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    Monello

    4.0 (2.3k reviews)
    Closed 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Monello Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    MONELLO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Trendy
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Monello

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    Reviews With Photos

    Janette A.

    Took my mom here for Easter lunch and she loved it! This is one of my go-to Italian restaurants in San Diego. Everyone was super nice and the decor was minimal but beautiful. I loved being the first customers in, so we were able to enjoy a nice quiet lunch. We got the following: + tortellini al tartufo⁣⁣ + ravioli di gamberi⁣⁣ + calamari

    Spaghetti Ragu
    Chas S.

    A modern spot in a new build on the edge of Little Italy. Reservations easy on Open Table and wow the food was GREAT! MYO pasta plates let you choose your favorite pasta and sauce from a roster of about 7-8 each. We went classic: spaghetti with a hearty and meaty bolognese as well as a tagliatelle with the "monello" preparation of marinara, cream, and bacon which melted into the sauce. Good sized portions and simply delicious! The real star of the night was the panzerotti appetizer of crisp mini calzones filled with marinara and mozzarella. These pockets are served HOT from the fryer, sprinkled with salt, outrageously good. Nice place, almost the same menu as its somewhat fancier sibling next door. I can't wait to return next time I'm back in SD.

    The cheese wheel pasta
    Andi C.

    Monello was amazing! Alex, our waiter, was so kind and helpful, and our meal was phenomenal. This place is a must!

    Maddie S.

    Absolutely amazing! Service was great and felt like there was never a time we weren't seen. They had plenty of options on the menu and also had two daily specials that you could get in the cheese wheel! The restaurant was clean and I will definitely be back.

    Dan D.

    First visit stopped in for happy hour, sat at the bar, the bartender was right there sensed it was our first time and took time to provide a quick overview of the menu with some recommendations. Off the main drag of LI, the room has a great view of some of the SD skyline. There is some outside seating that is dog friendly. The cheese selection with fresh baked bread appetizer was tasty with the grilled octopus went great with the bottle of pinot grigio. Lots of fun.

    Tortelloni Al Tartufo w shrimp
    Emilie R.

    This pasta is top notch!! The fried calzone was so yummy. The aperol spritz was perfect. The tortelloni w shrimp and pecorino Romano cheese wheel special were out of this world. Some of the best we have ever had. If we were staying longer we would absolutely go back! Staff was friendly and place was beautiful yet casual/relaxed.

    Riss G.

    I loved this place!!! Service was so friendly and attentive. They have an amazing happy hour!! Super romantic ambiance, perfect for date night or girls night. Every dish was so decadent and delicious. I would order each item again and again if I could! The pizza was so good!!! Calamari cooked perfectly and the pasta dishes omg so rich.

    Sandra C.

    This review is based on two dinners at the end of Oct 2025 and end of Nov 2025. The cheese wheel is an absolute must -- Pecorino cheese was very strong cheesy creamy and delicious. The second time we added bacon, but it was not necessary b/c the bacon is topped at the end; it's not cooked with the cheese b/c it would interfere with the regular wheel. We also had the Parmigiano wheel that featured mushrooms which was also good too. This wheel rotates and changes every night. The servers let us watch our cheese wheel pasta being prepared. We had the squid ink pasta that came highly recommended -- and while good, I guess I don't care for seafood pasta. We also had the bolognese with parpedelle noodles, which was a nice contrast to our rich white sauce cheesy pastas. The ceasar salad is great with the ribbons of cheese that come covered on top of the salad. The romaine is fresh/crisp with lemon and garlic that you can taste in the dressing. We liked the anchioves that came with the salad, which we specifically requested. Service was prompt and friendly as we dined on the outdoor area where tables overlook the street. Nice to do especially when the sun is setting. This is a sister restaurant to Benocotto, right next door. We will come back to try!

    Adrienne S.

    Visited Monello during San Diego Restaurant Week and ordered from the special menu. The bread they brought out was a great start along with the Caesar Monello salad that was also great & fresh. Really wanted to try the cheese wheel pasta and it was rich, creamy, definitely the highlight. Finished with gelato, which was amazing. Also, the drinks were good. Overall, a great experience and worth it!

    Tiramisu
    Anastasia I.

