Ordered take out. No marinara provided for the cheese sticks and the antipasto salad had no dressing and looked like they took a jar of pickled vegetables threw some cheese and meat on it. This is what a large looked like. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Large antipasta salad- pathetic. - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

This is the very definition of a family run restaurant. The owner, is a capable super sweet lady. The foods pretty good, the place has the charm of one of those dimly lit clubs up around Hollywood/Burbank from the 60's. Was recently in the last month used for the new Sean Penn and Decaprio movie, they have the pics with their family to show. Good prices too. Wholesome home made Italian. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Sean Penn and staff members. - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

We always enjoy the Appetizers along with their house wine & the best margaritas! The ambiance is a relaxing one! I love listening to the classic Italian music as we enjoy the food! The waitress is super friendly and always makes our visits feel very welcoming! read more

Great customer service, They have been around for about 40 years, we felt like we were part of their family, fresh ingredients and great quality. Highly recommend read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Mushroom and pepperoni pizza - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

I had dinner here with my son, who recently moved to the area. Love the warm atmosphere, charmingly antiquated having been around for 60 years, with hand painted murals. The prices were very reasonable, and the service was friendly and wonderful. I had a pesto and shrimp pasta (delicious) which was a hefty portion and came with a green salad and garlic bread, all for under $20. It'll definitely be our go-to place in a street full of chains. read more

1 star is VERY generous considering the pesto spaghetti I ordered was served naked. My husband ordered Fettuccine Alfredo; which I had also tried in search of a DROP of flavor. His Alfredo tasted like noodles swimming in pure cream, reminiscent of a warm soggy bowl of unsweetened cereal with milk. The only part of our meal that was finished was the garlic bread, which were literal French loaves slathered in margarine & dusted with paprika. It's pretty hard to mess up something as simple as garlic bread, but I am impressed with how horribly they missed the mark on that one. They could've at the very least put GARLIC on the GARLIC BREAD. This entire meal was horrible & I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. The lack of effort they put into the food they serve is embarrassing. If I had known the food would be this horrible I would've preferred to spend my money on ingredients to make this exact meal at home. I included a bonus pic of one of the side salads we were given. It had the most flavor out of everything we had ordered but as you can see, it's a sad excuse of a salad. Seriously, don't go here. A can of Vienna sausages from the dollar store has more flavor than anything you can order from here. read more

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Scammed ME!!! I ordered pizza from Grubhub last night and the restaurant was closed. Grubhub still charged my card and Marco's wrote me back saying our order was ready for pickup. This is completely wrong on their end. Pissed & will never order from here again. read more

A family favorite! Food is delicious and service is wonderful. Happy customers who will continue to order from.

I've lived in the Imperial beach area for over 20 years and never ate at this Restaurant. This past Saturday, I ordered a large speciality pizza and a medium pepperoni pizza and garlic cheese bread. I'm only making a review on their pizza and I have to say that I was not impressed with the quality and taste of the pizza or the garlic bread. I figured that Marcos is an Italian restaurant, so they should have decent pizza. Not the case het read more

Waitress excellent, she wasn't hovering over us but kept eye contact for anything needed. Chef/owner came out for conversation & gave us brief history on the family owned business. Food was served promptly and hot. Spaghetti meal for 2 people was delicious and plentiful. Definitely going back. read more

Me and my boyfriend ordered food here on a whim. I got linguine scampi and he got spaghetti and mozzarella sticks. The mozzarella sticks were NOT cooked all the way through and were very doughy. The bread that come on the side of the bland pasta was stale tasting. It was disappointing to say the least read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Linguine Scampi - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

