Review Da Marco Cucina E Vino - Houston

I absolutely adore Da Marco. We have been coming here for more than a decade and usually come at least a couple of times a year for special occasions. My husband's birthday is smack dab in the middle of white truffle season so that is a no brainer but it is also a wonderful place to come for Christmas Eve dinner. We came here for dinner recently with some friends and were delighted to learn that they now have a full bar (they used to serve only beer and wine). They have also recently done a light refresh of the interior. The space is always super cozy and never so loud that you cannot hear your dinner companions. My go to dish is the simple pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella. This dish also got a glow up recently and is now served with house-made arugula fettuccine. Da Marco also makes a sneaky delicious pizza. I say sneaky because it's not the kind of place where I would think to order a pizza, but you should because it is so yummy! The pictures I took are atrocious because of the dim cozy lighting but I am going to post them anyways...

Food was delicious and service was great! Manuel was very professional and kind. The truffle rissoto was my mom's favorite dish, along with the espresso martini. I could eat unlimited amounts of the bread. The lobster and corn ravioli is great. The octopus was also cooked perfectly. The dover sole is a great fatty fish that I liked. My dad liked my branzino so we switched places. (dover is fatty fish vs branzino was a flaky fish)

I was looking for authentic Italian cuisine in Houston, and I'm shocked that I didn't know about this place! My husband and I loved the atmosphere, and the food was amazingly tasty and well-prepared. The Sea Urchins Pasta was the best I've ever had in my life. We will definitely go back and highly recommend it.

A Houston legend! Intimate setting in a taatefully decorated house, it is not a restaurant so much as it is a dining experience. Well trained and abundant waiters and professional staff in white tuxedos. You feel the genuine hospitality of an extended Italian family. Crisp white tablecloths with substantial napkins. Italian classical menu with several surprises. Excellent wine menu. We spent several happy hours here.

Great reminder to not judge a book by its cover. From the outside the restaurant doesn’t feel inviting. As soon as you walk in it has a very cozy feel. Service was great, the team was very attentive. 2 out of 3 dishes were amazing! Salad was average. I will be back for the octopus dish!

Absolutely delicious food. Atmosphere was delightful, service was impeccable, prices were reasonable, and overall, a great time & experience with the family. Definitely will recommend

Wow, wow & wow. Amazing service, amazing food, unique selections among great favorites. Quaint atmosphere with folks who are very serious about providing the best dining experience in town. Italian wine selection top notch and I'm not sure how one could serve fresher, more delightful fare. Jeans and blazer and no ugly stares...just a happy tummy. Worth every penny and then some. The grilled Octopus is a favorite of mine...so tender and fresh, and the homemade boar stuffed pasta is fabulous. One of Houston's best. Valet parking is a must along w reservations.

One of the best Italian spots in town, hands down. the pasta, the seafood is on point, and the service is amazing!

This was the first time we went there with our friends. Appetizers, especially grilled octopus was delicious along with artichoke. Service was great except one "cocky" waiter.. The only other cons were the table that had an uneven line (see the pic) on it that almost kept me busy trying not to spill my drink... Talking about drinks, this place DOES NOT serve cocktails!

Nothing beats da marco's delicious authentic Italian dishes. I have been here multiple years , several seasons, never ordered a single dish that disappoint me . From seafood to pasta to steak, all so delicious yet so unique. I have my highest respect to the chef. Thanks for his talented skill, I can have so many good memories in this restaurant. Only thing I do feel it can be improved is the waiters and dining environment. I really hope they can expand the restaurant. The current setting is very crowded. Also, it looks so crowded because they have a lot of waiters. Sometime you'll see more waiters than dinners. However, they always look so busy and running around. The serving can be rude sometimes. For example, once I order a glass of red wine, the waiter didn't even care to let me get a taste. And he just throw everything on the table and rush to other things. And I don't think everyone understand their menu really well. I rarely hear any recommendation from them. And when they introduce the daily menu, there isn't a lot of passion I can feel. Good thing is they have a strong chef and dishes talk themselves.

