Monarca

10/10 I would say most restaurants are not worth the price but this place 100% is. Food, atmosphere and service were all phenomenal. The food we ordered was soooo good, flavors all worked so well together. Service was amazing. We wanted to order some thing that was not on the menu anymore and they were happy to accommodate us. We had the spicy cucumber margaritas too that were AMAZING! Will be coming back to try more things on the menu!

I celebrated my birthday here and as usual, the food was excellent. If you like Mexican with a more upscale preparation, this is your place. Claudia and Alfonso (the owners) have created something special. Public shout out to Bryan, who was an excellent server. Chips and salsa were served promptly, followed by perfectly timed appetizers that we were able to enjoy before the entrees came out (my recent experience in many restaurants is that they bring the appetizers out late, so you barely have a chance to start eating them before the entrees are served). Entrees came out perfectly temped and while we were done in about 45 minutes, we never felt rushed.

Very nice restaurant, food was wonderful and service was also very good, our waitress was very nice. The owner chef and his wife came out and talk to the guess, that is so nice to see and experience. Is a almost lost custom, he came to us and talk for a while. Really nice dinning experience. Looking foward another opportunity to visit SLC, he mention he will be open a new restaurant, fusión of asian peruvian.

This place was absolutely phenomenal! One of the best Mexican restaurants in SLC in my opinion. The food was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious! The service was exceptional and our server was very accommodating and attentive. We loved the atmosphere and vibe that this place has. Great location for date night.

Enjoyed the surfboard and turf. My wife enjoyed the ranchera. Excellent experience to celebrate something that happened for my wife!

I celebrated my birthday here. Loved the food, service and atmosphere. Solid fine dining Mexican food. Particularly liked their ceviche and Pollo en mole, chicken is perfectly cooked and mole is delicious. We also ordered the lamp rank and the steak special, which is good but can be flavored better. Server also gave me a birthday desert(ice cream and churros) ! Overall, a very satisfying experience, will be back to try out other dishes.

💯 Authentic Real Mexican Food Restaurant A Five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Wow, This was A 10 out of 10 experience In the Salt Lake City Valle, wait in The State Of Utah You Will not Find a place like this and I will probably bet you will not find it in the Nation, I have traveled The entire United States 🇺🇸 except Alaska And Hawaii and this place is in a different level At Monarca is A Fine Dining Experience and get the authentic flavors of Real Mexican Food. Salsas wow I totally Loved them and their chips. I was able to enjoy of Only a few plates but I will come back and try their entire menu. A must try is the Cochinita Pibil was amazing, well portion and a enjoyable temperature, Service was spectacular go say the least, with a good side crowd our waiter, Diego was very attentive coming to the table always at the white times. Dining area was very nice and specious tables are well placed and good distance from each other. At the end of Out Diner, The Hostess Claudia with Diego came over and made sure everything was good, introducing her self and invited us to come again making us feel very welcome, Thank you Claudia and Diego!! If you are in Salt Lake Look no more take this experience and make it Yours, you will agree with me. Beer and Drinks are served as well. Restrooms clean and a in a separate area from Dining.

I went here with a few friends who highly recommended it & wow! I was blown away!! Make the reservations!! We went on Wednesday & it would have been a 45 minute wait, but we opted to sit at the bar & they got us in right away, thankfully! We did not get chips & salsa at the bar, but I heard they do serve chips & salsa to the tables. So that was a bummer. I opted out of a margarita tonight, but one of my friends got one & said it had great flavor. Their drink menu in general looks really yummy! One of my friends got the shrimp tacos & loved them. The fillings on the tacos were very full & it was easier to eat these with a fork because of how messy & full they were. I had the sweet potato tacos. They were outstanding! Literally the best vegetarian tacos I’ve had in Utah! Sweet potatoes were cooked to perfection, I loved the homemade ranch they add to these. I was a little curious about the fried onions on this dish because I’m not a fan of onions in general but they were really good!! One of my other friends had the enchilada suiza. I tried their salsa verde they put on this dish, wow! I can’t wait to try their enchiladas next time just based off this sauce. It wasn’t spicy, had a kick of sweetness to it. Staff was great! Very attentive, the bar area was beautiful. Everything was also so clean. Parking was probably the worst part, but anything downtown Salt Lake is rough. There is a parking garage near. We parked in there. Overall, I really enjoyed the place! I highly recommend & I can’t wait to go back!!

