Restaurant Review: Mona Lisa, Filinvest Alabang

Posted by clarissa623 on September 29, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

Mona Lisa menu header

This place has relatively remained unknown to me until I was asked to come with my family to my sister’s pamamanhikan with Dino’s family. I know that there are restaurants sprouting all over the Filinvest, Alabang area like Army Navy which I have yet to try, but Mona Lisa was a nice surprise.

We arrived around 7.30pm on a Saturday night. The parking was not yet full given that there were only a handful of spaces available. There were no signages at all signifying where the restaurants are (the Army Navy one being in the same building), and it was only by sheer luck that we shared the elevator with Mona Lisa’s fresh tomato delivery that we found out their floor: second.

It was actually a nice sight seeing fresh tomatoes being delivered all the way from Farmer’s Market. But the restarurant being in the south, I assumed that the restaurant sourced their items in the southern area. Maybe they don’t have those kind of tomatoes there.

The door was opened by one of the owners of Mona Lisa. There were so many people inside, the restaurant accommodating its maximum capacity. There were around 20 to 25 tables and all were filled. We were ushered to our seats and our hyperextended table was immediately filled too. It would have been a good romantic setting, or a quiet family dinner, but given that all tables were full, it gave off a frenetic energy. It was a bit crazy throughout the whole meal. But then, were were around 20 in our table.

On the table lay bread baskets with three kinds of sauces to dip it in: cream, pesto and tomato. Not the usual balsamic and olive oil mixture, which I am totally happy about. I was hungry and gobbled around 2 to 3 pieces of i, liking the creamy butter spread that I really wasn’t sure what it was.

Bread and the dips

The menu reminded me of C’ Italia, another Italian restaurant that I ate at recently. Their pizza appetizer was the same, the Dear Darla of Yellow Cab, but sliced differently. These were in long rolls, rather than long triangles. It made a harder and bigger bite, but it all tasted good anyways.

Their version of Dear Darla

I ordered a panini, a BLT, and didn’t even expect it to be a three layer sandwich. It was all good, but after the appetizer and the bread basket, I only had enough space in my tummy for half of the sandwich. It was good, but I wanted the sandwich more cheesy or at least with more basil. That’s what Italy is for me.

My triple decker panini

Ate ordered the Cheese Ravioli in red sauce. It was good but it didn’t feel inspired for me. And judging by the look of her plate, it appeared to be more of a soup than anything else. Tossing it in sauce might be good, but drowning the raviolis to the point of missing it entirely is a bad idea. But hey, ate finished her plate

Ate's cheese ravioli in tomato base sauce

Now, mom’s order isn’t really Italian, at all, except for the risotto on the side. Though a steak from an Italian restaurant may scream “FAIL”, this for me was the highlight of four dishes featured here. It was tender, tasty. It was cooked just right. And at only P800 for this plate, it’s a steak that’s a keeper.

The oh-so glorious steak

Remember I mentioned we were 20ish in the table? Though the food was generally good, the service was bad as hell. The two owners who stay in the dining area try to keep up with the customers by easily addressing our concerns. But an aunt’s food was not prepared, and she was being served a totally different dish. After a few minutes, we decided to call back the dish and just eat it because she was already hungry. Note that this was around the time that EVERYONE has finished eating. And another order was cancelled because it too, never arrived, after being followed up a couple of times.

And of course, Mona Lisa

Over-all, the food was good. I like everything that I ate. But I will never, never, come back on a Saturday night when it’s full. No matter how great the food is, when you are hungry, you just want SOME food.

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Filed under Food, Note · Tagged with beef, bread, Continental, dairy, Filipino, review