Melo Trattoria

This is our second time here. It is right by our hotel, an easy walk. It is reasonable priced & my meal was delicious. I ordered the salmon. I don’t eat potatoes so I got two flavorful vegetables. The Riesling I ordered was very pleasant. We had very good service. We even enjoyed the music. We would come back the next time we are in Durham.

I had the cream of carrot soup today and it was top tier. I liked this place, I’m from LA and this was the closest place to my hotel. Top tier.

Im from Los Angeles, passed through the town looking for some top shelf italian.
And it was top tier daaad

I really don’t get all the hype about this place… I have now been to this restaurant for dinner twice. The first time was with a large group of over 15, so I give the restaurant some slack when dealing with large groups. I thought my food the first time was just OK… not bad, but nothing so wonderful that I would run to come back there again. The first time I had gotten the meatballs that are on their tapas menu for an appetizer. They were just Ok in terms of taste. Nothing special. Dinner was forgettable as well — I had gotten one of their pasta dishes, but honestly cannot remember which one I had ordered now. I can tell you that it was a dish with shrimp, and all my shrimp in the dish were very much overcooked in the pasta dish.
I only went back the second time with a smaller group of friends, as one of them really liked the place and wanted to go back. So, I decided to go back for another try.
This time, I ordered the octopus tapas. Again, the octopus were much overcooked. The red sauce that they were in was the best part of the entire dish. For dinner, I ordered the lasagna. It comes out as a flattened piece of lasagna on a plate with a pool of water around the sauce (so looks like it was a piece cut and microwaved). The taste was just OK… I had to order some red pepper flakes to kick the sauce up a notch… it was a little bit on the bland side.
I just don’t get the raving reviews on this website. I think people are just enamored of the place being an eclectic blend of both international tapas and Italian food, neither done well.
I should also point out that the server forgot my tapas order when he brought out my friends’ appetizers, so I had to wait for my octopus app. And, we were only a group of 4, so really no excuse for this.
Sorry, but I won’t be back to this place…

I’ve been coming here for 3 years now and everything about Melo’s has improved! They expanded their space and their menu has many excellent options, not just pasta. The lasagna special is always delicious, as are most of their specials.
Ambience is European, a little loud when busy but also romantic. The service is very good and the owner likes to socialize with the customers.
I enjoy coming here because it’s independent and locally owned. Andiamo a mangiare!

Went here for a company dinner. You’ll feel the Italian presence in the décor. They have a very good selection of food from Spaghetti meatballs to Lamb. Got the Lamb and Tapas Chicken, Cappucino and Brûlée for desert. Lamb was good Brûlée I’ll try a different desert next time. They have a decent selection of wine and there’s like a semi-​private area. Waiters check on you regularly. I would come back. I would encourage you to try it.

Good food and good service. But good Lord. I ordered the special Mahi Mahi. It was the smallest piece of fish I’ve ever seen! It wasn’t even very hot because of the mango/​peach salsa on top (guess it was cold). Other people around me seemed to enjoy their food. I’ll go back, just not to order the special!!!

Meelos is very very good. The service on a busy night can be a little slow but most nights its very good. Lunch is a great time to try meelos (chicken gyro is wonderful) dinner is a little pricy but I don’t mind paying a little more if the food is on point, which it is. At dinner if they have a special go for that its usually really tasty. I’m not big on Tapas menus but they have one and its extremely popular.
It’s not the biggest place the tables are right on top of each other when your a larger person as I am its hard to feel comfortable squeezing between tables. That’s really the only downside. A little bird told me they are also opening another meelos. I hope they find another local in Durham which may take the pressure off this local a little. Friday and Saturday evenings you should call a day or two a head for a reservation if you want to eat in the normal dinner hours.
The owner is a character. I met Andre I think the first week they were open. We were just stopping into to get a copy of the menu to take a peak since they were new. I wasn’t in the mood for Italian he offered to cooked me anything I wanted. Smart man, I went with the Spag and have been happy customer ever since. He is charming and funny and you can tell he loves his customers and wants them to be happy.
The tiramisu is made fresh every day and it will literally put all other tiramisu’s to shame. You heard it here first… you will be ruined for life so fair warning. It is AMAZING!
Tons of locals eat here, the staff and owner make it part of their job to get to know you.

