Monica’s Nueva Cocina

I have to say that I was disappointed last night. I had high hopes for this restaurant since Aca Y Alla has long been a favorite of mine.
To start, the restaurant was freezing. It was 40* outside and didn’t feel much better inside. I didn’t bring my coat into the restaurant and that was a big mistake as the sweater and scarf were not enough to keep me warm. We did ask if they could turn on the heat (or off the A/​C because it sure felt like it was on!) but didn’t get much of a response on that request.
Secondly can we talk about how they charge $ 3 for additional (small) baskets of chips? I hate restaurants that do this. The two small chips baskets for 5 people didn’t last very long, and the $ 3 for the extra basket wasn’t worth it. This in itsself is enough to keep me away.
The food that I ordered was great though. I had the pollo en pipan verde and enjoyed every bite. The Mexican Lasagna that a friend ordered looked sad though. Nothing like the dish that I love from Aca y Alla (that is STILL on the menu at Maracas). The fajitas that another friend ordered looked equally pathetic. Just a few strips of chicken on a small plate.
Overall, I doubt I’ll be back as it was such a let down.

I like that the strip has been going in a more modern direction. I like that the crowd was mixed, (men and women). I also admire Monica for putting her neck out and taking a chance with a twist on Mexican. It is a tuff task, but she does do well with the basics. Salsa, guacamole, enchiladas, we’re great. The bar is also nice since it has a patio side to it.
I try not to hold any place as my golden standard anymore. Lest be honest, I don’t love everything at Micocina, Primos, chuys, or taco diner either. So, can Monica make improvements? Yes, they all can. But her stylish twist is worthy of my repeat business.
Just stick with the basics and enjoy the atmosphere. Heck, you dont even have to eat dinner, since its a very cool place to have drinks. Service was friendly. That’s good enough for me.

First disappointment: Service was slow and uncoordinated. Admittedly, I was with a group, but the servers just couldn’t get it together. Drinks were slow, the kitchen couldn’t seem to put more than two plates out at a time. After more than a good wait for our entries, (all the chips were gone by this time) two plates came out, then wait, wait, wait. Then two more plates, wait, wait, wait, two more plates… you get it now. And the servers could have sold a lot more drinks if they had come around more often.
And then there was the check. They did at least split it up for us, but it took a while for the check to come out, then it took a good long while for the charge receipts to come out, and then at least ours was off by $ 20. And that wasn’t the worst of it. Instead of reversing the incorrect charge, the waiter charged the incorrect amount again. Then he goofed and charged cents instead of dollars. By that time the bank said, something ain’t right here and declined the card. We had to pay with cash and we’ll be checking to make sure everything gets reversed.
And the oversized menus with ²⁄₃ alcohol and ¹⁄₃ food on aluminum, are just hard to handle. Too big to fit on the table, but useful if you want to bang your dining partners in the elbow, arm or head. And Monica, for such a small selection of menu items, do you really need an executive chef?
Worst thing, Monica was out and about flitting between tables. She either needed to be in the kitchen expediting orders or managing the wait staff.
Second disappointment: The food. We stayed with dishes that morphed a good bit between Aca y Alla and Nueva Cocina. The Green Pasta is now Greene’s Pasta and the lack of color is no improvement. Bland. Bland. Bland. The Monica’s Mexican Lasagna was a mishmash of flavors that really didn’t fit together, while what the menu called two tomato coulis’ surrounding the glop of cheese, chicken and hard tortilla was just close to unpleasant. I think it should be more appropriately called ‘a few bitter peppers in corn starch sauce.’ No way I’d put my name on either of these dishes.
No one at our table was impressed with the food.
Third disappointment: The sushi bar looks nice from a distance, but don’t get too close. The kitchen is using the glass enclosed display space for not too pretty storage. No real sushi place would have fish covered with ripped plastic wrap and generic restaurant-​supply opaque storage containers with wipe off marker labels out where the paying customers can see them.
I won’t be back and won’t recommend this place. Just turn the place into a bar and get it over with.

