Here at Marciano's Pasta Café we only use fresh produce, the finest seafood, fresh chicken and grain fed veal in all of our dishes. Our pasta is made on location using Durham semolina flour and for those with food sensitive allergies, we offer rice and whole wheat pastas.
I had pasta with asparagus and zucchini and was hard pressed to find either in the pasta was used very minimally. Did not get value for the price here. The salad dressing on the greens not as good as I remember. Bread was not fresh tasted old.
I decided I wanted to try something new for my birthday dinner.
Made a reservation - yes they do take them.
We enjoyed our entire meal. Just the right amount of spacing from receiving our drinks, to receiving our apps. I had the Eggplant Parm.....piping hot and crisp, served with a fresh cold tomato sauce - perfect balance. My husband had the Scallop and Shrimp Aglio e Olio.....one of the best sauces I have ever tasted. The pieces of seafood were big - and cooked to perfection.
Again....a nice break until our next course. The entrees come with salad and a bread basket.....we used the bread to sop up the rest of the sauce.....house salad has a wonderful dressing..and a very large crisp plate of greens. My only regret is that I could not finish it because I still had my main meal coming.
Again.....perfect spacing until our mains arrived.
I chose the Fettucini Carbonara.....out of this world - YUM. It was easy to see that the Chef made it to order.....pasta was al dente and even though there was a ton of bacon in the dish.....the sauce did not pick up the saltiness......my hubby had Penne Alla Gina.....he loved loved loved it.
We did not tell our server it was my birthday until the end of the meal. As soon as we told her....she ran off and came back with a gift certificate for our next visit.
We made a point of telling the Chef how much we enjoyed our meal. One guy in the kitchen - cooking fantastic food. No wonder it is so packed in the dining room with people popping in and out for take out.
We will be back soon....and often.
It was alright. Probably wouldn't go back again. Food was nothing special though there was lot's on the menu. Service was great. We had wine. Disappointed they don't take American Express.
Why bother, my husband and I have tried to go a number of times, but unless you have a party of 6 you can't make reservations. Why bother! The last time we went the kitchen staff was noisy and dropped pasta sauce all over the kitchen and didn't even bother to clean it up. We also ordered the pasta with the pesto sauce, and no pine nuts!!!!! They said they were too expensive.... come on! What would a tbsp cost really!!!!!
Have been here several times and have not had a bad meal yet. I have had something different every tie and have enjoyed it all. Food is excellent and portions are generous. Entrees come with salad and fresh bread is on the table. It may be lacking in atmosphere, but the food and service highly make up for it. You will enjoy your meal and will not be disappointed! One of my favourite places to eat.
