La Monarca Bakery & Cafe
Order La Monarca Bakery & Cafe Takeout or Delivery
La Monarca Bakery & Cafe Photos
Business Info
LA MONARCA BAKERY & CAFE ATMOSPHERE
You might also consider
Recommended Reviews - La Monarca Bakery & Cafe
Start your review...
Reviews With Photos
This was my first time, I came here with my Grandmother after visiting Sugarmynt Gallery and I'm so glad we did. I had the Lavender Matchata horchata drink and and she had the horchata latte. My drink was super delicious and creamy, the matcha was not bitter and it had a perfect amount of cinnamon. She also loved her drinks. I had the Mexican Wedding Cookie flavored concha and it was delicious! The workers were really sweet and one gave us butter cookies for free, which was so kind. It melted in my mouth and was so good, I wish I bought more cookies to take home now! The place is small but there is seating and it's decorated cutely, I added a picture of the Loteria inspired concha art. I love the monarch butterfly theme as well; it made the bags, napkins, and cups so pretty.
While in South Pasadena visiting family for my wife's birthday, we were advised to visit La Monorca . It was a great suggestion and were pleasantly impressed with the quality and taste of the cake. It was one of the best cakes we have had !!!! The staff are amazing, friendly and helpful in picking out options.
Highly recommend this place if you are looking and trying something new to eat! First time in this place and my mouth was already watering when I was scrolling through their online website. Just looking at the food already made me hungry for some delicious baked goods. I tried their Horchata Lavender Concha, it had some sweet and tasty sugary glaze on top and it gave me tears of JOY just eating it. I also tried their Chocolate Croissant and that's usually my Go To at any bakery place. It was delicious and soft and smooth like butter when you take that first bite into it. The service was great! I came in the morning by like 10:00am and the girl behind the counter was very sweet and welcoming to all customers as they first enter through the Bakery and once they leave. Ambiance was cute on the inside and the bakery sits right by the train station which made the ambiance and environment quite welcoming and beautiful. This place is definitely worth the place to try. And I will definitely come back here when I get the chance.
This is a cute Mexican bakery and coffee shop. We really enjoyed the conchas. The coffee drinks were a little hit and miss. We tried a selection of five of the smaller conchas, which aren't that small at all. You serve yourself like at a normal Mexican bakery and bring your selections to the counter. There are many different flavors to choose from, like churro, wedding cake, champurrado, etc. My favorite was the champurrado, by far. But they were all very fresh and delicious. We also tried a few of the coffee drinks. I went with the iced cafe de olla, something I have only had hot before. It was good but not as flavorful as I had hoped. The other drinks we tried were good but not amazing. The counter fellow was as friendly as could be. There is seating inside and out. They only have street parking which can get a little tight in this area but I have never had a problem. By the way, if you are a movie buff, the Michael Myers house from Halloween is almost literally across the street. Come here for excellent Mexican pan dulces.
Walked here from the Sugar Mynt gallery and wanted some coffee to go for the drive home. Customer service was super nice! We ordered: mango lemonade, a hibiscus drink with tajin rim and an iced horchata de olla latte. All our drinks were super delicious! I enjoyed the horchata de olla latte so much that I would totally come back for this drink. The refresher drinks were very tasty! They also had some pan dulce that looked fresh, next time I'll have to try that out! I love the decor and it was a very clean looking shop! Definitely worth coming back!
This review is based solely on their whole cakes, as I have yet to try any of their drinks or other pastries. I stopped in during my lunch break to purchase a cake for my boyfriend's birthday and was happy to see they had several ready-to-go options available. There were a few different flavor selections, all inspired by Mexican flavors like dulce de leche and horchata, and every cake looked beautiful. Based on the staff recommendation, I chose the dulce de leche cake. It turned out to be the perfect choice and was thoroughly enjoyed by the birthday boy. The cake was moist, flavorful, and not overly sweet, which I really appreciated since some cakes can be too heavy on sugar. I can't wait to bring my mom here - I know she will enjoy a good coffee and a concha. This will definitely be my go-to spot for cakes. The interior was also really super cute. Loved the way everything was merchandised. Thank you, La Monarca!
