If you ever wondered what would happen if Goodfellas, The Godfather, When Harry Met Sally, and a sun-drenched afternoon on the Amalfi Coast all got together for Sunday dinner... the answer is La Marea in Old Saybrook. The name La Marea means "the tide," and after one visit you'll understand why. Like the tide itself, you just keep coming back. I've eaten my way from the seafood markets of Sicily to the cafés of Rome, the canals of Venice, the vineyards of Tuscany, and the bustling trattorias of Milan. I've spent enough time arguing over pasta shapes to qualify as an honorary Italian uncle. I don't throw around the phrase authentic Italian lightly. La Marea earns it. From the moment you walk through the doors, you're welcomed like you've just returned home after a very long vacation. Juliana is the kind of hostess who somehow remembers everyone, makes every guest feel like family, and radiates the warmth that reminds you of every wonderful Italian grandmother you've ever wished you had. She has that magical gift of making the entire restaurant feel less like a business and more like a celebration. Then there's Nino. Every great Italian restaurant has a heartbeat. Nino is La Marea's. His decades of culinary experience and deep Italian roots shine through every detail. You can tell immediately that this isn't about trends or gimmicks--it's about family, hospitality, tradition, and food prepared with genuine pride. The restaurant beautifully blends northern and southern Italian cuisine, using imported Italian ingredients alongside fresh local products, and the seasonal menu keeps every visit exciting while staying true to its heritage. (LaMarea Ristorante⁠) The staff? Absolutely phenomenal. Professional without being stuffy. Friendly without being overbearing. They somehow anticipate what you need before you know you need it. Glasses stay full. Plates appear at exactly the right moment. Conversations flow naturally. It's the kind of service that has become all too rare. And then... Brad. If cocktails were an Olympic event, Brad would need a bigger trophy case. Watching him behind the bar is like watching Tom Cruise in Cocktail--only with better drinks and significantly fewer broken bottles. Every cocktail arrives balanced, beautiful, and dangerously delicious. La Marea's craft and pre-Prohibition-inspired cocktail program is already impressive, but Brad elevates it into an experience. One drink turns into two, two somehow become "well...maybe just one more," and before long you're discussing whether Sinatra or Billy Joel made the better soundtrack for Italian dinners. Now let's discuss the food. The calamari? Outstanding. The Bolognese? Quite possibly one of the finest expressions of comfort food known to humanity. Combine the two? Forget NASA--we've discovered the greatest culinary achievement since someone first decided olive oil belonged on bread. If there is better calamari Bolognese anywhere on Earth, I haven't found it--and I've looked. Everything else follows the same philosophy. Homemade and carefully sourced pastas. Exceptional antipasti. Beautiful seafood. Wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas. Outstanding steaks. House-made desserts that somehow convince you there's always room for one more bite. The menu reflects the seasons while remaining rooted in authentic Italian tradition, and every plate feels thoughtfully prepared rather than simply assembled. (LaMarea Ristorante⁠) And then comes dessert. You tell yourself you're full. You are lying to yourself. Order dessert anyway. Trust me. What makes La Marea truly special isn't just the exceptional food or outstanding cocktails. It's the feeling. It's the laughter coming from neighboring tables. It's seeing Juliana greeting guests with genuine joy. It's Nino making the rounds. It's the staff working together like a family. It's that rare restaurant where nobody is trying too hard because they don't have to. Everything simply works. Walking out of La Marea feels a little like the ending of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. You don't want the experience to be over. You're already planning your next visit before you've even reached the parking lot. Five stars don't seem like enough. If Michelin awarded stars for making people genuinely happy, La Marea would need a new constellation. Bravo, Juliana. Bravo, Nino. Bravo to the entire staff. And Brad... keep those cocktails coming. I'll happily continue my very serious research. Highly. Enthusiastically. Deliciously recommended. read more

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Very convenient location, just off of I95. The restaurant itself was very nice, lots of decorations and nice lighting. The food was good, portions slightly smaller than expected but not enough to keep you hungry after. The service was good but it definitely was a bit slow, especially towards the end. We waited a good while for the bill after our plates were clear. Overall, a pleasant experience and I imagine we will be back again. read more

La Marea - Chicken Parmesan, Margherita Pizza - Italian Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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Excellent food & excellent service. The pizza was amazing. Great, chewy wood-fired crust and flavorful toppings. Every item tasted clean and well seasoned. Fresh flavors and a great atmosphere made for a wonderful last evening of our trip to Old Saybrook. read more

Way overpriced. Pizza used to be great but they lost their pizzaiolo a while back who really knew what he was doing. Seems like a great place if your a local regular. The owner and his wife dote on those people. Otherwise just feels phony. read more

Best dining experience anywhere Great owner and staff Excellent food and service Local gem read more

The food here is incredible, I recommend getting the eggplant appetizer, their homemade pasta and don't leave without dessert.

