London - Mon Plaisir
Winter 07/08
Frank's view 
' enjoy a long lunch upstairs'
The Mon Plaisir web site proudly announces that in May 2007, Alain Lhermitte, Mon Plaisir’s proprietor, was a guest on Gordon Ramsay’s television show ‘The F Word’.
‘He didn’t meet the big man himself but he did meet foodie firebrand Janet Street Porter.’
Tragically, this sums up the key problem with Mon Plaisir.
Mon Plaisir serves very good French cuisine at very reasonable prices. This restaurant needs to raise its self esteem.
London’s oldest French restaurant has been in Covent Garden’s Monmouth Street for over fifty years, and has very much positioned itself to attract the pre and post theatre market. A two course dinner is priced at £13.50 and three courses at £15.50, which is very inexpensive for the quality of cuisine.
This family run restaurant ticks a number of the right boxes, besides quality cusine. The tables are dressed with proper crisp white cloths and napkins and the waiting staff are friendly and efficient. However, the menu presentation is poor and more in keeping with a pizza joint or common bistro. The menu presented to the camel’s companion was covered in smudged ink and illegible.
This camel is a big fan of Racine in Knightsbridge, another reasonably priced but excellent French restaurant. However, unlike Racine, Mon Plaisir has not positioned itself as a top end restaurant. The ambience of Mon Plaisir is mid market bistro.
Foie gras with figs and dates, at £13.90, is the most expensive starter. The camel’s companion enjoyed traditional French onion soup ( £6.75) followed by duck with spicy pear chutney (£16.50). This camel opted for Tournedos a la moelle et aux escargots (£19.50).
Other options include Partridge with blackberry and port sauce (£16.95) and Coq au vin (£14.50). Accompaniments such as pomme frites and vegetables are around £3.00.
The most phenomenal option is the cheese board. Our waiter insisted upon a sampling of 5 different cheeses from the selection of around 20. The price? £8.50.
The wine list is also very reasonable. We extravagantly selected a Chateau Segla 2001 at £49, but the list offers good wines for £30 or less.
Having first visited Mon Plaisir in the mid 1980s, and many times in the intervening years, the standard has never disappointed. However, a secret of the restaurant, known only to regulars, is the small dining room upstairs. Intimate, with a handful of tables, this is the only room in Mon Plaisir in which this camel will dine. When you call to book, request a table upstairs. The best you can expect is confirmation of your request, but, with luck, your table should be safe.
If ever a restaurant needed a PR / marketing boost, this one does. However, in fairness to the Lhermitte family, they probably like it just the way it is.
Mon Plaisir
21 Monmouth Street
Covent Garden
London WC2
020 7836 7243
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