Stopped by for some pastries and a 3leches bday cake. The pastries were good the cake was just ok and a bit dry. Friendly and quick customer service and cute Dia de Muertos decorations. Street parking available, clean restrooms, and a small simple indoor seating area.
Cute place with good coffee and friendly service. Didn't try the pastries. I will have to do a return visit for that. I will note that you need to COUNT YOUR CHANGE! The poor cashier couldn't do the math without the assistance of the register. She kept giving me $1.25 change from a $10 bill. My total was $5.75. She finally realized that she was entering something wrong and the register finally gave her the correct amount to give me back.
There's limited parking and the street parking down narrow roads. The interior is nice looking and cleans. You enter to immediately seeing the bread and pastries. The staff are really nice and friendly. They have loads of prepackaged concha selections. I'm quite tempted to buy the large selection! I got a few concha a la carte. The Oaxaca concha and lavender. They were tasty and sweet. Not too sweet considering the extra toppings. They were enough for a quick breakfast snack. I also got the Oaxaca cafe. It was very hot so let it sit for a bit. It was quite tasty though. It was rich with chocolate and has the right amount of sweetness. I really want to return to try out more!
Got a 12 pack of conchas and iced coffee to go. Ordering online was so easy. I wanted to get more items honestly. It was all soo good! Everything was very fresh. The iced coffee I got was a great addition for my breakfast concha. I can't wait to go back again and try other items!
Came to this Monarca thanks to my new elite friend Nikki B who wrote an awesome review. This place was all Niki raved about and then some. Their coffee options are many, varied and delicious. I had the tres leches latte- iced - as recommended by Erika. The service was amazing!!! Erika greeted us with a great smile & a cookie, inviting us to try their new flavor- the polvorón cookie which had a taste of cinnamon- It was delicious!!!
The customer service is always good and you can't go wrong with fresh bread in the mornings. Unfortunately when ordering a blended drink, either the recipe is inconsistent or due to lack of multi tasking skills I ended with a very icy drink and upon putting the straw in, felt a huge chunk of ice inside as well. I have no problem with coworkers chitchatting while at work but if it impedes the barista's ability to create a drink then I do. I couldn't even bring it to their attention because I had to get to work and didn't realize the drink would be this icy until after I left the shop.
2 months ago
2 months ago
South Pasadena, California. Ive been coming here since forever and living closeby makes LMB easily accessed by me and frequently. Im addicted to their coffees as well as the delicious Mexican pastries, conchas and savories (like the molletes and breakfasts burritos). I love how I can come in, get my goods, sit at a table and plug my laptop and work for a couple of minutes. Only a couple of coffee houses in South Pas are like LMB : with enough power plugs for me to work in, TODAY. Most coffee houses in town are either packed or do not have power plugs next to their tables. LMB thought of this nice detail. The baristas who work here are the kindest, helpful and attentive. A client came in today using a walker, sat at a table. Later spilled her drink. Erica and Sonia responded right away to clean up her area and offer her a replacement drink. The lady apologized for what seemed a repeat mishap. With boundless care and respect both ladies took care of her and helped her to another table that was clean with a replacement drink. Super appreciated the attention Erica and Sonia gave to this client who appears to be a regular She was Catered to without hesitation and assisted to a clean location. Love this place. End of Yelp. read more
3 months ago
5 months ago
This was my first time, I came here with my Grandmother after visiting Sugarmynt Gallery and I'm so glad we did. I had the Lavender Matchata horchata drink and and she had the horchata latte. My drink was super delicious and creamy, the matcha was not bitter and it had a perfect amount of cinnamon. She also loved her drinks. I had the Mexican Wedding Cookie flavored concha and it was delicious! The workers were really sweet and one gave us butter cookies for free, which was so kind. It melted in my mouth and was so good, I wish I bought more cookies to take home now! The place is small but there is seating and it's decorated cutely, I added a picture of the Loteria inspired concha art. I love the monarch butterfly theme as well; it made the bags, napkins, and cups so pretty. read more
