Montebello Ristorante Italiano
“We started with a good wine selection, moved on to appetizers of mussels and a tomato, roasted pepper and mozzarella plate and then dinner of spinach and ricotta crepes.”
“I could only finish about half, but boyfriend polished off all of his gnocchi in the meat ragout.”
“The interior is small, but warm and inviting.”
Montebello Ristorante Italiano
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
7 reviews
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Came here with a large group for a birthday dinner during Restaurant Week. Restaurant had a nice atmosphere.
For the appetizer, I had the Cozze Coltivate which was mussels in tomato sauce. It was pretty good. For the entre I had the Pollo Montebello, which I really enjoyed. It had a nice lemon flavor to it. To end it, I had the Crem Caramel (flan) for dessert. It had a very strong caramel taste, but it gave the flan a very unique taste, and I thought it was very good.
Some of the waiters were very rude here. They kept forgetting to bring stuff we ordered, and they gave us an attitude when we reminded them as if it was our fault.
So let me say we went here with a large group which you can expect your hot portions to experience sometime under the heat lamps.
We had a pre-fixed menu with a few options for each part of the meal.
Appetizer – I had the smoked salmon. Pretty solid
Pasta – skipped the pasta tasting as daddy is trying to become a lean mean consulting machine. Can't do carbs past lunch
Main – I went with the non-breaded veal with mushrooms and artichokes. The veal was drowning in sauce which took away a bit from the meat.
Desert – see my rationale for skipping this course based on the pasta course description. Trying to shed lbs
Service – the service was really great for our group. The staff was very attentive
All the other people around me seemed to walk away thinking the meal was good so maybe skipping the Pasta and Desert courses cheapened my experience but I doubt I would ever go back here again personally.
Every year my office goes out to eat Italian for the holiday party. Last year's dinner was at Montebello Ristorante Italiano where we had the private room in the back for about 11 people. The room was fit for twenty. In fact the room was so large we started comparing it to our office and apartments. We had two attendants at all times and the food paced out well.
I came in late and was not offered wine even though our table already had two bottles open. I thought that was strange. Later on I was able to get a glass right before the main course.
For starters we had a salad and trio of pasta plate. The pasta plate had penne (tomato sauce, garlic, and Portobello mushrooms), seafood risotto, and bowtie pasta with pesto. The penne was al dente, the seafood risotto was very strong, and the bowtie pasta was ordinary. The penne and pesto pasta were the hits. I actually liked the risotto. It was very fresh with big pieces of shrimp. If fishy dishes are not for you, then I'd recommend staying away from the risotto. The penne was pretty good. Overall the trio of pasta was a nice sampler and the salad was nice and crisp.
The two appetizer courses were very filling but the entrees are not to be missed. So if you come here for a banquet dinner, try to save room for the main meal. We were offered salmon, chicken, and veal. The majority of the room got the chicken and veal. It's hard to say which of the two was the best. It just depends on your preference of meat. They were both excellent and finished faster than the pastas and salads. The chicken breast was parmesan encrusted in a white wine lemon sauce. The veal was thinly sliced with a white wine reduction, mushrooms and artichokes. The dishes came with a side of mystery vegetable. We guessed it was bok choy. The veal was amazing. It was soft and the gravy was the perfect compliment. If you ever come to Montebello, get the veal! The dishes are ample servings as well.
Dessert was less memorable but very much appreciated. We had a choice of cheesecake or chocolate mousse cake. I just remember the mousse cake as being very rich.
Overall my office favored Montebello. The food was good but I just found it to be not an exciting place for a holiday party. I found the restaurant grim and every 10 minutes we'd feel the room vibrate. We had no idea what it was (club next door, subway, heater?) and everyone said it wasn't their cell phone. It was just odd.
Like true love, there's a "the one" for every genera of food. For Italian, Montebello is far and away, the best Italian I've ever had. I'm sad it's in NYC, a place I hardly ever visit.
It was complete dumb luck that landed us in Montebello, from its unassuming exterior, you would not expect to find truly stellar cuisine, but I'm glad to be wrong.
We started with a soup de jour, a seafood medley that was out of this world. For the entree, I highly recommend the ravioli di aragosta, but all of the meat and seafood selections are fantastic.
The interior is small, but warm and inviting. A very comfortable place to dine. If you're in the neighborhood, or if you just live in NYC, definitely give Montebello a try.
My boyfriend and I decided to try out Montebello during restaurant week.
When we got there, our coats were taken and we were immediately led to our seats. We were brought the menus and the wine list. My boyfriend and I aren't big drinkers, and Montebllo sells mostly by the bottle, but an entire bottle of wine would have been WAY too much for us. We chose not to get wine, which MAY have been the reason the service went downhill from there.
The kitchen knows how to cook. The appetizers and entrees were excellent. Our desserts left a little to be desired. The cake was okay, but nothing special. It didn't taste like it was made on premises. But food-wise we were satisfied.
However, service-was, it left a lot to be desired. In an upscale establishment like Montebello, I would expect my water glass to be filled… and an attentive server. Our server had a habit of disappearing and taking forever to reappear – to the point where other servers actually brought our plates. We had to flag our server down a couple of times just for water!
My boyfriend thought that because we didn't order alcohol and/or we ordered off the pre-fixe menu that we may not have gotten the best service, because they figured we wouldn't be spending that much. I did consider leaving a crappy tip, but decided to leave an awesome tip instead, with the hopes that, if our server was crappy because he thought we'd be cheap, he'd realize just because we're not the "normal" crowd, doesn't mean we tip bad.
I'd definitely be willing to order out from here. But they really need to step it up on the service – except on the coat check girl, who was super nice and friendly. Actually, the coat check girl should start waiting tables. She seems like she would do WAY better.
Limited wines by the glass and only a mediocre by the bottle with Italian French US and Australian choices
Zupa was seafood bisc. Full of love and goodness but I did hit a mouthful of small bones. That's not good.
Monkfish- lightly breaded and baked served on a Pappa al Pomodoro like broth. It was ok at best with some flavor loss. I want to celibate the monk not smother it. Make it more simple and let the fish speak.
Oh and wine is a 2005 Barolo which made it all better.
In the end, Montebello was mediocre
A few of us were staying across the street at The Lombardy and decided to come try this inviting Italian restaurant only a few steps away. The Saturday evening was unexpectedly quiet and only a few tables were occupied when we entered the premises.
Warm and friendly servers greeted us and we were immediately seated. The decor was simple and the lighting provided a comfortable setting. We were given a basket filled with three kinds of house made bread and some olive oil. The bread was not warm as it reached our table but nonetheless we devoured it. After perusing the menu, the tagliolini (sea scallops, shrimp, mussels, & clams served with garlic, olive oil, & herbs) was my choice out of several pastas, carni, insalate, pesci, and more. My dining partners ordered the pollo montebello (parmesan encrusted breast of chicken in a white wine lemon sauce) and the milanese (pounded and breaded veal chop with baby arugula, red onion, & cherry tomatoes). The tagliolini was to die for! Pasta was made very well and the seafood was proportional to the amount of pasta, and all without the hassle of removing shells and tails. Our server said that it was one of his favorite dishes. The chicken and veal dishes were reported to me as well done and flavorful. We had other after dinner plans so we did not try the coffees or desserts but wow, they had a whole dessert cart to show us…talk about temptations!
Montebello is a good option for those seeking simple Italian fare in the Midtown East area given the proximity to Columbus Circle / Central Park. The location is not very visible and it isn't a bustling place but I can see that hotel guests, businessmen/women and a few others enjoy this place.