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Editorial Review

Reviewed in the Oct/Nov '07 issue of Ciao!

For over two decades, Mona Lisa has been a masterpiece of casual Italian dining. Tried-and-true Grande family recipes have never failed to draw diners craving classic, soul-filling pastas and pizzas. When time came for a change, owner Joe Grande knew overhauling the menu or painting the walls might upset his loyal customers. Juxtaposing the restaurant’s traditional setting, he recently converted the next door space into the trendy, high-tech La Cantina di Mona Lisa.

The brick and beam interior gives the room both a contemporary and rustic vibe. It’s flanked by a dark wood and granite bar (shimmering with a backdrop of top spirits) and a gleaming glass deli counter, which displays to-go Italian snacks, decadent desserts and a rainbow of gelati. A mounted flat-screen TV, funky glass lighting fixtures and cushy Italian leather armchairs are high-end accents that round out this elaborate expansion.

Above all else, La Cantina di Mona Lisa is fun. Even the lady herself would crack a smile. Most entertaining are two state-of-the-art wine dispensers tucked in the back corner of the room, the only ones the exist in the city . The Enomatic serving systems are hooked up to 16 bottles of some of the finest reds from Italy and the New World. Customers slide a prepaid card in the slot ($25-$200 denominations), select a wine (all at varying prices) and then choose from a 2, 4 or 6-oz serving size. This wine buffet concept beckons an evening of sampling that equally amuses sophisticated oenophiles and curious vino virgins.

And the menu, which is totally separate from the restaurant, is just as innovative. Playing on the popularity of sushi, La Cantina invented mezzo/mezzo (1/2 sushi, 1/2 Italian), rice rolls that combine sushi-making technique with traditional Italian ingredients. Korean sushi chefs on staff worked with the Grande family to help match flavours, and the result is a line up of tantalizing rolls that’ll leave you swooning.

Tre Colouri offers hearty mouthfuls of red onion and salty prosciutto wrapped in tomato-infused rice. Topped with creamy bocconcini, sweet basil and lemon zest, the roll puts your tastebuds into overdrive. The most popular roll is the pescatore, which offers light and familiar flavour combinations with razor clams and avocado. The most elaborate mezzo/mezzo is the L’Etna, and by the name you expect the Italian version of the volcano roll. A seafood, avocado and pine nut roll is smothered in a fiery mezza luna sauce (a smoky purée of roasted peppers and herbs), which is loaded with chunks of seafood and popping tobiko. Every mezzo/mezzo is a piece of art in itself, presented on colourful platters and accompanied by mini caprese salads arranged as a flower and a spicy oil dipping sauce.

The rest of the menu is comprised of traditional Italian small plates—cheeses, meats and olives—and snacks, perfect finger food to accompany the wine bar’s amazing selection of vintages. In addition to the menu, the deli counter features panini sandwiches, pizza by the slice and a pasta-of-the-day Expresso Lunch. La Cantina is open early for breakfast, so 95ers can take-out delicious homemade frittatas, buttery croissants or sticky cinnamon buns.

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