Mona’s Table

Dear Mona,
As your location is now closed, I feel
Guilty not giving you a rating much earlier. I’ve only been to your place once but hey it was nice as it was quiet, quaint, and one could have nice conversation with others here. Your brunch food was pretty decent, hearty like a diner should, and I always love mom and pop shops such as these. This was a place for the locals. It makes alameda what it is. Sad to see you go, good luck if you try to open elsewhere!
Until your hopeful reemergence elsewhere!

Came here with the family a few weeks ago and was very disappointed to see it closed. This was one of our favorite brunch spots on the island.

Just went to Mona’s to find it is closed… as in out of business. The place is completely empty. Nothing is posted on the door.
Curious to know what happened, as we were there about a month ago, chatted with the waitress and there was no indication that anything was up.

First off the food was tasty. I shared a hoisin pulled pork sanny and their crispy chicken club that was ok.
It was the crispy chicken club that caused Mona’s to only get 2 stars.
I checked the menu carefully to make sure there were no tomatoes, and ordered it with the avocados on the side. When the sanny arrived I opened it up and it not only had avos, but it also had tomatoes.
I took it to the woman that worked at the counter and asked about the tomatoes. She said there are always tomatoes on that sandwich. I told her that they weren’t included on the menu. All of the other ingredients had been listed, but they had been omitted. She said that they had accidentally been left off the menu, but that they are always on it.
With food allergies and dislikes, menus need to be correct. There simply isn’t an excuse for those kinds of accidents. The two stars are here not only for the mistake, but for the server’s poor attitude about their mistake.

Celebrating my friends bday today and mine tomorrow, we decided to try someplace new for us. This is now on our fav list. Got there about 11am on a Thursday and we had the whole place to ourselves. Told Dawn, our waitress, that we were celebrating and then received the royal treatment. The bday girl had the Irish Potato Pancakes and I had the Corned Beef Hash. One of the best CB hashes I have had in the Bay Area. The CB melted in my mouth and the horseradish mustard was a perfect compliment. Can’t wait to go back and dive into the menu more. Dawn says they make their own Pastrami!!!
Then we received birthday Lemon Squares that were fabulous, even at 3:30 that afternoon after a great hike.

Because this place is cute and local, I was truly hoping to like it. Unfortunately, it was decidedly underwhelming. You can tell when someone takes a lot of time and energy in taking every single detail of a dish into consideration, and making every single ingredient taste its absolute best by complimenting it with other ingredients in a very cohesive way… whether it’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall or a diner or food truck or fancy shmancy restaurant. You can tell when there is love and art in the food. The food we had at Mona’s Table did not boast of this type of care.
I had high hopes for the spicy sausage bowl with polenta and roasted vegetables and egg because it sounded delicious and comforting on paper. However when I tried the actual dish, I realized that all the ingredients were completely separate from each other, like they did not want to be in the same bowl together or something. It was weird. The veggies were good on their own, but they were kind of sitting in their own flavor/​sauce that did not expand into the polenta surrounding it. The sausage was not spicy and I’ve really had SOOOO much better… plus it was not cut up like I had imagined and as the waitress had said. Imagine trying to cut into a sausage while it’s sitting in a bowl of polenta, sinking and sliding around. Um, details, people. Not very pleasant on the eater experience scale. The cheese was also unmelted when I got the dish, and something about seeing uniform pieces of shredded cheddar – obviously from a bag – just perched on top of my hot dish just really turned me off. DETAILS, people!!! The eggs were done overeasy (I think the menu said it was supposed to be poached?) and kind of just sitting on top, which is fine. What bugged me was that there was no intermingling of flavors and textures at all, it was like they just threw a bunch of random things together in a bowl. Shit, I could have done that at home by myself.
My boyfriend was disappointed with his basic egg dish as well, which is hard to imagine, considering it was just scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes. I mean, how can that be screwed up? Ok, I guess they didn’t SCREW it up, but again, we’ve just had SO much better. Having yams in there with the potatoes was a nice touch, but I don’t think anything on that dish was seasoned.
The lemon ricotta pancake was aight. Wish it was more lemony.

