Marciano's

Update Return visit 20 Aug 17

Six of us dined on a wintery eve in mid August. There were two overseas visitors in our group, whom we were hoping to impress with a first class Syd restaurant experience, having been very satisfied with this place before, when we came here in Feb 17.

This time though, the experience was not so enjoyable, on account of the poor service.

The food, once again, though, was excellent. We shared two salads and a generous bruschetta dish to start with, and followed that up with a selection of pizzas and pasta dishes. Everything was fresh and tasty and nicely presented to the table on stylish white crockery for the salads and pastas, and large round stoneware dishes for the pizzas. My fettuccine Marciano was the standout dish for me. Having had it last time, and enjoyed it, I decided to play it safe and have it again. The meat was flavoursome and well cooked, with the pasta just the right al dente texture. But the pizza dishes were equally enjoyable and of course I tried them all. Serving sizes were generous.

Ambience was a tad quiet, with the place being only about half full, similar to last time, but despite that, these guys really fell down in the service department. It seemed to me that the young lady maitre d, was the one doing all the heavy lifting, despite there being two other wait staff on duty. Whilst the drinks came out fairly quickly, followed soon after, by the salad and bruschetta, we then had to wait more than 30 minutes for the mains. That’s way too long, especially when the place is pretty empty. In fact by the time the mains did arrive at 7.45pm, we were just about the only diners left. To make matters worse, the main course, for one of our overseas guests, failed to arrive. When we pointed this out, the maitre d was very apologetic. The dish eventually made its appearance about 20 minutes after all the others, but to their credit, we were not charged for it. Of course, there were red faces all around, not least of all, ours.

Marciano’s is a modern restaurant occupying the largest and most prominent position in “The District”, the popular new dining hub above Chatswood Railway Station. It’s a spacious, open, and airy place and even though it was midwinter, we were quite warm and cosy on account of the effective heating. But they don’t seem to be pulling in the crowds and I’m wondering whether the poor service we experienced is symptomatic of low staff morale or a lack of focus on the job.

Price-wise, it was fairly reasonable with our 25% Ent Book discount, (up to a max $35). We ended up paying $175 for six of us and that included two salads, a single serve of bruschetta, six mains and four drinks (one main was not charged for). No coffees or desserts. However, having now used our Ent Book discount for the 17/18 year, and having been let down by the slow and sloppy service, I don’t think that we’ll be rushing back.

Original Review 05 Feb 17

FOOD TYPE 
Italian

FOOD QUALITY
Four of us dined on a hot Sun night in Feb. We kicked things off with a few drinks to cool down. Peroni for me and a Pina Colada ($15) for the wife. The twins stayed non-alcoholic with lychee mocktails ($8). Instead of entrees, we decided to share a single Italiana salad ($15). That was fresh and nutritious with a nice tangy dressing. For my main course, I choose the Tagliolini Marciano ($26) which is the linguine-style pasta with veal, tomato, onion and chilli and my wife ordered a Napoletana pizza ($21) which has tomato, anchovies, mozzarella, olives and oregano. The twins choose the traditional lasagna ($24) and the spag marinara ($29). And that was pretty much it. My tagliolini tasted like standard spag bol but that was fine with me, as spag bol is my fav dish anyway, and had it been on the menu, I would have ordered it. The linguini pasta was soft and slightly al dente and the meat was flavoursome and tasty. My wife’s pizza had a soft but chewy base, topped with lashings of ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese and olives, though it was a touch black at the edges. Twin No 2 had to send her lasagna back because it was too burned, but the replacement dish was fine, while Twin No 1, being a bit fussy, wasn’t overly impressed with her spag marinara, finding it rather ordinary. Serving sizes were generous which meant that we had no room for dessert.

ATMOSPHERE
I love the atmosphere here. Marciano's Chatwood, like it’s sister restaurant in Lindfield is a large and cavernous place with seating for probably about 150 people. But unlike Marciano's Lindfield, which we found a tad dark and gloomy, this place is light, bright and airy. The colourful green tables are well spaced out with plenty of room between you and your neighbour. The decor is warehouse style, with high ceilings, brick walls, wooden furniture and huge windows looking out onto the streetscape outside. That all adds up to a relaxed, laid back and comfortable ambience with a sense of space and openness.The night we dined, it was probably about 60% full, but given its size, I guess this could be regarded as a respectable turnout for a Sunday night. The location is just perfect in the new and revitalised area above Chatswood station, now known simply as “The District” which has many restaurants, shops and cafes. What a huge improvement it is on the dreary and depressing place this once was. The atmosphere in The District hums with energy and activity, and it’s a great choice for an evening out.

