Ambiance is great at night, our waiter was certainly prioritizing other tables besides us unfortunately. The carbonara lacked flavor, but the spicy sauce that normally comes with the bread was an amazing additive. I got the short rib pasta and it was very good. The 3 piece drink was great too. It was $24 and my small bowl of pasta was $34. read more

Marisi - Pornstar martini - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

Marisi is such a charming spot, it's floral, romantic, and gives you that perfect little Italian escape right in La Jolla. I came here for a birthday dinner with girlfriends, and we had such a blast. The space is beautifully designed and makes you want to dress up and savor every moment. The pasta is the star of the show so both the bolognese and the pesto were absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly. I also loved the cocktail menu, especially their cheeky three-part drink called the Pornstar Martini...it had us all giggling. I opted for a classic dirty martini, and it was perfectly done. We finished the meal with espresso made in-house, which was a lovely touch. This place is ideal for a special occasion or just a fun night out with friends. It's polished but still playful, and definitely one of my favorite new finds. read more

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I would recommend making reservations no matter the night of the week. It's always pretty busy. The food is great. We always get the short rib pasta. The focaccia is amazing. It's very cool inside with a cool vibe. A great place for date night, birthday, or girls night. read more

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Amazing vibes and delicious Italian food. I found Marisi on Instagram that showcased the restaurant during daylight. I saw how beautiful the patio area was and thought it'd be perfect to enjoy a nice brunch vibes - 9/10 Their patio area is so lovely! We got a table for two, and the seats were angled so that we could face the street and enjoy the scenery and sun. The brunch menu is rather limited, and our waiter told us that they only recently started serving brunch and are more known for dinner. This is surprising to me because their patio looks like it would be best suited for daylight! The waiter also explained to me that there's outdoor seating which is uncovered and along the sidewalk, and then there's their patio seating which is covered and has better decor. Rigatoni - 8/10 this is exactly what I expect from a good spicy pasta Eggs in Purgatory - 7/10 my partner ordered this and enjoyed it. Overall, Marisi is a good choice if you're searching for nice Italian dining or a lovely brunch day in San Diego. read more

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The front dest server( Mia?) is the WORST server I ever met in the 100+ restaurants in SD!!Despite we arrived to the restaurant 5 minutes prior to "the reservation time", we've requested to be patiently waiting outside for 15 more mins until the table was ready, After a long wait, MIA took us to a tiny corner table(for 2-3ppl the most) and asked my 2 teen girls to squeeze into one person seating spot!! When I requested to change to any regular 4 ppl seating table , Mia just threw us an impossible & very unfriendly face to ignore our request. I had to call the manager to raise our concerns then able to change to the regular 4ppl table. This is definitely NOT the service to welcome the guests. I really miss the original restaurant, Whiskndale, at the same location years ago.... read more

We celebrated an early Valentine's day at Marisi this year, made reservations via OpenTable. The interior design is very trendy and they take advantage of open sight lines to the kitcThe service was great once seated with our host attending to us quickly, placed our order right away and apps arriving minutes later. We had the apple burrata w/ rosemary crackers and focaccia w/ Calabrian pepper sauce, the focaccia was the star of our meal definitely recommend! For mains we had the rigatoni and bolognese, both solid pasta options. Only slightly sour note was our seats were pretty tight quarters, barely enough space between my seat and the bar seating to walk thru. read more

Marisi - Burrata and Focaccia - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

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good first experience. We came here the day before Valentine's Day, & even though it was a full restaurant, service was always attentive & quick. You can tell the pasta really is homemade. Our 2 pastas were yummy. We finished everything. I also liked their version of their burrata app, different but i liked it. Decor & ambiance are beautiful. From the table top, to the high ceilings, to the light fixtures, to the wallpaper-really aesthetic. The indoor area by the bar was cramped though. We sat at a table by the bar & it was a tight squeeze to get to our seats. & we felt like we were seated oddly close between other tables. Other than that, the experience was nice & would come back here again to try their other menu items. read more

