Monticelli is a small Italian restaurant just east of Rittenhouse Square on 16th Street.
A main dining area on the second floor is supplemented by a full bar on the first floor. As such, it is certainly a good alternative to the city's current BYOB trend.
As for the food, I decided to mainly sample the night's specials. As an entree, I had butternut squash ravioli with a sage-butter sauce ($17). It was good, although the sauce was somewhat bland -- as advertised.
My guest had the special potato gnocchi with marinara sauce ($18), which was probably a little better because of the spiciness of the sauce.
The other specials -- chicken cacciatore ($19), orecchiette bolognese ($17) and pan-seared salmon ($21) -- are all reasonably priced and present a diverse selection to choose from.
On the regular menu, there is a large assortment of pastas ($16-19), meat ($18 for chicken dijon and $35 for filet mignon) and seafood ($23-30).
Working backwards from the entree, my guest and I both ordered eggplant neapolitan ($10) as an appetizer, and it was very good.
The other appetizers include standard Italian fare such as antipasto ($12), broccoli rabe ($7/$10 with sausage) and the aforementioned eggplant. There was also a large array of shellfish, with clams, mussels, crab, snails and calamari ($11-$18).
I started with a caesar salad ($8) and my guest had a mozzarella and tomato salad ($10).
Both were relatively large portions and were not spectacular, but certainly above average.
The other first courses included a house salad ($7) and a calamari salad ($10).
Our wine, Sangiovese Di Toscana ($25), a red wine from Tuscany, Italy, was recommended to us by our waitress as a very popular wine among customers, and it did not disappoint.
For dessert, I had a homemade chocolate cannoli and my guest had strawberries and whipped cream.
Both more than lived up to our expectations.
The service was good, when you especially consider the fact that the restaurant was working shorthanded.
The restaurant's clientele, at least on one Saturday night, consisted mostly of people in their 30s and older with at least one large family.