Very elegant place, 1st time to have a customer lunch here, everything was perfect. It is expensive so be prepared, but if you are looking to impress somebody, this will certainly work. Valet only for parking so be sure and bring some extra cash. Seafood and pasta is best here.

The lady in the front was rude we had a reservation at 7:30 and she told me we didn’t even after showing here the confirmation on my phone. Then she proceeded to tell me that it would be 45-60 wait. I’m not sure who the gentleman was that asked what the problem was I’m assuming the manager but he took one look at the computer and said oh yes your table is ready. So I’m not sure if we weren’t the typical looking people that could dine there or what. With that being said the food was outstanding and the waiter was excellent at taking care of us. I got to try truffles for the first time and they were amazing! I ordered the pasta with truffles, my husband ordered the appetizer with the octopus I’m not much into that but he said it was very good. He ordered the ny strip steak and said it was good.

The truffle pasta is amazing!!! Might be a tad rich sauce by itself but we shared so it worked out great. The special of he day fish was good but not for the price. Service is excellent and they did great job on the panna cotta with extra decorations as it was our anniversary.

The food was amazingly tasty and well-prepared. The Sea Urchins Pasta was the best I've ever had in my life. We will definitely go back and highly recommend it.

The food was very good! We shared the truffle risotto, and I had the soup of the day, which was great. The sea bass special was really well done. The service was very good, which you would expect from a restaurant of this quality. The only reason that I wouldn't give the restaurant five stars is because I always compare to like establishments that I have been to. The food is great, but for the cost it needs to be truly special compared to other high end meals.

Absolutely amazing! I came to this restaurant for the first time a few days ago. Upon pulling up, I was immediately greeted by the valet and seated at my table. Service was amazing; we never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for any of our 4 courses, and upon finishing our plates, they were whisked away within 1-2 minutes of completion. The octopus dish was one of the best I’ve ever had, I would definitely come again just for that. The restaurant is beautiful and definitely upscale, but the small size and cozy decor makes it warm rather than cold. Open to all ages, even children so long as they are well behaved. This dining experience falls within my lifetime top 3; I would definitely come again.

Best service I’ve had in Houston. The food was wonderful. The best date night spot in town!

This restaurant has the most exclusive feel to it. My husband and I made a reservation because I wanted something with truffles and let me tell you the pasta dish I got was AMAZING.

The most incredible wine, pasta, and service I’ve ever experienced. This restaurant has an intimate feel and a warm atmosphere. Highly recommend for celebrating a special occasion.

Dinner for Two<br/><br/>This is a great restaurant. Food, wine and service are excellent. My friend had the Dover Sole which is her favorite and I had the Branzino. We both had the burrata “la regginella” salad which is spectacular. We went with wine by the glass since my friend drinks whites and I drink the reds - both of us enjoyed our selection

Unique place with no other branches, very good food. Small menu but carrying all the traditional italian food. Splendid wine list, nice waiters and nice ambiance. Very traditional. There is only wine and beer, no hard liquor. Nice place for a special ocassion with a mature group.

RUDE & UNACCOMMODATING. We had reservations made for 6:30 to celebrate my birthday. My 5 year old son forgets his iPad mini at a store and we had to turn around to get it back; I called the restaurant to let them know we'll be late and explained the situation. The hostess on the phone explained that they can hold the table for 20 mins and I told her we would hurry and please don't give away our table. We hustled over and arrived at 6:55 to be turned away by the rude and unsympathetic hostess and host. That restaurant was completely booked and they don't have walk-ins and I'm suppose to believe there was nothing they could have done especially after I called explaining the situation. My 5 year old son, husband and I left and we will never dine there again. My company and I dine there pretty often and will NEVER dine there again. I don't care how great the food at a restaurant is, it doesn't excuse or is a trade off for a lack of customer service. There are plenty of great restaurants that have great food with great service.

