The food was outstanding and delicious. great customer service and the staff was warm and friendly. attentive to details and the atmosphere was welcoming. A staff member Stella was amazing in her servicing to us. read more

the ambience was 10/10 food 10/10 service 10/10 everything was well i enjoyed the veal cutlet but the shrimp carbonara was especially wonderful. Soup probably left the best impression, artichoke app was worth trying too read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - ambience 10/10 service 10/10 food 10/10 - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

We recently dined at Marcelina's in Ocala with friends and left disappointed. Four of us ordered separate dinners, and two of the meals were mixed up. Pat ordered chicken parmesan with angel hair pasta, while our guest ordered eggplant parmesan, but the orders were not served correctly. The biggest issue was the lack of attention to detail. One of our guests was drinking a specific wine, and the server came by and poured Chardonnay into her glass without even asking first. No one offered to replace it or make up for the mistake, which was very disappointing. We were also confused by a $4.95 charge that appeared to be listed as ranch dressing, when it really seemed to be for the salad. We had expected salad to come with dinner, so that was another letdown. This was actually our second poor experience. On a previous visit, the restaurant was so crowded that it took more than 30 minutes for anyone to take our order. We understand mistakes happen, but service and follow-through matter. Unfortunately, based on these experiences, we do not plan to return. Looking back it appears two years ago I gave this restaurant another try review - hasn't changed sorry to say! read more

Food was delicious. Service was wonderful. Quiet music. Dim lighting. This is certainly a great date spot. I was really excited to get my carbonara. I was actually split between that and the vodka sauce. The carbonara had huge pieces of shrimp too. As well my sprite got refilled on the spot. Mom has lasagna and Dad chicken with vegetables. Would love to eat here again. read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Main entrance - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

Very nice restaurant I would highly recommend it to my friends and family. The taste of Italy right here in Dunnellon Ocala area. I'd bring my whole family. The service is impeccable and the food is delicious. Enjoy read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Paul J Bello, Estela (Owner) Phyllis Bello Todd Bello - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

The food was delicious and the service amazing. Definitely a do-over.love the ambience. Great for a relaxing dinner.

So, we have heard about the calamari.... So fresh, and the dipping marinara, AMAZING! We were immediately greeted at the door, everyone was super friendly. The seafood risotto is where it is at, a must try! The chicken parm surpassed the norm. Even the kid's chicken was amazing! We will definitely be back! It was also nice to see they were able to accommodate a large family party and still excel at their service. BTW awesome wine pours, the house Chianti is great! read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Chicken parm - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

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Second time here and food is amazing. We had the artichoke appetizer which was amazing. We had chicken franchise and chicken scarpiallo . Both were amazing. Additionally, their prices are very reasonable. read more

Love this place food and service great nice for talking with people the lamb was perfect read more

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We were a party of three and we had the Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Masala,and Spaghetti Carbonara with Shrimp. Every dish was fantastic and generous portion. Food was hot and well seasoned. The shrimp was tender & not overcooked..From the moment it was a lovely evening as staff were welcoming and attentive. We were full, but the desserts tempted us and we caved. Cannoli and crème brûlée. They make an excel cannoli!!!! Too often they don't use ricotta or they don't whip it correctly, but not here! Delicious as was the brûlée. We will be back & grateful to the friend who recommended it! read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Creme brulee - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

It won't hurt you to eat here, but I have no idea why this place is so highly rated. My only guess is that people lose their sense of taste at a certain age. Service was good, atmosphere was nice but the food was not that great. read more

Hidden gem!!!! We ordered the Grouper Special and the Chicken Fettuccini pasta and my oh my the food was amazing and did not disappoint. Staff is super friendly and tentative. Highly recommend this place. read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Cabernet Sauvignon - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

we were visiting friends in Ocala and had the pleasure of eating at this restaurant and it was fantastic! i had to make a review we all had different dishes and they were all fantastic ! Waitresses were pleasant and attentive, the resturant was fantastic very nice ambiance and comfortable. Wish i had this restaurant here in NC read more

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The best calamari I've ever had, fork tender and perfectly prepared. Marinara is truly good enough to eat with a spoon. Grouper Special is my new favorite (and I've tried alot of the dishes!) My favorite dining experience in Central Florida! I've been trying a different dish every time we go and have always been delighted with every recipe. Get a glass of recommended wine and you'll have a perfect evening.l - the finest meals I've ever had. Thank you Estella and family! read more

