Il Mondo Vecchio
“Byob and very hard to get a.reservation without calling a week or more ahead of time.”
“Marco and Nancy up front are great and Eduardo takes excellent care of us.”
“But the place did fill up quickly, but the noise level was not loud as I read in another review.”
Il Mondo Vecchio
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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This is really a great restaurant, although not as great as 15 years ago, when it was five star and one of the owners (Trish) would sometimes come out from the kitchen to greet patrons at their tables. Nonetheless, it's awesome, although somewhat pricy. It's BYOB, which helps. Great choice for a special night out.
I've eaten here a few times over the past few years and have generally had positive experiences. The dining room is always packed on Friday and Saturday nights so make sure you call ahead for a reservation. I usually arrive a little early and head over to the liquor store next door for some cold beer and a bottle or two of vino. The hostess can be a bit impatient seating you when it's crowded and in my experience the servers are better when I'm with my family than when I go with my girlfriend (maybe they don't think a young man will spend money and tip well? pro-tip: I do). The servers will hand you menus and recite about a dozen specials: appetizers, salads, entrees, pastas. While the specials are all well and good..it's 2014 print them out on paper please! It can be difficult to remember each of them as it is after looking over the regular menu without having to remember what the server recited over a very loud dining room.
A meal here always begins with a basket of bread which includes: Italian bread, a raisin bread, and a rosemary flecked foccia bread topped with sauted onions. Everyone is always presented individual plates of bruschetta, salumi, and zucchini chips. If you're still hungry after all that I recommend the mushroom ravioli in a creamy truffle and butter laden sauce and beef carpacio as appetizers. Follow that with any of their excellently cooked and fresh sourced seafood or order an American-Italian classic not even found on the menu such as Veal Parmesan. This is one of the few places in the area that cooks capellini and not linguini, and will cook it al dente more consistantly than those linguini places! If you want to know more about dessert check someone else's review…that's not my bag, although the pistachio gelato was very good that I tried.
This restaurant was highly recommended by friends of ours who live in Middlesex County who told us they have been there twice and loved the place. When I questioned the wisdom of driving 25 miles to Madison, they said it was absolutely worth it.
I am very happy to report that the food here is excellent and there is plenty of it and relatively reasonably priced for what you get. In other words, it is not cheap but not super expensive for a quality meal.
Despite our reservation, we did have to wait 15 minutes to be seated and the table was a little too close for comfort to the table next to ours. In addition, as others have noted, the dining room is noisy (and maybe a little too dark).
Service is great. My compliments to both our waiter whose name I unfortunately forgot and his assistant Anello.
They bread is served topped with sautéed onions. That was a first. Moreover, they also provide you with a complimentary appetizer plate of bruschetta, salami, and something that was a thinly sliced potato with a nice seasoning.
I had a Beet and Goat Cheese Salad that I thought was OK. Probably could have used more goat cheese and pistachio nuts. The beets were excellent. My wife loved her warm mushroom salad.
The mains were all large portions and quite good. The Red Snapper and the Stuffed Veal from the regular menu, as well as the Lobster and Shrimp Special were certainly enjoyed.
For dessert we limited ourselves to a few scoops of gelato. Good quality but none of the flavors really jumped out at me for special mention.
It's BYOB which was a big plus since the bill was $125 including tax and tip per couple. Like I said, not cheap but worth it for what we had.
I don't think I would go back on my own only because of the distance from my house but if we ever need a place to meet someone coming from that direction or further out, I now know one I would definitely lobby for.
They have been very popular for a long time and have major strengths and major flaws:
*The food is consistently excellent, with a very extensive menu and large portions, plus they are byo
* They appear to overbook, so you can have a long wait standing in a narrow hallway even with a reservation and leaving the restaurant is similar to running up the middle vs. the Seahawks' goal line defense
*The noise level in the main room is very high
*They recite a very long list of specials–many of them "special" evey day to my recollection– without giving you the prices and you waste time asking them to repeat the ingredients
*Alhough the printed prices are reasonable, beware of items where they do not disclose the price, or you will get a $49 veal chop
*The waiters are otherwise very professional
I came here for a bridal shower. It was my first time here, and parking was pretty good considering it was downtown Madison. The restaurant looks like it is split into two separate parts. One side is for parties and the other side is for ala carte dining. The setup was nice, however, the seating arrangement had a mistake and the staff basically didn't know what to do to accommodate the situation. The table was way too small for the number of people who came. So get a bigger table or something. The issue was never resolved and people just moved to another table.
