Monarca in Vancouver’s historic Gastown, is the sister restaurant to Ophelia in Olympic Village. This modern-meets-authentic Mexcian restaurant is serving up delicious food and cocktails in a stunning space. They recently started their lunch service, so I had to come by to check it out. In addition to a menu full of play and modern yet authentic Mexican dishes, Monarca also has a full bar with beautiful handcrafted cocktails. Check out my full review of the Monarca Cocina Mexicana lunch menu below!
Monarca Cocina Mexicana – Appetizers and Sides
To start our meal we had a variety of delicious appetizers and sides:
- Aguachile Verde Con Fresas ($18.50)
- Queso Con Chorizo ($17.50)
- Guacamole ($13.75)
- Bone Marrow ($17.50)
- Salsa Quemada ($10.50)
The Aguachile Verde Con Fresas features cured prawns and scallops, avocado in a strawberry jalapeño lime broth. This dish was very light and refreshing. This my first time having seafood with strawberries and it definitely works in this dish! The colours of this dish were outstanding as well. A beautiful start to the meal.
The Guacamole and Salsa Quemada were also great snacks to nibble on while waiting for our mains. The Guacamole with fresh avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, white onion, and lime juice was a table favourite.
The Bone Marrow features roasted bone marrow, onion, cilantro, smoked serrano salsa and corn tortillas. The corn tortillas were nice and warm, and all you need to do is scrap the marrow in, top with some cilantro and onion, wrap and enjoy. The Queso Con Chorizo features melted oaxaca and asadero cheese, house-made chorizo, mushrooms, flour tortillas. This was a heavy and decadent dish. It definitely veers towards the saltier side, so don’t scoop too much into your tortilla as it may be too overwhelming.
Monarca Cocina Mexicana – Entrées and Tacos
For our mains we went with:
- Los de Ribeye ($25.50)
- Cabbage a las Brasas ($16.00)
- Enchiladas Gratinadas ($27.00)
For lunch there are a variety of tacos to choose from including pork, prawn and butternut squash. However we went with the Los de Ribeye. This dish features AAA beef rib eye, milpa tortilla, grilled cheese, avocado, onion, cilantro, salsa verde and salsa roja. This was amazing. The tortilla is grilled WITH the cheese so it’s so crispy and flavourful. The rib eye is so tender as well, and everything just works so well together in this dish. The creaminess from the avocado, the bite from the raw onion… Yum! I’m drooling just looking at my photo for this.
It would really take an outstanding dish to follow up the delicious tacos that we had, and the Cabbage a las Brasas is exactly that dish. Although it’s on the appetizer menu, this would definitely work as a main. This dish features grilled roasted cabbage, au jus chiltepin aioli, Parmesano Reggiano and pistachio. I know, I’m raving about cabbage, but it was really that good. The cabbage was crisp on the outside, but still retained a slight crisp on the inside. The aioli is really what makes this dish – it’s so savoury and nutty. I could drink the sauce out of the cup.
The Enchiladas Gratinadas features layered milpa tortilla, braised chicken, refried beans, salsa verde, oaxaca cheese gratin. This was a saucy and comforting dish that was the most classic of all the dishes that we ate today. The chicken was tender and flavourful and the salsa verde has a mild kick to it.
Monarca Cocina Mexicana – Dessert
To end our lunch we had:
- Carlota de Limón (Mexican Lime Icebox Cake)
- Churros and Ice Cream
The Carlota de Limón was a lovely cold treat for a hot summer day. The lime flavour really comes through and the cake itself is very creamy. It’s also not too sweet – I would definitely get this again. The Churros and Ice Cream smelled divine, but I found the churros to be on the harder side. I generally associate churros with a lighter and crispier texture. These had quite a stale taste and texture that even the cinnamon sugar couldn’t really mask.
Worth a Try?
Yes! I was blown away by the Los de Ribeye and Cabbage a las Brasas, so I’ll definitely be back for those. These two dishes are definitely on my list of top 10 things I’ve eaten in 2022. The ambiance is lovely, the service is attentive but not overbearing (the servers are really knowledgeable and friendly as well as open to making suggestions if you’re lost with the menu). If you can’t make it for lunch, they have a solid Happy Hour as well as dinner 7 days a week.
Monarca Cocina Mexicana
Address: 181 Carrall St Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1
Telephone: 604 569 2258
Website: https://monarcavancouver.ca