Marino's Italian Cafe

Review from David: April 2011

Travel often, love good food. Visited: 4/8/2011. Great Italian food. Totally unexpected find of a restaurant. Plain decor in a plain building, nothing plain about the food though. Calamari, to perfection, light and crisp. Veal, again, to perfection, not overdone. Sauce: certainly tasted like San Marzano tomatoes, were they?; Moz and Pepper salad fresh and seasoned properly. Portions, generous. From what I could see, all the waitresses were personable, pleasant, quick to serve and courteous toward all customers. I rank this as my best Italian food find since 2004, Astoria Pizzeria, Rte 1, Woodbridge, VA, located in a small strip mall but unbelievable food.

Marino’s Italian Café has offers homemade, traditional, rustic Italian food in a casual and elegant atmosphere.

They provide seating for 100 guests, which allow them to give personal attention to each customer. Chef John Marino uses traditional, classic recipes with modern French-style techniques to create a unique blend of beautifully presented Mediterranean dishes.

Their menu encompasses an array of different types of entrees. Not only do they offer classics such as chicken marsala, lasagna and veal parmigiana, they also have expanded their menu to include the finest hand-cut steaks and chops, fresh seafood and specialty salads.

Their most popular dishes are the pork rotolini, which is a tenderloin stuffed with prusciutto, Italian cheeses and sautéed greens in a sherry wine sauce, veal Capri, which is sautéed veal with baby eggplant and mozzarella cheese in a light marinara sauce, and/or the stuffed salmon, which is pink salmon stuffed with greens and whitefish in a butter-cream sauce.

Don’t forget to ask about their homemade rolls. Mama Marino makes her bread fresh each and every morning. Find out why they’re the best rolls in town!

Marino’s, which has been operating at 5423 Mahoning Avenue since 1979, recently changed their name from Marino’s Restaurant to Marino’s Italian Café.

“We want to be known as a place where people can stop off to relax with an expresso or a glass of wine. It doesn’t have to be a pasta dinner,” John Marino said.

They also specialize in on-premise and off-premise catering, offering sit-down formal or buffet dinners. Take-out is available seven days a week. Two miles west on Mahoning Ave., the owners have opened a second dining room, Mojo's Pub & Grille, which is also available for private parties, banquets, and meetings.

For a new dining experience, try Marino’s Italian Café.

Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11am-10pm
Friday-Saturday: 11am-11pm

Lunch Buffet: (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) 11:30am-2:30pm

Closed on Major Holidays.