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Monello, San Diego, CA

Monello

4.6
4.6
2656 Reviews
$31 to $50
Italian

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2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 31 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Lively
  • Good for groups
As Bencotto's brother located next door,
Monello lives up to its sibling's reputation as Best Italian restaurant in San Diego.
From the 800 LB of fresh pasta handcrafted every week, Monello displays up to 27 different recipes of pasta.
Mediterranean style seafood is served along with gourmet pizza.
Monello delivers Pasta & Risotto tossed in the Parmigiano cheese wheel tableside.
Unique Italian-style brunch is served on weekends.
Voted Best Happy Hour 2016, Monello's Milanese Aperitivo offers small plates on the house with drinks every night.
UN­ABLE TO FIND A TABLE? CHECK OUT OUR BROTHER RESTAURANT BENCOTTO NEXT DOOR
Private dining

Private dining

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Additional information

  • Location
    750 W. Fir St., Suite 103B, San Diego, CA 92101
  • Phone number
    (619) 501-0030
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Mediterranean, Comfort Food
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Fri 12:00 pm–9:30 pm Sat, Sun 10:00 am–9:30 pm Happy Hour Tue–Sun 3:00 pm–5:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    The Little Italy Association offers valet parking Tuesday through Sunday at the corner of India St. and Fir St. (in front of Influx) & Kettner Blvd. & Fir for $10.00 beginning at 5:30pm. Limited street parking is available. Metered parking is free after 6:00pm until 6:00am Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Fabrizio Cavallini
  • Delivery & takeout
    Order direct

Featured in

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 2,656 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 4.2Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Monello in San Diego is a vibrant Italian gem, lauded for its "authentic and full of flavor" dishes, especially the "amazing cheese wheel pasta." The atmosphere is lively, with attentive service from standout staff like Jennifer and Christina. While noise levels can be high, the delightful homemade pasta and "delicious cocktails" make it a memorable dining destination.

2,656 Reviews

  1. OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great experience here. We came for the cheese wheel pasta and it was amazing, delicious. Will come back when we crave pasta again!

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  2. Ellen

    Vancouver

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    Great food and delicious pasta! Service was fairly slow and took a long while to receive food. 3/4 dishes came while the fourth persons came 10-15 mins later. Not the best value but a good tasty experience!

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  3. Master Jedi

    San Diego

    10 reviews

    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great experience. Made our anniversary dinner so awesome!

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  4. Walter

    San Diego

    39 reviews

    5.0

    39 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The homemade pasta at Monello is really delicious. The perfect combo of firmness/chewiness and flavor. We had the Parmesan wheel spaghetti with shrimp and asparagus and the papardelle with pesto sauce. Both were rich with flavor. The fried portobello mushrooms, calzone and vegetable soup were also great. We’ll be back.

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  5. Craig

    Mexico City

    4 reviews

    1.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on February 25, 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    Both Cheese Wheel pastas were dry and poorly prepared. Just plain lousy. And way overpriced for what it was and the ingredients they contained. The Caesar Salad was far from a Caesar. Not a bad taste, but nothing authentic. This is the first time I have ever given such a poor rating to a restaurant. Very disappointed.

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  6. Richard

    Unspecified

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on February 23, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our waitress was prompt and attentive. She provided many food suggestions, all of which we took advantage of and thoroughly enjoyed! Wonderful vibe in the restaurant. Would highly recommend!

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  7. Kara

    Nashville

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on February 20, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The service was outstanding and the food delicious! Highly recommend.

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  8. Mina

    Unspecified

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on February 18, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Cute, but I expected more. I thought the food would be better, but our server, Jennifer, was amazing, she’s very sweet. If I go back again, it would be because of Jennifer, or to try the cheese wheel pasta. Other than that, painfully mid. 

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  9. Chad

    San Diego

    25 reviews

    5.0

    25 reviews

    Dined on February 16, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Some of the best fresh made pasta we have had. Now, me and my wife grew up in the north East (MA) and had great Italian restaurants in the North End in Boston. Monello’s brought us back to that place and we love having this restaurant in San Diego. I must say, the Gnocchi was probably one of the top two that I have ever tried and we had that with the Monello sauce and then the Pecorino Romano cheese wheel special with cherry tomatoes and Linguine. It was Fantastic! Definitely made us grinning ear to ear with every bit of food that sang melodious notes of true deliciousness!

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  10. Hugo

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on February 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We were seated 15 minutes before our reservation which was nice. The food was great and the service was awesome

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FAQs

Monello offers delivery in partnership with Postmates. Monello also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (619) 501-0030.

Monello is rated 4.6 stars by 2656 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 31 times today
Google Map for Monello

750 W. Fir St., Suite 103B, San Diego, CA 92101

Additional information

  • Phone number
    (619) 501-0030
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Mediterranean, Comfort Food
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Fri 12:00 pm–9:30 pm Sat, Sun 10:00 am–9:30 pm Happy Hour Tue–Sun 3:00 pm–5:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    The Little Italy Association offers valet parking Tuesday through Sunday at the corner of India St. and Fir St. (in front of Influx) & Kettner Blvd. & Fir for $10.00 beginning at 5:30pm. Limited street parking is available. Metered parking is free after 6:00pm until 6:00am Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Fabrizio Cavallini
  • Delivery & takeout
    Order direct

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