Best Italian restaurant in all of NJ, and not only that, it has great service. Ran by real Italians, and has the best dishes. The best is the Osso Buco, it is a must if it's your first time there. the ambience is great, and very lively. I can go on and on about this place. It's a must try if you live in less than an hour away from it. Overall: 9.4/10. Overall on the Yelp scale: 5/5. HIGHLY recommended! read more

IL Monello - Osso Buco - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

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Wonderful ambience. We ate outside on a warm summer night. The owner is legit old-school Italian and will likely visit with you and entertain a bit (especially if you have little children.) I learned 'Il Monello' means 'little rascal' in Italian. What a coincidence - I brought my two sons..! I had the calamari and veal parmigiana. Delizioso! Owner brought complimentary limoncello for dessert. Service was a bit slow, but very polite and welcoming. I would highly, highly recommend this place. Grazie Mille! read more

We just didn't like the service from the chef/owner. We know it was a busy night but we made a request to have appetizer served later and it just wasn't. We were felt to be a bother. The veal was great, so tender and the eggplant relation was also delicious but it was served room temperature because of the service mishap. The seafood pasta was a generous portion of all kinds of seafood. We ordered the beet and peach salad and it was canned beets and canned peaches. Ugh! The busboys were so great and on top of it!! We sat outside and it is a very nice setting. read more

The outdoor area is beautiful. Indoor is a bit cramped so outdoor sitting is essential to get a great experience. We started with a pasta to split a Burrata ravioli and Bolognese sauce delicious. The tuna was great the veal and lemon caper sauce with artichokes was tender and delicious. Now the bad part the service was horrible. We were the only people in the restaurant and three waiters literally just stood there looking at us we had to ask the menu three times we had to ask for the check three times which took over 20 minutes, Martino the owner who is a character and a great guy felt so bad that he bought us a round of drinks. I know he will probably never do this, but if he modernize his ordering system, a lot of this chaos could be avoided.FYI they now have wines by the bottle and glass so you don't need to go to liquor store anymore. read more

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My fiance and I came here for a quick lunch and left feeling like we just had an authentic meal at our Italian godfather's house! The hospitality here is beyond! The owner Martino is attentive to every detail in the dining experience, he was even the one that served us the complimentary shaved Parmesan cheese (see video), which was probably the best parm I've ever tried literally melts in your mouth! We were pleasantly surprised to see turbot (the BEST white flaky fish) on the menu as you rarely see it offered at restaurants. We gave our compliments to the owner for having it on menu but didn't order it and he brought us a complimentary turbot (also pictured) to enjoy anyway! If you want an authentic, detail-oriented, and delicious Italian meal then you NEED to eat here! We will be returning with friends and family for sure. read more

IL Monello - Turbot - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

Dishonest management, inedible food -- stay away. One of the worst dining experiences we've ever had. Martino gave us a "special deal" on a $95 bottle of wine, saying if we didn't like it, no worries, he'd get us another one. He charged us $65, and it turned out to be a $10 table wine served ice cold to hide its flaws. The food was just as bad: fishy calamari, overly spicy zucchini, and strange, heavy pairings. The waiters were kind, but management, led by Martino, was misleading and dishonest. We left $160 lighter, took our entrées home, and I won't even think about eating them -- they're going straight in the garbage. Stay away. read more

Owner is so friendly. staff is great. Food and service is so much better than cafe azzuro down the street read more

IL Monello - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

Cancelled my reservation to accommodate other people. Not honoring my advanced reservation for a birthday dinner is quite crummy especially since I come there for every dinner in NJ. No longer since they don't value my loyalty or their reservation process. read more

What a terrific find! Eight of us had an incredible dinner at Il Monello this Sat. night. The food was excellent. The service (with Ciro) was exceptional! We had a great table and could hear each other speak - and felt that the pricing was more reasonable than some other restaurants of this caliber in the area. What more could one ask for dinner in New York City? Cheers to the owner, Eddie Avdyli, for providing us a special evening at your restaurant. read more

Another fantastic meal at Il Monello. Martino has created a beautiful outdoor fjne dining experience. Great service and food. You are never rushed and can enjoy your meal, wine, and company. The pork chop parm special is a must if you happen to come by and it's included with the nightly special. The homemade pasta specials are also amazing! read more

Poor service, poor food. Phony Italian restautant, go elsewhere. Owner/chef doesn't understand people, i should have left. My lobster dish was bland, i hated it and just wanted to leave read more