This is less of a review and more of a hope that someone who works at the restaurant will answer this post.
Just to get it out of the way, the service was great, and the food was beyond great. That’s actually what my question is about.
I am not a fan of bell peppers. It’s not that I think they’re gross. I pick up a lot of bitterness, is all. They’re not usually bad enough to waste my time picking them out, but if I have the opportunity to order something without it, I just might. For the most part, anything that has bell peppers would be better, to some degree, if it did not. Pasta, pizza, salad… stuffed bell peppers. Hold ‘em.
How was that corned beef hash so amazing? Where did these peppers come from? What did you do to them? I enjoyed every bite of this dish, including the bites that were JUST BELL PEPPER.
I loved everything about the dish, especially the proper-​sized big-​ass chunks of brisket, and any short order cook that can poach an egg right is truly good at what they do, but please, I must know what’s the deal with these peppers.
I would’ve asked the server when I was there, but I’m kind of awkward and if you think I sound crazy posting this, imagine it in person.
P. S. Ginger cookies are good.

Made our second visit over the weekend for brunch. Mona’s is a small quaint restaurant that has a bed and breakfast feeling to it. It has about 8 tables for two, a table for 4 and a table for six. The table of two could be pushed to together if needed. We seated ourselves in an open table to two.
We ordered:
Pancake sampler: consisting of a lemon ricotta, pumpkin and corn topped with a couple wedges of baked apples. All were delicious, but especially the lemon ricotta.
Corned Beef Hash: different than the usual hash that you might expect. It is not hashed brown style, but rather chunk style. The dish comes with larger than bite-​sized chunks of corned beef and pieces of potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and sweet peppers, topped with two fried eggs and your choice of toast. The beef was moist and tender, but you do have to cut them before eating. I can see this being an annoyance for some people.
Crab Cake Benedict: two perfectly poached eggs on top of two cakes that had a lot of crab meat with very little filler. It came with polenta and spinach. Very delicious dish.
The service was friendly. Initially, there were two waitresses and a bus person working the restaurant, but by the time we were finishing our meal, only one waitress was there. But that time, the restaurant was full. Felt sorry for the waitress running the front by herself. The bus person even had to help out.
Overall, very good gourmet breakfast at quaint little restaurant. Though service was fine for our visit, but I can see that service could be slow depending on how busy the restaurant is during your visit.

This review is for breakfast on 12−29−12:
We arrived an hour before their 2pm closing time to find the restaurant semi-​full. The small sized dining area/​restaurant can get packed quickly and given that only three people work the restaurant, be prepared to be get your food to go if no tables are available. Mona’s Table has a homely and quaint feel to it like you’re back over at grandma’s about to have some home cooking. My family absolutely loved it.
On the day we came, a young lady was taking care of the seating and all the orders. Another person bussed tables, and as far as I could tell there was one person on the grill. Service was great too considering all she had to juggle. We got started with some coffee and an orange juice for my toddler that came in a kid friendly plastic cup and straw. Looking through the menu, everything looked delicious so I naturally had a hard time choosing. Our server made a great recommendation– the thanksgiving cakes. K decided to go with the veggie hash.
My dish was incredible! Essentially the Thanksgiving cakes are bits of stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey made into cakes and fried to a golden brown. the dish is served with gravy, eggs, and cranberry. The dish is large portioned, and I must admit made quite an impression on me. K was so impressed with her own dish (veggie hash) that she did something I had never seen her do, she ordered another vegetarian dish (huevos rancheros) after she was done with her first plate. Unfortunately, the grill had been turned off so no more orders. No problem, because I already am looking forward to a return visit soon, real soon.
The deal: i purchased a groupon voucher for $ 15 which included a a pancake sampler with fruit and two menu items.
Getting to Mona’s Table was easy from I-​880S, take the High Street exit and cross the small drawbridge into Alameda. Make a left at Encinal and it’s on the left side of the street. Free parking is available in the back of the restaurant.
(++) Highly recommended: If it is offered, try the Thanksgiving Cakes.
(+++) Large sized free parking in the rear of the restaurant.
(++) Family/​Kid friendly restaurant – booster chair or high chair available.
(+) Friendly customer service
(+) Vegetarian friendly dishes

Great food and service!

Cozy food honest ingredients. My sister took me here. If you like the ambience of eating at someone’s kitchen table, you’d like Mona’s Table.
in an odd location but worth seeking out when you’re in the area.
Writing this makes me miss my sister. i need to plan another trip to see my sister and her growing family.

