Melo Trattoria & Tapas

Visited from out of town to see family. Went for dinner. Monday evening, not too crowded. Pleasantly surprised to have the same Server who we've had in the past for family events in Durham. The atmosphere was quiet with pleasing decor and artwork giving off a Tuscan vibe as Italian music plays quietly in the background. Service outstanding as always. Prices are extremely reasonable for how tasty and large the entrees are. Freshly baked focaccia bread is served and went well with the cocktails.Had the Chicken Alfredo and a cosmopolitan to drink . Both were mouthwatering and delicious. This is a small , quaint little restaurant but delivers a great experience. Next time I'll be sure to get the Server's name. He's pictured in one the photos I included. Highly recommend and will return when I'm in Durham again, as this is my new favorite place to eat.

Enjoyed a nice birthday dinner at Melo. To start, the bread, I think foccacia, was really good. Their mozzarella sticks are huge and some of the best. Two people commented they didn't need the marinara they were so good. We all shared in some capacity. The hubs got the NY Strip which had beautiful and tasty veggies along with the good steak. I got a few tapas versus an entre. The sautéed spinach with the bacon for salt and an interesting dried cranberries for sweet were great.. not soggy or overcooked. The Shrimp in lemon was amazing! I could have just drank the sauce. Great for bread dipping. And of course the baked cheese was a winner. Service started a little slow because we had 7 folks and I didn't call ahead to warn them, but when we were finally settled the service was great.

Lunch today with our lunch group… our food was delicious…potato soup/caesar salad lunch combo and sausage sandwich with french fries. What disappointed me was the 21% auto gratuity added plus the 3.49% fee to use our credit card. So while we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, we will probably not be returning here.

Nice, quiet, intimate restaurant with good quality food and large portions. My wife enjoyed her lasagna and creme brulee, and I like my spaghetti alla puttanesca with shrimp. Definitely would eat at Melo again!

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! Walked into this restaurant today expecting a great meal and experience, and walked out insulted and very disappointed. I’m immunocompromised due to a medical treatment, I asked the server to please seat me at a table that was not too close or surrounded by other people. The restaurant was not busy at all, they had people but people were scattered. He responded “where is your mask. I don’t want to bear that responsibility” and walked away. His name was Kevin - Extremely rude and disrespectful, I will never ever ever come back to this restaurant. The owners should be aware of this type of behavior and the fact this restaurant is located minutes away from Duke Hospital and many Duke Health facilities that see millions of out of town patients, and this is NOT how people (or sick people) should be treated. DO BETTER! If I could give zero stars, I would.

This place is makes delicious food From their salads (berry, berry spinach salad my absolutely favorite) , their dinner plates and tapas are delicious. The meat ball tapas remind me of my grandma’s meatballs. The staff is friendly and professional with amazing service. I am definitely delighted with this restaurant. I will give it 10 stars. Thank you for great food and awesome service 👏🏾😎

Great food, great service, very nice ambiance. Very popular with locals, very attentive servers. Was traveling out of town, would definitely go again.

We only are able to come twice a year (Valentines & our anniversary) because we live an hour and 20 mins away but no matter how much we spend or how casual we are dressed (currently tshirt and blue jeans with ball caps) we are treated like a millionaires! Curly and the staff are pleasant and accommodating…not to mention all with a a smile in theirs eyes (COVID…masks). Highly recommend reservations, they usually don’t make same day reservations. This place is the triangle’s hidden gem. Always packed always great food, always good service…always.

The inside and outside of this place do not tell the tale of the level of food being prepared. We were greeted by a young gentleman who was having none of my humor but promptly sat at a table and given beverages. We inquired about trying the vodka sauce as we were nervous to order it and be disappointed. We were informed we could try it but that in order to try it we would need to order it as all sauces were made to order. The made to order was enough for me to know ordering it was a safe bet. Wow. One of the best vodka sauces I've had in a restaurant outside of the Bronx. We are an Italian family and Italian food is what we do. We will return again to eat here very soon. The rest of the items ordered were enjoyed by all but I honestly don't remember what all was ordered other than the penne vodka and the calamari because I was so stuffed. The gentleman warmed up to my off sense of humor a bit and overall the service was wonderful. We never wanted for anything once we sat. The exterior is very unassuming and the interior was neither low class nor high class. It could stand to be decorated or lit a bit better but it did not impact our meal it just made me doubt the food prior to tasting.

