Osteria Marzano — Restaurant in Franconia

We've had two experiences with this restaurant, one dine-in and one delivery through a third party. The dine-in experience was ok but the take-out/delivery experience was beyond terrible.

Dine-in was on a Thursday night. The calamari was a large portion but came with almost 100% tentacles which we don't like. When the server asked if there was an issue when she saw we weren't eating it, we explained and she insisted on bringing a new order, which was all rings, crispy and delicious. One of the main entrees was the "table-side" cheese wheel. We were so looking foward to this but were disappointed. Not only was the pasta mushy and chicken blackened and dry, but when making the reservation, we weren't told we would be seated in a room in which the cheese wheel is not table-side, but prepared outside the area. The filetto al cacio e pepe was underwhelming. The large ravioli on top was puffed up like it was bursting with filling but turned out to be strangely hollow. Truffle fries were crispy and flavorful but we enjoyed them more than the filet. The tiramisu seemed homemade and was perfectly flavored. We left there very full with plans to give it another try.

A few months later, we were looking for Italian to be delivered via a third-party app and were pleasantly surprised to see Osteria Marzano was listed. We ordered the fettuccine dell'osteria with chicken, veal picatta, fettuccine bolognese with a meatball, and for dessert, the tiramisu and bonet. The first issue was the way the desserts were packaged. Both are served cold and were packaged in between the hot entrees. It doesn't take an advanced degree to correctly guess what happened--yep, two liquified desserts. For the entrees, the portions were just as substantial as dine-in and the order was correct. However, the best way to convey just how terrible all three were is that we discussed the possibility that this food wasn't from Osteria Marzano. For a minute, we actually considered if there's any way possible the driver could have gone to a completely different restaurant, ordered the same exact dishes, and kept the real food himself. The bolognese was artifically sweet and meatball was dense and bland. The handmade pasta was mush as was the pasta in the fettuccine dell'osteria. This could be attributed to it being packaged hot and continuing to cook during the time for delivery but the dine-in pasta was similar. Chicken was nice sized and tender. The veal was doused in picatta sauce but dry and rubbery; spaghetti was perfectly al dente and sauce was the right amount of lemon. Of the three entrees, we picked the chicken out of the fettuccine dell'osteria and ate the spaghetti from the picatta. The entire rest of this $112 order excluding taxes, fees, and tip, painfully went in the garbage (and we almost NEVER waste food). We'll be turned off from Italian food for a...

A special evening ruined at dinner.

Our dining experience was awful. Our server didn’t check on us throughout the night, forgot our drinks. There was an extensive wait time to receive food. customers arriving after us served before us (discrimination/carelessness/poor customer service/long wait?!)…

My significant other (S.O.) and I have competing schedules and could only celebrate Valentines Day the evening of 2/15. He made reservations and we arrived promptly. We were greeted by our server (male), we placed our drink, appetizer, and entree’s order at one time. 10 minutes in we were still waiting for our drinks and the restaurant started to fill up. The table to our left filled and the couple seated at the table to our left was greeted by their server (female/not assigned to our table) was served bread and water immediately. My S.O. and I had not received bread or drinks…. We had to ask the server (male) for bread! 30 minutes later my wine finally arrived, and the server (male) returned to the bar and started chatting. When he returned to us about 10 minutes later, I had to remind him that my S.O. had not received his drink. He replied, “my apologies I forgot”. At this point we hadn’t received our entree’s. However, the table to our left had been served (same female server/not assigned to our table) their entire order. The server assignments did not make sense to me. The table to our right was filled by two young ladies. They were seated, served with bread and water immediately (same female server/not assigned to our table). I finally ask for a manager. Pre-occupied, it took the manager a few minutes to acknowledge and respond to me. I informed her that we had been underserved, while others who arrived after us experienced faster service. I stated that we no longer wanted to dine with them that evening. The manager replied, “we didn’t have to pay for our drinks and that our food was arriving.” We had, had enough and respectfully departed! I am highly disappointment in the treatment we received. A night that was planned well in advance by my S.O. turned out to be an unpleasant experience. We received mediocre customer service with a careless, inattentive, and forgetful server. We were not treated the same as the customers of lighter skin sitting to our left and right. A special evening ruined.

Note: Customer service makes or breaks an experience. This by far was the worse dining...

We have been loyal customers for about 7 years, and love Osteria Mariano for its use of superior ingredients and precise preparation of its dishes. We have never had a less than stellar meal here. It is our go to place for date night, family dinner with our young kids, and a reliably awesome meal when friends or family are visiting. The staff has been gracious and top notch even when we have had a baby and small kids in tow. As such, we have made it a point to continue to patronize Osteria Marzano through the pandemic.

But tonight, I had a less than pleasurable experience picking up takeout. We ordered before 5:45pm so as not to intersect with the Saturday evening rush. However, even at that early hour, the service at the host/hostess station upon arrival was less than welcoming. A restaurant employee in a chef’s jacket initially asked if he could help me, and when I stated I was picking up a take out order, he told me I’d have to wait for someone else to help me and then actually brushed past me to greet another arriving customer who wasn’t even attempting to social distance in the tiny vestibule area. I couldn’t back out into the building lobby to create more space to keep myself safe because there were other patrons right outside the restaurant door in the building lobby. It was uncomfortable, unpleasant, and unnecessary.

Coming from a family of restaurant owners, and having worked in restaurants for many years, I firmly believe the customer experience upon arrival matters—and that’s the only interaction a takeout customer has. For a meal that cost more than $100 for an appetizer, two entrees, a pizza for the kids, plus more than 10% tip for a takeout order, Osteria Marzano would do well to treat takeout customers with the same level of service, courtesy, and graciousness as sit down customers. After all, takeout customers are paying the same prices, freeing up seats in the restaurant for other customers so the business can max sales receipts for the night, AND tipping the staff just to carry the food from the kitchen to the...