Tonight I ordered itallian for my wife and I. Simple, easy staples, as we were hungry and wanted something we knew. She ordered the salmon, with a baked potato and side salad. I ordered lasagna, also with a side salad, and some bruschetta. We ordered cheese garlic bread as well. I can honestly say that in 40 years of living, 21 of which I have been traveling the globe, this is the single worst attempt at itallian food I have ever eaten. First, the garlic bread came with a spicy red coating, not a hint of garlic or so much as a flake of cheese. The bruschett was somehow watery, which is impressive on toast, though the tomato was covered is so much oil that if I had to guess, America is about to invade it. My wife's salmon was dry, having clearly been overcooked and without flavor of any sort. My lasagna was a casserole, or maybe a soup, but can't possibly be identified as the layered pasta dish I love so much. I uncovered this only after delving down through another showing of the previously mentioned watery, oily tomato, to discover one lasagna sheet and untouched and unheated cheese that looks like it came out of a caulk gun. I threw the meal out immediately, as I didn't want to subject the flies that occasionally find my trash can to the disappointment this meal would bring them. The resturant should be ashamed. read more

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I haven't been to an authentic Italian restaurant in a while so coming here fulfilled my cravings. I got the pesto gnocchi and riesling as my drink of choice. I love white wine and the riesling was a good choice. The pesto gnocchi tasted nice. I liked that the pesto sauce was homemade, which added to the authenticity. The service was good as well. I didn't have to wait long for my food to arrive. The ambience felt like home and it was comfortable to be in. I would come back here again. read more

It gets one star simply because the hot food was hot. The salad, however, had chunks of ice and was swimming in water. The wings were like rubber, and any respectable lasagna would be embarrassed to be called lasagna if it could see and taste this one. I tried calling before my review to allow the restaurant to explain, but sadly, no one answered the phone. read more

Ordered twice from this place to make sure I didn't just get disappointing service the first time. Both times I ordered their "Franks Deluxe" everything pizza & garlic cheesy bread (hard to screw up either of those, you'd think)... Both times, the pizza had enough "stuff" of it, but the sauce was terrible!! Bland, boring, no flavor, & tasted like it came directly out of a can. Would it kill y'all PLEASE actually use ITALIAN spices to flavor it while simmering it?? The cheese was ok, but definitely didn't taste like any mozzarella that I'm used to, being of Italian heritage AND lived in Naples, IT (the birthplace of pizza as we know it); it seemed like it was from somewhere else. Also, with the thick-crust option it definitely was not well-cooked on the inside; it was still wet-doughy to me. Their standard, thin-crust version was ok. The garlic cheese bread was again, just "ok." Same weird mozzarella with just a little butter baked onto some loaf bread. Very little actual detectable garlic flavor, powdered OR crushed-type from a jar. Upon delivery, with a pre-paid 15% tip for being only a few blocks away, it was just unceremoniously plopped on my doormat with no door knock to let me know it was there...when there is a fully empty SHELF next to the front door where they could have placed it to keep it OFF the ground & away from spiders/bugs that love to party in my entry porch. All-in-all, this is NOT a place I would recommend if you want a non-Dominoes "support small/local business" type of pizza & don't feel like cooking. Better to pay about the SAME/slightly more & order from either Filippis, Luigi's, or Pizza Port places closer into IB. Will not be ordering this yuck again, & definitely -NOT- willing to give them a shot for any pasta dishes. read more

I came here for dinner to try out their pasta. I was a little skeptical after reading such low reviews but I find out after eating here that their food was delicious. I ordered a pasta that had tomatoes, pieces of bacon and veggies sliced up in pasta. To start off, we got appetizers that had pieces of carrots, a slice of mozzarella cheese, a slice of pepperoni and celery pieces. Next came my salad with ranch. Fresh salad. My main course was delicious. Tasted like it had wine in it because it was very sour and had some alcohol in it. I drank a Diet Coke which tasted funny. It's okay. All the food was pretty tasty. For dessert, I got a vanilla ice cream with whip cream and a cherry on top. Best part was dessert! Our waitress was super nice but a little slow. Overall she did a great job of refilling our sodas. She was an older lady but really nice and made us feel at home. I would definitely come back here. Such a cute mom and pop place. It's family owned. Plenty of parking up front. read more

