I grew up going to this restaurant ... mostly for special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Honestly, it hasn't changed much on the inside. Pretty much the same decor and paneling since... who knows when, but it sorta feels like home. The food is still great and the service is wonderful. We were a party of 5. I did think the price for a plate of pasta was a bit steep -- 2 people in the group ordered just the tortellini. Small was $17 and large was $18. For 4 meals (1 couple split), the total was $110+ (with tip); there were no drinks and no appetizers. But, I guess, as they say, these are the times we are living in. read more

Legendary Central Illinois Italian restaurant in a small town setting. Very comfortable and welcoming place that makes you want to come back. Friendly service and food quality is very good. Had Chicken Parmesan and wife had shrimp scampi and both were excellent and adequate potion size. Had been 10 years since we last visited as it is close to an hours drive but reminded us of why we need to come back. read more

Mona's Italian Foods - Shrimp scampi - Italian Near Me - Toluca, Illinois

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This restaurant is bright and clean. The service was great, friendly and efficient. Food was served hot and in a reasonable time. It was very good. I had catfish and my partner had a large combination of pasta with Italian sausages. read more

I hadn't been to Mona's for a couple decades and it was still fantastic! Great service and food. Honestly, the prices are not any higher than anywhere else and the food is always top notch quality! The whole catfish is large and delicious and all the pasta dishes were wonderful. I highly recommend getting the large pretzel for the table to share. The new generation of family members will share in the memories now for our special get togethers in the present and in the future. read more

Mona's Italian Foods - Whole catfish - Italian Near Me - Toluca, Illinois

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Very good Italian food, I had the lasagna, wife had mostaccioli , both very delicious. We went with friends and one ordered spaghetti and meatballs, however the waitress stated it only came with meat sauce. Huh? No meatballs? What? Not the end of the world, but.... ??? So, if you haven't been there, or in a while, be prepared if you order spaghetti, no meatballs available. Our waitress was very cordial and apologized for not having meatballs. Mona's has lots of pictures to look at, a nice bar, and decorated nicely. Prices are reasonable, but slightly high. I'll give it 4 stars for our meals, would give it 4.5 if meatballs were available. read more

An Italian American supper club classic. We'll drive an hour just for that pretzel and tortellini!!

Outstanding service & fried chicken. At a funeral today at the Benson American Legion for a Marine brother & for it being a difficult week, their service & food was great. Sure appreciated the young gal who not only served us, but also cleaned up like a true professional. Sorry I missed her name, working with Kevin & they did such a fine job. Semper Fi read more

Picked up Mona's to surprise my family an hour away. I was greeted by the owner with a smile & kindness! The food was delicious and the service was personable and quick!! read more

Haven't ate here lately but has always been really good. Hope to make it here soon. Live in Bloomington about 47 miles away Fried Chicken is my favorite! read more

This restaurant has been around for a long time and I for the life of me can't understand why. I have eaten there several times because my fiancé likes it. I have yet to have a meal that wasn't sub par. The steak I had on one visit was way overdone. The fried chicken on another visit was bland and tasteless. A little spice would go a long way. The last visit was chicken parmesan. The meat sauce was off and the meat in it was grainy and again poorly seasoned. I can't help but think it came straight from the jar. Three visits, three disappointing meals. Avoid this place if you can, it's definitely not worth the trip or the price. read more

Went last night and it was so fun! Highly recommend getting their pretzel. It's HUGE! Service was good and the entire restaurant felt like you were in an old Italian resturant in Italy! All the pasta that we ordered was great too! I get why everyone likes this place! Wish that they had tiramisu on their menu. You won't go home hungry from this place either. You can easily share an adult meal with two people. read more

Very nice restaurant that does a very nice thanksgiving dinner, which we ended up at. Both dine in and take away. Despite the local's belief (I'm basing this on demographics and graphics up along the road), covid and respiratory dieases are still out and about. The dining rooms were essentially unventilated. There was an outside door, but it was kept closed. Smart money got pick up. I got a heavy cold that I had to sleep for two days to beat. can I prove i got it there? no. Was it the most dangerous spot i was at over a 10 day trip? yes. Was it well ventilated even if there was not covid? no, 3 times the osha limit. They were mindless or ignorant, as was I. I will not go back again, and wish them ill. read more

Best fried chicken in the area. We don't care for the pasta sauce. Some of the decore could use updating.

