The food was amazing. Definitely will go there again. We had the baratta appetizer, the cheese wheel pasta, insalata mista, and the torta. Everything was so good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
J B
Service was great but food is just so so.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Sophia
the gnocchi was the best i’ve ever had
sermar Garcia
That was my first time in monello. I been wanting to go for a long time. So I told my husband and my sons let's go to try a pasta that they make it on a wheel cheese here in San diego. I made a reservation. First I notice the music they played was to loud and not a soothing at all. For being an Italian I was thinking they will be soothing music. Because is an Italian restaurant. Maybe this restaurant was not good. Because a monello senza una punta di compiacimento), a boy who behave badly. I didnt like their food.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 5
Courtney Breckner
We came here with such high expectations, and that might be the problem! In Europe and in the photos you see on this restaurants page, your pasta is tossed in front of you on the cheese wheel. That wasn’t the case here, you’re brought out a plate and told that it was…the flavor on my pasta tasted no better than hamburger helper. Our server was amazing and she was the only reason this review is a 2 star. I wouldn’t come here again, but the server was awesome. Terrible flavor and not worth the money.
Katie Fo
Giving 4 out of 5 stars overall because our service wasn’t terrible and the atmosphere was okay and location great. It’s a modern building which fits for San Diego. We chose this spot due to reviews on how their pasta was homemade. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed in the taste though. The carbonara barely had any sauce on it like the traditional carbonara you’d order in Italy. I wish I would’ve tried the ravioli instead.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
savvybraceface
I didn’t get the cheese wheel meal so I can’t comment on that. But the rest of the food everyone at my table ordered? Very meh. Spaghetti ragu didn’t have much flavor at all.Portions were very small; I left hungry. And prices were outrageous. I think this place is only in business for the novelty factor.
Luis Martinez
Decided to try out Monello after seeing a few social media posts about the cheese wheel. Monello and their staff did not disappoint . Service was excellent . Located right in downtown San Diego in an area with plenty of parking options nearby . We were early to our reservation but we were seated right away . Tasty drinks , appetizers (calamari tasted fresh) and a good selection of wine. The cheese wheel pasta was TO DIE FOR. I highly recommend Monello .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Steven Ellison
We came here because they do the thing where they toss the pasta in the middle of a giant wheel of cheese, so the pasta gets covered in cheese. Apparently they change the pasta each day, but if you want to do the cheese wheel thing you only get the one choice of pasta, which was fine. I personally though the gnocchi I ordered was cheesier tasting than the cheese wheel pasta, but the cheese wheel pasta was still fantastic. You could tell the pasta was made fresh.We sat outside since we had our dogs with us. It's just off the main drag in Little Italy, so it wasn't quite as scenic but that's fine. The restaurant next door had kind of loud club-like music going the whole time, which was a little annoying but it's not like it's Monello's fault. It rained while we were there, and there was just enough cover on their patio that we didn't get wet, but we were glad our dogs were in a stroller or they would have ended up in a puddle.I could definitely see going here again, it was a bit pricey but we kind of expected that for the cheese wheel pasta. The only real negative was the service was kind of slow, like we asked for the dessert menu and then waited a LONG time for the server to come back, like he kept forgetting we were out there or something. The food came out quickly, so maybe that one guy just kept forgetting since we were the only people outside, not a big deal and we'll give them another chance.
You can find the word worst carbonara there. No idea why they have 4.4 stars. I will never even come close to this place.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Cloud Walker
We both ordered pasta and they brought it less than five minutes after we ordered. Pasta was cold. Very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Michael Rodriguez
Statff is amazing and extremely polite. This place is a must if you're in Little Italy! The food is out of this world, very authentic Italian cuisine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kristina Bolt
This place was OK. Our pasta came out kind of lukewarm and the noodles itself was almost too al dente. We thought that the cheese wheel would be cooked in the cheese wheel in front of us, but it ended up being a red sauce pasta not at all what we were expecting not sure why they call it a cheese wheel Pasta, if it changes all the time and is not made, in a cheese wheel in front of you.Severe didn’t care about the disappointment .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
The pasta was hands down the best pasta I have ever had. I had the cheese wheel pasta. My husband had the breaded chicken with garlic mashed potatoes. Both meals were great. Service was wonderful as well. Highly recommend.
