FOOD TYPE
Italian
FOOD QUALITY
The menu has a varied selection of Italian dishes including steak and fish plus all the traditional pasta and pizza favourites that we love so much. Four of us dined and we started with two shared entrees: the fried calamari with zucchini ($20) and the arancini balls ($16). I liked the presentation of the calamari in a rolled up cone with all the nice chewy pieces of calamari tumbling out and spilling onto the plate. The arancini balls were warm and fluffy with a tasty filling of rice, bolognese, mozzarella and peas. For mains, my wife choose the scotch fillet with vegetables in a mushroom sauce ($30). The steak was well cooked just the way she likes it, with a generous serve of fresh vegetables. The rest of us shared a huge one metre pizza ($75) (described rather amusingly on the bill as a “metro pizza”) which allows you to choose three separate toppings to go with it. We choose the margherita, the funghi (mushroom) and the “Salsiccia e friarielli” which has Italian sausage as its main theme. Not only was it a feast for the stomach, but it was also a work of art for the eyes, as you can see from the pics. Lovingly created and brought out piping hot directly from the pizza oven, this thing has to be seen to be believed! It was huge and colourful and neatly presented on an elongated wooden pizza platter. I didn’t bring my measuring tape to make sure it was 1m but it sure looked like a lot of pizza! The base was soft and chewy and I especially liked the contrasting flavours and aromas of the cheese, mushrooms and Italian sausage. It was so big that even three healthy appetites struggled to finish it and despite our best efforts, we failed, and ended up bringing some of it home which we ate for lunch next day. It still tasted delicious. Certainly couldn’t complain about the size of the meals. To end, I ordered a rather pricey cappuccino at $5, there was no place for dessert.
ATMOSPHERE
Marciano’s is a cavernous restaurant with seating for 150 people. It has a modern and trendy New York-style interior design, with high ceilings, exposed brick walls, wooden flooring and stylish low hanging lamps. The soft lighting and well-spaced out tables give it a laid back and relaxed ambience. On one side is a 12m bar counter, where you could enjoy a drink if you so choose before repairing to your table for your meal. At the far end, near the stairs, is an interesting black and white pic of Sly Stallone in his younger days. On the night that we dined, it was about three quarters full when we arrived at 7pm. Most of the other diners were large groups, as Marciano’s clearly sells itself as a family friendly place to eat. Sharing a restaurant with a whole bunch of young kids is not something I usually aspire to, but most were reasonably well behaved and the size of the place means that you aren’t on top of your neighbours. In any event, by about 7.30pm a lot of them had left, so this doesn’t necessarily have to be a turn-off, but just be aware that it is a kiddie friendly restaurant, that’s well suited to parties.
SERVICE
Service from the all-male cast was flawless. When we arrived, our booked table was ready and waiting for us in a nice spot in the centre. Orders were smartly taken and dishes came out quickly and in the correct order. Staff are neatly turned out in smart black uniforms. They’re helpful, polite and efficient and there are plenty of them, so there’s no problem to get someone’s attention, although these guys are so well trained and attentive, you’ll never need to summon one. They know their job so they know when they’re needed.
COMFORT
The chairs were firm and comfortable, but the table are a tad small and cramped and it was a struggle to cope with a metre long pizza, although the two pizza stands helped. Apart from that we were comfortable and it was warm and cosy inside despite it being a chilly eve.
MENU
Menu is a bit tricky to read in the dim lighting, but it’s simple to follow and reasonably well laid out in a booklet-style with heavy bound leather covers. And there’s a separate drinks menu.
TOILETS
Toilets are down a flight of stairs beneath the portrait of Sly. There are separate male and female ones. The female one is in the more prominent position and easy to spot, while the male one is tucked away in a corner, so you’ll need to be alert to find it once you get to the bottom of the stairs. Better signage there would have helped. But they’re clean and well provisioned although strangely, despite the size of the place, there’s only one cubicle in each, so you could have to wait, or go back up the stairs to your table and try again, which I always find a pain.
ACOUSTICS
Although as mentioned there were a number of family groups on the night that we dined, we didn’t have too much trouble conversing. There are no carpets or other sound absorbers, but the mitigating factors here are the high ceilings and the large space with tables well-spaced out. It also seemed to empty out fairly quickly, and we were just about the last ones to leave at 9pm.
COST
We were lucky to score a generous deal with our Dimmi booking, whereby all food was half price. That kept our bill for four down to a reasonable $110 and for that we got two beers, a soft drink, a pina colada (drinks were full price), two shared starters, a steak, a one metre long shared pizza and a single cappuccino. Without the discount, the bill would have been a rather hefty $181.
BOOKING
To get the 50% food discount, we had to book through Dimmi, but generally – except perhaps for Fri or Sat nights - I wouldn’t think that booking is necessary and on the night that we dined, there were quite a few empty tables.
PARKING/ACCESS
Being in Lindfield, there’s plenty of easy and free parking in nearby side streets, like Beaconsfield Parade. We were lucky to find a spot on the Pac Highway virtually outside the restaurant with no weekend or after-hours restrictions.
SUMMARY
We had a pleasant evening here and everything went off smoothly. The food was fresh and tasty and served in generous portions. Ambience was fun, laid back and relaxed and service was fast and attentive. Staff are well trained and eager to serve and the whole place hums like a well-oiled machine. I especially liked the airiness and openness of the place, although given the amount of space they have, tables could have been bigger and a single male toilet just isn’t enough. Prices are a bit on the high side so this isn’t somewhere I’d be rushing back to without a discount deal. But it’s an excellent place for large groups or kids parties.
MEMO
Watch out for the Dimmi deals.
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