What went well: service was attentive and fast. Food: mixed meats and cheese platter was really good. Freshly sliced cured meats, a good cheese selection, olives, stuffed peppers & pickles. The meatballs were moist and flavorful. The cook on the pasta was also good. What left something to be desired- the caprese consisted of tomatoes at were not ripe, which to me is a miss- it's September. There are ripe yummy tomatoes out there. The spaghetti & clams were not the way I prefer- there was a lot of butter/fat in the sauce, vs more wine/clam juice. The mussels were inconsistent, the broth flavor was good, but some mussels were over cooked, while others perfect. Last- they sat us in the back near the kitchen on a warmer night, when there were tables open near the front. I made a reservation so seemed odd to seat us in the back corner. read more

Went this weekend and it was just ok. I wouldn't go back. It is very expensive and not worth it. The lunch specials are the savior, I guess, at least price wise. My wife got the Pesto and it was actually pretty good. But I got the mushroom fettuccine and it was very disappointing. I could taste the flour from the undercooked roux. It had absolutely no added spices, no salt & pepper, and I actually had to ask for Parmesan. Extremely bland and underwhelming. read more

We went for a date night and we had a ribbon pasta bolognese that was amazing! The waitress was soo friendly and helpful. Our food was 10/10! We shared the dish and it was more than enough. We have come to Monica's so often lately I think we are becoming regulars read more

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Wonderful hospitality and the food! Wow! Must try the bolognese and the meatballs. We hung out at the bar and had a really enjoyable evening. Went back the next day. Everyone was amazing. read more

Delicious carbonara in a beautiful environment. I love this North End restaurant and the service. The ambiance is perfect! It is like stepping into the past or your grandma's kitchen. The white bean dip that is served with the bread is a delicious surprise. If you cannot get into the restaurant, head to the bar -- another great and entertaining place to dine. read more

Monica's Trattoria - The carbonara and bolognese! - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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So my crazy cousin in Boston made reservations here for a couple's night in little Italy North End. As you walk into the place you can see and smell the aromas coming from the kitchen. Nicole, our server was fabulous. She took orders right away and recommended a bottle wine for us. Everything was delicious and the music playlist was great! 60's-80's hits...some I had not heard in years. The owner/chef came and even checked up on us...we would go again for sure! read more

Amazing food. Great suggestions from our server. Beautiful place. A must when in the North End read more

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Always a great spot. Came here during a blizzard and they were open. I've kept coming back since! read more

Monica's Trattoria - Espresso Martini-YUM - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Good Thai food with the usual choices. Nicely presented with colorful plates. Try the Fresh rolls, green curry & pad Thai.

North end fun! Lovely restaurant Bevs were nice Food was nice Service was great! No complaints Was meeting up with family, so that was my focus and everything was lovely around us. read more

Very disappointed with my experience tonight -- stood at the host stand for 5+ minutes with zero acknowledgment from any staff. Decided to go to the bar a drink instead, but the bartender studiously avoided eye contact while we tried to get his attention for about 10 minutes. Actually shocked by this experience, because I've been here a couple times before and it was okay. At least acknowledge customers and say "I'll be with you in a couple minutes!" A bizarre experience tonight that really makes me wonder if I'll ever go back here. read more

First time here was August of 2023, came with my family for my birthday and we had a delicious meal and a wonderful time. Since then I have been back 4 times, with 3 of them being since March. The bar area is where we sit usually and it is decorated so beautifully and I love all the old pictures of Monica and her husband and family members. The service has always been top notch and each time I have been to Monica's our bartender has been Matthew. He is absolutely fantastic! He's personable, friendly and makes an unbelievable Martini too! His family should be so proud of him for doing such a good job and representing his family so well. Next trip into the North End we will be visiting Vinoteca DiMonica but stopping by to see Matt for a drink first! read more

Monica's Trattoria - Pistachio Martini - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

About time we tried Monica's Trattoria and it lived up to their reputation of top tier Italian. I get their homemade subs across the street quite a but so this was a highly anticipated visit. Eating here felt special. There's a lot of people here that want you to have a great experience and are very personable. We were helped in picking our appetizers and the food was delicious. The pasta was al dente and the ragu and ricotta combo was incredible. It's a tightly packed, vibrant, and comfortable restaurant. Dimly lit and the ultimate date spot. If you like Bricco you'd like Monica's. read more

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A great night at Monica's in the north end! The food was amazing, every single dish. The mussels and antipasto special to start were fantastic and flavorful. The carbonara was one of the best around. Our server Val was super sweet and took care of all of our needs, top notch service. This is a very quaint restaurant away from the main drag of Hanover and the ambience matches the location. Super cozy, excellent food and drinks! Will be back soon! read more

Chicken parm with spicy vodka gnochhi Perfect carb loading meal while visiting for the marathon read more

Monica's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The food. The food was generous and amazing. The staff was attentive. The atmosphere was incredible

Our favorite go to especially with our kids. They always welcome our entire family and the food is delicious.