I'm glad to see that Melo is still a great spot for lunch (it's been a couple of years since my last visit). My friend and I sat inside. He ordered the Croque Monsieur sandwich, I had a Greek salad with grilled chicken. He cleaned his plate, I cleaned my bowl. Lunch was very good. The service was great in spite of the restaurant being busy, with lots of people eating outside. I'd come back again!

Enjoyed a nice birthday dinner at Melo. To start, the bread, I think foccacia, was really good. Their mozzarella sticks are huge and some of the best. Two people commented they didn't need the marinara they were so good. We all shared in some capacity. The hubs got the NY Strip which had beautiful and tasty veggies along with the good steak. I got a few tapas versus an entre. The sautéed spinach with the bacon for salt and an interesting dried cranberries for sweet were great.. not soggy or overcooked. The Shrimp in lemon was amazing! I could have just drank the sauce. Great for bread dipping. And of course the baked cheese was a winner. Service started a little slow because we had 7 folks and I didn't call ahead to warn them, but when we were finally settled the service was great.

Very fresh, full of flavor, authentic Italian! My group and I all had 5 excellent dishes! Shrimp scampi, spaghetti and meatballs, tortellini 5 cheese, tortellini bolognese, and carbonara! We will definitely be back! Reservations recommended. We were visiting from Louisiana and heading to a show in Durham so we arrived before 5:30pm.

We are not from this area and stumbled across Melo accidentally....but what an absolute treat! The focaccia bread was amazing, as was all our food!! I would highly recommend this restaurant and am sorry we won't be in town longer so we can try additional entrees. Our server was also very knowledgeable and made excellent suggestions.

The food here is really good ,but the one waiter is always rushing us when we go . My friend asked for a coffee and dessert. She was putting her leftovers in the to go container, and the waiter placed the coffee down. He continued to stand there over her , eyeballing her . She looked up and asked about the dessert. He said out loud, "What am I magical or something ?It's coming. I just placed the order. Of course, people laughed at what the jerk said. Not knowing he was rushing us and hovering for our plates. This was not the first time we had a run-in with him. He needs to learn some patience ...

Food was very good, but our server was rude, and twice brought up the topic to us about her tip. She even caught us when we were going out the door to complain about our tip even though we had left her an 18% tip. Food was good but the interactions with the waitress left a bad end to our evening.

We ate here for Valentine's Day. I ordered the Chicken Marsala, my sister & niece got the lobster ravioli, and the hubs ordered the lasagna. We all LOVED our meals, with the exception of the hubs. The lasagna was not layered, it was more deconstructed. Bread and service were outstanding! The place was clean and quaint! A nice little authentic Italian gem!!

I was surprised to see that I have never written a review for this place before, bc it is my go to spot when I'm in the mood for Italian food. Sadly, customer service was not the best at my most recent visit-I ordered a glass of wine that never came, but the bread, cesar salad and lasagna were all on point! Since I didn't get the wine, I treated myself to crime brûlée which was really good!

Not too bad; been three times...first was great, next two I felt like I must have been really hungry the first time. Not bad at all, yeah...good, and that's three stars

One of our favorite places to eat in Durham. Excellent pasta dishes (my wife is Italian and has been quite impressed), fresh salads, friendly service, cozy ambiance, affordable prices.

Food was great and the service was fast! I would definitely recommend and come back again!

Great food. Kind of a funny atmosphere but we really liked it. Ok so we have been here many times and the food is fantastic. The chef is fantastic. The wall pictures are funny. Actually a lot of things were funny but I will come back to that. The food is great. I have not have a bad experience here. I got the veal scaloppini and would get it again. Other things we got included the lasagna - but it is not on the menu - you have to ask for it. (There is your tip !) The atmosphere is authentic and hey - maybe a little dated but it only adds to the atmosphere. Everyone is usually age 40+ but I would say it was kid friendly - we just rarely see kids. Most people are older and having a glass of red wine with a next level Italian dish. Lots of little things are funny from the photographs on the wall to the disclaimer in the menu (see picture) to there being a formula for ethanol where the liquor is. We really like this place and I would recommend it.

