Mona Lisa Restaurant

We’re a little bit in love with this place. We started going when we were right down the road, and now we make 45-​minute pilgrimages there for a special treat. We appreciate that it’s usually a quiet place to eat, with large tables and many sectioned-​off areas to help foster a feeling of privacy. The staff there remembers us, even if we haven’t been around in months, and even remembers details about things we mentioned in previous visits. The food is always above average to excellent — and as a fish snob who grew up on the coast of Narragansett and worked off fishing boats, I’m never disappointed by it (especially their chowder).
The specials are always tempting and original, and the menu has a great blend of «go-​to» items for people who want to order something familiar, as well as things for the more adventurous type. We’ve also made a few custom orders during our time there, which were always cheerfully received and well prepared (even when I was pretty ambiguous about them).
Parking is usually pretty good, but when they _​are_​busy, or it’s snowed, sometimes you have to park in the slightly sketchy dirt parking area nearby. The deserts are just average, especially in terms of creativity, but they’re pretty good, particularly their chocolate lava cake.
All said, this has been our favorite place to eat in CT for many years now.

Very good italian food but with some interesting and unique offerings. The service is always good and the owner Sam and his wife are both very nice. John the host is always friendly and says the same jokes all of the time but I get a kick out of that.
Sams special chicken is very good. But my favorite here is the chicken francaise. They have one of the best ones I have had.
The service is always on point and the prices are fair especially compared to other places in the area.
One thing I wish they would do is not decorate so much for holidays like valentines day but whatever lol.

The atmosphere was great people were friendly, we were seated quickly and the waitress came right over. The food was fantastic and the portions were more than fair. Can’t wait to go back

Great luncheon here for a group get together. The service couldn’t be beat, we were waiting for the rest of our party and never felt rushed. John was a great host and indulged us with some wonderful stories of his youth. We looked forward to his return each time to hear his next memory. He even allowed us to take a group picture with him.
I had the filet of Sole Francais and was pleasantly surprised. The food here was amazing! For dessert I had the rice pudding which was delicious. Even after dessert we were sitting around gabbing for some time, and we felt welcome to stay as long as we liked.
Will definitely be back. For the food AND the reminiscing.

We had my son’s birthday here last weekend in the pavilion. It was very reasonably priced. The food was amazing. And steve was very helpful! We were never rushed to get out either which i really liked. We got so many compliments on this place! We will be back next year :)

Arrived here mid week for dinner, seated quickly and served our menus including the specials. We opted for the dinner for two, came with pre-​selected wine (red or white) and a variety of 4 main dishes. I chose the pork while my partner choice was chicken piccatta.
The wine we chose was white, and it was truly awful. Bitter, with a nasty metal under note and what I could best describe as a very acidic almost vinger taste. Save yourself the trouble and don’t cheap out on this part.
The bread was piping hot and fresh, which I was hoping for a preview of good things to come. Our food arrived and it was a good portion seeing that it was s two for special I was happy. The pork was cooked very well and tasty, however the cooked veggies and potatoes brought the plate down. The veggies we’re cooked well but must have been seasoned with butter that was in a fridge which also kept seafood. There was NO mistaking the fish taste, and my partner does not like fish so she was let down by this. The potatoes were cooked well but the nutmeg and cinnamon that somehow made it to the pan was a weird experience. Not a fan. The chicken piccatta was very good, light, and citrusy with just the right amount of white wine.
We ordered dessert, and I ordered the rice pudding while she ordered the Bailey’s tort. The pudding I was told was home made, but it too was pretty lacking. The rice was grainy and really dry, no matter how much whip cream was put on. The cake was store bought, so it was OK.
Our final take on the whole thing… food was OK, not the best but not the worse either. The staff is great, attentive and friendly. it’s really dark inside, but added a charm to the place. Bar was busy and seemed friendly as well. We are going back, maybe not immediately but sometime down the road.

I had gotten a groupon to try this place. We started with fried zucchini as an appetizer. It was delicious. Very light batter. I had ordered a special chicken dish. It was also so flavorful and just enough for a serving. My boyfriend had a steak and was happy with it. The rolls were still warm when they came and the salad was decent size with lots of veggies. The service was also good. The only downfall was it was slightly more expansive than were used to. Good place for a nicer date then just going to a chain place.

This was my first time at Mona Lisa and I have to admit that I thought it was one of the worst service experiences I have ever had. We waited a good ten minutes before a hostess came over to seat us and it happened to be the owner who had to come out, then when we sat down the waitress we had was horrible. She never introduced her name, ordered our drinks and after we got our drinks we didn’t see her again for well over ten minutes. Once we finally ordered our food and it was brought to us she never once came over to ask how it was or how we were doing. It took a while for us to get the check since she was more involved in talking with co workers. A different waitress saw the restlessness in me and took our check. Our original waitress saw her with the check book and snatched it out of her hands. To me this is unacceptable and unprofessional behavior and I will not be going there again because of this one waitress. My overall opinion is there was a gross display of unprofessionalism with a blatant lack of concern for the individual guests. The owner was amazing but unfortunately his staff reflects him and there establishment and this particular server needs to understand that.

Purchased a groupon for my wedding anniversary for me and my husband to try a new place. The place was very nice and quaint inside. Service was good. The bruschetta was terrible, but our meals were amazing. My husband had Pork Arbuita, and I had Clams over linguine. Both meals were great tasting, and great portions.
Would definitely go again, but would try other appetizers.

Friendly staff, hot bread, delicious food. I orders penne a la vodka with grilled chicken. Really well balanced with bacon and prosciutto to add great taste. Overall a good experience!

My favorite place for chicken parm. My husband and I go here for our anniversary every year and whenever we feel like treating ourselves. The food and service is fantastic. I really adore the rustic romantic feel of the bar especially when it’s cold out because they light the fireplace and have it low lit. A must go for a date. Also, I recommended this for a large birthday party. They were very busy that night so it did take a little long, understandably. But they didn’t mess up any orders and the servers were friendly.