Marino Restaurant

Old School, great vibe. great plates, wonderful host and owner. Go.

My boyfriend and I just left right now and honestly had the best experience ever. Totally arrived underdressed but felt welcomed from the moment we walked in. The manager was our best friend by the time we left. Our food was incredible and my boyfriend’s Negroni was perfect. Our service was so worth the 50% tip we left for our server. Definitely coming back.

My Husband And I Enjoyed A Wonderful Dining Experience Tonight. The service was friendly, polite and very attentive, the food was top quality, delicious and artfully plated. Marino also has a fantastic ambiance with great music softly playing and comfortable seating. The manager or maybe he is the owner is attentive, charming and pleasant. This place strives to please their patrons.
Marino is an Excellent and authentic Italian restaurant, we were impressed with everything.
We’re looking forward to our next visit!

It’s such a great coup to find this gem of an authentic Italian restaurant. All the ingredients were fresh. The fish were sublime. Lobsters fettuccine with tomatoes were so well done.
Owner Mario came out to talk to us and was very attentive. Must try place

A very special restaurant. Sal makes every tasting menu to order using the freshest ingredients and seafood. The vegetables and herbs are from his garden. We love this place!

I was taking a picture of the front door w/​a porthole glass window etched w/​the name Marino. As I came in, the owner popped up & told me that he was tempted to put his face against the window just as I pushed the camera shutter button. I told him that it would have been fine to have his fine «facia bella» framed in the window of my photo.
My waiter who was originally from Roma was equally friendly while he handed me the menu. First time I came to Marino was for lunch back in the early 1980’s when the mother of the owner rushed gracefully around the old school small intimate restaurant space. The restaurant has not changed much as though its in a cushy time capsule.
1) The Polpette is to die for here. It is the best that I have had so far. It is the perfect rough ground mixture of Manzo/​beef, Vitello/​veal, & Maiale/​pork. The meat tastes of a good natural grass fed-​like meatiness. The rounded, sweet yet acidic Salsa Marinara is lightly herbed & scattered w/​finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s so easy to eat the 3 large meatballs by oneself.
2) Restaurant made pasta was fetuccine in a creamy sauce enriched w/​brown Japanese Shi-​take (shee tah keh) mushrooms that added a damp foresty fungal odor. The wide flat ribbons of fetuccine were soft, more puffy, mouthfilling and not so stretchy & al dente. It was more of a home-​style comfort food approach. I must say that I may like the more bouncy, snappy, al dente paste found at the Factory Kitchen.
1−2a) Pairing was Barbera d’Alba, Pio Cesare, Piedmonte was full of dark fruits such as cherry, dark plum having a bit of shoe leather, cinnamon, all spice.
3) Petto d’Anatra/duck breast seemed to have undergone the Sous-​vide process which makes meat ultra smooth, soft, lush. It then seemed to be grilled to give the flesh more texture. There was a sauce demi-​glacé made from the juices of the duck with a bit of orange essence like Grand Marnier. This elegant duck preparation seems very similar to the Anatra served at Il Grano on the Westside. Nice touch was a confit of kumquat adding more of a strong citrus scent to the meat when eaten together. A purée of what looked like sweet celery root was smeared across the dish as well as sautéed spinach in olive oil & garlic.
3a) Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley Estate, Barossa, South Australia had blackberries, black cherries, touch of oaky vanilla & herbal smokiness, smooth w/​touch of counter-​balancing acidity & tannins.
4) Tiramisu had the basic ingredients such as Mascarpone cheese, Savoiardi biscuits/​ladyfingers, espresso, scattering of dark chocolate, but the Tiramisu was a bit too dry as though there weren’t enougbh espresso, and the Mascarpone also seemed dried out. Possibly it was mistakenly left in the refrigerator too long causing dessication of the Miramisu. It seemed to me to be a poorly executed dessert. Espresso was the refreshing bitter counter-​point to the rich, but xeric dessert.
I came here around 6:30pm when there were few customers. As the regular customers & the «high rollers» come in, be aware that the primary attention will slowly gravitate toward them. Understandably the restaurant must focus more on them since they consistently support Marino.
At the end of dinner when I presented them w/​a
gift certificate that discounted my meal by $ 25 while I had paid $ 10 upfront for the certificate, the feeling of hospitality was further decreased even though Marino had actively participated in the
deal.
Marino had started out being so pleasant, but the conclusion was marred by the cessation of personable service. Still, I paid over $ 91 including taz & added $ 17 gratuity so it wasn’t as though I had ordered a cheap meal. Food here is definitely 4 Unilocal stars, but the sincerity of service somehow seems to fall apart unless you’re a big baller.