Marisi - Table setting - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

Fantastic date night restaurant. This place has great vibes, awesome decor, and superior service. My wife and I loved the place the moment we walked in. The colors and accents are so elegant and vibrant. Decor-5/5 stars! It's beautiful inside. From the street to the restroom, it's all top notch and no expense was spared when decorating this place. It's elegant and inviting. Service-5/5 stars. Our server was great and made great recommendations. Food-4/5 stars. Don't get me wrong, the apps were splendid and packed with flavor. Burrata-5/5 stars. This app was so good and creamy. The burrata and roasted peaches were a combination made in heaven. It truly had the chefs kiss. Beet salad-5/5 stars. I didn't think there was a better app than the burrata, but this was. The goat cheese was a great compliment to the beets. The raspberries and pistachios worked like an orchestra working together. Pasta-4/5 stars. The short rib and bolognese was good, but it didn't blow is way. I also would've liked to see more entree options. All in all, we had an amazing experience and we will go back for date night again. Well done guys. read more

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Very cool ambiance, decor, and good service. Nice for a date that doesn't care about the food. Cesarina is much better Overall the food was mediocre Little gem was great Green bean side was good Short rib pasta was terrible Ravioli was too sweet, sauce was good but had so much garlic (both in volume and in size) it was practically inedible read more

Marisi - Little Gem - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

The ambience is nice , a little loud inside and out but otherwise, good. The outdoor covered patio is a nice choice as it has the feeling of being inside but yet provides the fresh air. We were seated promptly as we had reservations. However, we sat unattended for approximately 15 minutes. It was not busy at the time we sat down. There were 2 other parties of 4 already seated. Our server Christina was polite but not too attentive to us. She attended to a table that was seated after us, prior to coming over to introduce herself. The food was good. Especially enjoyed the roasted beets! We ordered the whole chicken and the pasta which were flavorful. The Lemoncello, hit the spot! The food felt like it took a very long time to arrive. Overall, it wasn't bad. Only 4 stars because service was not up to par. If I could give 4.5 I would. read more

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We went for dinner last night it was delicious. We had 6:30 dinner reservations but they were able to get us in at 5 as we got there early. We started with the olives and beet and little gem salad which was big . We also ordered the loaf of bread sorry no picture. Rory was our server and he did great! Then came our pasta dishes. We decided to try the ice cream for desert. It was a good thing we parked around the corner as we needed to walk! read more

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Hands down, this is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to. I've traveled to Italy many times and often crave the authentic flavors I've had there, something that's usually hard to find here. But Marisi absolutely delivered. My husband is a huge fan of carbonara, and the way they prepare it at Marisi is truly fantastic. We ordered the carbonara steak and the Crudo appetizer, both dishes were absolutely delicious. We live in Orange County, but after this experience, we've decided to make the trip to Marisi once a month. It's just that good. The service was exceptional, our waiter was incredibly welcoming and fun. Honestly, the customer service was some of the best I've ever experienced. Marisi is a fantastic spot all around. Highly recommended. read more

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10/10 Girl Dinner Deal!!! Absolutely amazing experience with my girlfriends we will definitely be coming back! You get focaccia bread, a small Caesar salad, spicy rigatoni, and a spritz (NA drink option available). We ordered the lemon tiramisu for dessert and it was amazing! We made a reservation and were sat immediately. Everything tasted so good and the perfect portions! Hop on this deal! read more

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Focaccia ($11) tomato carpaccio ($21) spicy rigatoni ($28) and the wines were all delicious. We had to sit at the bar because the wait for a table was 4.5 hours on a Sunday evening, so definitely make a reservation since walking up doesn't work. The bar has 12 seats total for first come, first served. The bartenders are very attentive and nice. Parking is also tricky, so plan ahead for this especially if you don't want to pay for a lot spot (most are $2.50 for 15 mins). Super cute atmosphere and decorations, not good for large parties (mostly 2 tops). read more

I called months in advance to ask about making a reservation for a bachelorette dinner and was told that reservations were not accepted, and that we should come in the day of. When we arrived as instructed, the host immediately asked if we had a reservation. After explaining the prior conversation from months ago, we were met with, "I don't know who you talked to," which was both dismissive and frustrating. This experience was really disappointing, especially for a special occasion that required planning. I hope the restaurant can improve communication among staff so future guests receive consistent and accurate information. read more

so pretty here! Went to to celebrate a few friends birthdays and was super fun! Food was decent but i'm not big on italian food. What is really awesome about Marisi is the ambience. The service was very good too! Def recommend! read more