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Excellent pizza! And we are pizza snobs. Thin flaky crust, served piping hot. We had the pepperoni pizza and a tomato garlic and basil pizza with half marinara sauce and half pesto (pictured below). Others in our party ordered the meatball sub... it came out smelling and looking delicious with a slight bite to the meatballs. Excellent!! The fettuccine Alfredo with chicken was tasty and the shrimp fettuccine with pink sauce was to die for!!!! It's not on the menu, so ask for it! I personally had the Chicken Picatta... omg! Lemony and delicious. The chicken was tender and not previously frozen. Last, but certainly not least, we ordered the manicotti (pictured below) was sooo good. All of their pasta is homemade!!! This restaurant has been in business since 1964. It's family owned and operated. Andrea (our waitress) was super friendly and sweet. And they sang happy birthday to my sister in law, brought us a cheesecake and a fresh avocado from the tree in the back yard! Lol If you're looking for a family place with excellent food and not outrageous prices, Marco's Family Restaurant is the place to go!!! read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

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Great ambiance! The family that owns it is super friendly and accommodating. Loved their food--had pizza and pasta. Definitely recommend!

Hot Garbage. Pesto is watery, bread is hard as a rock, deliver order with no utensils, two appetizers(mozzarella sticks and fried zucchini) no ranch dip or marinara nothin! I wouldn't feed this to my dog. read more

I only recently went to Marco's for lunch. I'd seen it all the time on Palm Ave on my way to I.B Pier. It's a very "Italian" place...like someplace straight out of The Godfather. Ester was my server. She's FANTASTIC. Super sweet and very helpful with the menu. I'd go back just for her :) I had the Minestrone soup with toasted bread. I kid you not it was the best Minestrone I've ever eaten. Not overly powerful and very flavorful. You could tell it was freshly made, just like Ester said it was. She also told me they make an excellent meatball so I'm anxious to go back for some spaghetti and meatballs. I'd definitely say to give this place a try! read more

Never again. I gave this place two chances and both times were epic fail, They forgot our salad. I want to chicken piccata and never have I received a chicken piccata where the chicken was not seasoned and the pasta that came with it was rigatoni with red sauce. Where is the lemon/garlic/wince sauce either with linguini and/or spaghettini? The food was bland and the chicken was extremely salty. The other pasta dish we ordered was below mediocre. There's no business running an Italian restaurant. There goes waste of money. read more

I read mixed reviews. I'm adventurous, so I thought I'd make my own decision. I'm glad I did! I think the negative reviews are from people who are used to national chain restaurants - this is not that type. The food is homemade, and you can actually taste the noodles instead of overpowering them with sauces like many places have to do. My shrimp linguine was perfect. The shrimp tender, the noodles firm, the dish served hot. And yummy garlic bread. Worth repeating. read more

Ordered Uber eats looking forward to some great fettuccine Alfredo, but disappointed with the bland taste and also bread didn't travel well was soggy and cold. Not sure if even in person it might be different. read more

I'm going to save you a bunch of money and time right now. If you want pizza, this is an ok place for pizza. It won't be the cheapest or best, but its ok and different enough from pizza hut to be worth a try. If you want anything other than pizza, go elsewhere. I ordered a bunch of stuff, and this isn't an Italian restaurant. Most of the food was clearly mass-produced purchased food and simply reheated. What was cooked was done so poorly and extremely cheap with portions. I could go into more detail about all the red flags, but just trust me, if you want pizza, give it a try, anything else, skip. Fine one detail, if you love Italian food, be prepared to have your heartbroken. I ordered chicken piccata with spaghetti, and it came covered in tomato sauce with capers. There, you either are gasping in horror or don't care what you put in your mouth. read more

Worst pizza I've ever had and that's sad because growing up this place was the bomb. I even had my wedding rehearsal dinner at the old location. Literally soda crackers with bland tomato sauce and virtually zero cheese. I was so disappointed and will never go back. Do yourself a favor and just go to the Filippi's down the street. You're welcome. read more