This my favorite classic Italian restaurant with old school vibe. The dishes are made to perfection. A beautiful quite dining room with comfortable booths. The service is exceptional warm and efficient.
You have to love Frank Sinatra playing in the background.
Thank you.

Mario was a most excellent host and companion for our dining journey. My girlfriend and I l“we’re looking to try a different type of wine than what we normally have, so we asked Mario for some help. He suggested a wonderful bottle and then helped us design a dinner around it. With every course the wine tasted completely different in the best of ways. Mario was spot on!
The Caesar salad was well balanced and light. The asparagus risotto was perfectly balanced as well. The bus boy offered us cheese but warned that the dish was delicate and didn’t need cheese. I heeded his advice and agreed once I tasted the dish. It was perfect as is. My girlfriend was craving a fish dish she had a long time ago here and Mario was able to figure out what she was remembering and made it happen! She was so happy. My duck was out of this world. The espresso and ricotta cheesecake rounded out an excellent evening. Great service. Restaurant is loud enough that you can’t accidentally hear others conversations but yet you can still talk with your party. I will be brining out of town guests here soon based on my experience last night.

This Hollywood timeless classic is up to an impressive remake with the recent return of Salvatore in the kitchen. Mario and Sal provide an excellent culinary experience … Highly recommended…

The food was so delicious very nice environment and service was execellent. The price of the wines, however, are fairly expensive — even the least expensive wines by the glass start around $ 14 – 15 per glass.

Short review: Excellent service, Classic interior, Rich/​heavy flavors and portions
Based on: Calamaro Alla Grigilia, Linguine Scallops, Pollo Vesuvio, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine
Longer review:
Food:
We ordered the Calamari Salad (Calamaro Alla Griglia). The calamari was presented beautifully with the tomatoes and greens. It was cut in alternating flat and rings pieces (yet held together on adjacent sides), giving it a pleasing look and fun cutting experience. I know that sounds weird, but trust me, it made a difference. It was seared enough to blacken the edges but leave the rest of the meat tender and flavorful. It was flavored further with garlic and a dressing, both of which I thought were a bit too strong. Lesser dressing would’ve allowed the natural flavors to flourish more. Nevertheless, still good.
Then we ordered the Linguine Scallops and Pollo Vesuvio (chicken) with the suggested Montepulciano d’Abruzzo red wine.
The scallops also came with shrimp. However, I did not get the true experience I also requested gluten-​free pasta (spaghetti in this case). But it was still delicious. The scallops were soft and consistent in texture, the shrimp had the perfect amount of crunch. It’s a very garlic and tomato heavy dish, so be prepared for all that I guess. The chicken had a unique outer flavor: somewhere between grilled and breaded, but no flour or breading was used, as far as I know. It had a strong vinegar flavor which might not work well for some people, but I found it helped give the meat some wetness. The chicken comes with fingerling potatoes which were cooked as you might expect. Again, heavy in the sauce.
Service:
This staff was on top of it. Who I assume the manager, immediately greeted us with a warm handshake. I made the reservation on OpenTable and mentioned our gluten-​free preference. Most places ignore that, but they did not. They were happy to adjust the dish to our preference. The valet (there’s little street parking) had our car ready before we even got up to the booth. He must have seen us exit the restaurant and immediately remembered our car. Quite a guy.
In summary: Excellent seafood and service. Elegant atmosphere. Will come back.