I grew up in La Jolla and my family has been there since the late 1980s so I have been to all the different restaurants that have been in this location. I would say that Marisi is one of my favorites of all of them. It has changed countless owners over the decades, but this is definitely one of the best versions that's been in this location. I know it's popular for brunch, but we decided to stop in for dinner based on positive reviews from our other friends that have stopped in recently. Inside is beautifully done and very open. There are very large windows that let in the breeze and the outdoor dining area is really beautiful with vines hanging down and beautiful lights mixed in between them. Inside also has a small bar and has a very hip and trendy vibe. It's just really well designed. Parking in the area can be a bit tricky but La Jolla parking is available quickly so if you just circle the block you'll find a place or you can do a pay lot on the same block. Our server was very polite and everything that we ordered came out very fast. The menu has a lot of great options on it so it was hard to choose what I wanted to order. For my first visit I decided to start off with the Roasted Bone Marrow and thought it was fantastic. It is literally a cow's femur and I would say this is the largest bone marrow, in terms of size, that I've ever had. Definitely the largest bone I have had. It had some great flavors and was a wonderful start to the meal. For my entrée, I chose the Branzino and thought it was also great. The herb seasoning on top was pretty strong, but I liked it so it really added to the flavors. It also wasn't as bony as other Branzinos that I've had recently and I just really loved it. We finished the meal with a Cappuccino and some Soft Serve and overall had a wonderful time. I would highly recommend to anyone in or visiting La Jolla and I already want to come back in the future to try more items. read more

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My best friend and I chose this restaurant to celebrate our engagement, and it exceeded my expectations! With the rise of social media, I always have to be wary of food venues prioritizing looks/photogenics over the quality of the food. It's safe to say that you don't have to worry about that with Marisi. With such a beautiful atmosphere, delicious bites AND equally wonderful staff, I'd love to come back to Marisi and recommend it to my friends for their special occasions! Denise, our waitress for the evening, made it extra special, so ask for her if you get the chance!! read more

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The décor of the place was really beautiful, the service from the waiters and their team was excellent, and the food was delicious. One thing I recommend is ordering dishes to share instead of individual plates. The cocktails they offer are highly recommended as well. read more

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What a cute, aesthetic looking restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed our food. The carbonara pasta was handmade and very fresh which paired well with a 12 ounce hanger steak. Our server was very nice as well. It was pretty busy, so make sure you make a reservation. Right in the heart of town. read more

Marisi - 12 oz hanger steak - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

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Friend and I came here for the girl dinner for the 1st time, food was good but the service was disappointing. Felt unwanted during our entire night. Also, noticed from watching videos of the girl dinner experience beforehand, we were not served the complete bread portion we paid for, as we were given only a quarter of the amount. It was advertised online / shown in videos by other customers that they received the full bread portion. Would not return due to the poor service provided. read more

Marisi - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

This restaurant is definitely a vibe. I do love sitting in the outdoor patio, not the actual outdoor patio but the one that's like inside the restaurant where it's open to the outside.. it almost feels like you're in one of those Vegas restaurants because when you walk by the design is very chic. Definitely make a reservation because the wait is painful even on a weekday which is when we went. Service was great people or attentive. The hostess was nice about the wait and apologized. For food we ordered the burrata, Caesar salad, short rib casarecce, bolognese parpadelle. For the most part, everything was good however, the Bolognese was not a great . The pasta came cold and the meat seem like it was like thawed and just quickly heated, and the noodles didn't have a good chew and it was all stuck together. read more

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My favorite place for pasta in La Jolla! It is located near La Jolla Cove so after going to the beach you can walk to the restaurant. The pasta is delicious; I've tried a few and my favorite is the rigatoni. Their focaccia is honestly my favorite thing on their menu. I would go just for the bread! It's perfectly seasoned and soft and goes great with the oil. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice! There is a bar seating inside and the kitchen is open so you can see dishes being made. The whole restaurant is decorated nicely. read more

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Horrible service! Had reservations but was seated inside. Service is slow and servers are rude.

