretty good. Ambiance/Facility - 4/5 It is a beautiful restaurant, but it was very tight. Some seating blocked walkways and made it hard to navigate. The best parking available in the Lincoln Square South Parking Garage and the elevators lead straight to the restaurant. Value - 2/5 For the most part, we thought the food was overvalued. If you are considering the Duck Carnitas, we recommend instead just getting their specialty tacos. The Duck Carnitas is almost equivalent to 6-7 tacos, which would be the same price point if you were to get 6-7 specialty tacos. Overall: 2.5/5 Cantina Monarca is a beautiful restaurant, but where it disappointed was the handling of our reservation and inattentiveness to get us seated after checking in, which dampened our experience. Score is 2.5, but I would as for the review, I would round down. read more

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Amazing food and even better service by Filipe, who made our experience memorable!! Highly recommended as a cocktail bar with commendable tacos!! read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!! Staff and customer service 10/10 Food 10/10 Music and ambiance 10/10 love it read more

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Worth a visit! This restaurant is absolutely beautiful and has some amazing food and drink choices! While this may look really small at first, there is also a second level. Seating is kind of cramped, but they did a good job at designing the space and adding in design elements like the hanging ropes to make it feel less crowded. The service is phenomenal. Everyone who works there was very welcoming and friendly. While they are booked out weeks in advance right now, they still can accommodate walk-ins and we were actually seated right away (with no reservation) on a Saturday around 5pm for a table of 3. I would really encourage you to look at the menu/pricing before you go. As noted in other reviews, it is pricey, but looking ahead will prevent any concerns there before going. One note: we tried to order a few things like pork tacos and they were already sold out by 5pm and the server didn't call this out initially. Hopefully this improves, but always good to come up with a backup option. We ordered: Truffle Potato Taquitos ($18) - these are delicious if you love truffle!! Also comes with a salsa verde that was really amazing. It came with 2 taquitos. Recommend! Bajio Goat Cheese Guac, Salsa & Chips ($20) - get this! I've never had a guac like this one. The goat cheese added a nice creamy flavor with the added watermelon relish was delicious! Salsa has great flavor though not much spice. Worth noting it comes with one basket of chips and only one refill (this was a little odd to me). Baja Sea Bass Taco ($11) - sea bass was cooked perfectly and the apple coleslaw was the perfect flavor match! Only one taco is included and sides (rice ($5) and beans ($5) are extra. Asada Prime Taco ($11) - so good! Perfectly cooked and the cheese, onion crisps, and salsa rounded out the flavor Sopa Tarasca ($14) - so much flavor in this one! Probably the best I've had! The black bean purée sits on the bottom. This is actually quite a bit of soup too. Enchiladas de Pollo ($22) - two chicken enchiladas in two different sauces. This was cooked really well and had so much flavor! Margarita Flight ($25) - great way to try more flavors! I tried La Pasion, Mamacita and Pina Nina. All were very good. They use crushed ice and the glasses are pretty small so not much Margarita for the price. Grandeza Margarita ($25) - very good all around and liked the added sidecar bottle you add in Overall, this is a very nice restaurant with so many great options! Really fun atmosphere. Look ahead at the menu to remove any price shock you see in other comments. read more

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Filipe was great. I had a wonderful experience celebrating my bday at this restaurant. read more

