Mona Lisa Restaurant — Restaurant in Wolcott

Dinner here last night for four had mixed results. Our apps I'd give three stars. The calamari was fair, the clams plentiful but chewy, and the pork bites my partner thought were the same pork chops he had for his main course but cut up on a plate as a starter.

Three entrées were four stars and one three. The two grilled pork chops which were smothered with onions and mushrooms were moist and flavorful with the balsamic reduction. A friend enjoyed his 14 oz. rack of lamb and another thought her pan seared salmon was really good.

Helping me choose a dish, she said after trying their half a Long Island duck a few times found it was sometimes good and sometimes dry. We inquired how it was tonight before I ordered it and was assured everyone loves the duck. I ended up with the dry version that didn't taste as if it was made that day. All our mains came with either soup (chicken barley) or salad and a medley of vegetables.

The two desserts, a warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate lava bomb were a hit - tasty, well-made and presented. Mona Lisa offers a 2-4 people take-out menu that includes bread, salad and a bottle of wine or dessert.

This is another time I wish GM had half stars, too, as I'd give Mona Lisa's Restaurant lunch today four and a half stars. Service, food, atmosphere, menu, prices, bar, spaciousness all very good. Our lunch yesterday was terrific. We had a booth in the sun room where windows look outside to the parking lot, street and blue skies above.

For drinks we had a lemonade and a cocktail, "Sex with the Captain," made from spiced rum, Amaretto, and peach schnapps, with orange and cranberry juice. The house dinner rolls were so perfect they crackled when broken. Crisp exterior but not hard, and soft warm interior with a light yeast flavor.

For two more dollars, my partner added a house salad to his meal. Fresh with a variety of greens and ingredients including chick peas. The balsamic dressing was bright in the right way. The eggplant grinder that followed his salad was well-cooked with a toasty bun and mozzarella cheese and right balance of seasoned tomato sauce.

The Monkfish Tuscany with tomatoes, capers, garlic and basil in a Chianti wine sauce served on baby spinach was a flavorful dish. I haven't seen monkfish on a menu in a very long time and overall not often, so I was impressed to see this fish listed among their specials.

Whenever I see this fish in a store I buy it, but it's no longer what the culinary trade called "poor man's lobster," as it's much pricier than what lobster can be bought for now, especially during special times of the year.

Mona Lisa's menu is the same for lunch and dinner; the lunch servings are just smaller portions and without sides.

Right now, they are revving up for St. Patrick's Day, and with Covid restrictions lifting, live music should be back soon. Warmer weather will open up the outdoor seating that is full of strung lights and lanterns for the...

Super disappointed, tried this restaurant yesterday. First let me start by saying I will never be returning to this establishment. I ordered take out yesterday and although I wasn’t the biggest fan of the style of penne al vodka, I was hooked on their bread rolls. So after going home and trying the food, I immediately returned for more bread. The staff that worked last night was extremely kind. I genuinely thought I had found such a wonderful restaurant. To my surprise, I retuned today to order more rolls and was met with extreme rudeness. I placed the order over the phone and there was a price difference from what I paid the previous night. So I thought maybe I mis heard him, so I was going to ask when I got to the restaurant. When arriving unlike yesterday I was not greeted, instead I was ignored. Thankfully I knew where I had to go to pick up the order, after being given the order I was then waiting to pay. The man walked away and left me without even telling me what he was doing. Then after 5 minutes he comes back and tells me my total, after asking him why was I charged differently yesterday. It was almost double from what I had paid the previous night. He proceeded to say the employee charged me wrong, and that he wanted to know the name of the employee so he could fire them. In disbelief I paid and left, this is beyond ridiculous. As an owner you should take accountability for mistakes, not try and blame your employee. Especially telling a customer you were going to fire an employee for a simple mistake such an incorrect price. Super disappointed because I really did enjoy the bread rolls, but the man who I believe is the owner was extremely rude and disrespectful. On top of that he the employee who assisted me yesterday in ordering the breads, had put me on hold to ask the pricing. So it is awfully weird that he was working last night, and didn’t catch the employees mistake. Even though if the correct pricing is .75 cents a roll that is ridiculous because for 2 dozen I paid $19 almost $20. Whereas last night I paid $6 for a dozen. Don’t recommend and definitely will be...

First I want to preface by saying I am originally from New York and I am part Italian. I know Italian food.

My boyfriend and I just recently celebrated 12 years together and we wanted something really good and fancy for it so I decided to order Mona Lisa’s on GrubHub: I ordered the penne alla vodka and he ordered the broccoli rabe with cavatelli and sausage. For an appetizer we got the fried burrata.

The food did not disappoint. When I cut the burrata to split it in half and saw all the liquid come out of it I knew the rest of the food would be fantastic and it was. The salads we got that came with our dinner were fresh and the vegetables were crunchy. There was no gross red onion either! The rolls were crispy and really good. My penne alla vodka was probably the best penne alla vodka I ever had.

The only thing my boyfriend said was really more of a suggestion than a complaint. He wished there was pancetta in the pasta fagioli.

I also want to take time to say that the packaging from Mona Lisa’s through GrubHub was great also. The pasta came in reusable black containers instead of those aluminum containers that never close right again.

While Mona Lisa’s is definitely a special occasion for us, I’m so glad we ordered from them. Now excuse me while I finish the rest of my penne alla vodka...