I was coerced into going here by being told it was a new «Mexican» restaurant… which I’m always in the mood for. «Mexican» it was not.
I’ve been twice now, and I’m still not sure what’s happening. I think Monica is confused. Boobs and balls. ;) Asian and Mexican. What is going on here?
On my first visit: Maybe it was because the weather was absolutely perfect and we sat on the spacious patio… maybe it was because I was in a great mood… but I liked this place. Elias, our server, was entertaining and attentive. I didn’t drift too far from my norm when ordering. Guacamole for an app… creamy chunky goodness. The salsa is above average — roasted, chunky, spicy. For dinner I had Chili con Carne Enchiladas and Monica got this traditional dish RIGHT. My date had Enchiladas Mineras — brisket barbacoa, potatoes, carrots with a guajilo ancho chile sauce. Very distinct flavor but I’m not a fan of ancho chile anything.
On my second visit: We enjoyed the energy from the patio and the interior by grabbing a seat at a bar dividing the two — best of both worlds. We tried the Mustang roll for an app, which was subpar in my opinion. We ordered what we thought was Pollo Adobado tacos for an entrée, and a torta is what we were served. Torta for dinner? No thanks. I now realize, after investigating online a bit, we were given a LUNCH menu instead of the dinner menu. Maybe you have to occupy an actual table to warrant a dinner menu… hrm? Anyhow, the torta was tasty, but definitely not suitable for dinner. They definitely need to step up their game a bit in the drinks department. Our margaritas left much to be desired. It was nice to see Monica bouncing from table to table to check on her guests.
The restroom situation is worthy of mentioning. When you walk through the restroom door you enter a dark room with a seating booth against one wall and a communal sink. There are 4 individual toilet rooms with frosted glass. NO hook for purses in the women’s…big boo! Not sure how I feel about the whole arrangement. How am I supposed to primp when my date is standing next to me at the sink?!
The salsa and patio were enough to leave me wanting more… I’ll be back.

This place was recommended by a friends. The location is great, and has a great atmosphere. The bar is very upscale. The drinks were good.
Food was ok, nothing special for Dallas or Texas. Service was not horrible. Wait staff were clueless to the point of useless.
The two people I was with had been there before and they said the service and food is at best spotty, I could only hope for spotty.
I will not be returning here as there are way too many other good Mexican restaurants in the local area.

We’ve been to every incarnation of Monica’s in Dallas, including Ciudad, and we never walked away all that impressed. This is still true for her new restaurant on Cedar Springs.
Always looking to support neighborhood establishments, we popped in on a weeknight. Although it was nicely decorated, with friendly service, we didn’t think the food measured up to anything special. We started with the taquito dorados de pato, or duck taquito. This was the best flavor of the evening; crispy, not greasy, with a refreshing watercress salad and avacado tomatillo sauce accompanying.
We followed with a street taco sampler plate that included a pork belly and pineapple taco, a bulgogi style taco, and a carnitas taco. The best of the three was the pork belly. Usually not fans of fruit paired with savory flavors, we both thought the sweetness of the pineapple was a great compliment to the marinated pork belly. The other two tacos could have used more oomph. While the Galbi (short rib & kim chee) edged out the carnitas, they were both on the blandish side. Sides of rice, refried beans, and charro beans yielded nothing remarkable.
Additionally, the salsa was watery, and the margaritas too sweet. Overall, we’re on the fence when it comes to Monica’s. Good enough to warrant one more visit? Maybe.

I have tried this restaurant 3 times.
The first time it took 45min for our appetizer to come out so we cancelled our entrees.
The second time they brought us out the wrong food and no one ever checked on us. I stopped Monica and told her and she said she would comp our meal. We receieved the full check.
The third time I stopped a waiter and asked what his name was and he lifted his apron exposing the pants of his crotch and said «this is my name» and walked away.

After raving on her former Deep Ellum location, I was so very disappointed with my first outing at her new place. I know getting started in a new place has to be difficult so we’ll overlook the server-​kitchen miscommunications and the less than delicious food. Of the 4 different street tacos we got, the Galbi was, in fact, DELICIOUS and the Sauldero pretty ok… but the Pescado was just AWFUL («fishy tasting» is an understatement). And look out Gloria’s — Monica’s $ 3.50 house margaritas are just about the best in town for the price!
We’ll be back Monica!

