THERE’S NO ARGUING THAT KATY’S LINES OF STRIP MALLS are firmly chain restaurant territory, a morass of Chik-fil-As and Corner Bakeries. And to the casual observer, Mona Fresh Italian Food doesn’t stand apart from that pack. That changes the moment the door opens to a line of tomato plants cultivated by chef-owner Sidney Degaine. The restaurant may center around a Chipotle-style assembly line, but the dining room is decorated with elegant wallpaper imported from France.

Mona is a study in contrasts. The inexpensive meals go from order to table in less than five minutes, but that’s only because the fresh pasta is rolled so blessedly thin that it cooks in one minute. Topping out at $13.85, the fettuccine dishes are a fraction of what they would have cost at Degaine’s last business, Montrose’s late, great Café Azur. But that’s mostly because of the self-service system—there’s little skimping on ingredients, from the homegrown micro-basil that diners clip onto their dishes themselves, to veggies from local farms.