Dinette Marcella specializes in the preparation of artisanal Italian pasta dishes that prioritize traditional techniques and high-quality raw ingredients. Each plate features house-made noodles paired with balanced, classic sauces that reflect a commitment to regional culinary heritage. The kitchen maintains a focus on consistency, ensuring that each portion adheres to specific flavor profiles rooted in authentic Mediterranean traditions. A compact, functional dining area supports the delivery of these fresh, starch-forward meals to patrons seeking substantial and direct nourishment. The menu relies on the simplicity of high-grade durum wheat and carefully sourced accompaniments to define the character of the establishment. This focus on fundamental Italian staples creates a direct, no-nonsense approach to service that emphasizes the quality of the primary ingredients in every prepared dish.
Dinette Marcella is widely celebrated as a standout destination in Old Montreal, consistently praised for its warm, cozy atmosphere, authentic Italian cuisine, and exceptional hospitality. Many guests highlight the high quality of the fresh pasta, the standout bruschetta, the flavorful arancini, and the perfectly crafted cocktails. The service is frequently described as professional, attentive, and incredibly welcoming, with many diners noting that staff members go out of their way to make experiences like birthdays and anniversaries truly memorable. While the space is known for being lively and occasionally loud due to its popularity, the overall consensus is that the combination of delicious, well-prepared dishes and a vibrant, charming environment makes it a must-visit location for both locals and travelers.
Quick recap: Excellent Cacio e Pepe, disappointing Carbonara, & unfortunately some of the poorest service we've experienced in quite a while. We spent much of the evening waiting or trying to get someone's attention, & one of our drinks never arrived at all. The food showed potential, but the service made the overall experience difficult to recommend.
We had a reservation & arrived about five minutes early. We were seated roughly 10 minutes after checking in, at the bar. If you have a choice, I would strongly recommend avoiding the bar seating.
Unfortunately, the service went downhill from there.
After being seated, we waited approximately 20 minutes just to be given water. Another 20 minutes passed before we finally flagged someone down so we could order wine. At that point, given how difficult it had already been to get anyone's attention, we decided to order dinner at the same time. I would have liked to try an appetizer or two, but frankly, we weren't confident we'd get another opportunity to order.
The food was a mixed experience.
My wife's Cacio e Pepe (without guanciale) was very good & easily the highlight of the evening.
I ordered the Carbonara. Unfortunately, the guanciale was burnt & the pasta was noticeably undercooked. For a dish where both the pasta & guanciale are central to what you're ordering, that's pretty disappointing.
For dessert, we ordered cannoli along with a gin & tonic as a nightcap. The cannoli arrived. The gin & tonic never did. No explanation, no acknowledgement, it simply never showed up.
Eventually, we once again had to flag someone down just to get our check.
Restaurants can have an off night, & I don't expect perfection. But this wasn't one delayed interaction. It was a consistent lack of service throughout the entire meal. Waiting 20 minutes for water, another 20 minutes before being able to order, having to repeatedly seek out staff, never receiving an ordered drink, & then having to find someone to pay the bill is simply not the level of service I would expect from a restaurant taking reservations & charging accordingly.
There was clearly some talent in the kitchen, my wife's dish was excellent, but the service significantly overshadowed the food & made what should have been an enjoyable dinner frustrating instead.
Your experience may vary, but based on ours, I wouldn't return without some indication that the service issues have been addressed.
I tried the gluten-free pasta & it was delicious! It's a bit pricey for the portion size, but as someone with celiac disease, finding places like this is fantastic.
Fantastic spot with well regarded house made pasta. As others have noted, the Tortellini is indeed delicious. The Bucatini Vongole was ok but needed more sauce & the broth didn't stick in the noodles well. The tiramisu was very lite, but would have been better if it had more of the coffee flavour & really needed more mascarpone as it barely had any. The dishes were perfect portions as well & we left feeling satisfied but not overly full. We would return to this place.
