La Monarca Bakery & Cafe

Really cute coffee cafe in Santa Monica, but they have multiple locations across LA. Their drinks are what stand out. I highly recommend the cafe Oaxaca, which is like a super chocolatey coffee. The horchata latte is also great.

Their pastries are hit or miss - I've tried the pan de elote (corn bread), dulce de leche tacos, and conchas. The corn bread was good but dry and deflated, like it had been out for a while. The concha was good and so was the dulce de leche taco. Maybe it's better to get the pastries only when they're fresh in the morning.

I'm not one to leave reviews often. The place has to be either really good or just really disappointing. In this case I'm truly dissapointed. I was really excited to come here when I found out they had a bakery after seeing their café de Olla at Costco. It makes me proud to see the Latino community represented in a place such as Costco. Maybe my expectations were to high coming here, but I feel
they should be . The Santa Monica location is in a prime place, the corner is beautiful and really cute. Walking into the shop my 1st thought was the music is good, but the ambience already felt off. It wasn't as put together as I imagined. I felt like I finally understood what our moms meant when they wouldn't let us out the house until we tucked in our shirts. It was missing something it felt sloppy. The idea is there but it needs to be tightened up. The reason I was ultimately disappointed about this place was the service. I am one to truly appreciate those who serve us and also I am understanding that the work force is rough right now. But geez, I felt like offering my coffee to the lady at the register because she looked like she needed a cup. When I approached the counter she didn't make eye contact, she looked like she was doing something, so I didn't want to interrupt but it took her a long time to acknowledge I was there ready to check out and place an order. Her customer skills were not there, she was also working extremely slow, she didn't smile, she looked like she was annoyed and not to mention everyone else was also working at a very leisure pace with no care in the world. One of the staff looked overwhelmed and stressed. It wasn't a good look. The area where they were making coffee and food looked disorganized and messy. The person bagging orders wasn't doing it with care. I saw food being put into the bags and probably being squished. Overall It didn't feel warm like a coffee shop should feel especially on a Saturday morning. I shouldn't feel my mood going down after a Saturday morning coffee shop run rather I should feel happier and ready to take on the day. I left feeling disappointed.

A little about what I picked up. The Iced Horchata de Olla, oh how I was really looking forward to that. It didn't live up to the hype and neither did the Oatchata Agua Fresca. Both of them were watered down and truly a let down. I'll will say though the mini conchas were delicious. The breakfast tacos were good but their prep area needs work.

I wish this place would have been a better experience. Other than buying a bag of their coffee at Costco I wouldn't recommend coming to the brick and mortar location unless it's only to grab some mini conchas. There are definitely better options in the area for coffee and an overall coffee shop experience.

This review isn't meant to put them down but hopefully entice them tighten up and level up.

La Monarca Bakery is an absolute gem of a coffee cafe. I can't wait to return for another burrito and Mexican hot chocolate and dig further into their wonderful menu.

Friendly service, welcoming ambiance though small inside. Nice place to grab a coffee to start or wind down your day.

Only got to come here for a short bit but I was pleasantly surprised by all the options and what we tried!
Even more exciting I found out World Market sells their products!!
Tried a couple cookies and the horchata latte. Cookies were great! Late was good but not as much horchata flavor as we hoped!
Hope to try this place again there were so many options I was excited about!

The only thing I don't like about this place is that there's not one closer to me
I love Horchata based coffee drinks, so this place was a must and it did not disappoint. Their pastries were also delicious!

La Monarca bakery was a pleasant surprise to find in Santa Monica. I bought some baked goods for a friend's birthday. As they were treats for my friend I didn't get to try them. They were apparently tasty. I bought a slice of horchata tres leches & the holiday conchitas.

Customer service was very good. The two young ladies that assisted me were very friendly and helpful. One made a great suggestion about the cake.

I plan to come back to try their cakes and coffees myself.

Someone says guava in a baked good and I am there! I came across La Monarcha while searching for a bakery to buy something to have for breakfast and to bring back for the friends I was staying with. I came across the guava croissant and ended up buying that along with a Mexican hot chocolate. I was not disappointed with either. The guava croissant was flaky and the guava was not overly sweet. The Mexican hot chocolate hit the spot as it was a bit chilly in the morning. I got it with oat milk and it was nice and rich. The bakery was bright, clean and had a few tables for patrons who wanted to eat there. I will definitely be back there again!

I had good memories of my brother picking up pastries and coffee from La Monarca a few years ago. We ate the goodies at our Airbnb and I hadn't visited. This time my brother and I visited and I wanted to buy coffee to bring to Houston. But the 12 oz bag was about $16. I felt it's too much because I can get good quality coffee for less. They sell Café de Olla too and cocoa. The slices of cake looked really good but I wasn't hungry. I just purchased a mollete with soy chorizo for my sister-in-law who wasn't with us. I hope to try a cup of coffee from La Monarca the next time I'm in L.A.

I got the Tres Leche cake. Not sure if I was too impressed by it :( I brought the cake to a friend's house and almost none finished their slice. I've had cakes from this bakery before and I feel like the quality has gone down.

Love this place!!

If you're looking for an assortment of pastries or cold hot chocolate, this is the spot!

You can sit and study or read a book if you want with your coffee!

They're also open until 8 which is amazing when so many other coffee shops close by 5

Parking is relatively easy (metered street parking or a paid lot behind the store)

Definitely always going to return to try a new pastry (they have seasonal offerings!) and a blended Mexican chocolate (personally prefer cold drinks over hot drinks)