Marinara Restaurant — Restaurant in Brisbane City

TLDR: strikingly claustrophobic, satisfactory pizza, shocking prices, sad hospitality.

Excitedly, my husband and I came to Marinara’s for our Valentine’s Day celebration as we had read all the fabulous reviews that sit at the forefront of their Google reviews page about the incredible food. After entering the restaurant, you can immediately see why the food is what is celebrated on their page. We were seated between a duo celebrating Galentines Day and a very well behaved child on their iPad with their father—this in itself was fine if it were not for the fact that we were essentially rubbing shoulders with the duo, the child and their father as the tables were so incredibly close together, around 60cm (see attached images). Speaking of the tables, they were also a lovely rendition of what you may find in a restaurant in Italy, however on closer inspection we found the table—around 57cm in diameter—tiny—had a table cloth with a hole in it which was the first thing we noticed, followed by two sets of mini flower jars, the second of the two clearly being placed there by a table next to us to have more room on their table as the tables are so very small. We moved these flowers to the floor next to the wall behind us that we were placed so closely against. After trying to read the menus as they were different from the ones shown online (the costs are $3-$5 higher in store) while unavoidably listening the conversations happening next to us being so close, and the thoroughfare of traffic and Italian men working at the counter closely behind us, we were approached two times to order. The second time we were approached, my husband began to order as we had reduced our meals to one due to the high costs, my husband not even having a chance to view the drinks menu, and ordered the $7.50 garlic bread (two pieces of thick cut bread with garlic butter and parsley—we saw from the people next to us as they forgot to bring this out to us), the $20ish margarita pizza which I thought was very good in comparison to margaritas you get from other Italian restaurants, and unfortunately two coke zeros which my husband didn’t not get to see from the menu that were $6.50 each!!!! Waiting for our meal on the wooden seats, we could not being able to hear each for the conversations happening in our ears directly next to and behind us, a waitress placed candle on the tiny table that we had just cleared to give ourselves a fraction more room. The candle had a lit tea candle on top of an old tea candle that someone couldn’t be bothered to remove? We again moved the table filler to the side then received our pizza which left us confused as we were told the garlic bread would come first, and two small plates that hung off the table. Thank goodness we didn’t order a meal each or get the garlic bread as there was no room for the pizza and plates as it was. Again, the pizza was lovely I thought, my husband had other opinions, and we left a short time later after as my legs had gone numb on the cushionless wooden chair. Interestingly, the Italian gentleman at the counter became very passive aggressive when we informed him that the bread never came, dismissing us with a tone that was surely, hopefully, not reflective of what the restaurant would want from the hospitality of their staff the second after we paid. We will give this gentleman the benefit of the doubt as we would hope that is not intentionally how he treats guests at this establishment. I want to recommend this food to my large Italian family as the small pizza that we shared was flavourful, however I cannot in good conscience recommend dining in to my elders as I don’t think it would be respectful to them given the current atmosphere, hospitality or prices on their in store menu. Really, $6.50 for a glass of coke 0 with half a lemon slice! In an effort to end on a positive, the Margarita pizza is my recommendation...

We used to really enjoy this restaurant and have dined here several times with family and friends. Unfortunately, our experience last night left us very disappointed, and we don’t plan to return. After finishing our main courses, we ordered a tiramisu and a pistachio cake for dessert. The waitress mistakenly brought out a coconut cake instead. As we were engaged in conversation with family, we didn’t immediately notice that the topping was white rather than green. Upon taking the first bite, we realised it was coconut-flavoured and informed the waitress of the mix-up. Rather than offering a courteous apology, her response was dismissive — she stood silently for a moment and then asked, “What do you want me to do?” She eventually asked if we wanted her to change it. We requested the correct dessert, especially as I am allergic to coconut. When she returned with the correct cake a few minutes later, she slammed the plate down on the table in front of us — a gesture that did not go unnoticed by our entire party. It felt very disrespectful. This wasn’t our first negative experience with the same waitress. On a previous visit, we ordered lemon, lime and bitters and specifically asked for no ice. She brought the drinks with ice, and when we reminded her of our request, she took them back and returned with glasses that were now one-third empty. We were still charged full price for what was essentially a two-thirds full glass. Again, the interaction felt unnecessarily rude. We completely understand that hospitality can be a challenging job, and everyone can have a bad day. However, consistent dismissive and unprofessional behaviour towards customers is unacceptable. It’s unfortunate, because the food has always been good — but customer service matters just as much, and we no longer feel welcome or...

Disappointing for a surprise birthday night out for my partner. We have been to Marinara a few times and after a long break of not dining there, I have to say the service was appalling. The food wasn’t as good as I remember but fine. My two stars are for the customer service and inattention to detail. Rude from the moment we arrived, being reminded multiple times about our seating time slot and only 15 mins after arrival! We had an early dinner so it wasn’t even busy. I had requested a slice of cake to come out at the end, which is their usual tradition of bringing out cake and singing happy birthday- they didn’t even do that. Attitude from staff when questions were asked about the wine and what really topped it off was the waiter for our table chucking the bill to us and saying you have to leave at 7pm and walking away. How rude do their waiters have to be to remind a person who has made a specific booking of the time they need to leave?!! We paid a generous bill, they got their money for a very poor experience. And we left on time with no issues. Won’t be booking...