Marcella's — Restaurant in Columbus

My husband and I arrived after a busy day at a local convention center. We did not know we'd be trying to dine at Marcella's, hence no reservation. That's on us. We arrived around 5:30... high dinner traffic. Again, that's on us. We asked about a table for two. We were offered to wait approximately 30 minutes or take a table outdoors on the patio. We had books w/ us and should have waited. We were both tired and it was sunny ... but we should have realized that it was also very windy. We went ahead w/ the patio. Our server, Amanda?, seemed capable. It took her a while to arrive even for a drink order but we were not in a rush. When she arrived, we placed the order for two iced teas and a calamari app. The server returned shortly with the drinks. A short time later the calamari came out, too. Either just before or after the calamari arrived (most of the food arrived courtesy of the team, not from our server directly), the server took our orders for dinner. I was VERY, VERY clear about a dairy issue. I can have some butter but NO cream and NO milk and NO cheese. I pondered ordering a Carbonara dish to the server; I've always wanted to try it and I don't see it on every menu, so I debated between that and Linguine w/ Clams. I adore Linguine & Clams with an aioli prep. The server said to me that she thought Linguine & Clams with an aioli prep would be - and I am quoting - "a little boring." So I took the plunge and ordered the Carbonara. Nowhere is "cream" or "creamy" mentioned in the restaurant's description of this dish. I pay attention to descriptions because I am very sensitive to dairy. We asked to have side salads - I think it's poor that a restaurant charging $24 for pasta dishes cannot include a small house salad as part of the meal. We ordered them for half the price of the salads listed since we were ordering main dishes. (Apparently a smaller-than-dinner portion is half the price when you order a main dish.) The salads arrived with no issue. We never got any rolls or bread without prompting our server. Same for the paper napkins that I asked for a few times - I needed to blow my nose and could not do that into the lovely cloth napkin provided... or at least, I did not wish to do that.

Now, by this time my better half had gone to the vehicle to get jackets for both of us because the sun had left the patio and the wind had stayed constant or picked up a bit. I was freezing - my fingers were starting to tinge w/ blue and I was shaking. By the time we finished, we were the only ones left outdoors. There were tons of seats open indoors by that point - no one had offered to bring us indoors to make things more comfortable. To be fair, we did not ask... but we were sitting there huddled in our coats and I was shaking from cold. Perhaps if my main dish had been on time w/ my husband's and I hadn't had to sit there overlong, I would have been less chilled. But I am getting ahead of myself.

So the main dishes arrive and I can see that there is definitely milk/cream all over the Carbonara dish. I'm so disappointed. My husband's dish looks perfect. I urge him to eat while it's hot b/c the wind will surely cool off his dish momentarily. He digs in. I have to send my dish back. This is clearly a circumstance that the server should have able to help me avoid. I told her 2-3x that I could not have cheese or milk or cream, yet she let me order Carbonara. Ugh. This alone should have resulted in the management's comping my dinner. No one comped anything.

I ordered a citrusy-chicken dish to replace the other meal. No pasta was even included!?! So I got two large pieces of chicken in a very citrusy sauce and no pasta and the whole thing was cold in two minutes thanks to the swirling breeze.

What a disaster. If I ever return, I will make sure to sit indoors if there is the least breeze or chill to the air. I will make sure to ask to see a manager if there is ANY problem. Our meal for two iced teas, two side salads, two main dishes and a calamari app ended up being a sky-high $91!! My dish should have...

Me and my wife acidentally stumbled upon this gem as a replacement dinner trip when our planned visit to another nearby resturant was too busy for a table. We were tired from the long drive to Columbus, starving, unfamiliar with the area, and just wanted anywhere to eat.

Ever reffering to this resturant as a replacement anything is an insult to the wonderful evening they provided for us on a moment's notice.

Gaston was our waiter and he was very attentive and kind! Despite the dinner rush, he was very interested in making sure our dining experience was the best. One of the nicest and most attentive servers I've met! Thanks man!

The food was absolutely delicous. Every item tasted made in house and with the freshest ingredients. We started with the Burrata appetizer, and we were blown away. The cheese was melt in your mouth, the bread was crisp and buttery, and the homemade marinara had savoury flavors I never knew existed. And that was just the appetizer!

We then ordered the four cheese pizza and fettuccine and MEATBALL.

-The Fettuccine and MEATBALL was TO DIE FOR. The pasta was deliciously enveloped in a blend of alfredo and marinara that created such a nice blend of flavors. Using capitilization as emphasis for the word meatball helps describe the absolute beast he was. That MEATBALL was massive and SO DELCIOUS. I've never had meat like that so savory and MELT IN YOUR MOUTH???? It was crazy good.

-The four cheese pizza was also seriously amazing. I still can't get over the feeling I had enjoying every bite.

The chefs and staff are absolutely incredible!! Thanks for everything.

Also, the decor, atmosphere, and environment of Marcella's satisfied my dream of dining at a very fancy affordable resturant. Did you know the walls are hand painted??? I didn't until I saw all the brush strokes and paint lines. It blew my mind. The entire inside and outside of the resturant looked so beautiful it was like it was from a storybook.

Definitely come enjoy eating at this resturant!!! You will...

I left a previous review on a previous reservation for this Restaurant and The general manager Austin reached out to me. Spoke to me via not only email but called me and apologized for our previous visit. And he Made it right. And he Invited me back in. So today I met my husband for lunch. We went in. We didn't tell anyone we were there as Austin had asked just to make sure we weren't treated any different from any other customers and Collin was our waiter. We ordered the calamari which oh my god. The most tender calamari we have ever had and we lived in Hawaii for 6 years and the lightly breaded zucchini that is on the plate with it is to die for a long with the dipping sauces ,we also had the Lunch Combo of half a panini and tomato basil soup and that soup is just absolutely belly warming delicious. The texture is smooth and creamy. The basil pesto on top is just perfect. Colin was attentive, prompt, responsible, respectful the restaurant this time was clean orderly and being run by a manager named Jayme and this time her presence was known all throughout the restaurant as she went from table to table, sometimes we're too quick to jump the gun when a restaurant doesn't meet our standards as customers, that was willing to give this restaurant another chance and I'm so glad we did and now we'll be back again .

So next time you have a bad experience at a restaurant, don't leave the restaurant before reaching out to the manager. Maybe they are just having a bad day and we all have bad days..

Thank you Austin, Jayme. And the staff at Marcella's Polaris Ohio for the redemption Lunch and we will definitely be making the 1.5 hour...