MARCO'S ITALIAN RESTURANTE — Restaurant in Imperial Beach

The food was mediocre, the service was great and very personable, the decor is really dated, the restaurant was cold (my wife had to go back to the car to get a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt), and besides us the place was empty except for a couple people who came in for pickup orders. We had the Linguine Scampi Alfredo, Gnocchi al Sugo, some garlic bread, Antipasto Salad for two, a glass of house white wine and an iced tea which we switched for a hot tea. The wine tasted like a Gewurztraminer or something along those lines, which I was pleased with. The iced tea was different....maybe a different variety (than regular black tea) like oolong or something. I liked it. The hot tea was regular black. She liked it. The Antipasto salad was alright; fresh from the fridge but nothing wilted or soggy. We liked the addition of giardinera (pickled) veggies. She thought the meats tasted old or stale. The gnocchi weren't tough or overcooked though they were a little overwhelmed by the meat sauce. The sauce itself was good, but thicker than I expected. Not too sweet, maybe a little bitter, needed a touch of salt. I wished I'd ordered mozzarella sticks, cos they would have been very good in this sauce. Didn't taste homemade, but neither did the gnocchi. Well, I wouldn't put in that effort for an empty restaurant either. The Linguine Scampi Alfredo had a white sauce, and the few, very small shrimp probably said 'scampi' on the package, the linguine was spaghetti, and the whole thing was crying for salt. And garlic, and Parmesan, and pepper...and shrimp. The garlic bread was fantastic. Fresh and soft and flavourful. We had a good time. My wife and I enjoy each other's company. The man and woman in the restaurant (I'm guessing the owner and her adult son) were helpful and attentive without hovering or ignoring us. The owner was motherly, caring, and sympathetic. I hope for her sake that the family either takes this restaurant and runs it like they mean it, or just put it to bed already. As it stands, I can't recommend this restaurant...

Read the 1 star reviews and believe them.

Called at 5:30pm. Order confirmed at 5:36pm and told me food would be delivered by 6:20pm. It is now 7:20pm and my food still isn’t here. Everyone said they take forever, which they do. Everyone also says their food has no flavor and is of cheap quality... I’m scared to find out.

Here is the best part... I’ve called 4 times and every time I’ve called, except for the 4th time, they said “just 10 more minutes”, but on the 4th time they said, “oh, my son is leaving now.” haha. So, i asked what they would do to compensate for my time, and they ignored my question.

They’ve been polite this entire time, but the lack of communication, delayed time, and the fact they will not offer anything for my time has really upset me.

Do yourself a favor, read the reviews, believe them, and go somewhere else. Don’t waste...

We were excited to try this little place after reading the reviews. Sadly we didn't like anything about it except the freshness of the red bell peppers on the pizza and the sweet lady server. I should have listened to my common sense upon seeing the filthy tablecloths when we walked in. We have never ever left pizza behind until this visit...it was inedible with all the oregano in the sauce and rock-hard crust. We ordered mozzarella sticks and the 'marinara' was little more than a can of tomatoes poured into a cup...literally huge chunks floating in watery tomato juice. Maybe if they did a top to bottom scrubbing of the dust and grime, put a new coat of lighter paint, and improved the overall quality of the food we'd give it another chance....but...