"Surprised beyond expectation...." Reviewed January 15, 2014 This review is given from a well traveled and experienced prospective. Both my wife and I are retired from major US airlines. As you might imagine, we both traveled many thousands of miles both domestic and international throughout the years. My point... eating in restaurants across the vastness of our travels was a common and frequent event. Folks like us learned early in our careers to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak when it came to places to dine. That being said, brings me to this critique of Monarca's of Cape Coral, FL. We had been looking for a local alternative to the other well known Mexican restaurant here in Cape Coral and were delighted to see that a new Mexican restaurant was going to arise from the old and beloved Jimbo's that had been in the Cape since 1978. After Monarca's opened I began to watch for patron generated remarks and reviews of the food, service, price and atmosphere. I was very disappointed to note that more than a few reviews were negative and some very negative pertaining to the points mentioned above. In spite of the negative reviews we decided to give Monarca's one attempt to capture our interest and satisfaction. I will admit, arriving that evening my expectations were not very high but hopeful. Here were the impact points that rather quickly began to calm our fears and change our minds: 1. Walking in the door we were immediately greeted with a very friendly welcome. 2. Remembering the old Jimbo's décor I could hardly believe my eyes as we surveyed the excellent south of the border Mexican motif. 3. Within seconds we were met by a very friendly hostess, asked our seating preference, then guided to our well decorated comfortable booth. 4. Less than 60 seconds passed before our waiter, Luis, arrived with a smile, a welcome and drink suggestions. Of course we wanted a Margarita. That would be our first real clue as to where our opinion dial would be headed, up or down. Luis made his recommendation, we went with it and let me say, my wife and I both agreed that it was one of the very best margaritas we had tasted...Way to go Luis. 5. Luis's professional and friendly approach elevated his service quotient to a solid 10 out of 10 throughout the evening. Chips & Salsa arrived within 2 minutes after Luis took our drink orders. My wife asked for even hotter salsa, Luis said no problem but it took a few minutes for it to arrive. We found out just why. THEY MAKE THEIR OWN SALSA THERE, FROM SCRATCH!!!! Wow!! Opinion dials moving very nicely. 6. We both chose the Fajita Taco Salad. Again, excellent. Will we go again? Absolutely! We can highly recommend this new and most authentic Mexican restaurant to anyone who loves Mexican décor and cuisine and of course an excellent Margarita. L. Smith Cape Coral, Florida read more

I really wanted to like this place but the service really turned me away. The ambiance is great; the food is just okay. We walked in (party of 5) and the restaurant was busy but not packed. We waited at the host's station and watched 4 or 5 employees walk past us, make eye contact, and say nothing. I had to flag one of girls down when she walked by us for a third time. She brought over a girl who appeared to be the host but seemed extremely confused about seating us. Not the best start. We were then seated at a table for 4 and very little space to add a 5th seat. The table next to us graciously moved their whole table over so that the 5th seat would be comfortably accommodated. The staff did not help or seem concerned that all 5 of us would not fit at this table as it was laid out. Our waitress really struggled throughout the meal. Our drinks took forever to arrive. The margaritas came after we received our appetizers and we had to ask three times for missing Colas before she finally brought them over. One of our party ordered sangria that didn't come to the table until after our entrees had been delivered with no apology offered for the delay. A table that had been sat after us received their entire meals before we even received our drinks. She also wasn't clear on the menu or what the bar had. One of our party asked for maraschino cherries and was told they did not have any but when she went to the bar herself, she was able to get a large portion of them. A salad was completely missing the shrimp that came on it and the dressing wasn't brought out until asked for twice. I had to ask for the sour cream I ordered twice. The ceviche was incredibly chunky and not diced properly. It simply wasn't busy enough for this kind of experience. This place has a lot of potential but definitely needs to work on its service standards. read more