Wonderful lunch experience!! This is the first time we've been to a restaurant in 2 years or since Covid started. We're still being careful despite being vaccinated. This restaurant has excellent, socially distanced patio seating! The patio is right on the street and nice for people-watching. We chose Il Monello because they are one of the few open on Mondays in this area and by the menu choices. My friend was visiting from Hawaii and said there are no good Italian restaurants and was craving some great Italian here in NJ. She was not disappointed!! The prices are spot on!! In all honesty, I read some reviews that said the service was rude, but I found the waiters to be very friendly!! They had a somewhat dry sense of humor that not everyone appreciates. I say lighten up and smile. Complimentary Starters: While browsing the menu, they brought over the 50lb Parmesan cheese wheel and sliced off a nice, long, thin piece for each of us, some salami, toasted Italian bread, and marinated zucchini. It was a delicious combination! Appetizers: We ordered the Spiedini Alla Romana. It's similar to Mozzarella en Carrozza but with anchovies and capers with a lemon wine sauce. If you're leery or say you don't like anchovies, don't worry. You don't see or taste them, but they enhance the saltiness. It was delicious! Main entrees: My daughter is a vegetarian, so there were limited options for her. The waiters weren't too sure about the soups having vegetarian broth, so she decided to get the Fettuccine Alfredo with sweet peas. She enjoyed it. I did taste it, and I thought it could have used a bit more salt, but I love salt. My friend had Linguine alle Vongole (linguine with clam sauce). There was a choice of red or white sauce, and she chose the white sauce. I've always wanted to try this dish but never had the courage to. Another delicious dish! My friend loved it, and it satisfied her Italian yearning! Finally, I had the Veal Parmigiana. OMG! It was the best and most tender veal I've ever had! I could have cut it with a fork, and I'm not kidding!!! The portion sizes were just right on all the entrees. The red sauce had nice chunks of garlic and was not too sweet. I brought my husband home the Rigatoni Bolognese with braised veal, lamb, and beef. He said the flavor was better than any he's had before, and the pasta was done perfectly. I also brought home the Short Rib Meatball appetizer, which was on the specials menu. I'll go back just for them alone!! I know I sound so excited with this review, but this restaurant was THAT good. Maybe not going to a restaurant in two years could have something to do with it, but the food is truly excellent as well as the service! read more

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After writing a terrific review we made reservations a few weeks later. My apologies for not sharing this experience sooner. We arrived on time and were seated outside since the weather was still warm. Within no time people started arriving (apparently without reservations) and they started shifting tables to accommodate the newcomers. Our table was shifted so much we found ourselves in a corner. They put the complimentary appetizer on the table and then ignored us. The waiter finally came to take our order and asked if he could bring another helping so we agreed. We were so close to the other tables we could not help hearing everyone's conversations. The service was terrible and the waiter had an attitude. When we got our check they added a charge for the second complimentary appetizer and said the second one was at a price. Perhaps if service was attentive we would have had the appetizers we ordered in a timely manner. All in all shame on Martino as reservations are made for a reason. We were terribly disappointed. read more

IL Monello - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

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I recently dined at Il Monello, and while the food was decent, I left feeling very disappointed. Upon arrival, we were seated and handed menus and we were informed it was a pricey prix fixe menu with no à la carte options. The fact that it was later at night on Christmas Eve left us no other options. Nothing on their website advertised this nor when I called to make the reservation was I notified about this special menu. While the dishes were creative, the lack of transparency about pricing soured the entire experience. My 12 year old son was able to order off the menu, but we were then charged $32 for spaghetti with marinara, causing me to complain to management at that time. I was trying to do everything in my power to avoid doing in front of my family on Christmas Eve. read more

Amazing evening for dinner and wonderful atmosphere. Many interesting guests and nice vibe. Pasta and sale divine. Owner is a super star and his son, Leo, is a class act. read more

Best veal parm I've ever had!! Didn't even need a knife. Huge portions. Even the side pasta was fantastic. Friendly owner who made us feel we were eating at a relative's house. We will be back! read more

Amazing gluten free accommodations. The staff and atmosphere is amazing and they are very generous. Give them patience their working hard but your food will come out amazing! A+ all around. read more

I ordered the Sliced artichoke hearts with herb butter, bacon and white wine sauce. The sauce was watery most likely because this tasteless sauce was defrosted. The jumbo shrimp, fresh tomatoes over pasta was also frozen. This menus does not list prices. The waiter makes up the prices as you order. The food is very overpriced and uneatable. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone looking forward to good cuisine. read more

