Amazing food and service. Great ambiance. Dinner service only but everything was so worth it. Will…read moreabsolutely be back

Mare E Monti - Exceptional Authentic Italian & Seafood Pasta Spot in Worcester, MA…read more Mare E Monti is an exceptional Italian gem -- probably home to the best seafood pasta I've ever had. I was in town ahead of a half marathon near Hampton Beach on Sunday. After a long drive and a surprise call that my extended family was touring the East Coast nearby, we decided to meet halfway -- and Worcester made perfect sense. I booked a table for eight at 8 PM on Saturday. We miscounted our party, which led to about a 45-minute wait, but honestly, that just gave us more time to catch up. The interior strikes a lovely balance -- rustic yet modern, cozy yet romantic, and unmistakably Italian in feel. Starters We kicked off with two plates of Calamari Fritti -- classic native calamari, lightly fried and tossed with cherry peppers and a delicate butter sauce. Absolutely delicious; I had to restrain myself from finishing the whole plate. Complimentary garlic bread with olive oil was also served, and I stopped myself at 2-3 slices to save room for the race-fueling carbs to come. For salad, I chose the Insalata Casalinga -- crisp field greens, grape tomatoes, julienne carrots, cucumbers, red onion, and imported olives in a light vinaigrette. Simple, fresh, and highly recommended. The Main Event The real reason I chose Mare E Monti was simple: carb loading. I went with the Pasta con Cozze e Fagioli -- sautéed mussels in a garlic white wine sauce with diced tomatoes and cannellini beans, tossed with linguine. It was everything I'd hoped for: flavorful yet light, satisfying without being heavy. The mussels were tender, the beans added substance, and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Others at the table tried the Ravioli di Aragosta (lobster ravioli) on my recommendation. I snagged a bite -- and it was heavenly. Rich, delicate, and beautifully balanced. Final Thoughts Dinner here was the perfect pre-race meal -- nourishing without weighing me down. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, the service attentive, and the food consistently excellent. Even parking was simple; I found easy street parking just around the corner (though valet is also available). Oh, and the next morning? I ran a personal best in my half marathon -- just over 1 hour and 20 minutes. I'd like to think the perfect plate of pasta helped fuel that finish. All in all, Mare E Monti is a must-visit for anyone craving authentic Italian cuisine and standout seafood pasta in the Worcester area. I'll absolutely be back next time I'm in Massachusetts. Last visited: October 4, 2025

Hands down one of the best places to eat in Worcester. You need to call for a spot and must get on…read morecall to do so. Freshly made pasta, great wine selection. Sparse, rotating menu that varies weekly. I think I couldn't make this at home--a test for a place being worth the bill--so it's worth the price. It certainly felt authentically Italian. Service was great. It's a tight ship but they make it work. Ambiance was energetic being around the public market but the food is good enough that you can dress up. Wonderful date night/foodie spot. A few bar seats so definitely a partner or friend at max. Not a place to bring kids as it's dine in. Teenagers can walk around of course if you're having a couples night.