Cantina Monarca - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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Not good. Expensive, lacking distinction, and with an unnecessary air of exclusivity upon trying to dine here, Cantina Monarca is as distinctive as the city it calls home. You already know this is going to be underwhelming when you peer into the interior from outside. You think "it's Bellevue right - can this possibly be any good?" You already know the answer but the potential for delicious Mexican eats is such a rarity in the PNW that you're intrigued despite your better judgment. So you step inside and you're greeted with a friendly welcome. "I'm sorry sir but we're fully committed tonight." You look at your watch... it's 5PM on a Wednesday. Huh? Isn't this place like a Cactus or something? "You might want to try reserving ahead." Good idea. Let me try doing that right now. Let me search for a table for two for next Friday. "No reservations available". Huh. Maybe two weeks from now? "No reservations available". Damn. Same results for two months. Either this place is the Bellevue equivalent of Californios or something is screwed with their reservation system. Get bored and contemplate walking into Japonessa before remembering duh that place isn't very good and go home hungry. One day while walking by you stop in again and are informed that there might be room at the bar in 40 minutes. Otherwise they are "fully committed". That should be the tagline for this joint: fully committed. I fully commit to the wait and eventually the bar - finally I'm going to see what all the exclusivity is about at this place! The interior is Vegas-like and does a decent job of whisking me away from Bellevue. That's good! Now let's dive into the menu! All the usual suspects are on the menu: tacos, enchiladas, carne asada, etc. I try some chicken enchiladas which come adorned with some weird almost tomato bisque-like sauce (it's the PNW so chilies are a strange aberration from another planet and not to be used in sauces up here) and the taste is so crab-like I wonder if this is in fact "pollo"? The carne asada is decent but also about 30 dollars marked up from how much carne asada usually is and not tasting like there's an additional 30 in flavor present. Feeling reasonably underwhelmed and sad about my life choices, the bill arrives and it's a princely sum of 180 before tip after two entrees, an appetizer and a couple of drinks. Mexican food is one of those cuisines where it's tough to be in the middle ground of quality. The great places are either street food, your local mom and pop, or fine dining. When you go in-between you end up with places like Cantina Monarch where you're going to be disappointed because you'll feel like you overpaid for something that has been tastier at damn near every cheap place you've ever been yet the attitude and vibe of the place really wants to be closer to a refined establishment and well, it's nowhere near that. Skip it. read more

We enjoyed tacos (al pastor and sea bass), drinks (I liked Jefe personally), enchiladas, and their very tangy ceviche. Felipe L was wonderful. Excellent service. read more

Steph was the best! Made the experience tbh! The food, drink and the vibes and just being with my best of bestest friends made this place unforgettable. I would definitely come back. read more

Been here twice now. My advice is to order correctly. My first visit fell short. It all started when I started getting text confirmations regarding if I was showing up or not. The first one I was able to respond correctly to say "confirm", the next one told me to push three to cancel so I automatically pushed three thinking. Yeah yeah yeah I am coming and then when I re-read the text, I realized that I canceled our reservation. I tried to look for a phone number to call them since I did not want to show up and not have a reservation and there's no way to call this place. I sent them an email and luckily we were there way before our reservation time to tell them that we indeed wanted that reservation. I'll take responsibility over my accidental cancellation, but I didn't feel very relaxed walking into this place and feeling like they kept on texting me to confirm and could easily reach me multiple times yet I did not have a way to talk to them if I wanted to. The entry to the restaurant didnr have wow factor but once I entered, I felt it was interesting to walk through. It had some modern, sleek rainforest Café vibes. My first visit, the drink was amazing. It was a Mezcal mule. I'm guessing cocktails are where this place really impresses. Our food order fell short. The corn appetizer was fine. Pretty small. My friend wasn't impressed with the Melon salad, and her soup tasted like a thick sauce. It curiously tasted like the sauce that was on my small Enchiladas. And said sauce tasted like Spaghetti O's. I was moody because I was really hungry and there was barely any salsa that came to the table. It was so small but it was good. The enchiladas were tiny. I get it, it's a nicer place: I did not expect some platter of food like chain Mexican restaurants at all. I'm just saying my first impressions. The good news is that I had room for dessert and the rice pudding dessert was really really good. Outstanding. The crunch of the butterflies or Pepitas on there added tot he texture experience. I decided to try again because when I asked the waitress what people like to order there, she told me the tacos and I did not order the taco, so I thought it was worth another visit. Second time's a charm. I ordered the trio of salsas so I could get enough each had its own distinct flavor. I ordered the guacamole which was good. I ordered the Tlayuda enough was outstanding. It was larger, it was beautiful, and it was tasty. I chose the birria meat and it gave me a little bit of a stomach ache but I'll take the blame for that for benefit of the doubt. My husband liked his Carne Asada. So this is a funny detail, but both times I went there I sat upstairs and there were these ropes around our table maybe like a separator/buffer since the first time we ate at the table that's straight on from coming up the stairs and the second time we sat at the table next to that table with the hanging rope vines. Looking around the ceiling and with the ropes I couldn't help but wonder how they clean this place I'm allergic to dust, and I don't like germs. Interestingly enough, I went with two different parties for these Theo visits and both times someone commented that their eyes or throat were having some kind of reaction and they thought it was the ropes. During the second visit, lunchtime, there were a couple or few employees hanging out upstairs by the bussing area right next to our table. It felt like I was dining in the employee lounge- a little distracting. If this is supposed to be a place to get a top notch experience with small artsy food, then the full experience of a classy place should be presented. read more