They put bread on the table. It ran out before everyone got some. I wasn't eating bread at all and the servers should of refilled it im sorry I shouldn't have to ask. You messed up the seating to begin with. Anticipate the problem.
Then they served the food. We got an arugula salad as a starter with a balsamic vinegrette. The salad needed to have a better presentation for a shower. I am normally not picky about these things but it looked like the salad was just thrown together.
Next was the main course. A menu was at our seat giving us the option a few dishes. There was a chicken, veal, and seafood option as well as a pasta option. I decided to get the veal. The dish tasted ok, but there is just issues.
The veal was paper thin- I mean sliced with a slicer thin with the thinnest piece of prosciutto. On the side was the tiniest piece of Zucchini on the planet.
You could of put some sort of starch on the plate especially because there was no pasta dish. A baby potato or two. A scoop of white rice. Something. It's a shower and I don't mean to be harsh but it would not of bankrupted your restaurant to provide something more than what you did with these protein dishes. Only people who left this shower full were the people who ordered the pasta as the main course. Every people had a clear plate including my 91 year old great aunt.
I want to emphasize that I have loss 213 pounds in 18 months because I have only 20 percent of my stomach and I left hungry. That's impossible. For a shower? Really?
They did provide a dessert dish that I posted a picture of. But everyone brought trays of cookies and honestly the cookies were gone because you didn't serve enough food for your guests. I gave you four stars because the food really did taste great, but presentation of the salad, the servers, and the smallness of the main course knocked it down.
I will say the decor was very pretty. I posted pics of it as well as the fireplace.
Was here today for lunch with a colleague. This is a cool little old school Italian joint in northern NJ. From the outside it doesn't look like much and you might just pass by. It's a byob but that didn't matter for us at lunch but good to know.
My colleague got the veal special and I got the chicken special. I don't know what the sauce was but this may have been the best chicken meal I have ever had. Pounded thin, breaded and served with vegetables and a sauce I could not recognize. Kind of a red, barbecue kind of thing but holy crap it was out of this world. My colleagues meal was also excellent.
Great service and literally one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had. Great job chef!!
I have been here before, great place in Madison nj which is a great little Main Street area. Go out of your way to try this place if you are in the area. Street parking or public parking very close.
Go. Go. Go.
1.5 stars. Not a great dining experience. We were a table for 4 on a Saturday night, and it seemed that everyone had the same reservation time. The restaurant's waiting area is a fire hazard, there is barely any room for people waiting to stand, and a bulky, out of style breakfront table blocks most of the waiting area, and slippery rugs are everywhere. We were sat 30 minutes late would have been longer if we were not able to speak up. The food is 1-2 steps above mediocre and the portion sizes are good, but that's about it. Our salads came quickly but our entrees were a good 40 minutes afterwards, maybe later. Very slow. Staff was nice enough, but it was so crowded and slow we were about to gnaw on the wood. Decor is like a poor grandma's dining room. The owners need an architect/interior designer to come renovate and bring them into this decade. It seems they get regular older customers but for any new diner under age 40, if they've been to other restaurants, a return trip is not going to be desired.
I wish there were 10 stars to give. I have been to Mondo so many times over the years and i have never, not once – been disappointed. have had many "special dinners", celebrations, parties and it was the mid week date spot for my husband and I when we were dating. I love this place, I love Marco. He will not let you be disappointed.
I have taken my now grown, out of college sons there over the years so much, that when their dad retired, they gave him a retirement party there last weekend. Again, the staff went above and beyond to ensure that every guest was happy and taken care of. The service is key for me, the fact that they know you by name is a plus, but the menu, which has not changed in years is what keeps folks coming back. I love the focaccia with the sauteed onions, i love the mussels and clams in the broth with fennel and tomato. They offer it as just mussels (or clams) on the menu but they always mix if you ask. And the veal cutlet that in any other establishment is milanese – is the best thing on the menu. Or is it the bolognese? Yes, the bolognese. Or the veal? You will be rushed on the weekend, and it really is loud in there with those tin ceilings and walls but i savor every moment with every bite. You will too.