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While looking for food in the area, I came across this place based on its reviews and decided to give it a try. I ordered the Chicken Lasagna and the black sauce pasta. I asked the gentleman taking my order if I could add extra veggies to the pasta, but after driving an hour back to my side of town, I realized none of the additional veggies nor shrimp I requested were included. The Chicken Lasagna was decent--different, but I'd rate it a 7/10. As for the black sauce pasta, I was told it would have some spice, but it ended up being more on the sweet side, almost like it had a hint of BBQ sauce. I'd rate that a 4/10.
The food was amazing and the ambience was fun and accessible! In addition to the shrimp scampi spaghetti and bread being delicious so was the lemonade I ordered.
Monarca is a little mom & pop restaurant in a tiny shopping center. It may seem a little sketchy from the looks of it, but the food did not disappoint. Came here for dinner with a party of 4. The seating is tight, but it works. I would honestly call it a fusion restaurant as there are Italian, American, and Mexican cuisine options. There is also a parking lot. It is a little small but we were able to find street parking. We were a little confused at first regarding seating, but it is seat yourself. Someone eventually brought us a menu and provided us with beverages. The server was very kind and attentive. She did her best at explaining stuff to us. I got the carne asada with tortillas and rice and beans. As we were waiting for the food, we were given fresh tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were so good as they were crunchy, warm, and sweet. The salsa was not a spicy salsa, but it had a very light taste. The carne asada was well seasoned and moist. The rice and beans were average. The tortillas were not homemade or anything special, but they were good. I enjoyed the food and was very full. The prices at this place are unmatched. The carne asada meal was less than $10. AMAZING!! Overall, I enjoyed the food and would most likely come back here.
It was our first time here at this place and overall we really liked it! ENVIRONMENT: This place is a hole-in-the-wall hidden gem. It's a very small restaurant with 8 tables total (3 two-person tables and 5 four-person booths). There weren't many people when we went but it might get crowded on other days. We parked on the street to get here. SERVICE: The servers are very friendly & attentive and made sure that we had everything we needed throughout our meal. Wait time was also very quick. They also gave us free chips and salsa as we waited for our food. FOOD: We ordered 2 entrees: the Carne Asada entree and the Monarca Chicken Pasta. Both dishes had huge portions! - Carne Asada Plate: very delicious, the meathad that nice charred bbq flavor with a hint of lime. It was a tiny bit dry though. It came with a side of rice&beans and garlic bread ...huge portion and very filling! 8.5/10 - Monarca Chicken Pasta: this dish was surprisingly amazing! It was a chicken bowtie pasta dish with pink sauce (tomato + alfredo sauce) and their signature black sauce which is a sweet savory sauce that tastes similar to teriyaki sauce. I feel that the sweetness of the black sauce brought out all the flavors of the pink sauce and chicken. 9/10 -Apple Pie: Their apple pie was not bad, but the crust was kinda hard and not very fresh. But we did like how it was warm and not too sweet, as well as the fact that it came with vanilla ice cream. 6.5/10 PRICE: The prices here are very affordable! Almost every dish was under $15, and there were several that were under $10! This restaurant is really a bang for your buck. Overall, we highly recommend! Great food, great prices, and we will DEFINITELY come back to this place if we happen to pass by the area in the future!
Monarca is a small restaurant located in a similarly small strip mall about a mile from USC. What I really appreciate about this place is that it is not in a pretentious area but it still has extremely good food AND pricing. There is some parking in the strip mall, but it can get pretty tight (literally) and/or full. There's plenty of street parking across the street. We weren't really sure what to do when we arrived since no one really greeted us and there weren't really any directions, so we seated ourselves. Our server has friendly and ensured all of our orders were correct. The chips and salsa were fantastic. We asked for multiple bowls because they were that good. One time, we even got a hot, freshly made batch and they were amazing. We ordered some guac and it was ok--kinda of bland but still good. I had the lobster ravioli with pink sauce (a mix of tomato + Alfredo sauce) and loved it. I could definitely taste the lobster in each bite. The garlic bread was good, too, and it was great dipping up the me extra sauce with the bread. I would definitely return!