Overall, disappointing. The food is very good. It is also overpriced for size. We are not looking for quantity over quality. But this is priced as a high end place not a neighborhood restaurant. The service was definitely substandard with us having to get up to find our server. So, take a pass. read more

Ate here for the first time last night. The food was ok, but not great. I didn't feel that it merited the high prices. We had one glass of wine, two appetizers, a salad, one main course, and one dessert. $150. The service was wonderful, considering how crowded it was. One of the reasons we decided to try this restaurant was the fact that it said, on yelp, that it was quiet. That wasn't the case at all. In fact it was so noisy that I couldn't hear anything my partner said. It's too bad, because I'd like to give this restaurant another try, but we shall see.... read more

Nothing special here. Portions are small. Overpriced. Would not rush back. Service was good though.

Basically all we're looking for is tasty, clean, healthy meals that we can know would be safe for us. Lately, my wife is in a lot of trouble with some food establishments with the quality of the ingredients has really caused some issues so we've been a little weary about the restaurants we choose to go to. This is one restaurant we could say is both delicious and has high-end ingredients in all their meals. The staff is exceptionally courteous and helpful. You feel like you're always being taken care of throughout your entire dinner experience - can't ask for anything more. read more

We enjoyed our lunch very much! The gnocchi was fantastic, very light...not heavy at all. We'll be back!

La Marea is a "special event" type of place. The prices out pace the content. Inside, the place is lovely. A bit loud and tight, but nice decor and welcoming feel. Everything felt fresh, new, and clean. The dishes were small and the prices were large. This felt like Manhattan dining. The gnocchi were done very well though and I finished it off. The Brussel sprout salad (Insalata di Cavoletti di Bruxelle) had one piece of walnut and a few slices of apple and no dressing whatsoever. It was very very light. I ate it as is assuming that's how the salad was intended to be. It needed more tartness and would have been better if the sprouts were roasted gently first. The best part of the meal was dessert. The sfogliatelli were surprisingly very good. Crispy and warm and the filling was done well. The most likely baked them frozen on site, but they are sourcing them from a good bakery. All in all, this is a very special occasion kind of place and if you are in the area and ok dropping $100/person for ambiance and a decent meal, then try this place out. If you are going out for ladies night, like I did, try a place where the food is cheaper and the drinks are stronger. read more

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Consistently good food and service. I enjpy the eggplant appetizer. The pork chop is my go-to meal!

I have ordered from La Marea a couple of times . Food is good , consistent , a bit overpriced . Coming from Manhattan , I find La Marea has New York prices although not as good as similar places in the city . Last week was the first time I dined in. Again , food was good but the service was a bit slow . Maybe because was Saturday night and there were very busy . I will go back , ambience is good and wine is good too read more

Nice decor. Only 2 star service, the wait staff, bar tender and the owner had rude personalities. Their lack of friendliness surprised us. Unfortunate for a place that has great food. We will not recommend unless you like being snarled at. read more

The hostess for starters. We walked in shortly after 5:00 to eat at the bar. The bar was empty. We chose the two corner seats at the end of the bar that faced the entrance. Immediately upon sitting, the hostess ran over and told us the seats we were sitting in were reserved - that someone had just called to reserve them. There was no reserved sign. We were seated! She offered the corner seats at the other end - the seats we had passed up - because I don't like my back to the entrance. And the way she delivered the message was abrupt and unapologetic. We were not given the option to stay in our chosen seats. I have no idea what time the people who reserved were coming. We probably would have been gone within the hour. But we didn't stay. And we won't be going back. read more

We had a wonderful meal at La Marea last night. The food was exceptional and the service warm, welcoming, and attentive in an Italian kind of way -- neither too rushed or too slow which made for a lovely, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoyable evening. We will definitely be back! We loved the roasted chicken and pork chop. The warm olives were amazing and the cocktails delicious. Bravo read more