So Monica's Salumeria (deli) Is fantastic! So we decided to try the restaurant. Very expensive! And not that great. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't good. Especially based on price. I think the thing that annoyed me the most was that they gave you a tall skinny Tom Collins glass with ice to the rim for a five dollar Coke. And then didn't tell us until three cokes later that they charged for refills. So we spent more on Coke and we did on alcohol! I'm sorry, but I will never go back. read more

Olive Garden food. No seasoning. Server only cares about us ordering alcohol. The food is an after thought. Disappointed. Parking is impossible read more

Months after someone raved about this restaurant to me, I finally had the chance to stop by for a Sunday dinner with two friends. We had reservations for 6pm, and when were arrived the restaurant was indeed quite busy, but we were seated after just a short wait. I ordered the parmigiana alla vodka which was quite good! The pasta was really nicely cooked to a great texture (I prefer my noodles on the harder side) and the sauce was tasty - rich and not too heavy. Chicken had a nice overall flavour, but the breading was a bit soggy and at times it just felt a little sloppily prepared in terms of consistency throughout. My friends had the spaghetti alla carbonara and the fettuccine al nero con capesante. Carbonara was delicious - pancetta was really flavourful and complemented the creamy sauce - but was a tad too salty overall. Fettucine was also great - the squid ink pasta was well-prepared (and certainly looked fantastic) and the scallops were a highlight of the dish. Service, however, was lacking. Our server was not very attentive to us, and it took ages for us to get anyone's attention, be it to order, ask for water, get the cheque, etc. Overall, though, not a bad experience, and while I think a bit pricey for the quality and quantity of food, I think I could see myself coming again to try some of the other yummy pastas on their menu! read more

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Came here with high hopes and the food was good but for these prices we expected better service! The people filling our waters probably asked us if we wanted refills every 5-10 mins and looked miserable. Hostess that took us to our table looked underage and not wanting to be there. Other people coming around giving us bread didn't look happy either. I get it....times are tough with finding workers but these all looked either related or connected to the owner/manager perhaps? The 4 cheese raviolis was really good though! I enjoyed the sauce and it was not too heavy. Just the right amount of food. Others in my party had the Fettuccine al Nero di Seppia con Capesante and the Frutti di Mare con Fettuccine Nero. We all enjoyed our dishes...it was good Italian food but not amazing. The drinks were good and strong. Liked their old fashions! With so much competition in the area, I think the next time we come back, we will try another restaurant out. Took about 15-20 mins to flag someone down to get the bill. read more

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Had the best time here this past weekend. My boyfriend and I came to Boston for the weekend and we're excited to try this place out after reading some blogs online. It was exactly was we were looking for - amazing Italian food. I had ordered the gnocchi dish and it was phenomenal. My boyfriend had a chicken parmigiana dish and it was fantastic too. We had Cabernet on the side which was great as well. Overall the food was 10/10. The staff was kind. The ambiance inside was cozy and very festive for the holidays. And we were happy to have snagged a table without a reservation. If you plan on coming, I suggest reserving a table. Will return back here in the future for sure. Loved it! read more

Monica's Trattoria - Table / without reservations near bar - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Review courtesy of my 10.5 year old son. I would definitely come back! My 7 year old sister is very picky but my mom convinced her to eat the ravioli here. I highly recommend the Scampi Con Fettuccine. In my words "Delicious sauce and very authentic shrimp!" A great vegetarian option was The Arugula Salad. My mom had the chicken Parmesan with vodka sauce. It was very good. The service wasn't too bad, but it took about 20-25 minutes to get all of our food. The setting was great, the lighting was good for a date night, but was pretty dim. It was also a bit loud, but the food makes up for it. It is great for kids and adults. Overall, I would definitely recommend Monica's Trattoria! read more

