Monsu

Very good food, authentic and flavorful. Bit salty. The items on the menu are much more unique than the usual Italian restaurant in the city. The pasta that is homeade is delicious!

Wow. Thank you so much to the staff at Monsu for making my graduation brunch amazing. Their gluten free options were amazing and the four people in my party who eat gluten free left with very happy bellies. Even my dad, who is grumpy and was a little rude and hangry at first, left giddy and smiling from a delicious meal. I will definately be back. Highly recommend especially if you have gluten free food restrictions and love italian food. Also it is a BYO so come with some wine to accompany your delicious food!

Food: ¹⁄₅. Salty salty salty ! Did $ 40 tasting menu
Antipasti — octopus arugula salad — good, but the dressing was extremely salty. tried someone’s mussels, and personally, I didn’t like it. The tomato broth tasted like tomato soup; salty tomato liquid. Needed something else, like garlic and some basil in the sauce .
Pasta — gnocchi with crabmeat and tomato cream. salty again ! the cheese sprinkled generously on top was extremely salty ! The dish wasn’t balanced at all. The tomato cream tasted like tomato sauce with cream, nothing fancy nor did I expect fancy .
Entrée — swordfish stuffed with caramelized onions. Had potential to be delicious, but again SALTY. The swordfish was cooked almost perfectly, a little too dry, but if taken out of the fire 3 minutes before, then it would’ve been perfect. Tried someone’s ribeye steak, and it was definitely not good. It was mushy as if it was prepped to fry, but they didn’t fry it? Not sure how it was to be prepared, but she did not like it at all that she left the plate almost full. This dish was the only food dish that wasn’t salty, but rather bland. Tried someone’s dish of seafood soup, and it wasn’t bad, but again S A L T Y !!! But the seafood in the dish were cooked well, but she only enjoyed the one lobster claw she got. It was the only thing not salty on the dish .
Service: ³⁄₅ Good, but can use more organization between both servers and kitchen. Owners/​managers were great, but I wish that they were a bit more flexible with the menu example: we asked for no cheese on someone’s eggplant parm, and they weren’t able to do that because it was already made (no idea why? that is NOT prepping. that is just serving straight up already cooked food. My entrée came after everyone’s wrapping up theirs. One of our branzino fish was raw on the inside, and we cleared our pasta dishes while two people were still waiting for theirs. Gluten free option is great, but a little more vegan/​vegetarian friendly options would be better, or just be flexible with the food like no cheese on an eggplant parm?
OVERALL, I probably won’t dine here again because of the food being so salty. I think I got drunk way too quick because it was so much salt that I had to take a sip of my wine or beer after each bite (I could’ve gotten water but it’s a party! Lol). But no exaggeration there. I did have to take a sip after every single bite. I am not sure if it’s a hit or miss sort of place, but we definitely got a miss night.

— TIP: If you’ve been in the past few years — try going back. Everything is on-​point, but especially the pasta is a highlight.
— CON: Small place — which I personally like — but it also means that you’ll often be cramped during peak dinner hours.
— BOTTOM LINE: This is the best Italian restaurant in the Italian Market. Much more inspired dishes than Dante Luigis, Ralphs, Vila di Roma… and they still get all of the basics right.

Great place with amazing food right outside the Italian market! Very crowded on a Saturday night, so make reservations. We did the chefs tasting menu which allowed us to try a little bit of everything (come hungry!). Everything was delicious but some of our favorites were the grilled octopus salad, the burrata/​eggplant, all four of the fresh homemade pastas were superb (I can’t pick what I liked best), and for our entrée the duck confit & Bastille were excellent. The Chef came out for every portion of the meal to explain what we were eating which was helpful and added to the experience.
Overall a really cozy place with authentic Sicilian food. Great menu with a lot of variety, not your average Philly Italian restaurant.

I was there for dinner. The dishes were not warm. It was like they let the food sit somewhere for 20 minutes before bought it out. Disappointed!

don’t tell anyone this place exists, then it would become too popular and you won’t be able to get a table. Food is amazing, but again, keep it to yourself.

Great meal here. It’s cash only and BYOB. Service was very nice. We made a reservation, glad we did, place was hopping on a Friday night.
Tasting menu a great value, but we were not that hungry.
Ordered stuffed sardine, rocket salad, crab ricotta gnocchi and eggplant parmesan. Everything was spot on and delicious.
Two strange things. We realized as we were leaving that we were never served bread and weren’t told about the specials for the evening, which is why I took off a star. Actually a wee bit strange. Overall wonderful food and would come back. Would love to sit outside on a nice evening.

We had two meals here during a weekend trip to Philadelphia — both delicious! Excellent gluten-​free options. My friend, a foodie, thought the gnocchi was the best she’s had. I loved the rocket salad and tagliatelle (with GF pasta). The only miss was maybe the broccoli rabe — over-​seasoned.
Cash only, and BYOB — bring wine, or champagne for brunch. Reservations probably a good idea Friday and Saturday night.

