Parents weekend in Madison and needed a spot for a group of 10. Somehow Claude recommended this…read morespot which was perfect. Pitchers of margaritas, plenty of chips and salsa , and traditional Mexican food. A few TVs with sports. My son ordered the ceviche which didn't sit great, but that's his own fault for ordering raw sea food in the middle of the country. My badger burrito was great.

It was a nice place with good amount of crowd in this Friday night around 8pm. I could down the…read moreblock a couple of other nearby places that seemed even more lively from a distance. Anyway, overall very nice people and staff. The food, I have to say, was fine. I think the complementary chips and salsa were fine. The crispy taco was also ok. I didn't care for the enchiladas as the cheese wasn't very melty and both green and red sauces could've used some depth to them. Portion sizes are pretty decent, and we had leftovers, but we were visiting from out of town, so we couldn't really take it with. Oh yeah, I'm still left with the million $ question - why do they have an Italian named Mexican place.

Another great breakfast at Taqueria Guadalajara! Very friendly people, easy to get in and out to…read morebegin a great day! The food is the best authentic Mexican food in the area period! Easy to park, very cute place with lots of cool decor and bright colors.

Great place! We…read morefrequently get takeout from here and the service is quick and professional. The food is always piping hot and DELICIOUS!!

I'm new to Monroe, so naturally I've been on a mission to find the best local Mexican food. And…read morethis isn't a post about the other guys in town--I've tried them all. This is about the clear front-runner: Zavala's Taqueria. I stopped in on a Saturday and had their weekend special, pozole, along with a Tamarindo. Absolutely delicious. If you Midwest Wisconsin folks have never had pozole, it's a traditional Mexican soup that is PERFECT when the weather gets cold. It hits the spot. Now I'm going to let you in on what might be Monroe's best-kept secret: I was the only person in the restaurant at 1 p.m. on a Saturday. Great for my service...but come on, Monroe. These guys are doing it right. This was my second visit. The first time I played it safe and started with three tacos. Also excellent. And yes, the location might intimidate some of you. Don't let it. It's in a strip mall, and you walk through the grocery store to get to the restaurant in the back. Be brave. Your taste buds will thank you. Zavala's has officially moved to the top of my Monroe Mexican food list.

Coming from San Diego, CA, the one thing I missed the most was carne asada fries... I know that's…read morethe typical thing you think of for Mexican food, but it has been on my list to find places that serve it in the Midwest. After trying different variations from other restaurants in Chicago and Madison, I have to say they have the best carne asada fries (titled Loaded Fries under the shareable section). The fries are wedged with an assortment of quac, sour cream, their own cheese sauce, and pico de gallo. What made it so good was the ratios of the ingredients and the cheese sauce. The portions are enough for two people to share, though you may leave with clogged arteries. Although at times there may be a language barrier with staff, they were attentive to our needs and checked on us regularly. A fun fact is that they are located behind the grocery store aspect of the place. Vibes were great.

Our visit got off to a pretty disappointing start. When we walked in, we stood near the entrance…read morefor a while before anyone acknowledged us, so we eventually found a table ourselves. Someone later brought over cups, napkins, and silverware, but we still weren't given menus, so we grabbed those on our own. After sitting there for around 12 minutes without anyone checking on us or taking our order, we decided to move over to the bar. Thankfully, the bartender was much more attentive and welcomed us right away. While he was taking our order, another employee came over and asked whether someone had seated us. I explained that no one had, and that we hadn't even been acknowledged when we first arrived. The service at the beginning definitely left a bad impression, especially when there are so many other places nearby where we could go for food and drinks. The bartender did help improve the experience, though, so I bumped my rating up from what would have been a 1 star review to 3 stars.

I came here on a Sunday evening after visiting the bookshop around the corner. It's not a huge…read morespace and there was a pretty large party already there, but we got a table right away. It's a fun festive decor inside. Instead of the traditional chips/salsa, they give you a basket of some kind of puffed wheel things with a chili lime type flavor to it. I did not care for the texture, it felt greasy and reminded me of a crunchy funnel cake. We instead decided to just order chips and salsa. Came with three salsas of varying heat, but honestly I prefer the normal red salsa to the elevated fancy ones. While they have a decent amount of tacos on their taco menu, they are bit more "creative" tacos than the standard traditional street tacos I normally get at a taqueria... which is fine as that seems to be their thing, but I don't typically love a bunch of stuff in my taco. There was a chicken pastor that looked okay but I'm not usually a chicken taco fan. The pork belly also looked relatively traditional. I decided to ask our server as I was debating between tacos and the fajitas. And she was super helpful - said fajitas over the chicken tacos but pork tacos over fajitas. It's kind of annoying that the tacos come in sets of 2, so I couldn't get one of each. I opted for the fajitas instead. Fajitas were good, I took about half of it home with me and ate the rest for lunch the next day. Nothing special that you couldn't get at any other Mexican restaurant, but certainly not bad at all. It took forever for our food to come out, I suspect because of the large party, but there weren't many other people there otherwise. Our server was apologetic and offered to get us a drink or app on the house which is very kind. But when we were ready for the bill she vanished and we had to end up tracking someone else down for it. Overall, a decent experience but not sure it lived up to its hype. I recommend checking it out and deciding for yourself!