This place is one of those hole in the wall places that people don't really know about but they serve really good food. It's located near USC so students should definitely come here to check out the food because they serve a pretty big portion for a good price! This place is small and it's definitely not for big parties. My sister and I found parking on the plaza next to it which I believe belongs to this place?? I ordered the spaghetti shrimp pasta and my sister ordered the baked tilapia. The portion size of the baked tilapia was HUGE. It came with rice, beans, and the tilapia. It's definitely enough to have for 2 meals. The shrimp pasta was delicious as well; the shrimp was thoroughly cooked, the sauce was perfect. I've seen lots of pictures on Yelp that there were suppose to top off the pasta with shredded cheese but my dish didn't have that. The portion size for the pasta wasn't HUGE but it did leave me full, with alittle leftover. One of the best things about this place was that it came with free nacho chips with green salsa dip, and garlic bread which were all very yummy as well. Both of our meals came out to be around $23 which is a decent and affordable price compared to other pasta shops. I believe that they sell $6 pizzas that look really tasty when I saw pictures of it on Yelp and that's super cheap. The quality of the food is decent compared to the price. If you're in the USC area, you should definitely check out this place!
Hidden gem !!! Great food , great prices and friendly staff !!! Limited seating and parking but worth the wait
My sister randomly found this place since she was looking for food near USC. It is a small restaurant in the same plaza as Olympian diner, and if you drive by, you most likely would not have noticed it. We wanted to come on a Tuesday, but apparently they're closed on Tuesdays. It was a bit difficult locating the restaurant and finding parking, but we parked behind the plaza because the parking lot for this plaza is small. The place is smaller than I expected; you order up front, and then go sit down. They bring out a plate of chips and a small bowl of salsa. The salsa and chips were just okay, but it was free and good way to past the time. They also brought out some garlic bread (it was mostly just butter) right before we received our food. I ordered tilapia, which comes with rice and beans, and my sister ordered the shrimp pasta. The dishes were huge, especially my tilapia. It was two pieces of fish, 1/3 plate of mashed beans, and 1/3 plate of rice. I usually hate beans, but this beans was actually good because it tasted nicely seasoned. It was the perfect wet-consistency. I even dipped my garlic bread into it. The rice and fish were also really nice, especially after squeezing some lime juice on top of it. I only ate less than half the plate and took back the rest for another meal. The meal portion is huge, and for about $10 or $11, I think this is pretty affordable for how many meals you can make out of this.
This place is out of control delicious! We tried a lot of plates.. the chicken pasta was great! The little shrimp soup was fire!! And the lobster ravioli were the absolute best!! So so good! Thank you monarquita!!
Literally phenomenal 10/10 every time. Seafood pasta rocks my socks off and I love my socks!! Free cheesy bread also! Chips and salsa! Service great. Good great. Not too loud, not too quiet. A true mom and pop hole in the wall. May they never change! read more
4 months ago
After visiting a museum nearby, my friends and I were just looking for a random place to eat and ended up at Monarca Pasta & Grill. Honestly, we came in with pretty low expectations and only wanted something quick to fill our stomachs. But the moment we saw the prices, we were already shocked -- an Italian restaurant in LA with prices this affordable feels almost unreal. Then the food came out... and WOW. Absolutely legendary. Everything we ordered was insanely delicious, fresh, flavorful, and honestly way better than many expensive Italian restaurants I've tried before. The service was also super friendly and the food came out surprisingly fast. The only small downside is that the restaurant itself isn't very big, so there aren't many large tables for big groups. But for our group of 4, it worked out perfectly. Honestly, the cozy size probably helps them keep the service and food quality so efficient. Highly, highly recommend this place! read more
3 months ago
I've been coming to this restaurant for many years & while I enjoy their burritos and pizza, this was my first time ordering their Chicken Fettuccine Pasta & I regret not ordering it any sooner!! The taste is a 10/10 and the portion is also 10/10 especially since this plate is inexpensive. Garlic bread is also included with the plate. Will come soon to try their other pastas read more
2 months ago
3 months ago
2 years ago
