Mona Lisa Italian Restaurant

Stop and see Roger at the bar. Greatest bartender you’ve ever met. They have karaōke at night and half price pizza on Tuesday!

I like this place, it’s smaller and it gets packed sometimes on karaōke nights but the crowds are good, the food is good, I’ve never had something I didn’t like, the pizzas are very good. The specials are awesome and the drink are reasonably priced, definitely a go to place with friends!

The place could do with a remodel, a little cramped seating and the poker table is random. It is very sports bar-​ish. food was acceptable, I paid extra for addons in my calzone which were missing. The Sicilian pizza could use like roasted cherry tomatoes or roasted red peppers to cut the salt and a touch more sauce to make the cheese melty. It felt like I was eating cheesy bread and not pizza I would prob give them a 3^rd try and go for lasanga or something.

Ok– can someone help me wrap my head around this? I was craving baked ziti this afternoon so I pulled into the Mona Lisa restaurant on College Parkway in Fort Myers, Fl. Is the Mona Lisa an Italian restaurant or is she a sports bar? When I walked in I felt like I was watching the movie «The Godfather» with all the main characters in baseball uniforms! «Hey the big guy– is that Vito Corleone or Babe Ruth?» Not being sure– it was 2 pm when I walked in– I looked around and saw two men drinking pints of beer at the bar cheering a soccer game on a big screen TV set– maybe the Mona Lisa is an Irish pub? Still not sure I was in the right place to get a good plate of baked ziti– I asked to see a menu– which confused me even more. I am not used to seeing buffalo wings on the same appetizer list as fried calamari! The place is dark wood– like an Irish pub– with several large screen TVs each playing some ESPN network sport– like your typical sports bar– over a large open stage with a microphone– like some cheap comedy club or karaōke bar. Intrigued but still confused I ordered the baked ziti lunch special. About the food– I am not used to «baked» ziti coming out of a micro wave covered in orange sauce! I like my baked ziti to come out of a regular oven with melted ricotta and mozzarella cheese with a little browning crispy even a little charred edges covered with red sauce! It was –ehhhhh– check please! If you want a sports bar experience with a great selection of draft beers while munching on a pizza– then come here– you will not be disappointed. But if you want a great dining experience enjoying authentic Italian food– then steer clear. To the owners of Mona Lisa– as Michael Corleone said «it’s nothing personal– it’s strictly business!»

The pizza here is really good. Karaōke is fun, and the drink specials are good. Nights and weekends it becomes much more bar like then restaurant and it can get a little rowdy. They have security at the doors and they are quick to remove any problems. Always ample parking due to there placement in the plaza

Perhaps it was the fact that I ordered via Grub Hub, but the food was pathetic. Three items, a pizza, portabella chicken, and a antipasto salad came to $ 60+ with delivery… DO NOT ORDER THE ANTIPASTO SALAD! They put cold cuts and cheese on lettuce… It’s the elementary cafeteria food version of antipasto… have some respect for yourselves Mona Lisa; no Italian would serve that and call it antipasto anything. The pizza… pizza has sauce, this had no sauce. It was cheese and old sun dried tomatoes on disgusting hard crust… The saving grace was the port-​chic w artichokes… salty but compared to the other items we were delivered it was the only edible part of the meal. Seriously, if I can keep even one person from experiencing the sheer hell that is your food then I shall dance with angles one day, for your food tastes like bad dreams and anger, and if Satan had a flavor, it would be the thematic flavor of your food. Mona Lisa smile? Mona Lisa cry…

We all left the restaurant and agree that it is just below OK. Strange first line, I know, but the pizza while good, barely had any toppings on it, more like a cheese pizza instead of the three items we wanted. Pizza came out way before my chicken parm sandwich, they were done eating, think the young waitress f upped and didn’t put order in, guess what happens when you try and remember instead of writing down. It was all bread and no chicken, terrible. Change of ownership and hope they make it but I think there are way too many competitors out there. wont be back, sorry.

As per many recommendations, I used Mona Lisa to order pizza for my daughter’s birthday party. They & their food were great. The manager threw in an extra pizza and garlic bread due to the size of my order. I thought that was very nice of him. The pizzas were all delicious and they arrived right on time.

Not quite sure how I feel about this place. We waited at the door for quite some time to be seated. The table that came in after Us must have had the same problem because they say themselves then sat there for a little while and asked if we sat ourselves, then had to get up and search for someone. Our waitress seemed bored and sleepy. We had Caesar salads which were okay, the dressing was super garlicky it gave me a really bad stomach ache after. Then we had a buffalo chicken pizza which was pretty greasy and VERY spicy, I couldn’t eat much because my mouth was burning. The food came out rather quickly so that was nice, we also had time in between the salad and the pizza which I enjoyed. There are plenty of other places I would visit around the area before I came back here.

Love this place! It has great alcohol prices and the bar food is amazing. Happy hour you can get $ 1 slices and half price wings. The wings are great, best I’ve had in town and I have had a lot of wings around here! Happy hour also gets you 2−4−1 on wines, wells and calls.