I made a reservation for brunch on a Saturday, we were seated quickly upon arrival in the covered outdoor patio. The ambiance is lovely and the decor is beautiful!! We ordered the grilled toma cheese and little gem salad to start. The grilled cheese was great and really unique. The little gem salad was amazing, the sauce was on point! For entrees, we got the Italian dip sandwich and the carbonara pasta, both were wonderful! For my daughter we got a kids pasta with chicken which was also great. I really don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu. I really appreciated that they use quality ingredients, everything seems to be made from scratch and they use no seed oils in their cooking! Our waiter Nick was really nice and knowledgeable about the menu, and he checked on us frequently. Highly recommend this restaurant! read more

I've always walked past Marisi and it always had my attention because of the atmosphere. I finally checked it out for my sister's birthday and the food did not disappoint. We ordered the carpaccio, focaccia bread with the brown butter, and the ravioli. The carpaccio wasn't my favorite I've ever had but it was pretty decent. We loved the focaccia bread especially with the brown butter. The bread was pretty big and soft on the inside. The brown butter was really the staple for me and I would definitely buy it if I could! The squash ravioli was also super tasty and would highly recommend it. I would definitely come back here for a cute date night or for another celebration! read more

Marisi - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

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I finally had a chance to come here for my birthday this year. The service was top notch. The staff was friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and very attentive. There's a large outdoor space which is decorated beautifully. We ordered a bottle of wine which the bartender helped us pick out. We ordered an array of items to share; shrimp, crudo, beets, and short rib pasta. Everything was delicious. They surprised me with house made serve with a sparkler. So fun! We capped the meal with a house made aged limoncello. Definitely make sure to try this. It was phenomenal. read more

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Although the restaurant is beautiful and I did really enjoy some of the appetizers, I think i'd have to agree with another commenter that the place felt a bit pretentious. They're definitely going for a refined casual and upscale vibe, but I felt the experience did not live up to that. The bathroom, although very nice, was permeated by a grassy herby like scent that wasn't the most pleasant. Moving onto drinks, the Pornstar cocktail sounded interesting since it came with a side of champagne and passion fruit that you taste in succession, but personally for me had no cohesion. Next, it was almost painfully awkward how slowly the waitresses moved around the table clearing up the plates and silverware between each course. For how little food each dish comes with too, the platter change was almost excessive to me. While I highly recommend getting the burrata and focaccia, I felt their pastas were a bit too salty for my palate and definitely lacking in portion size. Good for a single but one dish is not really shareable. We tried all 6 pastas and the agnolotti was my favorite in terms of flavor but this probably had the least amount to eat. Rigatoni and bolognese would be my runner ups. Lastly, we came for a birthday and asked if they did anything for that in which they replied they do. For a place wanting to be upscale, you'd imagine they'd fork over at least a mini dessert especially considering we spent almost $600 but the only thing that came out was a sparkler stuck into a tiny cheap bottle of sand. read more

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The carpaccio was so unique ! Yummy drinks, tricky parking, beautiful ambiance, and kind service.

Had such a wonderful experience here and just had to share my appreciation. From the moment we arrived, the service was truly impeccable. The entire wait staff team, with Justin being the waiter (about five people) was friendly, professional, and incredibly welcoming. Even though the restaurant was busy, we never once felt unattended. At the same time, they struck the perfect balance of being attentive without ever making us feel interrupted or rushed. The attention to detail throughout the experience was remarkable. There were so many thoughtful little touches that elevated the evening and made it feel special. And the food--honestly, unexpectedly delicious. Every dish felt carefully prepared and beautifully presented. We enjoyed the Little gem Short Rib Pappardelle,.Chicken and mushrooms plate. For cocktails the Marisi Spritz and the Rossini. The décor is absolutely gorgeous and creates such a warm, inviting atmosphere. It ended up being the perfect setting for a mother-daughter date, but what I loved most was seeing how many different groups were enjoying the space. There were couples on date nights, families having dinner together, and groups of friends clearly having a great girls' night out. The space truly works beautifully for everyone. It's rare to find a place where the service, food, and ambiance all come together so effortlessly. Grateful for such a thoughtful and memorable experience. We will definitely be back! Reservations are recommended. read more