The Place Mona's is a nice family type restaurant in Toluca. They have sister businesses in Pontiac, Washington and Dunlap Illinois. Mona's has a full bar and is a large restaurant with ample seating. The Menu Great Italian menu with gluten free offerings as well. The menu has a full spread of appetizers , sandwiches and entrees to numerous to mention. I'm partial to the fried chicken, Tortellini and spaghetti. Our chicken was excellent. I travelled the planet and if you want true tavern fried chicken this is one of the best in the Illinois Valley. The Service/Value/Experience Great value for the money. Our service was excellent. Always a nice dining experience.. read more

The food was good. Room was very cold. Our server came to our table with an attitude. She failed to tell us the nightly specials, after we overheard another server pleasantly descending them. read more

i will be 70 yrs old this New Year's Eve. I have been going to Mona's or Capponi's since I was 4 yrs old. I live in Naperville, so returning to Toluca is a punishment for me due to family circumstances. People of Toluca know of my family's trauma as my father dove off a diving board in Barrington, IL making him a quad. My poor mother would drop me off at a wonderful woman I called Aunt Blanche while my mom drove to Peoria to visit my dad at St Joseph's hospital. Memory recall is the townspeople of Toluca were kind and generous with their support and hearts. The finale of our weekly visit was dinner at Mona's on Saturday night. The imprint of Mona's has lasted this long in my life. Of all my favorite Italian places to eat in the Chicago metro area like, Sabatino's is indeed my goto place for dinner, but the family atmosphere at Mona's goes unchallenged and stays close in my heart for this very broken-hearted little boy read more

Awesome! Baked cod was the best I've eaten. We had a party of 8 and everyone enjoyed their meal. The bread is great. Live the onion rings too. read more

Great food nice place friendly people.some the best chicken around you leave full.used go there years ago same food specials are great Italian food is excellent will be back again. read more

Glorious old school Italian Restaurant a little off the beaten path in Toluca. Treat yourself to the giant pretzel - the name doesn't do it justice. It is served on a 14" pizza paddle. Amazing spaghetti and home style meatballs, fried chicken was golden, crisp and delicious. Treat yourself yourself to a taste of old world cooking at this gem of the Midwest. read more

All I can say is wow, this place is amazing. We started with the Mona's sausage bites, make sure you you order Mona's sauce it makes it. The entrees come with soup or salad, I ordered the salad, my guest ordered the tortilla soup. I ordered the fried chicken and ribs with a side of green beans and tortilina and spaghetti. My guest ordered the baked tortilinia, both were outstanding. I highly recommend this place to anyone, I will definitely be back. read more

Locals know how insanely great the food and service is here. I confess I have only had pasta dishes and family style chicken here over the many visits the past 20 years. It is a good 45 minutes from our house and it isn't exactly 'right off the highway' so for us, we only go when we set out to go, maybe twice a year, between diets. So when I go, I stick with what I want and know. I literally wonder aloud whenever someone orders beef or fish here, but by sight and smell alone, those look good, too. For non locals, a history of Family Style Chicken, which may or may not have been invented here but with the closing of some other venerable places in the Illinois Valley, Mona's is left standing as the king: In theory, large families would all order the same dish: fried chicken with fries, spaghetti and tortellini aka 'ravs'. It would be served on large platters and passed around for all to take. Yeah, but what if you don't dine as a family? So essentially you get your chicken, fries, and a mix of spaghetti and ravs in one dish. If you don't want the pasta, just order the chicken itself - fries are included. Unless you want to switch to onion rings which I recommend since theirs is among the best I know of. Oh, one more thing: literally right next door is Capponi's. Same owners, same food. Different hours, I think. If you go and Mona's is closed, maybe Capponis is open. My wife thinks Capponis is 'darker' inside so we go to Mona's pretty exclusively. I didn't see anything in the other reviews about why people go to one and not the other. Forget about asking a local - they act like you're nuts if you ask. One of the mysteries of life... read more

I've been eating here my entire life. I visit Toluca at least twice a year and, though Mona's is much different than the food in Chicagoland, there's something comforting about coming to Mona's. 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. However, now that I follow a pescetarian diet, I no longer order any of the things I used to from here--one of the fish dishes is my new "normal." Sadly, the Bernardi restaurants are sorely lacking in the area of vegetarian fare. PLUS: Mona's has the best bar in town! read more

