I dont want to write this review but we are tired of wasting our time and money on food that's prepared by amatuer's. We ordered our meals that arrived tasteless and portions seemed small. A pizza too arrived with tons of cornmeal and that too seemed out of size. The crust was super dense and was sliced into real small slices. (Grown men eating kiddy sized pizza) My suggestion: Train a real pizza maker that knows how to make a pizza and slice it right. The unprofessional wait staff sits at the bar drinking wine in sweat pant pajama's. Real professional? Parking is on the main street. Near broken booze bottles. Our company won't be eating here anymore. Thanks for reading. read more

Monaco's is located a door or two down from the Curious Cat bookshop on Main Street. I'm not sure when it's heyday may have been, but it was built for crowds. You enter in to a main room with tables in the window and booths along the wall and across from the bar. There's another large room behind the bar with tables tucked away as though waiting for a party. The restrooms are in back down a wide hallway. I ordered a seafood dish that surprisingly came in a tomato broth, so it may be a question you want to ask. I also ordered a pizza for the next day which a) made my car smell fantastic and b) reheated really well for lunch. The waitresses were very patient and friendly. It can be a challenging getting parking outside, but it's frequently available on the other side of the street or in the public lot on the next block. read more

See all

Stopped here en route to Vermont, it's off Route 8 after it becomes. 2 lane road. It is very relaxed, not fancy at all, but not a combination pizzeria/restaurant setting. Everything was fresh, service was not rushed and I had the rigantoni with their famous meat sauce and its fame is well deserved! read more

Had veal parmigiana, horrible frozen veal? Patty with sauce that tasted like ragu bottled sauce. Small portions and was more like a TV dinner than "authentic" Italian food! read more

Excellent dinner! Ingredients were so fresh & delicious and the service is awesome! The most gracious employees here, you'll love it!

This place is a must for anyone seeking truly authentic Italian food around the Winsted area. After coming back from my Italy trip, I was craving Italian food and glad that I stopped by Monaco's Ristorante. The pizza was a lot bigger than I had expected and we definitely needed some to-go boxes! read more

See all

Had such a wonderful experience here. The food is all homemade and divine. The owner and the servers were so charismatic and kind!! We will definitely be coming back read more

Hmm.. I came here with a group of 7, it's a good spot for groups. I had the chicken argudale (pictured, $20) and it was spectacular. My friend had the mannicoti, not great. Other friends had the pizza, pretty good and very well priced. Enough to split for 2-3. Service was a bit slow. Overall, rating this a 3.5 as my meal was good but some of the others weren't as great. General ambience is fine but nothing memorable. I also think it was a bit overpriced. read more

Monaco's Ristorante - Chicken Agrudale - Italian Near Me - Winsted, Connecticut

Monaco's Ristorante serves the best Italian cuisine in northern NW CT. Among the delights are excellent pizza, grilled salmon, lasagna, and ziti with meatballs. It's true Italian made by Italians, something seemingly more uncommon than in the past. You have to look all over creation to find their menu online, but they've never failed to please over 20+ years of visits. Yummy. read more

Had diner last Friday evening. Food is authentic Italian and was delicious. Plentiful portions. Service was also very good. Can't wait to return. read more

There must be a pasta shortage Place is a joke..... Chicken parm is like it's from McDonald's Bruschetta looks like throw up Picture is the amount of pasta they gave me...... read more

Monaco's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Winsted, Connecticut

Awesome food and service, Karen is a very beautiful, elegant and charming woman and the owner was simply amazing! My wife and I were looking for a really good Italian restaurant and we found it, the portions were big and delicious and we really enjoyed our experience and you will too. read more

Best fish around! Swordfish, salmon and calamari cooked to perfection. Homemade bread and tiramisu cannot be beaten. Will not disappoint ever! A must try! read more

Food price / quality rating 9.5. Authentic Italian dishes prepared lovingly. A salad of high quality greens and a side of pasta are included with your entree, along with fresh home-baked bread. I had Chicken Picatta that was served piping hot, and the wife had Meatball Parmesan. Both were excellent. The marinara sauce was homemade and very possibly the best I've ever eaten. Service was very satisfactory. We've eaten at 4 or 5 restaurants in Winstead, and Monaco"s is certainly the best in my opinion. read more

Love their party pizza. Great sauce and cheese. Friendly staff and HUGE pizza. Delish! read more

Didn't even have time to take a picture. This place has AMAZING and truly authentic Italian cuisine! 10/10 Feachers from this Creacher

