Monello, San Diego CA

I’ve never done a review before but i’m gonna do one now. I feel like the only reason this place has 4/5 stars is strictly because of the wine which isn’t very convenient for me or my friends because we’re all underage. We went for my friends birthday and though the service was very good (our server was very sweet) the food was definitely not. First the appetizers look fancy but it definitely doesn’t taste it. Second the main course, 2 of my friends got basically a cheese pasta that did not live up to its fancy name (it was very bland). The birthday girl got the lasagna, she felt as if she’d had much better and they definitely lack flavor. I got the ravioli al tartufo which not only was bland but the texture inside was awful. Third and lastly comes the dessert. The birthday girl chose this restaurant because she wanted a cannoli for dessert and let me just say that I actually feel sooo bad because the cannolis were the most disappointing. The outside of it tasted stale, the crème on the inside lacked flavor and felt like u just ate old cream cheese.i’m so disappointed: (

Kevin-the waiter.
Didn't check on me once after food delivered. I would have bought a bottle of red if he'd had been available.
I had to ask for water. I had to ask for breadm I asked for a hot plate. Nope. But hey, the food IS really good!

Pasta was good quality and flavors were great.
The Monello sauce (red sauce pictured) said it had cream and smoked bacon in it. After ordering some to try with bread, it was clearly a meat sauce (Ragu as described on the menu). The servers confirmed it was the Monello. After much deliberation, I concluded this had to be the Ragu. It looked and tasted exactly like a meat sauce. I'll return the 5th star if someone confirms that it was indeed the Ragu.

The pasta I had here was probably the best pasta I’ve ever eaten. I got the special which was pasta tossed in the cheese wheel. My partner got the shrimp ravioli and they were both amazing. Highly recommend.

Fantastic meal, really enjoyed the whole experience. Cheese wheel pasta special was great and the lamb shank was super tender.

Update: second visit several months later was less impressive. Good but nothing to write home about. Prob won’t go back but still think it’s a decent spot in little Italy.

Went for dinner with high expectations, but honestly ended up being a little disappointed, their pasta menu is limited, and in my opinion overpriced for a pasta dish. I ordered the ravioli filled with shrimps and honestly they did not have a tasty strong shrimp flavor. We had a bottle of wine and we did not get a cooler for it on our table. Also they had some trouble with a fire heater next to us and it was a bit scary. The waiters seemed a bit stressed and we were a little pressured to pay our bill.

Overall, a pleasant dining experience. The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable. The house cocktails were refreshing and the 12 year Macallan was reasonably priced. We shared appetizers of 18 months aged Parma ham with caramelized figs, both very flavorful, and shaved cheese with warm house bread. Both were sufficient for four of us. I had the lamb Ragu with house taglitelle. The ratio of ragu to pasta could have been better; the pasta quantity could feed two people therefore, I had to search through the pasta to find the Ragu. My wife had the gluten-free penne with salmon in a pink vodka sauce. It tasted quite salty, which the thought was probably due to the salmon being smoked. A gluten-free chocolate cake with, supposedly, creme anglaise finished the meal. We also enjoyed a reasonably priced bottle of Montepulciano d'Abuzzo.

My hubby and i celebrated our 3rd anniversary last night here. The food was amazing, and the staff as well! Shout out to our waiter, i believe his name was matt! And the cheese wheel maker, i didnt catch his name, but he was awesome as well. Complimentary wine for the occasion ️ thank you so much! My trip here was well worth it ️

This place is amazing. I split the Ravioli Al Tartufo and Spaghetti Neri con Polipo. The food was incredible. The pasta was deliciously firm, not mushy like other places. Rich flavors and creamy sauce. The bread and EVOO was top notch.

An extraordinarily underwhelming experience, start to finish. We were seated right on time, but it took about 5 minutes to get waters at our table and another fifteen to put in our order for food. Our server did not introduce himself by name, so we weren’t really sure if he was even our server from the start. After getting our order in the food took about 45 minutes to get to our table, and we looked around the restaurants and saw a few tables with a similar issue. Drinks were not refilled, and after we finished eating we waited another 20 minutes for our server to deliver our check.

I honestly think the waitstaff needs basic training, and don’t want to blame them for poor management. Introducing yourself by name, updating your guests on when their food will be ready, and keeping drinks fresh should be automatic.