While in South Pasadena visiting family for my wife's birthday, we were advised to visit La Monorca . It was a great suggestion and were pleasantly impressed with the quality and taste of the cake. It was one of the best cakes we have had !!!! The staff are amazing, friendly and helpful in picking out options. read more
9 months ago
Highly recommend this place if you are looking and trying something new to eat! First time in this place and my mouth was already watering when I was scrolling through their online website. Just looking at the food already made me hungry for some delicious baked goods. I tried their Horchata Lavender Concha, it had some sweet and tasty sugary glaze on top and it gave me tears of JOY just eating it. I also tried their Chocolate Croissant and that's usually my Go To at any bakery place. It was delicious and soft and smooth like butter when you take that first bite into it. The service was great! I came in the morning by like 10:00am and the girl behind the counter was very sweet and welcoming to all customers as they first enter through the Bakery and once they leave. Ambiance was cute on the inside and the bakery sits right by the train station which made the ambiance and environment quite welcoming and beautiful. This place is definitely worth the place to try. And I will definitely come back here when I get the chance. read more
This is a cute Mexican bakery and coffee shop. We really enjoyed the conchas. The coffee drinks were a little hit and miss. We tried a selection of five of the smaller conchas, which aren't that small at all. You serve yourself like at a normal Mexican bakery and bring your selections to the counter. There are many different flavors to choose from, like churro, wedding cake, champurrado, etc. My favorite was the champurrado, by far. But they were all very fresh and delicious. We also tried a few of the coffee drinks. I went with the iced cafe de olla, something I have only had hot before. It was good but not as flavorful as I had hoped. The other drinks we tried were good but not amazing. The counter fellow was as friendly as could be. There is seating inside and out. They only have street parking which can get a little tight in this area but I have never had a problem. By the way, if you are a movie buff, the Michael Myers house from Halloween is almost literally across the street. Come here for excellent Mexican pan dulces. read more
2 months ago
Walked here from the Sugar Mynt gallery and wanted some coffee to go for the drive home. Customer service was super nice! We ordered: mango lemonade, a hibiscus drink with tajin rim and an iced horchata de olla latte. All our drinks were super delicious! I enjoyed the horchata de olla latte so much that I would totally come back for this drink. The refresher drinks were very tasty! They also had some pan dulce that looked fresh, next time I'll have to try that out! I love the decor and it was a very clean looking shop! Definitely worth coming back! read more
This review is based solely on their whole cakes, as I have yet to try any of their drinks or other pastries. I stopped in during my lunch break to purchase a cake for my boyfriend's birthday and was happy to see they had several ready-to-go options available. There were a few different flavor selections, all inspired by Mexican flavors like dulce de leche and horchata, and every cake looked beautiful. Based on the staff recommendation, I chose the dulce de leche cake. It turned out to be the perfect choice and was thoroughly enjoyed by the birthday boy. The cake was moist, flavorful, and not overly sweet, which I really appreciated since some cakes can be too heavy on sugar. I can't wait to bring my mom here - I know she will enjoy a good coffee and a concha. This will definitely be my go-to spot for cakes. The interior was also really super cute. Loved the way everything was merchandised. Thank you, La Monarca! read more
Stopped by for some pastries and a 3leches bday cake. The pastries were good the cake was just ok and a bit dry. Friendly and quick customer service and cute Dia de Muertos decorations. Street parking available, clean restrooms, and a small simple indoor seating area. read more
12 days ago
13 days ago
6 months ago
Cute place with good coffee and friendly service. Didn't try the pastries. I will have to do a return visit for that. I will note that you need to COUNT YOUR CHANGE! The poor cashier couldn't do the math without the assistance of the register. She kept giving me $1.25 change from a $10 bill. My total was $5.75. She finally realized that she was entering something wrong and the register finally gave her the correct amount to give me back. read more
1 year ago
