Seafood Over Linguine. Had no taste at all. Though it was nice sitting outside the food was bland

What a nice find. A cute little restaurant with some outside patio seating. We made reservations for a Friday evening. Upon arrival, we were seated promptly. We sat outside which was very comfortable. After our menus were brought to the table, the server brought us a little plate of cheese and toasted bread which was delicious. We also received a baked of fresh warm bread and butter. There was olive oil on the table for dipping too. After placing our order, our server brought a really nice size salad for us to share. I really enjoyed the freshness of the salad and the dressing on it. For the main meal, I had the chicken oreganato. It was prepared very nicely and served alongside some vegetables and potato croquettes. I really enjoyed the entire dish. Server was very nice and attentive. The restaurant is small so I do recommend you make reservations. We will most definitely be back! read more

We had our wedding here on 2/22/18 and they were awesome!! The owner and his wife are so nice and welcoming. They let us set up the upstairs room the night before. It felt like the cozy, intimate ceremony and dinner that we had envisioned. The food was amazing from the appetizers to the penne vodka, (Caesar salad dressing tasted homemade) to the lovely entrees. My wife and our guests were completely blown away by their kindness, their food quality, and excellent service. We will be dining here again very soon as well as ordering take out from their exceptional menu. Eat here! You won't regret it. Thank you again for helping make our special day a success! read more

Monica's Cafe Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

I ordered the Veal Parmesan and my wife ordered the Veal Saltimbuca. For apetizer we ordered the stuffed mushrooms and fried calamari. The veal Parmesan tasted like bad diner food the tomato sauce is straight out of the can! The veal Saltimbuca had very little taste or seasoning. The Stuffed mushrooms were a meatball on top or the mushroom with bad brown sauce. The wine by the glass was not good at all! We have come a few times in the past and this place has degraded significantly! We were sat upstairs and it was hard to get water or service. WE WILL NEVER COME BACK AGAIN! This place spoiled our night out. read more

I've been coming here for several years and I finally tried the Bracciole with Rigatoni.... it's outstanding! Tender rolled up beef with a delicious red sauce. I'll definitely be ordering that again, hopefully soon. Update, we ordered take out the last two weeks and they are a pleasure to deal with. They bring the food out to your car with a smile. Lovely people and delicious food. read more

We purchased a dinner and theater package through the Rhino Theatre, and were amazed by how generous the 4 courses were, plus bonus ice cream. The atmosphere is warm, inviting, and reminiscent of places in Little Italy. Service was impeccable, and the price was so reasonable. read more

Monica's Cafe Restaurant - Bruschetta - Italian Near Me - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

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Disappointing. I ordered chicken and the first bite had gristle. The rest of it was tough. The waiter seemed to forget about us once our food was delivered. Very expensive for mediocre food and service. read more

Im terrible at writing reviews so please excuse me. I had seen a Groupon for Monica's for a few weeks and decided to give it a try (as I was craving linguine and clams for the longest time). Pulled up and Monica's had very charming curb appeal (definitely a fine dining vibe), was seated promptly with my reservation, and waited on immediately by Mary, our friendly, knowledgeable and attentive server. She was made it a point to get to know my party, shake our hands, and engage in conversation without over welcoming her stay. The bus boy was also very attentive, friendly and made sure we were taken care of with bread, clean silverware, water, parm cheese, etc. Like I said previously, I ordered the linguine with white clam sauce and it was delicious. Full of clams still in shell, great and flavorful sauce. I personally like my linguine thicker and more al dente and the sauce to have actual chopped clams but I enjoyed it... actually I ate the whole thing and it's hard for me to finish a complete meal without a doggy bag. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and OUTSTANDING service at Monica's. I'll be back!! (Also I had used a Groupon with was a helpful option, which included alcohol). read more

Monica's Cafe Restaurant - "Vongole" Linguine with white clam sauce. - Italian Near Me - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

The atmosphere is perfect for a intimate date night, with the option of outside seating. This is a small restaurant so on the weekend is recommended you make reservations. The food here is very teasty and the perfect authentic Italian style dishes we all love. Restaurant staff are very friendly and accommodating to guest needs. read more

Monica's Cafe Restaurant - Outdoor seating is perfect for a warm afternoon. - Italian Near Me - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

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Wow is all I can say. When you have the best meal ever, at the best price with amazing service who can ask for more. It has become my go to restaurant. The hardest thing is deciding what to order. The Burrata Ravioli is spectacular. I couldn't believe the size of the lobster and the shrimp on the Mare Misto. The scallops were tender and the quantity unbelievable. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. You must make a reservation they alway are full. They do have a bar and the drink are just as good as the food. read more