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Doesn't look like much from the outside but walk through the doors and it's nice. Food, Service are great and prices are fair! Best restaurant in Ocala read more

Italian fair without the fluff, but overpriced for what you get. The risotto was undercooked, and the oso bucco was over cooked. In short, I will not be back. The service is solid and the ambiance is family oriented. read more

This is a class act restaurant, overall food and service were great for the price. Although we were not locals, this felt like a favorite local place as the servers knew several people by name when entering - a good sign of repeat customers. 2 of my friends had chicken parmigian and bragged it up as some of the best. My entre of locally caught grouper was overly saucy losing the fish presence, good but not as exciting as the "parm," However - the wine recommendations were spot on and the tiramisu and creme brûlée both epic. We also ordered meatballs as an appetizer and truly enjoyed. I opt to rank restaurants based on price point, so I give this 5 stars in its category - a local, tasty and well priced experience. Our group of 4, mostly "foody type guys" would all return. read more

Food, service, promptness was superb. Just a little pricey but worth it. For special occasions, this is the place. Ambiance was pure Italian. read more

Excellent food, great service, nice ambiance. Definitely going back, best veal I had around here

Had an absolutely wonderful meal with visiting family. The eggplant Parmesan was delicious... in fact, so good we came back the next night! And we were waited on by a very sweet and attentive young lady named Marcelina! Great experience! read more

Service and food was not the best. Got a dish loaded with onions. Told him I could not eat onions and he told me I would still need to pay for the meal. That is ridiculous! Never ever heard of that before. I will not be going back read more

Food is okay. Doesn't come with Soup or salad. One piece of bread per person from a sandwich loaf. Has issues getting orders right read more

I ordered chicken Marsala, it was more like BAD Lo Mein from take out. My friend ordered the Italian Sampler (Stuffed Shells, Manicotti and Lasagna; received Manicotti and when asked where the Lasagna was they pointed to the Manicotti. Food and service was terrible (no hablas ingles). This was a great restaurant during my last visit, but will never go back again. read more

Going to Marcelina's is like going home, but the food is so much better! The family who own and run it become your family! They know you. They remember you - if you're an out-of-towner. They are amazing!!! The food is soooo delicious! We (our family) has tried EVERYTHING on the menu! The food is DELICIOUS. Nothing has disappointed! Estella, Bobou, Marcelina and the entire staff are attentive and loving. We live out of town and make it a point to come to Marcelina's every time we're in Ocala. This time, I was here for 10 days and I went to Marcelina's 5 times. No joke! I'll share receipts to non believers!!! read more

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I know I have reviewed this gem a few times, but this is the first time as a group experience! For a celebration, 8 family members, 5 from out of star had dinner at Marcelina's last Saturday night! From appetizers, calamari and mozzarella sticks, beautiful large salads, entrees, too many to list, to dessert to go, everything was spot on, hot (when it should be) and delicious. We had made reservations, everything was set up, water poured, and throughout the meal service was good and everyone left full and happy. I'm always glad to recommend! read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Pasta and homemade sausage... manga! - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

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The food was excellent since living here in Ocala it's the closest to Italian that I've tasted. Service was good very attentive. The decor was very nice and romantic. read more

Time and Again this place does not disappoint and the family that runs the establishment are treasures. We have brought groups of friends that have all fell I. Love with this wonderful establishment. The room is quaint and the lighting is inviting. Very clean restaurant. The food is always 5 stars. The service is 10 stars. Love this place. read more

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Food and service were more than exceptional!! Ambiance was excellent! My wife and I took my parents out to eat while they were in ocala and they still talk about the food and cannot wait to return!! Highly recommend read more

First timer; order to go; Chicken Parm dinner. Included bread only, so I ordered spup. The food was excellent and so was the portion. When I called, the order process was not pleasant and needs work, and when I picked up the food too. A hello how are you and thank you would be appreciated. Restaurant was dark could not read the bill. Looking forward to returning for a sit down meal. read more

The atomosphere was great, the food was delicious, the staff was warm and friendly. We highly recommend Marcelina's Italian restaurant for an excellent experience. read more

I'll preface this by saying I'm not a spaghetti Italian fan. The hubby is. If he hadn't been there I might have gone three stars. I guess if you like old school red sauce Italian it's great. The server was lovely and attentive. His pours were generous too. Kills the garlic I guess....and the restaurants cute enough. Nothing fancy but a fun vibe. Worth a try if you like the menu because what they do they do well! read more