Myself and friends have visited this establishment on many occasions, and enjoyed both the food and atmosphere. However last evening, that wasn't the case. While the food was excellent as always, the service was not very good at all. Our waitress seemed uninterested in any type of banter or conversation. She seemed to want to rush our orders. It was all business, with our drink and food orders. While I ordered two appetizers and asked for them to be served with my friend's entrees, she went ahead and served them with the salad course, talking over me when I tried to request differently. I have never experienced poor service in this restaurant and thought it deserved looking into. And also, as always, your host and other staff were friendly and very interested in making our experience a joyful one. read more

The food was ok but portions were small and very overpriced. Our server was ok she had a strong accent and we couldn't really understand her and she couldn't understand us, which led to wrong drinks being ordered. She also wasn't very friendly and was not conversational. The restaurant itself was very nicely decorated but sort of noisy. The main thing that I was discussed by was the high prices and the little portions, you are definitely not getting what you're paying for. I will probably never go back to this place again. Would not recommend it. read more

Great pasta, great service. It seems to be a well kept secret. Glad we decided to try it; we will definitely be back.

Finding a casually elegant restaurant that's open for lunch on a Saturday is a rare thing. We recently had the good fortune to find a restaurant of this caliber - La Marea. that is open for lunch AND is right off of I-95 !!! Impressions: The chefs at La Marea lean into Italian/Continental fare with confidence & an abundance of creativity. Their slightly abbreviated lunch menu covers all bases & includes many different dessert options. We like that there are several different types of salads offered. We started with a Caesar salad, easily shared between 2; it was good although it could have used a bit more anchovy umami & fresh lemon to really make it pop. My dining companion's margarita pizza was delicious as was the spinach & ricotta stuffed crapes. My lunch special of pan seared halibut was perfectly cooked, delicate in texture, the fish being exceedingly fresh in taste. This dish was paired with whipped potatoes & a fresh vegetable -asparagus-charred nicely too ! End of meal espresso & cappuccino were sublime & served hot & in tandem with our desserts - a very good thing. The restaurant's inside dining areas are well appointed & comfortable. Service is both professional & genuinely friendly. Visitors to Connecticut's eastern shoreline will find great food & hospitality at La Marea. We are looking forward to returning to La Marea for dinner very soon. read more

La Marea - Margarita Pizza & Fresh Halibut lunch special - Italian Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

I ordered takeout from this place, which is located 2 min away from my house. I ordered a burrata tomato salad and pasta special. The food was ok, not exceptional, but ok. What stood out was the minimal amount of food I received for $55. Very disappointing. Will not return. read more

Came here while on vacation in the area since we wanted some Italian. My food was good I just think a meat sauce would've been better with like penne or something :P I could've asked for that, just didn't. Our son enjoyed himself and it was a nice place. Waitress was super nice and fast when we wanted to get out of there because our boy was expecting his routine of if you eat dinner, you get ice cream! Lol. read more

La Marea - the entrance to the restaurant - Italian Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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Pizza crust similar to store bought frozen. Sausage on pizza tastes like pancetta. Portions small and pricey. Lots of friendly staff, yet service was poor? Bar seemed fun, lots of drinks being served. If you're looking for great Italian food however, keep looking, sorry. read more

Friendly staff and owner! Made our sister feel special for her birthday and accommodating with my vegan diet.. lovely atmosphere! read more

La Marea - Owner was so nice!! - Italian Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Another visit here and I loved it even more... we had a pasta dishes today and they were phenomenal! read more

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Excellent food selection, friendly staff and good ambiance. Will go there any time. Canton go wrong.

Well I will say the pizza was probably the best I have had! It was definitely in my top 5! read more

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Let me start off by saying the food is excellent, however the portions are very small. The waitress's accent was very difficult to understand and she seemed uninterested. There was no eye contact, a smile or any conversation. Just cold. When I questioned some of the wines she didn't know anything about wine. I was on my own to figure it out. My husband and I wanted to share a salad and asked how big it was and she couldn't answer. Little did we know our bill came with an extra $2.00 charge for splitting the salad into two plates. We didn't ask for this to be done nor were we told there was an extra charge. A big turnoff of the restaurant was that we barely finished our plates or wine and it was taken off our table immediately. There was a waitress/busser hovering around the seating area or near the edge and watching for someone to be finished and then ran right over. Just a little over the top for my liking. Make it feel rushed. Probably won't be back. read more