On a recent first visit, I tried a pasta dish with seafood. The ingredients were nice but the food was totally bland. It seemed to lack seasoning of any kind...and I don't even like much seasoning. My companion had salmon and said that it was alright. We thought the dining experience was alright and expected more for the approximately $110 that we spent for 2 people. The drinks were alright too. Service was mostly fine. The bus boys need to be more considerate of the wait staff. The atmosphere was ok. It's a bit dated and small but not bad. We'll be trying other places before returning back here. We did however enjoy our dessert. read more

Returned again. Grilled veal chop with mushrooms and cherry peppers, in a rich demi-glace brown sauce, was truly outstanding at $28. Wife ordered homemade Raviolis with asparagus, also outstanding and unique. Our best visit yet. As a small restaurant, it got noisy once the tables filled up. $110 for 3 including tax, tip, and one round of house wine. No dessert or coffee. Wine is good value, while other drinks tend to be over-priced. Complimentary olive plate with provolone and olive oil continues. read more

Absolutely delicious! I had the blackened salmon and it was so flavorful and perfectly cooked! Our server was attentive and friendly. Will definitely be going back! read more

My wife and I have been to Monica's 3 times in the past month. I worked in the restaurant business for over 15 years. My grandparents owned a fine dining continental cuisine restaurant for over 25 years. The food at Monica's is well-presented and delicious. The atmosphere is like an old-style Italian restaurant almost like in someone's home. However, on our most recent visit (3rd) on a Friday Night at 7:30 after the rush, my wife, who has gluten-Celiac issues ordered the fish special (called Swai). She asked the waitress if there was flour on it for sauteeing because she couldn't eat it if it was. The waitress went and asked the chef and came back and told her they could make the fish special. She then told us that if it was busy the chef wouldn't be able to make it gluten free. Really??? The menu states in bold red italicized letters that they do "Gluten free and vegetarian entrees can be prepared upon your request". Under the "SPECIALS" section it stated: "TIME IS ESSENTIAL IN THE CAREFUL PREPARATION OF FINE FOODS. WE GRATEFULLY REQUEST AND APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. UPON REQUEST, WE WILL PREPARE YOUR INDIVIDUAL DIETARY NEEDS". Now, the menu mentions special dietary needs can be prepared. It doesn't say "because we're busy we can't prepare dishes with dietary needs". I suspect very few people would ask for such a dietary dish on a week night when it's slower or a busier night. All the chef would need to do is to either broil the fish, or if sauteed, if the sauce had flour, use arrowroot, almond flour, tapioca flour, or potato flour instead of the regular flour (made with wheat), or eliminate the gluten ingredient. My wife's Celiac issue is not highly allergic so the kitchen doesn't need to be shut down just to make her dinner. She just can't eat items that have wheat in them. It makes her sick. I was a 2nd line cook and manager in very high-paced restaurants and we made special dishes for dietary needs. When I heard that from the waitress, my blood boiled. I was pretty upset for the entire dinner. It was my birthday, and that's the last thing I wanted to hear at dinner. My wife wasn't as upset but obviously she was the next day. If you advertise you prepare gluten free and vegetarian entrees and will prepare according to individual dietary needs, then DO IT!!!! If you advertise and then say you can't do it when it gets busy, that's false advertising and consumer fraud. read more

Great service, friendly and informed servers, fresh food always prepared as you ask for it, this is a really cute little place, I've never had anything bad off the menu, you can never go wrong with just a simple soup and salad, but the actual meals are incredible. I appreciated the cleanliness. The only downfall to this place is just in relation to parking. It can be difficult certain times of the day. read more

Went here for a pre-show dinner last night and were very glad we had a reservation--it was packed! The parking lot was completely full. :( We were seated upstairs right away and even offered our choice of the two available tables. There was only one server and one busser for the entire floor (more than 10 tables) so service was rather slow, but they were hustling and handling it as well as anyone could. If they couldn't have increased staffing, I would have liked to see a manager going around touching tables and expediting drinks orders. Right away, we were given water, bread and cheese to snack on. Our drinks were on the table about fifteen minutes in. For appetizers, I had the minestrone soup and my date had the fried calamari, both excellent. They were hotter than hell, but I stuffed down that soup, it was so good. Next we had salad, which came with our meals--lightly dressed and very fresh. We ran out of time waiting for entrees and had to have them boxed, but they were good, too! Husband had veal and pasta, and I had cheese ravioli. Mmmmm. Giant ravioli. We thought we were good with a 6:30 reservation, but I would recommend 6:00 if you are heading to the Rhino Theatre's 8:00 performance, as many of our fellow diners were--many tables cleared out by 7:45. Be sure to tell them if you are! Our server was very apologetic that the meal took so long--she knew we were first-timers, so she didn't want to rush us. :) Overall, very good experience and we will definitely return! read more