While looking for food in the area, I came across this place based on its reviews and decided to give it a try. I ordered the Chicken Lasagna and the black sauce pasta. I asked the gentleman taking my order if I could add extra veggies to the pasta, but after driving an hour back to my side of town, I realized none of the additional veggies nor shrimp I requested were included. The Chicken Lasagna was decent--different, but I'd rate it a 7/10. As for the black sauce pasta, I was told it would have some spice, but it ended up being more on the sweet side, almost like it had a hint of BBQ sauce. I'd rate that a 4/10. read more
1 year ago
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3 years ago
The food was amazing and the ambience was fun and accessible! In addition to the shrimp scampi spaghetti and bread being delicious so was the lemonade I ordered. read more
2 years ago
Monarca is a little mom & pop restaurant in a tiny shopping center. It may seem a little sketchy from the looks of it, but the food did not disappoint. Came here for dinner with a party of 4. The seating is tight, but it works. I would honestly call it a fusion restaurant as there are Italian, American, and Mexican cuisine options. There is also a parking lot. It is a little small but we were able to find street parking. We were a little confused at first regarding seating, but it is seat yourself. Someone eventually brought us a menu and provided us with beverages. The server was very kind and attentive. She did her best at explaining stuff to us. I got the carne asada with tortillas and rice and beans. As we were waiting for the food, we were given fresh tortilla chips and salsa. The chips were so good as they were crunchy, warm, and sweet. The salsa was not a spicy salsa, but it had a very light taste. The carne asada was well seasoned and moist. The rice and beans were average. The tortillas were not homemade or anything special, but they were good. I enjoyed the food and was very full. The prices at this place are unmatched. The carne asada meal was less than $10. AMAZING!! Overall, I enjoyed the food and would most likely come back here. read more
3 years ago
It was our first time here at this place and overall we really liked it! ENVIRONMENT: This place is a hole-in-the-wall hidden gem. It's a very small restaurant with 8 tables total (3 two-person tables and 5 four-person booths). There weren't many people when we went but it might get crowded on other days. We parked on the street to get here. SERVICE: The servers are very friendly & attentive and made sure that we had everything we needed throughout our meal. Wait time was also very quick. They also gave us free chips and salsa as we waited for our food. FOOD: We ordered 2 entrees: the Carne Asada entree and the Monarca Chicken Pasta. Both dishes had huge portions! - Carne Asada Plate: very delicious, the meathad that nice charred bbq flavor with a hint of lime. It was a tiny bit dry though. It came with a side of rice&beans and garlic bread ...huge portion and very filling! 8.5/10 - Monarca Chicken Pasta: this dish was surprisingly amazing! It was a chicken bowtie pasta dish with pink sauce (tomato + alfredo sauce) and their signature black sauce which is a sweet savory sauce that tastes similar to teriyaki sauce. I feel that the sweetness of the black sauce brought out all the flavors of the pink sauce and chicken. 9/10 -Apple Pie: Their apple pie was not bad, but the crust was kinda hard and not very fresh. But we did like how it was warm and not too sweet, as well as the fact that it came with vanilla ice cream. 6.5/10 PRICE: The prices here are very affordable! Almost every dish was under $15, and there were several that were under $10! This restaurant is really a bang for your buck. Overall, we highly recommend! Great food, great prices, and we will DEFINITELY come back to this place if we happen to pass by the area in the future! read more
2 years ago
Monarca is a small restaurant located in a similarly small strip mall about a mile from USC. What I really appreciate about this place is that it is not in a pretentious area but it still has extremely good food AND pricing. There is some parking in the strip mall, but it can get pretty tight (literally) and/or full. There's plenty of street parking across the street. We weren't really sure what to do when we arrived since no one really greeted us and there weren't really any directions, so we seated ourselves. Our server has friendly and ensured all of our orders were correct. The chips and salsa were fantastic. We asked for multiple bowls because they were that good. One time, we even got a hot, freshly made batch and they were amazing. We ordered some guac and it was ok--kinda of bland but still good. I had the lobster ravioli with pink sauce (a mix of tomato + Alfredo sauce) and loved it. I could definitely taste the lobster in each bite. The garlic bread was good, too, and it was great dipping up the me extra sauce with the bread. I would definitely return! read more
