This a perfect blend of Italian restaurant and sports bar. I'm often in town for business. Monelli's has a $9 lunch buffet that is awesome. Not just pizza, but salad, and desert pizza's as well. Well worth it for a quality Italian restaurant buffet! I've also ordered some of their appetizer's. They have REALLY good Pepperoni Rolls and Buffalo Chicken Rolls. I always have lunch at the bar and have excellent service every time. read more

Great place to drink and chill! Panini was great and so were the beers. Lexie gave amazing service and great recommendations

Love the food and the atmosphere. The bar is perfect to enjoy a game. Highest quality food and service

I have no idea what the food is like because we didn't stay. There's a new covid surge so we deliberately searched for outdoor seating and chose Monelli's. Their restaurant was packed on a Tuesday, so we went to the patio, which is off the street facing west with the sun directly aimed toward it. They had two large umbrellas off in a corner that weren't shading ANY tables and wait staff said they weren't allowed to reposition them. So every single table was directly in the sun. Hot, sweaty, annoying, uncomfortable. It was too crowded inside so we went to another restaurant with a better outdoor situation. If Monelli's had just moved an umbrella or done anything at all to address the beating sun they would have kept our business. read more

Hamburger was burnt and I ask for medium. Fries were not done, hard in the middle. The server didn't care.

I had a wonderful birthday lunch! Merle was an incredible server! He went above and beyond and was able to give me a wonderful dessert complementary! The food was amazing! read more

Monelli's - PENNE CON POLLO 16.49 Grilled chicken, toasted pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes tossed with penne noodles and our pesto cream sauce. - Italian Near Me - Portage, Michigan

Stopped in on a Sunday hopefully to watch the Lions game. Place was packed,no bar seats. Lotsa TVs and waitresses were on the ball. Food must be good cause everytime I drive by parking lot is full. read more

Impressive! Great staff (Ashley knows how to bartend and provide great service!). Get the Buffalo Chicken Rolls and thank me later. They are oddly amazing. Clean place, music was not loud and other customers were having a good time. read more

Amazing food and drinks staff is great. Try the beer cheese with pretzel sticks yum. The Sicilian pizza is my fav. The lunch buffet is awesome great price. read more

Monelli's - Italian Near Me - Portage, Michigan

We decided to give this restaurant a try after coming across them on Yelp. We were delighted at the quality, value, ambiance, and service. It is so nice to see a local restaurant that surpasses the big chains on so many levels. I highly recommend giving them a try, as I feel you will be very pleased with the whole experience at Monelli's. The Alfredo sauce is amazing! The pizza has the best crust in the Kalamazoo area. I've only tried the Alfredo pizza, so I can't comment on all the flavors, but do look forward to trying them and hope they are as delicious as the Chicken Alfredo Pizza we had. Highly recommended! read more

It is divided into an sports bar and a restaurant, both sections are delightful. We had the boom boom shrimps ( it is a must!!) so yummy and the sauce is mouthwatering. The main dish was lobster spinach pasta, the portion is huge and the taste is epic! Recommended :) read more

Monelli's - Italian Near Me - Portage, Michigan

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It's a decent place to get a large variety of food options. Pretty good Italian food. My husband likes the meatballs (I think it is just a large bowl of meatballs with some bread, and that's it). I like the chicken parm and the kiddo likes their pizza. They also have a great beer/wine menu. My husband likes the craft beer choices. It's also a pretty good price and lots of seating (you can do the noisy sports bar section or the dining room for quieter). read more

Enjoyed dinner here....first time visit! Great service. I had a dinner salad....it was delicious. My husband had chicken parmigiana.....he enjoyed that as well.....although the spaghetti portion was extremely skimpy! read more

Terrible....gave us half our delivery. We called the manager to make it right. He said, "to bad". Not our problem

We are trying for the first time waitress sounded upset we needed reg menu asked for coffee it was cold asked soup or salad did not get it. the cleaning stuff made my nose run Everytime used it . food was nice portion and good. employee sat right next to us heard us talking about the service and did nothing willing to try again but different server ,I have worked waitressing off and on for many years and I would never be like that to a customer made me feel rushed like her shift was ending or they were closing read more

In town for a baseball tournament and they were able to accommodate our large group with short notice. They were very busy on a Friday night, but the staff was very attentive. Food and drinks were all good. read more