My girlfriend and I ordered 4 items. The pesto pizza, garlic cheese bread, an Italian salad, and bruschetta. I'm going to give a quick breakdown of each. The pizza didn't taste very good. The flavor was off and there was alot of flour on the bottom. The garlic cheese bread was hard, real hard like when you managed to bite a piece off it exploded into crumbs hard. They took a stale hoagie roll and cut it in quarters and then dried it out even further with the cooking process. The Italian salad was supposed to come with Italian dressing but it came with ranch. Not a big deal I like ranch but I ordered a large salad to split with my girlfriend and the serving size for a large was pretty disappointing. The salad consisted of lettuce and 2 slices of tomato so that was also a bummer. Finally the lettuce itself was half wilted and half of the very edge of being wilted. The bruschetta was the highlight of the meal. It also came on a quartered cut hoagie roll but at least the bread was edible and the flavor was decent. Maybe we caught them on a bad day but I'll never know because we will not be trying Marco's again. We threw 90% of our order in the trash. read more

I didn't even want to expose my family to this food. I walked in and not only were their kids running around the tables which was slightly annoying, but there were dirty dishes on every table and bar you can imagine. I saw a cooler it was full of mold with glasses and decided you know what I'm not eating here. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

Pizza Review only Marco's Pizza had one of the best pizzas in Coronado back in the 80s/90s (Pizza Garden was a close second). It was also a place where you could also pick up lottery scratchers with your to go order. That Restaurant closed down a long time ago, but there is now one down in Imperial Beach. To relive my childhood, I tried this location and ordered a couple of pizza pies to go.. One Margherita and one pepperoni mushroom. The first thing I noticed was that the crust was thin and crispy/flakey. I might be described as a buttery based crust. A bit unusual. The pepperoni was my first slice and it was it pretty good, both in smell and flavor. The Margarita on the other hand was bland and the cheese was oily. It wasn't a good interpretation of a margherita pizza. It became particularly gross and firm the later it sat out, maybe cheap quality cheese? Other reviewers have said the same thing. I wouldn't recommend ordering that one. So a mixed review. It wasn't as good as I remember as a kid, but things rarely are. In summation, if you're looking for take away pizza, Marco's probably isn't your best choice. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Pepperoni mushroom. - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

Foods gone downhill for a while unfortunately. Now it's like microwaved it seems. The best part is the pizza is still good. Avoid every thing else which is bland. read more

Took the family here on a Sunday evening, hoping for a good home cooked Italian dinner. I was ok. Service was lacking, but the place was empty, that could explain why there were only two servers. They were very sweet, happy, and informative. The food was not worth the cost. I got the chicken picatta and my husband got the lasagna. I paid extra for Alfredo sauce with my pasta. It wasn't worth the extra charge, it was quite bland. But the chicken picatta was yummy, just much smaller portion than expected for the price. The lasagna was really yummy though!! The ambiance has a lot of character, but the food wasn't all that memorable. I will only be back for lunch specials or to try their pizza. read more

One of the best things about living in Imperial Beach is Marco's Restaurant. I need to go check out the new location because I used to go to the old Marco's squished into that shopping center on Palm Avenue. There you were right next to a tacky Save-A-Lot Grocery store so I am happy for the new location! Marco's was always cozy and romantic. To me, it is the nature of good Italian food and wine to be a love-inducer! I absolutely adored all the Chianti wine bottles and faux grapes vines that hung from the walls. The Opera music that was played discreetly in the background and the fact that the chefs also knew to cook my pasta al dente! My daughter loved their kid's plate with spaghetti, a garlic roll with a drink. The pizza was out-of-this-world good and I have never found a better antipasto salad than Marco's....EVEN IN ITALY! The Spaghetti Genovese is orgasmic! How about Italian Pasta Fagioli with Ham-that name alone is worth trying the dish for! Marco's did go through a change-of-ownership when I lived down there but it in no way affected the food quality. There was also a Marco's location in Coronado but I am not sure what happened with that. This place rocks your stomach with delicious food! House vino is affordable and tasty while the bread basket is promptly offered and generously refilled. Without a doubt, Italian is my favorite food and my favorite Italian restaurant (other than Giulio's in Old Town) is Marco's in good, ole Imperial Beach! read more