Bourbon!!! If you enjoy bourbon, they have a the actual Barrel in the restaurant!!! I thought it was just another form of strategic marketing but no the barrel has been here a year and a half, smooth as silk. The bartenders Max, Abraham, & Jack are amazing and the GM Carly is an incredible host. read more

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Just exceptional. We return from out of state every year to celebrate our anniversary and each time Marisi exceeds the last. They have the absolute BEST espresso martini. The food is top notch. Fresh, deeply balanced plates where you can taste the love and craft the chef and team put in. The pastas are INSANE. They had this newer tomato carpaccio appetizer that was literally out of this world. The vibes are upbeat yet still very romantic. Best of all, the service was personable, professional, and very attentive. Absolute standout. Thank you Michael and Karley for an amazing evening and anniversary! Only negative: that it takes us a plane ride to visit (worth it). See you again very soon! read more

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Very unpleasant experience, went there for a special occasion and drove around 1 hr to get there, place was very nice however service was not good. Server made us feel very uncomfortable additionally took forever on taking our order, a family that got there after us left (after eating) before we got our order taken. Was very disappointed. Server was Denise. read more

Marisi- this review is hard to write because I wanted so badly to love you! I found this place on TikTok and the atmosphere and food looked like a dream! My GF and I booked it for Saturday night as my birthday dinner. When we arrived after giving the information for the reservation we were seated and asked what we wanted to drink. My friend wasn't drinking and neither was I so we both just ordered water to start. I can tell this annoyed the server his attitude towards us changed after this. Soon after I ordered a Diet Coke. It took almost an hour to be able to order because our sever was intentionally ignoring us. It was so bad that I had to ask a buss boy that we wanted to order. A different sever took our order. We got the Focaccia bread to split and both ordered pastas. The food took awhile which was fine! Homemade pasta does. Mine was great she said some of her noodles weren't cooked. While we were having dinner my friend got a call about a family emergency and had to be on the phone. Our server was walking by and glaring at us. You could feel the disrespect. We didn't get dessert because at this point we both wanted to leave! I did get a sparkler thrown down and told happy birthday. In the most insincere way possible. I'm not sure why we were treated so poorly but my goodness. It was a terrible experience. The restaurant is beautiful but no one should be treated like this!! Please reach out! read more

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This was an unbelievably delicious meal. Here's why Marisi stands apart: We called & said due to traffic, we'll be 15min late. Chloe (hostess ) said no problem, pushed our res back, gave us grace & hospitality. Every member of the waitstaff was cheerful, helpful & knowledgeable. Our server Justin was top notch. The cocktails were delicious & the food punched above its weight class. Huge kudos to the bar & kitchen staff. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. Very well decorated & has a good noise volume. 6/5 stars. read more

We came here on a Saturday night and the food and vibes were solid. It is located in the heart of downtown la jolla so parking can be tough, but the streets around it are lively and cute. Crudo (5/5): I've never had yuzu in a crudo but I loved this dish. It was very refreshing. Rigatoni (5/5): I've never had homemade rigatoni but this was a wonderful dish. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce was simple but flavorful. One of the better tomato pastas I've had. Carbonara (3.5/5): This dish had good flavor and the pasta itself was delicious but it was extremely salty. My biggest complaints are that the prices are pretty steep for the portion sizes and that the service/pacing of the dishes was off. The gap between small plate and entree, and waiting for the check was long. read more

So delicious, excellent staff (hostess, server, bussers, start to finish so good). Detail oriented group, making sure sun wasn't blaring at our faces with the use of umbrellas, brought out the heaters when the sun started to dip. The food was 10/10. Denise was our server, and her recommendations and vibe were on point. Definitely will be back. read more

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Such a cute spot and nice ambiance- food was good! Its a great place to try out! The service was great as well!

I had such a great time celebrating our anniversary here! Maiah was a great service and so attentive. She made our night feel incredibly special! read more

Marisi - Italian Near Me - La Jolla, California

This review is for the food and ambiance! Loved the outside patio seating area. Ordered the cinnamon pistachio rolls which were the main reason I came. 5 stars! I mean just look at the picture and no need for words. The carbonara was creamy and garlicky! Yum! No picture, sorry. read more

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