Mona’s Italian Foods
202 N Main St, Toluca, IL, 61369
Mona’s Italian Foods Menu
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Address :
202 N Main St
Toluca, IL, 61369 - Phone (815) 452-2303
- Website https://www.bernardirestaurants.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Street
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Italian Cuisine
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
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Bob K.
Midwestern small town goodness. Same recipes that came over from Italy back when Toluca was a mining town. Celebrating their 80th year in business. Oh, and dont forget to climb the jumbo before you leave town, why don't cha?
(5)Angie M.
So my grandma is from Toluca. Tiniest, small town ever. Nothing to do, nothing to see. Except dinner at Mona's. Now... this is REAL down-home Italian food. I don't know what it is, but there's something about Mona's sauces that just have this certain... tang... I think. It's incredibly distinctive of Northern Italian cooking and SO hard to find and replicate. Seeing as how Mona's has been open since Christ was a child (real time: The 1930's) there's a lot of history happening. It's old school and wonderful. I freaking love Mona's.
(5)Blaine T.
Absolutely marvelous. Perfect food. Perfect price. Perfect people. It's a very charming place. I felt rude having my cellphone. It's a step back in time. An experience to be remembered and cherished.
(5)Stephanie E.
People travel from miles around for this hidden gem. I've been going here ever since I can remember. Never had a bad experience.
(4)White P.
Mona's is a Central IL favorite and landmark. You can't go wrong with the fried chicken and tortellini. It is consistent in it's preparation - not a lot has changed with the recipe since opening the doors many decades ago. Perhaps not as frou-frou as some of the pasta establishments you might find in, say, Naperville or Lincoln Park; this is solid, midwestern food as seen through the eye of the local Italian-American populous. You will not go home hungry. The bar is comfortable and conducive to visiting. The lost art of Bartending is still practiced here. You can order just about any drink you've ever had and Duane will know the recipe from memory. "Mob Hits" is on the jukebox. "Mob Hits II" is on the jukebox. What else can one ask for? If you are a roadside architecture buff, it is worth it to drive through Toluca to see the huge neon Broadway-style lights attached to both this restaurant and it's little sister up the street, Capponi's. They don't make these sorts of signs anymore, and these are beautiful examples of nostalgic days gone by.
(4)Tj M.
best Italian in the area: I really enjoyed my visit here as i heard nothing but good things about this place.I lives 40 miles south of there so it was quite a drive for me. I ordered the tortellini & Italian sausage and that was really good . We also had great service and the waitress are all very friendly. The prices are very reasonable and someone on a budget could walk out spending less than $12.00. Not me though because i love Italian food. We went back a few nights later and we got the sampler platter of appetizers which was really good. I also ordered the lasagna and it was very rich,lots of cheese & sauce in it. I highly recommend this local eatery and you won't be dissapointed.
(5)Karen A.
Ok. So you are driving through little towns in Illinois between here and Peoria because the highways have no culture. Most towns have a little diner or a gas station, not much more. You come to a town called Toluca Illinois, and at first it seems like another small midwestern town withering in the cornfields. But then you see not one but TWO large Italian Restaurants with very old signs from the 1930's. Cars were LINING the street and it was a quiet Sunday afternoon. We wandered into Mona's and there were loads of people there at 4pm. Its an old place that was opened in 1933 by the Bernardi family. Mr Bernardi's friend, Mr. Caponi, decided to give him a little friendly competition back in the 1930's, so there's two great old school Italian restaurants in this town. Caponi eventually sold his place to the Bernardi's, so there remain two places a block apart in a little Illinois town. It was completely traditional fare and we went for the pastas with meat sauce' spaghetti with meatballs and tortellini with sausage. Both dishes rocked and portions were more than we could eat. Almost everyone leaving had a little take out box. There is a full bar, and lots of pictures of the owner and the restaurant and the town from long ago. The staff was very friendly and the service was great. It was a totally unexpected surprise. Its about 120 miles from Chicago and maybe a two hour drive. What a blast!
(4)Danielle S.
