September 07, 2012 Beirut Lebanon Middle East

Cafe Mondo: Maintaining the Same Quality for Years (Restaurant Closed)
Casual Dining

RATING:71/100

Welcoming: 4/5

Food Temperature: 8/10

Ambiance / Music: 8/10

Menu Choice: 4/5

Food Taste: 24/30

Architecture / Interior: 7/10

Food presentation: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Value for money: Soon

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As I have already mentioned before, Cafe Mondo, located at the Phoenicia Hotel is a very decent Italian restaurant serving the same quality food for the past decade or so. This place has been renowned for its high-end five star service the hotel it resides in offers, as well as their popular crunchy pizzas and their generously colored salad bar. Every day, Cafe Mondo offers pasta of the day, specialty dishes and a chosen wine.

Every now and then I head down to Cafe Mondo to relive the joy of this place. It carries a lot of memories, souvenirs and funny stories.

The New Menu Sections:

Antipasti, Zuppe, Paste Di Grano Duro (Any kind of pasta with your favorite sauce: pasta Lungo an pasta Corta), Paste Ripoene, Risotti, Pizze or Calzone, meat and fish

Our Order:

  • Oven baked sea bass with potatoes, olives, capers and cherry tomatoes
  • Spaghetti Integrale alla Pescatora with tomato, shrimps, calamari, chili, parsley
  • Salad Bar - a wide selection offered in large rounded plates

The Plus:

  • Hot crunchy bread selection with olive tapenade served to start
  • A big choice of more than 20 items at the salad bar. You can eat all you want until 03:30pm
  • A nice and cozy ambiance with a warm and welcoming atmosphere
  • A choice of rounded and square tables perfect for a business lunch
  • High glass facade over viewing the St. Georges Yacht club
  • Deliciously prepared Italian dishes, mastered to perfection

The Food Experience:

  • The Sea bass fish I ordered for myself is exquisite. Served with a few fingers of special baked/fried fries seasoned with thick salt and pepper as well fresh green salad, it was delicious. It was, honestly, the first time I order something other than your regular pizza or pasta dish at Mondo. To my surprise, a dish full is of taste and flavors.
  • The pasta was generous, perfectly and adequately cooked and mixed with generous ingredients making every bite unique; a spicy mix of seafood and tomato sauce magically decorated with parsley.

Attention Needed:

  • The salad bar that we have gotten used to for the past years has changed - in shape and ingredients; I didn't accept that change at all. Again I say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
  • Waiters, at 3pm were a bit tired and acting like they were counting the minutes to leave. This is not something I am used to at Mondo Cafe. To top things, the waiter in charge of our table forgot to serve us the usual bread basket until we asked for it

I love this place. I still do the same way I did the first time I went.

Suitable For: Casual Dining



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