2 years ago
8 years ago
This place is one of those hole in the wall places that people don't really know about but they serve really good food. It's located near USC so students should definitely come here to check out the food because they serve a pretty big portion for a good price! This place is small and it's definitely not for big parties. My sister and I found parking on the plaza next to it which I believe belongs to this place?? I ordered the spaghetti shrimp pasta and my sister ordered the baked tilapia. The portion size of the baked tilapia was HUGE. It came with rice, beans, and the tilapia. It's definitely enough to have for 2 meals. The shrimp pasta was delicious as well; the shrimp was thoroughly cooked, the sauce was perfect. I've seen lots of pictures on Yelp that there were suppose to top off the pasta with shredded cheese but my dish didn't have that. The portion size for the pasta wasn't HUGE but it did leave me full, with alittle leftover. One of the best things about this place was that it came with free nacho chips with green salsa dip, and garlic bread which were all very yummy as well. Both of our meals came out to be around $23 which is a decent and affordable price compared to other pasta shops. I believe that they sell $6 pizzas that look really tasty when I saw pictures of it on Yelp and that's super cheap. The quality of the food is decent compared to the price. If you're in the USC area, you should definitely check out this place! read more
4 years ago
Hidden gem !!! Great food , great prices and friendly staff !!! Limited seating and parking but worth the wait read more
8 years ago
My sister randomly found this place since she was looking for food near USC. It is a small restaurant in the same plaza as Olympian diner, and if you drive by, you most likely would not have noticed it. We wanted to come on a Tuesday, but apparently they're closed on Tuesdays. It was a bit difficult locating the restaurant and finding parking, but we parked behind the plaza because the parking lot for this plaza is small. The place is smaller than I expected; you order up front, and then go sit down. They bring out a plate of chips and a small bowl of salsa. The salsa and chips were just okay, but it was free and good way to past the time. They also brought out some garlic bread (it was mostly just butter) right before we received our food. I ordered tilapia, which comes with rice and beans, and my sister ordered the shrimp pasta. The dishes were huge, especially my tilapia. It was two pieces of fish, 1/3 plate of mashed beans, and 1/3 plate of rice. I usually hate beans, but this beans was actually good because it tasted nicely seasoned. It was the perfect wet-consistency. I even dipped my garlic bread into it. The rice and fish were also really nice, especially after squeezing some lime juice on top of it. I only ate less than half the plate and took back the rest for another meal. The meal portion is huge, and for about $10 or $11, I think this is pretty affordable for how many meals you can make out of this. read more
4 years ago
This place is out of control delicious! We tried a lot of plates.. the chicken pasta was great! The little shrimp soup was fire!! And the lobster ravioli were the absolute best!! So so good! Thank you monarquita!! read more
2 years ago
Very good food. I had the chicken pasta and my husband had the carne asada. Everything tasted great. The service was also great and the food came out fast. read more
4 years ago
7 years ago
Super yummy and affordable mom and pop restaurant! My best friends and I came here on a Sunday night ~ 6:30pm and it was pretty packed already because it only has 4-5 group tables and 3 two-person tables. We actually ended up ordering first because there were no group tables when we first came in. But we waited 5-10 minutes, a table eventually opened up and we sat down. We were served chips and salsa once we had a seat and they were pretty delicious. The chips tasted fresh and warm and the salsa was a nice savory kick. The pasta was truly the highlight though. I ordered the seafood pasta and it was sooo delicious. Just the right amount of creamy with a decent amount of seafood. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves pasta. Sure parking is hard (we went around the plaza two times) and the restaurant is small and dinky. But I'm all about taste and affordability so this checks off the boxes for me. The server was super nice and sweet as well so that was a plus! read more
3 years ago
The best pasta in LA, and it's super affordable. Would definitely recommend to a friend. 10/10!! read more
2 years ago