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There are a lot of wow factors when coming to Cantina Monarca. Immediately when you walk in, the interior is gorgeous. They have drinks like the Cadillac Fog margarita with dry ice and the Bebesota that is cinnamon flamed. They have a variety of specialty tacos which you can mix and match, recommend 2-3 per person. The chips and gauc is delicious with refillable chips. They also gave free ice cream for my friend's birthday which was nice. The service we had was great that night! read more

Cantina Monarca - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

This restaurant is getting booked months in advance. I was finally able to get a reservation for 2 people. Chayote Vegetarian Taco are flavorful and the chayote is delicious. The chocolate dessert cake was sweet and soft. Our server was Micheal and he did a amazing job of providing a history of the restaurant. He was very knowledgeable about each of the items and how they were cooked. Reasons for Rating: +1 Excellent location and parking +1 Food taste really good +1 Customer service +1 Interior/atmosphere +1 Would return/recommend others read more

Phillipe was the best server! So responsive and friendly!! Will definitely be back because of him!

This place is an excellent addition to the high end restaurant scene in Lincoln Square, and it stands out greatly with its super pretty ambience. This is one of the most aesthetic restaurants in Seattle, and it gives a resort / beach vibe like Tulum, Mexico. Reservations are extremely hard to get - if you wanted guaranteed reservation at a decent time, they are booked out 3 months. We got extremely lucky that the host allowed us to walk in, though with difficulty - they keep telling people to check back 30-60min at regular intervals, so we walked in at 5:20pm to come back at 5:30pm and get seated if there is no show (they showed up), so we came back at 5:55pm and just waited until 6:15pm outside where the host let us in. Sure, we didn't really get that good of a seat (we were seated at an intimate table of 2 high top next to the bar, instead of deep inside) but we were excited to try what the hype is all about. We got some margaritas, and they were neat cause they are super aesthetic, especially the Cadillac Fog that is presented with lots and lots of dry ice effect - make sure to take a video! We also got the margarita flight of La Pasion (my favorite, creamier in flavor), Mamacita, and Pina Nina. The latter two are a bit watered down so the $25 flight is only worth to just try the flavors as opposed to strength of alcohol. However, the Cadillac Fog was pretty strong. We shared 2 tacos - Sakura Pork Belly and Wagyu Chingon, as well as tlayuda with chorizo, carne asada (grill), and arroz con leche. The tacos were complex in flavor and are definitely pricey - most cost $10-12 for just one. Tlayuda didn't feel like the real deal that I got in Mexico City and is 20x the cost (the one I tried is heavier but 22 pesos (~$1) as opposed to $22 here. This is a good dish to get for value if you don't want to spend too much, and they use healthier ingredients. The carne asada was pretty good - very juicy and tender, and it reminds me of the quality of the mid-range priced cuts of Asadero. Arroz con leche was a miss - they used a bit too much cinnamon so my mouth felt super dry eating it. Service was excellent - they refill waters at a good pace and check up on us. They also were patient as we took a while to decide what to order, and they didn't enforce any time limit of dining. Knowing that we take a lot of pictures, they arranged the food adequately and gave us a light lamp for better lighting. Overall, this place is worth a try if you can walk in or snag a reservation, but expect to shell out big bucks. read more

