It was my son birthday I took my family there the customer service was good but the food it was very salty read more

See all

Appetizer was good and perfect seasoning but not the entree. We got 2 pasta and 1 pizza. We left half of the pizza because it was too salty, all you taste is salt, salt and salt. I dont understand how could someone eat this? I might get a heart attack after eating this much salt. I kept drinking water but my taste bud is completely ruin. My toddler love pizza but can't even finish 1 bite. The place is nice and service is good but that all. I wouldn't come back because I don't want to pay for pricey inedible food. read more

This braised beef-stuffed gnocchi made for a delicious dinner! I had never had anything like it, and it was amazing. We were able to make a reservation in advance and the workers there were kind and checked on us often. They did take a while to bring us our check, but it was likely because they were quite busy (and we were a party of 10 eating dinner on a holiday). The ambiance leans towards more fine dining than casual, but it seemed like there were customers celebrating all types of occasions. The pastas were on average $27 each (excluding their cheese wheel pasta). read more

Monello - Gnocchi Ripieni Di Brasato with Formaggi sauce - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

We love this restaurant. Ambiance is beautiful and welcoming. It was prom night, also families there. Our waiter was sweet and helpful. Took our entire order and coursed it out so we could enjoy everything. Cocktails were good, made right. Calamari was good including sauces. I had insanely tasty mushroom tortellini, and we shared a prosciutto fig pizza. Wow!! The shaved parm made it beautiful and sooo good. Their crust is just right, not too thick or thin. Their cheese wheel was interesting but we didn't try that dish. Nice atmosphere. Can't wait to go back. read more

See all

If you're looking for the best cheese wheel pasta, monello in little italy is the spot. the patio is super cozy and the food is authentic

Came here for a date night... cute little restaurant but I will say the tables & chairs are a little flimsy. Our table kept moving as we were trying to eat which was a little annoying. BUT lasagna was AMAZING! So was the pane (we almost ordered two lol). Not sure I'd get the gnocchi again though. read more

Monello - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

Food was decent, service was top notched, and the cute ambience rounded everything together. Wished flavors were more pronounced, but that's up to personal preference. read more

Monello - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

Spaghetti Carbonara was great. Our waiter was knowledgeable and very attentive, unfortunately I can't remember his name. Definitely recommend if you're in the area. read more

See all

Lovely restaurant, hard to find parking in Little Italy. Finally made reservations in advance to try the best of Little Italy in SD. As a pasta lover, was very excited. Is this the best of Little Italy? Hope not. It took a while to get water upon seating. Otherwise good service. Pasta wheel is no big deal, rather it dries out your pasta. Calamari: 10/10. Light & not greasy Caesar salad: 7/10 Bread: 7/10 need butter Pizza: 9/10 Carbonara: 2/10 very dry Spaghetti meatballs: 7/10 Bolognese: 7/10 Overall disappointing but glad we tried it. read more

See all

Yesterday we were craving pizza, so we ordered from this pizzeria on DoorDash. We're aware that it's hard to match the quality of Italian pizza in the U.S., but the pizza we had yesterday was truly below average. We felt very sick all night, with stomach pain and cramps, and we only ate two slices. The pizza was really bad, and we requested a refund. read more

we loved James! he was so awesome with his recommendations and we loved the food and ambience thanks to him for real.

The food was AMAZING, I got the gnocchi and it was a slight butternut squash flavor -- everyone else at my table enjoyed their meals as well! The service was amazing and the drinks were delicious and a little strong! It is definitely a great date night out spot near the heart of little Italy! read more

Monello - Gnocchi - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

So pretty good, but the overall experience was a bit flawed given the location, price and other reviews. Our server was also the bartender so it took a while before anyone too our order. Of course this is not the servers fault. I got the shrimp spaghetti with cream sauce. While it tastes pretty good, I felt I got cheated by getting chopped up pieces of shrimp rather than a whole shrimp. I would expect a full shrimp for $26 pasta. The ambience was great and menu was varied for date night for sure. Not sure I would return. read more

Really wonderful happy hour deals - grabbed a Pinot Grigio and the Penne Ragu, absolutely delicious! read more

Monello - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

Fantastic food and fantastic service. I've been here a few times and it never disappoints. Our server, Kristina, was awesome and gave us the best recommendations. 10/10 recommend read more

Showed up for happy hour as they have a pretty good HH menu. Since I was there early it wasn't busy and was seated right away. I ordered the margherita pizza (no cheese lactose intolerant), penne ragu pasta and the Hugo spritz drink. ALL were really good! Even the pizza with no cheese lol. I really appreciate them accommodating my allergy. Pizza has a nice thin crust, but a good taste. The penne ragu was so good! But that is to be expected as it's the same chef/kitchen that does the pasta for Bencotto. The drink..... Wow. The peach puree was PRESENT! it tastes soooooo good! Def coming back for that and try out the other drink I was eyeing which was the Madero. Can't go wrong with any choice as the flavors are savory and present. read more

