Marcello Ristorante — Restaurant in Siesta Key

Let me tell you something about Marcello’s. It’s not a restaurant. It’s not even really a place. It’s more like a fever dream. A culinary fever dream set inside what feels like a high-stakes wine ransom meeting being conducted in someone’s very well-curated dining room.

You’ll know you’ve arrived not by the sign, because there barely is one, but by the cars. Outside, parked with all the subtlety of a Rolex on a nudist beach, is a row of Range Rovers, matte black Mercedes G-Wagons, an occasional Aston, and naturally, a bright yellow Corvette. Must be Marcello’s.

And then…there’s Marcello.

He doesn’t work the room. He owns it. Like a chef, sommelier, therapist, and Bond villain rolled into one. He’ll greet you with a handshake that says, “I know where your grandparents are buried,” and then, seconds later, pour you the best wine you’ve had in a decade.

You don’t so much order at Marcello’s as surrender. There are no menus. No QR codes. No gluten-free flirtations. He tells you what you’re eating. You nod. And then you pray your internal organs are up for the challenge.

I started with handmade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and black truffle; and by “stuffed,” I mean over-engineered to the point of spiritual enlightenment. It didn’t so much touch my tongue as float over it in a velvet cape. Creamy. Earthy. Silky. Like kissing a truffle pig in the rain.

Then came the duck. Good Lord, the duck. It was seared, roasted, possibly baptized in 30-year Cognac—I’m not sure. It had the crispness of a good chip and the decadence of a Roman orgy. It didn’t so much sit on the plate as recline on it, smugly.

And the wine list? It’s not a list. It’s a wine vault. Marcello's doesn’t give you options - he gives you stories. Bottles from obscure Tuscan hillsides. Back vintages of Barbaresco that have survived more trauma than most marriages. And they pour them without ceremony, like they're handing you the keys to his Ferrari.

This, then, is the paradox of Marcello’s. It’s casual in that you’ll sit in a modest room. But terrifyingly precise in that you’ll eat food so well-executed it might file its own taxes. It feels less like dinner and more like you’ve been allowed into someone’s private universe, one where garlic and butter is sacred, and your opinion is...

I am from Milano and have had a very hard time finding Italian food I like outside of NY, LA and Miami and WOW Marcello’s in Sarasota. Tucked away unexpectedly on a busy street, I almost thought the Restaraunt was closed before opening the door and immediately smelling and seeing an ambiance that was very familiar to home. I had left several messages looking for a seat, but showed up without a reservation with my wife. Even when the restaraunt had just opened there were no seats and a 45 day wait for a reservation with approx 10 tables total and an AMAZING wine/private party room. Anyway, my wife and I were seated at the bar and you know a place has shot when the owner is in the kitchen. The family is from Cortina D’ampezzo a beautiful ski resort in the Northern Italian Alps known for great skiing and quality food, which was 100% transferred here. The staff speaks LEGITIMATE Italian and this is home style cooking. The food was a delicious mix of Northern and Southern Italian styles of preparation. Marcello (Owner/Chef) unassumingly was cooking and serving us some extra of what he had prepared before we even knew he was the owner (small 3 seat bar in front of kitchen). Out comes a fresh truffle cream home made linguini dish that started true happiness in my mouth and brought me back to Via Carlo Maria Maggi and our local trattoria’s.. Everything that followed was outstanding and a topper was a seafood risotto that came out without any clump and just like home, oh and they have tartufo for desert. This felt like a meal in Milan or Naples with waiters talking to each other, orders spoken out loud, Marcello’s eye on every corner of the restaraunt seeing who needs what before anyone while he is cooking (he has eyes behind his head). This was a VERY VERY pleasant experience and we will be back often even with a 1 hour drive. This is as close to an Italian dinner experience I have had, SO happy we came...

It’s sad how a good restaurant can be ruined by indifferent and rude service. It is our regret we did not get the waiter’s name. Maybe Marcello can identify him so other customers will not have the sad experience we did. Hopefully the following information will help identify the particular waiter. We were at the restaurant on Saturday night, March 30th for a 5:30 reservation, which we arrived for at 5:25. A party of 4. We sat at a table to the right of the entrance next to the wall of the wine room. This was a special evening for us as it was my husband’s 80th birthday and we were celebrating with longtime friends. We had been to Marcello’s previous times and were excited to introduce the restaurant to them. Sadly our evening was not particularly enjoyable, celebratory or special. Our waiter made us feel unwelcome right from the start. He appeared to be in a hurry to get us out and made us feel like second class guests. When initially reading the starters on the blackboard, he read them so quickly. We politely asked him to read them again slower, at which point he read them again just as quickly. We mentioned to him this was a milestone birthday and we had been to this restaurant before. He couldn’t have cared less and was totally disinterested. This was his attitude for the entire meal. We felt he couldn’t wait for us to be out and gone. We left your restaurant angry, disappointed and surprised to be treated this way. A special evening was ruined for us. We were amazed at this treatment as our previous experiences have been excellent. From reading other reviews, it appears the behavior and attitude of this waiter is not an isolated incident. Perhaps we will give Marcello’s another try....