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Probably one of the single best dining experiences of my life. The drinks are incredible. The food is incredible. The ambiance is incredible. The staff is incredible. Get your name on the list. Save your dollars. And get here asap. This place is spendy, but SO worth it. read more

Cantina Monarca - Carne asada Flautas Guacamole - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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Overall, we enjoyed the experience. Our waitress was attentive and friendly. Drinks were good but definitely seemed to lack alcohol especially for the price point. The food was good but I felt it was slightly underwhelming. The real complaint was the seating. We were downstairs and the tables seemed really close together and didn't allow for others to walk through, even the staff. You could hear basically the entire conversation of the parties next to you. Ultimately the ambulance and word of mouth of the restaurant decor plays a big part in why the reservations are hard to come by but overall, this was a 3.5 at best for us. read more

Cantina Monarca - Margarita Flight - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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Lovely ambiance, venue is a bit small. Heard they will be expanding though. I went for my birthday. Service was great. Our waiter was Rodrigo was awesome. Loved the Enchiladas de cangrejo and drinks were tasty and beautifully crafted. Cant wait to go back. One thing is that it is hard to make a reservation. Response time takes long and it is only through email. Website said walk ins are welcome. My party came close to closing and usually I hate doing this but my day was hectic and didn't want to wait longer to try this place. They had a full venue already so didn't think we would be the ones to cause an issue. I did feel the floor manager was annoyed maybe because of this so it was not welcoming. I already knew our time would be brief and we did leave before any of the people that were already there. I just did not appreciate the lack of a warm welcoming and obvious annoyance to us coming in. read more

Cantina Monarca - Margarita flight - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Bellevue, Washington

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Stephanie made our dining experience at the restaurant truly exceptional. As a fantastic waitress, she meticulously attended to every detail, ensuring our comfort and satisfaction. Her humor and punctuality added to the overall delightful atmosphere. read more

Great service. Sat at the bar, Mauricio was awesome. Super busy joint, fast service, hand made tortillas. Decor was really nice, made me feel like I was in playa del Carmen. Drinks were good too. As far as Mexican cuisine is concerned, it was good. I did feel like the flavors were somewhat subdued to please a more American palate, and could have hit just a little bit harder on flavor profiles. I will say it is hard to please me as I am a chef, born and raised in SoCal and Mexican to boot. But I would definitely bring friends here for the atmosphere and quality ingredients. Oh, and their "hottest salsa" was not hot at all, which was also a clear indication that they cater to the regional tolerance for what is considered hot, or not, as the case may be. Overall, a great experience and the food was quite good. read more