There's limited parking and the street parking down narrow roads. The interior is nice looking and cleans. You enter to immediately seeing the bread and pastries. The staff are really nice and friendly. They have loads of prepackaged concha selections. I'm quite tempted to buy the large selection! I got a few concha a la carte. The Oaxaca concha and lavender. They were tasty and sweet. Not too sweet considering the extra toppings. They were enough for a quick breakfast snack. I also got the Oaxaca cafe. It was very hot so let it sit for a bit. It was quite tasty though. It was rich with chocolate and has the right amount of sweetness. I really want to return to try out more! read more
8 months ago
Got a 12 pack of conchas and iced coffee to go. Ordering online was so easy. I wanted to get more items honestly. It was all soo good! Everything was very fresh. The iced coffee I got was a great addition for my breakfast concha. I can't wait to go back again and try other items! read more
1 year ago
Came to this Monarca thanks to my new elite friend Nikki B who wrote an awesome review. This place was all Niki raved about and then some. Their coffee options are many, varied and delicious. I had the tres leches latte- iced - as recommended by Erika. The service was amazing!!! Erika greeted us with a great smile & a cookie, inviting us to try their new flavor- the polvorón cookie which had a taste of cinnamon- It was delicious!!! read more
2 months ago
The customer service is always good and you can't go wrong with fresh bread in the mornings. Unfortunately when ordering a blended drink, either the recipe is inconsistent or due to lack of multi tasking skills I ended with a very icy drink and upon putting the straw in, felt a huge chunk of ice inside as well. I have no problem with coworkers chitchatting while at work but if it impedes the barista's ability to create a drink then I do. I couldn't even bring it to their attention because I had to get to work and didn't realize the drink would be this icy until after I left the shop. read more
2 months ago
First time here and their conchas are DELECTABLE. Their customer service was also amazing, very welcoming and prompt, and Erika was extra helpful! Couldn't help but bag a whole bag full of their pan dulce. Thanks! read more
1 year ago
i love to stroll in here when i'm biking around south pasadena. it's right next to the station which makes it super convenient. carbs for the ride, just what i needed. the burritos are good for when you're hungrier, they have a few flavors. i wasn't super hungry but wanted a snack, so i got the bread with the beans and cheese on top. and a lil salsa came with it too. and i got a mini concha too. really hit the spot, split it with my friend. the service is very friendly and prompt here. ambiance is giving neighborhood cafe on a literal street corner. so cute. love it! read more
We love La Monarca! This was my first time at the South Pasadena location and the staff and service were incredible. We came back in October and had some seasonal items that were delicious. The churro concha was so flavorful and light and it paired well with blended Mexican chocolate. They have several locations, so check them out! read more
Came by this spot for a quick bite and matcha before a date night. The bakery is located at the corner of Mission Rd. Just across from the gold line station. There is street parking available where you can find it. The staff were nice and the place was empty on a Tuesday night. All of their menu items are Latin influenced flavors like conchas, tres leches, and horchata combined with espressos or made into pastries and cakes. The front area is self serve for the small baked breads with trays and tongs. We did see a couple of flies inside the displays but it's not unusual for bakeries. I got the new menu item the matcha horchata. It was sweet but very powdery tasting and mostly cinnamon flavor not really any matcha came through. The decor is cute and on brand and everything seemed pretty clean. I really would give it 3.5 but I rounded up. read more
La Monarca is perfect on any given day BUT it's perfection on a chilly/rainy day. Walked in looking for something warm and opted for the Champurrado instead of coffee. The thick, creamy, sweetness paired with any of their butter cookies or pan dulce.. perfection! read more
1 year ago
7 months ago
The ambience here is super cute, and I love all the little homemade concha's and various breads. I ordered a hot tres leches latte and a breakfast burrito. My latte was alright, and felt like it was missing some flavor. I was however let down but the size and quality of my breakfast burrito. I was recommended the soy chorizo which made the burrito pretty dry. The portion on the other hand was very small for the price! About the size of a tamale. At $8 a pop, I was expecting it to be bigger. Not a bad place, but not as memorable as I had hoped. read more
