Marinara Trattoria — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Food & Drink Four of us dined on a busy Tues night in late December. I ordered a spag bol with fettuccine pasta. The meat was well cooked just the way I like it, and the pasta was tasty and soft. Only problem was that it was lukewarm. I suspect this may have had something to do with the time it took to deliver it to the table. The rest of our group ordered baked salmon, fettuccine marinara and risotto marinara. To accompany that, we ordered a Greek salad and to end, a sweet and moist pistachio cake, which we shared. For drinks, a couple of bottles of Red Peroni. Everyone enjoyed their meals.

Service The staff here are exclusively female. They’re nicely turned out in neat black uniforms and I found them all to be friendly, polite and helpful, taking the time to give each table attention, despite the fact that it was almost a full house. The efficient maitre d’ with a cute Italian accent quickly took our orders, and the drinks came out without delay. After that it was a bit of a tedious wait of around 20-25 minutes before the food arrived, a little too long, but still I guess understandable given the crowds. After we’d finished our main meals, a pretty lady with an English accent brought a tray of desserts to the table to choose from, which I thought was a smart marketing tool. We normally aren’t big on desserts but it all looked so delectable that we couldn’t resist ordering the pistachio tart and sharing it.

Atmosphere We dined during that hectic period between Christmas and New Year, and boy was this place busy. It was packed to the rafters with people even queuing outside and waiting for their tables. Like most others we had taken the precaution of booking ahead, because without a booking, it’s unlikely we would have got a table. The atmosphere was lively, fun and energetic, most diners clearly having a good time.

Ambience The ambience is warm, homely and inviting. It’s been decorated in a traditional Italian style, with brick arches, loads of greenery, red and white chequered tablecloths, timber floors, and pictures of Mother Italy adorning its walls. I assume this was once a terrace house that was converted into a restaurant, so I did find it a tad cramped and awkward to move around in. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. Being a warm summer's night, we chose to sit outdoors, which was nice enough, except the lighting was non-existent. All we had to use was a tiny little touch lamp, so consequently us four seniors with weak eyes, all had our mobile phone torches turned on, and even then we struggled to read the menu. It was so dark, that it was almost impossible to take any decent photos, hence those familiar with my reviews will wonder why the paucity of accompanying pictures, and that’s the reason why. Time to put in some outside lighting guys!

Cost We paid a hefty 200 pesos for four beers, a salad, four mains and a dessert. That’s 50 pesos a head, with each person getting a beer, a modest-sized main course, a bit of salad and a spoonful of dessert. Even in this current environment of raging inflation, I found that to be a bit steep.

Toilets Unfortunately, the guest toilets were out of commission, so we were forced to use the staff toilet, which required a walk through the storage and kitchen areas, never a pleasant experience. The toilet itself was reasonably clean with soap and hand towels, but using the staff toilets in a restaurant is not ideal and for these kinds of prices, I hope they get the guest toilets up and running soon.

Parking There's easy street parking outside on Latrobe Terrace, where most restrictions end at 7.00pm.

Summary This place is clearly popular with the locals and it’s not hard to see why, given the fine food, professional and friendly service and cool alfresco ambience. However, I did find it a tad small and cramped, the lighting outside was hopeless. Service was a bit on the slow side, and at least until the guest toilets are functional again, I...

We randomly walked into this restaurant one day as we were passing by. The place looked very beautiful to be honest it's deco and brick walls just gives a nice warm feel to it. Only down side was that the tables are so close to each other, very hard to move around or have a nice family conversation without disturbing the other table. Also I notice it's mother's with pram can't fit here. The place inside has space I don't understand why all the tables are stuck together.

The staff were medium in terms of customers service to be honest not a high class vibe at all. Approach and greating were average. Definitely suggestion would be don't approach customers to only book in.

Moving on food, the garlic and cheese pizza was spot on. We loved it ordered two. The garlic prawn pasta was amazing as well. Perfectly cooked. However the chicken filled pasta was a let down. The flavour in the sauce were nice but the chicken mince filled in it tasted disgusting just spoiled it. I didn't like that. The garden salad and wine were nice we enjoyed it with the meal.

Furthermore the staff, were missing the experience of checking on customers or the table. Everytime we had to call them to a fine dine restaurant like this staff should really check on customers. In my opinion pub staff do a better job.

Overall, being honest the place is beautiful to head out for dinner the surroundings is lovely cosy and warm. Food is amazing.

Hopefully you guys take tips from...

Had a business lunch here last Thursday . For an entrée we had the chili calamari on a bed of rice and I had the Scaloppini Zingale. Absolutely delicious, so much so that I booked the Saturday night for my partner and I. Lucky for me my kind waiter organized a table for 2 on the footpath for the Saturday. Inside is a little noisy. On the night I had the Scaloppini Marsala, even better than the Zingale. My partner had the Gnocchi Bolognese. Yes they were good, not great. Italian salad, plain simple fresh, very nice. Desert was the house made cheesecake and that was delicious. My partner had the Toblerone cocktail and that was a meal in a glass on its own with the ice cream. When you dine out its not just about the food. Its about the total experience. At Marinara wait staff could not have been more attentive, 5 star all the way. If I was being critical perhaps the menu could be a little limited if you don't eat a lot of carbs. But I should be able to enjoy a few more meal at this trattoria before I start repeating. Try it, food is very good, service on the night was as good as I have ever had. Great experience,...