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Extremely overpriced and grandiose. If you don't want to read the entire review, I will say that I won't be coming back because portion size was small for the amount of money paid. The food did not stand out. It's a hard sell for Mexican food to be fine dining. Went here for dinner last night with six of my girlfriends. The ambience was unique with all the woodwork resourced from a jungle or forest. Hopefully the wood was sustainable. The restaurant itself is very small. Service was friendly from our greeting at the door to our server. Each of us ordered the flights of margaritas which everyone liked. Unfortunately it didn't taste like there's very much alcohol in there. At $25 a flight, you're hoping for some alcohol! Flavors were fun and the presentation was great. One flight is $25 for 3, 5 ounce glasses. We started with chips and salsa plus guacamole. Please note the salsa came in the tiniest of tiny bowls. Like a dipping sauce tiny bowl. I guess we were supposed use an eye dropper to dispense the salsa on our chips? Chips were not very plentiful and we had to ask for more since we only got 2 to 3 chips per person. The truffle potato taquitos were fantastic, so order if you're still going. Next up was the queso and corn esquite appetizers. Both proportions, shocking, very small. This restaurant is not a place that you go to share items. I guess you just order individual proportions and eat them all yourself. For our main course we all selected three tacos and shared a couple of bites of seafood enchilada dish. Both were very tasty. The tacos were regular size. Although keep in mind we're paying $10-$13 per taco. Our favorite was the sea bass and Pastor tacos. In the end our bill was over $700. I have included a photo. We did have several drinks, but again, Mexican, fine dining, it's just not for me. Especially when any other Mexican restaurant you go to has plentiful amounts of free chips and salsa as the norm and large portions. Should be a baseline. Especially with these prices! Best of luck to the restaurant. I'm sure they'll do well in Bellevue since it's a high end area and people over pay for food and service all the time. read more

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Sigh, I really wanted to love this place but can't because it needs a lot of work to meet it's full potential. Let's start with the positives! Great vibe and ambiance! The 2 ppl tables are cramped overall spacing is a issue but the esthetics look great! The food is unique! Our server Roberto was phenomenal! They didn't have my spicy salsa or sauce and he did us a solid favor and got us sliced habaneros from the kitchen! Those habeneros were a game changer! All the food tasted better because of the kick! Tacos- were phenomenal! The wagyu Steak melted in my mouth! Pastor taco was so so flavorful! The Quesborria was also delicious! Appys- chicken tinga was to die for. I didn't particularly care for the truffle taquitos, it lacked oomph. Drinks- very pretty but overpriced and didn't have enough alcohol! Now the negatives! The reservations system is a joke! We couldn't make an online reservation for 3 days out but the restaurant was pretty empty when we walked in yet the ladies arbitrarily decided who got what table! Special shoutout to Neveah who tried to give us a good table but got overpowered by Paola who had her own power trip issue. The table runners kept getting wrong food to the wrong tables. It was really sad to watch them struggle. They were All so kind and worked so hard but just were lost in the system and lacked guidance and training. It is overpriced and you don't get your moneys worth. It's a great new restaurant to check out. Wait for them to get precision in service and training and watch them take over coz as I said, it has potential to be so much more! read more

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cafe monarca is an experience i'd been looking forward to mostly because it can be unsatisfying to find excellent mexican food in this region. the menu offers up a lot of choices, both in the drink section as well as the appetizers, salads and main courses. i went with the margarita flight because i wanted to try different flavors. i chose the smokey, the mamacita and the pepino. all of them were good but the cucumber was so over the top cucumber that you could've fooled me that there was any alcohol in it at all. if i were going to order just one again it would probably be the smoky one with the mamcita being a close second. the truffle taquitos were fine. nice presentation and accompanying salsa but if anything they tasted only of truffle (not surprising, given truffle's potential to overpower) and were somewhat bland. the esquites were great! i probably might've ordered some chips to go with them but their overall flavor was lovely. the salad was the standout for me! compressed watermelon and honeydew with cheese and candied pumpkin seeds and arugula: this was the winner! my mushroom tinga taco was also fine but so drenched in sauce it eclipsed the flavor of the accompanying radish slices and other ingredients on top. the tortilla itself had great texture and was obviously hand made and flexible to hold. our server was quite bubbly and enthusiastic as someone who's very experienced with hispanic culture, language, food and art, they had a great playlist going while we were there which i appreciated and the decor is well done and reminiscent of many places in quintana roo. and all in all, it was a nice upbeat environment in which to have dinner. the food was absolutely fine and even good but it didn't WOW me as i'd hoped it would. this is not to say you shouldn't go try monarca out for yourself. i don't have complaints about the experience and appreciate all the touches made to insure that diners have a nice experience. read more

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