The food was amazing. Definitely will go there again. We had the baratta appetizer, the cheese wheel pasta, insalata mista, and the torta. Everything was so good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service was great but food is just so so.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
the gnocchi was the best i’ve ever had
That was my first time in monello. I been wanting to go for a long time. So I told my husband and my sons let's go to try a pasta that they make it on a wheel cheese here in San diego. I made a reservation. First I notice the music they played was to loud and not a soothing at all. For being an Italian I was thinking they will be soothing music. Because is an Italian restaurant. Maybe this restaurant was not good. Because a monello senza una punta di compiacimento), a boy who behave badly. I didnt like their food.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 5
We came here with such high expectations, and that might be the problem! In Europe and in the photos you see on this restaurants page, your pasta is tossed in front of you on the cheese wheel. That wasn’t the case here, you’re brought out a plate and told that it was…the flavor on my pasta tasted no better than hamburger helper. Our server was amazing and she was the only reason this review is a 2 star. I wouldn’t come here again, but the server was awesome. Terrible flavor and not worth the money.
Giving 4 out of 5 stars overall because our service wasn’t terrible and the atmosphere was okay and location great. It’s a modern building which fits for San Diego. We chose this spot due to reviews on how their pasta was homemade. Honestly, I wasn’t very impressed in the taste though. The carbonara barely had any sauce on it like the traditional carbonara you’d order in Italy. I wish I would’ve tried the ravioli instead.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
I didn’t get the cheese wheel meal so I can’t comment on that. But the rest of the food everyone at my table ordered? Very meh. Spaghetti ragu didn’t have much flavor at all.Portions were very small; I left hungry. And prices were outrageous. I think this place is only in business for the novelty factor.
Decided to try out Monello after seeing a few social media posts about the cheese wheel. Monello and their staff did not disappoint . Service was excellent . Located right in downtown San Diego in an area with plenty of parking options nearby . We were early to our reservation but we were seated right away . Tasty drinks , appetizers (calamari tasted fresh) and a good selection of wine. The cheese wheel pasta was TO DIE FOR. I highly recommend Monello .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
We came here because they do the thing where they toss the pasta in the middle of a giant wheel of cheese, so the pasta gets covered in cheese. Apparently they change the pasta each day, but if you want to do the cheese wheel thing you only get the one choice of pasta, which was fine. I personally though the gnocchi I ordered was cheesier tasting than the cheese wheel pasta, but the cheese wheel pasta was still fantastic. You could tell the pasta was made fresh.We sat outside since we had our dogs with us. It's just off the main drag in Little Italy, so it wasn't quite as scenic but that's fine. The restaurant next door had kind of loud club-like music going the whole time, which was a little annoying but it's not like it's Monello's fault. It rained while we were there, and there was just enough cover on their patio that we didn't get wet, but we were glad our dogs were in a stroller or they would have ended up in a puddle.I could definitely see going here again, it was a bit pricey but we kind of expected that for the cheese wheel pasta. The only real negative was the service was kind of slow, like we asked for the dessert menu and then waited a LONG time for the server to come back, like he kept forgetting we were out there or something. The food came out quickly, so maybe that one guy just kept forgetting since we were the only people outside, not a big deal and we'll give them another chance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great food but a little pricy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
You can find the word worst carbonara there. No idea why they have 4.4 stars. I will never even come close to this place.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
We both ordered pasta and they brought it less than five minutes after we ordered. Pasta was cold. Very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Statff is amazing and extremely polite. This place is a must if you're in Little Italy! The food is out of this world, very authentic Italian cuisine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place was OK. Our pasta came out kind of lukewarm and the noodles itself was almost too al dente. We thought that the cheese wheel would be cooked in the cheese wheel in front of us, but it ended up being a red sauce pasta not at all what we were expecting not sure why they call it a cheese wheel Pasta, if it changes all the time and is not made, in a cheese wheel in front of you.Severe didn’t care about the disappointment .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
The pasta was hands down the best pasta I have ever had. I had the cheese wheel pasta. My husband had the breaded chicken with garlic mashed potatoes. Both meals were great. Service was wonderful as well. Highly recommend.