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. This is the best Mexican food I've ever had - truly a unique culinary experience. The octopus tacos were buttery, the nitrogen-infused margaritas were UNREAL (they make them in front of you!! and the Molcajete could easily feed 4! Silver took excellent care of us!!

We had such a wonderful Friday night! Food was wonderful. Angela was our server and she was so kind and helpful. Giovanni was running our food and he was very personable. We had the salmon plate and the surf and turf tacos. Looking forward to our next visit.

Mole enchilada, ribeye bone marrow tacos were phenomenal. Our favorite dish was the carne asada entree, well worth the price and the flavor of the meat and quality was just out of this world. 10/10 we will be back and will be bringing all our friends!

Got together with friends to celebrate Mother's Day with some brunch from Monarca, and it was lovely! The ambiance is fantastic with so much natural lighting 🤩 The flavor profile for each dish was wonderful! The quality was great and service was great, as well. My husband got the Monarca breakfast, kids shared pancakes and eggs, and my friends ordered the chicken empanadas, the tres leches pancakes, and the steak and eggs. All phenomenal dishes!! Now, this is where I would rate it 4.5 stars. I ordered the chilaquiles, and I expected to have crispy tortilla chips, as that's what it's always been like at other restaurants, however, their version is made with the chips underneath the eggs and sauces, making the chips soggy. The flavor was still fantastic and the presentation was wonderful, but the chips were not crispy at all. They had a live acoustic guitarist come play and they were the cherry on top of it all ♥️ we will definitely be back! And P.S., remember to tip live musicians if you can! Music adds so much depth to the dining experience, so please show appreciation when you appreciate it ♥️ Venmo is almost always offered. 😁

Vibes are elevated. Casual enough for lunch but nice enough for a night on the town with plenty of seating for larger parties. Love the enchiladas and the chicken tortilla soup is literally out of this world. Solid spot through and through!

Best corn tortillas I’ve ever had! (I’ve been gluten free for 10 years—I’ve tried a lot of corn tortillas.) The texture and flavor are phenomenal. Get the shrimp tacos; you won’t be sorry. I’m definitely coming back often for them. Guacamole and habanero salsa were solid. I prefer thinner tortilla chips, but some liked them. My party also enjoyed the sweet potato tacos, birrilla quesadilla, and the carnitas plate. Sweet potato tacos were vegetarian and delicious! Atmosphere is hip and modern. Service was friendly, not super fast. The bathrooms were clean.

Juls was an amazing server! He helped our friend have a great birthday. The food was fantastic and every worker we interacted with was fabulous. Will definitely come back!

We had the best time at the Valentine’s Day brunch event at Monarca! The food was amazing, the cocktails were beautiful and delicious, and the whole event was perfectly curated for a fun girls’ day out. Jules was a fantastic host and made sure we were well taken care of. Huge shoutout to Steph and her team, they did such an incredible job. The entire staff was kind and attentive. We’ll definitely be back!

I had an excellent experience at Monarca. The food was absolutely delicious full of flavor and beautifully presented. You can truly taste the quality and care in every dish. The service was just as outstanding. The staff was warm, attentive, and made sure everything was perfect throughout our visit. I highly recommend Monarca and will definitely be coming back. Such a wonderful place!

We had such a great experience at Monarca! The food was incredible.. my husband ordered the duck and absolutely loved it, and I had the birria tacos which were so flavorful and perfectly cooked. We were a table of 10, and our server Tristin was truly amazing. She was attentive, patient, and on top of everything the entire time. She made sure everyone had what they needed, kept things running smoothly, and never made us feel rushed or forgotten despite our large group. Great food, great service, and a wonderful overall experience. We’ll definitely be back!

I've had only wonderful experiences at Monarca, but tonight was insane! Juls is an excellent server; and his recommendations were spot-on. Love the menu-- food & drinks! Best ceviche in Salt Lake City. 10/10

Really enjoyed the food! Great atmosphere in a great location! The staff was very kind and accommodating. I got the chicken tortilla soup and Pollo de la Brasa and both were fantastic! They also serve delicious hot chocolate, which hit the spot on a cold winter day.

We had an amazing experience from start to finish. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, and our waitress, Tristin truly went above and beyond. She was attentive, kind, and made us feel so welcome. Everything came out perfectly, and her service made the night even better. We will absolutely be back!

