Mona Lisa Cucina

I came here based off of previous Unilocal reviews and I was not disappointed. It was definitely worth the wait. The food was delicious and cooked to perfection and the waitress, Liana, went above and beyond to make sure we had the best first experience. A romantic setting, a great dinner, and fantastic service will make this restaurant a «must» whenever we are in town. Thank you Mona Lisa!

After passing by this restaurant for the past 2 years and reading all the great reviews, we decided to try this restaurant out with much anticipation and expectation. However, I also know that almost any decent Italian restaurant gets a 4+ star rating on Unilocal.I mean, when people give places like Mama Cozza’s 5-​stars it makes you wonder…
Anyways we ended up ordering the calamari fritte (3-​stars), lobster ravioli (4-​stars), linguini pescatore 3-​stars), and pesce siciliano (3-​stars). All the food was decent but nothing really stood out. Perhaps it was what we ordered but it seems like the dishes were on the sour side. It was nice that they had an open kitchen so you could see the chef at work. Perhaps the best thing we had was the tiramisu at the end of our meal. Other than that I would say it’s a decent Italian restaurant. Not sure if I will be coming back though as there are so many good Italian places around like Mama D’s, Mangia Mangia and Basillico’s.
UPDATE: After reading my review, the owner sent a message to me saying my review was false and that he was insulted. WOW! I didn’t even think my review was that negative — it was simply my opinion. Though I’m sure many people love this place, I simply have a different preference.

I had the Rigatoni «Mona Lisa» with gluten-​free pasta for lunch. It also came with a house salad and toasted bread if u like. Delish and enough for another meal or two! The chef cooks in front of the counter and also mingles with the guests, if he’s not too busy. Wonderful little Italian spot in HB.

Had dinner at the bar tonight MaryAnne was a very friendly and attentive server. Our glasses were always full and our plates were cleared in a timely manner. Francois’s food is incredible. I had the rigatoni Mona Lisa and just as I am thinking about it I want more. Hook me up to an IV of my girlfriends rigatoni con petit de pollo and bring me another slice of peanut butter cheesecake! Sensory overload! Sat at the bar and waited no more than 20min, definitely a must do! Worth the wait– will definitely be back on my next 136 mile trip through Huntington Beach! Thanks Mona Lisa!

This is the worse restaurant. I am a local and hadn’t tried this place. My first time there and I put my name down accordingly on a list. They kept taking people with party of 2 ahead of us. And I noticed they didn’t even look at the list they would skip people and just seat people who came in after. Another couple was skipped and I had to tell the hostess or random server who would come over. I got so frustrated after seeing everyone cutting in front of me we were the last ones still waiting when we were first in line! Unbelievable!!! A long wait and we were still waiting after about ten parties later. When they finally wanted to seat my group of three people they said the bar was open.
I’m sorry but if I’m planning to spend money on a nice meal with my family the last thing I want to do is sit at the bar and spend money. Don’t waste your time coming here! It’s my first and last time. First impressions are everything and they don’t have the service nor space needed to accommodate their customers. I left immediately and went down the street to another Italian restaurant downtown Hb and waited five minutes seated at a nice table with impeccable service. Again never again Mona Lisa you blew it!

The food is spectacular and the service is superb! Chef Francoise is a culinary genius and the staff is attentive and fabulous! I love Maryanne, Liana, Debby, and Katie! They treat us like good friends!

Okay so I just wanna say that the food here is phenomenal. Great food, and the atmosphere is equally awesome.
The problem I have with this place is the service. Me and my girlfriend come here at least once or twice a month. There is always a problem with service. It seems like the servers are not experienced enough to handle working in a busy little Italian joint.
They are slow, frantic and prone to making mistakes.
Our biggest problem was this last time when we got a server (older Caucasian woman), that was like a chicken with her head cut off. Unprofessional, slow, and to top it off she charged us for the meal twice.
Didn’t find out until later on that we were charged twice.
It doesn’t hurt as bad when it’s a small bill, but when you’re paying $ 50-​$ 60 for a meal… it kinda stings when you get charged twice.
That is a real turn off when the food is so great.
We probably won’t be back here for a while because we really wanna try and forget our last experience.