Es mi lugar preferido para celebrar con mi familia o mis amigos, podemos llegar en carro o en el bote. La comida es deliciosa y las porciones son generosas... Les recomiendo los molcajetes, en verdad que son hechos para los amantes de la auténtica cocina mexicana. Mi bebida: me encanta el Jarro Teporocho, es algo diferente, fresco!!! Lo hacen por orden individual exprimiendo la fruta al momento que lo ordenas. Le ponen jugo de toronja, naranja, limón y lleva tequila. Te lo sirven a las rocas en un Jarro de Barro tan grande que te parece imposible que te lo vayas a acabar... "Buenísimo" Y tienen que verlo!!! Todo el restaurante esta decorado con artesanías traídas de México, hay cosas de Madera, de Metal, de Talavera, Granito, Ónix, etc. Bueno; con decirles que hasta los baños los han decorado hermosos, que no te quieres ni salir... También vas a notar que predomina la madera por lo cual la atmósfera es cálida y resulta muy acogedor, me parece que estoy en un antiguo pueblito de México... Wow tienen que ver eso!!! Por cierto se sacaron el premio de mejor restaurante de Cape Coral del 2015, en verdad se los recomiendo... Te llevaras una agradable experiencia!!! read more

Walked in and awkwardly stood at the hostess stand for two or three minutes while numerous staff walked past, some of which glanced at us and just kept walking by. Eventually the hostess came to the stand but still didn't acknowledge us. We told her how many people we had and she gathered menus and silverware and began to walk away without saying anything. She looked back at us like we should've just known that we were supposed to follow her. Once we got to the table we were ignored for 12 minutes, with multiple staff again walking past us and giving us glances. After desperately trying to get someone to notice us through strong eye contact, we asked the passing hostess if she could send a waitress to our table. We waited for three more minutes, during which time another family was seated and immediately seen by a waitress. We left and will never return. None of us had ever had such an uncomfortable experience at a restaurant, or felt so immediately unwelcome. read more

One word describes this restaurant...WOW!!!! My husband and I were looking for something new and figured we would give this place a try. The decor on the outside of the building caught my eye right away as it is very exquisite. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted right away with a friendly smile and were offered the option of dining inside or outside...I chose outside as I enjoy being on the water. As I continued in, I was impressed by their lovely detailed chair and was very happy with how comfortable they were as well. Our waiter, Jose was simply amazing and was on top of everything and the food was outstanding. I eat Mexican food a lot and have to say that their food was the best that I have eaten in a long time. So if you want great food, atmosphere and service, I highly recommend you try them. read more

Outstanding Mexican Food!! From the beginning to the end, the owner and friendly staff provided an excellent service! Very accommodating, excellent customer service. We catered for our End of Year Employee Lunch, and it was a hit. Everyone loved it and kept talking about how delicious everything tasted. Salsa (my favorite salsa ever), chips (fresh and crunchy), refried beans (yummm), salad (fresh, put together with finesse), shredded chicken (moist and tasty), ground beef (flavorful), carnitas (was gone in a heart beat), yellow rice (authentic and delicious)!!! It's awesome to have this restaurant in town. I highly recommend it to everybody. I have been here several times with family and friends and have never been dissapointed in any way! Awesome job Monarca's!!! 1000 stars read more

I have had dinner here three times now and I couldn't be more please with the food and service! The quality of the food is fabulous and it is indeed authentic! The prices are very reasonable and the food is served in a timely fashion by a very friendly wait staff. The manager keeps a good eye on the details and this place is very clean! Kelly who serves at the bar is TOP KNOTCH! I suggest ya'll give this place a try....please remember they just opened three weeks ago and like anything else it takes some time to get the bugs worked out and they are working diligently to resolve any issues..... read more

Slow Good ... a Sunday afternoon brunch with the wife. We had a great time on the deck. Absolutely loved their salsa with cilantro, that and a Patron Silver made the long 1:15 minutes worth it. The food was prepared to perfection, we loved it! Reading the comments on slow service from others we certainly would agree. If you're in a hurry this is a consideration on choosing not to dine here. If you want fresh food in a clean environment perfectly prepared, it's worth the wait. If only we could have changed the channel on the deck TV it would have been a perfect afternoon. read more