The food was very good, the atmosphere was nice, and the service overall was good. However, when it came to asking the waiter about certain items that were supposed to come with the dishes such as the molcajete salsa they didn’t seem to understand. One of the dishes specifically mentioned it, but nothing came on the platter. There were also a couple of other small issues. For example, I asked for a Coke with no ice, but it was brought with extra ice. When I pointed it out, the waiter apologized and said it was on the house, but we never received the Coke without ice, which made things a bit awkward. Other than that, the food was great and the service was above average. Maybe the staff just needs a bit more training on the menu and what each dish includes. 🤷🏽‍♂️ I’ll definitely come back and give it another try.

We had a wonderful time at Monarca. The food and presentation were amazing! -Branzino with 2 salsas was one of the best fish I had in America. -Guacamole could use way more seasoning. The presentation was beautiful. The taste was pretty flat. Pork entree and elote sharable dish were amazing 👏 Hostess yesterday (3/18) checked out our IDs and was touching a lot of different things/gadgets before grabbing our plates and silverware without clean hands or gloves, hence the 4 stars review. I had to ask for new ones once seated. It didn't make a good 1st impression on us.. Hygiene is important, and shortcuts are not acceptable! Then we sat at the bar and forgot about it, thanks to Abi. Shout out to her. Her cocktails and service made a huge difference. Very good and very precise! We will be coming back!

Make a reservation. The dining area is quite small. It is not a large establishment where you can drop in and get a table at any time. While my group was there, I watched them turn away about 20 people. It is a decent restaurant. The food was good. It was odd to spend $20 on 3 tacos and a bowl of rice. The enchiladas were worth the same price, and you got more food. The appetizers were better than the entrees, which was surprising. Overall, we enjoyed our time and the food.

We were seated at a table with a charming street view, which enhanced the ambiance. The chef graciously prepared Sopapillas for us, even though they weren't on the menu. While I’ve had better Empanadas elsewhere, these were beautifully presented. The menu offers a wide variety of food and drink options to choose from. I’ll definitely be returning.

Amazing plates! Contemporary atmosphere with delicious plates and great service. We ordered the Pescado A La Talla (Grilled fish) and Elote, ended it off with Americanos and Churros. The second time we got the Soupa de Tortilla and Birria Tacos.

We loved the food here, it was plentiful enough but crafted superbly. The guacamole was excellent, and the waitstaff was pleasant, smiling, and very helpful. We did ask too many questions, but they were very patient with us. One suggestion, when you go to the bathroom leave bread crumbs if not you might unexpectedly walk into the kitchen on the way back 😉 Definitely get the tacos, and try a variety because they're all delicious!

Maybe it has just been overly hyped to me for the past few years, but Monarca was just fine. It felt like a prototypical Utah restaurant: trying to be cool with a vibe and then providing good (but not great) food that is overly priced. The octopus tacos are good … But the cheese should be crisped (not just melted) and there needs to be some spice to give it flavor. The shrimp tacos are good. The steak tacos were not. And the molcajete was extremely overpriced ($80) and filled with propane-flavored carne asada and chicken. The shrimp and chorizo and jalapenos were good in it, but this needs to sing at $80, and it doesn’t come close to hitting the note it should compared to the molcajete at Chile Tepin or La Casa Del Tamal which are just as big, half the price, and twice the flavor profile. Overall, Monarca is fine, but honestly feels like it’s trying to be like a Enrique Olvera-type upscale Mexican place and is falling short. Our service was also very average. Took our appetizer order and then forgot to take our main entree order for 20 mins. She forgot to refill our drinks for 15 mins after we asked and so we had to ask again. And when we asked about gluten free we were told: “Everything on the menu is gluten free…except the things that aren’t.” No joke.

I was there recently with my wife in a big group for a bday, my wife order the carnitas which was average (meat was pretty chewy) nothing special, I looked around other peoples plates and nothing strike me as really good, so I didn't have much expectations on my order. I was wrong, I ordered the pollo mole which was amazing, it's the best mole I've tried outside Oaxaca, I highly recommend over everything else I saw in the menu. You should also pair it with a "passion por Oaxaca" cocktail if you like mezcal 👍

Met some friends for lunch on a Saturday. I got lucky with parking and found a spot right in front of the restaurant. My friends had to do a bit of walking. The restaurant has a really nice atmosphere and the staff is very attentive and helpful. We weren't offered the full menu, but had good options to choose from. We ordered an appetizer of guacamole and chips. The quac needed salt, but I was ok with that because I don't eat a lot of salt. I ordered the birria tacos and they were perfect. Beans and rice weren't included so I had to order them on the side. The refried black beans were tasty. The rice was comparable to other places. One friend ordered the enchiladas and was very happy with them. The other had the chichi. She said it was different front what she was expecting. The prices were what you'd expect for city dining. I think mine was around $20 for the tacos and the sides of beans and rice.