This looked like a really cute place and I wanted to check it out for l a long time, so I finally did.
Nice décor, nice enough service (if you can call it that, since you have to order and pay at the counter). The menu has some interesting options on it, so we tried the Monte Christo and English breakfast.
In my opinion my sausage and my husband’s ham were a bit off as in not stored cool enough or lying around for a while. I couldn’t eat the sausage, because it smelled funny. The husband ate his ham cause he doesn’t care and calls me a sissy ;-) The rest of the breakfast was good.
Anyway, the sausage thing alone deserves 2 stars taken.
All in all an OK-​ish breakfast experience, but I don’t think I will come back.

I’ve become a regular at Mona’s and would say that this is one of the best breakfast places in a town that has the market cornered on places to have the first meal of the day. Two things on their menu really stand out: the lemon pancakes which are light, fluffy, and not too sweet; and my personal favorite, corn beef hash. Now, if your idea of good corned beef hash is something that looks like it came out of a can (and you might give to your dog), you can pretty well forget this place. Mona’s has huge chunks of perfectly cooked corned beef, potatoes, yams, bell peppers, and carrots along with the best mustard sauce I’ve ever had. Put an egg on top and toast on the side, and you got a seriously great breakfast.
I read a few people complaining about the service. I’ve noticed that when people first come here, they tend to take a seat and expect them to come and serve you. That’s not the way this place works. You go to the counter, order what you’d like, then take a seat. I’ve never found them to be rude, or even slow. Yes, there are a wide variety of things on the walls around the restaurant that don’t put it in the same category is Chez Panisse or the French Laundry. But, this place the defines the phrase, «hidden gem».
The next time you’re hungry and want something really special and Alameda, check it out!

Mona’s is tucked away in the Encinal shopping center at the corner of High.
We’ve been here several times, had sandwiches, lasagna, quiche. My husband just ordered an heirloom bean-​and-​kale soup — really good. They have a nice variant on the Reuben sandwich — grilled rye, pastrami, cheese, fresh cole slaw, thousand island, and a horseradish-​spiked mustard. Came with a side salad that didn’t really float my boat, it was just greens (some bitter) with an over-​sweet (balsamic?) dressing. So, not perfect. But good!
I now feel very interested in going in for breakfast some time. We had a nibble-​sample of a delectable, creamy cheesecake with a gingery crumb crust. If that’s any indication of the desserts… yummy!
Mona’s food is a little pricey and service isn’t the fastest. I think part of that is how the back kitchen is somewhat isolated from the front, and the cashier was clearly doing double-​duty in the kitchen (that may have been Mona, who was very nice btw).
I have mixed feelings about the feng shui craze, but Mona’s could use some kind of consultant. It’s not really well marked, and at first glance doesn’t look too inviting from the outside. Inside it’s a bit kitschy and cluttered, but clean. Definitely a homey feel. Would benefit from a little more table space and a little less stuff. If it were my place, I’d brighten it up a little, and I’d install some kind of doorbell or camera system so that staff are aware when customers walk in.

Mona’s Table is an interesting little space. In an odd way, it reminded me somewhat of a messy Chinese restaurant. There’s crap (supplies? utensils? unmentionables?) stored all over the place and then «hidden» behind a patterned shower curtain, window shade and another curtain.
While we were getting our menus from the counter, there was an employee ladling either salsa or jam (I need new eyes) into canning jars. I heard one of the inner lids hit the floor and watched as she picked it up and use it anyway.
We sat at a small table and our order was taken there. Not sure if that’s what we were supposed to do or if we were supposed to order at the counter, but it all worked out. Server/​cashier/​food prep person was nice and checked on us several times during our visit. She brought us napkins, silverware and beverages. This may have been above and beyond the call of duty as the station appeared to be self service. There were also various hot sauces, ketchup and sirachi at this station.
Both of us had the corned beef hash… no… wait a minute. What we were served was definitely NOT traditional hash. Proper hash is made up of chopped or mashed ingredients. What we got were cubes of corned beef served with roast quartered potatos and carrots along with grilled bell peppers and onions.
I order two eggs over easy and my dining companion got his eggs scrambled. Wheat toast for me and white for him.
The plates of food were large and the food was hot. The corned beef was as flavorful as it should have been. More lean than fat (darn it!). The eggs were cooked properly and the toast came buttered. It would have been nice to had jam or jelly and while there appeared to be some canned for sale, there didn’t appear to be any available for our toast.
This was an okay meal for a one-​time groupon experience but not the right place for us for a return visit. As a matter of fact, after we left, we went to Olé’s to «make things right».