Il Monello is my favorite Midtown East restaurant and one of my favorite NYC restaurants. The food and service are excellent! I love eating at the bar. Gabriella, the bar tender, is outstanding -- always attentive, service with a smile, super interesting conversation, not to mention her delicious cocktails. I'm a regular for good reason!! read more

What a wonderful, romantic place to enjoy dinner! If you go in the winter, there is a cosy fireplace that is REAL - I never see a real fireplace anymore! If you go in the warm weather, the place has a lovely outdoor patio in the front. The service is amazing - immediately after you sit, they are there to open wine, get water, & put out the bread & the great apps they give you for free! You get salami, a spicy zucchini saute, & some large shaving of cheese from a cheese wheel that is rolled out on a cart! The food is always amazing - if you love bolognese - get it! There are lots of specials - I find it hard to remember - wish they were written down. The caesar salad split is quite large & the dressing is homemade. We enjoyed the escargot app & it was prepared differently than I've ever had it before but it was yummy - had mushrooms in some kind of a cream sauce. The pastas are always a great choice along with the seafood & meat. They have some homemade pasta - the crab/lobster ravioli is excellent as well as the burrata one that i enjoyed recently. For dessert, you must get the creme brûlée cheesecake - it is outrageous! And to top off dessert, they wheel a cart out with white Sambuca, homemade black Sambuca, homemade grappa, & limonchello. What a great place! read more

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This is a RAVE review for Il Monello in Peapack NJ. I worked with Martino to plan a celebration for family member birthdays for 26 of us. My family raved about the whole experience. The food was delicious! The service was amazing. Henry was amazing. The care that Martino and his team put into our event is unmatched in my experience. Thank you Martino, Henry, Leo and the whole Il Monello team. You earned 5 stars plus. read more

Always amazing. I can write and write about this place. No one wants to read it. Just come here. It's an amazing experience. You will not find a better place where the staff truly cares about you. They do not rush you. It is an event, not a quick turn the table. We all need that not during this covid epidemic. Take your ur time. Have an amazing meal and go home full. read more

IL Monello - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

All previous 5 star reviews are right on the money. This place is terrific and probably my new favorite local Italian restaurant. First off the complimentary breads, smoked salami, table side parmesan and especially the marinated eggplant are worth the visit alone. For the meals we got the Ravioli Bolognese and Zuppa Di Clams. Both so fresh and flavorful. For desserts we got the rainbow sorbet and the chocolate lava cake. The lava cake was the only thing that we had that didn't blow us away but it was still decent. The service is what really made this a fine dining experience and not just a meal. All of the wait staff were so friendly and professional. There were like 5 or 6 guys all with a specific job to make our dining experience exceptional. Best restaurant service and overall experience I have had in years! read more

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The complimentary bread was decent, but the salami seemed like just quartered salami slices from a deli counter. The fried spicy zucchini was mushy and soggy... we each had one piece and that was it. We ordered the short rib meatballs (unimaginative and tough), the burrata ravioli with bolognese (decent) and the crab and lobster ravioli (pasta was undercooked, and unpleasant to chew). For our main dishes, we had the osso bucco with mushroom risotto (at the recommendation of the owner/server) and the veal nerone. The osso bucco fell apart nicely and was enjoyed. The sauce on the veal was overwhelming, to the point where the meat could have been chicken, pork, beef... also, the veggies were steamed and straight out of an 80s wedding catering hall. The mashed potatoes were the best part. It was underwhelming. We also had dessert (got it to go, because of the service, below). The crème brûlée cheesecake was... fine, but nothing particularly crème brûlée about it. The warm lava cake did not travel well, but was also lacking in chocolate flavor. The service started okay, but we waited for 45 minutes between when we were done eating our entrees for someone to notice that we were done, and then get us dessert menus. We asked for the check at the same time and it took another 15 minutes for the check. The outside seating was nice. They had a photographer taking new pictures and video for the website, which was cute at first, and then got annoying. Overall, I'm at a loss for how this is rated at a 4.4 on yelp or a 4.8 on google. I won't be eating here again--not worth the prices. read more

Food was excellent - hard to beat this Italian food. Sat outside with beautiful patio ambiance. Only service needs a bit improvement. But will definitely be back to try other dishes. read more

IL Monello - Veal Parmigiana...oops! So delicious - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

The atmosphere was quiet & peaceful! Food is delicious & plentiful. Service impeccable! Love the choice ( in good weather) to eat in or outside! read more