I usually take reviews of Italian restaurants very lightly in Massachusetts because if you use a…read morelarge restaurant review site to find suggested Italian restaurants in most cities, Buca de Beppo and Olive Garden usually make their filthy little way into the top 10, eroding all my trust in that site. (... and humanity) Case in point, most of the Italian dishes being reviewed by diners in cities like Worcester as 'very authentic' are fairly foreign to actual restaurants in Italy. There is TRUE Italian food and American Italian food (classic 'red sauce' joints) I will never besmirch a good classic red sauce joint like Dan Tanas, Rao's or even some of the Federal Hill joints. There is a place in the culinary pantheon for amazing spaghetti meatballs and veal parm ... however 'authentic Italian' they are not. What we got at Pasta Mani is TRUE Italian. In fact, we ate here not more than 2 weeks after coming back from Italy and I can honestly say that we enjoyed our meal here (from a taste perspective) more than many of the restaurants in Italy we ate at. (One with a Michelin star!) This chef's philosophy here is one embraced in Italy ... simple, fresh, cooked with care. The reason tourists go to Italy and geek out over the food is because we've grown up eating Italian food here which is good ... but not made with the same level of passion. Eating a dish of spaghetti carbonara in Italy vs. the US is like listening to the Beatles for the first time on vinyl, in mono! It's hard to find a chef with the knowledge and respect for the ingredients that are displayed here. The servers are knowledgeable about the menu. She was not afraid to make recommendations. She knew the dish's ingredients as well as the chef ... and she was as friendly as could be. The accompanying beer and wines matched the menu perfectly and also were mostly Italian. The menu offers not a lot of choices ... but there is something for everyone. It's not heavy on meat ... but nor are menus in Italy. Maybe a reason why folks over there are not often over 6 feet tall or 200 lbs. vs. many Americans whose 4 major food groups are bacon, burgers, chicken nuggets and occasionally lobster rolls. We had the octopus, which was done perfectly ... the flavors were spot on and the chef clearly knew taste profiles as well as technique. Watermelon and octopus! Who knew? He did. We had the peach pesto cavatelli pasta and the pasta Amatricana with pancetta. Both were amazing ... the favors combined so effortlessly but perfectly. Red pepper flakes, pine nuts, grease from the bacon, tomatoes. It was all just so ... great! All the pasta was perfectly homemade ... and available for purchase as takeaway. Before we knew it, we were regrettably too full for dessert. The chef came out of the kitchen, where 80's and punk music was blasting, and you could watch the cooking happen, to greet us. He had worked in some of Seattle's better Italian restaurants and apparently learned a thing or two. If he had said he worked in Napoli, Sorrento or Rome for many years, we'd have believed it! The only thing we weren't in love with was the actual 'food hall' setup which felt a bit industrial for our liking. But, it was oddly cool and comfortable in a Momofuku type of way. This chef and his team deserve a restaurant. 5 seats and a chef's table are too small for the talent level. This was one of the best Italian meals I've had outside Italy or NYC. In Worcester, near a ballpark ... go figure. We also noticed that everything in the 'restaurant' was spotlessly clean ... and I mean spotless! We'll be back for sure. Places like this that don't serve a fried brick of chicken smothered in cream sauce and melted cheese and call it Italian are few and far between in Central Massachusetts. A great vibe, a great staff, a great meal! If ya know ... ya know.

Amazing restaurant, the chef hails directly from Florence and has extensive experience in cooking…read moreFlorentine cooking. His rabbit and wild boar pepperedelle are heavenly

An authentic Italian experience, briugh to Bloomberg NJ. Their selection of boar, rabbit and wines…read moreis exceptional. But ultimately, what truly won us iver is their world famous carbonara. And Garo is very friendly!

Ordered a buffalo chicken pizza and chicken parm with a side salad. Best buffalo chicken pizza I've…read moreever had, full of flavor not drenched in buffalo sauce and chicken was crispy. My boys ate all of my chicken parm but it smelled delicious, I will be ordering again soon.

Wonderful waiter, Joey made my meal to order. We weren't sure about this place because the ratings…read moreweren't very good, but as I reviewed them, I saw they were from years ago. Don't be fooled! Our food was fantastic! The restaurant was a typical restaurant nothing fancy but just darn good food and great service.

There is valet parking in a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant, which was nice on a cold winter…read moreevening. The lot is smallish, but from past experience there's usually no problem finding parking on Shrewsbury street. The ambience is fine, quite pleasant actually. The drinks menu is very creative and the drinks we ordered were very good. The restaurant offers a good wine list, with typical restaurant markups. The calamari appetizer was fine, nothing exceptional, but our food (lobster mac & cheese and lobster risotto) was superb, the best we've had for quite some time. Service was excellent, attentive but not overbearing. It was interesting to note that our waitress, who was also the bartender, after bringing water and before taking our drinks order became temporarily very busy with a group that came and sat at the bar. This was noticed and another waiter came to take our drinks order. Prices are not atypical for the area and certainly not bad for the quality of the food and service. And our check came with a couple of complimentary glasses of prosecco; we had asked the waitress to take our picture, having mentioned that this was our wedding anniversary.

Service was pleasant and efficient . The food was not good at all. Bruschetta crostini were soggy…read moreand over seasoned with balsamic vinegar. Vodka sauce was inedible with mushy pasta. Find another restaurant.