See all

Beautiful local restaurant in Little Italy of San Diego! It was about 15 minutes walking distance from my hotel near downtown. I booked a reservation with my team for a party of 4 at 6:30 pm on a Wednesday night through OpenTable for reservations. We decided to eat outside on their patio since it was serene evening with breeze and sun that faced the waterfront. The restaurant has heaters that you can have turned on to fend off the cold. Our server was super helpful in providing us their favorites and recommendations. I know this restaurant was good since I had trouble narrowing down what I exactly wanted. I ordered the norita to drink- nonalcoholic that was lime lemonade and agave. Refreshing with a great mix of sweet and sour, but I was not expecting the salty rim that slapped my taste buds. Our group ordered the calamari to share, and it was so crispy, light, not too oily, and seasoned well and paired well with their tartar sauce. My colleagues decided to make their own pasta, but I ordered the ravioli di gamberi or stuffed ravioli with ricotta and shrimp. We were content and happy with the portions of our dishes and it was very filling. My dish had a beautiful presentation of color and great flavors of cheese and shrimp with a decadent delicate shrimp bisque. We ended the night with a surprise birthday celebration in which the place gave us a free desert of tiramisu! Absolutely loved the customer service since they recalled my special note in the reservation and I didn't have to remind them. They're on top of it!! The tiramisu was to die for!! Texture so fluffy like a marshmallow with deep rich chocolate flavor. Loved this place and would definitely come again! read more

See all

I've been eating here for years. They have some of the best Italian dishes I've ever had. My very Italian father is rather difficult to please and he absolutely loves this place. Their pasta is so fresh and they let my father order off menu (all he ever wants is ravioli with the spiciest sauce he can find). excellent wine list as well. And top is all off, when my dad complimented how comfortable the chairs were and I asked where they got them, the manager sent me the link so I could order one myself so my dad could have a comfortable chair to sit in at my place! Truly above and beyond! read more

I had a great time with my fiancé at Monello. We made same day reservations for an early friday night dinner. After finding parking we walked in and were quickly seated. The ambiance inside is cool, with plenty of lighting and an industrial feel. We shared the calamari, carbonara pasta and margarita pizza with sausage. this was plenty of food for 2 people and brought a few slices home. read more

Monello - calamari - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

One of the first reservations for lunch at 11:30am with a friend from out of state. Excellent service and ambience. Christina provided good service. The lemon cello spritz was nice and refreshing. The homemade pane with olive oil was good. It just lacked pepper and balsamic vinegar. When I asked, it was immediately provided. My water cup was never empty, which is greatly appreciated on a hot San Diego summer day. For the main courses, the recommended cheese wheel pasta was superbly delicious. On the other hand the spaghetti neri con polipo was a bit salty and lacking in visual seafood. I did not enjoy the sauce or presentation. I prefer the squid ink pasta at Bencotto next door. The redeeming part of the meal was the espresso martini tiramisu. I would definitely come back for that. read more

See all

The restaurant is modern and can accommodate big groups. Depending on when you go, this place can get pretty loud. We had to wait a bit for our waitress to take our order, since it was a busy time when we got there. We ordered the Margherita pizza and the pappardelle pasta. They were both delicious and light, highly recommend eating here for good Italian food. read more

Monello - Margherita Pizza - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

A very intimate setting for a night out with family, friends, or even a date. Seated very quickly as I had made a reservation earlier in the week. Friendly staff providing superb, quick service. Restaurant had a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, pasta entrees, pizza, appetizers, and specialty dishes. My friends and I opted for their Spaghetti Neri Con Polipo, Lasagna Monello, Tortelloni Al Tartufo, and Pecorino Cheese Wheel Pasta. All the pasta were adente and delicious. My two favorites were the Tortelloni Al Tartufo and Pecorino Cheese Wheel Pasta. The Pecorino Cheese Wheel Pasta was slightly bland at first, but the parmigiano that the server offered for our pastas elevated the flavors. Tortelloni Al Tartufo, on other hand, was a burst of flavors of the mushrooms, truffle, and cheese. They, even, do birthdays by offering us a lemon sorbet with a biscuit. Very pleasant experience here. Just be ready to spend around 30mins to find parking. Besides that, definitely recommend this establishment in Little Italy of Downtown San Diego! read more

See all

Delicious food, welcoming staff and service, good ambiance! I ordered the tortelloni al tartufo and it was so creamy and delicious. I would definitely recommend. read more

Monello - Tortelloni al tartufo - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

Good food. Good service. Nice happy hour. I will be back. I want to try the cheese wheel. I got delicious pasta from their happy hour menu. I recommend this place. read more