The Monaco family, and I both opened business in Winsted in 1985. My wife, and I have dined there from that​ time on. The Monaco family are amongst several successful Winsted business men who migrated to Winsted from Frosilona, Italy, beginning at the turn of the last century. Michael Monaco, or one of his two sisters will greet you with a warm Italian accent indicative of their more recent arrival. By the way the food from traditional Italian to fish, steak, and potatoes, or *what ever is always prepaired with the utmost care. * Michael always reminded me. "If it's not on-a the menu, just-a ask. We make-a for you. read more

Monaco's Ristorante - Muro Lucano - Italian Near Me - Winsted, Connecticut

See all

Went on a Tuesday night and had a great meal. Had family in from out of state and they enjoyed the place and dinner very much. We had great friendly service from Abby. Very pleasant you lady. Food was awesome but the dessert was next level. I had the carrot cake with freshly made whipped cream. Delicious . We will be back read more

Great restaurant, great pizza. Definitely worth a stop. Stopped in for Tuesday Pasta night and was delighted in everything. Highly recommend

This is a hidden treasure of a restaurant! While on Main Street, it isn't until you actually order and taste the food, do you realize what a gem it is . . . From the calamari, to the fried mozzarella, to the bruschetta. OMG! How delicious; it is some of the finest flavors; all freshly made and prepared right there. To the homemade bread; just wonderful. My all time favorite is the scallop and shrimp casserole; the swordfish dishes are excellent, veal, salmon and steak--pastas are excellent. There isn't anything that we have had there that hasn't been prepared perfectly. This family owned, run and kitchen staffed restaurant is just wonderful--we have been there two weekend in a row and look forward to going back. read more

This is an authentic foodie find in a remote locale. The service is excellent. Been there twice now and had the same efficient and friendly bartender waitress. The bread is made in house and pasta puttanesca is a winner in my book! read more

DO NOT GO HERE- Absolute disgrace to Italian cuisine. The pasta portion was a joke, it looked like the scraped the bottom of the barrel and threw the sauce on top. My girlfriend's knife was dirty and the veal parm was probably double the price that I would have paid for, I don't even think it was real veal to be honest. Don't waste your money here go to Mario's instead. read more

Monaco's Ristorante - You call this a serving size of pasta with sauce thrown on top? - Italian Near Me - Winsted, Connecticut

See all

We love the food! The staff is great and we've never been disappointed! Try the lamb chops and you won't be disappointed or hungry. Try it you'll like it !! read more

We left Lime Rock late and were starving, and since we didn't want to take the chance that everything would be closed by the time we returned to Hartford we tried this little town. If I could give three and a half stars I would, I'm torn between 3 and 4. I enjoyed my pasta--I had the whole wheat special with tomatoes and spinach, and it was very good and a healthy option. The salad was very basic. I'm not familiar with this area, so I chose this place based on Yelp and even though it only had three reviews it was a good place. The house Merlot (I have no idea what it was) was better than I expected. read more

. Unbelievable. Been going there for 20 years and for the first time ordered a steak that was over cooked and sent it back and the chef refused to cook us anything else will never go back again. What is wrong with people been supporting that place for 20 years read more

The food here is DELICIOUS, always! They have economically priced specials on certain days of the week which makes everything reasonably priced. The red clam sauce is my favorite, I have been going here for years and not once have I ever had any bad experience. Locally owned and operated. Best Italian restaurant for miles. read more

We passed a dozen places from Lime Rock Park racetrack and sooo glad we found this one! We were there on a Wednesday and each tried a different spesialty pasta. I highly reccomend the putinesca and ameritriciana (sp?) Our son had the Alfredo which was good as well. Worth the drive. We are already planning a stop back next month when my husband is back in the area for work. read more

Monaco's Ristorante - Street view - Italian Near Me - Winsted, Connecticut

See all

Delicious and very clean inside but the only downfall is that it's super expensive and has small portions. The staff is so friendly and welcoming so that's definitely a plus. read more

Love their pizza, especially the party pizza, but DO NOT love their wait staff's attitude. Over the summer I came here often, and had a LOVELY girl serve me. (linda? lucia? lydia?) She seems to have left, and with her, left my business. Each time I have gone and had a different server, they've been rude, short with me, and taken AGES to bring me my meal. PLEASE work better on training your wait staff, or bring back wait staff who care! read more

Went there last night. Walked in no one sat us. A drunk at the bar said sit on down, so we sat ourselves. This was with the female owner and three servers looking on. We were given no bread and had to ask another server, who finally gave us some. The food was ok but not worth the price. I had Peppercorn Steak that only came with potatoes, no veggies. I am not a young person and I have dined around the world. This place was worth remembering not for good food or service but for mostly bad service. Wont go again. read more

We have been making Monaco's a weekend tradition this winter and have been pleasantly satisfied by our orders. We are a family of five and the menu gives each of us a multitude of options. There is a feeling of warmth at this family run business and we always feel very welcome when we open the doors. I would highly recommend Monaco's to anyone seeking a dining experience in Winsted. read more

Don't let the small size or location of this restaurant fool you. It features Great prices, great food with fast & friendly service!

