La Mona Lisa Restaurante — Restaurant in Lagoa

The most surprising little restaurant that was pure WOW. Came here to meet friends and didn’t have much expectation, and we were so pleasantly surprised. First off, THE best Caprese salad I have ever had in my life (as a point of reference, I’m a NYer and have visited Italy several times)— truly the best. All the pasta dishes we had were DELISH (I suggest going off-menu and asking for the penne with tuna, but with a simple sauce instead of tomato sauce) and the service was great. What made our night was the kindness of our waitress (Adele, one of the lovely daughters of their Mom and Dad’s family restaurant) — she went out of her way to make sure they our picky eaters got what they want and even came up with our fave new expression “pasta sprinkles” for the unwanted Parm cheese on our unhappy toddler’s dish. (Genius!) Anyway, don’t think twice. For a simple yet amazing post-beach (or anytime)...

A gem! Delicious food and great service. We stayed nearby in a condo on the cliffs near Rocha Brava on a Tuesday and Wednesday night in late September. We walked into Carvoeiro on Tuesday but saw nothing that appealed and stopped here on our walk back. We were tired from traveling and shared 2 pizzas for dinner. The size was perfect, tasted amazing, and we finished both. Service was cheerful and friendly, especially Dean. Desserts looked delicious but we were stuffed and tired.

The next day we had a big breakfast and lunch in “downtown” Carvoeiro and wanted a light dinner. We walked to the strip of restaurants nearby and were underwhelmed by the ambiance and menu, so came back to La Mona Lisa for starters and dessert. The bruschetta, melon and prosciutto, profiteroles, and cheesecake were phenomenal. Service was again delightful.

We would eat here weekly if we...

Lovely pizzeria in a good location. Wonderful atmosphere and excellent service a little let down by average pizzas. I was surprised with the quality of pizzas - I was expecting much better. I'd say these were average at best. Very salty, poor crust (just very hard) - much worse than pizza express, Pizza Hut (let alone a quality independent). Would rate the food as OK and the restaurant is lovely so on balance would recommend. My parents had the lasagne which was excellent. The website it awful so I didn't know when it was open or what (other than Pizza) is on the menu. It's open Monday-Saturday inclusive. Other than pizza there are some salads and chips - otherwise it's down to the specials for non-pizza options (lasagne at the time...