Straight off a plane and found this place through maps and so glad I did. Mr. Roberto, "The Red Hat…read moreMan", owns this place and I watched him approach every table to check in with their experience and walked us through the menu. He gave us a tour of it and explained portions and even offered my friends a sample of the mole enchiladas and birria so they could decide on their order. We all got margaritas and they were nice to drink. The flavor was just right and didn't get bitten by tequila!! It's such a cozy, authentic atmosphere you can tell a lot of soul went into making this place come to life. They care about their food, service, and guest experience. Definitely a must try!!

Cute casual spot for Mexican. The mole was especially good and authentic. Portions were…read morebig--definitely good value for the price. Staff were so friendly. Will be back!

We ordered takeout and ordered a variety of items for a party…read more I am thrilled to see that they have tlacoyos in the menu. They were very good. It's also rare to see these "antojitos" in the menu. I also tried the milanesa and that was my favorite. Thin and lightly breaded. So good! The fajitas and taco salad were delicious, as well. The service was good and the atmosphere very colorful. I'm looking forward to trying it again.

Ordered a dozen tamales from here for Christmas. They were so delicious I knew I had to visit the…read morerestaurant and try some of their other dishes. Came on a Sunday afternoon to a nearly empty restaurant and got seated immediately. Ordered horchata and enchiladas verdes and ny girlfriend ordered the enmoladas. The horchata was nice, though it wasn't fresh or homemade. I was mixed on the enchiladas verdes, since the rice, beans, and chicken tasted great. My only gripe was that the salsa verde was lacking in flavor and acidity I expect from a salsa. I got to taste the enmoladas and the sauce for that seems to be their signature. Delicious and complex. My girlfriend was very happy with her meal. I was also pleased to see that you can pre-order a dozen tamales a day ahead any time (not just seasonally) I will come back again, especially to pick up more tamales rojas and to try some other dishes

Their enchiladas and soups are absolutely delicious. The mole sauce in particular is so rich and…read morecomplex. Not many reviews here are talking about the bakery portion of the shop, which deserves a mention. The pastries along the right wall are huge and very affordable. You pick which you want yourself with the provided tray and tongs and pay at the counter. The pastries are surprisingly not as sweet as they may look, which was a nice surprise. There are also desserts and drinks to order as well as a small snack selection. Lots of people order larger cakes for special occasions such as holidays like Día de los Reyes or birthdays. I haven't done so, but may in the future. To me it looks like this part of the store actually brings in most of the business.

Nice cute place with friendly staff. Food is worth the cost, with hefty portions and extremely…read moretasty food. I haven't had a lot of Mexican cuisine so I don't know how it compares, but I thought it was amazing and strongly recommend!

This place is hands down the most consistent taco shop in Monona! Every time we come here we order…read morelengua & asada tacos and they're always amazing! The place over all is busting at the seams with flavor and culture. Everything is fresh and delicious! We normally order food grab a booth and then grab something to drink en la tienda. All the staff are friendly, they're extremely busy so if there's not a clean space just ask them and they'll clear one off for you! Love this place! Treat yourself to a great experience there!

Tried recently and I ordered the taco dinner, l indulged in a selection of asada, pastor, and pollo…read moretacos, served with rice and beans. Each bite burst with flavor, precisely made to order. I was particularly impressed by the swift service and the delectably spicy sauces provided. In summary, I found the tacos to be undeniably solid in every aspect.

This food was phenomenal! Quick service and cool environment (a bit small). 100% the best Mexican…read morefood I've ever had.

I've never been in here, but I've door dashed Taqueria el jalapeño a few times…read more I always get their California burrito. It's pretty tasty. I've also gotten their guac a few times, but I think it doesn't have enough lime? I like a limey guac and this one falls a bit flat, unfortunately. This is a 3.5 star experience for me.