Monday — all you can eat spaghetti for $ 9.99 (add $ 2 for meatballs).
They also have eat bird specials for $ 12.95 (soup/​salad, entrée and dessert.
Loved the spaghetti with meatball! You could really tell it was cooked fresh, the tomato sauce was great, pasta al dente!

Not sure how to rate them exactly. I have ordered the white pizza from here twice and was pleasantly surprised. Being Italian and moving here from NY I knew I would have to lower my standards but they did a great job with that particular pizza. This afternoon I had the eggplant parm dinner. It was awful, the pasta was nothing special, the eggplant was so salty I couldn’t eat more than four bites. My mouth and stomach felt disgusting. It came with «Garlic Knots» Not quite sure how they are considered garlic knots. They were flavorless roles that came with some sort of olive oil. There were a few spices floating at the bottom of the oil but no flavor what so ever. Not impressed and very disappointing after spending $ 17.00 on the meal and another $ 3.00 on a tip. Not sure I will eat here again.

My significant other and I go to Mona Lisa 2 to 3 times a week. Bar is great as is the food. We would recommend this place to ANYONE. Karaōke every night. Great food-​great bar-​great people. We have witnessed 3 parties so far for various occasions-​birthday, anniversary, etc. It would appear that this is the place to have a party (we have seen as many as 20 people at a party). The people we have seen have had a blast and were extremely satisfied with the food and service, particularly with the manager-​that would be EARL. I heartily agree. Earl is friendly, knowledgeable and extremely accommodating. Makes you feel more like family than a patron. Richard Rubin and Peg!

We usually like Mona Lisa a lot. We’ve been coming here for years. Today the 3 of us ordered the «take 3» lunch specials; pizza, cheese steak and baked ziti. It was all ok. The cheese steak was pretty sad. There wasn’t any key lime pie. The deal wasn’t such a deal. We used to enjoy the $ 5 lunch specials. The waitress seemed more stressed than ever! She is never super congenial. Oh well!
Thanks,
myellow

My husband and I have often thought about trying the Mona Lisa since we moved here nearly 2 years ago since it’s located
relatively close to our home but we
always seemed to have a different place to try. Last Friday, we finally checked it out and were pleasantly surprised. Don’t let the «strip mall» location deter you. Once inside, the warm wood bar area and overall décor inside, gives you a true dining experience. Mona Lisa’s doubles as a sports bar with multiple big screens and nightly karaōke bar, so it’s not an upscale dining experience, but neither are the prices. We are huge fans of steamed mussels and the Mussels al vino blanco were fanatastic. A one lb serving is $ 10.95 but add another lb for just $ 4 more. That’s what we did. The mussels were deliciously prepared with lots of garlic, onion and white wine and served with warm rolls for dipping in the tasty sauce. There are nightly drink specials available. After the mussels, we each tried a bowl of pasta
Fagiole soup. Again delicious and just the right amount to fill us up. The Mona Lisa has a comfortable neighborhood bar/​restaurant feel with tasty affordable food. If that’s your style, check it out. Heck, we’re going back tonight :-)

So I drank the koolaid & took some friends here tonite-​first I called to make sure the Ice Cream Bar was available as the ads say-​yep-​guy who answered said yes starting at 6pm. We arrived at 6:30-banners outside touting lunch specials… strip mall location… not an upscale joint. Nice waitress, good food but NO FREE ice cream bar as advertised… waitress was embarrassed but really had no explanation… not cool…

The service was bad the staff was rude smd food took forever and on top of that the food wasn’t very good, very bland

I have dined here before, but tonight took my grandfather who doesn’t like ANYTHING. Well, I told him Mona Lisa was amazing and so we went. Thank you, thank you… grandpa is still raving! Linguine in white clam sauce, to die for… holy moly so many clams! Mussels, surf bread, pizza, canoli (sp) and another pasta I cannot spell, fantastic! Wonderful service with Gabby, cheap drinks and perfect, relaxed atmosphere. Again, thank you for making this experience everything and more for grandpa and us. We will be back soon!!! Now we must all be rolled home!

Great local restaurant and bar. I absolutely love their pasta dishes! It’s fresh and hot and always hits the spot. The baked ziti is awesome and you get a huge portion (as do you with all of their dishes)…you get your money’s worth at this place. If you leave hungry it’s your own fault. I’m also very picky about alfredo sauce and theirs is one of the best I’ve had. Same goes for their caesar salad dressing.
It’s a small place, has karaōke that can be fun, but overall it’s a great crowd of people to hang out with if you choose. It’s under new ownership now and I can honestly say I have high hopes for this place in the future. Friendly staff too! Plus you can’t beat the fact that if you’re just too damn tired or lazy to go there to eat, Grub Cab delivers their food to you if you live in the area! It’s definitely a local gem.

Great food! Great service! Great fun! I went there for karaōke night and had a great time with friends. Their pizza was beyond delicious, I just wish they delivered to my area. I plan to come again soon.