Great food and service!!!! We always look forward to being there! So many great menu choices!

What a fantastic little neighborhood restaurant. I was traveling recently and this was right across from my hotel. So glad I went in. Friendly people and the food was absolutely excellent. If you're in the neighborhood try it!

We got takeout last night for 3 people and it was $100. For that price we were expecting good food but it was awful. We all threw away our meals after a few bites. We got the shrimp scampi which barely had any shrimp in it and it was not good, the sundried tomato and broccoli pasta with chicken which had no taste, and the chicken parm in which the meat was not good. We also got meatballs and they were really gross. I rarely leave reviews like this but we all feel sick today. Hope we don't have food poisoning. Maybe it was an off night because the other reviews here are mostly good.

I found this little gem about a year ago. I've ate here between 20-30 times. Absolutely great food and the prices are great. If you like lamb this place has some of the best lamb chops. Their vodka bolognese sauce is also amazing. Everything is made fresh It's also locally owned and the owner is a delightful man. I just love eating at melo cafe!

The table bread is forgettable. The mains, however, are very fine. Creamy sauces and perfectly grilled meat. Would definitely get the chicken alfredo again. The cheese cake dessert is basic and skippable. Friendly staff, but they seem unorganized and spread too thin.

We've eaten here once before, a couple of years ago, and remember that it was good. Tonight, however, it was really really good! We had the creamy parmesan ravioli with shrimp, the shrimp Alfredo, and the tilapia with lemon butter sauce. The flavors were all extremely on point! Everything was delicious. The shrimps were perfectly seasoned ---almost grilled or pan-fried or something -- before they were added into the dishes, making them so tasty. Unfortunately, they were also a little tough and chewy (which is the reason for only four stars). The tilapia, on the other hand, was so juicy and flaky and perfectly prepared. This is a nice restaurant in a shopping plaza, with ample parking (though it can actually get full due to a handful of restaraunts all clustered together). Portions were fairly generous and moderately priced. It's great to find another good Italian place here in North Durham.

Ambiance & Service: A This is a little neighborhood Italian restaurant with incredibly friendly staff! They know many of their customers by name and they don't hesitate to share a smile or a hug. Many people stop to have conversations with the owner/manager (nice woman with medium brown skin tone and a beautiful smile) and she takes her time to speak to them and shows genuine interest. An elderly gentleman dined close to us and he seemed a bit out of sorts but the staff took great care with him and moved tables to maneuver a wheelchair out of a tight spot. That is extremely rare these days. Food & Drinks: C Good wine choices and a full bar. We had a glass of Moscato and a margarita on the rocks. Loved the wine but the margarita was sour. My dining companion ordered chicken parm and a greens dish with bacon, I ordered Pesto Cream Pasta and substituted broccoli for shrimp. The food is not extraordinary. It is typical average Italian fare and it's not bursting with flavor or loaded with fresh ingredients but it is good and I enjoyed it. Overall: B We had 4 drinks at $9/ea, 3 apps at $8/ea and a pasta dish at $13 so our total for dinner for two was $85. You could prepare this same level of food at home so I wouldn't go out of my way to come back but if you're not in the mood to cook and you live close by then you should definitely come here.You don't need reservations, the dining room is comfortable, and the staff will treat you like family!

We got takeout from Melo; it used to be a local favorite for us. It's not as good as we remember it, but it filled the need for local pasta. Sadly, it wasn't much to write home about, and we probably won't eat there again for a while. The service was good, the meal was hot, and the bread was tasty.

Fantastic food, friendly service, lots of regulars give it a homey feel. We love it and visit often!

Broccoli & Sun-Dried Tomato penne, broccoli, sun-dired, fresh tomato, italian herb, parmesan cheese, add shrimp Great flavors, great presentation, bread hot just Awesome food!

We started with the meatballs as an appetizer which was really good - not too salty and great flavor. They didn't have the scallops which was our first choice. They also have complimentary bread which was excellent. I got a pasta dish as my main course which was excellent. Fresh vegetables and not too spicy. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a restaurant at the last minute! They were able to make room for 2 after I called with little lead time on a Saturday night.

