Trattoria Di Monica

I thought the food was fine. The ambience is cute, as it is located off of Hanover street.

This was really the wrong night!
I have been there several times before and always like the above average food and the warm, cozy ambiance. This time– not so much. I am one of those people who will always finish what is on the plate. This time, I barely could do so. The fried calamari was tasteless. The gnocci tasted like it was half cooked and really bland blobs of dough.
Very disappointed. With many other places to go, I will not be back for some time.

Had the love and pecorino antipasti, insalata Mista bothfantastic, super creamy pecorino salty briny olives, the salad had a very tasty balsamic vinaigrette, for main I had the bucatini fruti de mar with a spicy red sauce — amaze balls. Only caution would be to cover shirt before eating. Would definitely recommend and go again

I’ve been to Monica’s a number of times for both brunch and dinner and it is always delicious. I love the carbonara and I always get it with fresh pappardelle because theirs is the best. The pasta, specifically, is always tender and cooked to perfection. Another thing I love is the flourless chocolate torte. It tastes like a creamy truffle with a slightly crunchy cocoa powder crust. The reason I give them 4 stars is because the food, while it is always good, it isn’t always the same level of good. An example is sometimes the torte isn’t as cold as it should be, completely changing the texture of the cake and «crust».

The Sangiovese and zucchini blossom appetizer were INCREDIBLE.
Solid pastas on entrée getting the veggie Gnocci, muchroom ravioli and scallop papradelle. Cute little place with only a few tables and was able to get a Sunday night reservation a few days before.

I have never left a one star review for a business before. I am fully aware and appreciative of the hard work it requires to run a business and be in the service industry, but the experience we had at Trattoria di Monica was truly inexcusable. They made us feel unwelcome and discriminated against as non-​white Americans.
My family and I had made in person reservations midday for an 8 pm dinner for a party of 3, where we left our name and contact number. We arrived at the restaurant for our dinner at 7:55 pm — where we were told it would be 15 min before we could be seated. So we ambled around the neighborhood and returned at 7:10, proceeded to wait in front of the restaurant and at 7:15 went in again to ask about our table. We were brusquely told by the hostess it would be another 5 min at least. So we walked down the block and returned again at 7:20 and went in to check on our table again. This time the waitress simply said she had given our table to another party because we had missed our reservation! They had JUST been seated. She was rude and unapologetic, blaming us for not being at the entrance when the table was ready. When asked if they tried calling our number given we had checked in with her 2x, she simply made us feel like we did not understand how things worked. Her demeanor was disrespectful, righteous, and truly disheartening. There was no attempt to accommodate or have us as patrons.

Terrible service. Arrived 7 minutes late of my reservation and the waitress said all the tables were taken and we would have to wait another 20 minutes. If they know it’s a small restaurant and that people take their time to eat, then they shouldn’t have the option for customers to reserve in the first place. I asked to speak to the chef/​manager/​owner and he was extremity rude and degrading. Definitely not the way to treat potential customers

Always impressed by this small hole-​in-​the-​wall and look forward to returning after every meal! The food is fresh and delicious, their specials are always creative, and the staff is kind, helpful and the anthesis of pushy.
All of their meals are fantastic and specifically have to call out how good their arancini are. I’m salivating just writing this! (Ok, and their flourless chocolate cake is divine.)
The restaurant is small, so be prepared to get cozy but this really plays into the authentic, romantic vibe they have going on.

I was so lucky to get a table for 3 here without a wait on a Sunday night. The atmosphere is cosy and small and the staff is patient and happy to explain anything. We got the bruschetta with Brie, asparagus and a fried egg. Man that was great, the egg yolk became a dipping sauce for the bread and it was amazing. I got the mushroom ravioli which was light yet filling. The sauce was so creamy. My friend got chicken francese and the chicken was very moist. I can tell the pasta was fresh and homemade! I can always count on this place for a nice dinner

You have to love the North end. All the restaurants are amazing and this is no different.
1. Be prepared… the restaurant is small. Make a reservation and realize that you may have to wait for a bit for your table to be ready.
2. Get a bottle of wine… the selection is great and a good price selection to choose from.
3. Listen carefully to the specials. There are a lot of them.
The pasta is home made, great texture and taste. The sauces are great and don’t forget dessert. Wonderful intimate dining experience. The staff were wonderful, friendly and helpful. Our meal was a lovely experience and can’t wait to go back.

We went here last year for brunch while visiting Boston for the marathon. By accident book reservations without realizing it was same place. Had a great waiter and wonderful food! Highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed !

One of the best in the North End. Very small place — not good for bigger parties, perfect for date night. Service was very attentive & food came out hot and quickly. We had the meatballs as an appetizer and two pasta dishes. The Pasta Carbonara was absolutly amazing, with a hearty portion served. Almost too much for one person, but good for leftovers! We will be back!

All we can say is OMG !!! The pasta carbonara was the best I’ve ever had and the special with shrimp and scallops, mushrooms and spinach fettuccine was divine! The bruschetta appetiZer and spinach salad was amazing !!!
A special shout out to Jen and Casey, outstanding service girls. !!