Let me start by saying I really, really want to love this place. I love that Monica has opened a restaurant on the gay strip which has tried to go more upscale in recent years. And, I’m still considering this restaurant «new» so I’m trying to keep that in mind.
I’ve dined here two times in the last week for my initial tries. The first visit was with a group of about 10 – 12 on a Thursday night. The waitstaff was attentive, but just seemed a little clumsy with knowing the menu. I experienced this same confusion when going Sunday late-​afternoon for patio dining. On two occasions the waiter brought something to our table that was not ours.
One thing that concerns me about Monica’s Nueva is all the «rules» that seem to be involved with dining here. No split checks — this is tough especially in the gayborhood — no one wants to foot the bill for a group of 12 and who has cash? Second, is they advertise no substitutions — this is just bad for business. Dallas is teeming with restaurants that will do this.
The food — today I had steak nachos which were ok, but not remarkable. I’ll be honest I can’t remember what I had last Thursday night, but it was good I remember.
One big plus is that Monica was present on both visits and came to our table both times. This restaurant has such potential and I really want this place to succeed as I’m a big supporter of Monica and her ventures; however, let’s loosen up on the «rules», remember that if you don’t take care of the Customers, then someone else will.

Pork Belly and Lingua Tacos: no, not together, but two separate divine tasty tacos on house corn tortillas that are not gritty or coarse or bland. And if have always feared Lingua (seared cow tongue) this has to be about the only place in the world you should try it.
Heck, even the Charro Beans on the side were amazing.
Parking sucks though, and your only other choice is the other dirty word: valet.

After much anticipation of the opening of Monica’s new concept on Illume’s prime corner, Monica’s Nueva Cocina is finally here! After Sushi Axiom closed, they doubled the space for Monicas into two concepts: One side Tex-​Mex dining and one side tacos/​tortas lounge. I’ve already tried both and was left thrilled overall. There are snips of details and menu items the Monica’s Aca y Alla in Deep Ellum as well as the former Ciudad also owned by Monica Greene. It seemed that Monica’s Nueva Cocina combines the best of Monica’s Aca Y Alla and Ciudad.
On the Tex Mex side, both the queso and salsa are out of this planet good. It made every sinful bite beyond delicious. As far as entrees we ordered Monica’s Mexican Lasagna the Sea Bass. Both were fantastic and the Sea Bass was cooked perfectly. The service was great and Monica stopped by the table for her warm greeting that she gives to every guest.
On our second visit, we sat on the Mi Lounge side which was not as busy but plenty loud with the live bad playing. I tried a variety of the tacos and while I loved the Carnitas tacos, some of the others were a tad dry. I also had the Duck Fat Potatoes which came out piping HOT and were fairly good. The service was great as expected at Mi Lounge as well.
Overall, Monica’s has done a fantastic job on her new restaurant and lounge concepts. You can tell that Monica is very passionate and her puts her heart into everything she does. She is seen there every day and greets every guest with conversation and a warm smile. BRAVO!

Finally got to stop in for the Sunday brunch!
I have had my eye on this place since it opened up. I am a Monica Greene fan. You know any place Monica opens is going to be good. Yeah, and I was right. It was fantastic! I had the skirt steak nachos followed by the Ensalada de Jicama (chicken added). I cannot wait to knock out the menu because I wanted everything! After those dishes I was entirely way too full to order the deep fried french toast. I WILL be going back to order that.
Over the course of a couple hours I was also able to enjoy a few beverages. The Micheladas and Bloody Mary’s are delish! Our waiter was also a mixologist, so we had fun making a few tequila based drinks as well.
The atmosphere is open and inviting. Perhaps a bit too open, but it is good to not be sitting on top of each other. I guess you kind of just get used to tighter seating in most Dallas restaurants.
The service was fantastic! Monica was walking around greeting and chatting. I even got a sit down visit and compliment on my mustache (yeah…I like to dress up every once in a while).
I cannot wait to go back. I am going to make it my Sunday tradition… that’s for sure!
UPDATE!!!
I have been regularly going back for the Sunday brunch… and off and on throughout the week. It is definitely on my top three favorite Dallas restaurants list. I move it up a star because it has been consistently getting better and better every time I go. This place is total thumbs up!