A great choice for USC students, cheap and close by campus! Also great for anyone in general who wants some cheap, quality pasta for a quick lunch. Kind of a hole in the wall, not many people know about this place and it's about $8-9 on average for a meal here. Florentina chicken pasta, best dish they have. The spaghetti shrimp pasta was delicious as well, but I liked the Florentina pasta the most! I don't think I've had this good of pasta in a while, it's probably because Pasta Roma is just mediocre. If you're not feeling pasta, they also have other types of food like the grilled hamburger. My bf loved the hamburger and the fries come with an amazing sauce! Also, the hamburger came with a drink and we got lemonade, but felt like it was too diluted so if you get a drink, stick with soda. Service was great, the lady working is so attentive and sweet! In this kind of restaurant (where you pay first at the register), usually employees don't give you much attention after ordering, but she kept checking up on us and refilling our water. Everything about this place is on point, except the parking. Street parking is almost impossible unless you're really lucky, and if you want to park in that tiny parking lot, you have to be patient and wait for someone to leave. But since their food is bomb, I won't dock a star for the terrible parking situation. read more
I am personally a fan of hole in the wall dining because the wait is nonexistent. This place looks shabby and none too spectacular but the food is pretty good. And plentiful. Nevermind that they serve a plethora of culturally different food like italian, mexican, and what not. I got seafood pasta which was pleasantly cheap and pretty yummy. The best part is that they did not skimp out on seafood. For what you pay, it's a pretty good deal. read more
9 years ago
Well, what can I say. I like this place. It is small. But the food compensates it all. Why? Because the dishes served here are phenomenal. The pastas are delicious. If you come here, you have many option in the menu, mainly Italian dishes but some Mexican plates too, for example: Pasta primavera, Pasta chicken fetuccini, Black shrimp plate, Florentina chicken pasta, Spaghetti shrimp pasta, Chicken ravioli... Grilled beef tacos, grilled chicken burrito, grilled hamburger, Carne asada plates etc etc etc. The place is very clean and the thing is that the staff and owners are really nice, they are very friendly. The prices are affordable, not pricey but delicious. read more
5 years ago
4 years ago
Food is so good. I recommend the seafood pasta and apple pie. Prices are very reasonable and portions are good size. Yurrrr read more
3 years ago
Definitely a gem tucked away near USC! The restaurant doesn't look like much from the outside, but the food and service on the inside is amazing! Service Right when we entered, we were warmly greeted but a nice lady, who showed us to our seats. Throughout our entire time at the restaurant, she was very attentive and constantly came by to check up on us. Food I ordered the chicken fettucini with alfredo sauce and it was very flavorful and delicious. They provided a good portion that wasn't too much to the point where I was going to explode but not small enough to the point where I would still be hungry. My boyfriend ordered the chicken risotto and he loved it as well. Also, they give free chips and salsa AND garlic bread!!! LIKE WHAT!?? They already had me at free but the chips and salsa + garlic bread were also very good! Value Both of our meals came out to be around 20 dollars and for all the quality food I am definitely sold on this place! read more
5 years ago
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7 years ago
Whew Chile let me tell u this is the spot don't be fooled by the area the plaza or the pics on the wall it's the bomb. They better not change a thing or go no where this is my new addiction even though I need to lay off the carbs i don't care this food is delicious in my budget and it's a great portion I had the lobster ravioli can't wait to try the seafood pasta next read more
4 years ago
Monarca is a tiny restaurant in a plaza off of Vermont Street with just a few tables, but it is a really nice gem! I was looking for a place that was more kid-friendly to have dinner with a handful of my younger cousins. They primarily serve Italian pasta dishes and entrees. The prices are incredible. For under $6, you can get a huge pizza. Seriously, this thing was a bit larger than a Domino's imo. Two of my cousins ordered this, so they ended up eating one whole one together and took the other one home for leftovers. I ordered the chicken burrito, which was grilled and tasty and came with a nice side of fries. My uncle ordered the tilapia, which he also said was delicious! Monarca has a good amount of variety and it's a great deal for the quality and amount of food you receive. I will definitely come here again if I want a quick, cheap place to eat! read more
5 years ago
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More info about Monarca Pasta & Grill
2703 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Adams Normandie
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(323) 731-8149
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