The food was good, disappointed the pasta in cheese wheel isn't tableside. Seems like it should be and I expected it. The support staff was really good, however probably the worst server I've had in a long time. Slow, huge periods of time where I didn't see him, asked for pepper took forever but the busser or server support guy got it for me came back before the server did. Zero personality just truly an order taker. Really really bad. Takes a lot for me to say that publicly as I was a server myself many moons ago and a restaurant manager for longer. I'd probably drop his name if he'd bothered to share it. I still tipped 18% which is extremely low to me. I start at 30 usually. I threw the busser $10 as that's all the cash I had because he's the one who really deserved it. I'd go back but if that guy walked up again I'd bail. read more

Absolutely amazing. Great price, service, and delicious food. The ambiance is great for date night or work meals. I went at night with coworkers and it was awesome. Had many of their appetizers and the portions were decent. I'd say each dish is shareable between 3 to maybe 4 people. If you order apps, then the entree is definitely sharable as well. We all had leftovers. read more

See all

I found this restaurant on the Seed Oil Scout app when searching for Italian restaurants in little Italy. We came here on 4th of July for an early dinner (5pm). Waited only 10 minutes without a reservation. The hostess seating us was very sweet and friendly. Our waitress explained that their ingredients are imported from Italy and made some suggestions. We ordered bread, a Caesar salad, my husband got the spaghetti neri con polipo (squid ink pasta) and I got the gnocchi di zucca (butternut squash pasta, subbed for GF pasta). Everything was DELISH!! Some of the best pasta I've had. Our waitress was very helpful, super sweet and accommodating, answered all my questions promptly, checked on us multiple times and service was fast! It's a little noisy inside and it got busy quickly, then again it was 4th of July. Totally recommend this spot if you're looking for an authentic Italian meal. *Note- for those who care about cooking oils, they cook their pastas with olive oil (and I believe all prepared foods but I confirmed this for pastas since that's what we ordered). They use soybean oil in their deep fryer for fried items only. read more

Monello - Spaghetti Neri Con Polipo - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Overall delicious food and great service! We made a reservation for 7 on a weekend, and got seated pretty promptly. Our table got a lot of apps to share like the grilled octopus, burrata, and Margherita pizza and my favorite was the octopus! Super tender and flavorful char. I got the squid ink pasta, which also had a generous serving of octopus! The bisque cream sauce was delicious, but it left me wanting some freshness. I really liked my friend's arrabbiata sauce, and would get that next time. My friends who got the cheese wheel pasta said it was a lot and super cheesy, so quite hard to finish alone. read more

See all

My sis and I brought my mom here for her birthday. We came in for a late dinner (about 9pm) on a Thursday night and we got seated quickly. Service was nice. Our server often came by. Our water was always refilled. We tried (keep in mind they have fancier names but for the sake of making it easier for everyone): the calamari, lamb ragu pasta (but she asked for spaghetti), squid ink spaghetti w salmon, and the carbonara spaghetti. I really liked their calamari. Pastas (I tried a bit of each) and overall it was good. The carbonara one was a bit salty for my tastebuds probably from the bacon. My mom said the lamb ragu reminded her of tuna consistency (*palm to face) haha. Their tiramisu was really good. Thank you for the complimentary birthday dessert! Ambiance was nice. There was a dim lighting, decor was nice, restaurant was very clean. Great spot for dates or groups. read more

See all

Came here for dinner to celebrate my partner's birthday. Parking is horrendous as expected from Little Italy. We went here around 6pm on a weekday and there was no wait time. I choose this restaurant mostly for the cheese wheel experience so we opted for the specialty one they have that night. Pink sauce pasta w/ asparagus & meatballs cheese wheel: I had expected that they would bring the cheese wheel to our table and provide the full experience, but that wasn't the case. Our server instead informed us that they would start soon in the front so you have to stand there and watch it. They pre-cook the pasta and then mix it in the cheese wheel. I found this a bit unsanitary since leftover pasta from previous batches remains on top, and they don't clean or scrape it off. Additionally, the presentation of the pasta itself was lacking.The sauce flavor is heavy, some of the asparagus was a little fibrous and the meatballs were super tiny which resulted in some dryness. Priced at $30, this was a little gimmicky. Margherita Pizza : This on the other hand was delish! They advertised that the dough goes through a 4 days special fermentation process! The pizza is thin and the crust is super crunchy! It wasn't soggy and surprisingly very light! Overall, I wasn't impressed with the quality for what I paid and it didn't live up to the hype. If I were to come back, I'd probably stick to their pizzas! read more

