I’m not sure exactly when Newley.com turned into a food blog, but I’m back with another culinary-centric post.
I wanted to follow up on La Monita, the new Mexican restaurant here in Bangkok. You’ll recall that I wrote about this place back in Nov., before it had opened.
My feeling is that La Monita now offers the best Mexican food in the Thai capital, though there are admittedly only a few Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants here.
You can find La Monita’s Web site here, and they’re also on Twitter (@LaMonitaBkk) and Facebook.
A and I have now eaten at La Monita twice, and while I don’t have any images of the dishes to share, I can tell you this: the owner, Billy, knows his stuff. The food is excellent, and the atmosphere is festive and welcoming.
A few of the standout dishes include:
My suggestion for ordering is simply to ask Billy for recommendations.
Also, for drinks, I’m told that the margaritas are good. I haven’t tried them, but I really enjoyed a different — and new to me — drink: the Michelada, which Billy tells me is a popular beverage in Mexico City at the moment.
Micheladas consist of beer mixed with lime and hot sauce; they’re served in a salted glass. Here’s a WSJ story about Micheladas.
Worth a visit, to be sure.
La Monita Taqueria
888/26 Mahatun Plaza (about 100 meters down, on the left)
Bangkok
Tel. 02-650-9581
5 replies on “La Monita: Bangkok’s best Mexican food”
[…] and Thai + great desserts + beautiful interior)Crepes and Company (French crepes + great ambiance)La Monita (Best tacos we’ve had outside Mexico/Texas)Greyhound Cafe at Emporium and Central Chidlom (We […]
The posters above are incorrect. Tacos and Salsa is not better. From living in San Diego, Californa almost my whole life I got the best of both worlds. La Monita is by far way better then Tacos and Salsa. The ingredients and freshness is what’s most important and La Monita has this. T/S cook/owner may be from Mexico but he’s style cooking is more street vendor cooking vs. resturant style. Not that it’s not good or anything by my vote goes to La Monita. Coyote grill is alson good for Mexican or Los Cabos too.
Interesting — thanks for the input, Val and Neander. I haven’t tried Tacos & Salsa yet, though I noticed it the other day. Is it a new establishment? I’ll give it a shot for sure!
I agree with Val above about the true Mexican being at Tacos and Salsa. This is NOT a review about La Monita, as I have yet to go there, but will be going tomorrow to give it a shot. (I love Mexican.) I did go to Los Cabos last night, had a wonderful time, great drinks and staff, and a comfortable “pleasant” place to dine. Their tacos and salsa, however did not match Tacos and Salsa for flavor, spice and texture. I was hoping they would, though, because in every other respect they were suprerior.
La Monita is pretty good, but for more authentic, and better, Mexican food I recommend Tacos & Salsa, on Sukhumvit Rd between sois 22 and 24. It’s owned by a guy from Mexico City who really knows his stuff. La Monita is more an Americanised style of Mexican.
For that style I prefer the just-opened Los Cabos on Suk 14, which is also commendable for being such a pleasant place to dine. Lots of outdoor area. Incredible rock lobster on Wed nights, cheap 25 baht tacos on Tuesday nights.
The salsas are very weak at both La Monita and Los Cabos however. Weak both in chile power and overall flavour. T&S is better for salsas, so is also-ran Sunrise Tacos on soi 12.