Mona Lisa Ristorante: A tasty local approximation of Italian cuisine

Outside of Asian food, the cuisine closest to my heart is Italian. I've eaten pizza and spaghetti as far back as I can remember. My history with more mature Italian offerings like risotto, while not that long, has nonetheless carved a special place inside my heart and stomach.

Seeing that Italy is more than 10,000 kilometers away from Manila by plane, any local restaurant bold enough to label themselves “authentic” may probably be using the term as a marketing tool. Merely having an Italian owner, Italy-trained staff or using ingredients imported from the southern European country might not equate to a real taste of Italy.

If anything, Mona Lisa Ristorante is a good, localized approximation what Italian fare is known for: fresh, simple and, importantly, delicious. Featuring a full menu from antipasti (starters), zuppa (soups) and insalata (salads) to pizza, primi (pastas), secondo (main dishes) and dolci (desserts), Mona Lisa is a good place for sweethearts on a date or for families to gather for a weekend lunch.

Upon sitting, the staff quickly provides the diner a basket of complimentary, warm house bread consisting of two dinner rolls and two slices of crunchy, grilled Italian bread slices. Three spreads—tomato puree, whipped butter and pesto—accompany the bread pieces and also represent Il Tricolore, the red, white and green colors of the Italian flag.

Wanting to have something quick and fried, we ordered the Calamari Fritti, deep-fried squid with tomato sauce and instantly fell in love with in dish. The crunchy coating that goes well with the tender squid rings may get the top billing, but it’s the home-made tomato puree that makes this appetizer a home run.

Service is quick and efficient. Not long after the Calamari was served, the staff brought in two of the three main courses we ordered.

One can probably assume that any dish bearing the restaurant’s name is deemed as the de facto best seller; hence our high expectations for the Mona Lisa Pizza and Risotto Mona Lisa.

The pizza, with pepperoni, mushroom and green bell pepper topping, tastes okay, but the crust tasted like cardboard. While I appreciate thin over thick crusts, the lack of flavor and texture of the dough makes this pizza a hard sell. Out of the four items we ordered, this one merits the tag “needs improvement” in terms of taste.

Happily, the Risotto with prawns, asparagus and lemon butter sauce more than made up the disappointing Mona Lisa pizza. Creamy, hearty and cooked al dente perfectly, the only “complaint” I had was that there wasn’t enough rice in one plate for two people to share. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is served as a condiment for eaters who prefer to season their Risotto with the hard cheese.

The Cannelloni Spinaci and Ricotta—spinach-cheese mixture, stuffed in cannelloni shells—was served on a hot plate and completed our carbo-loading trifecta. While the pasta was initially hard to cut and the taste a little on the heavy side, it is still a solid choice for lovers of short-cut pastas or those who prefer to go vegetarian.

We originally ordered Cannoli with Vanilla Gelato for dessert but cancelled at the last minute after sensing how full our stomachs had become after a carbohydrate-heavy meal. Our experience serves as a personal reminder not to order pizza, pasta and rice in one sitting; instead substitute one or two items with chicken, meat or fish dish.

The restaurant also Mona Lisa portraits, Italian music blasting through speakers and images of The Last Supper to go wwith its solid menu. — BM, GMA News

Mona Lisa Ristorante has branches at The Commercenter in Alabang, Muntinlupa and at SM Aura Premiere ib Bonifacio Global City.