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. read more

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? read more

Went on a Friday night it's been 40 years since I have been there still great customer service and great food. The service was great. I would recommend this to anyone. We really enjoyed our dinner that night. read more

Mona's is a wonderful long time community staple that my in-law family has dined at for decades. It has a nice down home country charm but is upscale for the area. We have also dinned at the sister location Capponi's on the next block but we wish that they had different menu options from one another so that we could more frequently patronize both establishments. I was very thankful that the chef is happy to make the meal perfect for you by making substitutions so therefore you don't always have to feel limited by the choices. I had the primavera pasta with the vodka sauce and had them make it spicy. My husband always enjoys the fettuccine Alfredo. The steak and chicken are also good. And the garlic bread! Enjoy! read more

Went with a large family party for Easter had reservations...we were put in a back room which they also used as a "catch all" for dirty dishes etc... Waitress was very miserable, unkind and not helpful. Very expensive for very very mediocre food. Will not be returning. read more

We came here in Dec. 2018 as per her wishes to celebrate my mom's life the night before her funeral. There were about two dozen of us and we were treated like royalty. I was sort of dreading the food, but this time it was how I remembered it, rich Italian comfort food. Service was wonderful and none of us had a bad thing to say. Glad to see they've refocused and happy to see they've gotten "it" back. read more

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! read more

I'm going to include both of them. Mona's and Capponi's are great restaurants. I have my favorite dishes there the Chicken Parmesan at Mona's. Great Fried Green beans for apps. It's nice when you get family style you get to take home and their pasta and chicken you should seek it out if you are in Toluca. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Service and food is good. Boss there runs a tight ship and always makes sure we are taken care of, if something ever was wrong, he made certain to fix it right away. read more

I hate to rate Mona's a 2 out of 5 stars, especially when this is coming from a former waitress and regular of over 21 years. Friday night, just beginning to get busy. Most of the wait staff is standing behind the drink station, just watching customers as they get escorted to their seats. I had a party of five, ready to eat and enjoy a classic Mona's meal. Our waitress was completely emotionless and showed no enthusiasm whatsoever in greeting us or taking our order. She never even told us her name or the dinner specials. How were we supposed to find out the specials when they're never even introduced to us? She stood in one area the entire time while taking our orders. She could've easily shuffled her way over to each one of us in order to hear our requests easier. This may sound petty, but when you're dining with 2 hard of hearing elderly people, it would be nice if the waitress could be considerate and move a little closer. Did we smell bad? Then, when the food arrived, our waitress passed our plates to us, over the other bodies sitting down. Once again, she did not walk our plates over to each individual and set it down in front of us. She simply waited for you to be the one to hold your arms out so she could pass the plate along to you. It is waitress etiquette to place the dish in front of each customer rather than hand it to them from the other side of the table. Meanwhile, as we were eating, she never asked how we were doing or if we needed anything. When she made mistakes there was no "sorry" or "I'll get that fixed for you." On a positive note, the food was delicious as always. I ordered the baked ravioli and it was very good, just as I remembered it 21 years ago. I'm sorry to say this, but the bad service outweighed the delicious food. Mona's, train those young kids better. Customer service is the first thing you notice as you walk in, NOT the food. read more

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. read more

All it appears to be - great food, great atmosphere, great service. Spend time in the bar either (or both!) before and after your meal. A true classic. read more

The worst Italian food I have ever tried to eat in these United States. This is nothing like any Italian food I have ever eaten in Italy and I lived there for 17 years so I know Italian food. Please stop pretending this is Italian food. Yuk! The only reason I gave it one star is because giving it no stars is not an option. read more

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. read more

Great food! Definitely try the fried chicken! I know, you don't go to a family Italian restaurant for fried chicken. This one you do. Best fried chicken I've had! Great service. What a gem in the middle of corn fields!! I will probably drive up from St. Louis for the fried chicken. read more

I have been going here since i was in diapers, still to this day my favorite italian food ever. I would write more but I'm about to drive back down to Pontiac to grab some from one of their other locations called Barnardi's II. Definitely suggest it! read more