I was new to the Huntington Beach area and was looking for an awesome Italian restaurant that touched my Italian roots and this restaurant did it. I had their pizza and spaghetti and was floored with the accuracy of the recipe. The chef is an awesome man and this restaurant represents the drive he has for Italian cuisine. Thanks again !

LOVE THIS RESTAURANT!!! My whole family loves this restaurant. The service is great, the food is excellent, and the chef is amazing.
I would love to recommend the whole menu to eat but my favorites are the Pollo Con Limon and the Leonardo Da Vinci pizza! AND who could forget their freshly fried calamari! You really cannot go wrong eating here!
Piece of advice, arrive early because the restaurant is very tiny and spaces fill up fast. I always get there before 5 or after 6:30.

Bam! This is a great little Italian joint… hands down! If I had a mike in my hand, I’d drop it, turn around and walk away! This is the type of restaurant you wish you could pack away in your suitcase and take with you!
Let’s start with the bread… They only gave me one slice… But it came out warm and soft and fresh out of the oven… KAZAMM!!! — I went on to have three more slices…
Next, I went with the Caesar salad… Because I always get a Caesar salad at an Italian joint. :). It was crispy-​fresh, huge and the anchovies were also perfect… just the right mixture of tasty dead-​fish/​salt to push any Caesar over the top. I really don’t know what else to say… It was a great frigg’en Caesar!
The pasta dish (and of course I ate pasta) was also amazing. Sadly America, I neglected to remember the damn name of the dish but… me took photo so me still helpful. :).
I have two colleagues flying in from up-​state NY mañana, I’m going to take them over to this joint on Wednesday evening… they’re going to shit… I’ve yet to find an true Italian place like this back there, ironically.
This is one of those home-​grown family owned restaurants that people talk about for years after that one unfortunate day it finally closes. «Remember Mona Lisa… etc…etc…etc…» I’d go now, brothas and sistas… while they still be open!

This place makes really great Italian food. It’s almost as good as what you’d get in Italy. One of the things I really like here is you can order a dish to split, and it’ll cost you $ 2 more but they give you a little bit more food and you split a meal with someone else. Sometimes, that’s just enough food. Bread here is amazing too.

First off let me start of with saying this:
HANDS DOWN BEST SERVICE I HAVE HAD IN A LONG TIME.
Went there on a Sunday afternoon for lunch, we were greeted and seated vey fast (which was unusual for a Sunday), but yay for us. We were only a party of two so that may have made it easier. Their whole menu looks pretty delicious. We had the chicken Marsala, and the Gorgonzola pasta with chicken; both were pretty delicious! Honestly, I have been to Italy enough times to be able to say this is pretty authentic. We were super happy, and the food was awesome. We can’t wait to return soon. Thanks Mona Lisa!

This restaurant is small & cozy. The food & customer service are both great as well! I was very impressed. My friends & I really like this place.
We tried the following dishes:
*Risotto Fiorentine — traditional Italian risotto w/​chicken, mushrooms, spinach, red onions, & marinara sauce. What a delicious dish!
*Risotto porcini e raddichio — Risotto w/​porcini mushrooms & radicchio in cheese sauce. This dish is rich & creamy. It was good, but I like the Risotto Fiorentine better.
*Rigatoni Con Petit De Pollo — tube pasta sauteed w/​mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, chicken, rosemary, red onions & light creamy balsamic sauce. Yummy & filling.
*Ravioli fritti Prima Donna — 4 cheese ravioli fried w/​spicy marinara & kalamata olives. Who doesn’t love cheese? We finished this dish right away.
*Pollo Con Limone — Chicken breast w/​lemon capers sauce & fresh mushrooms & cream, served with side of pasta aglio. Light & delicious!
For dessert, we had Tiramisu & coffee. Both were good as well!
This place is a hidden gem. Hope to come back again soon. :)

4.5 is probably right.
That petit de pollo dish is great. So rich with that balsamic sauce. Would order again in a second. Calamari had a light tasty batter and I’d also try that again. Sat at the bar to avoid the long wait for a table. Looked like a popular locals spot.

wow… delicioso y buen servicio… lo recomiendo… y si… no le digan a nadie… es el secreto de la comunidad. yo regresare!!!