Everything was good, till the pasta came out. CARBONARA came out . The pasta was cooked in unsalted water. The Guanciale was burned ,so the pasta tasted bitter. It was not the correct way of making this dish. $200 for 2 drinks 2 antipasti. BRUSCHETTA is just tomatoes & olive oil & basil. You guys throw everything on top of yours. & 2 plates of pasta. Its pasta very cheap to make.
Grateful for the gluten free pasta option but a bit disappointed in the $5 up charge for mediocre pasta. The homemade pasta dish however was excellent. The salads & charcuterie looked wonderful as well although we did not try those this time. A fun atmosphere with good seating & ambiance!
What a lovely evening. The front desk at Eurostar recommended Marcella & they did not miss.
The atmosphere was warm. The 80's music collection was lovely. It has been a while since I listened to Stevie Wonder sing'Part Time Lovers'. The cocktails were well done. Isabella, our server, was very lovely & hospitable.
The food was a delight. The pasta fresh & light. The fish had the perfect balance of crisp & softness.
By the time we were done, there was no place for dessert.
This was honestly one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had.
I arrived around 6:00 PM as a walk-in & asked for a table for one. I was told there would be no availability until 8:30 PM, so I left without arguing. However, while I was standing outside looking for another restaurant, I watched several walk-in parties of two & three being seated.
Confused, I went back inside & asked again. The staff said they would'double check,' walked back & forth for a while, & then suddenly seated me. Once I was inside, I immediately noticed there was already an available seat at the bar for one person. I still don't understand why I was originally told to wait for two & a half hours.
Unfortunately, the service only got worse. I ordered a glass of wine, a salad, & a pasta. The wine & salad arrived promptly, but after I had completely finished my salad, my pasta still hadn't arrived. I waited nearly 50 minutes. I was about to cancel the pasta & leave when it finally came out.
By then, I had completely lost my appetite. I only ate a few bites before asking for the bill. The staff asked whether I didn't like the food, & I politely replied that the food was good. They repeatedly insisted that I take the pasta to go. I declined several times but eventually agreed because they kept asking.
When I got back to my hotel & opened the takeout container, I was shocked to find the kitchen order ticket placed directly on top of my pasta. It was literally sitting on the noodles. That is completely unacceptable from a hygiene standpoint & left an awful final impression.
I'm not someone who usually leaves negative reviews, but this experience was incredibly disappointing from beginning to end. I can't help wondering whether I was treated differently, especially considering what happened when I first arrived. Whether that was the case or not, the overall service was unprofessional, disorganized, & disrespectful. I won't be returning.
The service at Marcella was disappointing from the moment we walked in. We had to wait 5 minutes just for a server to show up & seat us. While our appetizer salad did arrive quickly after ordering, everything fell apart afterward. We waited 45 minutes for our mains (Carbonara di Spaghettini & Ravioli Cacio e Pepe) while watching every other table around us get served.
When we finally had to flag someone down to ask about our food, the plates were brought out immediately, but the quality was shockingly bad. The $31 Ravioli was totally average, 6-7 pieces, bland nothing out of regular, but the Carbonara was unacceptable. It arrived cold & completely tasteless. Instead of a proper emulsion of egg, guanciale, & pecorino romano, they lazily dropped a raw egg yolk on top to make it look'fancy.' Anyone who knows Italian food knows that is not a real carbonara.
To their credit, when we complained, they offered to change the plate & removed the carbonara from the bill. However, we still ended up paying $92 CAD for just two drinks, one salad, & one mediocre pasta dish. For a well-located restaurant at this price point, the food & kitchen management need to be vastly better. Very disappointed.
We went here for lunch with a group of 6. They were able to seat us within 10 minutes.
Overall this place was amazing everything was delicious & our waitress was very nice & helpful. Since we were a big group we were able to try a lot of stuff. We tried the veal tomahok, the clam pasta, the lobster Mac & cheese, the gnocchi, the Cesar salad, & the fish. We also tried the arancini which was excellent & came with a really good cream sauce.
Everything was very good. The flavors were well balanced, the presentation was nice, the texture was perfect. No complaints from us.
If you are going to be in Montreal & like Italian food then you should come here. You won't want to miss this one!
