Marrelli's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Belmont

First off, ...let me tell you fine folks, my wife and I are from Chicago and I'm Italian and she's half Italian and German, and we cook a lot!!! Italian cuisine has been in our lives forever!!! Marrelli's has an inviting and very tastefully decorated dining room with luscious fragrances coming from the kitchen!!! (first indication that good things are coming...! Smells are very important to Italians!) The ciabatta that came to the table was very good with oil all over it. I told JoAnn Lahny Maldonado, my wife, that if the table bread that they serve is good, thats also a great indication of good things to come!! We ordered the Calamari! And, let me tell you they were tender and very well seasoned! The marinara is by far one of the best I've ever had...! Out entrees came; I had the Tagliatelle Ragu, which was divine with a perfect creaminess that felt silky in your mouth...! My wife had the Eggplant with spaghetti. She loved it as, she said, was the best she has ever had...very fresh! I also wanted to taste the marinara which was a bit spicy but very well balanced in all flavors...! A true litmus to any Italian cuisine! THE SAUCE!!!....it was exquisite!!! Our server (her name escapes me now), was very attentive without being pestering! She was very warm and very knowledgable...She brought us a couple glasses of wine which were very good as well...! They complimented our meal lusciously...! Order taking was very well received and tastefully executed... Finally, came desert! I already knew what I was having but, my wife JoAnn Lahny Maldonado, didn't want any...she was very satisfied from her glorious meal! I said to our lovely server; please bring me a Tiramisu! It is in house made and very good (I'm and expert on Tiramisu)...! That first spoon full!! WOW! This experience was absolutely FIVE STARS!!!!!! The Chef came out to greet everyone and ask how everything was and I expressed my joy for how we were fortunate to experience his creations!!!😍 We are very happy that there's finally an Italian restaurant in Downtown Belmont, that is in a great spot and very well staffed and comfortable to spend your experience in. I'd have to say that from start to finish, everything was absolutely delicious and very well prepared...I didn't have any expectations but, I was completely blown away at how Marrelli's just opened and feels like part of Downtown Belmont already!!!🥰 Marrelli's will be our weekly spot from now on!!!!!! If you get a chance to visit, you won't be disappointed...! LUSCIOUSLY AMAZED!!! 😘 Joe Maldonado and JoAnn Lahny...

I like this place but it is very hit or miss. Like another reviewer mentioned, the carbonara has been different every time I've had it. The authentic Italian recipe is simple and only has 4 ingredients (egg, cheese, guanciale, pepper), so I'm honestly baffled by how inconsistent they are with it. Same with the tiramisu: sometimes it tastes like it is made the correct way with egg and marscapone, but sometimes I swear they just use straight whipped cream. They also used to have an authentic lasagne with bechamel sauce, but it has sadly been replaced with a standard American ricotta lasagna.

The vibe is also strange in the dining room; last time I was there they have the bright lights blaring and no music on. The dining room is large and echoe-y, so I had to awkwardly whisper so that other tables didn't hear my conversation. It was not romantic at all on what was supposed to be a date night. My last gripe is the prices. For an inconsistent place with a meh atmosphere, I don't know how they justify the steep prices. $28 for gnocchi sorrentina aka potato dumplings with the same tomato sauce used in half of the menu?? C'mon.

On the plus side, they use high quality ingredients and even if the food is not consistent, it is always good. The calamari is some of the best I've had. I really like their wine list and have been recommended some great pairings by the manager. They have a real espresso machine and a good digestif selection with multiple Port wines! Overall it's a good restaurant, but the prices should definitely be lower...

I can’t speak to the atmosphere of the place because I typically order take-out.

I discovered the restaurant a couple months ago was very impressed. Pasta that wasn’t over cooked, salmon that was seasoned well, AMAZING meatballs and a spinach and beet salad with actual lardons in the dressing.

Since then I have ordered several times. I give 4 stars for service because they’re friendly and very nice. However every delivery order I’ve had was not well-packed so that the containers were sideways when they arrived and sauce was all over the bottom of the bag. Tonight, it had leaked a hole through the paper bag. This even happened when they forgot part of my delivery order and graciously had one of their kitchen staff deliver it so I wouldn’t have to drive out there myself. The fact that the containers flipped when their own staff delivered it told me it wasn’t not packed well from the get-go.

The second time I got the beet salad, they had removed the golden beets. The third time, they removed the lardons in addition to removing the gold beets. This time, the “spinach and beet salad” had no spinach, no lardons, no gold beets and and half the red beets as the first two salads. The spinach had been replaced with arugula. Still outstanding flavor, but not what is advertised.

Thus I removed 1 star for packaging for takeout/delivery and 1 star for food because of the description not matching...