Very blown away with the food and service at this restaurant! When I arrived I was greeted by very polite and attentive girls who seated me right away. I was having trouble picking an entrée for my dinner, my server suggested the Fettuccine Nero (a scallop dish with squid ink fettuccine). I am not exaggerating when I say this is seriously one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had in my life. I was very thankful for my servers suggestion and made it a point to write this review. This hole in the wall in the north end most certainly exceeded my expectations and I would absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good meal paired with excellent service!
Bravo

Tiny restaurant but a cozy ambience. Pasta dishes were overall good. The standout was the sweet potato gnocchi with Italian sausage and broccoli rabe — an excellent well-​balanced dish. Mushroom ravioli was quite good as well although the pappardelle bolognese was a bit overpowered by the tomato in the sauce. Good service.

We made a reservation through OpenTable for Saturday at 8pm and arrived on time. We were asked our name and party size and were then ignored for 15 minutes at the front. When one of the waitresses came to sit another table we mentioned that we had had a reservation and it was only then that the shortly said that reservations were 45 minutes behind.
I went to the back and informed the waitstaff that we were leaving and had a great dinner, with no wait, at Tip Tap Room instead.
Imagine my surprise when I was contacted by OpenTable that the restaurant reported us as «no shows».
It is one thing that a restaurant falls behind in their reservation schedule, fine. But, their staff was inattentive and short with us. Then, they have the gall to report as «no shows» to a third party app with a policy against that behavior. Not cool.

I got the fettuccine and my friend ordered the spaghetti and meatballs based on the Unilocal reviews. I was pretty disappointed with not only the portion size but also the flavor. My dish was extremely salty, but other than that had a very flat flavor palette. The chicken was gross; overcooked with a fatty later of skin underneath. The spaghetti and meatballs were also bland and meatballs dry. However the service was pleasant and attentive, which is why I tacked on an additional star to the otherwise two star restaurant. Oh the calamari was pretty good as well.
And to be honest we only ate here because the restaurant we originally wanted to eat at had a wait of almost an hour. I guess there’s a reason why this place was able to sit us immediately.

Sweet Jesus, the food is actually indescribable. I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal in which I enjoyed EVERY. SINGLE. BITE.
Actually, let’s back up. If you make a reservation here, just be aware that it’s a joke. Be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for your table. That was a minor detail I’m willing to look past since the food was so incredible.
My gal pal, a true Italian who grew up with her family cooking, introduced me to this place and if there’s one thing I trust her with, it’s quality food in the North End. We ordered the bruschetta special and I was really amazed at how good it was. It comes in an order of 2 so there was one for both of us.
She got the sweet potato gnocchi and I ordered the Fettuccine Nero con Caposante. So. so. so. good. The tiramisu was perfect and not too heavy. I’m making this a regular spot whenever I’m in town!

My entire experience here can be described as odd. We arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation. The hostess/​server/​manager (I think she does it all!) met us at the door and frantically told us the table isn’t ready. The restaurant is pretty small with no bar area so sitting with a drink wasn’t an option, but with only a 15 minute wait going anywhere else didn’t make sense either. We decided to just wait around during which time more people with and without reservations came by and she promised everyone a table (not sure how this was going to work since they place was full and, again, small). 15 minutes later she tells us there still isn’t a table and she doesn’t know how long it’ll be but it will be soon and why don’t we go somewhere to have a drink. That didn’t really make sense to us, particularly because I don’t think she was actually paying attention to who had a reservation and who was a walk in. I was starving and didn’t want to risk missing our table. Lo and behold, our table was ready 5 – 6 minutes later (which was not enough time to send someone off to another place to get drinks…).
I write all that because it just started the evening off on an odd foot and so that you don’t go any earlier than your actual reservation because then you’ll be stuck in this weird situation. Aside from this though, the service was very friendly.
Anyway, the place is tiny, but feels nice and cozy. You can easily come here with friends, family, or on a date. The menu is typically Italian. Another odd feature: they have like 6 – 7 specials (some of which I think are «specials» very frequently) but none are written anywhere. Instead the very intense woman lists them off for you from memory. Good luck remembering any of them on the first try!
For drinks ordered wine by the glass (pinot grigio and montepulciano) both of which were great choices. We were starving and also ordered an appetizer immediately. The arancini were A+. Put a couple more on a plate and I would have happily had them as an entrée! I had the sweet potato gnocchi special, which was just ok and I probably should have ordered something else instead. Oh well. My husband had the shrimp with angel hair pasta and a white garlic sauce. He loved his and the portion was so large, he couldn’t finish it.
Prices were pretty standard. Not sure about parking since we walked from our hotel, but the streets were quite narrow. They really should get a board on which to write the specials…

I absolutely adore the North End (say this in whatever slightly snobby accent you’d like). Seriously. It’s my favorite. My Italian grandpa I think would be really pleased if he ever got to visit here. The whole thing is some sort of Italian Main Street made by Disney.
Anyway we got a reservation here on the night of my best friend’s graduation. We settled on this place for many reasons, one being that they had sweet potato gnocchi. And that’s exactly what I ordered! Perfect squishiness. We also ordered the ricotta balls (sub fancy name here) which were equally delicious.
This place was seriously tiny in general (and missing candles?) and had the world’s smallest closet of a bathroom, but it was enchanting (insert snobby voice again here).