Monello Italian Restaurant

Savor Northern Italian street food at this sleek eatery that also serves handmade pastas, gourmet pizzas and a beloved Aperitivo Hour. Located between Kettner and India in Little Italy, Monello prepares 25 different kinds of pasta daily.

A more casual restaurant than its next-door sibling, Bencotto, many of Monello’s dishes can be ready in just a few minutes. Lightly fried mini calzones, or Panzerotti, are perfect as “grab and go” fare to pair with a stroll around Little Italy, for example. Sit-down starters include the salumi misti, a selection and variety of cold cuts served with flatbread piadina.

Monello pays tribute to its Milanese roots with its incredibly thin, light and crispy pizzas topped with fresh ingredients, all prepared by talented Chef Fabrizio Cavallini — the beating heart of the kitchen ever since Bencotto and Monello opened. Try everything from Chef Fabrizio’s Margherita (mozzarella, tomato sauce, basil) to the Tartufo (cheese sauce, black truffle, cremini mushrooms) to the Brunch Pizza (cheese sauce, bacon, spinach, two eggs) along with crowning options such as shaved cheese, chicken, sausage and more for the ultimate palate-pleasing pie.

Other house-made selections include a trio of spaghettis, Gnocchi di Zucca (butternut squash gnocchi and gorgonzola cream sauce), and Ravioli di Gamberi (ravioli and handmade ravioli filled with shrimp, ricotta and parmesan in shrimp bisque). For a different approach, order up the Ossobuco di Vitello (veal shank slowly stewed with porcini mushrooms) and mashed potatoes.

As is the style at Bencotto, pasta at Monello can be ordered in a “fai da te” (do-it-yourself) fashion. Choose your sauce (ragú, pesto, formaggi and more) and pasta type, such as the tortelli, which includes fresh strands made with semolina flour stuffed with spinach ricotta and parmesan.

A must try is the visually pleasing and mouthwatering cheese wheel pasta that changes weekly, and is prepared straight out of a 60-pound wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. Watch hot, freshly cooked noodles tossed – with finesse and flair — into a wheel of aged cheese, resulting in a delicious dish.

Be sure to experience Aperitivo Hour – order one cocktail and get three small plates of Chef Fabrizio’s creations. Apertivo runs 3-5:30 p.m. daily. Desserts include panna cotta, homemade gelati, sorbet, and tiramisu drenched in nocino walnut liqueur.

Inspired by the city of Milan, the ambience at Monello is modern with a touch of medieval, with Gothic-style wall tiles and a painting of Il Duomo. Hold any event or party, indoors or outside on the patio. The venue, at 750 W Fir St. in historic Little Italy (in the Q building between Kettner and India Street), opens at 11:30 a.m. daily. Call (619) 501-0030 or visit lovemonello.com.