Marcella’s Italian Restaurant

Absolutely nothing beats authentic Italian cuisine. Picture this: you are in an Italian café enjoying delicious authentic cuisine made with the freshest ingredients and traditional recipes with your friends and family. Sounds like a perfect way to spend a day doesn’t it?

Although you might not be able to go on that trip to Italy you can certainly enjoy the same quality of authentic Italian cuisine right here in Syracuse. If you are interested in enjoying true Italian flavors then look no further than Marcella’s. Marcella’s Italian Restaurant is open daily and located at the Clarion Inn & Suites Fairgrounds at 100 Farrell Road in Syracuse.
Marcella’s Italian restaurant boasts the most authentic Italian cuisine in Syracuse because the owner, Fabio, is (as he puts it) right off the boat! He has brought traditional recipes and dishes with him from Italy. Fabio goes the extra mile to ensure authenticity and every dish served at Marcella’s is prepared to order. At Marcella’s nearly everything is made from scratch. They make bread, salad dressing, pastas, sauces and even desserts in their kitchen and the flavors and freshness is unbelievable.
Marcella’s Italian Restaurant has an extensive menu with options that are sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. They also offer gluten free and vegetarian options to accommodate diners with dietary restrictions. They offer customers options ranging from salads and sandwiches to gigantic entrees. Start your meal with house made Brusketta (Bruschetta), a generous toasted ciabatta bread topped with homemade fresh tomato and basil topping and melted mozzarella. If you go to Marcella’s you absolutely should not pass up the homemade pasta. Try it in the Linguini Pesto (Linguini al pesto) Made with homemade linguini and basil sauce or the Spaghetti With Fresh Tomato Basil (Spaghetti con pomodoro fresco e basilico) Homemade spaghetti quickly sautéed with fresh tomato, garlic, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Nothing beats an excellent Alfredo sauce and Marcella’s has one of the best you will ever have. Try the alfredo in Chicken And Broccoli (Pollo e broccoli) served over homemade pasta tossed with grilled chicken and broccoli in Alfredo sauce, the Tortellini Chicken Alfredo (Tortellini con pollo all’Alfredo) Homemade cheese tortellini, tossed with grilled chicken and our homemade Alfredo sauce, or the Seafood Alfredo (Frutti di mare all’Alfredo) served with your choice of pasta with fresh crab meat, shrimp and scallops in Alfredo sauce. Marcella’s also offers some authentic Italian cuisine that you won’t find anywhere this side of Italy. Try the unique flavors of the Peppered Mussels (Pepata di cozze) with fresh black mussels sautéed in a lightly peppered garlic wine or marinara sauce served over homemade pasta, Veal Milanese (Costoletta alla milanese) with a 10oz veal chop lightly breaded and pan fried finished with fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper, served with chili mayonnaise, or the Eggplant Rolatini (Rolatini di melanzane) with rolled eggplant stuffed with gorgonzola, ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella prepared in marinara sauce. No matter what you have at Marcella’s be sure to save room for dessert. The Panna Cotta is made fresh and the flavor changes daily!

We went to Marcella’s on a mild Wednesday evening. We were immediately seated by our friendly server. She explained that the authentic cuisine was made to order and answered all of our questions. We decided to begin our meal with an order of the Fried Calamari (Calamari fitti), a large helping of delicious and tender calamari tossed in semolina flour and fried, finished with a pinch of salt and a twist of lemon and served with homemade marinara sauce. You could taste the freshness in every bite and it was perfectly seasoned. For an entrée Derry decided on the Eggplant Parmigiana (Melanzane alla parmigiana) served with a marinara sauce. The thinly sliced and lightly friend eggplant was complemented perfectly by the marinara sauce. For my entrée I decided on the Peppered Mussels (Pepata di cozze), a huge dish of fresh black mussels sautéed in a lightly peppered garlic wine sauce served over homemade linguine. The dish reminded me of something you would eat while gazing into the Mediterranean. The mussels were perfectly complemented by the pepper and garlic. For dessert we decided to split a cannoli. A homemade cannoli is always the best way to end a meal!

If you are looking for authentic Italian cuisine then there is no better place than Marcella’s Italian Restaurant. Stop by Marcella’s today! Your taste buds will thank you!

Nadine Vandewalker