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Usually never review anything but this place was disgusting. Ordered the pesto gnocchi, no flavor, disgusting bland mess with 15 total pieces. Not worth it at all. Salad was a soup and bread was stale and bland. Nothing redeeming. read more

Quiet night and excellent service with Sinatra crooning in the background and the smell of fresh garlic in the air! We loved the food and will definitely be back for ravioli night... tomorrow. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

5 stars! Our family have been going to Marcos Family Restaurant since the 60s and last night, with family it was the most relaxing family dinners I have had in years at any restaurant. Thank you Ester and your sons for making it wonderful. M Foss read more

Great Food! And awesome service! The only complaint I had, was that my food took a little long but was worth the wait... read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Veggie Primavera with creamy sauce.. yummmm!!! - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

I have never forgotten how badly my daughter and myself were treated by the owner MANAGER at Marcos. This happened some time ago, but it stayed fresh in my mind. Everytime I pass by there, again, I remember how badly my daughter and I were treated!! The food was only so-so, not very appetizing. It had no flavor. Was very bland. I ordered eggplant parmesean and my daughter ordered spaghetti with meat balls. Because the food was bland, I asked the waitress if they had any type of mild sauce or crushed red chili peppers, and for some parmesean cheese. The waitress kept saying that her manager would need to bring it to us. I patiently waited. The sauce or red peppers were never brought over to our table. Then I asked again & again. Finally the manager got up from her table and very rudely and sarcastically brought over every single bottle she could find. This may sound funny to most, but to me it was VERY insulting!! I kept my cool for my daughter's sake who is a high-functioning developmentally delayed individual and is also autistic. I finished my meal, paid the bill, and despite everything, still managed to tip the waitress. I didn't make a fuss nor anything of that sort. I have NEVER gone back, nor will I ever!! This took place at their newer location on 1205 Palm Ave, in Imperial Beach. MARCOS restaurant used to be on 7th St. in Imperial Beach. Food was very good back then and service was great. That's when the manager's husband was still alive. The waitress told me he had passed away and his wife took over. I'm afraid to ever go back in there for fear of bad treatment. read more

I come here once a week for pizza and spaghetti meatballs, also torpedo sandwich is great and their fries are amazing. read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Ester packing up our pizza to bring home! - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California

Esther is the best! Authentic cuisine in an old world atmosphere! Soooooo glad they are open again!

Best food in town. Be weary of locals trying to give bad reviews. Take my word for it check this place out. Very good FOOD is an understatement... :) read more

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I wanted to love this place so badly, but it fell short. Disclaimer: I ordered through Uber eats, however the delivery driver was quick and efficient and it was easy to identify the restaurant was at fault. After the restaurant accepted my order, it took and hour and a half for them to complete it, not including delivery time. Had this ever happened while dining in, I would have left. I had only ordered one meal and one appetizer, and despite being a Saturday night I cannot imagine why any restaurant would take this long to complete an order, especially considering restrictions with covid should mean limited dine in traffic. The mozzarella sticks were very good, but did not come with the marinara as mentioned. The spaghetti primavera was decent, although quite oily and watery, and the garlic bread was oily but not the worst. My issue was with the side of minestrone, which tasted nothing like more traditional or untraditional minestrone should. The color and smell gave that away before the taste, and it had an ingredient that resembled tofu, but regardless of what it was did not belong in this soup. It arrived room temperature despite the delivery taking less than 15 minutes. My favorite Italian restaurant does not deliver so I was really hopeful for this one, but I suppose local does not always ensure quality. I hope that my experience was a unique one, but I will not be going back to find out read more

Marco's Family Restaurant - Spaghetti Primavera, Homemade Minestrone Soup, Mozzarella Sticks, Garlic Bread - Pizza Near Me - Imperial Beach, California