text: Cafe Monarchs dining concept is such a fun and exciting idea fresh organic locally sourced meatseafood and produce with a fun and exciting new menu every night depending on their finds for the day for a person Simple and fun for foodies like me who enjoy trying new things The problem with Cafe Monarch lies in the execution of their menu I applaud the new owner Christian for all of his hard work and being a new restaurant owner is never easy so if I were able to have a conversation with him regarding his establishment these would be my critiquesnn The whole idea of a set menu is fantastic and working with peoples food allergies is needed but when you only offer such a small selection of items they should be executed to perfection there is unfortunately no room for error There was perhaps a continuity issue between the courses I felt as though the meal did not flow together and there were several missteps with nearly every course nOn my most recent visit the amuse bouche was a taste of smoked salmon with a pistachio it was kind of a strange combo the salmon lacked flavor and the pistachio overpowered the delicate piece of fish When we transitioned into our salad course the pork belly that was in our salad was over cooked to the point that the beautiful smoky and fatty piece of belly resembled more of a piece of beef jerky it should have been the star of the course but instead it wound up on the side of the plate That evening the entree choices were a pork shank or a scallop The pork on this particular evening was the real star beautifully cooked tender and flavorful The scallops were both high quality and cooked to perfection but they lacked any sort of real flavor The desert consisted of brownies which were so over cooked they were not even edible The wait times on the particular visit between courses was unbearable We waited nearly minutes between our salad course and our entree It would have been nice to have some bread to munch on while we waited They really need to work on the timing of the entreesnnWe ordered a couple bottles of wine which were great and moderately priced they have a full bar when we asked the waiter what their speciality cocktail was he recommended their Moscow mule When we received the mule in the proper copper mug I was excited but then I tasted it it was flavorless and lacked ginger and lime nnThe service was fantastic our server was very knowledgeable and was attentive Our plates were cleared in a timely manner and we were checked on regularly throughout the evening nnThe building itself is beautiful and rustic and they have a lovely romantic patio for those nice Arizona evenings nnWith a few simple improvements I see a long and positive future for cafe monarch but without any changes I cannot see how the hype for this place could continue for long When you are spending for two for dinner you expect just a bit more than what you are receiving