I read the Monelli's reviews prior to dining there tonight. Let's just say previous reviews ran the gamut. Consequently, I was skeptical. I really paid attention to the staff, and every bit of food that I consumed. Monelli's has very good food, a well prepared staff, and a dynamite location and facility, if you're looking for a sports orientation. We were met by a friendly, personable hostess who gave us choices for our seating. Our wait staffer, Payton, said her name clearly, gave us time to make our selection, and seemed to anticipate our needs. She was timely with serving us and was discreet when putting serving items on our table. She knew he soup du jour and showed us where we could find newly tapped brews that replaced those that were tapped out. I felt that the pizza was great, the crust was crisp, but not bready. I used some of the garlic butter served with bread on the remaining crust which enhanced the flavor. The Italian salad dressing was perfect. The greens were crisp, and fresh. The menu choices were what I would expect for an Italian sports bar. The prices to me were within a dollar of what I expected. Those bad reviews are not to be believed. read more

So I love this place! It's kinda "franchisy" BUT the Monday drink specials are the best in town! All day you call it's, 5$ martinis and much much more!!! I love there caperese panini and there spinach and artichoke rolls. There are TVs on every square inch of the walls so you can always keep and eye on all the games! Dig it! read more

Two words: PEPPERONI ROLLS Ok, more than two words, bartenders and servers are always quick and friendly. Perfect place to watch sports, big TVs everywhere. Other food is great as well, but you can't come here without the p-roll order. read more

Great Buffet If you are looking for a quick and delicious lunch this is the place. A huge assortment of food from pizza to ribs. Food was delicious and fresh. Great for large groups. read more

I love the Vegan Burger with the aioli and sweet potato fries! It's my go-to meal when I'm tired of the food in the house. read more

Monelli's - Half of a vegan burger meal - Italian Near Me - Portage, Michigan

Pizza and drinks were amazing, but our service was even better. Our server Julia was attentive, funny, & on top of things. Love to see dedication in the work place, keep it up! read more

My Fiancé and I have been here twice now and both times the food has been excellent the first visit we both had Burgers and My Fiancé said that his Olive Burger was the best one he's had at a restaurant and My Burger was made to order with Grilled Mushrooms and Onions and it was very good. The second time we went we ordered the Monelli's Pizza and we loved the flavor we also ordered a Spaghetti to go for my Mom to try since she said she hasn't found a place that makes it well for a long time and she loved it she said the meat sauce and Meatballs on top were delicious. We will definitely be back to try more. read more

The lasagna I had was amazing, probably the best I've ever had. The spinach artichoke dip was amazing also. Large portions. I really enjoyed this restaurant and look forward to coming back soon. read more

Always a pick me up... Everyone is accomidating and treat you like family... Hats off to Joe the owner you would never know he owns the place... Great place highly recommended... read more

Monelli's is one of my go to spots when I want a consistently tasty bite. Their portions are always incredibly generous, and whenever we've gone, if something has been amiss they make it right, no questions asked, except to follow up to see if there was adequate improvement. The servers we've dealt with are always very sweet and courteous. When my son is there, he is always doted upon. Today was a date night and I ordered what my mom got at the Grand Rapids location, the carbonara as I had been wanting it since sampling hers. I asked for mine with bacon on the side just for the salt aspect, but in this case it needed it, so I'm glad I didn't choose to omit it completely. My husband stuck with his go to pizza with bacon, ham, and pepperoni and he loved it as usual. We're going to surprise my in-laws with their super tasty lasagna because it reheats really well! I've been so happy that they built a location in Kzoo, because the generic Italian chains definitely don't have it together in the area, but this place definitely cares about going the extra mile and getting those yummy flavors in! read more

Before I blast this place for how terrible the food was, let me just say that the service was exceptional. Our server was friendly without being overbearing, quick, and able to answer our questions. She earned this place the extra star. The food, though. Wow. I started with a house salad and balsamic vinaigrette, and the vinaigrette was very thick: more the consistency of Caesar dressing than anything else. It definitely wasn't a vinaigrette. Half the lettuce was wilted to the point of being inedible. The cucumbers were a little slimy. The tomato was the only normal tasting thing on the plate. Then I got the penne vodka, and the sauce was again unusually thick. I couldn't finish it; it was far too rich. I would avoid this place. read more

Came here for lunch buffet today. Buffet was very plain... not a big fan of their pizza actually. All I tasted was their sauce. I prefer a crispier crust, but that is just my opinion. Baked Chicken was dry. Great variety of cold salads which looked wonderful. When I first walked in, i Was excited about another new pizza buffet place in town..... When I walked out, I just shrugged my shoulders as it was nothing new....., read more

Excellent service, delicious food and the prices weren't too unreasonable for the high quality that you receive.

