My wife and I have gone a few times and have enjoyed it. There rolled eggplant is excellent the rolls are dangerously good. Everything we've had there has been good, we usually get apps but we've had some entrees as well and they were good as well. The bar is the way to go and the young man that seems  always  there when we go is very good friendly but overly so. The prices are about what you would expect from a restaurant in Marblehead. The 1/2 priced apps for Happy Hour is a great deal if they're still doing it. The drinks prices are a little high but too crazy. Everyone working at the place has always been friendly with us.
Review Source:This place is just okay. It certainly doesn't compare to Italian in Salem or Beverly. I wouldn't come back for several reasons. I ordered the chicken marsala and it wasn't good. The chicken wasn't pounded thin and you receive two large breasts. The entrée doesn't come with pasta or mashed potatoes served with it so be prepared to spend more on additional sides because who really wants just a chicken breast? The marsala sauce was watery, sweet, and lacking flavor. The rolls were good best part of the meal. We had a sourpuss waitress, but loved the nice, cheerful water girl. Overall, I was unimpressed.
Review Source:I have mixed feelings about our first dinner at Caffe Italia in Marblehead. Â I applaud the very extensive menu plus specials. Â There are almost too many choices, and most sound great. Â The wine by the glass choices are also abundant, and if a bit pricey (I don't believe I saw a glass for less than 8 bucks) my wife and I both enjoyed the Italian reds we ordered. Â We both ordered salads and fish entrees. Â The rolls were out of sight good, I understand they bake them on the premises using pizza dough. Â We were greeted by Donna, an in-charge sort of gal whom other Yelpers have mentioned and the service was friendly and attentive. Â So, with all of this positive, what's the mixed feelings and only three stars about? Â I have trouble being clear about this.... Â I guess I found the food overly complicated to the point that it didn't really work for me. Â Just a couple of examples, Â the salad I ordered had whole hazelnuts, goat cheese, and lemon juice in addition to greens and red onions. Â The various parts just didn't come together, that is I could taste a hazelnut, I could taste a big clump of goat cheese, ah there is a big red onion slice. Â But I wasn't really eating a salad, just a bunch of separate ingredients. Â I felt that way about the special halibut I had too which featured carmelized onions and chick peas. Â I got the separate ingredients which were all delicious, but things just didn't combine into a dish. Â The wife had salmon encrusted with pistachios. Â I had a bite.... nice salmon, nice crust, but nothing that said this combines to something more than just the parts. Â Anyway, the meal was good, not cheap, but very good. Â We'll go back and see if I can figure out what the chef has in mind. Â For now, 3 stars is where I'll leave it.
Review Source:This place is awsome! One of the best kept secrets in Marblehead! My wife and I have become regulars there! Donna is the most gracious host, the food and wine is devine! Very generous portions and reasonable prices! Donna, we love your place, you are the best on the north shore! See you soon!
John & Jenni Schillizzi
Salem,
i keep seeing caffe italia's truck driving around town so i had to pop in to see what it was all about. my wife and I were fortunate to get a seat at the bar on a busy friday night and thanksgiving weekend. food was great and wine was great. i absolutely fell in love with the restaurants layout and atmosphere. im a big fan of a bar with seating at both sides. ill be back for sure
Review Source:I went to Caffe Italia last weekend. Â We had a a party of ten, and we were celebrating two people's birthdays. Â Our table was ready as soon as we got there. Â Joey was our waitor, and he was awesome! Â We are quite the loud group when we are together, constantly joking around and Joey fit right in with us. Â He was able to take the jokes people threw at him, and give it right back. Â The food was delicous. Â For apps we had fried calamari, eggplant rolotini, joel rolls (steak and cheese spring rolls), musseles both red and white, and fried stuffed zucchini flowers which were a special - everything was fabulous. Â Needless to say we were all stuffed by the time our meals came out, but I ordered the Saltimbocca and the few bites I had were very good. Â If you are in the mood for a drink, get a lemon bar martini! They were INCREDIBLE, everyone at the table had a round or two of those martinis!
All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I will definitely be back!
The food was excelent. I loved my pasta with meatballs. Although simple it was good.
The fried goat cheese is definitely a winner even if I don't like goat cheese. The atmospher was nice but a little on the loud side. Seems like the place to be for locals in the area.
I had the chef's chocolate tort for dessert. I do not recommend that. I am sure the other stuff on the menu is better.
This was my third visit to Caffe Italia and I was unimpressed as usual. It really wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't so expensive for mediocre food.
