Marciano's Pasta Cafe — Restaurant in Hamilton

On recommendation from a friend we made a reservation at this gem for a Saturday at 3pm. We didn’t know where we were going but found this basement restaurant in quaint village of Waterdown. Our experience was really lovely and we felt treated to great service. We met the owner/chef and thankful to Richard for the great service. The menu has sooo many treasures! We wanted to order so many appetizers and although we usually order 1 per table for 3 people, we had to order 2; the calamari and the chef special of the day, the spinach arancini balls. Wowee! Light and crispy, done to perfection. Just like the appetizers, the entrees looked great too; what to choose, what to choose? You really can’t go wrong. Fresh pasta and fresh sauce. I had to try everyone’s dishes and so great. Oh and the garden salad with house dressing - all will make you return. I can see how they have regulars! We had leftovers and were stuffed, but had to order coffee and share a tiramisu. To go, I ordered family size lasagna and a bottle of the house dressing. What a treat! lol

2nd visit as a bigger family with children for a special occasion. Staff pleasant and food fantastic. We spoiled ourselves on plenty appetizers and mussels and then dinner. We all took home leftovers and...

The Go-To place for our family celebrations. You enter a welcoming space, with happy chatter. A waiter whizzes by and asks if you have a reservation (no). He says that he will be right back, so you look around and realize that the place is full, on a Tuesday. That says so much. But your waiter IS right back and finds a nice spot for you. Water, drink order (wines are all sourced, not available at the LCBO, are good and reasonable) and order apps. The Brie fritters are delicious, crisp and puffy, with a gooey cheese centre, served with greens and a swipe of raspberry confit. Gone! The pace is perfect, and then entrees arrive. Rigatoni Krystino is a plate chock full of chicken, sausage and veg in a great spicy cream sauce. It actually DOES have a kick, no need to add those annoying flakes. Veal Italiano comes with a side of spaghetti, obviously home made with a bright tomato sauce. But the mushroom sauce on the veal is to die for. Full, we split a large slice of the desert special cake with some good strong coffee. Throughout we have chatted with our delightful waiter. As he says goodbye he thanks us for coming. And reveals that he is the owner. What an excellent evening in an excellent AND reasonable restaurant. We...

I read your response and regrettably it meets the poor atmosphere. Will you be informing new patrons that the tables by the kitchen are noisy. Not my job to come back and request another table. It is your business to manage. Replace the dishwasher or do hand washing or purchase sufficient cutlery etc to handle the business. There is nothing unsanitary about dishes that have been rinsed and washed later.

The very noisy dishwasher as well as the dishes clunking etc in the kitchen made it a terrible experience. I spoke to the server about the noise as it was very disturbing. The kitchen did not shut off the dishwasher but opened the blind to see who was complaining Apparently the staff have been told by others at about the noise. Lastly, the cold air from the entrance was uncomfortable. The entrance has two doors. One from the outside and a second one inside the foyer. The inside door was propped open allowing for a very cold breeze every time a patron entered. In one case the outside door remained open when staff providing as a delivery order did not close the door. My meal was good but I would rate as mediocre for spaghetti and meatballs. The sauce was tasty. I might be overly critical of the food as the ambiance...