Home > Des Moines Restaurants > Editorial Review > Editorial Juice Review: Marino's Italian Restaurant

Remember that noodle-slurping scene from Disney's "Lady and the Tramp?" If they ever make a live-action version, Marino's would be the perfect setting. Tucked in a Beaverdale strip mall, the cozy little Italian restaurant is just right for a casual date.

THE GOOD
From the red-and-white checked tablecloths to the pseudo-opera Andrea Bocelli music, everything about Marino's exudes Italian charm (or, at least, the kind of Americanized Italian charm that inspired a frisky Dean Martin to croon lyrics like "Buona sera signorina, kiss me goodnight!"). Tall wooden booths line the walls, decorated with sunny photos of Rome and the Amalfi coast. A handful of tables, each topped with a vase and a fake flower, fill the two dining rooms.

The menu is classic: pizzas, sandwiches, calzones, salads and pastas, both tossed and baked. On a recent Wednesday night, my friend had a 10-inch pizza topped with sundried tomatoes and perfectly wilted, bright green spinach. The cornmeal-dusted crust was just right - not too doughy, but thick enough to eat by hand.

My eggplant parmigiana sandwich was a bit of a surprise, because it looked more like an open-ended calzone than a traditional sandwich made with sliced bread. The filling was wrapped in dough and then baked to a crispy, golden brown.

To keep our bill under $20, we skipped dessert, but the quietly friendly, able waitress tempted us with tiramisu and spumoni.

Had we been thinking ahead, we would have brought in a bottle of wine. While Marino's doesn't sell it themselves, they invite diners to bring in their own - for dinner only - and don't charge a corking fee.

THE BAD
While the pizza was fresh and well balanced, my sandwich was basically a dressed-up pile of melted cheese. And when I tried the baked ziti on a different visit, I wasn't convinced that the dish was anything I couldn't make for less money at home. The marinara sauce was sweet and full of tomato flavor but uninteresting.

BOTTOM LINE

Marino's is a comfortable neighborhood restaurant seasoned with enough amore to make it romantic. If you like traditional Italian fare, it's perfect - but head elsewhere if you like surprises.

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