Amazing fresh Italian food and exceptional service. We love having date night here! Best Italian in the area. read more

IL Monello - Linguine Il Monello - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

The food is good but the admin / owner is not a nice man. I tried arranging a party at his restaurant and he lied and was very difficult to deal with and he lied and tried to double pricing that he had agreed on. There is a reason his restaurant is generally less than 50% capacity if that while Cafe Azzurro which is 500 yards away is difficult to get a reservation and both serve Italian food. It's too bad I would never set foot in this place again. read more

A favorite Italian restaurant - if you haven't been here yet, you're missing out! Highly recommend the risotto balls, homemade ravioli, and cannoli dessert. It's also relaxing eating outside on the patio and service is very friendly/ esp. to children. read more

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The prices are absent from the menu. I have been charged different prices for the same item several times. It appears they just make the price up when ordering. The shrimp and crab was frozen in the ravioli and the ravioli tasted like cardboard. The jumbo shrimp was frozen in the pasta dish. The person that took our order the last time claimed he was the chef. When I complained about the frozen shrimp and crab he told me to leave the restaurant. Being nasty is not recommended but it is lacking in respect for your patrons. read more

What a diamond of a restaurant! My colleagues and I came here for lunch and I could not be more impressed by the service, food, and warm hospitality! Martino (the owner) is an absolute pleasure - he offered us delicious red wine that he made himself, and he was so engaging and funny. Their outdoor dining is so nice, with music playing in the background and plenty of shade if you need to escape the direct sun. As soon as we sat down, they offered us the best cheese sliced fresh from the wheel, along with some starter plates of this delectable eggplant dish and cured meats. Such a nice touch before we even got our menus and really made our day. As if it could get any better, our main dishes were on point (pappardelle with shiitake mushrooms was superb). Can't wait to go back and enjoy the food and atmosphere again! read more

Came in for lunch and was a bit confused by the parking situation. Apparently you need to turn a little early and park through the back. The waitstaff was super friendly and seated us immediately. We were served some bread and side dishes which was pretty cool. We ordered the Sweet and Sour Calamari to start and it tasted kind of Asian which was interesting. I thought it was pretty tasty overall. The pasta was just okay, I felt that my dish had more chicken and artichoke and not enough pasta. The linguine vongolle was a little too lemony and not enough clam flavor. Overall, not a bad spot but I've also had way better pasta. The vibes are great and the owner is super nice as well. read more

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Hands down one of the most consistent restaurants I've ever been to! The owner/chef is amazing. He really makes you feel welcomed and is very honest about his food. The staff is on point and every course seems to have plenty of delicious options. read more

IL Monello - More than a veal parm! A work of art that tastes amazing. - Italian Near Me - Peapack, New Jersey

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We came here for a Valentine's Day dinner and it did not disappoint. Amazing food, great ambiance and the owner is great. Authentic Italian food from a sophisticated small business. read more

Wonderful evening - quiet outdoor space- so relaxing. We were very impressed with our salads and the presentation of all the dishes. Staff and chef were pleasant and the care that was taken to offer an enjoyable experience will have us returning. Veal parmigiana was the best we've had in a long time. Broccoli rabe was outstanding. Dessert was ricotta pistachio cake with delightful whipped cream. Can't say enough about that! Go and enjoy! read more

Excellent restaurant! High quality black tie service! The entire menu is excellent. Zupetta appetizer, outstanding! Veal Sorentino, veal so tender you can cut it with a fork! Owner said all organic veal and chicken from special provider in PA. Dessert was the Lemonchello Marscipone cake, outstanding. Service is impeccable!! You will need reservations weeks in advance, a very hot spot! Cozy, old house vibe for a quaint dinner setting. read more

Food and service was great! Wild Boar was a bit dry but still good. Steak was tender and done right! Seafood Salad was the best! I could have made that my main coarse. Love the smaller room by the fireplace! read more

Amazing food, amazing service! Great ambiance that reminds me of a wonderful dinner with family!

Il Monello in Peapack NJ is amazing! It is an old style, calm, comfortable and relaxing Mediterranean style restaurant in a cozy house with excellent food and service. I have been hosting group dinners of 25 to 30 friends there for the past 10 years and they have never let us down, a wonderful experience in every way :) Mark K. read more

what a great night! Not easy to satisfy 11 people all at once! we all enjoyed our fabulous dinners. and we certainly appreciated the excellent care from Martino and his sidekick! They made our evening extra special! Definitely we will all be back! read more