Monelli’s

Close to work for me. Not a bad place for local happy hour. Pretty average. Garlic breadsticks doused in butter are tasty. Service isn’t bad. Very dim lighting. Nothing to write home about. A lot of potential.

This seems to be the hot place if you live in the Grandville area. I feel like there aren’t too many bars out this way, especially ones this large that serves a full food menu, making this place family friendly, a causal date spot, and good for groups. They have a wide selection of craft beers, staff is typically friendly, and the service is speedy. They offer pub type food and big portions.

Tonight was my first time here and I had a very good experience. The service was quick and the food was one of the best pub/​sports bar eats I’ve had in a while. I ordered the tuna tartare and I was extremely satisfied for it being a sports bar. My company ordered the square pizza and commented on how light the crust is. Which is good in my opinion. It looked and smelled amazing. The kids cheese pizza was also ordered and my daughter (2) at the whole thing… Which never happens, so it has to be good. I will definitely be back there.

I’m a self-​proclaimed beer snob. I love going to Monelli’s because of their craft beer selections and their many different food selections. They recently added a vegetarian specialty pizza that you can request thin crust which is delicious. The staff at Monelli’s are always friendly and very attentive. Lisa is one of the managers there and always acknowledges us when we stop in. If you haven’t stopped into this establishment you surely should.

Came here for dinner while here on business travel. Sat at the bar as I usually do when I’m dining alone. I was greeted immediately (and they were busy) for my drink order. Lots of beer on tap. Then I asked the bartender what she recommended to eat. I went with her suggestion of lobster ravioli. It was outstanding. Came back the next night and after getting my dinner, the manager Scott stopped by and asked how everything was. But then, he introduced himself and asked if there was anything HE could do for me. It’s not unusual for a restaurant manager to ask me how my food is, but never have I been asked if they could do anything for me. I will definitely be back.

I went here primarily to try some of their excellent beers on tap. I think most people look at this place primarily as a restaurant and secondarily as a watering hole. I see it the other way around because I think their craft beer selection on tap is far more remarkable than their food.
I had a beer from New Hampshire today called Smutty Nose Baltic Porter, which was worth my 35 minute drive, just for this beer. I also had fettuccine Alfredo, which was acceptable, but way too creamy and rich. I know Fetuccini Alfredo is supposed to be rich, but this was over the top. I think Olive Garden is far better at that particular entrée because it has some gritty cheese texture in the sauce that give it a better mouthfeel. Sometimes Olive Garden has some home runs, and Fetuccini Alfredo is one of them.
The bread and butter here is very good, far better than the fake buttery and over salted bread sticks at Olive Garden and better than that stupid olive oil served with the overly dry bread at Bravo.
So, dumb as it sounds, this is a microbrew beer watering hole for me and nothing more. Forget the mediocre food. If you like top drawer Italian food, just go to Amore on Alpine and ignore everywhere else in Kent County. If you like top end microbrew, put this place on your list. If you like fettuccine Alfredo and don’t like good beer, don’t come here at all.

I hadn’t heard of Monelli’s until last week, when I started making plans about which events I wanted to participate in for Grand Rapids Beer Week 2016. When I saw that Monelli’s planned to offer up five different sour beers on tap, I knew I had to pay them a visit. Before doing so, I wanted to clarify what time of day the beers would be tapped and see if they served flights, so I posted two separate questions on their events page on Facebook. In both instances, I received a concise and accurate response within a couple of minutes — quite impressive.
I headed to Monelli’s for opening, and unlike my recent experience at the Black Heron, was pleased to discover that opening at 11 meant that not only were up to date beer lists printed and the appropriate kegs tapped, but the lunch buffet already had dishes set out. In addition to the promised Perrin sours, two of which were quite excellent (Kettle Sour and Roeselare), the offered roughly three dozen other beer choices, many of them quite compelling. Prices seemed a bit high even accounting for the specialty factor — my 8 tasters were $ 39 before tip, more than I would typically spend at Hopcat or other top establishments for something comparable.
For food, I went with the buffet and have no complaints. I sampled several items: broccoli cheddar soup, cheese pizza, Italian sausage and peppers, lemon pepper rice, chicken alfredo, rustic pasta, bacon and onion pasta salad, and raspberry cake. Understanding that food is meant to be a few notches above an Olive Garden, and thus suited to mainstream American tastes with little inclination towards authenticity, I found the food generally good. The pizza had a tasty sauce, and quite a bit of it, which I enjoyed, though others may not. The «rustic pasta» was vegetarian (I think) and covered in a spicy tomato cream sauce which had a pleasant but fairly mild kick to it. Probably the best dish was the bacon and onion pasta salad, which is served cold. However the soup underwhelming, as was the sausage.
Service was generally quite good, the seating was comfortable, and the bathrooms were reasonably clean (albeit a little less so than one would hope for at opening).
Overall, I think the draw is more the beer and the service than the food. I would eat there again if I was in the area, but I wouldn’t make a special trip there unless/​until they tap a beer I’m especially intent on trying. Fortunately, they are very good about keeping their online beer list up to date, so I can easily monitor them.