What a treasure! If they knew how good Monica's is, many would willingly drive for an hour or more to get here! My husband found out about it on the web and treated my friend Marge and me to dinner hoping it would be nice. "Nice" is much too general a term to convey Monica's tasteful and comfortable decor, the lovely but unpretentious art on the walls, the gracious service.... The waitstaff never rushed us. We deliberately paced the feast to last and last. For more than three hours we basked in the pleasure of the place and of our friendship. The mellifluous music of Kenny G. enhanced our conversation while never competing with it, The shrimp in the shrimp cocktails were gigantic. Marge and Ernest ordered wine; my bourbon was served, to use a phrase from Luke's gospel, "full measure, pressed down and running over." No one asked what kind of dressing we wanted on the house salad. I find very few Italian restaurants that do. You are on your own to ask for it if you require something less than the best which they provide as the default. I have never had better dressing or fresher greens When the Prodigal Son returned home, his father ordered the fatted calf to celebrate. The three of us ordered the fatted calf too, although on the menu at Monica's it is called "osso bucco." I salivated throughout every slow and delicious bite, blithely unaware that at one point my husband caught me on camera ineptly moving strands of the pasta from the plate to my palate. What fun! Marge and I chose a berry sorbet for dessert. It was chugged full of whole berries, which gave it a thick texture and rich flavor, a far cry from the colored and flavored ice that some restaurants serve as sorbet. Ernest praised his lemon gelato. Portions were so generous that all three of us will dine at home tonight on last night's splendid left-overs. "Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." Isaiah 55:2 read more

Monica's Cafe Restaurant - Caught enjoying the fatted calf (a.k.a. "osso bucco") - Italian Near Me - Pompton Lakes, New Jersey

This was our first time at Monica's ! We moved to this area about 8 months ago and we are sorry we waited this long to go! Everything met our expectations from the friendly wait staff, to the bread, to the entree and the dessert! Even during covid restrictions, Monica's was extremely professional and delicious! We will be back again. Also shout out to Britney- she was a GREAT server! read more

Wife and I had dinner 1/26, she order shrimp, Marasole with Scallops and I had the veal. At first, seafood was under good (that should be a crime). We sent it back, after retire, scallops where over cooked and rubbery. Later when we got home both were ill and only common food we shared was scallops. I know kitchens on Saturdays are hell, but the kitchen needs to inspect their food, even more so when it's retired. Also the pitcher was cracked. The 2 star rating (I wanted to give 0) is only because the waitress tried hard and even she was frustrated. read more

I discovered Monica's offered outdoor dining so I made a reservation for 5:00 on a Saturday evening. Upon arrival we were the only diners having an early dinner. The outdoor seating was nicely set up. Our waitress was sweet & promptly described that evening's specials. My husband choose the lamb chop special & I ordered my favorite linguini with white clam sauce. Delicious warm bread & chunks of cheese were placed on the table. We shared the mozzarella frita to begin which was excellent. Then came freshly made salads with delicious dressing. My husband's lamb chops were excellent & my pasta was one of the best i've tasted. This place is a hidden gem. We lived in the area over 25 yrs & only discovered it when googling restaurants with outdoor dining. Definitely has become one of our favorite Italian restaurants in our area! read more

For years I've traveled to Pompton Lakes NJ and each time I've gone, Monica's has been a favorite. I truly look forward to eating there. Fabulous, flavorful and fun. read more

We had a surprise 60th Birthday party here for my girlfriend and it was superb. The upstairs room was perfect the food was great, the staff & owner were great! So friendly and attentive. Thanks so much for a wonderful experience and memory! read more

Monica's is delicious! I've NEVER been disappointed with a dish! Penne Vodka is my favorite!

