Monti in Southend-on-Sea

Now THIS is an Italian restaurant - nothing pretentious, nothing gimmicky, just amazingly well cooked, super tasty Italian food.The restaurant is lovely, homely and intimate, and the staff couldn't be more welcoming and comforting. But all that is just the cherry on top of what it an amazing menu - regardless of your tastes, there's something on the menu for you, and it's all cooked to the highest quality, with super fresh and excellent quality ingredients.There's classic Italian pasta, meat and fish dishes, pizzas, as well as some more contemporary choices. My partner had the "Sautéed Argentinian king Prawns in a garlicky sauce" to start, followed by the "Cannelloni di Pesce" (seafood Cannelloni), both of which were sublime, the prawns were huge, the fish fresh, and nothing lacked in quantity, to the point she couldn't finish the Cannelloni. I had the "Cappesante" -Seared scallops, and some of the best scallops I've ever had to be sure, and I've had A LOT of scallops (unfortunately missed a photo of this one), followed by the "Porgi l’artra Guancia" - a slow braised Ox cheek, served on a bed of creamy mash with a sauce and roasted vegetabled. The menu states, "try it to believe it’s deliciousness!" and I'm still finding it hard to believe just how delicious it was - genuinely a dish you'll remember for a lifetime. Then we just finished it all off with a panacotta, which even that, as simple as it was, was perfectly made and presented!In short, we'll be back soon, and time and time again; there's nothing much we could find fault with in Monti's, nothing at all...

Authentic family run Italian restaurant, we were lucky enough they had a table free on good Friday and they didn't dissapoint. Great food, great atmosphere and great service.

Very cozy, wonderfully decorated little Italian restaurant with welcoming staff and a great selection of food. The ambiance is great and during peak times it can be busy. Love music on offer occasionally. Recommended for just a night out or even more business oriented lunches.

OMG!!! Fantastic food, great service.This is restaurant is the perfect picture of an Italian family restaurant where great food, the attention to details and the customer service are the core of the business.Everything was 100%!! Definitely you have a customer!!Grazie Consuelo per la magnifica esperienza culinaria. Ringrazia tutto lo staff da parte mia!A pesto!Stefano

Fantastic Italian restaurant serving a great variety of contemporary food with a dash of fun.The restaurant is surprisingly spacious with lots of tables. Staff are friendly and happy to discuss the menu. And they will need to, it's very extensive with specials too. We enjoyed a range of dishes with pasta, pizza and more besides and all really tasty.A wonderful restaurant I'll definitely be heading back to.

Lovely evening Lovely Food lovely Staff.Went for my daughter’s 19th birthday yesterday evening.So welcoming. Service was impeccable all evening. The food was to die for and I can’t really say much more than check out the pics of amazing authentic grub 👍👍👍

First time here last night and was completely wowed by both the quality of the food and the service. Nothing I could fault at all with this restaurant. Cannot wait to return and dine here again.Lovely setting inside, attentive and knowledgeable waiting staff and 10 out of 10 food.This is London quality in Southend.

Probably the best Italian meal I ever had! Everything is so tasty there! Plus all food looks lovely! Love the crab pasta. Service is great! U should go if you haven’t tried it.

Good services with delicious Italian food in this lovely place. Fresh seafood with stunning seasoning. Also nice dessert as well.

Managed to get a late reservation here on a very busy Friday night and got a really nice cosy table. Despite being such a busy night, we were enthralled by the staff going up and down ferrying the food from the kitchen. We also sneaked some sights from the kitchen and could see the cooks working on so many tickets! Food came promptly and was artistically presented (props for creativity). We got the seafood pasta and the ham mushroom pizza, followed by tiramisu and donuts and they were all delicious. However, what made the visit so amazing was our loveliest waitress, Elena who was ever so kind to us. Thank you and we’ll definitely be back!