
Monarca Taqueria in Morgantown is a casual spot known for serving Mexican street-style favorites with bold, authentic flavor.

Located on Walnut Street, it offers a wide range of dishes — from al pastor street tacos and quesabirria to birria ramen, elote, and vegetarian options — with generous portions.

I went with three fish tacos, Mexican elote and a tamale. The tacos were super fresh and crunchy, with a nice hit of lime that kept them bright and tasty. The elote was creamy, cheesy, and a little smoky — basically everything you want in street corn. And the tamale was soft and cozy, with a flavorful filling that made it the perfect comfort bite.

Have you been?

Grade: B

Don Taco Mexican Taqueria & Birria House in Morgantown is a fast-casual spot known for its flavorful Mexican dishes with a strong focus on birria (the slow-cooked meat in broth).

They also offer street tacos, huge customizable burritos, sides like elote and ChoriQueso fries, and horchata made with a rice base.

I ordered two of the Mexican Street Tacos - Authentic Mexican street taco on double layer corn tortilla with your choice of freshly grilled meat or veggies, onions and cilantro. Served with salsa and limes on the side. I went for camaron (shrimp) and al pastor.

Both of these were good. Without the salsa, the flavors were not super powerful. But with, it made for a nice bite.

Grade: B

Plaza Maya II, located at the end of Kanawha City, is the second branch of the popular Plaza Maya restaurant, which is on the other side of town.

Known for its authentic Mexican food, the restaurant serves a wide variety of dishes, with favorites like tamale-stuffed chile relleno and chicken soup, alongside complimentary homemade chips and salsa. The chips were crisp and the salsa fresh with a mild kick.

My main dish was "SEAFOOD CHIMICHANGA - One flour tortilla filled with crab meat and shrimp cooked with vegetables and covered with melted cheese. Served with rice." The seafood chimichanga was satisfying, with tender crab and shrimp tucked into a soft tortilla, balanced by gooey melted cheese and a side of fluffy, spiced rice.

Grade: B

Los Amigos is a new Mexican restaurant in Kanawha City, which is the third location from this particular local chain.

This space has been home to a number of restaurants over the years, most recently The Pitch. I think the sports bar decor is still evident in the current setup, but it is still general enough to be fitting.

The menu has all the basics: tacos, burritos, quesadillas, fajitas and the like. I saw a couple things that caught my eye, but they were actually out of them. So I ended up with steak, shrimp and chicken tacos.

I was looking for more flavor, more toppings, more garnish. Just more. Onions and cilantro and sauces helped, but not enough. They were pretty streamlined and simple.

The sides of rice and beans were fine; I ended up scooping some of the rice into the taco to fill it out a bit more. Some seasoning and balance would have turned this around for me.

Grade: C
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