My first time here. Food was good, I ordered the veal Marsala. It was tender and nice fresh mushrooms. It was a generous portion. The sauce was rich color brown, but lacked any flavor of Marsala wine. My son enjoyed his veal parm but that could have used a tad more cheese. The best dish was the pasta primavera, fresh vegs and delicious sauce. I will go back to try other dishes. read more

Ok... I will make this short. For the most part, this is a good place. The service is good and a diversified menu. I would not recommend the Mare Misto (seafood) dish. 4 of the 6 at our table ordered this dish and all agreed it was terrible. The seafood obviously was previously frozen and the lobster was rubbery and the entire dish had no flavor. After this experience, I would not recommend any seafood dish from them. read more

Recommended by good friends. Monica's is in my home town. First time visit was amazing. Had a fish and pasta dish to die for. Largest scallops I've ever had. Combined with shrimp and a lobster tail in pasta. Wait staff was excellent. You won't be disappointed l! Two thumbs up! read more

Have eaten here a couple of times and had a party catered. Every time the food is great and better than expected !!!!! Make reservations and eat like your mother made it for you !!!!!! read more

Just OK Italian food. Nice intimate atmosphere, kind of old school background music. Service was very good. I wish I had gotten the waitresses name. Her assistant was also super sweet and accommodating . Didn't smell like typical Italian restaurant food aroma when you walk in the door as most good Italian restaurants smell like-sort of caught and "off" smell. Husband had mussels appetizer which was huge and he loved it. Mussels were plump and well cooked, sauce was above average. I had minestrone soup which was good but I like a more brothy soup. This was almost saucy-too thick for me. Also huge portion. Shrimp and chicken over fettuccine was very good. Pomodoro sauce kind of heavy and sticky and sweet, not fresh like Pomodoro is supposed to be . The big let down was the sautéed broccoli Rabe which was very oily and apparently had pesto sauce put on it. Never had that flavor combo before and do not like it one bit. Broccoli Rabe is meant to be sautéed lightly with some garlic and maybe a little salt and pepper. Definitely not pesto sauce put on it. They had a BYO wine night which was nice if you wanted to save a little money. Not bad but not great. Too bad. This place really has potential though read more

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3.5 Stars. We came here last Friday night and had a pretty good experience. We ordered a carafe of their house Cabernet for $24 and it was decent. It was about 6 glasses, so that was a pretty good deal. We had the eggplant rollatini and fried mozzarella appetizers. I liked the fried mozzarella a lot. The eggplant was just okay- too breaded and kinda bland. The meals we ordered came with a large family style salad. I thought that was great. For the meals we ordered the steak and the salmon. My boyfriend got the steak medium rare and it came out basically well done, so he wasn't a huge fan. I liked the salmon, because the skin was nice and crispy. It also came a huge portion of broccoli rabe and rice. The service was good too. Overall, it was a good meal, but I probably wouldn't go back, because it was pretty expensive for what we got. read more

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What a disappointment. A friend had mentioned what a great place this is. Maybe "was" instead of is. Details: iced tea was soured, Calamari was tough and chewy. My entree, fusilli arribiata was tasty, but the pasta was not even close to al Dente, it was way undercooked. I thought this is an Italian restaurant. Shouldn't they know how to boil pasta? Service was poor, waitress was overworked/under qualified. She was the sole waitress for 9 tables. She did take my food back and apologized. Also, she offered to have it remade so I could take it home. Nah, I'm good. I guess you live and learn. In all fairness, I have a mild hangover and really just wanted good food and decent service. I am more than slightly cranky but no less fair. read more

If you haven't been to Monica's yet you are missing one of the best restaurants in the area. I was lucky to find it while living in Pompton Lakes. I am now almost a regular. Everything I've had there is excellent. I don't know why I'm telling you about this nice, quiet place I've found. If too many people find out about it I'll have a much harder time getting a table. But the people are nice and the food is great and they deserve to be praised for what they do. Since I will never order the same dish as my wife I have had the opportunity to try several different dishes, because she always gets the farfale with pesto(which is my favorite too). Actually I just finished my leftovers from last night and it was even better today, the kind of food that makes you want to eat until you can't fit anymore in your belly. And then eat your wife's leftovers too. Oh and they have GLUTEN FREE pasta for all the celiacs out there. They are very accommodating with food allergies, which really good restaurants can do when everything is fresh and made to order. Try this place you will not be disappointed read more

My family and I come here all the time. Each time it gets better! The drinks are always amazing along with the customer service. The dinners and apps are always cooked as you order and made so so fresh!! I love Monica's!! read more

Best restaurant in the area. Polite staff, excellent service and always delicious meals

This small and intimate Italian cafe offers a grown-up languorous meal. This is not a rush-through dinner, but a well paced experience. Perfect for a date night! Start off with a reasonably priced glass of wine, take your time to cruise the menu and discuss the options with the waitstaff. As a vegetarian, I request cooked-to-order meals, which are always created with wonderful results, including soups and pasta dishes. I'm a huge fan of the free touches, such as an olive plate to start, salad in between courses and the best crunchiest biscotti I've ever had. read more