First off, I want to state that I’ve never been more reluctant to write a negative review for a business. This restaurant has a phenomenal reputation and I’m sure that my experience was an anomaly, but nonetheless, it’s the truth.
I was so incredibly excited when I stumbled upon Marino online a few months back. My fiancée and I decided that we would celebrate our 1-​month before our wedding Anniversary in style. I researched to find the absolute highest recommended high-​end Italian restaurant in the Los Angeles area. I kept coming across this restaurant, list after list, so I decided to do some research. Come to find out, everyone love this place! So, I called about a month or so in advance and booked the reservation with some specific notes about ‘seating, occasion, etc’.
We ended up nearly being late so I called in as a courtesy and the woman on the phone (extremely friendly!) said that was no problem and they made a time adjustment. Upon arriving, they still had our table ready within a few minutes and were very accommodating to my requests in regards to seating (at a booth, together). Upon being seated, we were greeted by a gentleman who asked what we’d like to drink, after spouting out a few random cocktails. Neither of us drink, and I don’t have anything against it but it’s just not my preference. When we asked for diet cokes, our waiter closed the wine menu up promptly, gave us the strangest look and gave a guttural «Okay.» This initially had me concerned, but I wasn’t too worried.
After 10 minutes of still not seeing the waiter or my drink, I flagged him down and asked about the other diet coke, to which he said, «What? They should have brought that!» The party next to us had a family with a few small kids that were behaving themselves very well and my fiancée and I admired how the manager was showing them a lot of special attention, then we realized he was doing this with every guest. I was excited because THAT was the service I heard about.
Our waiter came back to quickly take our order, offered an appetizer, was short with every response and had a weird unfriendly face on him the entire time. After taking our order of a hand tossed (at the table, as advertised) caesar salad and zucchini, he brought out a soggy caesar salad that was definitely not tossed table side. The zuchinni was okay, it was a bit lumpy and the ricotta inside was cold; which I don’t even understand how that’s possible.
Then the meal came, in between that, our drinks hit rock bottom several times. The best service we received was from a very friendly water guy/​busser, incredibly nice! Our meals arrived and the food was absolutely fantastic! I mean, really really good. I got the pork chop and my fiancée got the mushroom fettucini. But again, we didn’t see our waiter throughout our entire meal. The only time the manager ever visited our table was to point at an empty glass, and then point at a busser to fill it, that was literally it.
We went on and finished our meal, and he brought a dessert menu, again, not a single smile or friendly word whatsoever. We waited 20 minutes and he never came back to our table. By the time he came back to the table he had our ticket with him, not a question about dessert until he realized he hadn’t done that yet. Again, no apology, nothing, I served tables at a nice steak restaurant for 4 years, I understand good service, this wasn’t it.
When we finally got our bill (right around $ 140), I figured he would come by to say goodbye or thank you, nothing. The manager was already on to speak and sit down and hang out with a table full of obnoxiously loud businessmen next to us. Not a word with us.
I was in a full suit, my fiancée was dressed beautifully from head to toe. When we left that place we didn’t hear a single «thank you» or a «goodbye» or a «go to hell» or anything. Just, nothing. The only reason I decided to write this review was because that was such a special night for us to share together to have Marino ruin it like this. And here is the REAL sinker. When we were walking through Larchmont later having Salt N Straw Ice cream, she turned to me and said, «You know what, I feel like those people at the restaurant really didn’t like us…» Their is nothing worse to hear after spending $ 150 and a very important evening together than that. To think, we gave a business our money and time and we talked away feeling un-​liked and unappreciated, that’s wrong.
Perhaps it was because we aren’t your typical clientele. We didn’t buy your expensive cocktails or liquor or wine. We just set up reservations a month early, looked forward to it for a month, and drove an hour and a half to visit you, and then tipped well on top of that. All this to say, I won’t ever return and hope people take this into consideration before planning a night there.

Review ³⁷⁄₃₆₅
Some of the best Italian food I’ve had. It’s a small family owned restaurant serving classic Italy food. Everything was made with so much care and attention. My table ordered the following:
–Burrata con Proscuitto: so creamy and so good. Comes w/​basil and tomato. Great way to kick off the night
–Grandma’s meatballs: 3 meatballs in a light tomato sauce. I love that the sauce wasn’t too heavy nor was it overly acidic. Perfect. tender. flavorful.
–Arugula salad: so good… so good… so good.
–Duck entrée: they sous vide the duck, so it melts on your tongue. It also comes with celery root purée and sautéed brussel sprouts. must get.
–Mushroom Risotto: best risotto ever.
–Pasta Bolognese: fresh pasta made in house. light tomato sauce w/​ground meat. Another home run dish.
–Salmon: this was also very good, but compared to the other dishes, the salmon wasn’t really a stand out.
It was such a great meal. I wouldn’t mind coming here again.

One of my favorite places for a date with my husband. The first time we went, we got a several course tasting menu (that’s actually not listed anywhere, just have to ask for it) but the only part that I really loved off the menu was the pasta so the second time we went, I got the seafood pasta.
We went with my 4 year old daughter, which I don’t recommend because this place is a bit spancy. Next time, we’ll hire a baby sitter… (especially because she tried to order «mac n cheese with cheetos»… I’m sure that annoyed the owners! Lol)
We ended up getting her the butter penne with parmesan cheese. She ate almost everything. We also ordered the calamari and my husband got the pork chop. They paired both our meals with amazing wines.
Lastly, I got the crème brûlée with a cappuccino.
If I were to order next time, I’d only order the seafood pasta the same way– otherwise, I’d order other things on their menu to try.
Oh, the only thing I did not appreciate was the fact that they sat all the Asians in the same area. There were tons of empty tables when we walked in… but the guests that were walking in, if they were asian, they sat them next to or behind us… even if it’s a coincidence, there were so many other tables and booths open, spread us out so we don’t feel so awkward having conversations… it’s like sitting next to the only other person in an empty movie theater. Move over… like way over THERE!