We've always had great experiences at Monellis. I'm especially a fan of their salmon dinner that comes with vegetables smothered in butter. Their wings with "boom boom" sauce are also the perfect level of spicy. read more

Our family really likes Monelli's. It is our overall favorite place to go. The food is always good and it's delivered quickly no matter how busy they seem. Our favorite is the Pizza, we order it for take out quite a bit. When I want a good salad I love the Southwest Chicken Salad - so far it is the best one I have found. read more

The door is on the side so make sure you go in the side. Shelby was our server and quite pleasant. Ordered cheese and pretzel dip for appetizer. Good bit pretzels could have been a bit warmer. Ordered the Lobster and Blue Cheese Agnolotti. Very flavorful with quite a bit of lobster. Could have used a bit more blue cheese kick. Over all a tasty meal. There are many beers on tap so if you plan on trying several make sure you Uber... read more

Monelli's - Lobster and Blue Cheese Agnolotti. - Italian Near Me - Portage, Michigan

I visited Montelli's for the first time with my husband and another couple last Friday, July 20th. My biggest drawback for a 3 rating was the service. The server just seemed to be disinterested in waiting tables (younger lady). First, I asked about the mule drink special that was running. When she said it only included flavored vodka I asked what flavors were available and was only told "You know, blueberry and stuff". I tried asking again about the flavors and just got the same answer. Then, she took our husband's drink orders and walked off before myself and the other wife could order. We had to flag her back down. I had ordered a Cesar salad and was pretty disappointed. The first time it came to the table it only had lettuce, grated Parmesan, and one tomato wedge. No dressing or croutons (The menu said they were house made croutons). When the waitress came back she offered to have the salad remade so I accepted. The second salad came with still very little dressing (No joke - just on two pieces of lettuce that were on top) and the croutons were suspiciously like the store bought bagged variety. I ended up just asking for a side of dressing. The food for the rest of my party was quite good - Pepperoni rolls, chicken Marsala, calamari. Comparing it to other similar restaurants in the area I was a little disappointed in the service but would give it another try and stick with the beer menu and avoid the salads. read more

Great food, staff is always helpful. I just wish they took reservations it makes large groups tricky. That being said one of my favorite restaurants for a date with the wife or a beer with a buddy. read more

Went there tonight for drinks and a few appetizers. Hosts are rude and inconvenienced that you have arrived - They are just young girls but it's still kind of annoying. Other than that food was food, and our server Leah was great. I would return for sure. read more

First off, I am a pizza snob. This place hands down has the best pizza in the Portage/Kalamazoo area. Don't get me wrong Erbellis is phenomenal but this is even better. The Lasagna is really great too and their spaghetti. If you're tired of the usual (olive garden etc) this is the place to go. Staff and management have always been very pleasant, friendly and helpful and have gone out of their way to make things right whenever we have had even the slightest issue with anything. read more

We have dined here twice coming on a busy Friday evening both times . The service is top notch. We have ordered Italian food both times, pizza and lasagna. Both very good. Cannot speak about the other foods here. The beer and wine selection is very wide. The restaurant is in Portage which tends to shut down fairly early. You can expect issues if you are looking for a place to eat after midnight. McDonald's and big burrito are your best bets. We will return to Monelli's. Beware that the main dining room is full of large screen TV's and the bar area so it is loud. If you do not want that then ask to be seated outside or in the side dining room. read more

I was not expecting much from the lunch buffet but it was much better than I expected. The interior of the place is very nice and the wait staff very attentive. My only complaint was that if the buffet pizza is the same as a pizza off from the menu I would not order a pizza there. It was fine for buffet pizza but nothing I would order. read more

As for the food it's decent. If you ever think about working or interviewing here DONT. I interviewed for a serving position and the manager WALKED out of the interview for no reason and gave my interview no attention. read more

Nice casual restaurant with decent portions and atmosphere. A good family restaurant without being too stuffy.