This was our first and unfortunately our last visit to Monello. Negative four stars.

This used to be my fav Italian spot, we got Christian as our waiter and the experience was bad, he called one of my female friends a mister, she has long hair, gorgeous feminine face, not sure if that was him trying to being flirty. He didn’t come to check on us after the he took our order, and he had the guts to come to our table and shove his computer thing in front of my face telling me the check was ready while I was eating and had a fork on my hand. He kept rushing us to pay the check, he didn’t ask about dessert or anything else. Not coming here again since it obvious the service is going downhill. Food was good as always.

This place was jumping tonight and the vibe was definitely cool and trendy. Extremely handsome wait staff was a treat to the eye! I parked the car and by the time I got to the table, my adult children had already ordered. I tasted what they'd ordered and got the cheese pasta to go since I was still full from lunch. Attentive and friendly wait staff and management. Expensive, but worth it for that special occasion. Generous portions! Great for date night or bring your friends. After note: I ate the pasta as soon as I got home lol. It was super good and the same generous portion size as they served at the table. Two thumbs up!

The products they use are great quality, service ok but the kitchen needs a lot of improvement. We experienced raw dishes, spaghetti cut in small pieces and no salt in other dishes. Maybe is tourist oriented and not quality.

This restaurant is fantastic! Went here for a work dinner and everything is exceptional. The staff is so friendly and efficient. The cheese wheel blew my mind! I had never seen that before and it was a very cool experience. My go to at Italian restaurants is the lasagna and theirs was probably the best I've ever had. Everyone was happy with their meal and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. The only critique would be to reconsider the side situation. I don't drink soda often, but decided to get one, but was a little disappointed it came in a can.

This restaurant used to be really yummy and one of my favorites in Little Italy. We went 2 months ago and we weren’t happy but I decided to give it another chance. I went for dinner today with my family and unfortunately we got disappointed again. The pasta had a bland flavor with no sauce or something special on it and overcooked. It felt like the tartufo pizza didn’t have any truffle on it: (. Not sure what happened but we won’t be back again. So sad to see that a lot of restaurants are not what they used to be.

Would do 2.5 stars if possible. Sadly, a very different experience from last time we ate here a few years ago when in town. Food tasted watered down. I had spaghetti carbonara which had no cheese I could detect and bacon was certainly precooked variety as it was chewy and flavorless. My wife had the ravioli with shrimp, which had a weak tasting sauce and bland filling. Neither dish was super hot. Server worked our area and outside, and we didn't see her between receiving the appetizer and the bill. Again, sadly no longer what it once was. Not worth the money now. Given other choices, we won't be back.

I like the food here, but this time it wasn't as great as it's normally. Several of us felt that our pasta dish was dry, as in not enough sauce was used. I ordered taglietelle with formaggi and it was missing some seasoning in additon to the small amount of sauce. The noodles were sticking in some parts. My husband got the same but with gnocchi and he had a lot of sauce. Our server didn't seem to be around and when we would ask for something it would take a long time and 1-2reminders for the item we asked for. 22 min for 1 refill on one drink. Yeah my sis in law timed her. We really shouldn't have to ask for refills or usual items needed to dine. She wasn't checking or asking if anything was needed. I was embarrassed as I was the one who raved about coming here and then to have bad service left a sour taste in our mouth.

Great food, atmosphere and prices not bad. Pasta is homemade and you can tell because it makes all the difference. Options for everyone, including those gluten-free, vegetarian, and even vegan. Most of the pastas are made with egg but they offer marinara pizza if you ask and you can add toppings.

Our group of 5 was not impressed. First off, it took ten minutes for the waiter to see us after we'd been seated. We know because after being passed by without a hello a few times we started timing it. Things picked up with the bread and mini calzones appetizers. The mixed drinks and wine were good as well.

But then our entrees came and we were all disappointed. Two of us ordered the Carbonara and agreed it was bland, dry, lacking pepper and flavor. Another ordered the squid ink pasta which is visually striking but merely okay. A fishy taste was to be expected but it didn't do much beyond that. The best dish was the cheese wheel pasta. It changes weekly but when we went it was shell pasta, bacon bits and a white cream sauce tossed in a wheel of parmigiano reggiano which is then incorporated into the dish. That dish was good. But not enough to make us come back.