Marechiaro's Italian Restaurant

We stopped into this restaurant late on a weeknight when the original restaurant we drove to ended up being closed. This was in the area and listed as Italian food with good reviews, so we figured why not. It was easy to get seated and the vibes in the restaurant were friendly and warm, a nice environment that wasn't too stuffy. It looked popular for a weeknight and the waiters seemed to know or be familiar with a lot of the patrons -- always a good sign. The menu was substantial, but everything sounded good so it was a bit of a challenge to decide what we wanted. We ended up deciding to split an appetizer, the caprese salad, and then ordered a pasta dish and a gluten free pizza. The caprese came out first, and we both agreed it was to die for. Like, caprese is always good, but I don't know how they managed to make this one SO delicious. While we were having it, the waiter came out and let us know that they had overcooked my pizza a bit and weren't happy with it so they were making me a new one, and apologized for the wait and offered us a free dessert. We really hadn't felt like it had been long at all, hadn't complained and had no problem with this as we were enjoying ourselves, but we were happy to take the offered dessert! After this, it did take a bit for our food to come out but it wasn't unreasonable and we had been warned, so no issues at all. Everything still came out hot, the portions were massive, and the flavors were great.Because of the slight delay to the food it was getting to closing time, so we offered to take our dessert to go to let the staff close up. They assured us there was no problem with us being there at all and were super kind. This felt genuine, as those who were closing in the back seemed to be having fun cracking jokes with each other which is always nice to see. (I don't think people are obligated to always be stoked about their jobs, but it's just genuinely nice to see people having fun and enjoying themselves at work!) They let us ordee a free cannoli (delicious) and even knocked a bit off our bill -- we were shocked as we didn't think it was necessary, but were super grateful and tipped heavily. Overall, we had an awesome experience at this restaurant and it's definitely going into our rotation of favorite places.

Our second time here. Always pleased so far. Not necessarily near where we live, but it is a place worth stopping for a good Italian dinner. Friendly service. Plates are definitely rich and oily, served in a very decent portion, so if you are super hungry, their foods will definitely hit the spot and then get a food coma later. Ambiance is very casual.Calamari appetizer is good.Linguini w/clam is good, and if only they could make the pasta a little more Al denté, it will even taste better. Shrimp scampi is one of their best dishes. Same, Al denté pasta would make this dish even better. Garlic bread is a great start, goes great with salads, can be filling as it is super oily, so don't eat up too much at once if one wants to make room for the rest of dishes. Parking is right outside, and might be limited during peak hours.

Such a cute family dinner spot! I went with my family and it was giving all the classic Italian kitchen vibes. Service was friendly and attentive. Food and drinks were out quickly and the quality was great. If you order an entree it comes with soup or salad and garlic bread which is always a plus. We got the spicy shrimp pasta which was okay, but everything else was absolutely delish! We also ordered lasagna, chicken picatta, and pepperoni mushroom pizza. The pizza was definitely the stand out - look at that cheese pull! We'll be back!

This is now my go-to place when I need great food to serve a large party. I have used their catering 3x now and they never disappoint. The portion sizes are very generous and the food is always ready on time, hot and delicious! I've ordered a large salad from here too and the veggies are fresh and they give you a lot of dressing with it. My family's favorite is the Chicken Giuseppe! I order it every time!

TAKEOUT ORDER:We placed a takeout order via their website while staying in Santee. I give 5 stars for the accurate pickup time even though it was a busy Saturday night, for having a separate waiting area for takeout at the counter, and pretty good food.My regret is getting the pink sauce in the rigatoni- should have gone with a classic red or meat sauce. I tried the red sauce on the penne and it was good. Garlic bread was on a sesame seed bun and came with our dinners! I loved that we didn't have to order it separately.I also really liked the antipasto salad had pickled cauliflower, the picture is a "small" so more than enough for 2-3 people.My partner also got the chicken Parmesan (not pictured) because he ate it all. Luckily their parking was easy next to a gas station so we snagged a spot for pickup. Cute place!

Amazing and hearty authentic Italian food. The portions are very large and the pastas come with a complementary soup or salad. The food is savory with lots of sauce and they do not skimp the veggies or protein. Their prices are extremely reasonable for the amount of food you get. The service has always been excellent with extremely attentive staff. The setup for this establishment is super cute with painted pictures on the walls, shelved bottles of wine, and stained glass along the booth dividers. Their pizzas are also super tasty and there is a children's menu available as well. Absolutely love this place!

We came here for dinner on a Saturday night. The parking lot is small and if you find in the lot, you are lucky. We were able to find close street parking. Nice small restaurant with a charming feel to it. We ordered a gluten free sausage and mushroom pizza and an individual sized salad. The salad was a very generous size and enough to share between the two of us. The taste of the salad itself was average - your basic house salad. The pizza was okay. The crust was very thin which we did like but was slightly burnt which we didn't like. So the slightly burnt crust made the pizza more chewy than expected and less tasty. We've definitely had much better gluten free pizzas elsewhere. Service was very good. Our server was helpful and attentive.

There really is not a lot of restaurant options when you start to go into East County San Diego. But when you live around the Blossom Valley area of El Cajon, you can really count on this restaurant for good pizza to go. So to be honest, I have not sat down in the restaurant and eaten there, but I have ordered their pizza to goThe prices are a little high, but you don't really have any other options. And you don't really want to go to Pizza Hut or the other chain restaurants because they just are not good. Either way a pepperoni and sausage pizza here is legit good and you can even eat the crust.

Still the best Italian place in Lakeside, I got to try every pizza topping on the menu and it has become a tradition for me to visit this place once a year for a family and friends gathering, because it is the perfect place to have a birthday party or any special occasions here, they really have a big space inside to accommodate big party of people.Their bathroom on the other hand need to have locks from the inside, I literally walked in on someone last night, not sure how long he was in there, but it was also confusing because they have a women one and a unisex one, where is the men side?Also you need to be here early if you have reservation, it's a small parking space up front, you might have to park on the street in order to get here.

Never disappointed coming here. Always friendly staff and awesome food. Thank you for being a staple in my life for decades