We ordered stromboli, canneloni, risotto and the meatball dinner. The stromboli was «the best ever!», the canneloni was delicious with a rich, well-​seasoned meat sauce, the risotto was creamy and loaded with mushrooms, and the meatball dinner was «yummy!» The garlic bread was buttery with REAL garlic flavoring it. However, what really made our evening was our server, Alexis A. She was friendly and made excellent recommendations. Plus she brought us refills before we could even ask. Outstanding service! A truly great experience all around!

Good place doing a healthy business. I stopped in on a Wednesday night and it was very full. Got a seat at the bar though and had excellent service. Large wide selection of draft beers with many that I would hardly expect they would move enough of to stock. Plenty of IPA’s and I enjoyed a few. They put a lot of tables in here so the main dining area is pretty tight. Lots of big screens for sports. Big menu with lots of good stuff including pasta and meats. I took a pizza to go and it was good. I would go here again.

A very nice ambiance here that’s hard to describe.
I had the spaghetti with meat sauce and 1 meatball. The spaghetti was very good. Not the best I’ve ever had but maybe top 5. My only real disappointment was that the dishes don’t come with garlic bread. Normally you get a soup or salad, but I was able to get garlic bread instead. On the plus side the garlic bread was terrific. The meatball was good but tiny and a $ 1.50 for it at that. Overall was full and enjoyed the meal.

Last night my husband and I ordered takeout. We ordered the garlic cheese bread, a calzone, and the bruschetta chicken. Our order was ready incredibly fast, even with them being packed for a Monday night Lion’s game. Once I got home, we realized that we had received the appetizer of bruschetta (bread and tomatoes to top) instead of the chicken. We called back and told them about the mix up and they told us to come back and pick up our chicken, free of charge! We also got to keep the bruschetta appetizer :) When I went back to pick up the chicken (also ready quickly!), the girl working the takeout counter apologized, and gave us a gift card for our inconvenience. This is only the second time we have gone to Monelli’s, and both times we were very happy. The food is great and the service is awesome. Definitely reccomend this place!

The food is always above average and the drinks are solid! I’ve been a loyal customer since they opened and I’ve always been impressed with the way the management (family owned) has always made my experiences feel personal. This is the most flexible restaurant I’ve ever worked with, you can come in solo or have 100 people in your party and they can accommodate you.

Went with a group of five and got a table quickly on a Sunday evening. They were moderately busy. If you want to converse with your co-​diners, make sure to request seating on the dining side.
Appetizer: cheesy breadsticks and italian flautas. Breasticks were good, seasoned well. Italian flautas we also good, served with a delicious sweet and spicy sauce.
Meals: #1 was the Sicilian Sausage Platter. Half the plate was cold (should’ve been warm). Requested spaghetti as a side instead of the potatoes. The spaghetti came without sauce, so we had to ask for that… was kind of odd. The sausages were pretty small and everything was somewhat bland… not recommended. #2 was a Caesar side salad with the Pizza Rolls appetizer as a meal. This was very good.
We originally had one waitress, and then after getting our drinks we were switched over to another with no explanation. Neither introduced themselves to our table. During ordering our waitress mentioned the dessert menu and left it at our table, but gave us our bill before asking if we wanted dessert… we ended up ordering dessert and getting a revised bill. The peanut butter pie was delicious!
Overall, will probably go back at some point.

My girlfriend and I met another couple on a Friday night at 8. We ordered pizza and spaghetti with breadsticks for an appetizer. The food was really good but the service was lacking. We didn’t get he appetizer until after the entrees. We say with empty drinks for 10 minutes. Besides the service the place was excellent. A 12″ pizza, pop, draft beer, and a flight was only $ 30.

Very fast! Even for Chicago style pizza. Pizza was good. GF also good. I hate that you have to pay extra for everything gluten free but such is life. Not a cheap place but our experience was good.

They have an extensive beer menu and 30+ taps of craft beer that will rotate constantly.

We used to come here once a week for about two years, up until now. Seems they have hired little girls with big attitudes that do not know how to serve. We ordered two sicillion (spell??) pizza, and she came out with entirely different pizzas! I asked to see the menu again, and the description did not match the pizzas. When we asked to speak with a manager, the manager was not there. Our drinks were not filled after that. Will never go back. Spent $ 50 in pizza that was nasty and didn’t even want!

One of my favorite places! Everything I’ve ordered was great! I can see the game from just about any seat, the atmosphere is fun (even when it’s rival teams, and play offs) plus you can get better quality food choices than just the same old bar food :-)! Staff is super friendly and service is always on point!

An original neighborhood Italian sorts bar. A place surrounded by TV’s (in the bar area) to keep the distracted busy. Meals are well thought out and tasty. I’ve had a sub par meal here.

Had a hockey team dinner last night. Great service and very accommodating. Great food and good to kids… Aubrey is an excellent server. Very professional!!!