Food was very delicious. They make their own pasta. The service was excellent. The salad was OK. Get the tiramisu as it is homemade and delicious. The bread was warm but unfortunately the butter was cold. The tortellini were handmade and delicious. It was nice and quiet in the dining room and easy to talk to your table mates. The atmosphere and décor was traditional Italian American. Indoor and outdoor seating. Priced very reasonably. We will definitely go again.

This is my favorite spot for a special occasion. The setting is intimate. The atmosphere is romantic. The food is spectacular. And the service is always on point. My companion is one of the pickiest eaters I know bur she was forced to admit that she enjoyed it.

Still a great Italian restaurant in Durham! If you describe what you want, they will fix it for you, even if not on the menu. The staff is friendly and accommodating. We usually get a great table, and they don’t have too long of a wait when full. Love this place as a regular!

Really disappointing. Food was not cheap (entrees $ 12 – 16), but simply awful. I had shrimp scampi pasta, which mentioned oregano as an ingredient, but it should have been called oregano pasta. I have never tasted so much dried oregano in one dish. Really bad. My daughter’s bolognese pasta was lackluster. I had my doubts before trying, but this confirmed my assumptions about north of I-​85 dining. Only reason it’s 2 stars is it was fast and servers were pleasant. Don’t waste your money!

Walking into a restaurant and realizing youre going to be the youngest attendants is 99% of the time a really bad sign. Sorry to say it but old people’s tastebuds arent generally the best and they usually frequent restaurants out of habit, not quality.
My wife ordered wine (i think moscato) and when it arrived she sipped it and made a comment on how it tasted store bought and stated that the glass of it probably costs as much as the bottle would at a store. Wine people take that how you will, I dont drink wine so i have no opinion on it.
We ordered garlic bread and what arrived was sliced french bread buttered or oiled with a heavy amount of crispy garlic powder on it. This was strike 2, and at this point we contemplated paying for what we ordered and leaving.
The menu was pretty small and it was all standard italian fare, what id really wanted was a meaty pasta, ravioli or tortellini. The waitress came over, read the specials and answered my prayers. I ordered a beef and veal tortellini with an italian sausage and vodka sauce and my wife ordered shrimp alfredo. Our food arrived and it was ‘alright’. Considering I had gotten exactly what i wanted, i was satisfied with the tortellini. The vodka sauce was interesting but the sausage seemed store bought or something along those lines, althought it mightve been how it was cooked. My wife said her shrimp alfredo was good.
Rounding off the meal we ordered tiramisu, I dont particularly like the coffee taste of it but this one tasted once again ‘alright’, although it seemed to follow the trend of the other parts of the meal in tasting store bought. Our bill totaled out at $ 60 and thats what lead this review to a 3 star rating. Considering what we ordered, we got enough to warrant that price tag but the quality did not facilitate it. I probably wont be coming back, but at least they have a following with the baby boomers.

This place is so good, we just returned from going there for our second night in a row. Friendly service, very nice staff. Great food, too: scallops and shrimp; lamb dish absolutely wonderful; lasagna — special rich and wonderful. Fresh, fresh salads. A new favorite Italian Restaurant close to home. Thanks for a second evening as good as the first.

When the green in your wallet is not enough to cover dinner at one of the neighboring Italian restaurants this place will serve up some piping hot authentic Italian fare and some Tapas as well at a more affordable price.
Opened up with a big friendly family style and run restaurant. Servers were very prompt and food was quick out of the kitchen, tasty, plentiful and hot. Not only temperature hot, but spicy hot… as my kids would attest to the fact that the three giant meatballs atop their bowel of done-​just-​right pasta were «a spicy meatball».
Other offerings on the menu are interesting and quite tasty. Will have to come back less hungry and try out the Tapas.
They honored 2 in our party’s 10% off coupon for the entire table. How «Italian» of them. Ciao Baby, we will be back.
SaleebScore: Food: ⁸⁄₁₀; Service: 8.5÷10; Ambiance: ⁸⁄₁₀; Value: ⁹⁄₁₀

Came here with the family of five and seated right away on a Friday night. We’ve never been here before but it looked busy and knew that was a good sign. Staff greeted us with a nice smile and pointed us to a very quaint table. We were served our drinks and warm bread pretty quickly. And they often asked us if we wanted more bread. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and it came out nicely portion with three large spicy meatballs. Staff regularly filled up our drinks and make sure everything was OK and asked how our dinner was at the end. Very polite and accommodating staff. Very quaint Italian cozy restaurant with reasonable prices. Even the bathroom was decorative and I love the family pictures on the walls. Two separate rooms made it more intimate. Outdoor seating as well with real candles lighted. Full bar available.