Had a wonderful experience at Monarca. The location, decorations, table settings were excellent. We had a large group, and despite the difficulty, the service was excellent for speed, and paying attention to detail. Enjoyed guacamole, queso, and chips and salsa appetizers. The issue with the food was with my main dish was Octopus Tacos. However it was missing key ingredients from the description and photo of the dish: there were no tomatoes and mandarins on the tacos. It was only the octopus and aoli sauce. Seems like a large miss on not finishing the plating. That said, the sauce was a delicious flavor. The octopus tasted wonderful. I was surprised and how perfect the texture was. I'm sure if I had asked about the tacos, they'd have made it right. I was just in a hurry, and didn't ask. Overall it's a wonderful restaurant, and I'd go again.

I'm so disappointed because the last time I had been here it was a great experience. These portions are killer (not in the good way). You have to order 2 plates to be moderately full and still. Drinks were great but pricey. The kitchen was a mess and you could feel it, plates would come out with a 20-30 minute difference, and they would forget to make sides. I'm saddened to say that was the last time I will be going. It was my birthday :(

Very disappointing experience. The service was abysmal. After being seated, it took 15 minutes before our waitress first stopped by the table. Took another 15 minutes for us to get out first round of drinks. The table next to us that sound down 10 minutes after us had service and their drinks right away. The service only declined from there. They brought our appetizer and our mains only 5 minutes apart, we had only finished half the appetizer. Table wasn’t big enough to hold 1 app and 2 entrees, so our plates were hanging over the edge. Waitress didn’t come back by again until we were nearly finished with our meal. My drink had been empty for about 15 minutes at that point. Took another 15 minutes once we finished for the waitress to come by again. They never even cleared anything off the table. Absolutely terrible service overall. The positive was the food which was above average. Only reason it got two stars instead of one. The homemade tortillas were very great, and all the dishes were good. Ignoring the service, $120 (before tip) for 2 drinks, 1 app, 2 entrees wasn’t quite worth it. Better Mexican options for less. The tables were spaced together too tightly for the space as well. We felt very cramped at our table, barely enough room for people to squeeze by. Will not be returning.

Honestly, I’m not sure what people see in this place. I paid $30 for two small drum sticks on top of mole sauce. When they brought it out, I thought they were missing some of my meal. The flavor was fine, but nothing you can’t get somewhere else for much cheaper and a lot more food. They took a long time, forgot one of our sides, and we left hungry. Go somewhere else.

We went for Valentine's day and when we made the reservation on their website, I didn't see anything about a 5 course meal for that day, they had an announcement on Facebook from what someone told me but I don't follow their page. We got there and were surprised when we got told about it when our waitress told us after we sat down. We decided to stay since we felt bad about just getting up and leaving. While there we heard other couples saying the same thing, that they thought they were going to have their regular menu, we even saw a few couples bringing their kids and they left after hearing about the change. The food was okay but not worth what we paid for, $207 which included a 20% tip already added, we don't mind tipping, and we had only 2 drinks a coke and a mojito $16. We probably would enjoy their normal menu, reason we wanted to go there in the 1st place, which we will be back to try in the future because their regular menu had so many Mexican options that sounded delicious. Their regular menu also has Vegetarian options but this 5 course meal did not, which also surprised me and the reason why a couple left. The waitress we had though, was AMAZING and super nice, all the staff were incredible. Very polite and making sure that we felt comfortable and filling our cups before they emptied and removing plates. They were all so sweet and kind. I also wanted to add, when you make a reservation and get the reminder, it says something about use the Valet from Marriott and they will discount the $10 from your bill, we got told they do not do that though and they're unsure why it says it on the reservation. Just a warning if you're going to use the Valet service.

