Columbus Trip; Located in Short North, parking can be tricky try to Uber is close enough. Super cute place, came for Happy Hour and sat in the bar area, and did not dissapoint. Now everytime I am in town, this is a must stop. Food; Melted Pecorino Cheese platter, you must get!!! It is delicious, little sweet with the apples or crostini's and cheesy goodness. Beverage; Adult beverages were cold and perfect. read more

Marcella's is my go to place when the weather is fine and their windows are open. Still THE best happy hour in town! I just really love the vibe of the place and the food is consistently delicious. My favorite dish is the linguine with white clams sauce. It's flavorful and makes me hum read more

Food was excellent and service was even better. Asher was our server and made our first time here one that makes us want to return

I love the ambiance of the restaurant, staff is always great. I was craving spaghetti so I ordered this with excitement. It was good traditional Italian spaghetti and the meatball was tender and a hearty serving. read more

Marcella's - Spaghetti with Meatball - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I wanted to like this place more and concede maybe it's just the dish I got that didn't quite hit the mark. It was between this and the truffley ravioli. The individual gnocchi kinda globes together to make giant ones that i had to cut apart with my fork which wasn't horrible, but still a bit blobby. Also the sauce was kind of plain tomato with shredded lamb, which didn't give me quite the texture I was hoping for against the chewy gnocchi. The portion size was big so that was nice. It was pretty crowded and loud on a Friday night but lovely in a good way. Service was good. I'd go back to try some of the other stuff and potentially upgrade my rating. read more

Marcella's - gnocchi bolognese - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

It was a great visit, and such a nice dinning experience with amazing food! Big fan of the handmade pasta! We were so excited to dine at Marcella's in the Short North to celebrate my partners promotion. It was really busy evening, but we had made reservations and were warmly greeted and promptly seated. The host was great and was able to rework our high top reservation to a small table given we were celebrating. That was above and beyond, and very much appreciated. Service was good but extremely slow. At times we found ourselves looking around as asking each other if she had forgot about us. If she had not been so nice and the rest of the visit great it would have been an issue. But it wasn't for us as we were in no rush, and the food was so good. For appetizers we did a Braised Veal Meatball in tomato sauce ($13.00). BTW, the meatballs are so good here and a solid choice. We did a generous helping of shaved Parmesan cheese on top once the cute iron mini-pot was opened. It was perfect for the two of us to share and so good. For dinner, I had the Ravioli Quadratini ($20) stuffed with Ricotta, in a Parmesan cream sauce, with shaved truffle. My partner went with the Braised Beef Tortellini ($19) with an Italian Cream Cheese (Mascarpone),with Mushrooms, and Spinach. He really enjoyed his dish as well. We decided to take dessert to go and he chose a slice of the Chocolate Almond Cake ($9) with toasted almonds, and warm chocolate ganache (made with heavy cream). I went with the Tiramisu ($9). Both were excellent and perfect choice to take home to enjoy after our meal settled a bit. The food was so good and as I write this I am craving another visit. Totally recommend Marcella's and something about the Short North location that makes it more special. read more

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TLDR: Great date night restaurant and will split your entrees for you and your date. Decent food and a safe place to eat for those with celiac. As someone who has been diagnosed with celiac for over two years now it is VERY hard to find a place with Italian food worth having. So when I found out most of the items on Marcella's menu can be made GF I knew I had to stop in for date night. The first thing I noticed when walking in is the restaurant is LOUD and crowded. If you're looking for a cozy quiet date spot this is not the restaurant. It's very popular and that space is not very large so expect to be close. We sat on at a table with a booth on one side and a chair on the other. I was in the chair and the aisle was no narrowing waiters and people were constantly bumping into me. We were so close to the other table I could hear their conversations and had trouble and times hearing my girlfriend because the restaurant was so loud. Not necessarily a ding on the restaurant but more just a heads up. Once we were seated the waitress asked if we had any allergies. I told her gluten and she reassured that just about everything could be made gluten free and pointed out which items specifically could not. She did warn us that the food would take a little longer for gluten free which is fine. We were started off with gluten free bread which had good flavor but was very dry. I only ate one slice. For drinks I ordered the Manhattan and my girlfriend had the strawberry balsamic martini. Both drinks were excellent. I absolutely loved my Manhattan it was sweet without being overly dry. I couldn't taste the balsamic in the martini but it was very sweet and had a pillowy foam topping. On to the food we ordered the calamari as an appetizer. If you order it gluten free it will not be fried but honestly not a problem for me. If it was fried I feel it would be too heavy. It had chili flakes for a nice spice and flavor but was still under a medium hot sauce wing level. The zucchini and peppers also paired nicely. The calamari itself was a little rubbery but far from the worst I've had. 8/10. For the mains we were told we could share entrees and they would split for us. A great perk if you want to try different dishes. The kitchen did this so well I would absolutely do it again. Our mains were the fettuccine and meatball and the penne Al vodka. Let's start with the elephant in the room being the gluten free pasta. It's fine. It's a little rubbery and chewy but I'm appreciative they offer it and I don't think it was an extra charge which is big deal. For the fettuccine I thought the sauce was lovely and cheesy and probably the best part of the mains. The meatball was a great portion but lacked flavor on its own. It more gained flavor from being soaked with the sauce. 8/10. As for the penne vodka I feel this was a bit of a miss. It tasted like pasta drenched in Olive oil with mushrooms and crushed tomatoes. Far from bad but not what either of us were expecting. 5/10. And for dessert with go the strawberry ricotta cheesecake. It was hard for me to even get a picture because we ate it so fast. The cheesecake was light and creamy with most of the sweetness coming from the strawberry sauce (delicious I might add). The almond crust provided a nice crunch and is a super underrated way to make a great dessert. 9/10. Our waitress was also lovely and gave good recommendations to what was popular and what were our best options for gluten free. This place is a little spendy and I think it just reaches justification for its price point. I would consider coming back for a date or special occasion. read more