This place is friggin’ classic. The reviews don’t lie. And while the food was good, it was Mario that will leave a lasting imrpession.
The moment we walked in Mario introduced himself and shook our hands. We got to know our server «Americo» (oops he said «Humberto») and had an amazing meal. I had the black cod special, and my friend had the Linguine Pescatore. I had a bit of his and he had a bit of mine, and neither of us had much bad to say about our food.
This place reminds me something out of Las Vegas. If you want more than just dinner, come to Marino, as you’ll get dinner and a show!

Marino is a quiet, lovely, classic Italian restaurant in the heart of Los Angeles, on the same calm stretch of Melrose in Hollywood as Providence. It’s apparently been around for a few generations, but I didn’t know about it until my parents picked it as the venue for my mom’s birthday dinner.
It was a charming place with a wonderful convivial ambiance, the décor upscale but pleasantly homey. The essence was pretty spot-​on fancy old school Italian, and I enjoyed that. Service was excellent, attentive and formal, but super warm and welcoming.
Since it was a birthday dinner, my parents brought nice wine and we opted for a truffle-​centric tasting menu. I’m not at all convinced that this was the way to go – it was startlingly expensive, and only included one pasta, which I suspect is the strong suit of the house. Still, it was perfectly enjoyable, as enormously decadent dinners paid for by others tend to be.
Dinner started with a solid bread basket, which we munched on before ordering. Then the tasting menu got under way with an appetizer of lobster caprese. This was a high point of the meal, actually, a gorgeous plate of poached Maine lobster with burrata, avocado, radish, tomato, and balsamic dressing, everything light and fresh. I also really enjoyed the next course, a duo of grilled calamari and clam baked with seasoned bread crumbs, garnished with cherry tomato. The calamari was tender and delicious, and I enjoyed the flavorful bite of clam. The last three courses all featured white truffle and butter and white truffle butter, and while I like these things fine, I found the repetition heavy and kind of boring, especially since the white truffle was not as headily fragrant as expected. The linguine was the best of these dishes, mostly because the wide pasta was on point, with a supple, al dente chew. It came in an earthy mushroom sauce, and while I wanted a bit more texture from the actual mushrooms – morel or something like them – I did think this pasta tasted great. Unfortunately, I just did not like the last two courses. There was swordfish with truffle and butter and a small side of wilted spinach, then a veal medallion with more of the same. I found the swordfish dense and mealy and the veal just straight up tough and bland. The meal ended on a nice note, though, with some fluffy Italian cheesecake with a candle in it.
I wasn’t mad about this meal or anything, but I would’ve been disappointed if I’d come with my husband and eaten on our own dime. I feel like there’s just better Italian in this city, especially once you get into Marino’s price range. That said, I think it’s entirely possible the tasting menu was just a misstep, and would be open to a more pasta-​centric dinner here in the future.

So that’s what this place is. Too many years have I driven past this cute establishment on Melrose wondering what kind of restaurant occupies the space. Marino feels like a remnant of yesteryear (in a good way). When you walk in, you are greeted warmly by Mario, the owner, who checks in on you from time to time. The intent is to make you feel like you’re welcome and that you’ll be taken care of. It’s a welcome departure from the myriad of über hip eateries that have popped up around town.
The interior feels ever so slightly dated, but not horribly so. I kept on thinking that the locale would make the perfect set for a 90’s Cinemax movie. The space isn’t too large and has a nice combination of booths and table seating. We arrived around 8pm on a weekday and saw a few tables, mostly comprising of older, well-​to-​do patrons. If you abhor stratospheric noisy settings, Marino will be a welcome relief where you will be able to engage in sensible conversation and actually expect to hear the other party.
The menu lists mostly familiar Italian/​Italian American favorites. I tasted all the dishes except one and thought the food was solid, albeit a bit pedestrian. My pescatore — pasta with seafood — was ok. The seafood tasted fresh, but the sauce was a bit watery and the pasta wasn’t homemade. The branzino entrée was fine, although it didn’t taste as flavorful as others I have tried at other Italian restaurants. The fried calamari was good, but portions were a bit light and the sauce was too watery for my taste. The grilled peach and burrata salad was fine. All in all, we had no major complaints about the food, but at the same time, it tasted just ok. I walked away thinking I could have made some of those dishes at home.
While we had several servers waiting on our table, I didn’t think service was as spectacular as other reviewers thought. For example, our water glasses were never refilled — always a sticking point for me. Another sticking point was how were were charged a $ 20 corkage per bottle that we brought. To be clear, I understand the reason for charging corkage fees, but when I called the day before to confirm what the corkage fee was and to be told that there was no fee (twice), only to find a $ 40 fee for two bottles at the end of the night, I wasn’t thrilled with being misled. Please make sure to tell your patrons the correct information up front to prevent any misunderstanding.
Marino is a nice, intimate environment that serves solid Italian fare. While I don’t plan to return to Marino anytime soon, as I firmly believe there are tastier Italian options, this could be a nice place for a quiet meal with family or a date.