The food and ambiance was impeccable. They make their pasta fresh everyday, and the chefs were obviously talented and very well experienced. The parm's were SO GOOD! Everyone was so welcoming it really felt like you were dinning in a 5 table gourmet restaurant. Definitely recommend if you want a classic Italian dinner in the North End. read more

Spent almost 4 hours here the other night for dinner. We were told it would be a 30 minute wait for an outside table, and we could come back or sit at the bar. We sat at the bar and started with drinks, I had the red sangria which was very sweet and strong, and he had a spritzer. I loved their ghost margarita. When we were seated about 35 minutes later, it took another hour to be able to order our appetizers, and we had to ask the bus boy to send a waiter over. He was the nicest and most attentive of all the staff. We watched him speak to the hostess on our behalf, and it still took another 15 minutes for someone to take our first course order. I asked for grilled calamari as an appetizer and they said they couldn't make it, so I ordered the Fried Calamari with the Deep Fried Zucchini Blossoms, which didn't have much zucchini in them. I wouldn't have ordered these again. My date and I ordered the Seafood Fradiavolo and the Spaghetti and Meatballs substituted with penne. They were both very good, but I did ask them to replace the clams with shrimp, and they gave us 3 shrimp which were on the smaller side. It took a long time to be seated, a long time to be offered food, and more of a wait to receive the food. Dessert wasn't even an option after arriving here at 5:30 and leaving at 9:30. They ended up being able to serve us the grilled calamari only when it was ordered as the Seafood Fradiavolo, and I would have not ordered the Fried calamari if they were able to communicate that. Presentation was nice, but the service was inattentive and a little negligent. Maybe they need better management. I wouldn't return for food based on this experience, but maybe I'd stop by for a drink at the bar. read more

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This place is loud. It's more of the clink and clanking that you'll hear from the kitchen. There's music playing which adds to its chill vibe. The kitchen really gives its diners a headache when they have plates and pots clanking and being thrown all over the place in an open kitchen. What a headache. The host was welcoming and the Servers were nice & friendly as well. Good pour on the wine and plates can be shared by 2 people. It's more of a lively bar than a relaxing restaurant. I wouldn't visit again, too many choices in Little Italy. ** Polpette do Manzo - Delicious, great appetizer to share. Meatballs and Ricotta cheese was yum! **Caprese- Fresh salad the Evoo used is delicious. Perfect to share for (2) people **Spaghetti Carbonara- I didn't really find a good balance on the Pecorino Romano cheese and the Pancetta. It's a bit on the heavier, oily side - wish there was guanciale to add more flavor into it. read more

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10/10 - will absolutely be coming back! As most of the restaurants in the North End, the atmosphere is quaint and cozy with exposed brick and the open windows in the summer time. Such a lovely intimate ambiance. Our waiter was awesome, very attentive and kind. Everything we ordered was delicious, generous portions too. Incredible dinner experience. read more

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Food Expensive and Not Great Too many other options. Overpriced and very slow service and long wait for food from kitchen. Loud in restaurant and difficult to hear others in our party. Too many other options in north end and do not recommend this place. read more

Ate there with friends last week- food fine but they added $40 to my credit card without authorization and haven't returned my calls to resolve. Check your bill and bank statement carefully if you go here. Very sad to know a neighborhood place will do this. read more

We made a reservation for 10 people at 8:00pm on a Saturday night. The service was fine, the wait staff attentive, BUT the kitchen ran out of 4 of the 5 specials and half of their regular menu. We were left to order basic pasta dishes, warm wine (seriously, just throw the bottles in the fridge for 15mins) & a few apps. One last item was the seating - they knew we had 10 people (reservation was several weeks in advance) and they jammed us into a table that sat 8. Elbows rubbing all night... Definitely won't be going back anytime soon. read more

Love Monica's, best Italian food and the vongole has been my all time favorite for years. read more

Monica's Trattoria - Spaghetti Vongole - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

We were seated promptly and our waiter was very friendly and attentive. For drinks, we ordered an Espresso Martini and a Spicy Margarita. Both drinks were very tasty and I would definitely order again. For our appetizers, we ordered the Burrata Bruschetta and the Zucchini Flowers. Honestly, I wouldn't order either of these again as they were pretty underwhelming. The Zucchini Flowers were heavily battered & deep fried - much different than the typical fried Zucchini Flowers that I'm accustomed too. The bruschetta was okay, the burrata was nice and creamy. Our entrees were the star of the show, especially the Capesante alla Pesto. The dish was homemade squid ink fettucine in a creamy pesto sauce with scallops. The Lobster Fettucine was also very tasty. All of their pastas are homemade and taste very fresh. I would recommend this place for a nice date night! read more

