The Cafe Mona Lisa has been around for years, and is a cafe by day, and restaurant by night, but does close fairly early. No web site of its own, but other information here:http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1150/74382.php
I have been going here also for years, and originally it had no license, and you could bring your own, but now they have a license, and sell average wine at average prices.
I have only been there for dinner, but my wife and her friend are regulars for lunch and speak highly of it. They are known to the staff, so we are treated well when we go there.
The menu is driven by the specials board, which changes daily, and there is plenty of choice. The layout is fairly cafe open plan, and whilst not on full view, you can see your food prepared. This is not high level restaurant food preparation, and I guess I have never been interested enough to keep a close eye on proceedings.
For starter I chose the chicken soup which I presume was home made. It came with baguette and butter, but was unremarkable.
For main course, I had the special roast leg of veal with accompaniments.
As you can see, this is a fairly substantial portion, although the meat was a little fatty and bland, which is a characteristic of some roasts of veal if the animal is young. I guess I should should have thought about that before ordering, as it was hot at 8.1 and otherwise faultless. I think I will probably go for one of the pasta dishes next time, because there will be a next time.
The place has a friendly atmosphere, and gets busy. It closes quite early, so it is probably advisable to book.
This is an honest place, seemingly offering what its customers want: straightforward food at straightforward prices. We will almost certainly be going there again, but the next time I will choose carefully. The prices are reasonable, with a main course costing between £8 to £12, and mostly will no need for accompaniments. There is also a set austerity menu, limited in choice but worth a punt.
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