I've been going here my entire life, literally. I visit Toluca at least twice a year, usually more often than that. Mona's is much different than the food at the restaurants I usually go to, and technically, it's not all that good compared to most of the other places. The quality of a lot of the dishes is lower than what I'm accustomed to when eating out. But there's something warm and comforting about coming to Mona's. Maybe it's because it's one of THE places to eat in the town my ancestors settled in after coming to the country from Europe. Maybe it's just nostalgia because I've been eating here for so long. I used to always, ALWAYS order their "ravs" with meat sauce. It was one of my favorite things to eat as a kid for many, many years. I used to love their meat sauce, but now that I follow a pescetarian diet, I no longer order any of the things I used to from here. Sadly, the Bernardi restaurants are sorely lacking in the area of vegetarian fare. There's probably NOTHING to eat here if you're a vegetarian, unless you like pasta with marinara sauce. Even with that, it's not nutritionally balanced for a vegetarian and thus not a good choice. But since I do eat fish, there is a decent selection, and the Broiled Cod is very good, as is the Broiled Walleye. The catfish has always been popular with my family, but I think the fried chicken is their favorite. The bread and butter is always fresh and tasty. Service is usually very attentive. Because it's so popular and there isn't much else in Toluca, certain weekends (i.e. Labor Day) can have a pretty long wait, so I'd recommend to put your name in well before you want to eat and go walk around the carnival for a while. If I'm able to visit Toluca next weekend for the Labor Day festivities, I'll probably be eating here at some point. You can get by easily at under $10 per person with pasta or chicken, but for fish or steak, be prepared to pay $11-$20. Oh, and their house salad dressing? It'll always have a special place in my heart (or taste buds).
(3)Missy M.
This by far is my favorite restaurant along with the similar caponi's down the street. Their pasta is amazing along with their fried chicken. I was disappointed when they changed their homemade sausage due to government regulations. They offer Ala cart and family style meals at fair prices. When I fly home to central Illinois I make sure that I pay them a visit.
(5)Cheryl K.
I move back and forth from Central IL to Phoenix, AZ and I enjoy stopping @ Mona's when it fits in my schedule when I'm in IL. I ALWAYS have a few bottles of Mona's Italian salad dressing @ home. Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, chicken breast and Mona's. You don't find those type of restaurants in AZ...but we do have some pretty tasty Mexican spots! Mona's is a place where Mom, Dad and I would travel from Streator to enjoy a Saturday evening dinner, a going away party for me from the Streator Kroger gang in 1976, or just a great place to meet up with friends from Central IL. As a food broker, the kitchen is spotless...!
(5)Stacie O.
Excellent Italian food with warm bread! Service was quick and the Parmesan special was perfect. Highly recommended
(5)Maria B.
This is a local "hot spot". Its really the only game in the area (say 30 miles or so). I was staying nearby and yelped for somewhere to eat, this place came up. To be fair, right down the street is another similar place owned by the same family now, and while this is a review of only one, from what I understand they are very similar, so the "only game in town" holds. Originally owned by a man whose best friend opened up Capponnis down the street as competition, this place was once original Italian food. I heard stories from some of the locals, yes, I met many while here, about how it was when they were a child, the pasta was hand made in the restaurant, the chickens came from the local farms etc. Now its more processed food, and that's too bad. I had the dinner special, after consultation with the waitress, who was very nice. This was two pieces of fried chicken, on the bone (which I find hard), you can choose light or dark meat. I had light. One breast, one wing. I was disappointed it was not two breasts. This chicken was amazing. I have not had much fried chicken in my life, but this seemed terrific to me. The special came with: a small salad (iceberg with 2 baby carrots), I asked for dressing on the side, but it came on and there was ALOT of it, I was not able to eat it. The oil and vinegar is old style, not balsamic, perhaps not EVOO; bread (ok, but not homemade), butter packets, which were salted actually, a nice little surprise; choice of green beans, baked potato, spaghetti, I had the beans. Bad choice. In the breadbasket of American, I was served canned green beans. Weird. Just weird. A side of tortellini with red sauce. The sauce was good. The tortellini were frozen. The only thing on the plate I finished was the chicken, and I would have eaten a third piece if there was one. I ate at a table in the bar area, which was a wise move. The locals were out and I eventually joined them at the bar. So much fun. Great info about the area. Lots of advice on things to see on my drive across America. I would go back for the bar alone. So much fun. Lots of people in town for family reunions and the like, so that was fun. If I were to find myself back in the area I would come back, and order the fried chicken, but ask for 2 breasts. And I'd order only the chicken. I'd sit in the bar area again, hope for the locals to be "out" that night, and plan to join them after the chicken. (Their wine list is a lot of Diageo wines, which are nice ones usually, and they are at a reasonable price point.) 2 stars for the food, but 6 for the people, the environment, the town etc. Hence 4 star review. Know what you are coming for and to, and you will not be disappointed.
(4)