Mona's Bistro and Lounge
Seattle, WA 98115
Phone: (206) 526-1188
04/01/2008 Posted by espelund
I decided to take my girlfriend here for an anniversary dinner based on the reviews and its recommendation as a great date spot. They were pretty much dead on a Monday night. Our server seated us in the picture window by the door, presumably to show passersby outside that people actually dine there. I have no problem being used as a marketing ploy, but the big picture window and adjacent door made the space a little drafty. I should have asked to be moved to one of the dark corner tables. The space has a nice warm glow to it, but the bar in the middle of the room takes away from the mood. I would say it is a good friendly first date spot, but have a hard time calling any restaurant "romantic" when a television is in plane view from my table. Our server was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. He even brought out three different wines for my girlfriend to sample when she asked him for a recommended sweet red. For appetizers she ordered the cheese flight, which was very tasty and included homemade crackers with a touch of honey, a fig compote, roasted nuts and three cheeses (one of which somehow tasted exactly the way a farm smells, if you're into that sort of thing), I had the arugula salad, which was good, albeit it extremely oily, even for me. For our entrées I ordered the lamb shank. I'm not a huge lamb fan really, but I found it to be tasty. My lady had a seasonal dish: cheese and pea stuffed ravioli with asparagus. I found it to be very tasty, but it could have used a few more ravioli for the price. Both entrées were also a bit oily, which seems to be a theme at Mona's. Total cost of the meal (which also included one glass of wine and one very reasonably priced beer) was $103 with 20% gratuity. I would recommend going in for drinks and apps or maybe wine and desert (we didn't get any, but it sounded very good), I thought the entrées were a little prices for what you got. Also, a very small selection on all menu items.
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