Most of the time, MoNa Restaurant is an exclusive “family kitchen” for the ultra-wealthy residents of the stunning MoNa tower. But at night, Chef Tristan Romain opens his kitchen to all who are looking to enjoy this delicious mix of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.
MoNa Restaurant feels like a hot little secret, a hidden oasis in the Saint Roman neighbourhood of Monaco. Even the front door of the restaurant, located on the ground floor of this new high-end residential building, inconspicuously looks the same as every other front door in the towering 22-story building.
Like the architectural marvel designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte in which it is located, the MoNa Restaurant is elegant and welcoming; “relaxed refinement” is how Interior Designer Rashid Rivani describes it. “The MoNa Residence site is rich, the architecture is marked. It therefore sets a common thread to develop the aesthetics of the restaurant,” says Rivani. “There is an artist that I adore, Daniel Buren, who left his mark on MoNa Residence with his stripes, sequences, and rhythms, with a predominantly green colour-code carried by the green marble of the Alps, one of my favourite colours.”
The restaurant appropriates these details firstly in the welcome space that has been designed in the spirit of an English pub. A green stained-glass window above the main bench seat commands the attention of all who arrive here, filtering natural light and bouncing reflections of infinite variations. It contributes to the creation of an atmosphere that is intimate and inviting.
Green Vert des Alpes marble features on the floors and benchtops, cocooning the restaurant in a luxurious warmth, while large bay windows and expansive glass make the room feel larger than what it is.
A terrace completes this oasis in the residential centre of Monaco.
“It’s a soothing character for visitors, and a familiar continuity for residents,” says Laurent Michaud, restaurant manager. “Carried by this atmosphere, residents come to the restaurant as if they were going to their own dining room. They are still at home without being in their residence. The nature of the dishes we offer retains this spirit, this conviviality, without ostentation, but which does not sacrifice anything in the refinement necessary for quality cuisine.”
It is Chef Tristan Romain’s mission to strike the right balance in his menu between familiarity and innovation; comfort and excitement.
“The challenge we have being a residence restaurant is that people can become bored with the menu. That’s why we have suggestions that change every week,” acknowledges Chef Romain. “We are starting to know our resident customers now and what their preferences are, so we try to satisfy them as best we can. We also do off-the-card dishes and get them the products that they like. We don’t do extravagance, but we try our best to satisfy them every day, because in addition to the restaurant we also have room service.”
Many dishes to share in the restaurant are served on wooden trays placed in the centre of the table. It encourages people to talk and interact as they take from the platter, and to try new things. Middle-eastern driven plates of pita, mezze, falafel, and bread baked on site daily harmoniously meet Mediterranean favourites like vitello tonnato, burrata with tomatoes, trofie al pesto, and penne arrabbiata, each dish intoxicatingly rich in flavour as the last.
Vegetables, fruits, spices and herbs are the chef’s preferred produce, his “signature” if he were to have one, which he prefers not to. But his philosophy, and love of vegan food, goes down well with the health-conscious clientele.
“Our signature here is not necessarily the dish, but the atmosphere that you find. Although the food is very good and vegetable-focussed, our signature is more that we try to create a moment, an atmosphere. We are a young, dynamic team and it is this overall experience that is the signature of MoNa.”
The bar marries excellent cocktails, like the signature gin, mint and elderflower, with freshly blended fruit juices, for a rounded dining experience.
New sustainable residence with quality services
MoNa Restaurant completes the high-end services on offer at the MoNa Residence, which also include indoor and outdoor pools, spa, cinema room, and a concierge partnership where anything is available upon request.
“Our objective is to give our residents who travel around the world and who have very high evaluation criteria the assurance of finding what they need, at any time, at home,” explains Aileen Fabre, commercial director of Immobilier Pastor. “With MoNa Restaurant, we are deepening our relationship with our guests, because there is nothing more convivial than offering and sharing a meal.”
MoNa Restaurant welcomes residents of MoNa Residence from 7am to 10:30pm. From midday, the restaurant also serves residents of the entire Michel Pastor Group real estate portfolio.
Then, from 7pm, the restaurant is open to everyone, by reservation. There’s even a delivery service with Delovery for people to enjoy MoNa Restaurant anywhere in Monaco.
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