I am so sad to be rating this restaurant so low since I’ve been coming here for more than 3 years, but the visit today might be the last one. 1. Menu has changed significantly. They eliminated all enchiladas (which were phenomenal and the main reason for my visit) 2. They no longer offer chips and salsa, you have to upgrade to guacamole. Our server was nice enough and still brought us chips and salsa without the up charge. 3. Prices have increased SIGNIFICANTLY! Their birria tacos went from $19 to now $24! Every food item on the menu increased in price. One mushroom taco is $10! One sweet potato taco is $9! Their prices are literally the same as ocean front San Diego restaurants now. 4. Quality of food also went down. I ordered their quesadilla and got the most bland, sad looking quesadilla ever. Cannot believe they charge $19 for that, it’s just criminal at this point. 5. Our server was super nice, hence the two starts. She agreed that the old menu was way better.

I rarely leave 1-star reviews, but this experience unfortunately "secure" it—not because of the food, but due to how the staff handled a serious incident. I visited this restaurant with a group of 12 colleagues, including coworkers and managers. While parking was a bit of a hassle, I opted for garage parking and looked forward to a good meal. I ordered the Tacos Birria. However, when our food arrived, the server accidentally spilled my entire dish on me. The hot birria sauce drenched my shirt, jeans, socks, and shoes. Thankfully, I was wearing loose jeans and was able to pull the fabric away from my thigh, minimizing the burn, but it was still painful. I had to go to the restroom to clean up, and a coworker helped me wash what we could. I returned to the table soaked and sat through the rest of dinner that way—about two hours—because I didn’t want to ruin the rare occasion of our team dining together. The manager did come over to apologize, offering a $25 gift card, which I used to pay for dinner, and a complimentary dessert. While I appreciated the apology, the gesture didn’t come close to making up for the damage. My jeans alone cost more than $150, my shirt $50, and my shoes $300—not to mention the inconvenience and discomfort of being soaked and burned in my thigh during the entire meal. I'm also traveling for work, staying at a hotel with no laundry facilities, and I won’t have access to laundry until the weekend. This is the only pair of shoes I brought. With $25, I think I can get a new pair of socks. While I understand accidents happen and didn’t want to make a scene (not single word or attitude during my diner), I expected a much better response from an upscale restaurant. Some of my coworkers expressed their disappointment with how the situation was handled. The food itself was good and nicely presented, but given the circumstances, won’t be returning for sure.

1/27/24 - Unfortunately editing this review. Currently 35 minutes waiting for a table on a day we had a reservation. Don’t count on your reservation being honored. ——- Some of the best plates I’ve had for the “finer” side of fine dining Mexican in salt lake.

Horrible horrible food, at least for someone that is a real Hispanic. They have things on the menu labeled as “waygu” and it is actually just ground beef they also have things on the menu completely mispelled and do not mention that they add completely random things to your plate that are NOT included on the menu. My food came out with random pomegranates on it ? That was completely not mentioned on the “plate”. They put banana slices on my chorizo taco, how disgusting which is also NOT mentioned on the menu. I would rather have spent my money at a random taco stand on the side of the road. Don’t eat here it’s a fake fancy restaurant. Terrible experience and disgusting food. Spent over 100$ to go buy more food when I left.

We visited on Valentine’s Day and understood there would be a limited menu — but we were surprised to find only two options available, with no pricing clearly communicated upfront. What really stood out was that we weren’t the only ones caught off guard. While we were dining, we saw at least three separate groups get seated, look at the menu, and leave within minutes. It was clear they were just as surprised and disappointed by how limited and completely different the menu was compared to what the restaurant normally offers. Watching multiple tables walk out made it obvious that the experience wasn’t just a personal preference issue — the lack of transparency and drastic change in offerings was turning customers away in real time. We ordered one of each option (“Mar” and “Tierra”), and unfortunately it was one of the most disappointing dining experiences we’ve had. The food was bland and lacked the flavor and quality we’ve come to expect here. It didn’t resemble their normal menu at all. Instead of feeling like a special version of the restaurant we enjoy, it felt like an entirely different place trying — unsuccessfully — to be a high-end fine dining experience. The “wagyu” steak was especially disappointing. I wasn’t asked how I wanted it cooked, and it arrived completely well done with no pink at all, which ruined what should have been the highlight of the meal. I used to bring clients here every couple of months and genuinely enjoyed this restaurant — especially the birria and octopus tacos — which makes this experience even more frustrating. Between the high price, very small portions, and lack of flavor, the value simply wasn’t there. I expected higher prices and a simplified menu for Valentine’s Day, but instead it felt like paying steakhouse-level prices for food that didn’t come close to the quality. Sadly, this visit was disappointing enough that I won’t be returning.