Wow… this place is amazing! The space is beautiful, the service was great and the food was amazing! Monica was here today and welcoming and thanking every guest… such a nice touch! The guacamole was to die for, the queso was sinful and the Mexican Lasagna was even better than I remembered it!

The service was not that great… we were seated near the kitchen and servers walking by were clumsy and kept dropping things or bumping into each other.
I thought the food was lackluster, but I will say that their fresh tortillas were amazing! I loved them. Hopefully they don’t go the way of Macho Nacho.
Also, they don’t split checks. they can only split it in equally among different cards which is ridiculous. Why would anyone pay for an entire table or why would you assume everyone has cash? I used to be a server and I know it’s not that hard to split checks. Why be so inconvenient – I dropped them down a star for that.

My friend and I arrived at Monica’s with high expectations. Afterall, it is M O N I C A! But, we left both firmly in agreement that we would never go back.
Even Chef Ramsey on Hell’s Kitchen says that «you cannot serve raw pork» but the server who attended me tried to tell me that they serve the pork chop «pink in the middle» — EWWW! No way, Jose. Sent it back for more heat.
Now, it’s true that when it came back out, it tasted great. But, that’s not the experience I’m looking for when I go out to eat.
My friend told me a few days later that his chicken fajitas disagreed with him quite strongly later that night and the next day. I won’t go into detail, but between his and my ordeals, we’ll have to forever pass on Monica’s Nueva Cocina.
Other small details: the multiple dining areas and separate menus is confusing and seems unnecessary. The table where we sat had a finish with embedded shiny metal flecks and we were both constantly distracted thinking the table was unclean with crumbs. Quite an unfortunate ambiance «fail» if you ask me.
The bartender did not know how to make a pineapple mojito. Really?
Parking is a mess.
And pricing on the menu must be trying to reach near Earth orbit, it’s so high.

When I arrived at this restaurant, I was very excited for the potential experience I was going to have. I was in a party of seven, so I understood that it would take a while to sit us. In the meantime, I enjoyed a beer at the bar. Finally, after an hour and a half of waiting, we were sat. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very cool, young, and enjoyable. It’s very conducive for mingling and having fun with friends.
When I looked at the menu, my initial expectations were immediately destroyed. Perhaps less than a fourth of the menu is actual dishes. The prices were higher than the other hispanic cuisine restaurants in the DFW area, but I was willing to give this place a try.
First, salsa and chips is not free. The first basket and small bowl of salsa is «on them» as the menu says it, and then you are charged three dollars for every bowl of chips following. A ridiculous rule, but I didn’t want that to ruin my experience. It just crossed my mind as stupid.
I ordered the Enchiladas Minteras, which when arrived in front of me, looked unappetizing with poor plating presentation. The dish came with two sides: rice, and an assortment of vegetables. The rice was fine. The vegetables were disgusting. They overly sweetened and did not compliment the tasteless enchiladas. The enchiladas were not spicy, salty, sweet… ANYTHING. It was like eating nothing: Nothing in different textures in the form of a tasteles, lukewarm, attempt at Tex-​Mex with avant garde interest. It was very amateur.
Then, in my party of seven, the waiter, Francisco, tells us that Monica’s does not split checks. So we tell the waiter to charge our cards a seventh of the check. He brings us back our checks to sign, and, quell surprise, he charges us all twenty dollars. If you know your very basic mathematics. Twenty multiplied by seven is one hundred and forty dollars. When we inquire about the miscalculation, he flippantly replied, «My math is not so good.» So not only did this waiter get gratuity, but he over charged us all (mind you my dish was only 12 dollars, and he split it 20 dollars for each person), and then expected a tip.
I’ve never had such an awful experience with a restaurant in the DFW ever since I moved here over three years ago. I do not recommend this restaurant. It is over priced for below average service and food.

