Monarca Cantina’s Tacos Vallarta dish is a tribute to Puerto Vallarta, an oceanside vacation destination in co-owners Victor Conrique and Juan Bravo’s native state — Jalisco, Mexico. “When I take a bite of it, it feels like I’m in a tropical place,” says Maria Escobar, Bravo’s niece and a server at Monarca, which opened on Medina’s square in 2022. “If you would go to, particularly Jalisco, and ask for anything seafood, more than likely your seafood is going to have either coconut or pineapple.”
Taste both ingredients in Tacos Vallarta ($14). To prepare that shrimp street taco trio, shrimp, covered in a vinaigrette of oil and dried red peppers, is grilled with coconut and pineapple. It’s topped with chipotle ranch and pico de gallo — made of tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and chickpeas. “You get the saltiness from the shrimp, pico de gallo, chipotle ranch, but you get the sweetness with the coconut and the pineapple,” Escobar says. “It’s like a bomb of different flavors.”
Specialties include taquitos, mole chicken and a traditional maduro dish ($18), which showcases plantains, common in Mexico — Escobar says they remind her of her grandmother’s cooking. Sweet Mexican plantains are browned on the grill, and carnitas pork is marinated in orange juice, onions, bay leaves, pepper and parsley for a juicy, sweet flavor. The plantains and pork are served together with seasoned jasmine rice, pico de gallo, avocado, queso fresco and sour cream.
“They venture out of their comfort zone, but once they take that first bite of the maduro, they fall in love,” Escobar says. “It’s phenomenal.”
Sample more flavors with a margarita flight ($15). Options include blended guava, octopus and spicy mango. The octopus variety surprises by mixing a frozen lime margarita with a shot of sweet red wine berry sangria. Reminiscent of the Mexican Chamoyada drink, the spicy mango is a frozen mango margarita with a Tajín chili-lime rim and chamoy syrup for a spicy, sweet and sour taste.
Diners enjoy the atmosphere, complete with Day of the Dead decorations and monarch butterflies — monarcas in Spanish. Those components make up Monarca’s theme — monarch butterflies’ migration to Mexico is often around the time of the Day of the Dead. Monarca invites diners to celebrate unique aspects of Mexican culture.
“People come in because of the ambience,” Escobar says. “Monarch butterflies represent the souls of our lost ones. So, when it comes to celebrating Day of the Dead, it’s like … our loved ones are coming back, spending time with us.”
108 Public Square, Medina, 330-723-0010, monarca.co
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