I wish I could give this place 0 stars but alas I can’t.
When I first walked in, I thought I walked into a freezer! They blasted the AC on a day that had a high of 60 degrees!
Then the waitress obviously seemed miserable as she seated us by her demeanor. Then I ordered the Huevos Rancheros and my bf ordered the country fried steak. We looked at the reviews before so we steered clear of the corned beef.
My huevos Rancheros was so watery. Yes watery. The tortilla they gave me was stale and hard and drenched with this watery mole. I used a knife and fork to cut through the tortilla and I still couldn’t break through it. The eggs were eh and the salsa they gave me looked old.
My bf’s country fried steak was so bland. And you think it would be safe to order fried food since its hard to eff up fried food, but Mona’s did. There was absolutely no flavor and the only redeeming part of this dish was the flaky biscuit.
Please do not go here. Even though you have the groupon, don’t waste your gas and time to go here.

I got the google offer for this place since I noticed it was a highly rated place in Alameda and I’ve been craving some brunch food. I was really surprised it was fairly close to where I lived, yet I’ve never noticed it before!
I got the corned beef hash since it seemed highly popular among other Unilocalers and I do love a good corned beef hash. I’ve had it at many other brunch establishments and I’ve always loved the flavorful beef and hashed browns. I was actually really disappointed it was in chunks instead of the usual hashed brown style. The potatoes are too big, and I had to eat each piece of beef, potatoes, and vegetables in this dish separately. In the end, I would describe it as… alright but I would never get it again because it really was just chunks of potatos, corned beef, peppers, etc. thrown together.
My friend got what I think is called the Prosciutto Bruschetta. It was just gross. Trust me when I say that you would really do better by avoiding this dish. The prosciutto was not good, and looked light pink with a tinge of green to me… and tasted like its coloring. ugh.
Even with the google offer, the bill came out to be $ 10 meaning I spent $ 17 for a two plates even with a $ 7 discount. Pretty expensive for such a bad meal.

The corned beef hash breakfast dish is delicious. I wish there was a bit more egg, but its still delicious.
The lemon-​ricotta pancakes are absolutely fantastic.
These two dishes are perfect if you want to share and enjoy a bit of both. You’ll be satisfied with the quantity.

Mona’s Table’s dining room looks like an everyday living room. shelves are alongside one wall. the opposite wall has fake refrigerator doors. (it’s actually an entrance to the back.)
came here with a groupon. on the counter: rules for groupon:
–dine in only
–no cash back
–tax & tips not included
ordered at the counter. food brought to table later
music: commerical music station.
sampling:
–corn beef hash & eggs (9.95)
corn beef in tender chucks with carrots, onions, red bell, green bell, white potatoes, red potatoes, veggies seem limp not crispy & fresh.
–pumpkin pie with crème side (2.75)
still refergeriated. tasted cold. crème was the bomb
–orange juice (2.50)
probably came from bottle.
foodnotes:
–awkward to order at counter on initial visit
–order taker not enthusiastic taking groupon order (was she thinking about the cheesesteak place?)
–corn beef breakfast filling.
–wire chairs not comfoy,
–only 8 tables of 2 and one table of 6 for sitting here.
–friendly service by amiga/​amigos.

My husband and I read the reviews saying this was the best brunch in Alameda, so we decided to give it a whirl. As much as a month later, we still feel a little raw about the meal we had at Mona’s, so here we go.
The best thing about this place was that it was easy to park and there was no wait for a table on a Saturday morning — but as we found out, that is not such a good thing.
My husband had a memorably terrible eggs benedict, with a hollandaise sauce suspiciously like something you might buy at Safeway (telltale signs: bright yellow, gooey and blanket-​smooth) doctored with some added lemon juice to make your mouth pucker and a teensy-​weensy bit of flimsy, mass-​market ham.
I had eggy, cold French toast, which admittedly was made from some good bread to start. I’m adding in a star for the bread, which was ruined by the overly-​eggy wash for the French Toast.
We both had bitter coffee and were so upset that we had to go to STARBUCKS (of all places) after to quite literally get rid of the bad taste in our mouths.
I was disgusted by the communal jam jars brought out for the toast (bonne maman jam, which you can buy at a grocery store) — I guess they’re just trusting that no kids put their fingers in the jar or that people don’t accidentally double-​dip their jam spoon. Yuck! Whatever happened to individual ramekins for jam?
Whoa, Alameda … we’re learning to take your Unilocal with a grain of salt! As much as we’d like to support local brunch businesses, we love brunch too much to support this.