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Have been there many times in the past but last night and tonight were subpar at best. Thank god for grappa cured salmon - simply delicious. Veal piccata is good but not great. Food presentation is sloppy and not appealing....side of penne arrabiata last night was Olive Garden level at best. Bar seats are way too jammed together... Done goin here - will leave it to the conventioneers and tourists... read more

Even with reservations, table isn't available. A couple in front of me had no reservations and got a table immediately. There was a protest today and screwed things up and they were not going to save tables I'm sure for late arrivals. We were 15 minutes late due to the street closures. The food was delicious. The place is clean and very busy. The space felt tight, but the food was delectable. The strawberry cocktail drink was sweet and tasty. The arancini satisfied my need for a fried crunchy and creamy mouth feel. We had to try the homemade pasta and the truffle ravioli was ever so fabulous. For dinner, I chose the chicken Marsala. It was served over a creamy polenta. I think I prefer a crispy polenta. The dish was good, but chuck full of onion. I wasn't a fan. Regardless, a great meal. The sangria was so satisfying as well. Ask for bread to sop up the sauces in your dish or olive oil! Yum read more

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I have loved Marcella's and have been coming for years but tonight it gets a 1 due to the service. Thay is how bad it was. From checking in at the hostess, to taking us back to our assigned table, to the waitress, to asking the staff for a bag for our box to go, it was all bad bad bad. I was there a few weeks ago and service was lacking but wrote it off to a bad evening. Tonight it was bad enough to write and leave a 1 star review. Upset I spent even $1 here. read more

I wanted to love this spot so badly, and upon arrival I thought we would! Made reservations and were seated quickly. Got wine to share, ordered calamari. It was ok, nothing that wowed me or was crazy good...felt standard commercial to me. We got the chicken parmesan, and it was decent? Again not bad not great, but left me feeling wanting a more unique taste or flavor. What really drove us crazy was the service. This place was slammed, and our server was truly doing her best, but everything took foooooooreeevvvveeerrrrr. I think we almost spent 4 hours at this restaurant and I have never felt cabin fever and ecstatic to leave and get fresh air. Ok good for ok experience but I'm not jumping to come back anytime soon. read more

We had a GREAT time, as always. Marcella's is such a staple in short north and if you have the server, Sam, he is TOP NOTCH. The guy truly cares about his customers and was incredible. I'm going to ask for him every time I come. read more

Sam absolutely crushed it. Highly recommend him to any larger parties. Great with recommendations - great overall dining experience.

Marcella's is a staple spot for me in Short North. I have taken family and friends there and never disappointed. Food - well prepared pasta dishes! I have tried several pasta here and all of them are pretty good. Would say it's on the smaller portion size but make sense for the price point. I would pick here if you want something before bar hopping without getting too full. Cocktails are good too. Service - it's a hit or miss. Sometimes the place gets busy and the service can be slow depending on the server. Parking - plenty of paid parking garage nearby. Reservation can be made on OpenTable which is always a plus! read more

Marcella's - Veal Meatball. It's good and they serve it in a cute little Staub Dutch oven. - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

A big solid "meh". Had a bite are the bar and the staff was really bad; tough to get their attention to both places and order, refresh drinks and get the check. And the food was mediocre at best - way too overpriced for what you get. Forno and Basi are much better options. read more

We randomly came across this restaurant just walking down the street on high Street They had a line before they opened, which made us super curious decided to stand it once we got in we were a little confused and wide and line was happening, but once we got our drinks, ordered an appetizer and got our Bill. They're happy hours amazing a lot of people in there so I could see why the line was forming first come first serve in the bar area . Had two espresso martinis, espresso, totally worth it read more

