Monarca Mexican Cuisine & Tequila Bar — Restaurant in Ormond Beach

Having eaten at pretty much every Mexican restaurant in the Ormond/ Daytona area, after one visit to Monarca I was immediately impressed and ready to call this one my favorite. The menu has the Mexican staples you expect to find, but also a nice variety of unique items that you don't often see at the Mexican restaurants in this area. Their margarita menu was good with lots of options, and the drinks had very good presentation besides being delicious. Food was excellent, and didn't take very long, and our server Abel kept on top of everything, we were never kept waiting. Super pleasant experience overall, this is my first visit and I will definitely be back!

UPDATE 2-1-2024: Wrote the above my first time eating here shortly after they first opened, and ever since have been coming here as my new regular Mexican spot in the Daytona/ Ormond area. Consistently hitting the mark as far as the best Mexican food around, maybe best food over all, bold claim, I know. Anyone I bring here is blown away their first time. Was ordering octopus ceviche and birria tacos every time because they were so good I couldn't not order them, but eventually convinced myself to try other things, and couldn't believe I was missing out. For food, the Steak Monarca is probably the stand out in my eyes, gonna be the new thing I have trouble not ordering. The Molcajete is outstanding as well. My girlfriend has many dietary restrictions and they are always super accommodating to that as well. We ordered Guacamole without tomato for her, and then when our entrees came out they remembered, and the small portion of Guac that comes on the side had no tomatoes as well, which I found to be thoughtful and impressive. Tequila selection is vast, not sure where you can find as many options anywhere else in the area. 10/10 if you're from the area and have a different regular Mexican food place you have to try this one, and if you're just in town on vacation, you need not look any further, this...

We were excited to try this restaurant. It had great reviews, and we love Mexican food! We arrived just after 6 pm on a Tuesday. It was busy but not overly so. We were seated and waited about 10 minutes before a waitress came over with chips & salsa. She took our drink order and our guacamole appetizers order. She returned quickly with drinks. We waited. Our chip basket was refilled, and we were still waiting for the guacamole and our order to be taken. After 20 minutes, the guacamole arrived, and she took our order. We waited almost an hour before we were able to flag down the waitress, who also claimed to be a manager, to ask for our check. Our food had never arrived although the table beside us, who arrived 20 minutes after we did, we almost finished with their meal. She disappeared for another 10 minutes. We She finally returned, she told us that our food was ready and that if we wanted it, she would comp the guacamole. We denied and asked for the check again. We explained how long we'd been waiting and that our neighbors were almost finished with their meal. Instead of apologizing or acknowledging the situation, she explained that the other table had "ordered shredded chicken so it's faster to make." The comment was laughable. A fun night at a new local restaurant was so disappointing. We left hungry, frustrated, and unfortunately won't be returning or recommending this restaurant to our...

We got there an hour before closing and there was no one else in the restaurant. Which I felt kind of bad for because I thought they might have been trying to shut it down early because our server ended up turning back on the Spanish music for us 😅. If that was their plan we just wanted to say thank you for getting us in.

That was the best Mexican Cuisine we’ve had in a very long time, honestly probably the best one I’ve ever had and our new go to place. The fajitas my partner got came out absolutely perfect, both steak and chicken full of flavor and piping hot. My enchiladas supremas that I ordered was the best enchilada dish I’ve ever had, paired with the rice and beans…worth every penny. Those are the two dishes we ask for to see if we will return weekly and I have to say you guys nailed these dishes on the head as far as our cravings were concerned…. We can’t wait to come back and try everything else on the menu. Again thanks for the late night dinner. As a server and kitchen staff member myself, I truly know how it feels to get that late night table sat when you’re tired and ready to go home. Not a beat was missed and we...