NOTRE HISTOIRE · DEPUIS 1943
Our History
Three families. More than eighty years. One much-loved address on Monmouth Street.
Mon Plaisir has been part of Covent Garden since 1943. Long known as London’s oldest family-run French restaurant, it has welcomed generations of neighbours, theatre-goers and visitors looking for a little of France in the heart of London.
1943 · The Viala family
Our story begins with David and Jean Viala, whose small French restaurant opened on Monmouth Street during the Second World War. The original dining room seated around thirty guests. Traditional cooking, an intimate setting and a distinctly French welcome gave the restaurant its character.
That first room remains at the heart of Mon Plaisir. Its scale and atmosphere recall a time when this corner of the West End was discovering the pleasures of a French bistro.
1972 · The Lhermitte years
Alain Lhermitte knew the restaurant from the dining-room floor. Having worked here as head waiter, he bought Mon Plaisir from the Viala family in 1972.
Over the following decades, the Lhermitte family expanded the restaurant from one dining room to four. Each acquired its own personality, brought together by familiar French dishes, long-serving staff and guests who returned year after year. Alain, Aline and their family made Mon Plaisir part of the lives of generations of Londoners.
The original front room, the French memorabilia and the celebrated bar from Lyon became part of that shared memory. A meal here could be a pre-theatre supper, a family celebration or simply the pleasure of returning to a favourite table.
2022 · A new custodian
In April 2022, restaurateur and designer Fabio Lauro acquired Mon Plaisir, beginning its third family chapter.
His decision came from a desire to protect a place that mattered. At a time when London was losing familiar restaurants, he wanted to help ensure that another much-loved institution could keep its doors open.
For Fabio, preserving Mon Plaisir means caring for the things people return for — its French cooking, its intimate rooms and the sense of welcome that has grown over decades — while giving the restaurant the attention it needs for the years ahead.
The ambition is to keep this history alive in everyday service, with tables laid, glasses filled and new memories made alongside the old.
La suite · The story continues
Today, Mon Plaisir continues to welcome guests at 19–21 Monmouth Street, in the heart of Seven Dials. Whether you have been coming for forty years or are visiting for the first time, you are part of its continuing story.