The food and service were great as usual. I was, however, disappointed going to the restroom. The hallway leading to the restrooms was cluttered with extra tables and chairs. While the restroom was technically accessible, no one in a wheelchair would have been able to use them because access was blocked. I was very disappointed in this disrespect for any customer that would not have been able to use a restroom. read more

I'm usually a big fan of Marcella's but they really let us down this past weekend. Service was extremely slow and the food was not good. We ordered the penne with extra Vodka sauce (3 separate orders) and they each came completely sauce less. The noodles were still hard at parts. When we asked for more sauce it came 15 minutes later so the food was cold. The sauce at that point resembled a tomato bisque consistency rather than pasta sauce. 2.5hrs at the restaurant and we also only got served 2 drinks because of the slow service. read more

Marcella's - Penne alla vodka - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Still eating dinner here each summer for the past 10 years. Marcella's never lets any of our friends or customers down. Thank you!

Just had a great dinner here. Excellent Italian restaurant I had the Caesar salad with anchovies. The anchovies were fantastic and they are the good white anchovies. I also had the baked rigatoni that has a very good meat sauce. I sat at the bar because I was alone and Cody was an excellent bartender. I would definitely return. read more

Marcella's - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Went in at 5pm on a Tuesday, the place is empty and they proceed to tell me all the tables are full and they can't get us in until 8pm. Poor management, how does a restaurant not have sit down tables?! read more

Me and a few friends went i myself am not a big italian fan but.... Wow just wow the apps were bomb the meatball alone is worth the visit the cocktails were original and so tasty, i will say this is definitely a more adult atmosphere so maybe not for the whole family but dont let that turn you away everything we had and we ordered a ton of things was on point, and the waitress and staff were very friendly and helpful, will definitely return. read more

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I enjoyed the lasagna and my guest had spaghetti. Both were good but could use a little more flavor. If you have a craving for pasta this is a decent choice. read more

Fantastic atmosphere. The burrata was fresh and creamy and will definitely get again. The Caesar salad was very good with house made croutons. We had the pizza that was good but hands down the best part of the night was the dessert. Tiramisu was delicious and not too overpowering with coffee flavor. The cannoli was my wife's favorite. Huge shout out to Dia and her orientee who went out of their way to get our 2 year old daughter a plate of cut grapes cause she didn't want the cantaloupe read more

First time here was a delicious success. The vibes here are immaculate--perfect for an intimate date night or a fun happy hour with friends. From the dinner and dessert menu: Calamari Homemade Fettuccine with their well known tender Braised Veal Meatball Gnocchi con Bolognese Veal Picatta Seasonal Cherry tart with vanilla bean ice cream and Pistachio cannolis White and Red Sangias Main point here is to GET THE MEATBALL AND THEIR PASTAS. You won't regret it. The veal was not our fave but everything else was amazing! I would definitely come back here again for a happy hour, especially with patio seasoning here. The service was also very nice, you'll be treated like kings and queens. read more

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One of my favorite places in Columbus to get happy hour. It was my first time going alone and I was seated near the window, it was a nice summer atmosphere. The deals and the food are so good. My favorite from this meal was the Italian wedding soup, it was so good. And service was great. read more

Marcella's - Italian wedding soup - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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We had a group of 10 and the staff treated us fantastic. We had the last few people in our reservation late and our server was very kind about us stalling. I can't say that would always be the case depending on how busy they are, but set the tone for a great meal. The food was very good as my partner and I split a salad and an entree. The cost seemed a bit expensive compared to Italian in other parts of the city. But it is also expected to pay a premium in the Short North. read more

We visited Marcella's during a weekend trip to Columbus, and I can't say enough great things about this restaurant. Their homemade pasta dishes are out of this world. I had the brazed lamb bolognese, and I ended up mentally obsessing over it for two days afterward. The Italian house salad was equally impressive, as was the service. When I make dinner reservations months in advance in a city I don't visit very often, it seems like my success ratio is about 50/50. Sometimes the restaurant exceeds expectations, and other times, you just want to get up and leave. Marcella's was a Perfect 10 in every respect. read more

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Marcella's serves decent food in a manufactured Italian setting. I would come back here again, but price point is a little too much for the portion size. read more

We had a great time. We had to wait quite some time for a table as we added a person on our party. Once we got seated the server was a little out of sorts after what had been a very long and busy shift. It all was fixed with some delicious food and friendly service. I had the penne pasta which was huge and very flavorful. We also shared the meatball and several appetizers. Finished with tiramisu. So good. The apple with fontina cheese app is incredible. read more