We absolutely love this charming neighborhood restaurant tucked away in a strip mall. It is noisy but the service is great and Andre the owner is a great chef and host‼. The food is great with many options for everyone in the family. We have not had a bad experience in our eight plus years of eating there. We take our out of town guests there without hesitation and they love it as well. Look past the location and you will be delighted.

This place was amazing from the minute we walked in. We sat outside on the patio. My husband ordered the special, lasagna bolognese and I ordered the ravoli, and both were fantastic. We ordered a bottle of Chilean wine, which was very reasonable and tasty. We had multiple servers, and they were all attentive, but did not over do it. The chef (and I think owner) came out and joked with us and also gave us a free tshirt that had a funny slogan. After dinner we were served lemonchello shots. Fantastic, we will be back!

My husband and I dined at Melo’s for the second time recently. We both thoroughly enjoyed our dinner choices. The seafood, vegetables, and chorizo were all cooked to perfection with
their accompanying sauces. And, the Tiramisu was awesome. We have had the Meat Lasagna in the past… and it, too, is very special. This little restaurant, nestled in a small strip mall across the parking lot from the Courtyard by Marriott is quite a «find» and is very convenient to Duke Hospital and the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic.

For those that might run into this problem as well. You can’t see this restaurant from the main road. Its in a small plaza on the other side of Bleu Olive.
After we arrived around 7ish on a Saturday night, plenty of parking, no wait, decent outdoor seating (roughly 3 tables or so). The host greeted us and pretty much let us pick where we wanted to sit, which was great because I have an 11 month old son. Seating however was not cramped but I would definitely consider it to be cozy. Service was prompt and presented with a smile. Waters were brought out immediately.
For our meal we started with the bruchetta appetizer. It was just okay. Nothing to scream about. It was average sliced french bagette with diced tomatoes on top, seasoning was not very flavorful either.
For a main dish I ordered the ravioli in a white cream sauce. This was great! I loved it! Very thick and creamy sauce. Everything was sprinkled with parmigiano cheese. At first sight I was disappointed by the portion size at $ 13 a plate. However once I finished I was so pleased to have enjoyed every last bite and not feel like I gorged myself.
For dessert my husband and I ordered a cannoli to share later at home. What a huge dissappiontment! They gave us two of the tiniest cannolies I have ever seen! They we’re roughly the length of my pointer finger for $ 5.50!!! Outrageous! I’m a dessert girl and this was just a huge let down.

The setting is quite nice and relaxed. We went on a Saturday evening and only about ¹⁄₃ full. The menu is limited but has good, traditional Italian servings. The chicken parmigiano was above average, but nothing special. The generous mozzarella cheese and deep fry masked some of the flavor but the seasoning was great. Deserts were very overpriced. $ 5.50 for two bite size canolis. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and service and ‘d give this place another try to see if it improved.

I ordered carbonara n my husband got meat pasta. Both were so so good.
Rally thick carbonara source n meat source s sweet n good tomato taste.
I would like to eat again!

Sorry. I can’t recommend this place at all. I have eaten there twice for lunch. They seem bent on trying to squeeze every penny out of a customer and the service was terrible. The first time I had a club sandwich — just OK. Chips or Fries are extra — are you kidding. Although we only had a table of 5, a gratuity of 20% was automatically added to the bill.
The second time I ate there, I had a gyro. There was so little meat that I wasn’t sure it was even there. It was like all they had was something like a thin piece of deli meat. i have had much better gyros at the food court at our local mall — bigger serving, better service too.
The quality absolutely does not match the prize paid.

For the past 5 years my wife and I have celebrated our wedding anniversary dinners with Andre and his wonderful staff. (many other times as well) The food is always outstanding only supassed by the friendliest, relaxing, joyful atmosphere you’ll ever find in any restaurant. Tonight we were serenaded by Andre with his harmonica. It doesn’t get any better than that. If you haven’t been.GO.for the best ever Mediterranean food and the happiest folks I’ve ever been around.