Monello - Cheese wheel (they do it in the front and not from your table) - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Came here with a bunch of folks that are also in town for a training. The servers were quick to come by and ask us if we needed some help with the menu. Before getting seated, they were super up front about the wait time and it was nice. We sat outside and it was a beautiful day. Definitely wonder what sitting inside would be like . Majority of the pictured plates were shareable with the table. All of it was delicious. Love the flavors from the pesto and the mushroom flat bread. The calamari had a beautiful light batter and didn't at all feel oily or soggy. My main dish was the lamb ragu pasta. There was definitely a lot of protein in the dish and fresh pasta was nice and chewy. However I'm not sure I'd order it again because the lamb was pretty gamey. Not my favorite but I'm sure others don't mind it as much as I do. Looking forward to returning the next time I'm in town to try another menu item. read more

See all

Food, service, and ambiance were great! I think it depends on what you get whether it's good or not. I got the spicy pizza and it was really good but it is a little spicy for sure. read more

Monello - Ragú (Gluten-Free) - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

One of the best authentic Italian meals I've had! The service was phenomenal and the food divine . It is a little on the loud side - as we were being seated I said "it's pretty loud in here" and the host offered to move us to a quieter area, nice corner table around the back. We started with drinks - the gin and pear purée was fantastic! Had the roll appetizer with prosciutto, followed by the "cheese wheel" special (watch the video), pizza and lasagna! Just amazing! read more

See all

walked in for a late lunch on a friday, we got seats on the patio. all staff were very nice, we ordered the squid ink pasta and a cheese wheel pasta. i would have gotten my default carbonara but a few reviews said it wasn't very good. cheese wheel pasta was pretty good, springy pasta with enough chew, in a cream sauce then mixed in a cheese wheel. gimmicky and would've tasted the same with the same amount of cheese sprinkled and mixed on top but it was good. squid ink pasta was also nicely al dente but i liked the cheese wheel more. read more

Monello - cheese wheel pasta - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

This spot does tend to get busy around dinner, so it's helpful to make a reservation! Loved that their outside patio was dog friendly! :) I ordered the spaghetti di zafferano con gamberi and while I didn't taste much saffron, the sauce was lovely. The pasta itself was very "al dente" which I actually enjoyed. I enjoyed the "tired eyes" cocktail as the espresso flavor was strong, but not too overwhelming. Overall, a great experience here! read more

Monello - spaghetti di zafferano con gamberi - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Decided to come here for dinner because we were craving some squid ink lobster pasta and the reviews looked promising. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. We ordered the spaghetti neri polipo (squid ink pasta with lobster sauce and octopus), spaghetti zafferano (with shrimp and prosecco cream sauce), and polipo alla griglia (grilled octopus). Both pastas were pretty mid and the noodles tasted undercooked. The grilled octopus was surprisingly very good though; it was the only dish we finished lol. read more

Monello - Spaghetti Neri Con Polipo (Squid Ink Pasta with lobster sauce and octopus) - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Monello was nice for a date night but we probably won't be back. We stopped in on a Friday night around 8 pm. We had to wait about 30 minutes for our reservation inside. Our waiter was great, nice guy from Ohio. Inside was crazy. It was pretty loud and seating was tight. While the food and drinks were good, it seemed overpriced. The cheese wheel pasta was the best! Two entrees, 1 app, 3 drinks and no dessert was just under $200 after tip. It was an experience and I'm glad we tried it. read more

See all

Great food! Great service! Great wine! I say at the bar and got full service and VIP treatment. Highly recommend. read more

Monello - Cheese wheel caciao e Pepe - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

omg such a yummy dinner i can't stop thinking about it!!! highly recommended by some friends and it didn't disappoint. we got both of the cheese wheel pastas to try from their december specials: cavatelli pesto in pecorino cheese wheel and creamy spaghetti with mushrooms in a smoked salmon sauce in the parmesan cheese wheel. The pesto pasta was so good and fresh! I really like all the fresh herbs in this and the pesto wasn't too oily. I definitely liked the spaghetti mushroom cheese wheel pasta a lot more because it was so creamy!! You can definitely taste the flavor of the cheese wheel pasta as theres chunks of the parmesan since they toss the pasta in the cheese wheel. Tiramisu was really good but wish there was more of the lady finger part and less cream. Ratios were kind of off. If you go to the bathroom, they have a huge display of their cheese wheels in the fridge in the hallway which was cool to see!! There seemed to only be one server for the entire restaurant (about 10-15 tables?) taking orders and checking in on everyone, which seemed very hectic for them, and then food runners for the food. Even with that I was surprised how timely our service was. Overall, ambiance was nice and definitely coming back since there's not that many restaurants in san diego that do cheese wheel pastas! read more

Monello - tiramisu - Italian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Every time I'm in San Diego, I make it a point to visit Monello. As a huge mushroom lover, I can't resist ordering the Tartufo pizza and the tortellini. The tortellini is rich and indulgent, so keep that in mind if you prefer lighter dishes. The pizza has a generous amount of cheese and plenty of flavor, a must-try for fellow mushroom fans. read more

See all