La Mona Restaurante — Restaurant in Valencia

Having eaten here 4 times I think I can say that at its best this is a great little Restaurant serving some really nice dishes. The vibe can be fun ( especially Martin the Chilean server) and and the service prompt ...At it's worst, things begin to fall apart... especially when the place fills up and the chef working alone in the kitchen is ovewhelmed... no fault of his own...Having to ask our server 4 times for the bread we ordered and being ignored wasn't a lot of fun. Nor, on our last visit, was waiting well over an hour for our plates of pasta... only to discover that the frutti di mare consisted of a few clams and none of the other nice things ( Mussles, prawns ) that I've seen being served before. If you're going to serve CLAM pasta then call it that.. ...As well, my pasta bolognese was half the size that it was the first time I ordered it... a shame as its a delicious dish here... Anyway, the Italian chef IS talented and I understand that trying to kick out paellas , grilled dishes and various pastas must be tough when the tables are full... There is only so much one man can do under those circumstances. My advice: Avoid prime time and get to the restaurant early so the kitchen has the time to do what it does so well when things...

We waited for the food for 2 hours after telling weitress that we want Paellia. We were told that it takes aroud 20/30mintes but if it is busy it is up to an hour. Three other tables were served, got their recepts and left so I asked what about ours Paiellia. She told us it takes to an hour so we should wait some more. After 5 minutes, she came back asking „do you still want your paiellia or not”. After 2 hours we got it and I saw everyone got their complementary shots. We asked to pay and told the situation to other person and they were abcously not aware but obly after we told we are not satisfied, wanted to give us shots. We declined because it looked like a shut up situation. We were not treated like others!!! She tried to tell us that we did not want paiellia at first and just drinks and dessers...

We happened across this place because it was open late on a Sunday evening and we were in need of food after travelling to Valencia.

Maybe we got an off day, but the service was average and a bit all over the place. Communicating with the waiter in English or basic Spanish was difficult.

I opted for the prawns and they left my stomach feeling upset the rest of the evening. They arrived with the heads and tails separate on the plate and tasted a little off.

My mother ordered a glass of cava which was not cold at all. The ravioli she ordered was tasty though.

Maybe opt for the meat if going later in the evening as I don't think the seafood was...