You could do a lot worse, but I did have some issues with my experience at Melo’s.
Biggest issue — if you’re gonna have spaghetti carbonara the menu, you dang well better make it right. There is no cream in it. Carbonara is an egg sauce. My waitress did not know how this dish was prepared, but another member of the staff walking by overheard and suggested they could not make proper carbona due to North Carolina restrictions on undercooked eggs. All I can say to that is they don’t seem to have that problem down the block at Gocciolina.
Secondly, if you’re an Italian joint, you gotta have good bread. Melo’s doesn’t.
Beyond these issues things went smoothly. Plates were cleared in a timely manner, water was kept topped off, food came as ordered in a reasonable amount of time.
The place was clean, the décor was tasteful, they have some nice outdoor seating.
I got the Mahi Mahi special. It was good if unremarkable.

Called at the last minute on Saturday night for a group of 6 reservation and were lucky to get a table!
Food, service, ambiance were all excellent.
Only downside? The music. It was LOUD and when the music is loud, the people talking at their tables get louder to hear each other.
Everyone raved about their meals — not a leftover on the table.
Can’t wait to go back & try something with a red sauce (I had the caesar salad & a the shrimp + mushroom tapis plates).

Was in Durham for a conference. There was only 3 restaurants close to my hotel. Driving around the side of a strip mall I found Melo Trattoria. I took a chance and went in. I tried the Grilled Baby Lamb Chops with balsamic Au Jus, mint jelly & Parmesan mashed potatoes. The meal brought back memories of growing up. The mint jelly just help make a memorable meal. The staff was extremely pleasant, and regularly checked with me to make sure everything was OK. I will make a special trip to Memo (approx 60 miles) next time I crave Lamb Chops

We were looking for dinner while I had new tires mounted at nearby Costco and found this spot on Unilocal.If you’re coming from the north after dark, it can be a little hard to find. It is in the same shopping area as Bleu Olive… in fact there are about 4 or 5 restaurants of all different backgrounds in a row! Anyway, turn in at the shopping center entrance and head to the south end. It bends around the corner.
There is a strong family-​owned feel to Melo. The restaurant is casual and quiet with red-​and-​white checkerboard tablecloths. They offer tapas and entrees. All the food we had was good. To start, my wife had a salad and I had the soup of the day which was potato cheese. For entrees, my wife had spaghetti and meatballs and I had the carbonara. The portions were reasonable and filling, but there was nothing left over to take home. That’s fine, but for the price, it would have been nice to get a little more. But, I don’t mind paying a little more to support a local family business.
There were some tasty dessert options, but coming out of two weeks of Christmas junk food, we passed.
By the time we wrapped up dinner and went back to Costco, my car was ready to go. Perfect!

Just moved to Durham from New Jersey, in my opinion the home of some of the best family owned italian restaurants. I was looking for a restaurant that was not corporate or fake Italian so when I saw Melo’s I figure I’d give it a try.
One of my better choices.
The waitress was friendly, helpful and flexible due to a member of our party arriving late. The food was prepared well, not overwhelming that you couldn’t eat it all and tasty! I had the tortellini bolognese and was very pleased with the amount of spices and seasoning. Another member of the party had the sausage and pasta; plenty of sausage but not overwhelming. All in all everyone at the table enjoyed their meals.
Is it owned by real Italians? Don’t know, don’t care. The whole experience was quite enjoyable.

Melo! Your food is still wonderful, but your service is going downhill. Not all of it, just your wait staff. The gentleman who seated me, and the people who brought my table bread and kept our water full were excellent. But the waitress? Awful.
Let’s start with the fact that the waitress did not tell us about the specials. She kept pushing to take our order. I asked for the specials. She had to pull out her pad and read them, and it was difficulty to understand her. I explained to the rest of the table most of what she said (I knew there was some kind of soup but I couldn’t grasp what it was).
I wanted a glass of sauvignon blanc. When I ordered it, the waitress had no idea what I was talking about. I thought it was me, that I had been unclear or hard to hear, and so said it again. She still had no idea. So I referenced the wine menu. I had to open up the wine menu and point at it so she could write it down.
My date was torn between pasta and the steak (one of the specials). So he asked for her opinion. She basically had no opinion just saying the steak would be good and not offering up anymore help than that.
Food came, but our waitress disappeared. Luckily, the food was wonderful. I had the chicken parm which is a large dish. That’s why I ordered it. I was already planning to take half home. Our waitress returned when I was done and asked me if there had been a problem with my food since I had some left. Well, I had eaten half of it! I said there was no problem. I just needed a box. She returned with the box. Then she came back with the check. She did not offer us dessert. Too bad, because I would have gotten some to go. I just didn’t feel like dealing with her anymore. Someone else picked up my check and took care of me from that point on.
Love your food. Love the atmosphere. Just get some better service.