Marco's café — Restaurant in Calderdale

Visited often when it was called Marcos. Absolutely divine food for Hebden and a frequent go to recommendation for new visitors and friends to Hebden.

Ever since the rebrand to Nizza something was lost along the way. Visited Nizza to dine in whilst with friends who came over for the weekend only to be welcomed by a very snotty pretentious lady who was very condescending in her service. We were sat on a table and were blatantly ignored for over 35 minutes whilst 3 tables that sat down after us were served/offered drinks. It was a very biased service and felt incredibly unwelcoming to the gem we once knew last year. Server was avoiding eye contact when passing the table and basically left us to rot with no refreshments or attentive table management whilst being very attentive to all of the others.

This boiled down to simply leaving the restaurant and having to find an alternative dining venue for our guests. The magic has simply been lost and even though the food is superb the service and atmosphere will never make me return again. Sorry to the man who was prepping/cooking as he was genuine.

Stay away from here unless you are part of the pretentious side of the local community otherwise you will not be treat with grace. Thanks

Edit: To your reply it’s clear in your demeanour that you are defensive and ignorant to your amateur mistakes in dining/hospitality. Personally I believe you should truly acknowledge and reconsider your statements and not lie in favour of your pride, that’s how your progress as an individual & establishment. Your 7 minute statement is already falsified by my phone tracking data that day but I won’t embarrass you as in the end these are your mistakes not mine. I am happy to travel out of my way for the same level of food and better service. You’re way out of your depth old...

Wow, what a place!

First, the decor:

Tins of chopped tomato line the shelves - more varieties of chopped tomato than I knew existed - and the walls are adorned with both local artwork and stunning relics from the restaurants Marco’s father had owned in Italy. A highlight was a painted plate, depicting Marco’s father and mother as a chef and what can only be described as a seductress (neither depiction accurate, according to Marco) under the watchful eye of Il Passatore - a roguish Italian highwayman and Robin Hood figure.

Second, the welcome:

Marco is a delightful man. He came and chatted to us. He told us about Il Passatore. He brought us appetisers made with friarelli, a Neapolitan broccoli so nice my colleague left with a jar! He gave us a delicious and very boozy alpine digestif as we left. He is an excellent host and restaurateur!

Third, the food:

I had a puttanesca pizza - divine. Homemade chilli sauce to dip the crusts - divine. Friarelli and red pesto appetiser - divine. My colleague had a calzone the size of three-year-old. We ate like kings.

I cannot recommend a meal at Marco’s enough. I was in Hebden Bridge for only one week. I simply popped in on my lunch break, and was treated to a meal I will remember for years. I left with a Marco’s Cafe T-shirt - the design a collaboration between his daughter’s artwork and Marco’s own AI skills - which I will wear fondly for a long...

Late lunch was calling for us after exploring Heptonstall. We stumbled across Marco's café seeing their big menu on the windows as well as how busy they were. We chose to sit outside looking over the River Calder.

We ordered Margherita and Mediterranean Salad to share between us two, an Italian beer, and Santal peach juice.

First of all, the outside view and vibe were excellent. Food and drinks came at reasonable time. Generous portion. Mediterranean Salad was flavoursome with their own special dressing. It was loaded with a variety of ingredients including their homemade focaccia but it may seem a little confused on what kind of salad it really was... Margherita was crispy thin with rich tomato sauce, mild cheese, and a hint of basil. The drinks were also brilliant too. I'd definitely recommend the Santal peach juice especially in this warm weather!

The service was good. They were friendly and attentive but there was an issue when settling the bill which was resolved straightaway. I'd suggest putting a number to the table to avoid confusion in the future.

We were really full which was good to walk it off exploring Hebden Bridge.

We enjoyed ourselves and would highly recommend Marco's café for authentic Italian food and...