Marcella's - Meatball - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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I'm very excited to say that even in the middle of a pandemic and during the hustle and bustle of Restaurant Week, Marcella's has earned a fifth star in my book! My sister and I made reservations for dinner on the Friday evening of Restaurant Week. Both of us have only been out to eat a few times since March and while we were weary, we were excited for a reason to put on makeup and heels for some sister time. We arrived right on time and we were shown to our table right away. I specifically requested a table that was tucked away and we got a great spot in a corner near the windows. I'm picky about where I sit and this was much appreciated. We shared a Restaurant Week meal, added calamari, and a bottle of wine. As always, the Restaurant Week menu is a steal and everything was great. We shared the arancini and calamari as we enjoyed our bottle of wine. The salad came out next and they split the salad for us, which was a surprise and very sweet of them. My sister loved her chicken parm and I snacked on her side of pasta. It was just enough food and drink for us both and we were both very pleased. It was my sister's first time having the arancini and she was obsessed. I have to add that our server was a sweetheart and very attentive.They also had a lot of safety measures set in place. All staff in masks, tables spaced out, etc. We felt safe the entire time. We'll be back! read more

Marcella's - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Came here for dinner while on a business trip and LOVED IT. Everything had was absolutely delicious and the staff is also so friendly! Would return! read more

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The food was amazing!!! The service impeccable! Couldn't recommend Marcella's any higher!

Good Service!!! Celebrate my wife birthday!! Everything was good!! Good Service!!! Celebrate my wife birthday!! Everything was good!! read more

Marcella's - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Stopped by Marcella's for happy hour and loved it all. Citrus sangria, veal meatball was HUGE and the Italian wedding soup is the best around. Mira was our server and she was quick, attentive and professional. Knowledgeable about the menu and great suggestions as well! 10/10 will be back read more

Marcella's - Arancini!!! Wow. - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

MARCELLA'S Marcella's is certainly a place you need to hit while staying near the Short North. I ordered the Baked Rigatoni and the Fried Calamari. The rigatoni came with a pork meat sauce and melted mozzarella. Overall the texture of the pasta was the perfect Al dente. The sauce was also delicious but it almost felt like it was lacking the silkiness from other Italian places I've had. Overall this is a OK solid dish but I'm convinced I can find a more superior version of this elsewhere. 7/10 The calamari is a must at this restaurant in my opinion. These guys were perfectly cooked and the fried zucchini on this dish really won me over. 10/10 I paid $21 for the Baked Rigatoni and $16 for the Fried Calamari Overall I would say comparable to a maggianos but with smaller portions. Verdict - Not a WOW but a SOLID good/okay. This is a safe bet to go. Date night atmosphere or a cute dressy lunch out. OK value and OK portion read more

Marcella's - Calamari - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I'm town for work and Marcella's was right down the street from my hotel. I sat at the bar and the service was a little slower but perfectly pleasant. I had just missed happy hour and was a little bummed about but they guided me to a tasty wine and I had the Italian salad and carbonara. Very tasty! read more

Marcella's - Carbonara - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Six strikes and you're out. I gave this place numerous chances. Unfortunately, I've been to the short north location probably five times over the last few years and the Polaris location once and have been disappointed every single time. The portions are large and flavorless. Unless you consider watery tomato sauce and salt to be flavor. Service is just okay... waiters always seem like they're doing the bare minimum. And the short north location is nice when the windows are open in the summer but otherwise at dinner it's dark and so loud it's hard to carry on a conversation. If someone invites me here again for a bday party I'll skip dinner and go to Wendy's instead. Maybe I come across as mean, but they're taking good money and I leave unhappy every time. Won't be back. Ever. read more

My favorite place when visiting columbus! We've been here quite a few times now and I crave it ALL THE TIME! The homemade fettuccine with Alfredo and one of their giant meat balls is my favorite! We always get their charcuterie as well! Very very good! Service is always great and the feeling you get when walking in is very welcoming and homey! Absolutely love it there, definitely give it a try!! read more

Marcella's - Fettuccine carbonara - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

It's funny ... I was here and wanting to speak to the manager about our experience here the other night ... And while I was waiting to speak to them, ANOTHER patron is telling her friend that she's an Elite reviewer for Yelp and wants to voice her disappointment about the meal... and she had the EXACT SAME FEEDBACK!!! Our whole meal was like on speed-dial. Everything was rushed out, but no space was given to enjoy and savor ... or have a good time ... No sooner did the appetizer arrive, then the entrees were dumped on our table... so of course those got cold as we rushed thro the appetizers. While we were still eating the entrees, our waitress came by asking if we wanted dessert... my friend had had it and finally said, "We are trying to enjoy our dinner!" Not sure if we had the same server or this is their overall MO - but if you're dropping over $160 for a modest dinner for 2... you deserve to ENJOY it... at regular speed... NOT ON FAST FORWARD!!! Whatever this is about ... they lost some potential future customers that might! A lot of great places on this small stretch of Short North ... try one of them. Thank you. read more

Marcella's - Italian Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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