MEET SIMONE & LEJLA — PROUD FOUNDERS OF MONELLA

Starting as a young chef in the famous fish market of his hometown, Catania, Simone has gathered over 15 years of experience in Italian cuisine.

His passion for pizza was sparked later, on the island of Malta, where he met Lejla, a Serbian journalist whose path had always led to the restaurant industry.

After working together and sharing experiences, they dreamed of having own place — where they could create amazing recipes, provide warm atmosphere and service guests would love to return to.

MONELLA'S STORY BEGINS in 2023

Inspired by Sicily’s lively food truck culture, we introduced our Pizza Fritta to the Norwegian street food scene during a beautiful Gladmat day. Successful feedback and requests for more, inspired us to take our style of pizza to other summer events.

When many of you asked how to find us, we set up in Bjergsted for the autumn, where we met some of our first loyal customers.

For Christmas, we moved to Lars Oftedalsplass in Østervåg, where we continued sharing southern Italian specialties like Pizzolo, Iris, Arancini, Cannoli, Baba, and more.

Monella’s story begins in 2023 with a vision to bring high-quality street food in Norway, where value and price stand in balance. Coming from the South we knew what to offer that can’t be denied!

Just a year later, we proudly open the doors of Monella Trattoria. Whether you’re enjoying a meal from our food truck or dining in our restaurant, our goal is to share authentic southern Italian flavors with you, so each visit feels like a little vacation.

MEET THE team BEHIND THE FLAVOR

We’ll welcome you warmly — in Italian, Bosnian, French, Syrian, North Italian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, Norwegian, and more.

We’re proud to have a team that brings together different cultures, experiences, and generations.

We speak different languages and come from different places, but we all carry in us kindness, as a core value.

WE'RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO WELCOME BOTH FAMILIAR FACES & NEW GUESTS

Feel free to contact us to book a table, order take away or learn more about Monella