This is the rudest, most arrogant, self-aggrandizing restaurant I have ever seen. If you enjoy being demeaned and treated rudely, this is the place to go!

My friend and I agreed to meet our husbands at the bar for drinks tonight. The guys had a business dinner. My friend and I had dinner with our children and then went out. We were happy to be out for the evening. We got to the bar around 10PM and ordered a bottle of wine. The elitist bartender said that he couldn't serve us because it seemed that we had too much to drink!!!!! Really?!? We just got there and had apple juice with our children earlier! We found our husbands and went to Smith&Wollensky for a wonderful evening! We're physicians and I can honestly say that DaMarco is a joke! I'd choose Tony's or Smith&Wollensky's any day over DaMarco's!!!!

Best in Houston. We have waited about 7 years to return to this unbelievably good restaurant. It was worth the wait. Any of the appetizers and pastas are off the charts. We split a second course as it sounded so tempting: beef short-ribs with burrata risotto. They take these short ribs they've braised, remove the bone, and then demi-glace them...oh god, I can't describe how delicious they are and the just-right portion of that burrata risotto was unlike any risotto I have ever had, including Italy. Finished with the panna cotta; they changed it from last visit as no longer has buttermilk in it. Not bad, but for a panna cotta fiend like me it was not as good.

We had been eating regularly at DaMarco since their opening, and fell in love with brilliant food and incredible service. The artichoke, the lobster ravioli, even the wine was superb. But I feel there has be a pronounced change in the atmosphere. Last time my wife and I brought along a friend from out of town, and the hostess gave us the most unpleasant scene I've ever experienced in any restaurant. I won't provide a post mortem analysis, but let's just say it was unnecessary and the hostess, like at any fine restaurant, should have made an effort to make us feel at home, not like unwelcome interlopers. We ended up leaving, embarrassed that a friend had to experience something like this, and so far have not gone back. Perhaps it was a momentary lapse of good management, and it will be corrected. I certainly hope so, but the fact that I dashed off a quick letter to the chef/owner, and was not even provided the courtesy of a response, makes me feel otherwise. Prospective diners beware.

Not understanding, nor does this withstand the food and ambience hype received.. Disclaimer: this is my view and review of Da Marco. I hope offense isn't taken, but this is my honest assessment.<br/><br/>I just ate last night, for the second time in the past three months, at Da Marco. Again, I wasn't really impressed or wowed, and neither was I really impressed or wowed a couple months ago. I'm beginning to question the palates of those that posted online that this is the best Italian restaurant in Houston, or that it just like Italy, or that the ambience is spectacular. I can assure you that it is neither the best in Houston, the ambience isn't impressive, and sure was nowhere even close to what I experienced in Italy. I don't want to sound pretentious, but I feel I must clarify that I've eaten across the regions in Italy, and it was not like anything experienced during my travels. <br/><br/>Last night consisted of the following:<br/>1) Starter- White Truffle Pasta - very good dish, presentation is nice, but I'm not about attracting attention to the table so I could have gone without the table side preparation. My girlfriend did love it, so you got her seal of approval. I'm more of the plate it in the back and shave the truffles at table side. Unless it's bananas foster, then I'm game for table side prep. Overall verdict - good, but would not say it warrants $80 price tag just because of truffles. <br/><br/>2) second - split the lobster corn ravioli. Whoever plated this one clearly drained the lobster in the bowl. Severely watered down, pasta was completely over cooked, and again did not think the quality and taste of the dish warranted the price. <br/><br/>3) main course - <br/> A) short rib - best dish of the evening, truly a winner. I see short-ribs so overly played on menus these days but this one was really good. Blew my veal dish out of the water. If you go here, get this dish, you will be happy. Great job!!!<br/><br/>B) again I had veal, mushrooms were cold, veal was ok, and I kept eyeing my girlfriends short rib. Damn you short rib...<br/><br/>4) dessert - go elsewhere. The waiter ranted and raved about this $8 sampling of their latest, once again, OVERLY hyped chocolate cake, all this was lacking was "boo" sauce. My girlfriend had the pannacotta. I give the pannacotta an, ehhhh... Boring...<br/><br/>What you have read about the patronage holds true. The environment can be stuffy, based on the patronage. The sommelier does a good job, and made a great recommendation. Waiter at times you could tell wanted to flex his Italian cuisine muscle while walking us through the chalkboard, but we were able to reel him back into the real world by asking if the restaurant/chef ever does a bucatini dish. Waiter was clueless on what bucatini was, but it helped him to understand we weren't idiots and we understood food, especially Italian.<br/><br/>Summary: This is not Babbo in NYC, or close to anything in Italy. I think anyone not knowing or having heard of Da Marco might walk away feeling slighted. Be prepared. You will pay and there's a good chance to walk away unimpressed. I get the mixed reviews of this place. However, I tell everyone to form their own opinion. Go there' if you must, but if you do I would probably stick to basics/classics. Oh, and have the short-rib. Damn you again short-rib. However, if you want ambience, and a new/old favorite to call your favorite/put into your restaurant bag of tricks, I would much rather go to Antica Osteria. I love the area, I love the owner, I love the staff, and I've never had a bad meal at this restaurant. My girlfriend and I both agree about Antica Osteria. This is not a plug for them either. This how We feel about the establishment. Antica will remind you of going to your families home for a Saturday evening dinner. Fun, relaxed, watching the hustle and bustle of the staff, the flowing wine, the aromas of the trays as they waft past. Go here instead. DaMarcos didn't warrant the over $300 price tag for two, at least not in my book. If you want places that back the price tag, then book a weekend trip to the city. Go to NYC, book a table at Babbo in advance, or go to the meat packing district and try Macelleria. These are High-end Italian places that will blow you away. In my opinion, Eataly blows Da Marco out of the water.