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À friend and I came on a Saturday night with a reservation. The table was not quite ready when we arrived, so we chose to take a little walk around the block to kill time. The table was still not ready when we got back and so we ordered a drink at the bar. It was while enjoying a very delicious cocktail we learned there was a christening party that was going significantly past their reservation. We ended up spending about 10 minutes at the bar, with Fox News in the background. Then we were shown to our table and ordered straight away. We ordered the bruschetta, scampi alla fungi, and the caprese. The food was delicious and we were stuffed walking home! The service was efficient and we were seated by the window, allowing us to peer out on the North End street. The crowd leaned younger, with a lot of young corporate looking professionals enjoying a Saturday night dinner. Overall, the food was delicious and the delay was not the restaurant's fault. This is a great spot if you're looking for an Italian dinner date in North End. read more

The food and service were great! We had the calamari, veal gnocchi, and bolognese. All were delicious. The service was fast for a Friday night read more

Top notch service and food out of this world. Truly an old time Italian homestyle restaurant!! read more

Monica's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Found this gem in Little Italy (North End) while walking in Boston at lunchtime. We wanted authentic Italian food, and were thoroughly impressed with our selections. I had a chicken parmigiana with vodka sauce on penne pasta. My sister and our friend had the sweet potato gnocchi. Everything is homemade and cooked when ordered. Fresh mozzarella cheese was delicious. A must try if your in the Boston area. read more

It was difficult to identify the entrance door, so signage could have been better. However, I don't think they want to improve walk-ins! The place is intimate and perfect for group reservations in advance. We went to meet for business while in town for a conference. Noise level was lower than expected given the large parties seated within arm's reach. Food: Mussels in white wine and butter was 100%, as was bruschetta. The meals were perfect--- pasta and cheeses were fresh and serving size adequate (I hadn't eaten all day and cleaned my entire chicken parm AND ate half the mussels). Drink: All of us had cocktails (espresso martini was the best I've had in Boston ever) and some had wine. Recommendations from the waitstaff was on point regarding drinks. read more

The vodka chicken parmigiana was delicious. Amazing sauce and high quality ingredients. We also started with the meatballs and they were amazing! Our waitress was lovely and the environment was cute. The espresso martini was just okay, I've had very good ones in the north end and this one was basic. Despite that, I loved the winter theme on the espresso. I would recommend the strawberry basil martini. Perfect spot for a date night read more

Monica's Trattoria - Espresso martini - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The staff is great. They did not leave us at any moment with our cups empty. The chicken Parmesan (Chicken Parmigiana all's Vodka)was incredibly delicious, and the veal is juicy (Vitello Al Marsala). The latter dish also has gnocchi, which is potato pasta. This is a pricier restaurant perfect for celebrations and date nights. It does not have wheelchair accessibility, however. read more

Monica's Trattoria - Ambience - Italian Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Would not recommend this restaurant. First off, the service was awful. We did not have reservations so we put our names down and they said it was a 30 minute wait, which was expected, so we put our names down and they said they would text us. We got a text that our table was ready so we returned to the restaurant and went to the host stand. She was frazzled because she had just given our table away to a different group so we had to wait longer. This was extremely frustrating. We finally got seated and it took 15 minutes to get water and have our order get taken. Bad service overall. In regards to the food, I was not impressed. The best thing we had was the Caprese salad, simply because of the fact that they were fresh heirloom tomatoes which were delicious. The lobster fra diavolo was overpriced and very hard to eat. The lobster came in half a shell, which they should have mentioned on the menu because it was a very fussy food. The rest of the seafood was decent, however, I really enjoyed the spicy red sauce. The pizzaiola was plain and tasted like something you could get anywhere. The chicken did not have much flavor and it seemed like minimum effort was put into the dish. We got the lobster fettuccine in the spicy red sauce instead of the pink cream sauce. The lobster itself was fresh and had a good taste, but the pasty was over cooked and chewy. Both lobster dishes were $36, which was overpriced in my opinion. Definitely would not recommend going here, there are a lot of restaurants in this particular area, so I would go somewhere else. read more

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