Marina Restaurant

I brought my mom here for her 66th birthday dinner this evening, and the food we ordered was all delicious. We began with the wild arugula nectarine salad (yum!), shared the Bianca (truffle mushroom) pizza, and she had the steak frites, while I opted for the bucatini. All was tastefully executed. We also had a passion fruit marg and the “I Don’t Give a Fig” cocktail. Both quite good. Our server was Danny, and though he began pretty strong, we felt he could have been a little more attentive. He didn’t ask if we wanted more cocktails when we had finished our drinks, and he didn’t bother upselling us on anything else. He did bring my mother a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a candle and sang her happy birthday, but with the amount of food + drinks we had ordered, a small bowl of ice cream at a pretty high-end restaurant felt kind of cheap. We’ve been to other restaurants on our birthdays where the server was thoughtful enough to bring us a slice of cheesecake or something a little more exciting than just ice cream. Ice cream felt like we were at a Denny’s or an IHOP. This is no deal breaker; it’s simply an observation. Something else to note: parking in the adjacent underground lot cost $12. It would be great if the restaurant and the garage had some sort of deal where the restaurant could validate patrons’ parking, or at least discount it.

Sooooo good! Definitely was added to our list of favorite restaurants in Pasadena! Beautiful interior, great service, and very tasty food. We visited in a group of 4 and shared the following dishes: - Blistered bread & ricotta: 5/5 AMAZING, freshly baked and soooo tasty - White Nectarine Salad: 5/5 very refreshing and flavorful - 24 Month Prosciutto San Daniele: 5/5 definitely recommended! - Prosciutto San Daniele & Burrata Pizza: 4.9/5, excellent taste, but the dough could have been slightly better - Rabbit Bolognese: 5/5 couldn’t have been better! - Truffle Cavatelli: 4.5/5 pretty good, but not as good as the other dishes - Branzino alla Griglia: 4/5 pretty good as well, but was a bit too oily and wasn’t sure of the combination with eggplant.

Giving it 5 stars due to Daniel’s excellent service. The food is outstanding and lovely atmosphere. First time at what will be a neighborhood favorite soon. Having been displaced checking out different spot and it did not disappoint. Thanks to my dear friend for the introduction to Marina.

Had such a great experience with my best friend here! Started off with a matcha cocktail and passion fruit cocktail! Both were so delicious we ended up sharing both! The watermelon salad was very refreshing and super light. We shared the butternut squash pasta, cod and margarita pizza. The cod was so flaky, just the perfect texture! The veggies complimented it super well! The squash pasta was a close second favorite. Perfect for fall! Just sweet enough and so creamy. Danny, our server was very accommodating and welcoming. Definitely looking forward to eating here again soon!

Casual, great vibe, excellent service The sweetbread salad was lovely, the pizzas were solid, and the cider-glazed cod was delicious. The fresh pastas were decent. They were not executed very well, tasted rushed, but the flavors were there.Definitely not my favorite. My friends enjoyed the pasta, though. It is a good place to dine with friends but also, good for kids.

Food was ok. I saw lots of 5 star reviews here so my expectations were high. Homemade pasta is good but tastes is ok not impressive. Grill mushroom with avocado sauce $22 its nothing special with small portion. Lamp chop is good. Pizza and fish stew with squod ink pasta were just ok taste. Good service and good vibes here.

First time dining here. This review is for a wine pairing dinner. What a huge disappointment. Start time posted for 630 pm and first plate and pour came at 700 pm. It might not have been so infuriating if the first dish delivered, but what was listed as Kumiai OysterS, with an S at the end, usually meaning more than one. But no, that's what they served. One oyster. On a bread plate, with a lemon slice. No minionette. No hot sauce... and not shucked well. Terrible. Second plate, was a tomato salad with peach. Not bad, except that I don't eat tomatoes. It was in the notes. They called to confirm a few days before and said chef would accommodate, yet there they were on the plate. Server gave extra wine, which was appreciated because the pours were ridiculously skimpy. I will say, they offered a foccacia bread and olive oil, with the salad that was amazing. Unfortunately, it's not offered on their regular menu. What a miss. But, it was stellar. Next dish was an Egg and Ricotta ravioli in a Bolognaise. GREAT DISH! Offered with tiny samples of two wines, one okay and one that was great. Final dish was another great one, a lamb lollipop. Delicious, but served with another tiny sample sip of wine. We were not happy and a manager provided a small sample of a different wine, as they hadn't ordered enough of the wine on the menu. The final insult was dessert, an olive cake that was excellent, but that was a shared plate. Seriously. The menu mentioned nothing about it being shared and THAT is super tacky. I would consider giving a try on a regular menu, but I would NEVER do another pairing menu here. Impossibly loud, too. It was just a super disappointing evening.

Marina in Pasadena, California, takes inspiration from California’s regional, seasonal ingredients and applies true cooking traditions of Italy to bring you an incredible dining experience. With their rotating menus, you’ll always find me looking for any reason to dine @marinapasadenaofficial. Family Dinner? Yes. Happy hour with the girlies? Yes!Romantic Date night? YESSSS!!! We had (from their May 2024 menu): 🍣Tuna Carpaccio (sushi grade ahi tuna, trout caviar, crispy onions, olive oil lemon sauce, chives, on crispy wontons), 🦐Uni & Prawns Risotto (New Caledonian shrimps, Uni butter, mascarpone, chives, pecorino), 🍝Shrimp & Calamari Arrabiata (fresh linguine, San marzano, tomatoes, spicy oregano arrabiata sauce), 🍝Carbonara (fresh bucatini, guanciale, fresh pepper, pecorino), 🍗Scaloppine di Pollo (chicken breast, fried artichoke, pommes puree, capers, lemon-white wine sauce), 🫓Blistered Bread & Ricotta (Housemade ricotta cheese, cherry tomatoes, olive oil)