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1319 Polaris Parkway
Columbus, OH 43240
http://www.marcellasristorante.com/
Marcella’s is a unique twist on fine Italian dining. It is one of the newer concepts created by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. Currently, there are only two locations in Columbus, but hopefully they’ll expand into Cleveland soon!! (Hint, Hint)
The atmosphere immediately feels calming with colors of brown, gold and deep red decor. The walls are adorned with photos, mirrors and cabinets full of wine bottles, bread baskets, cans of tomatoes and more. The banquet style tables are set with paper placemats portraying a map of Italy and white kitchen towels with a blue stripe through it for napkins. There are also a stack of plates in a wire rack to encourage sharing of your plates. Whether you’re dining for lunch, after work or on the weekends, you will be completely relaxed, ready to enjoy wonderful food with good company when you walk in the doors.
Now that I’ve somewhat painted a picture of the surroundings, (and you can view actual photos of the interior on the Marcella’s website) I will dive right into the food. We started out with their selection of assorted olives, a Formaggi (cheese) plate, fresh sliced prosciutto with melon, bruschetta with prosciutto and deep fried calamari. The olive pot was filled wit
h 4 types of tasty, assorted olives. The Formaggi plate is completed with your choice of 6 different cheeses based on your preference. We chose 3, Mozzarella di Bufala (Buffalo Mozzarella), Aged Goat Cheese and Pecorino di Pienza. These cheeses were so fresh and each had their own distinct flavor. The Goat Cheese actually came in the form of a sliced cheese, more firm than the traditional soft Goat Cheese I’m familiar with. You can also order a plate of various Italian meats from the “Salumeria”, but we opted for a cold plate of sliced prosciutto and melon.
Now if that wasn’t enough, we absolutely had to order the Bruschetta covered in whipped ricotta cheese, roasted tomato and parma prosciutto, as well as the Fritto Misto (Calamari with roasted garlic aioli & marinara). Love Calamari!!
Are you feeling full yet…this is just the beginning!! Dinner is served…
Between the eight of us, we tried several different dishes. Starting with the two girls (ages 9 & 10), who ordered from the children’s menu, they were served a bowl of fresh fruit with the appetizers of cantaloupe and grapes, which they happily devoured. One ordered the buttered penne for her meal and the other ordered spaghetti and meatball and boy was this a large meatball as you can tell from the photo. The penne needed a little extra butter which they were happy to supply. They both thoroughly enjoyed their meals, especially the bowl of vanilla gelato that arrived at the end.
The two teenage boys and my brother ordered pizza. These are classic Neapolitan stone oven pizzas with your choice of cheeses, vegetables and meats. There’s sure to be one that makes your mouth water. The two boys ordered the Quattro Formaggi (4 cheeses), which consisted of Pecorino, Asiago, Gorgonzola and Parmesan Reggiano. Not the typical cheeses they’re used to on their pizza, but they absolutely loved it. My brother ordered the Sicilian with capacola, salami, chunks of meatballs and asiago cheese. You can see from the picture that this is a hearty meal.
Now onto my parent’s meals. My father loves veal, so it wasn’t surprising when he ordered the Veal Milanese which is served with Pomodoro Sauce. I don’t have a picture of this meal and unfortunately didn’t taste it but he assured me it was delicious. My mother ordered one of Marcella’s Favorites, Ravioli Mezzaluna. This one I did taste and would definitely consider ordering it on my next visit. As you can see from the picture, this dish is made up of lovely, half-moon shaped pasta stuffed with goat cheese then smothered in a sauce of cabbage and Italian Bacon (pancetta) along with other ingredients that give it a golden brown colored sauce. The taste was amazing. It was very rich and flavorful.
Finally, I had a tough time deciding between the Linguine & Clams and the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara. I’ve had Linguine and Clams before at the little Italian Café down the street from me and loved it, but I had never had Carbonara and really wanted to try it, which is what I ended up ordering. What makes Carbonara distinct is that it is topped with a slightly cooked egg yolk that you mix into the pasta. If you’re not a fan of egg yolk, you probably won’t like it, but I’ll eat just about anything. Not too many ingredients in this dish. It’s basically the pasta in a simple sauce of EVOO (Extra-Virgin Olive Oil), pancetta (Italian Bacon), garlic, black pepper, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and the egg yolk. It was pretty good for my first Carbonara. I love EVOO, garlic and crushed red pepper on my pasta, so this was right up my alley. You could really taste the distinct flavors of each ingredient. The bits of pancetta were perfectly cooked. This is an Italian or Spanish dry cured pork belly that has been salted and spiced. I’ve cooked with it before and it has a rich meaty consistency and the spices give it a great flavor.
I think I’ve probably filled up the page with this post and I’m sure you’re all tired of reading by now, but at least the pictures gave you a visual instead of having to imagine what everything looks like. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you’re traveling in the Columbus area. My only regret is that we didn’t have room in our stomachs for dessert.
Now let’s talk about service. When you sit down in a nice restaurant, you expect to be taken care of in a respectful and efficient manner. Our servers name was Melanie and she couldn’t have been any sweeter. She was very attentive to our table and extremely patient and helpful to me when I was having a tough time deciding what to order. Since we had never been there before, she took the time to explain the menu and how we could change most of the dishes to our liking if we didn’t want all of the ingredients or if we wanted the heat of the spiciness toned down. The manager also stopped by at one point to let us know that the ribs we ordered as an appetizer were not cooked to the chef’s liking and since it would take another hour to prepare, he generously offered us another choice at no charge. This is definitely a place that goes above and beyond to make sure you have the best dining experience possible.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at