Vinoteca di Monica

Tucked in the heart of Boston's North End, Vinoteca di Monica has a dining area with plenty of seating as it winds all the way through the back and an inviting bar. It's perfect for a relaxed and social meal. There a plenty of windows for a breeze on a nice day and letting the light fill into the room.

The menu features classic Italian dishes made with quality ingredients. While the flavors may not be overpowering, you can taste the freshness in every bite. A special shout-out goes to the white bean dip served with bread - a simple yet delightful starter that left a lasting impression.

Ambiance was middle of the road (3/5) as it was pretty empty inside but nothing that stands out substantially in a negative or positive way.

Service was middle of the road as well (2.5/5) i only knock it a bit because even though it was relatively a dead night the service wasn't very attentive. The server was a nice guy though.

Food (2/5) was just too salty. I love an appreciate heavy seasoning and salty food but the saltiness was just too much. My wife is a pasta lover and i have rarely ever seen her just give up on a pasta. This is unfortunate and i had high hopes for this place. We even tried to pinpoint if it was just the breading or the sauce, or the pasta but all parts were guilty of being extra salty.

We came here on NYE so it was understandably busy. I made a 6:15pm reservation that was labeled "high top" on OpenTable but when we arrived we were seated at this tiny table that seemed thrown together at the last minute. Tight seating is usually part of the charm of these places though so I didn't think much of it - plus it was loud in there, so our seats were sort of insulated, being in a corner.

Took a few minutes for someone to come over and check on us, but our table was also kind of tucked away. Cocktails were awesome, if a little pricey ($18 marg). I had a very refreshing glass of sauvignon blanc, so that was no issue for me (heard they have some of the best bottle selection in the North End).

Our table for two was missing a bread plate so I had to steal one from an empty table nearby because the servers were pretty busy. Someone on here said the carbonara was better than any she'd had in Italy so I had to give it a try - my first ever and did NOT disappoint!!! My boyfriend got the haddock piccata and he enjoyed it, said it was delicious. Even though we waited for a little in the beginning, our food came out quickly and our service was prompt after that.

That being said, the vibes were kind of off for me in this place. It didn't really have the sense of coziness that I was seeking, maybe because they were trying to appeal to an NYE crowd with the music, etc. We didn't end up getting dessert but simply crossed the street over to Modern Pastry for cannolis (which is cash only FYI - idk why that surprised me haha).

Overall a great spot and I would def come back on a quieter night! This food is 10/10 and I even overheard two girls in the restroom saying it was their favorite spot not just in the North End but in Boston - so def give it a chance. Only a 12min walk to North Station too, if you're taking the train.

This is a usual stop for us for Italian food in Boston. It is just off the main drag of touristy Italian restaurants. This is better and the hand made pasta is delicious. The service is great too.

This was our final dinner in Boston before heading home and it was a fabulous choice, the staff was absolutely incredible and the restaurant is exceptionally clean. The food was authentic and the portions were very reasonable. In the bar area they have great big screens and we enjoyed watching the NFL playoff game there. They have a phenomenal dessert selection and my party of five tried them all. The salmon was especially well prepared and I'd recommend it to anyone that enjoys a well prepared fish. We stayed for several hours and nobody rushed us out. If I was a local, I'd be back frequently.

Food was delicious. Espresso martini rocked. Salmon delicious and grilled calamari I had were so good. Server was attentive personable and so great. Loved the ambiance. Wish the seats were a little more comfortable! We will return!

Good food. Bartender was friendly and made great drinks. Dining room is small but the bar area seemed much more comfortable. Reasonable for the area!

Strap in cause this review is not gonna be pretty.

Did a lot of research before I picked this place for a Saturday night dinner in the north end. I'd like to tell you this ended well but far from it.

If you want the summary - don't waste a penny here. It is quite possibly the worst Italian restaurant in the north end of Boston which is the bastion of great Italian cooking. I certainly didn't believe that would be the case given the jampacked nature of people we saw here.

We did not get off to an auspicious start. 7:45 reservations, and when we showed up, the maître d' told us they are having some issues getting the tables turned over and it would might be another 15 to 20 minutes.

We were finally seated an hour later than our reservation time -with all the excuses about how people weren't coming in on time and staying too long. Frankly, it looked to me like they had seriously overbooked. We weren't the only ones there were multiple people waiting and not happy- some just ended up walking away.

As I later learned by reading other reviews they literally show availability when people with existing reservations have been waiting to be seated.

That should've been an indicator, but unfortunately I did not heed it. I figured with all the people trying to get in that the food would be worth the wait.

I could not have been more wrong.

We ordered the Caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella as an app. For entrees my wife got the lamb Ragu over spiral pasta and I got the most expensive dish on the pasta menu - described as a ribbon pasta with a cream sauce, truffle oil and fresh sliced truffles. $65 was the market price on this dish.

Now the fun begins.

They brought bread for the table - it was OK. Not warm not particularly flavorful. Again, not some thing that you typically are going to judge the meal by.

Caprese salad was decent - the buffalo mozzarella was good and the tomatoes were OK. They could've gone the extra mile and added a single extra slice of tomato to make it easy to split between us, but hey again, that's just a nice touch that they didn't think of. Still not the end of the world.

Then the entrées came out. Lamb Ragu looked OK. My dish - which was described as hand cut ribbons of pasta with fresh, sliced black truffles - came out as some black truffles sliced over spaghetti? noodles. I flagged the maître d' as he was walking by and I asked him why I was being served spaghetti rather than the "hand cut ribbon" pasta. His answer was one for the books, "I know it looks like spaghetti but it's kind of flat on one side if you look at carefully". I held it up and - it looks like #8 spaghetti. He offered to return it to the kitchen and make it with a pappardelle pasta instead - which I agreed to.

But again that's not the end of the story.

My wife started in on the lamb, Ragu, and was not very impressed and offered if I wanted to taste it. If you've ever had Ragu what you expect is a rich and delicious sauce - this tasted like water down tomato paste. Not good.

About the time that she was finishing they brought out my redone dish. I took the first bite and knew that this was not going to end well. I've had fresh truffles many times before, and I am very familiar with what they taste like. A rich, earthy flavor. This dish was flavorless, and even worse the truffles were bitter! Just in case my taste buds were off I asked my wife to take a taste, and she had the same reaction- bitter.

If you are unfortunate enough to make a reservation here, and go through with it, don't say, I didn't warn you. They have the distinction of being the worst Italian I've ever had much less in the north end of Boston.

The only The only reason I gave two stars was because it least they were apologetic, and took off the appetizer. I informed them about the issue with bitter tasteless truffles, and the response was. "thank you for letting us know"

Frankly, every penny, I paid on the meal was a waste.

Too Some extent I blame myself for not recognizing the warning signs. But now you know... be forewarned.

There are a few times when you can say your meal was complete perfection- this was one of them. The food was amazing. The pasta was fresh and cooked perfectly and the service provided by Felipe was attentive, professional and wonderful. His recommendations were spot on and he was so kind. The menu has a wonderful variety and their prices were better than several of the nearby restaurants we looked at. If you're going to pay $23 for pasta this is the place. You can also buy their fresh pasta next door.

My family and I met the owner of Monica's on our ferry coming back from Martha's Vineyard and they suggested we come in, and helped us snag a table. The owners daughter helped us that night, and she was absolutely lovely. We felt so lucky to meet them, and even better the food was to die for! We tried 4 different pastas and 3 desserts and it was nearly impossible to choose a favorite. Definitely recommend stopping in to visit this lovely family and their delicious food. It will be a return stop any time I'm in town from portland in the future!