Monelli: Insta-worthy Italian in Burns Beach with reason to shout about its prowess

If it’s the newest, hottest thing on Instagram, you can guarantee it’s the last place you’ll find me.

A dowdy, northern suburbs working mum-of-one, I’m almost proud of how painfully unhip I am.

I own just one item from Lululemon — and it’s a decade-old running top, shapeless and faded from too many washes. I’ve never had a personal social media post with more than 100 likes (the birth announcement of my child). And I really don’t care about which protein powder tastes the least like chalk.

As a result, I’ve been sleeping on northern suburbs Insta-darling, Monelli, just off the beach in Burns Beach.

With its expensive-looking, fabric-filled ceilings and lush interior, this Italian joint has been one of the most photographed venues north of Perth on social media since it opened last year.

The popular posts, mainly featuring athleisure-wearing yummy mummies enjoying (admittedly delicious-looking) cappuccinos and cakes on the patio while their little ones enjoy the very conveniently placed playground right next to the venue, have left me keeping a very wide berth.

I often assume that such venues are, forgive me for the vulgarity, all mouth and no trousers.

Fool me. I’ve been missing out and for once the Insta-set has it right.

We visit twice in two weeks, both times midweek, just in case our first, excellent, experience was a fluke. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.

The first visit was a rare outing for my husband and me sans our eight-year-old daughter while she gallivanted on camp with her Scout pack.

I had seen (yes, on Insta) that Monelli offered a special on a Wednesday with a lasagne main and portion of tiramisu to share between two and a glass of house wine each for $48 per person. Bargain. I was sold — a perfect date night.

Booking a table online, which required a deposit, I happened to mention in the “special notes” that we were particularly looking forward to the lasagne.

Later that afternoon I received a contrite email to let me know that they actually cycled through Wednesday specials and the night I had booked was reserved for steak. Oh well, we’d still go and make of it what we could.

Arriving at the venue, we were greeted by one of the most friendly front-of-house staffers I’ve ever encountered. On giving her our name, she immediately said “oh, you wanted the lasagne . . .”. I smiled sadly and confirmed that was the case, hurriedly reassuring her in my best Pommy accent that it was OK, steak worked, too.

She stopped me most sweetly: “Oh, we’ve asked Chef if they could make an exception . . . if you still wanted the lasagne we have one for you.”

What a start! And the dish was absolutely worth the trouble. Perfectly balanced and sized for two, it was a triumph. And the tiramisu deftly avoided the oh-so-usual Italian restaurant pitfall of being too sweet.

As we would learn on our second visit, keen attention to customer service was not a one-off from this young staff, genuinely keen to please.

On our second jaunt, we took Miss 8, too (she was not amused at our treachery of going somewhere new without her), resulting in another rave.

This time, selecting from the a la carte menu, we started with a traditional Italian favourite that is often a crowd-pleaser but hard to do genuinely well: polpette al sugo ($18), or meatballs in tomato sauce.

Meatballs (like lasagne) are a real defining moment for me when testing a new restaurant, often tough and slightly flavourless.

But Monelli’s version is almost perfect, consisting of a veal and beef mix, rich, moreish and oh-so-tender, causing Miss 8 to almost visibly swoon, quickly digging in to grab the last meatball before either of her parents could snag it.

We also sampled the less-traditional crocchette alla carbonara, or carbonara croquettes ($21), and the house-baked focaccia ($8). Both were delicious, but neither matched-up to the standout meatballs.

For main course, Miss 8 plumped for the “bimbi” spaghetti al pomodoro ($15), which she called “outstanding, even if the pasta wasn’t homemade”.

For the adults around the table, it was clear their pasta was homemade.

My hard-to-please other half went for the tortelli cacio e pepe, which at $37 had him complaining a little at the cost as he ordered it, but leaving him very happy as it passed his lips, branding it “creamy, but well balanced with the spice of the pepper”.

Monelli’s menu’s first page is clear it doesn’t aim to be truly authentically Italian, rather honouring the traditions of that fine cuisine, while giving it a modern touch, “made with the heart”.

And my own main course choice of tagliatelle al ragu ($35) was definitely far from the traditional bolognaise version with lamb, green peas and mint as its base.

I added the broccolini all’aglio e peperoncino, or chilli and garlic grilled broccolini with ricotta salata ($14) as a side and was very pleased I did.

If this is modernity, I am a firm convert to the new way of doing things. The rich lamb beautifully contrasted with just the right amount of light, bright mint and pea, preventing the flavour overload I slightly feared upon ordering.

And the deceptively, but welcomely spicy broccolini came a close second-favourite dish for the night after the meatballs.

Despite all three of us being stuffed by this point, Miss 8 insisted, of course, on dessert, choosing the pinsa alla Nutella ($21).

A final crowd-pleaser indeed with the Nutella cleverly matched against the almost-savoury, crispy and cooked-to-perfection pizza base and salted pistachio cream.

Even the two adults couldn’t resist diving in . . . after taking a snap for Facebook, of course.

The verdict: 17/20

Friendly, attentive Italian with a very elegant modern twist to suit the whole family.

Monelli

59 Beachside Drive, Burns Beach

OPEN: Every day, 6.30am-2pm; Wednesday to Sunday, 5pm-10pm

CONTACT: 9405 8022, monelli.com.au

BOOKINGS: Yes