Service was amazing- attentive even though short-staffed. We ate outside and they checked in on us frequently. Food was lovely- Greek pasta dish was excellent, potato Parmesan soup was delicious- fresh, smooth and creamy but not rich. The chicken Parmesan was cooked perfectly and the pasta was not an accessory- it was el dente and delicious. Other favorites ordered included the lasagna (ask if not on menu) and tortellini in cream sauce. We ended a long relaxed meal with the Best tiramisu in the area and good cheese cake.

I've tried out a few different pasta and they are all delicious. The traditional gyro is good for lunch. The staff are friendly and the service is great.

Food is out of this world omg, 1000% percent would recommend. Service was great, definitely need to try the garlic bread and the spaghetti bolognese.

"Sandwiches, pasta, and tapas off Hillandale Road" Building on my earlier review- came back tonight to try the tapas, and was impressed! I had the "pollo alla parmigiana" (basically, chicken parmigiana) and sauteed spinach and cranberries. Both were excellent in flavor, and the portion of the tapas was surprisingly large- I was OK with just those two for dinner. I love chicken parmigiana, and the chicken, sauce, and cheese were just perfectly prepared- smooth and fresh. And the price was great- each was below $7. My wife had a cup of soup and the sauteed mushrooms tapas, and that was a very tasty (although small) dinner for her as well. They also had kids' meals, too, which our son enjoyed but which was funny since I don't think anyone else in the restaurant was below the age of 40 besides at our table. A nice ambiance yet affordable "date place" for high-quality European cuisine/ tapas, and, as my earlier review suggested, great sandwiches as well.

This is my go to spot for the best lamb chops my family and I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere

My wife has ravioli with shrimp and cream sauce. I lasagna both were delicious. Will definitely return. Only complaint was better beer selection would be nice. Thanks for a great meal.

The Puttanesca is amazing- service is kind and thoughtful... food is wonderful! This is one of our favorite places to go

The salmon is pretty good while the tilapia is just so so. The smushed potatoes is very good. The baby lam chop has a very strong flavor, you may like it a lot or just don't like it at all. The bread is even below the average. Environment is good! 4/5

I love Italian food and for my birthday I wanted to try a new place with family and friends. I found Melo Trattoria online and decided to give it a try. Walking in I loved the setup of the locations. It was cute and cozy, and just felt like a great place to spend some time with my loved ones. I loved the artwork they had there, it added to the charm for me. But the food was AMAZING!! Although I was at an Italian restaurant, the waiter really sold the fish so I decided to give it a try. It was delicious and so fresh and flavorful. About 15 people were with me to celebrate and no one had ever been to this place. No one was disappointed with the food, and to be honest, we were still raving about it after we had eaten everything. The staff were wonderful, and our waiter even sang me happy birthday in Italian which sealed the experience with a wonderful, heartfelt bow!