The space looks fantastic. Spacious in the dining area and I appreciate the layout so you are not ass to elbow with your neighbor. I hate that in restaurants.
You walk into the Me Lounge section which offers a different menu… more tacos and light fare. Love the luchador masks. I didn’t spend any time here as I wanted to EAT.
I had the Pollo en Pipian Verde plate with a suadero taco on the side. Yes, I order tacos like fries.
The chicken plate consisted of pieces of white meat chicken with potatoes… smothered in a green pipian sauce. Think mole texture but not sweet. Served with a side of soft flakey white rice and fresh corn tortillas. The portion is also deceptively large. Took me a while to finish it.
The taco was juicy tender brisket, caramelized onion, and cliantro. I didn’t get the crema sauce that normally come on… not a fan of any crème based sauce.
All in all, it was a damn good meal. I will be going back.
Only downside… and it is not Monica’s fault. The ilume (where Monica’s is housed) has valet only unless you self park on the side streets. HATE that. Sure, it’s «free» but c’mon. The building can’t allow retail use of the garage? Leave valet as an option not a requirement.

I’m a big (and very new) fan of Monica after meeting her for the first time when she stopped by our table last night. I can tell Monica is extremely passionate about her food and service, and it makes her happy to see everyone else happy. That I can appreciate. Not to mention, she’s completely fabulous. :)
I have to admit, it’s pretty gutsy to try pulling off a legit Mexican restaurant and sushi lounge in one spot. Points for creativity (come on… haven’t you ever wondered to yourself, «man, I could really go for some guac and chips right now before they bring out this california roll…») Haha. Some of the food had to be substituted for other items after we ordered (I am guessing they ran out), and service was a little hectic, but I could tell it was probably just a brand new restaurant trying to work out the kinks on opening week. I ordered a california roll and it was alright, but I kinda wish I had noticed the Ilume roll on the menu first. Crab, cream cheese, tempura fried, baked crab on top… Basically it sounds DELICIOUS. So I am going to give them another shot before forming a real opinion on the food.
But as for location, atmosphere and aesthetics, I think Monica’s new little spot will do well. Lots of restaurants have come and gone on the Ilume block, but I know that demographic area really supports Monica and I’m hoping her new venture is a success!

New Transformation
I had anticipated the opening of Monica’s at the Illume, which had been postponed several times: March, April, May, June, July. I heard about the soft opening, and we went on the second night.
«This is like the gay Olympics» I exclaimed, noticing a familiar Dallas queen at every table.
«Everyone loves Monica.» Skip chimed.
«She’s fabulous.». Yes, the gay community heavily supports Monica, but, to her suprize, maybe too heavily for a soft opening in this very large double dining room, where she has converted two former restaurant spaces into one.
Skip’s ribeye was flavorful and meaty, only with some gristle, which seemed fair for $ 22. The carnitas tacos were very good for $ 12 but it was the yellow gazpacho with crab meat for $ 6 that was the real treat. Service was, forgivably, hiccuped by the massive turn out.
Full bar.
Brunch service coming soon.
One half of the restaurant is open until 2am for more of a «lounge» type experience.

Wow, this place looks great! Monica has selected a good location in a thriving community.
We began the evening with crispy homemade corn chips. The salsa was tangy and savory. We chose to wash it down with the happy hour margaritas: I had the frozen, «sin sal» and my husband had one on the rocks, with salt. Very tasty.
Yes, she still serves «Mexican Lasagna»! We split the meal… this appeared on the ticket as a $ 3.50 surcharge. We didn’t mind too much, as the meal was delicious and filling.
So, today, we’re celebrating my birthday, and they presented me with a special birthday treat: a delicious and luscious «cuatro leches» cake. Monica herself even fed me the first piece!
Monica is passionate about her food, restaurant and her customers; this shows up in spades from the person who opens the door, to the wait staff, and of course, Monica herself.
This is an experience I won’t forget.