    Now I want to move to San Diego... and we live in Los Angeles with a great food scene as well. All the food was amazing. The fungi pasta, calamari, zucchini... Did you ever try a sauce that you could eat even with no main dish? I did. Here in Monello. I don't know what magic spell they use on their garlic aioli and tomato sauces, but I'm definitely charmed. In the end of the course we tried Tiramisu by recommendation of our amazing server Jennifer and I didn't regret this decision. I'm usually not impressed by a Tiramisu since I tried it in many different places, but their walnut liquor touch is just so on point! Another ode of praise goes to Hugo Spritz cocktail. So well balanced! Not too sweet, not too sou -- just perfect! I wished I took more photos to share in this review, but I'm sure I will be back to this city one day and will definitely visit this amazing restaurant.

    Vida K.

    The service was fantastic and food was equally as good! Ordered the frittes, caesar salad and cacio pasta (cooked in the cheese wheel) to split and it was so filling and delicious! They also have plenty of specialty cocktails and a cute atmosphere. Only downside is that since it's in little Italy it's just difficult to find parking, took a while even tho it was a Sunday evening.

    Cheese wheel pasta
    Paul B.

    We had fun here. Ordered a few pasta items and passed them around. We all ended up with something we hadn't ordered. It was new and a fun game. The server was friendly and knowledgeable. We enjoyed talking to her. We sat out on their little patio, which is honestly too small for groups of three, but that worked out and the outdoor ambience added to the enjoyment. Their service was quick and they were refilling our water, not too often but when it was almost gone. We've are already planning to come back.

    Group
    Vanessa G.

    I had dinner here earlier this week for a work conference. Our group was about 20 people, so we were seated at 2 long tables. The food was great. It was a set menu for our company, with everything served family style. We started off with a caprese style appetizer and it was great. Next was the salad, which was my favorite. The dressing was wonderful as well as the pickled onions. After that we had meatballs. They were just okay to me. I order meatballs everywhere so I think I am a meatball expert haha. Following that was a pasta with shrimp in a lemon cream sauce. That was wonderful. Next up was the short rib. It was also just okay to me. I also order that at most places. We were then served a spicy pizza picante, but it was too spicy for me. Last was the flourless chocolate cake. It was great, but I was so full that I only took a bite. I also had 2 glasses of pinot grigio, which I enjoyed. Everyone enjoyed their food and the ambiance was lovely. Service was good.

    Inside

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    Blown away!!!!!!!!! This was the best pasta I have ever had. Went for a date night and will definitely be back

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    Monello Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Monello

    Is the cheese wheel still just a station inside the restaurant, or do they bring it table-side like they did precovid era?

    When I went on Juneteenth 2 weeks ago, it was still on a station/desk near the entrance! But you can stand up close and get the whole experience still :)

    Are dogs allowed on the patio?

    I am not aware. Try calling them.

    Will they do cheese wheel pasta for you even if you have outdoor seating?

    Yes, they bring all of your additional food out and then invite you inside to watch the cheese wheel pasta making!

    What is the dress code like?

    I've seen people dress up but you can also do casual. It's a nice place, so you can enjoy walking around Little Italy afterwards (:

    Are they still doing cheese wheel pasta during covid?

    Yes

    Are dogs allowed outside?

    Yes, as long as they can stay under the table and not in the halls.

    Price of cheese wheel pasta or starting price?

    It all depends because the cheese wheel pasta changes daily and it ranges from $25 on up.

    Happy hour specials?

    Yes

    Can we order pasta from the cheese wheel only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays?

    It's available EVERYDAY

    Are there gluten free option? Gluten free pasta?

    I don't recall seeing a gluten free pasta on the menu but there are gluten free entrees available

    Ia this a good place for an APERITIVO?

    The best! 4-7pm everyday at the bar. Each drink comes with three small plates. It's such a great deal and so many tasty and unique bites.

    Are there any meat free gluten free options?

    Yes!

    Is there a corkage fee?