We noticed this spot on Yelp when a popular Italian restaurant nearby couldn't seat us until 9 PM and decided it would be worth checking out. We were celebrating our anniversary and the ambiance was cute, even with the strip mall location. The decor was nice, a little interesting, but there were certain things, like a Pinocchio painted booth divider, that made it a little quirky, so I wouldn't call it a fine dining experience. Still a cute atmosphere. While my partner thinks the food was superb, I would say it was good, not great. Still, I would recommend trying it and we wouldn't be opposed to visiting again. To start, I ordered the house salad and she ordered the Greek salad. Both salads were okay and were made with Romain lettuce, which was kind of surprising for the price. They had an interesting choice for dressings but I pretty much stick to ranch unless it's not an option, and their ranch was not great. I was told by the server that the regular sized option was small, so I ordered the large and when we got the salads I was pretty disappointed to see the difference in size between my large and my partner's regular. Definitely didn't feel like it was worth the $2 surcharge. Next we ordered 3 items off of the tapas menu, which were the "baby" lamb chops, the grilled Italian sausage, and the Provoleta. Both the lamb and sausage were good, although there was no clear indication that the lamb came with mint jelly on it which I ended up scraping off because I'm not a fan, but the chops were still pretty good. The Provoleta was great, served with nice crispy pieces of bread. Finally, for our entrees I ordered the beef bolognese and added meatballs and my parter ordered the shrimp pesto-cream pasta with gluten-free pasta (yes, she's actually allergic and isn't following some self-gratifying diet fad). I was pretty disappointed to see that the pasta in my dish wasn't freshly made. I suppose I shouldn't have expected it to be, but for $15+ I guess my mind defaulted to fresh pasta. Maybe it had to do with being in the mindset of going to the Italian restaurant we had originally planned on, which does serve handmade pasta. Still, the sauce was pretty good. The added meatballs turned out to be an added meatball, singular, which was kind of surprising, but it was on the larger side. My partners pasta, which was penne style, was actually way better than mine and definitely ranked among the best gluten-free pastas we've had. Her sauce was pretty good as well. She added broccoli to her dish and really enjoyed her shrimp. Again, overall the ambiance was nice and the food was good. The only aspect I found disappointing other than what I've already mentioned was the pricing. $2 extra on an already $6 salad for a negligible difference, $4 extra for a few broccoli sprouts, and I honestly didn't even bother looking at how much the extra meatball - again, singular - ended up costing me. We did order a pretty significant amount of food and our bill ended up being $85 and $104 with tip. I guess it might just be a 'me' thing, but I couldn't get my head around the idea of a meal for two costing that much for average quality food and a few misses on the dishes. It felt like they were going for a fine dining feel and prices, but had a casual dining delivery in terms of quality and execution. Definitely think I wouldn't have been on the fence if the pricing lined up with the experience. HOWEVER, I will say that our second server was extremely knowledgeable about gluten-free allergies and went out of her way to make sure my partner had a nice dining experience. She even forewarned us about sauces and dressings having gluten in them and actually brought my partner gluten-free crackers to enjoy with items that typically had bread served with them. The only weird thing was our first server told us the lamb was gluten-free but then the second server let us know that there was soy sauce containing wheat in the balsamic au jus dressing they put on it, which could have been a disaster if they hadn't ended up switching tables. Still, I'd recommend it to anyone looking to try a decent spot and would definitely recommend it to someone with gluten-free needs.

This place is okay for standard, somewhat ordinary Italian and would do nicely if you live close by but I certainly wouldn't make a special trip from CH or Raleigh to go here. The free bread they serve before is not worth bothering with. It's a standard filler rolls while you wait. So unless your famished or you have kids that need a little something to occupy themselves with, skip. My adult daughter and I both had the chicken inamorata and neither of us fell in love as the name suggests with it. Not enough lemon cream sauce and a light breading or the option it would have been nice since it keeps the chicken tender. We also ordered the spaghetti carbonara because it's very hard to find this made with eggs and pancetta and not Alfredo sauce and we both enjoyed the creaminess of this better. The wine selection is good and we both found something to our taste. Service was fine though a lot of chatter by employees who were gathered together behind us. At least it was in Italian! I would skip dessert they taste premade and not fresh. The pecan pie was of a store bought variety and the green brûlée didn't have the hardened caramelized glaze that makes it special. The prices are commiserate with other Italian restaurants in the area but you could do better for the price point.

Cute little hidden place - very quaint inside. Service was nice but not overly attentive. Hubs had an Italian sausage sandwich that he said was great I had a Spanish salad which was ok - could have been more flavorful with better lettuce bed otherwise it was ok. Would come again but likely try something different.

Great little Italian restaurant run by Peruvians. What a nice restaurant, nothing ostentatious or fancy just good food. I had the spaghetti puttanesca with shrimp. A bit spicy but with capers, black olives and onions it was perfect. My daughter had the salmon with mash potatoes and vegetables. She loved it. We started with just garlic bread but it was nicely, buttery toasted and not swimming in butter. Like I said nice and simple. Some restaurants try to be too much too many ingredients. Italian should be single and taste good. This place does that. .

Delicious food and great service! The lasagna isn't on the menu but it's a definite must-try. SO good!!

Quaint, simple, excellent service and outstanding Tapas. The Italian red wines by the glass were much better than expected. We were staying at the Courtyard and this restaurant is well worth enjoying dinner at!