Went here for dinner last night, this place is absolutely excellent. We were blown away with how…read moregood the food and drinks were. We live in the area and this is our first time dining in, we ordered the pistachio pizza, pepperoni pizza and the rigatoni. They all were EXCELLENT - some of the best pasta and pizza i've had in a while. Better than some restaurants in the north end!! The atmosphere was very laid back and the inside is beautiful with those big windows. Our waitress was excellent as well, the food came very fast and she was very attentive. We can't wait to come back and bring our family!

I lived in Worcester for three years and somehow never made it to this place despite hearing good…read morethings about it constantly. We finally stopped in during a recent trip visiting some friends. They have a pretty extensive drink menu which I appreciate. I ordered the monky business and I have to admit, I was disappointed in it. It just wasn't that enjoyable. Don't think I didn't wash down every single last drop in there. It certainly got the job done in the intoxicating department. The service was great and the food was wonderful. To start, we ordered the arancini which were delicious. Crispy exterior and creamy interior with a nice savory bite. We ordered the due modi pizza with sliced potato, cape cod potato chips, mozzarella, provolone, scallion, garlic oil. This was DELICIOUS. I love the local flare with the cape cod chips however I don't recall there being any actual chips on that pizza. Maybe the cocktail and subsequent beers I consumed got to me. A friend ordered the vegano which was also really really good. Overall, it was a great experience and would definitely return

Coming from NYC, going to a dive bar was common for a New Yorker. When searching for a place to…read moredrink and eat, Vincent's came up with high reviews especially for their meatball sandwich. The bar was in a more secluded area but we didn't mind. When we walked in at 9:45pm on a Sunday night, I didn't expect to feel... unwelcomed? Perhaps we were the only Asian (and only minority there) and everyone else was Caucasian. Definitely a lot of pauses and stares. The bar was full and no one seemed to acknowledge us. We walked right in and walked right out.

Best establishment ever. The food, music, drinks and clientele are outstanding. Can't wait to go…read moreback.

we go once a month. Best food ever !! we're going again tonight !!…read moreOnce the manager gave us a slice of Baked Alaska it doesn't get any better than that. my all-time favorite is pork chop to die for.!!

I've been eating At La scholar for 20 years.And I know they changed hands several times. The…read moresausage Antipasto.l is definitely not the same. It was disappointing. Chicken pasta pesto not enough pesto. Meatballs in linguine, Meatballs were a little bit dry. , Pasta was broken up into little pieces , which is an italian , no , no. Tell the chef not to break the pasta, leave it whole. Sad we need the new owners back.....

We went to Dino's in Worcester to celebrate my birthday. Our waitress Melissa was excellent! My…read moredaughter ordered a bottle of Chianti, which was excellent. We started off with the assorted appetizer plate , which was excellent! We also ordered clam casino and it was great. I had the veal Parmesan with penne, which was excellent. My mom and my wife had shrimp scampi, which was out of this world. My daughter had the gnocchi Sorrento, which was amazing. My grandkids had chicken fingers with fries. For dessert we finished up with spumoni. I can't say enough how great this restaurant really is. This is the second time in a month that I have had dinner here. I will be back to test their pizza soon, so stay tuned Dino's is amazing.

I have been looking to try Dino's for a while now based on a recommendation from a friend. I was…read moregoing to a holy cross lacrosse game so decided to try it out. I ordered the clams casino appetizer they could have been hot instead of warm.... and after discussing 2 options with our server she strongly s the veal saltambucca ..... very different from any saltambucca I've ever had.....a tomato sauce base we got there at 4:30 on a Friday and it was pretty crowded service was kinda slow.Maybe I just didn't order the right thing

I used to like it here. I would get the Prosecco seafood dish and some homemade butter with bread…read moreand it was great. I have had that probably 8 times total. The last 2 were awful. Frozen separated butter, reused sauces with too much salt, reheated seafood and veggies tossed into the meal that were raw. All this for $30 a plate. Not sure what happened but the quality has collapsed. To be fair my wife's tortellini were fine. Not cost effective but fine.

The food here is so good and the ambience was great! We had a reservation for lunch at 1 and there…read morewas plenty of seating. They also have a large parking lot which was a must for me driving from out of town! The calamari was good and I really enjoyed my turkey club sandwich. The bread was delicious! I also got the fries and it was so good! Salty and yummy. The portion sizes were great and I left really full.