Monello

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.

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.

Amazing. Simply amazing, really reasonably priced authentic Italian. Fresh, homemade pasta, great service, and the kiddo loved the pizza. We each got the cheese wheel pasta and had plenty of leftovers. We walked out cheese-drunk and happy!

While walking around Little Italy we decided to drop in for dinner. Nice roomy space . Welcoming staff; friendly and attentive waiter. The pasta was so fresh- our grandsons who we were concerned might not care for it really enjoyed it and their kids meal was a big portion and the price was reasonable. Tasty- cooked and seasoned well- very happy.

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.

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.

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.

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!

overall this place was average. Table was very sticky. The grilled octopus was my fav. It's a good amount for the price and was very flavorful. We were disappointed by the lasagna. Frozen lasagna tastes better tbh. The squid ink pasta was good as well.

Lester was an absolute gem! So hospitable and made my daughter's 21st extra special. The food and drinks were amazing.