I've only ordered to go during the pandemic - haven't dined inside, but this is amazing pasta! I've tried the carbonara, meat ravioli, and shrimp scampi--all were delicious but I think my favorite was the shrimp. My family has tried other dishes and we were all impressed.

Absolutely FABULOUS dinner here tonight! How have I never dined here before? Wonderful service, very friendly people. I went with my family, so I tasted a bit of everyone's food. All amazing. I had penne with cream sauce mushrooms and shrimp. My family had lasagna, pasta with Italian sausage, chicken Parmesan, tortellini bolognese, and pasta with broccoli and sun dried tomatoes. Every dish was out of this world. As if that weren't good enough, best tiramisu I've ever tasted! My new favorite Italian restaurant! It may be in a strip mall, but do not be fooled. I love downtown Durham restaurants, but sometimes it's so nice to park and walk right in. Cannot wait to go back!!

A perfect night out! Delicious food, great service and sweet atmosphere. The spinach appetizer was spectacular and the lamb chops tender. We will definitely go again and again.

We knew there was gonna be a problem when the bread arrived. The Italian bread wasn't fully cooked through and the rolls were from Costco. The bread was also toasted to try and cook it through/cover up that it wasn't done. How do you put that in front of customer? The main dishes ranged from bad to mediocre. My father in law said his veal scallopini was okay and my husbands pasta, with its cheap Smithfield (or the like) sausage, was edible. The shrimp scampi sauce was gross and had a weird lemony-marjoram aftertaste. The chicken was bland. The bruschetta was the worst. Same undercooked Italian bread with rubbery old tomatoes on top. My garlicky shrimp appetizer was pretty tasty despite them using minced garlic from a jar. This is a restaurant with $25 dishes! Mince some real garlic for god's sake. Food took forever to come out and service was inattentive and bland. If you have tastebuds, trust me on this -- stay away.

Great atmosphere, I actually forgot that I was in the US for the time being. Food was delicious, just the right amount. Servers were attentive and not too much not too little, just perfect.

This was fresh, good Italian food! I especially enjoyed my Spanish salad (without the Gorgonzola cheese). Beautiful presentation-- very appealing! A pork medallions with balsamic reduction special received high praise as well. Pleasant ambiance and good service.

This is some of the best Italian food I've ever had! I've only gotten pickup from them but it's always been prompt and a smooth experience. Highly recommend them, and their spaghetti bolognese is amazing.

Pros: Owner was delightful. Food was ok. Ambiance was nice. Service was friendly and timely. Scallops really were great! Cons: A little pricey. Food was JUST ok. We took our friend here for her birthday last night because it's one of my other friend's favorite Italian restaurant. Everyone was smiling and helpful. The owner came out to speak with us. That alone makes me want to give them another star....However, I left feeling distinctly underwhelmed. My food was adequate but when I go out to eat, I expect something a little better than I would make. I even salt and peppered my food which I rarely do. Verdict: Go if you don't like complex tastes in your food or have simple taste buds. But if you're looking for a WOW dinner, you might want to pass.

Meelo's is an Italian restaurant with a lot of heart. The owner obviously loves what he does. The food was pretty good. Better than the average Italian fare, but I'm sensitive to mass-produced pasta and was a bit underwhelmed here. The seafood dish we had was excellent, though. I'd go back. It's not the best Italian in the world, but at this price point it's tough to beat.

I would give them zero stars if I could. I came here with a group of 10 for my mother's birthday. I just had an invasive surgery three days ago on my abdomen and I am still very nauseous and sore but wanted to put on my best face to celebrate with my family. Most food items make my stomach turn right now so I requested the chicken nuggets and fries from the kid's menu because it's the most bland thing they offer. They refused to serve me off the kid's menu stating their age requirement policy. I told them I just had surgery, so they said they would have to see a doctor's note. I told them I would love to show them my history of the past week on Duke My Chart, but I said that really isn't appropriate and an invasion of my privacy just to buy some chicken nuggets and fries. They still declined to allow me to order that item. RIDICULOUS AND UNACCEPTABLE. A doctor's note to order chicken nuggets????