Visited La Marea for a birthday dinner and was not disappointed. Restaurant decor is rustic but gives you a feeling of being modern with a little old country. Staff was attentive to all your needs and friendly. The food was great, we had the spinach and ricotta crepes, eggplant parm and fried calamari to start. We had pork chop, chicken Milanese and bolognese and pasta. Then some cappuccino's, tiramisu and cheesecake for dessert. Definitely will visit again read more

Really enjoyed this place. Very comfortable and a pretty atmosphere. Pizza was good and can't wait to try more. We will be back!

Expensive for what you get. Price of the seafood dishes was unrealistic. Maybe in a high end restaurant in some destination!

I ate here with my parents tonight and we couldn't be happier. This restaurant is a hidden gem in Old Saybrook. We walked in without a reservation on a Sunday night and they got us right in, and the place packed up quickly. I'm surprised by some of the other reviews - the servers were attentive with plenty of water refills and helpful notes. We didn't feel rushed nor like we were waiting an inappropriate amount of time. The pasta portions were a very reasonable size, I ended up taking mine home. The salads could be considered small if not for the fact that they are appetizers. I'm a vegetarian and they were very accommodating, offering a few options that were not on the menu. I opted for a primavera pasta with a cream sauce (and no mushrooms) which was delicious - and I'm used to nyc pasta. Definitely give it a try for yourself! read more

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Delicious! Loved the food and the ambiance here. It was so festive and decorated for Christmas. The furniture and decor made the place look new and updated. We enjoyed fabulous pizzas here before heading down the street for the North Pole Express experience from the Essex Steam Train. It's super close and convenient to that, and I would highly recommend this place for dinner before or after!! read more

The food was very authentic. Delicious! The service was very prompt, courteous, and professional. Ambience gave you a feel of being in Italy. I would really highly recommend " La Marea " you won't be disappointed! read more

Beautiful outdoor dining space for COVID. I have been to this restaurant several times and they never disappoint. Their homemade pastas and espresso martinis are my favorite. FYI- Their menu is currently limited (as of 8/12/20) due to COVID read more

La Marea - Tagliolini con Aragosta - House made Lemon tagliolini topped with Lobster sautéed in a Lemon, brandy cream sauce - Italian Near Me - Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Went here last night with my husband and every part of our experience was great. I'd like to start by saying that throughout our entire dining experience the waitstaff all had on gloves (that were regularly changed) and masks and we could see everyone putting in a considerable effort to sanitize everything. I've only been out to eat a few times since things have reopened and this is definitely one of the cleanest and safest restaurants. We sat outside and the new outdoor seating area is very comfortable and looks great with all the fresh flowers and garden lights. We started with the burrata and my husband had a Caesar salad. Everything was incredibly fresh and the quality of the cheese was very impressive. For dinner I had a fresh pasta in a lemon-brandy sauce with lobster. I was incredible impressed with the amount of lobster meat in the dish and the sauce was creamy but had a really nice fresh finish because of the lemon. My husband had the spaghetti and clams and he loved it. The clams were fresh and cooked perfectly. To be completely honest, the homemade pasta and sauces are comparable to meals I've had in New York City and Italy. We normally don't get dessert out but our experience here was so great that we had to try the famous house made cheesecake and it did not disappoint. This is a place I would 100% recommend to anyone. The service, food, wine and atmosphere are some of the best I've experienced. read more

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The food wasn't the best Italian homemade sauce or pasta I have had. The kitchen is beautiful. A bit odd to see the wife of owner sitting at bar drinking then going around to see how the customers food was. I actually make homemade pasta, sauce and felt there's was nothing special. read more

We were in the area for lunch and have been wanting to try La Marea. The servers were very attentive. The pizza was delicious. Crisp and flavorful. We also ordered the gnocchi with eggplant for $16.00. As I read the other reviews, we have the same opinion. Great flavor, but much too small. Come on - it's pasta - add another couple of tablespoons and make your customers happy. Would I return - perhaps to grab a pizza to go, but if the other entrees are similar to the gnocchi we had - definitely not. read more

Terrible: food was cold, SO LOUD, service was a nightmare . I truly have nothing positive to say about this experience. We were extremely disappointed read more