You cannot find Italian food in or around Winsted better than Monaco's! The food is so fresh and delicious. I love Caprese salad with the tomato, basil, mozzarella however I rarely order it from restaurants because the tomatoes are terrible. They're the light pink, hard, flavorless type usually. Not at Monaco's, the tomatoes look like they were just grown in a garden. Very ripe and red. The tiramisu is homemade and will knock your socks off. One time I ordered a party size pizza to go and when I called to place the order asked if they would mind bringing it out to the car because I had my 3 kids with me. The owner of Monaco's came out and hand delivered the pizza with a smile on her face! Warm, family friendly, amazing food. Definitely recommend if you are in North West, CT to stop in and give Monaco's a try! read more

Will never go again. Went in for dinner on the weekend as I read on yelp that supposedly it has the finest Italian in Winsted. It was decently packed but not necessary busy. We waited to be seated for 30 min as no one welcomed or even acknowledge us as 3 workers passed right by. Then an older lady came to us in a rude manner and told us to wait by the bar. We were then seated at the bar as they prepared our table, which was another 15min. Finally after sitting down, frustrated of the service and hungry, we looked through the menu as the waiter gave us our water, which was lukewarm. Out of frustration, I called over another waiter and asked for water and ice, which she brought out with bread as a starter. The bread was cold and stale. It was hard to chew and made me wonder how long the bread had been out for. I was really frustrated by this time, but since we had already ordered, we decided to stay. It can't' get anymore worse than this right? The food that we were so very anxious of, came out and of course was mediocre at its finest. Overall I was disappointed in their so called fine taste and most of all, their service. read more

Ew. We went here to eat when the Gilson was sold out and it was SO disappointing. I wish I took pictures. The "bruschetta" special had minced basil with giant chunks of inedible garlic and zero balsamic. They charged $25 for a shrimp and scallop pasta dish in which the seafood was so over cooked, I wouldn't be surprised if it has been prepared, frozen. Then microwaved...mmmm I love microwaved seafood...said no one ever. Barf. My husband got the chicken Parmesan which was equally gross. Never again. read more

Food was ok. Wait staff was ok. management was so rude, that we will never return... Find a restaurant that actually wants you there!

Long hailed as "the only decent place to eat in Winsted", Monaco's fine Italian cuisine can stand up to many that I have tasted in Boston's North End and beyond. My friends from out of town joined me on a Friday evening for dinner at Monacos and received very good service in a moderately full dining room. All the items we ordered were generously spiced and the portions were big enough to share but not too large that they were grotesque. We shared a plate of assorted bruschetta which boasted large (slightly too large) chunks of raw garlic with fresh tomato, zucchini and olives in three different varieties. I had an exceptional chicken Marsala that ws simple but elegant- not too saucy and lightly pan sauted rather than breaded and fried. I loved it. My companions had a decedent, golden brown veal chop and a delicious capaleni putenesca and we chared a spectacular side of broccoli rabe sauted with garlic and oil. The food was delicious all around, the atmosphere was cheerful and bustling, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even the wait staff. A special note, the hostess told us that her mother still bakes the fresh bread daily at 92 years old. I think it is worth dining there for that tidbit alone! If you are in the Northwest hills of CT and looking for a respectable, authentic Italian dinner- I'd chose Monaco's. read more

My experience at Monaco's was not the best, food was good, waiters are very friendly but management was very unprofessional and rude. Will not go there again. read more

I recently went for the pasta night which includes a choice of pasta dish, bread and salad. I chose the baked manicotti. I don't understand the "deal" of having bread included because it would have been included with a normal meal as well. The salad was fine. The manicotti was poor. I am always weary when I am told "watch it, the plate is very hot" good chefs know how to time and plate appropriately so their patrons don't burn their fingers or the roof of their mouth. There was way too much mozzarella baked on top. No true Italian dish has so much cheese on it that it over powers the dish. The manicotti shells seemed undercooked and had an unpleasant texture to them. I ended up just eating the ricotta inside. Frozen store bought is better than this. Service was pleasant but a bit slow even though it was not crowed. My friend had a pasta with sauce and it was fine. Will give it another shot sometime but nothing I am anxious to return to. read more

Monaco's is the go-to place (the only one!) for a decent meal in Winsted. They make some of the pasta (not all). The menu is predictable surf and turf with too much cheese; portions are a bit too large and too much $ - less for less would be better - but they have to run a business, and it's in a town with not a lot of other options. Nice service and accommodating kitchen, all in all. read more