mondo

evening ruined by server. the food was wonderful. but our evening was a disaster -- absolutely ruined by the server. mondo treats thebreadas if it's gold -- wanting to pick up thebreadplates after one or two pieces. (we had to ask for a second piece of bread). we were never asked it we wanted refills of our tea, and the whole experience was not really a dining experience -- more like a high end fast food experience. it was obvious the staff is trained to turn the tables as quickly as possible. our waitress was insolent and disrespectful. when we go out to dine (as opposed to out to eat) we're looking for a nice experience. if you're used to good service, you are unlikely to find it at mondo. when we brought the service to the attention of management, they knew all the right words to say, but did absolutely nothing. if you want a nice dining experience, go anywhere else.

gone down hill. i have dined at mondo a few times prior and i have to say i was shocked with the difference. not in a good way. one bartender totally overwhelmed behind the bar and we waited for our table parched. we eventually gave up on the bar altogether. once we were seated i ordered a sparkling lemonade with muddled mint. mint and lemons were visible behind the bar and we ordered a bottle of san pelligrino for the table. we were told that wasn't possible. really? with all of your exotic cocktails and extensive wine list they couldn't make a sparkling lemonade for a non-drinker?! ridiculous. they are more intent on jacking up your bill with booze than accommodating a repeat customer with something non-alcoholic. the service was totally overwhelmed. nobreadwas brought to the table until we complained and then we were given one piece. not that i need a full baguette, but is this a gulag or a bistro grade restaurant? savor that one piece ofbreadpeople! by that point we decided to cut our losses, only order burgers as our entree's, no appetizers, desserts, coffee, anything else. we wanted the bill and to dash asap. the waiter admitted there were problems when i brought up my complaints. he did the best job possible in a difficult environment. bravo and sympathy to him. as my partner and i left, we also noticed two other same sex couples seated in the same area up and off to the side. i took a second to take notice and one of the other same sex couples was noticing the very same thing. obviously, i can't confirm they are purposely seating same sex couples in that specific area, but every time i have dined at mondo with one other person of the same sex i have been seated in that area. when i took my sister to dinner with another friend, we were seated right in the middle of the dining room with all of the other straight patrons. when more than one table notices this, and we give each other "the eye of mutual understanding," it leaves a bad taste in your mouth to say the least. in short, don't waste your time unless you are on board for a large booze tab, have two hours for a simple meal, and feel like you are doing mondo a favor for dining in their less than stellar establishment. gone down hill people. i'm disappointed. i really enjoyed it the first couple times i dined with them.

been there 3 times. went there when first opened. place was so hot and noisy with wait of an hour for our food while the busboy doled out little slice of bread. food was average. second time was there for a luncheon and the food was terrible. the open faced roast beef sandwich was so fatty my friend couldn't eat it. the fish taco was cold. the waiter gave us one tiny cup of cream for our 8 cups of coffee. the third time our whole family went and the best food we had was the burger!!! thank goodness some other restaurants are opening back up in lakeview. would not go back to mondo unless there are no other options.


-----25 jul, 2010-----

mondo needs finetuning. four of us went to mondo's on a saturday night. the menu was eclectic, lots of interesting dishes, but nothing that was exceptional. our appetizers took 45 minutes to arrive. our entrees another 30 minutes. a waitperson comes by and lays down one small slice of frenchbreadon ourbreadplate. we were so hungry we had to ask for more bread. as others have stated, the portions are small. the other problem is the noise is loud, making conversation difficult. i think the pizza oven makes the back area quite warm, especially when the restaurant is full. it's a place i would take my children on a weeknight, not out of town guests or for an evening of quiet dining. the burger was about as good as luke's. the creamy crabmeat on toast had soggy toast. lambchops were good, the roasted chicken was good. the desert with the baked berries from the wood oven was excellent.

very good and kid-friendly to boot!. we (seven of us including two small children) had dinner here for the first time this evening. we all loved thebread(they pass it out in small slices and we kept stalking the guy for more). my dad and i both had pizzas and we enjoyed them a lot, especially the crust. i asked the waiter and he said that susan spicer's bakery, wild flour breads, supplies thebreadfor the restaurant. i have seen thisbreadfor sale at langenstein's; now i will be buying some! my husband had a pork shoulder dish with black beans and plaintains and he liked it a lot. my sister ordered a steak dish with fries and she liked it although she said the portion was quite small. my mom got the redfish and she also enjoyed it very much. the kids were happy too and the place was noisy enough (in a good way) that we didn't have to worry about them being disruptive. one thing that particularly impressed me was that, although there were lots of people waiting for a table, the restaurant itself is not crammed full of tables. a couple more tables could have been squished in but that would have made things even louder and it would have made for a less comfortable dining experience. i appreciated having a comfortable distance between the tables....we'll be back!

bread baffled. i love mondo. it is a great addition to lakeview. the food is delicious and i like the modern atmosphere. i have to ask though, what is the deal with the bread? the first time i went, the people walking around withbreadavoided all eye contact and would never give us any. the second time, we had to ask but finally did get one piece. the last time, we ordered an appetizer that actually came withbreadto spread the cheese on. it only came with four small pieces, not enough for the content of the app. when we asked for a few more pieces, thebreadperson acted like we just asked for ketchup to put on our steak. i am confused about thebreadthing. i will keep going to mondo and loving it and trying to figure out thebreadsituation.

went to mondo for my birthday. had heard about the crowds so we went early. we walked right in. it was delicious. everything we had was yummy. there was a special salad with beets, blue cheese and apple and pear. the appetizer we ate was also a special. it was fried oysters over an artichokebreadpudding. the oysters were amazing. the artichoke was good but not outstanding. i had the lamb chops. they were out of this world. i loved the mint jelly sauce. for dessert we split a lemon tart. the meal made a great birthday celebration. the portions however are small, so if you are hungry an entree will probably not be enough for dinner. service was excellent.

never again. went there this weekend for a birthday celebration. what a letdown. it was noisy, it took an hour for our appetizers to arrive...which looked like a child's portion. we had to beg forbreadand butter. i felt like we were in cast of oliver! our waitress was aloof and we constantly had to ask for water or tea refills. the pizza came out for one of us with one pepperoni on it...seriously! it was cardboardy and about 45 minutes after the appetizer. nothing special about the other dishes..other than on the puny side and way too late.
if you like aloof service and baby food portions and have all night to wait around, by all means, try it. otherwise, if you are like me you will know there are way too many great restaurants with great service in this city to enjoy.