Bon Appetit! (Mon Plaisir)

Member Name: Leolover

Product:	Mon Plaisir
Date:	14/10/02 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fab dessert, very good value for money, relaxed unhurried service

Disadvantages: boring 'selection of vegetables', lukewarm coffee

This review covers the pre-theatre menu at Mon Plaisir, which costs £13.95 for 2 courses or £15.95 for three, and is available Mon-Fri between 5.00pm and 7.00pm.

Mon Plaisir is a small French restaurant about a five minute walk from Leicester Square station. Colourful and vibrant, it's ideally situated for a pre theatre meal as it's within walking distance of most of the West End theatres. It's a friendly, bustling place with an upbeat, buzzy atmosphere. Cosy rather than crowded, it's a good place to dine with friends or business colleagues.

The pre theatre menu offers a choice of two starters, main courses and desserts, so is pretty limited, but costs much less than the standard menu, which averages around £7 per starter and £10 - £17 per main course.

The evening I ate there, the pre theatre menu was as follows :

STARTERS

Chicken Caesar Salad OR Carrot soup

MAIN COURSES

Breast of duck with red wine jus OR Roast Salmon
Selection of vegetables and French fries

DESSERTS

Chocolate Mousse OR Vanilla Ice Cream

EXTRAS

Glass of house wine (red or white)
Coffee to finish

I opted for the caesar salad, followed by the roast salmon, and the chocolate mousse for dessert.

The salad was crisp and delicious, with a strongly flavoured cheese dressing and tender chargrilled chicken pieces dotted throughout. The roast salmon was cooked to perfection and drizzled with a refreshing cucumber jus, although the 'selection of vegetables' turned out to be only one vegetable - peas in a white sauce - and the fries were nothing special.

The best thing about the meal though, was the fantastic chocolate mousse, which was without a doubt the best I?ve ever tasted - smooth, rich and wondrously creamy. Almost worth the £15.95 on its own!

The service was very good, and despite the 7pm cut off point, they were happy to off
er us the pre theatre menu even though we arrived at 6.45pm, and we never felt rushed. A couple of minor problems - my coffee being only lukewarm, for example, were dealt with promptly and with profuse apologies.

All in all, a very enjoyable meal for a very good price. I'd definitely recommend Mon Plaisir for a pre theatre meal. The standard menu also looked very good ? some tempting fish dishes and steaks, and I?d like to give it a try in the future.

After your meal at Mon Plaisir, I recommend the Dial Bar across the road for a couple of drinks - it?s stylish, relaxing and a great place to chat with friends.

Address : Mon Plaisir
21 Monmouth Street
London WC2H 9DD

Telephone : 0207 836 7243

www.monplaisir.co.uk

Summary: