This restaurant has a wonderful atmosphere inside. We arrived as a party of five with no reservation on a Thursday night and they were able to seat us within ten minutes. Service was great, we had three people checking on us and clearing. We ate pasta, I had the orchiette and it was delicious. I think the marinara pastas my kids and husband had benefited from some extra salt. I started with a Cesear salad that was very creamy and good! The really impressive and unique part of the meal was the gelato. Arrived in a tall glass with layers of nuts and salted caramel. It was amazing! read more

il vecchio - The chocolate gelato with chocolate shavings, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. My kids LOVED it! - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

I came here for dinner with my cousin who's been here several times and loves it. We read the menu prior to arriving so I knew what I wanted. I ordered the lamb pappardelle and she ordered gnocchi osso bucco and both dinners were great. There was a lot of food on each plate and we felt each could serve two people. Our issue was with the service, which was extremely lacking. First off, the woman who sat us was really unfriendly. No greeting, no smile, just sat us and walked away. The menu was on the table which was so sticky that it was hard to peal it off. Maybe 15 minutes went by before we were ready to get up and go when a waiter came by and served us water. He asked what we wanted to order and my cousin, who was not in a good mood by now, asked me if I wanted a cocktail first. I asked for wine and she ordered prosecco. He took our order and maybe what felt like 10 minutes went by before we were served our drinks. Neither of us were happy. We finished our wonderful meals, gave a measly tip and left. It's hard to say if I'll be back because I loved my food. But I have very little patience for such unfriendly staff and poor service. The employees set the tone for a business and this group said "you're here bothering us". read more

The food is authentic and obviously made in house. Owner was present during our visit and checked in on us. Value wise the place can't be beat. The gelato desserts are absolutely five star and a must try! Beyond delicious like a little piece of heaven has been placed here on earth in this amazing gelato dessert. I had the cod... three stars as the pesto sauce was so much in comparison to the fish. I recommend asking for the sauce in the side so you can add it to your preference. I'm a sauce girl and always ask for extra sauce however my fish was swimming in sauce and the sauce overpowered the fish. The steak dinner was delicious and cooked to perfection! I ordered the olives and they were a perfect appetizer to compliment the bread and balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar is so good! We asked if we could buy it but the owner declined. I wish I knew the name as it was that good I would totally order it online if I could find it. Even if I had to order it by the gallon! It's just that good. Parking was kinda unique as you have to park in the lot for the tourist visiting center. Service was impeccable! read more

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This used to be my favorite restaurant in PG. What happened? Food is still very good, but not what it once was. Portion sizes and menu choices have shrunk a bit. The atmosphere was pleasant, but the table surface was very sticky. Service was lackluster. I just paid $24 (30 with tip) for a lunch serving of pasta with no salad, no bread. I won't be going back to Il Vecchio! read more

This is one of the most reviewed Yelp places for Monterey Italian food. It caught our attention being named after a bridge that we just saw in Italy. I must say that the dishes were authentic, similar to what we experienced in Italy. Service is friendly and accommodating. I had no issues making a reservation on a Saturday for dinner for a larger party. Ample seating is available. Decor is a bit eclectic but memorable. Seats on the floor and walls. Came here for my mom's bday it was was delightful! We loved the cauliflower and potatoes that we got as an appetizer. The eggplant Parmesan, seafood pasta and pizza were really good. The pizza has a thick, uniquely breaded crust that I enjoyed. Make sure you save room for dessert as the Tiramisu and specialty gelatos are definitely worth it! read more

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Our group ordered the rock cod, salmon, soup of the day (beef minestrone), farfalle, and orecchiette. All were amazing. Portions were huge, and I had a big box of leftovers. The only disappointment was the dry saffron risotto. We expected creamy, thick, and wet risotto. My sister (a sweetheart) did not complain and saved it with the lemon-butter sauce. The gelato was heavenly. Our favorites were the Matterhorn (chocolate perfection) and the Foresta (delicious berries mixed with vanilla gelato). Loved the hazelnuts in Umbria, but the gelato was too icy, not as creamy as the others. We'll come back soon for more pasta and gelato! read more

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What a great meal! Stopped here when in town and was starving. Most food was poorly rated and highly expensive in the area, il vecchio was neither of these two. Once stopping in we were able to be seated right away and the service was very quick, and the food was delicious. One thing I would say to fix - the salmon dish says it's paired with saffron risotto . This is not the case, it's just rice - not risotto. The soup of the day was split pea soup and it was just fantastic. Exactly how grandma use to make it ! read more

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It's a very cozy restaurant and good for friend gatherings (maybe smaller groups). Great service and amazing food! Their salad, pasta, and dessert all have almost perfect taste. We will definitely visit again when we are in Monterey next time! read more

Amazing vibe, food, and cocktails, would highly recommend and can't wait to come back and try more things on the menu. We had the fried artichoke and the arancini apps, both were innovative and delicious! We had the pappardelle ragu and pappardelle seafood pastas as entrees and they were amazing, I wish I had two stomachs so I could eat more. Cocktails were delicious and high quality too , staff were super friendly . read more

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delicious food. Great cocktails. Good service. My favorite restaurant We were there last night for New Year's Eve. The new ownership has really expanded the staff and menu. My partner ordered lasagne and it came in a very large offering with some deliciousness, although not much pasta that he could find. Two things...the restaurant at 5:00 (our usual time to dine there) is very cold so seeing the patrons all still in their winter coats while dining gives you a hint to layer up! Many times restaurants leave their doors open for the staff who are moving swiftly around and who are heated...not so the customers who are sitting....Also, cut the music! The chosen tunes and music were loud and incongruous with the usual great ambiance there. Also, if you are ordering gluten free pasta, ask for it to be cooked an extra 2 minutes...three times I have ordered it and it comes undercooked and actually crunchy. It is most probably timed for a very certain cooking time. When I take my pasta leftovers home and put them in the microwave, it is cooked a little more and tastes much better. Other than that (hopefully constructive criticism), the restaurant is really thriving, has opened up more daily servings, offers the great ambiance and food that we have come to expect from Il Vecchio....For now I won't be ordering gluten free pasta. read more

The restaurant has amazing pasta! The service is great the ambience is beautiful and the food is just fantastic. Prepare to be amazed!

this used to be my favorite Italian Restaurant. I dined there tonight expecting a great meal. WAS I WRONG!' !!' I had the worst Italian dinner ever!! How can one screw up Lasagna?!! They did!!! Their food was an insult to all the amazing Italian cooks on the Monterey Peninsula!! Never will I bother with them again...too many others, including my own, to enjoy the great cuisine of Italy. DON't waste your time or your money!!! read more

Wow, what a good find!! It's hard to find authentic Italian food but this place is so good. At our table we tried the Pork Shoulder, Three Cheese Rigstoni, and Orecchiette pasta! All were delicious and I couldn't stop eating despite the large portions. The sauces are incredible and the flavors have a lot of depth. I was even super impressed with their side salad! And don't worry, they bring out balsamic and bread while you're waiting for your food too! :) I also appreciated how attentive our servers were. They were paying close attention to when you finished one dish to bring out the other, but at the same time you felt like they were letting you take your time and they weren't rushing us. The timing was perfect and we never had to wait long for our food. All in all I was so impressed. It's pricey ($20-25ish per plate) but absolutely worth it! They pay attention to every detail with the food they serve you and it really pays off. You pay for quality here. I'll definitely be back whenever I return to Monterey! read more

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Took my daughter to eat. I asked for recommendations on my dinner and cocktail. Both were delicious. The cannelloni had a succulent meat sauce and it was not ground beef. They make their own meat mixture. The ambiance is enjoyable. The prices are good and range from $18-30. read more

il vecchio - Pasta Canelloni (Dinner), Mushroom Truffle Pasta (Dinner) - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

I made a Valentine's Day reservation and they called me 5 days before the reservation to cancel it. They then proceeded to charge my card for a no show despite cancelling the reservation on their end. I am very disappointed in this outcome and hope they make it right. read more

Absolutely the best Italian food I have had in a long time! Celebrated my daughter's graduation from CSUMB here. Our service was excellent! Get reservations as it gets packed. Wine list and drinks superior and the place was cute too! The private space in the back had views of the water. read more

il vecchio - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

Fantastic unassuming brunch spot. Literally across the street from a very (if not the most) popular breakfast spot, you're much better off going here with zero wait, good food, and good service. I believe they only recently started serving breakfast, as they were primarily a lunch/dinner spot, so I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was overall. Pinocchio pancake was a bargain. It was huge, thick, and delicious. When I'm in the area again I may have to get that for my entree as well. Much more than the gimmicky pinnichio ice cream cone nose would suggest. The toddler loved that it looked so fun and of course went straight to eating the ice cream cone. Nice that the eyes were banana slices for a touch of fruit. Ratatouille was bland, so I'd pass on ordering again. But the poached eggs and sweet cornbread muffin were good (the latter, especially with the sweet cream butter that accompanied the scone). Hubby ordered a frittata, which was fresh and gigantic. Blueberry cream scone was good. Super affordable, huge portions, friendly service, outdoor seating, takes reservations, private parking lot. It surprised us and ended up being our favorite meal of our trip. read more

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Food was amazing ! Best Tiramisu I have ever had. Staff was very attentive and hospitable . Owner Kelly Shatto has done an amazing job with this restaurant . Very cute and quaint . Will come back again for sure read more

il vecchio - Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

I come here almost every time I'm in the area because it's just that good. Over the years, the menu has changed from workers lunch to lunch menu, but it's always tasted great. They've added a brunch menu. Service could be better or faster, but it's okay, it's understandable. I love that this isn't your standard American Italian but real Italian. The lunch menu offers a variety. I had a chance to enjoy one of their salads recently and it was super good! (I'm not a salad person). Toddler friendly (but could use more toddler chairs) read more

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Delicious & cheap pasta. Generous portions (considering the price point), perfectly al dente, and well seasoned. Would come back if I was in the area, especially because it's so close to the aquarium read more

il vecchio - Pasta Farfalle Funghi (Lunch) - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

Such a great spot! The Owner was SO kind too. And the food was delicious. They had live music and the vibe was so good! The food was insane (like actually some of the best pasta) and they had a great deal on their house wine. Come here and eat if you have the chance! It's definitely worth it! read more

We were very excited about spending another Christmas Eve at Il Vecchio and invited close family members to join us. One of them has had an absolutely horrible year and we were looking forward to helping her end the year on a happy note. We drove 45 minutes in the rain to get there only to find a note on the door that they were closed due to a power outage that apparently had been underway since midday. Of course we understand that unavoidable things happen but they should have notified their customers in time to make other plans. We booked online so our contact information was available but no text, no call, no email. About 5 minutes after the time of our reservation it was suddenly canceled on the app. Uh, thanks but letting us know AFTER the time of our reservation was too late to avoid a ruined evening. Very disappointing and frankly embarrassing given that we organized the evening. read more

This place has long been on my list of destinations to visit in Monterey, and today we finally did it while zipping around on e-scooters. We locked them to a pole, and in we went. The restaurant wasn't busy at 7ish, and there's plenty of room and a good ambience. Our waiter was quick to take our order and fairly attentive. He had an Italian accent that added to the authentic feel of the place, and was kind enough to remove the soup that my wife didn't like from the bill. Our service experience was pretty positive, but let's get into the food. We came HUNGRY. I hate reviewing places when I'm starving because I'll usually just assault the food and not take the time to properly taste it. Today was different. We ordered two entrees, the aforementioned soup, and a dessert to share among my wife, my son, and myself. Oh, and a side of meatballs. I was very excited by the server's repeated reminders that their pasta is made fresh everyday. I am a sucker for fresh homemade pasta. My excitement was quickly tempered though. The soup of the day was a pumpkin soup. I'll admit I am not a member of the pumpkin spice brigade. My appreciation for pumpkin happens once a year with my mom's homemade pumpkin pie, made from real pumpkins she roasts herself, not that canned business. This soup was indeed pumpkin colored, but that's where the association ended. It was bland, and somewhat tainted by the bread and cheese placed in the middle of it. The bread turned to a soggy blob, adding nothing to the flavor. Even generous helpings of salt and pepper weren't able to save it. It was graciously taken away and credited. Because we were splitting two entrees with three people, we also ordered a side of meatballs. The side is two meatballs in a healthy portion of marinara. I believe it to be a beef and pork blend. The meatballs were hard. Really hard. They tasted like they'd been frozen and reheated. Since we already sent back the soup, I gutted it out and ate them, but I wish I hadn't. The flavor was... ok. They were just so hard and overdone. The spaghetti and carbonara came next. I confess I was excited about the carbonara. I wasn't bothered by the thick spaghetti style noodles instead of the linguine I had come expecting, but I was by the fact that they were undercooked. The pasta was so thick and stiff it caught me off guard. It was also very greasy. The spaghetti and meatballs had much more appropriately cooked pasta and a nice marinara, but it was brought down by those rock hard meatballs again. Our hunger drove us to finish both entrees, but it came with a healthy dose of regret later. Finally the tiramisu. We came here primarily for that. I didn't expect it to come in a soufflé dish, but I'm open to new presentations. Sadly, the lady fingers were mush. I did like the mascarpone part, but not much else. It was better than places that serve tiramisu shaped cake, but not much. Maybe we'll try it again in the future. Maybe not. Tonight wasn't great. read more

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Reading the reviews had me super excited to come since I'd been craving really good pasta for a long time. We came right when they opened and thankfully got seated right away. I noticed as more and more people started to pool in, the servers paid less attention to us, which is fine, but we waited so long to not only order but also to pay and leave as well. I'd understand if they were extremely busy, but for much of the time I saw servers standing off to the side having conversations. The food was also the most mediocre pasta I have ever tasted, I had to add so much salt and pepper to my meal to even bring out the flavor of anything in the dish. Sure, the portions are generous, but for $23.95 per dish to taste like oil and a hint of cheese ? I guess I was expecting a little more or understood the appeal that everybody else see's apparently lol read more

il vecchio - Three Three-Cheese Rigatoni & Mushroom Truffle Pasta - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

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Gnocchi was amazing !! Nice ambiance! Perfect spot for a romantic dinner. Reserve a table just in case. read more

il vecchio - Lamb Ragu d'Abruzzo Pasta (Dinner) Gnocchi Pasta (Dinner) - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

Ragu tastes like kraft Mac n cheese and they put blue cheese in the salad (it did not say it had blue cheese) which then resulted in pounds of throw up being put into their piping. read more

Great authentic Italian food with amazing cocktail and wine options! Came here for date night and will be back! read more

il vecchio - Great cocktail options! - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

This place was a solid spot in Monterey! I can't believe I forgot I came here 10 years ago and when we stepped foot into the restaurant, it brought back all these delicious memories. This place was rec'd to us by a local winery down in Carmel and they recommended us to make reservations. They were able to do same-day reservations and luckily, we had a chance to try their pastas! The ambiance itself was really romantic and it was a full house on a Friday night. I love that it is located right near all the other shops in Monterey, so it is easy to get around and wander about. I loved their pasta dishes and will definitely keep this in mind again when we make our way out here again. read more

Came here for the first time last night. Very busy and the overall place was lively and clean. Once seated, our friendly server came to the table and greeted us warmly. Ordered the vegan Ceasar, berries and burrata salad, two orders of meatballs, the Brie and apple flatbread, a side of seasonal veggies, and a tiramisu. The Ceasar was slightly warm, soggy, and flavorless. Perhaps a classic Ceasar dressing would be a nice option for those not wanting vegan fare. The berries and burrata was good and fresh--both salads were large enough to share! The meatballs had a very strange flavor--particularly the sauce. It tasted old and like canned tomatoes. The seasonal veg was almost completely carrots and red peppers. The flatbread lacked flavor and color on the crust. All of the dishes came out barely warm. The tiramisu was just OKAY. In the end, the server was excellent and the vibe nice. However, the pillows on the bench smelled something like cat urine. read more

Horrible service and forced 25% tip on us. We saw the owner apparently treating customers in very different ways, the one they are targeted would get extremely bad experiences. Food is also below average. read more

First time at Il Vecchio but hopefully not the last. My son has been a regular patron for years and since we were in the area he suggested that we try this wonderful Italian restaurant. We started the evening with a few starter dishes. They were all excellent but the beet salad and the burrata both stood out. I ordered the roasted cramini mushroom risotto and it definitely reminded me of some wonderful meals I have had in my trips to Italy. The chicken Marsala also stood out. Tiramisu was excellent and we also shared the Prinz an ice cream dish with balsamic and berries that was the perfect ending to a fabulous meal. Will definitely be back read more

Everything we ordered was delicious! We had the crab aranchini, lamb parppadelle pasta, rigatoni pasta, & dark chocolate cake with mascarpone. It was all absolutely delicious! The only bad thing was the service. It took our waiter well over 30 mins to get our drink order in & by that time we ordered everything since we were super hungry! read more

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Suggested by our hotel. Wonderful. Quiet, great selection, pleasant staff. Pumpkin risotto without the truffles and mushrooms made my day. Great espresso martini. read more

We were quoted a 20 minute wait, however we got in in less than 10 minutes and it was super busy. Our server, AK was super attentive and friendly! The bartender even went out of her way to bring us our drinks & she welcome us warmly. The appetizer of garlic cheese bread and arancini was delicious. The entres on the other hand, out of this world, I got the chicken cacio e pepe and my friend got the lamb pappardelle, both to die for. The drinks were strong but super good! 10/10, give AK a raise! read more

il vecchio - Italian Near Me - Pacific Grove, California

Very authentic, flavorful pasta dishes. Very friendly service, lovely stone wall interior with fireplace. Fresh seafood, great wine selection. read more

Amazing... everything I've ordered there is exactly balanced and delicious. Can't believe I haven't posted a review on il Vecchio in Monterey / Pacific Grove yet. I'm a huge fan and am only sorry I didn't try it sooner after moving to the Monterey area. It's my namesake, for goodness sake! Go... don't wait. Some of my favorites there include... ok, who am I kidding... the absolute best dish there is osso buco ragú - slow simmered beef shank with reginette pasta. It's the ultimate in my humble opinion. Everything else I've tried there is also very, very good but I will always order the osso when they have it. My backups would be the rigatoni, spaghetti and meatballs, or gnocchi with basil pesto. They used to offer more but have understandably reduced their menu since the lockdown days. Important note - their lunch menu is more limited and doesn't have my Osso. Che peccato! Grab some gelato from their freezer case on the way out, if you don't have room for dessert. The San Pietro or Foresta is the best but again, can't really go wrong with any of them! Other things - polite service, coffees and wines are delish, plenty of dining room but call ahead if you have a big party or wanna go on a weekend night, plenty of parking on the side just past the restaurant, and... yeah, enjoy! Definitely see ya there! read more

My wife and I have been visiting Monterey/Pacific Grove for many years. We started going to il vecchio for about ten years and have enjoyed it tremendously. Today we went for lunch and it not good. Nobody in the place and waited about 10 minutes for a table. My wife ordered a Caesar salad and it came out with cucumber and tomatoes. My sandwich and her Carbonara were extremely salty. I hear there's new ownership. Too bad. read more

Everything was delicious! We had seafood pasta and flatbread for lunch and the service was excellent! The restaurant is very cute. A great place near the Monterey Bay aquarium. Check it out! read more

Absolutely loved everything about this restaurant. Food was out of this world, drinks and service were awesome. Will definitely be back.

Had lunch here yesterday 10 out of 10 to everything! Service, food, vibe! Our new favorite place! Highly recomended!!! read more

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