I really really like this place. Very authentic and the Decor was phenomenal. The staff was incredibly nice and attentive. The food was really good very flavorful and not greasy like some other Mexican places. I really enjoyed the margaritas. They are jampacked of flavor and you definitely get your moneys worth. The restrooms were so clean and beautiful. The seating was definitely artwork in itself. The craftsmanship of this place. Is enough just to bring you back. I really like the staff. They were very nice, and had great recommendations. We will definitely return. read more

First time here - recommended by a friend. Service was excellent. Great margarita's. The appetizer was the jalapeno bacon wrapped shrimp. It couldn't have been better - good sized fresh shrimp with outstanding flavor. I would go back for just this. Main was the quesadilla. My wife said it was the best one she has ever had. I would say if it wasn't the best it was sure close. Loved the atmosphere with a mariachi band going around the room. Overall it was a great experience and we would certainly recommend it to our friends. read more

We where there, 3 adults and 2 teenagers We arrived 730pm We where told by the hostess that they are closed They continued to seat others but not my family and I I was impaled We where never seated To me, I know that they are racist We are white and the family's where all Spanish and those people were seated We where told 730pm that they are closed I will never step foot in there ever again I would also suggest if your not a native of Mexico and don't speak Spanish don't waste your money to be treated so poorly C.C read more

I love being able to leave good reviews for new places that I go to. I had a blast at Monarca's Friday night. Service was great, food was made just how everyone ordered it. We even threw in a few curveballs in our order and the server and the kitchen still got it right. The food came out hot and within a reasonable amount of time, even though it was a packed house. I had a free margarita from the yelp coupon, thought that was very cool. The decor was pretty interesting, as well. I would definitely go back again. read more

The restaurant is in a great location on a canal, accessible by both boat and car. The atmosphere was pleasant, with a wonderful outdoor seating area. The service started off decent but gradually slowed down and worsened as the meal progressed. The salsa was okay but lacked flavor, while the queso was packed with flavor, as was the rest of the meal. The nachos were delicious and definitely a must-try. The mixed drinks were perfect, rounding out an overall enjoyable dining experience. read more

The place was very busy and we were excited to get some authentic Mexican food. Service was on the slow side and it took us a while to get some menus and place the orders. I'm not going to say the food wasn't authentic, however it tasted rather flat and without the intense flavors. The initial guacamole was terrible and too salty, the tableside guacamole was good. The best food item was the shrimp appetizer. Will try again another day....but we had more luck at Mexico Lindo read more

After the 5th time of excellent food and service, I had to stop and write a quick review! This place is AMAZING! They say authentic Mexican food and they aren't lying. The staff is so nice and I love how it id family owned. The atmosphere is so relaxing being on the water. The decorations are authentically made by the family while they were in Mexico, which just completes the whole "taste of Mexico" theme. The fort Myers restaurant is just as great. Food is delicious! read more

the best restaurtante of fort myers my server valeria, she works very professionally always with a smile, the food was a bit slow but she was always aware of the table, she explains the menu because my family and I are from germany and we do not know much about Mexican food but she suggested the sea molcajete , table side guacamole , fajitas and xangos monarcas dessert and we loved it, she explained all the questions we had about the menu, i will back and ask for her read more

The cocktails we had were delicious! We are so glad to have found a real authentic Mexican restaurant in our town. The chips and salsa were very tasty and we were very hungry so they held us over until our food came out. The server was very knowledgeable of the menu and got our order correct, even with a few requests in our order. The place was packed and the wait was still reasonable. We will definitely be coming back again and again. Highly recommend. read more

Monarca's is the best Mexican restaurant in town!!! The service always great!! Oh and the food!! Yummy! I have been going here for sometime e now, and I want to say Adriana, the bartender is AMAZING! She is so very nice and courteous and makes the next margaritas and drinks! The whole staff there deserves the best reviews as when I walk in, there is smiles everywhere and they are always attentive to everyone's needs. Thank you! I'll be back every week! read more

place is terrible nasty and dirty hair was in the food the owner was trying to bribe us with free shots and free margaritas in return for 7 five star reviews lol that was a low blow begging for 5 star reviews beware flys or hair might be in your food better off going to mcdonalds or waffle house!!!!!!! lady get some. respect for yourselves dont beg or try to bribe customers for reviews when your place is trash along with disgusting food read more