This place is a gem. It would be selfish of me not to share how great this Italian restaurant is, and quite frankly, a part of me wants to keep this gem a secret because soon enough, they’re going to have a 2 month waiting list (nonetheless, well worth the wait).
Marino looks inconspicuous on the outside, but once you step in, it speaks a whole different language.
Mario, he is always so welcoming, and made us feel like Kim and Kanye lol. The last time we were here was Valentine’s Day 2014 and he remembered us. That’s Over 1 ½ years ago! I’m not sure how he remembered us, but however he did it, it made us feel special, and that’s what is important. The small details.
The food matches the service. Alex gave us great suggestions from the wine, to the appetizer, to the dessert. He was on point and we were not disappointed. His service (along with another gentleman in which I forgot to get the name) was beyond expectations and we are very happy to spend our 2^nd year anniversary here.
Many restaurants have a few things to learn from Marino’s. The quality of the food is pristine (hats off to the chef, best Italian dishes ever!) and the service is outstanding.
If you want a spectacular experience, come to Marino.
We’ll be back soon! Don’t you forget us (:

We were seated pretty quickly on a Friday night. The restaurant was pretty full and people looked happy. It is a very romantic place to go for a date with your significant other.
After you order, they bring you complimentary bread. For dinner, my husband had the Fungi pasta and I had the spinach and ricotta ravioli. SOOO delicious! You can really taste the freshness. I am really picky about Italian food and want freshly made pasta. This was amazing. It is not the kinda of pasta that sits in your stomach because it is overly processed. This pasta tasted fresh and authentic.
The service is great as well. The staff is very attentive and comes by often to check on how you are doing.
You can usually find street parking around the corner.
They were also very gracious in taking our
coupon. That is really nice because a high end place like this could be snooty about it but they are not.
I have been here 4 – 5 times now and keep coming back! :)

Years ago I did some work for Hanna-​Barbera Productions and Mario Marino used to cater our lunches. I then started frequenting this place on a regular basis, enjoying the intimate family atmosphere created by Mario and Maria, which was enjoyed by lots of entertainment people, etc.
Fast forward a bunch of years… I was at an art show with my cousin and this seemed like the perfect place to end the evening. The interior has changed quite a bit and the place is now incredibly noisy when full, which I found a little annoying.
That aside, the food is still MAGNIFICENT. We started with the Mozzarella Marinara ($ 12; breaded mozzarella fried in sauce). Very few restaurants offer this anymore, and Marino’s is perfection. Delicious crispy outside, with melting, smooth mozza oozing out from the the inside. I would go here for lunch and just have this dish and be happy.
We also had the calamari fritti ($ 12; fried calamari), which, in hindsight, wasn’t a good pairing. The fish taste and creamy cheese taste of the mozzarella didn’t really go well together in the tummy. But the calamari were spot on: very lightly breaded, thank you, and cooked so they were soft rather than rubbery, as sometimes happens.
We then shared a Caesar salad ($ 11). You know, what can you do to a Caesar salad; it’s a bunch of lettuce with dressing. But the dressing was very well made and tasty and we ordered some extra as the dressing was light.
We shared an order of Filetti al Sinatra ($ 26), pieces of filet mignon sauteed with red and green peppers and onions in a red sauce, very nice, very reminiscent of home cooking in Southern Italy. We were so full by the time it arrived that we took most of it home. Well, I took the little piece of meat home and gave it to you know who. Joey greatly enjoyed his little treat.
The service was perfect, timely and friendly, the waiters here are great, as is the Maitre d’.
There was no question of dessert, no room! $ 100 with tip and we left with smiles on our faces.