4 months ago
4 months ago
2 months ago
I've always had a good eating experience anytime I come here. This time around I tried the hot champurrado: I was told this is the least sweet of the drinks, and it's true as I didn't want anything too sweet. comes out piping hot so take your time sipping it. I also tried the chicken mole burrito. It was on the smaller side but it worked out for me as I was not starving for dinner but wanted a little dinner. Comes with some salsa and it was pretty good. Overall, I thought these two items were filling enough and still delicious. read more
Cool little place by the train station in South Pasadena. Loved the Latin vibe and decor, not cheesy or over done. The only thing I did not like was the bread/concha's were a little hard and there was a fly in the display case of the breads chillin'. The servers were super friendly and bilingual, only thing was that they did not give great recommendations. read more
1 year ago
Figured I'd stop by and see if they had anything left because they close at 8 pm and it was 7:27. Sorry for the already eaten most of the flan but I didn't think I was going to do a review. I wouldn't give someone a bad review this close to closing time but...this place is WORTH IT...STOP BY HERE!!! The flan is 4.5 out of 5 stars and the pastries were still "fresh." There's plenty here and they aren't stale. Come get'cha some. The lady working the counter doesn't speak much English but she's the sweetest person ever!! I tried to use my limited Spanish and she used her English. Come and support this place. read more
4 months ago
3 months ago
**Rating with a small child** Another bakery outing with my 5 year old, this time we stopped by La Monarca after spending a good chunk of the day watching trains roll by at the South Pasadena station. The first thing I noticed when we walked in was "oh there's not much seating". This was a bit of a struggle, but luckily a family had just left the area by the window sill so we snagged that area quickly. We rate various bakeries by their chocolate croissants. I found this one to be a bit on the dry side, perhaps because it was already past noon and I know the fresh ones are all in the morning. There was also a bee flying inside the display window, which turned both of us off a bit (my son wanted to leave) but I had to convince him that it must be super good if the bees also wanted a piece. My kid still gave it a thumbs up, but we've definitely had better croissants at other bakeries, which had more seating ;) read more
6 months ago
I don't usually leave reviews-- but the staff here were so sweet and kind. I liked the vibes of this cafe for studying. My croissants were super good too!! read more
11 months ago
Page 1 of 18
More info about La Monarca Bakery & Cafe
1001 Mission St
South Pasadena, CA 91030
Directions
(626) 403-6860
Call Now
Visit Website
http://www.lamonarcabakery.com
Full menu
Hours
Payment methods
Food & Alcohol
Indoor Amenities
Outdoor Amenities
Other Amenities
More Info
Health Score
La Monarca Bakery & Cafe Reviews in Other Languages
Ask the Community - La Monarca Bakery & Cafe
Does the horchata cake and all the other ones have any nut allergens such as coconut,almond, peanut?
Hello there, the only cake that has walnuts is the Dulce de Leche cake. However, all our products are made in an open space facility.
Hello, where are the wedding conchas?
Hello Angela, At the moment we don't have wedding cookies or conchas since we have our seasonal items for fall & Halloween.
Whats the wifi password?
Hi Nathan! Our staff in our store should be able to provide the password :)
Do you have a cake menu? Want to order a 8 inches cake !
Hello! Yes we do :) You can place your order and check out our cakes at ordermonarca.com
Are churros available year round? If so, what is the price? Are they plain or stuffed?
Hello Cynthia, Sorry we dont sell churros.
Is this a good spot for work meeting?
Hello Cindy! It is! We wanted retail spaces are perfect for work or studying meeting while enjoy our products.…
Can one order online (app)?
As far as I know no, at least for drinks. You can call ahead an place an order for coffee traveler, cakes, big orders for pastries, etc.
You might also consider
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
34 reviews that are not currently recommended
The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.
7 years ago
1 year ago
1 year ago
3 years ago
6 years ago
6 years ago
3 years ago
3 months ago
4 months ago
12 years ago
4 years ago
1 year ago
10 years ago
10 years ago
11 years ago
14 years ago
9 years ago
5 years ago
2 years ago
8 years ago