    Yes, $20

    View All 23 Questions

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    Bencotto Italian Kitchen - Lamb Ragu pasta

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    4.1(3.6k reviews)
    0.0 miLittle Italy
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    Bencotto was an outstanding fine dining Italian experience at a reasonable price. I had the cheese…read morewheel pasta and it was of an extremely high quality. On top of that they allowed me to take a video of them mixing my noodles and chicken in the cheese wheel itself which I thought was a nice touch. Additionally they had a large selection of bottled Italian beers as well as wine. The service was fantastic and so was the ambiance which was less Tuscan and more modern with some references to Italy which I appreciated

    On a Monday evening in San Diego, we stopped by Bencotto Italian Kitchen for dinner. Located in…read moreLittle Italy, I was surprised by how busy this part of town is. Restaurants and bars filled to the brim. Lack of street parking availability. With that being said, after circling around for a while, I found a free parking spot on the street five minutes away by foot. Ambiance (4/5): While Bencotto has a nice interior, I went with some al fresco dining on their front patio. There are 20 or so seats available right off the street, so it's not a large patio by any means, but it's nice. The weather was a little chilly by San Diego standards, so they had some heaters out there. It always reminds me of Europe when I'm dining al fresco. Service (3/5): A little slow at times, but overall, pretty good. My waiter was friendly, he just could have stopped by a little quicker. Still solid though. Drinks (4/5): They have a nice selection of wine. I ended up rolling with an Italian beer I had never had before instead. It was a lager and they served it with a chilled glass which is always a nice touch. Food (4/5): The reason I came delivered. Their most popular entree is pasta cooked in a cheese wheel. The pasta is in a creamy truffle sauce with mushrooms. No protein but you can add some for an additional charge. I added grilled chicken. What's awesome about this dish is that they cook it for you inside by the hostess stand. So you can go there and see it happening. My server didn't give me a heads-up (shame on him) but luckily, someone at a table close to me did after me, so I joined to see their food being prepared. I also ordered the gnocco frito which is puffy fried bread. You get four pieces and I had never had this type of Italian bread. Not amazing, but it complemented the pasta well. All of their pasta is made in house and you can taste the difference. The cheese wheel pasta was absolutely delicious. I was pumped to cross this bucket list item off my list.

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    Rusticucina

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    4.6(1.6k reviews)
    2.1 miNorth Park
    $$$
    Happy hour specials
    Locally owned & operated

    We had dinner here the other night (compliments of my sister as a birthday gift). Neither of us had…read morebeen here before and we were excited to try out a new venue. One thing we learned: if you decide to make a reservation here, especially on a weekend night, arrive early to accommodate the time it takes to find parking. The restaurant does not have its own parking lot, it's street parking-only and space is tough to come by. We circled around for at least 15 minutes before securing a spot and wound up a little over 20 minutes late for our reservation. Thankfully, we still had a table set up and waiting for us. It was very busy when we walked in, it appeared as though the restaurant was near-capacity. The restaurant has a nice, rustic charm to it, but I'll admit some of the charm is taken away by the crowd of noisy people. The restaurant space is small with as many tables and chairs that can possibly fit, which inevitably means tables are very close to one another. It would help if the restaurant acquired a much larger space, or if it got rid of maybe 30% of the tables/chairs so that seating could be more spaced-out. Service was initially slow, but understandable considering the completely packed venue. Our servers were incredibly friendly and provided exceptional service. They were patient and informative in answering our questions (particularly about the "cheese wheel"). We ordered the house specialty bread with 3 different spreads as an appetizer, the lamb shank was my date's entree choice while I ordered the pappardelle pasta with short rib. The bread was truly excellent, we both devoured it. My dish was also excellent, the short rib was very rich and flavorful and the pasta was cooked well. I tasted my date's lamb dish, which I felt was bland compared to mine and I wasn't crazy about it. My date seemed to enjoy it, though. We were too full to order any dessert, so I can't speak for their desserts. The food I did try was mostly amazing. We will likely be back, although we might try coming on a Monday or Tuesday night to avoid the crowds and have an easier time with parking.

    Nathan was the BEST server ever. Had the most amazing time. Second time with him as our server and…read morecan't say enough good things. Love this restaurant and the people

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    Piacere Mio - South Park - Calamari

    Piacere Mio - South Park

    4.5(2.3k reviews)
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    This is my favorite resturant okay I said it. Great times here, what a great vibes…read more What Great staff here, so happy & kind too they are amazing here! I had pasta Orecchiette We raviolis with crab and shrimp Chicken parmigiana And a smoked mozzarella ravioli with eggplant Di Melazame everything was delicious And we had Caprese to start with a large heirloom Tomato slices the was so tasty too We all enjoy every bite until we couldn't And they bought out a dessert Nutella cheesecake That was sweet of them Plus tiramisu we ordered It was funny there was 2 ladies celebrating by our table their birthday's too same day also It was a perfect birthday

