Rebecca H.
Yelp
I did what any person who prides themselves on being a foodie does after their moving to a new city is quickly followed by an earth shattering pandemic that precludes significant eating out time and chose to eat at one of the few restaurants I have not only already been to in Worcester but been to multiple times.
If I may defend myself, Mare e Monti is a very short evening stroll from Vincent's which is perfect for a night cap and I also pride myself on being a night cap bitch.
GF's aunt was in town for a transient 36 hours so stakes were high and I was confident that Mare e Monti could deliver.
Fortunately there was no wait on a Wednesday evening at around 7:30 and we were seated immediately. I do recall, in pre-pandemic times, there was a wait on weekend nights during prime dinner eating time.
I started with The Rosa which GF reflected on as a beverage she enjoyed during a previous visit. Tito's vodka, st. germain, grapefruit, and usually rosemary (they were out on this particular night) is just the right combo of strong but refreshing without the rubbing-alcohol essence.
As a table, we agreed upon the burrata and requested it to be served without onions which I will always say are unnecessary but this was a rare occasion where my onion-slut dinner companions agreed. The burrata was creamy and delicious, served on a beautiful bed of crostini, speck over a bed of arugula and unfortunately, onions.
If you know me at all, you know that beverages don't last long in my presence. By this time of the meal, I was ready for another drink and elected to continue with a glass of their red sangria. This was juicy and standard but was lacking in the fruit chunk department. Ultimately the alcohol is more important than the fruit and it got the job done as far as that was concerned.
We continued on with the next course which for both me and GF's aunt was the insalata casalinga with greens, grape tomatoes, carrots, onions, and olives with house dressing. In my case, the onions were requested to be omitted and thankfully, were. I tend to like my salads as dressing with a side of greens but even this was way too heavily dressed for my liking. What made it particularly unpleasant was that by the time it made its way to our table, the greens were soggy and I cannot tolerate consuming soggy greens in a salad. Needless to say, this was a disappointment and a missed opportunity to clean out the internal plumbing.
Regarding my main, I succumbed to the existential crisis of whether to stick with what I know is good or try something new. I've previously tried both the gnocchi and eggplant parm and both were DELICIOUS but the tortellini caught my eye. As someone who would fill their pool with sweet peas, I couldn't pass up a dish of goat cheese-filled tortellini with sweet peas and a blush sauce covered in mozzarella. I'm glad I went this route because, like the other two dishes, this was absolutely fantastic and I wolfed it down so quickly I hardly remember details.
I would also like to add that the service was amazing. Our waitress was super patient with all of our dumbass questions and adjustments. I love how everything is made to order and you can request alterations as you like. Other than a few hiccups, we had an absolutely fantastic time dining this restaurant and I wouldn't hesitate to return.
