Nestled between the Grafton Street and Franklin Street areas of Worcester is Wall Street’s Mare E Monti Trattoria. This classic Italian trattoria offers a comfortable dining experience that is a little bit off the beaten path from the Shrewsbury Street dining scene that most people think of when they think Worcester’s Italian food. Yet Mare E Monti Trattoria is a strong contender in the Italian dining experience.
After browsing the many selections on the menu I decided to start with the Polenta Con Funghi which was described as a creamy polenta with fried mushrooms, spring onions, served in a shallot butter sauce. This dish lived up to its description and was a savory delightful combination of polenta topped with the mushroom and scallions in butter sauce. I would highly recommend this appetizer as it was skillfully prepared and delicious.
For my main course I picked the Pollo Guisseppi which a chicken dish with eggplant, prosciutto, and mozzarella. The dish was topped with a pomodoro sauce and I opted for the optional homemade pasta (for a small up charge). The highlight of the dish was the thinly sliced eggplant that was fried to a crispy perfection. The entire dish was well prepared with quality ingredients, hearty portions and fresh homemade pasta, yet it seemed to need a little something more, possibly salt or some red pepper. Surprisingly the prosciutto did not seem to add the saltiness that one would have expected. I would definitely consider this dish again as it had many of my favorite ingredients.
Overall the location was comfortable and had a nice feel with exposed beams and brick. The food was well prepared and fresh. The deserts looked quite delicious and most of the desserts were home made. I would definitely go back and would probably gravitate towards and eggplant based dish.