    A cute and charming little restaurant in a really fun neighborhood. They started with a basket of…read morebread, but honestly, it tasted like it came out of a package from the market. Would've been better if it was at least heated. I then had the Caesar salad and it was excellent. I've had many many many Caesar salad salads in my day and this one ranked right up there. The Romaine was in large pieces so I definitely needed to cut it before eating. The dressing was very tasty and they are very generous with the cheese. I moved on to the papperdelle Primavera with shrimp and it was very, very good and a large portion. It came out nice and hot. The sauce could've been a little more flavorful, but it was good nonetheless the shrimp were a little on the small side. We decided not to have dessert. I found the price is very reasonable and there is street parking in the area and a large Target parking lot across the street.

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    Cucina Urbana - Mushroom goat cheese pizza and short rib pappardelle

    Cucina Urbana

    4.4(4.9k reviews)
    0.7 miBanker's Hill
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    Our family would definitely go back to this spot the next time we are in San Diego! Kid friendly…read morewhich is so perfect when you and your spouse want to enjoy a more sophisticated meal and not have the usual burger and fries that the kiddos usually want, although I'm sure they do have if that's what you are wanting and I am pretty sure that the burger would be amazing too! Ambiance was great with good vibes. Grilled octopus was so delish we had to order two because our kids (5 & 7) ate up the first plate all to themselves. Italian chopped salad, Butternut squash ravioli, and goat cheese mushroom pizza were all so good! Kiddos both enjoyed their own pepperoni pizza. Oh, and can't forget to mention that we also enjoyed our cocktails. Can't go wrong with the pitted martini and the Mezcal cocktail. Making me hungry just telling you about it! Yum!!

    Large, inviting, high ceiling, dark dining space that always seems to be busy. Came here to try…read morebecause it's Michelin bib gourmand. roasted delicata squash + farro salad: deep fried delicata squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and served with a cilantro salsa verde. This was the most unique thing we ate and quite good. red wine short rib mafaldine (short rib pasta): this dish is kind of a mess and there's a lot of things going on. I like short rib, but I think it would taste better not in this pasta. Nothing stood out. roasted half chicken fra diavolo: a well done dish cooked to perfection. Flavorful but chicken can only be so good. Service was excellent and very attentive.

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    4.6(1.3k reviews)
    1.7 miHillcrest
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    While visiting from out of town, we decided to spend Mother's Day at this amazing place, and it…read morehonestly felt like we were back in Italy. We were greeted with warm smiles from every employee, asked which open table we preferred, and the staff did everything they could to make us feel like weekly regulars. I loved seeing the hugs they gave their regulars, and I completely understand why people keep coming back week after week. My definition of a great restaurant is simple: great service -- attentive, anticipates needs, and does everything possible to take care of guests -- plus solid food and drinks. This place was a home run, and we will definitely be back when we are in town. We started with the artichoke, and everyone loved it, even our kids. We ordered the chicken parm 10/10, bolognese 10/10, spaghetti with meatballs 9/10, and Pappardelle Al Brasato 7/10. With the brasato, there were a few questionable pieces of meat/fat, but overall it was still a solid dish. The highlight of the meal was the tiramisu. Damn -- it was light, airy, and full of flavor. It wasn't heavy, nothing was dry, and all four of us dug in and devoured every last bite. Loved the place, loved the service, and loved the food.

    We died for the first time with Parma Cucina Italiano for Valentine's Day…read more They had a nice price fix menu that you can choose from. We loved Barbara our waitress. She had a lot of great energy and excellent recommendations.. We started with the artichokes in Lemon for our appetizer. It was tender and flavorful. For the pasta , we had the boar Papperadella Ragu, which we really liked a lot and we had the squid ink pasta with seafood, which had a really light sauce that wasn't fond of. I have squid ink pasta with a lobster reduction sauce elsewhere which I prefer. We also had the brasata as a main course which went well with the paparedelli.... A few glasses of wine and the profiteroles with Nutella were a wonderful finale for the meal. I would love to try their fish some other night. The ambience is charming, but the restaurant is quite small and it was packed on valentines so it was a little hard to get around the tables. We will be back.

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