As much as I love to eat anything, Italian is typically not the first thing I jump at when dining out. That being said, I was excited to come here with a group of friends for a nice dinner before ringing in the new year. I did my homework, previewed the menu, and read some reviews. All systems were go for out 8:45 seven top reservation. They start you with warm bread, olives, and crostini with provolone. We ordered a sampling of apps: Fried calamari was actually really good, not oily or limp like you find at so may places; a chilled seafood salad with calamari, shrimp, red onions and mussels, drizzled in oil and vinegar. A bit underseasoned, but the seafood in the salad was on point; fried mozzarella was solid, but nothing to make you dance for joy. They serve a nice salad for the table family style before the entrees arrive. The entree is where I encountered my issue: I ordered a medium-rare ribeye, and it came out well done. One of the guys we ate with ordered his medium, and it came out correct. My wife got a pesto pasta with sundried tomatoes and it was just ok. Put it this way: It could have been one of those Birds Eye bag pasta dinners and I wouldn't have known the difference. Desserts seemed to be a big hit, but at this point we were bombed. They ran out of red velvet cake (the one slice we were able to get was quite good). The ice cream dessert was well liked. I thought the service was very good if not great. When I told them about my ribeye, they offered to make another or something else, but when I told them it was too late to order a whole new dinner they took it off the bill. We also got some complimentary chocolate wine at the end of the meal, and that was really good! All in all, I'm not in any rush to go back. There are just too many other places where I know I will thoroughly enjoy the food. read more

*mozzarella fritta (yes! Loved this appetizer!!! It's like a huge, flat mozzarella stick but better haha. the cheese was soft and gooey, loved the bread on the cheese and it was perfectly fried; The salad below with the balsamic vinaigrette was delicious as well) *fusilli bolognese (the pasta was fresh and quite dense and chewy, not my favorite pasta and I don't think it held up well with the sauce; the bolognese sauce was great and super meaty, there was WAY too much sauce for the amount of pasta on the plate. I wish they would used a rigatoni or penne which can hold the sauce better) *lobster ravioli (this plate was legit!!! LOVED the pesto cream sauce, it has such clammy, seafoody flavor in the sauce and combined with the pesto.. OMG, so good!! super rich plate so you can really only eat so much of it; the lobster raviolis themselves are meaty and super good; shrimp is also on the plate if that's your thing; this dish was a special that night and it's totally worth ordering!!) *braciola (the beef was decent, nothing amazing; pasta itself was good, this plate was ok but lacking seasoning and flavor) This place is very cute. Like the small outdoor patio, it's cozy and homey. The service was super slow and it took forever for us to get water and have someone take our order. Food was decent but not amazing. Not sure if I would go back. read more

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Stopped in for lunch with a friend from work. Nice enough place; about 14 four-tops, linens, Italian music in the background. Service was quite good. Decor is a bit dated but still acceptable. Food was better than most Italian places that I have tried lately. Eggplant rollatini was very nice and came with an excellent marinara sauce. Side salads seemed ordinary with a bit too much onion. Bread was excellent. My friend had the pollo luciano which was very good and nicely plated. I had the risotto which I can only grade as good; not something that I would be in a rush to order again. I took some of the rice dish home. Looking carefully, It looks more like regular long grain rice rather than a traditional risotto type. But I could be wrong? The complimentary biscotti which came with the check were pretty bad. read more

Monica's is a great local place, It's usually very good. Once and a while somewhat inconsistent with taste, but I go back regularly. The desserts are always great, and the mussles are spot on each time. The owner is wonderful and wants to make sure each guest has a good experience. read more

Was pleasantly surprised by this little place near the train station in Pompton Lakes. It's a little tricky to get into and the parking lot has meters but don't let that discourage you. It is a quaint little place with very cute Italian decor. All of the food we had was delicious. We started with the house salad, then rigatoni bolognese, and I had the grilled salmon as an entree. I really liked the portions and everything tasted great. read more

I've eaten here twice now (two years between visits) and both times found it completely underwhelming. Our table agreed the calamari appetizer couldn't be described without a comparison to rubber bands. The salad for the table was completely pedestrian and the entrees I've had here (eggplant and the ravioli of the day) were again just mediocre at best. The service was great and the location is nice - quaint little Italian place - but the bottom line is that the food just wasn't that good. As others have pointed out, the place is not particularly cheap so there's really no excuse. Life is too short for mediocre Italian and you have plenty of other options in North Jersey. read more