Service was eh at the bar.. would not choose to go back but I'm not sure of another Italian restaurant in Marblehead that would be any better. Ideas?
We chose Cafe Italia for a Saturday night to support local business. That was a mistake. Â From the minute we sat down we were ignored - except for our bus boy who did a terrific job keeping our waters full as we waited and waited and waited for the rest of our meal.
It took an hour for our entrees to come. Â I can understand if things are backed up on a Saturday night, but then please just have the waitress or manager come over and let us know we have not been forgotten about. It is not about the wait as much as the consideration.
And when the manager did come over at the end of the meal to see how things had been and we said we were less than happy, he brushed it off and said, "Oh, we were very busy." Well, isn't the job of the manger to "manage" that?? And why ask us how things went if he had no interest in the answer.
...and two out of the three dishes we ordered (all specials) were way under seasoned. Even in a small town like Marblehead there are plenty of places who do care about delivering a pleasant dining experience; we will be spending next Saturday night at one of them.
I've eaten here three or four times. All in the summer. The windows slide open or remove, to make the place practically open air. My experiences have all been good. The frutti di mare is tasty. Service has been decent, even when they're busy.
I'll agree that the music is a little too loud.
Delicious.
Their complimentary bread and oil starter is an instant mood lifter... I love that they let you add the parmesan and red pepper yourself so you can adjust the heat to your liking.
The first time my fiance and I ate here, we shared a pizza and both thought it was quite good. Â The second time, I went by myself and ordered a pasta dish with spinach, roasted red peppers, chicken breast and goat cheese from the specials menu. Â When the enormous dish arrived in front of me, I remember thinking, "How nice, there will be plenty left over to take home and have for lunch tomorrow." Â The next thing I knew, I was scraping the last piece of penne from the bottom of the bowl. Â On my third and most recent visit, after being sad to see that the goat cheese dish was not one of the specials that day, I promptly got over it after my fiance and I each ordered a different chicken dish and found them both to be excellent.
The atmosphere is very nice - I am really looking forward to dining here in the summer some time when they have the big windows  open.  The service at the bar, where I have sat during each visit, has been friendly, timely and perfectly courteous.
My fiance and I spent the weekend in Marblehead recently and upon recommendation from a friend we decided to try the "new place" in town; it was a bad decision. Â The service here was extremely poor and both of our meals were very bland. Â This is not a place to go for a nice evening out, as lazy and arrogant waitstaff, plus flavor lacking food do not make for an enjoyable time. Â Hopefully Marblehead has some other new spots on the horizon or maybe we should have stuck with one of the old hats.
Review Source:For a small town with a limited selection of restaurants, one would think that a mediocre Italian Restaurant would strive to be the best in service and delivering that which the customer orders; NOT Cafe Italia.
Our waiter's ineptitude was not just that of being new to the restaurant. Â Many things were overlooked throughout the course of the meal - such as no ice bucket for wine, no cutlery when firsts were cleared, the waiter not taking two of our main orders until flagged down, no second plate for a meal being shared, as well as two wrong mains brought to one diner at the table. Â
An argument ensued with the manager, which was uncalled for and off base.
In response to the comments posted:
I wish you could have been there to have the experience we did from start to finish and I think you would have walked away feeling less then satisfied as well; but then again maybe you were as I have a sneaking suspicion that you are closely associated with this establishment. Â I had been to Cafe Italia before and it was fine, but nowhere near the likes of a 5 star dining establishment; that is laughable. Â I find it quite offensive that you say we are better fit for 7/11 hot dogs with our budget - when you know nothing of the diners at the table; nor do I wish to have a pissing contest about net worth and our respective palates. Â
The manager should have taken away the second wrong dish after saying he would take it off the bill, rather than leaving it and then going back on his word. Â This comes down to the principle of sticking to your word when you say you are going to do something, not the money. Being treated the way we were was uncalled for and unprofessional. Â It seemed as if the manager forgot that evening that "customer service" is his profession. The supposed owner and manager were the ignoramuses the night we dined with you, "devoid of manners and social grace."
In response to the second comment's posted by Dorothy:
Sorry, the only Sawyer I know is on "Lost;" the TV show. Â I am just being honest about what happened when my friends and family dined with you. Â I have no relation to other reviewers and think it extremely odd that you are that worried about my one review. Â Hopefully you all will learn from my experience and grow better from it as a company. Â This really should stop with the reviews directed back to me; please do not attribute other people's reviews to my experience and subsequent review.
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