We six friends had Sunday dinner together to dine, relax and chat. Our food was very good, accompanied by a large glass of wine and crusty bread in spiced dipping oil. Bob, our server, gave good service. Bob served our meals while temperature hot, topped off with freshly grated cheese on our main course dishes. Tom had his favorite pasta soup followed by Chicken Marsala. I had a fresh, crisp salad followed by Chicken Pizzaiola. read more

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I've eaten a lot of less than stellar restaurants, but as far as my recent memory will go, this one takes the cake. Anyone who posted a positive review of their food, is either getting paid to review the restaurant or thinks McDonald's is gourmet food. The food was awful. I was served a bowl of something, that was supposed to be a Caesar Salad. There was nothing "green" in the bowl. Yellow and white were fairly well represented ... no green. Plenty of garlic! I ordered Marcelina's Combo. Lasagna, meatballs & manicotti. It was drowning in cheese, perhaps to hid what was underneath? Meatballs tasted like ... well, nothing. The lasagna was inedible. The manicotti, I couldn't really find, under the cheese & sauce. Oh wait, sauce! If you go to an Italian restaurant, you care about the sauce, right? A bottle of Ragu would have been better than Marcelina's sauce. They couldn't even manage to serve a glass of Coke. The waiter insisted it came from a "can". I saw cans displayed near the bar, but what I was served didn't come from a can, unless the can was 10 years old and was shaken every day of it's life, to get rid of the "fizz". How about bread? Toasted individual slices of a generic bread that probably came from Publix. Do yourself a favor and don't even consider going to this restaurant. read more

Unfortunately, not good at all. We are Italian, literally from Italy. The food was below standard. It's reminiscent of what Italian cuisine should be, but cooked by non Italians that have no idea how it should taste, therefore they have no idea how to cook it. What's worse is they have servers who cash out your money, but pocket some for themselves and give back less change than expected. I'm not sure if the girl thought she wasn't getting a tip? Or if she felt we didn't know rudimentary mathematics? We were prepared to give her a $20 tip, but when she pocketed $5 out of the $7 change she was supposed to hand us, we decided that's all she deserved. I'll never go back. I've told all our family and friends not to bother trying Marcelinas unless they want their change stolen and their food prepared below standard. So disgraceful... it was our first time and unfortunately our last! read more

Excellent food and portion sizes for the cost. The music could have been lowered a bit and I would have been given them five stars; however, they allowed us to choose our table, but didn't tell us about a big group which reserved a table right next to us. Sorta put a damper on our private meal experience. read more

A fabulous hole in the wall with very tasteful European decor and an awesome bar! Family owned and fluent Italian! Starting with the house Merlot and bruschetta with delightful light olive oil and perfect seasoning topped with the hint of red pepper flakes for an early spark to the meal. We had Florentine manicotti using the freshest steamed spinach and the flavorful old country marinara. Additionally, we enjoyed the Linguine Pescatore with nicely textured calamari, shrimp, scallops and tastefully flavored with large down-home slices of garlic. read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

Decided to try based on excellent Yelp reviews. We were not disappointed. Called for easy reservations since it was a Friday night. Not crowded when we arrived but restaurant full when we left. It is located in a strip of shops but ambience much nicer inside. Wait staff friendly and attentive. Beer and wine served but no liquor. Menu is wide but I encourage you to ask about specials not listed. There are many and all are wonderful. First time so we opted for Veal Parmigiana and Baked Ziti. Portions were huge, taste delectable. Also when you order wine, serving is as big as the meal. The prices were very reasonable. Restaurant classy enough for date night but good for families also. Casual, relaxed atmosphere. Only room for improvement (and why I didn't give 5 stars) is the bread and side salads. Just 2 pieces of bread given before dinner. Side salads nothing special - basically just shredded lettuce. read more

Marcelina's Italian Restaurant - Veal Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Ocala, Florida

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Customer service was amazing and the food was amazing delicious. The waiters were nice and kind. It only took about 20 minutes for our food to arrive. read more

I didn't realize genuine Italian restaurants such as Marcelina's were in existence in my locale. Sure am glad we had a chance to experience the ambiance and actual Italian cuisine. Sevice and staff were second to none. Kudos to Marcelina's and it won't be soon enough before Rhonda and I return. read more

We went about 6 pm for dinner. The staff was great and on top of their game. Food is great. We'll be back soon.