SERVICE 
Unlike Marciano's Lindfield, with it’s all-male waitering complement, over here it’s an all-female cast, and what a delight these pretty Italian ladies are, in their smart black outfits. They’re helpful, polite and efficient. The moment we arrived we were made to feel welcome by the friendly maitre d’. Our booked table was ready for us but not in quite the best place, so she relocated us to a better table with a view. Orders were promptly taken and the food came out quickly. When we had to send back the lasagne, our waitress handled that smartly and with tact. She was apologetic and polite and offered us a serving of garlic bread, while we waited for the replacement. In any event, the replacement dish didn’t take long to arrive, so the extra bread was not needed.

COMFORT
Chairs are firm and comfortable and the table was big enough to fit all the dishes. I’m assuming though, that with the tiled floors, lack of carpets and high ceilings, it could be a tad chilly in winter unless they get they get some serious heating going, but in summer it’s perfecto!

MENU 
Menu is simply laid out and easy to follow on two large sheets side-by-side in plastic laminate to keep it clean and hygienic. There’s a separate specials menu on a loose sheet attached to a clipboard. The small drinks menu is enclosed in a sturdy cardboard binder.

TOILETS
The toilets are large, clean and well provisioned. The prominent signage is visible from just about anywhere in the restaurant. It’s a slight trek down a long corridor but at least that ensures that they’re well away from the kitchen, storage and waste areas. Only problem are the aging 1980s-style hand dryers that take 20 mins to dry your hands, Hand towels would be a welcome addition.

ACOUSTICS
Marciano'; has been cleverly designed to minimise the noise factor, with tables well spaced out, high ceilings and plenty of room so even though there are no carpets, we had no trouble conversing.

COST
With our 25% Ent Book discount (up to a generous max of $35) we paid a reasonable $105 for four, and no-one left feeling hungry. We had three drinks (inc a Pina Colada), a shared salad and four mains and that was sufficient.

BOOKING
As mentioned, this is a large place with plenty of room, so I wouldn’t think that booking is essential unless of course, like us, you want to accumulate your Dimmi points.

PARKING/ACCESS
Being Chatwood, you have two large shopping centre car parks to choose from. There’s the nearby Westfield, and slightly further away is the Chatswood Chase. Both offer three hours free parking. The Chase is about a 15 minute walk up a slight incline, so Westfield is the better choice. There’s also street parking anywhere off Archer St, where most restrictions end at 6.00pm.

SUMMARY 
We had a pleasant evening here and it was the perfect choice for a hot and sticky summer’s night. Everything went smoothly with no hiccups! The food is fresh and tasty, the ambience is laid back and relaxed and service is perfect.

Amazing location in corner of the Lvl 3 food court above Chatswood station. Floor to ceiling glass over looking the trains through to the Channel 9 tower. Hand made Pizza of true Italiano standard, a truly authentic offering for a casual lunch or Dinner.

I really hope this restaurant gets enough business to stay open in Chatswood. Although it is in a food court, it feels like a restaurant.

Great pizza, Via Napoli style but more generous on toppings.

Great cocktails and good wine list!

Don't recommend take away for pizza, as the base gets soggy very quickly.

So glad that this place opened because there's finally a good place for pizza in Chatswood!!! The pizza here is great! If you love a good traditional wood fire pizza, I would definitely give this place a try! I've been here a handful of times already since it's opened and I know I'll be back again for more!

Loved the new Marciano's outlet in Chatswood. Their pizza are excellent, great balance of flavours and high quality ingredients. The staff is very nice and always present. Try it asap since it's not yet crowded....

Great cheeseless pizza, the dough texture was just so enjoyable in the mouth. The chicken has an unusual pistachio sauce, it's like a different type of savoury, I liked it. And crispy skin always gets high score from me. The dessert was quite fancy, warm brownie, pear sauce. Very delicious.

Went there and had a great dining experience. The pizza was lovely, and the desserts were great as well. I must add that the wait staff were very attentive. Given all the earlier feedback, the owners must be paying attention now. Keep up the good work!