I went here for New Year’s Eve and got the four course meals. All were fabulous. My only complaint is the size of the restaurant being extremely small. There was not anywhere to stand while waiting for the table.

Wow. While walking around South Philly’s Italian Market on Sunday morning we chose this place at random for a bite and we ended up having some of the most delicious food we have ever tasted. The Gnocchi with sweet crab, pistachio, and lemon tomato cream was as light as a feather and melted in our mouths. Even the complimentary focaccia bread with orange chutney, fresh garlic, and olive oil dipping sauce was a mind-​blower. I noticed an otherwise dignified-​looking lady diner at another table licking her fingers. Enough said — the Sicilian cuisine at Monsu absolutely rocks.

Came here last weekend with a gluten free friend who was happy with her menu choices. I ordered the ‘eggs basildict’ which was a delicious Italian take on benedict. The breakfast potatoes weren’t that great but I was already full from the eggs anyways. Service was good and the prices were decent. Overall great brunch!

Awesome BYOB. We got the chef’s tasting menu for $ 40 a head it was well worth it and plenty of food. We left feeling over satisfied. I ordered started with the Beet salad, squid ink pasta with spicy rock shrimp, stuffed swordfish, and finished with strawberry panna cotta-​all I can say is YUMM! We will definitely return on our next Philly trip ! Can’t wait

We came here on a Saturday night with no reservations on our last night in Philly because we were craving Italian food. They were gracious enough to fit us in, thank you!!! We both had the tasting menu which I would highly recommend as you get to try lots of different meals. It is so much food but absolutely delicious! CASH ONLY AND BYOB

Great brunch! Great dinner! Honestly brunch is as good as local hotspot Sabrina’s with a fraction of the wait. I have been for brunch three times.
Dinner is where this place truly shines

Monsu is my favorite restaurant. I go there to celebrate, when I have friends in from out of town, and when I just happen to be walking by and want delicious food. The service is always excellent and the food superb. I can’t recommend enough the 4 course tasting menu — it always leaves me fat and happy. BYOB and cash only. Prepare to be amazed.
Also, their brunch is delightful. Can’t forget about the brunch.

This little place, right in the heart of the Italian neighborhood in South Philly surprised me in so many ways, most importantly I think was its value. We did the four courses for $ 40! You could choose from anything on the menu too. It bills itself as Sicilian, but I think it is Sicilian-​influenced in just some of its dishes.
I started with the antipasti caldi, and the plate was loaded with probably 10 different gorgeous things, 2 kinds of eggplant, carrots, olives, cheese, salty meats, and the veggies all had wonderful, complex flavors. I gobbled it all down.
Second was the gnocchi with squid ink and calamari, a special. Perfect, light fluffy gnocchi, and great flavors in the dish. Calamari cooked well.
Third was the crispy duck leg. Fantastic. The meat was tender, the outside crispy, great flavors, roasted potatoes, I forget the vegetable.
The food here is quite filling, and is reminiscent of good home cooking. You cannot beat the value. The service was excellent also, our man had an Italian accent even!
And it’s BYOB. Perfect.

It’s really a 4.5 star rating. I went here for a birthday dinner with a friend. Great BYOB! I def agree with the other reviews that the 4 course dinner is worth the money! (It was 40 or 45 per person I forget exactly how much). It was so much food! So come hungry! Very delicious though. I enjoyed learning about traditional Sicilian cooking. Our waiter was extremely knowledgable and nice. I remember the chocolate cake being one of the bests I’ve ever had. Although by that point you are so full! I highly recommend checking out this place. Now I just can’t wait to try modo mio their other restaurant!

This is my favorite Sicilian restaurant in Philly. They have great food and I always have a great meal. They are a BYOB and keep the Philly tradition alive. They have a pre-​fix menu that you can get for a reasonable price.
Some of my favorites on the menu include their escargot appetizer. It’s delicious and the sauce is to die for! My favorite pasta dish is their lasagna, which comes with a fried egg. I know this sounds like a crazy combo but it works fabulously. At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Just make sure you go hungry.

Extremely flavorful unique cuisine– not the typical Italian! This is my second visit this summer and it won’t be my last! Started w/​the grilled romaine salad topped with mint pesto, crème fraîche, fried speck and fresh Parmesan. It was fantastic! Portobello appetizer with goat cheese, sundried cherries and mint pesto was phenomenal. Whole fish sea bass with fresh herbs– amazing. Sundried tomato Tortelloni filled with Chilean sea bass mousse in saffron sauce w/​corn & tomatoes also delish. As if that wasn’t enough, we topped it off with a fresh house made cannoli– crispy shell, savory ricotta filling accented with chocolate chips, pistachios, & orange marmalade– yummy! Espresso was excellent too! I highly recommend this restaurant for a unique, flavorful taste experience. BYOB. Cash only. Worth it. :)