RISTORANTE IL MONELLO

Review summary

1. H

   Heather

   VIP

   New York City

   6 reviews

   3.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   We waited for over an hour after our reservation to be seated and even after that the service was very slow. We were also unaware of the prefix when making the reservation so we young kids, it was a lot of money. Overall, a disappointing Christmas Eve.
   

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2. K

   Kevin

   New York City

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   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 that in front of my family on Christmas Eve.
   

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3. C

   Christopher

   New York City

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 30, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   Food is good, steak was very good. Service is spotty- we generally had to pour our own wine and the waiter was pushing additional sides/apps yet unhelpful with questions about what we actually ordered. He was also borderline obnoxious in the way he treated us and the more junior servers. No one up front to get our coat check so after a wait had to go into the closet myself. Place was basically empty on a Saturday night. Not sure about the hype but we won’t be going back.
   

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4. L

   Lisa

   VIP

   New York City

   4 reviews

   4.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on November 2, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Food was excellent. Service was great. We had an early reservation and was seated at a table that was a little cramped. We felt like our meal was being rushed to make sure they had that table for the next seating. Would have liked to go a little slower and enjoy my meal. Would try to make a later reservation next time to avoid being rushed and to sit at a more comfortable table.
   

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5. M

   Michele

   Greater Boston

   11 reviews

   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on October 13, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a wonderful experience. Our daughter had the Pappardelle al Leo, a delicious pasta with mushrooms. My husband had the Linguini Pescatore with clams, mussels, calamari and fish, and I had the Turbot special with artichokes. Every dish was absolutely delicious. We started with the fried calamari, the most tender we've ever had. Wonderful desserts and coffees as well. We highly recommend!
   

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6. M

   Michele

   Greater Boston

   11 reviews

   4.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on October 8, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Recently, I have had the pappardelle al leo (mushroom pasta), red snapper with fresh crab heaped on top (a special) and chicken caruso, chicken breast with eggplant, cheese and a brown gravy, and each one was excellent! The limoncello cake and lemon sorbetto are also worth saving room for!
   

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7. D

   David

   New York City

   11 reviews

   3.0

   11 reviews

   Dined on October 3, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   Have enjoyed many great meals here at Il Monello. Sometimes service and or food can be a bit erratic. Our last visit was one of those not-so-good events. Not the usual hospitality and welcome, haphazard service, pressure to order sides, food OK. Sad, as Martino, the owner chef and maitre d can deliver so much better. Not rushing back. Something was missing.
   

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8. A

   Andrew

   New York City

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on September 23, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Amazing . Everytime. I come here at least 5-10 times a year, it gets better every time. From the food to the staff it’s just amazing.
   

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9. L

   Laura

   VIP

   New York City

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on August 29, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Definitely going back! A great experience dining here.
   

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10. S

    Sarah

    New York City

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on August 24, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4

    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.
    

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