Marciano’s at SM Southmall

A few weeks ago, our balikbayan friend treated us for dinner at Marciano’s at the Food Street, SM Southmall in Las Pinas City. Marciano’s is a New Yorker meets Italian casual dining restaurant.

Marciano’s dining area is quite small and there were only a few diners when we arrived. Names for their dishes is quite interesting—like Dow Jones (steak), When Harry Met Sally (pizza), Blair Waldorf (risotto), and  Times Square (fish and chips).

For starters, we had  Donnie Brasco Calamari and Marciano’s Signature Salad. Donnie Brasco is beer battered squid, deep fried and served with lemon aioli. I liked that it’s lightly flavored and easy to chew. Marciano’s Signature is lettuce, provolone cheese, caramelized pears, prosciutto ham and candied walnuts in honey balsamic dressing. I liked the combination of salty, sweet and tangy taste and the caramelized pears is a winner!

Marciano’s Signature, PhP 459 famiglia / Donnie Brasco Calamari, PhP 308

We also had Pumpkin of the Opera and Robert de Niro Bacon and Asparagus Creme. The pumpkin soup is so-so, I’ve tasted better pumpkin soups in other restaurants.  On the other hand, I liked the hint of bacon taste on the asparagus soup.

Robert de Niro Bacon & Asparagus Creme, PhP 128 / Pumpkin of the Opera, PhP 128

For the pastas, we tried Joey Tribbiani Meat Lasagna and Woody Allen Linguini. The lasagna is the usual Italian beef lasagne. But Marciano’s linguini is really good! It has three kinds of mushrooms—shitake, button and oyster, blended with creamy truffle cream sauce, then topped with prosciutto.

Woody Allen Linguini, PhP 278 solo / Joey Tribbiani Meat Lasagna, PhP 308 solo

For the finale--pizzas straight from Marciano’s brick oven! To sample their various pizza flavors, we ordered West Side Four Seasons. It is composed of four kinds of pizzas--pepperoni , mushroom, seafood and four-cheese. All were flavorful, but among the four, I prefer the pepperoni and four-cheese. What’s great is we get to have a free 12” pizza (either Bendel’s Margheritta or Adam Sandler Four Cheese) because our bill reached PhP 1,500! We picked Adam Sandler Four Cheese. It has pomodoro, gorgonzola, provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Very simple but tasty.

Adam Sandler Four Cheese, PhP 388 for 12” / West Side Four Seasons, PhP 848 for 16”

For the drinks, we just had the regular iced tea and lemonade. I find Marciano’s pricey considering that their serving portions are small.