Mon Plaisir

The food was good, the atmosphere informal and easy going. The great thing is this French restaurant actually feels and looks like something you would expect in Provincial France.
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Mark Cognet
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, February 06, 2012

This place is awful. The prices and the management are truly the worst you could have. I was charged £28.95 for HALF a grouse. No restaurant in London serves half a grouse. It is an extraordinary rip-off. Then, the manageress complained about me to a thug who was loitering outside, who then berated me for complaining. He claimed they paid £14 wholesale for a grouse. Actual price, say £6 or £7. He was aggressive, rude and threatening. Avoid like the plague.
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richard
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, October 13, 2011

My friend and I visited Mon Plaisir on Thursday 18 August 2011 and chose the set lunch. We walked in off the street without booking at 12 noon and managed to get one of two tables that were not booked - lesson one, try and pre-book! My friend had salmon with hollandaise sauce served with spinach which she said was delicious. I chose navarin of lamb with spring vegetables. It was simple but stunning, I savoured every mouthful. We both had the same pudding which was fruit and almond tart. It was divine. Service was excellent, house wine was good quality and tap water served without hesitation. Lunch with a glass of wine each with service came to just over £30. Brilliant value, particularly for the heart of London, and for an hour or so imagined we could be in Paris.
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Jeannie
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, August 19, 2011

It's a good location and the restaurant has a traditional non-chain feel which is all to the good, but we had a number of problems with service and found the food disappointing. One of the starters brought out was wrong - rabbit rather than haddock - and we really didn't want rabbit.

Drinks service was slow and when we asked to have wine with our main course we were practically told off for giving a reminder. The dishes were set down randomly and we seemed expected to swap them round ourselves. The chicken I had - poulet bourguignon was dry and tasteless with lots of broken bones making the experience rather tiresome. We asked for 4 coffees including a decaff and received 3. Eventually we got the fourth but despite being reassured it was decaff, it seems it really wasn't. With desserts at £7+ we shared 1 between 4. The bill was £45 a head for starter, main, & 2 bottles of house red (£19 each) between 4. Service was calculated at 12%. Not good.
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Bronson Alcott - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Thursday, August 18, 2011

Went here on Saturday with a big family group. A good time was had by all and I hope the waiters don't hate me as I was rather drunk!

Had snails for starter which were lovely and garlicky...would hope a place like this would know how to do them right and they did. Followed that with entrecote steak which came withvery thin crispy chips. Steak was quite nice, but nothing special really. It was cooked as requested but every time I eat steak now all I can think of is how good it is at Hawksmoor. Many of my group had lamb which they enjoyed, and my cousin has scallops but I have to say they only gave her 3, maybe 4 on the plate with these weird raw tiny carrots...She liked them but not really enough for a main meal.

Warning about the stairs to the loos if you have had a few and are wearing heels..I managed to fall spectacularly which my cousin thought was hilarious but I now have a massive bruise on the side of my leg. Oh well...it didn't spoil my night!

Worth another visit maybe in a smaller group next time...
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Kedi - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, July 25, 2011

This was the worst dining experience I've had in London. My friend and I ordered the £42 beef (for two) and were assured by the Australian waiter that it was exceptional and worth the wait of 30-40 minutes. While we waited, we were offered a couple of slices of bread. We asked for tap water. The smell led me to think that filled my glass with toilet water; absolutely putrid. One sip and I had them take it away.

We were starving, having waited close to an hour. What we ordered was supposed to me medium cooked beef.... what we were brought was tough and chewy, and very small (probably 3 bites of meat each).

Be warned. The decor is tourist-friendly faux French, the waiting staff outnumbers the diners by 2:1 (most annoying having a bunch of waiters standing around).

They could and should have offered us our money back. This is overpriced, tourist-fare with a fussy menu that does not represent French cuisine.
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Chris
3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 11, 2011

Yup, just had another very satisfactory lunch at Mon Plaisir. I only work around the corner so we sometimes run in there when we need somewhere quiet.

The surroundings are lovely, very french, idiosyncratic, a bit higgeldy-piggeldy and all the more charming for it.

The menu is very rustic french. Always something for the more adventurous there or you could just opt for steak and chips as we did.

Steak was lovely. Cooked perfectly. Chips proper French, thin and crisp. lots of them.

Side dish of beans still with a little crunch.

Just a shame to go back to work. I first went here when I took the missus for a first date some 18 years ago and it was lovely. It has been ever since.

It's on a charming road in Covent Garden yet prices are totally reasonable. My kind of place then!
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benjamin163 - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Great place to meet up with friends and enjoy the delights of your traditional restaurant. I have been a customer for well over 50 years and always I love the moments spent dining and soaking in the ambiance. Memories linger on and continue to do so. Congratulations on your ongoing success.
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Mrs P M Davies - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, October 23, 2010

This has been the third time in the last year have been to this restaurant. The quality of the food is superb French and the service is friendly and timely. One of the best French restaurants in the price bracket.
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Meer - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Reading the reviews from other dinners, I can't help but wonder if we ate at the same restaurant.

Imagine what you'd like a traditional no fuss French brasserie to be like and here it is: Mon Plaisir. Nice atmosphere, quirky decor, lovely staff, good simple food, good wine. I nervously ordered 12 snails, thinking there was a good chance I'd end up with little pieces of rubber bathed in garlic butter, but the dish was surprisingly well cooked and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My boyfriend's onion soup was morish and yummy - presumably enough for a meal on it's own, but really delicious. My entrecote was perfect - tender and bloody, and the steak tartare (a little coarsely chopped for my liking) was seasonned to perfection and served with the loveliest fries. The cheese board was varied and tasty, the cafe liegeois surprisingly good. And the bread really hit the note for me; I'm an addict.

Mon Plaisir isn't a top end restaurant. You won't find fine dining there, so just expect to eat there what you'd eat in a bog standard brasserie, nothing more, and you will enjoy. The food is done to perfection and the service is pleasant without being overpowering. We felt the bill was fair - 50 pounds a head for a glass of champagne, 3 course, and a carafe of wine. Would definitely recommend it for a low key date or dinner with friends.
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Emma M - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Sunday, May 02, 2010