Great food...waiter needs help. We went to this restaurant for my wife's birthday on November 2. The food was excellent no doubt. The lamb chops and ribs were outstanding. We were disappointed with the waiter. My wife's wine glass did have residue, but it was somewhat excessive. When she mentioned it to the waiter, he seemed upset and responded in a snooty attitude, "I would drink it"! We were not comfortable from that point until we left. There was no need for such a remark. Not sure where this waiter is from but someone needs more training.

My Favorite Restaurant. This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Houston! The atmosphere is amazing and the service is impeccable. Fabulous wine selection and even better food. My absolute favorite is the Truffle Tagliolini, I order it every time and reccomend that every diner tries it! Another favorite is the Triglia and the Corn & Lobster Ravioli!

Mummy-style. For an italian this is sufficiently good food.. for the fatty fried average of Houston restaurant this is a good place. However the ambience is mummy-like and the managers behave like they are the stars of the night, whereas a more simple style would have been better and more genuine. However, Houston is the oil city so.... more you pay better you are...<br/><br/>If you think you are in an italian atmosphere you are wrong....

8:30 reservation.... Seated at 9:45. No complimentary glass of wine or place to sit and wait. Snooty waiter acted as though WE were late and rushed us on our order placing. Poured a new wine into an existing wine instead of a fresh glass. Left the silly chalk board menu at our table... Expensive decent fare presented with lackluster and boredom.

We expected more.... My husband and I went to Da Marco for our first anniversary, and I must say, despite all of the reviews that we had read, we were not overly impressed. I hate to write a review like this, because I am a firm believer that no restaurant is perfect. And I would much rather (and typically do!) write reviews when we have had a phenomenal experience. But after our experience at Da Marco, I have to write something.<br/><br/>I will start by saying that the food was definitely good....as it should be for the price. But we both agreed that we've had food that is just as good at a few other Houston restaurants (and certainly other restaurants in New York, Connecticut, and yes, even places like Cleveland, OH).<br/><br/>I was a little surprised by where we were seated, as when I made the reservation, and when the hostess confirmed the reservation, I mentioned that it was our first anniversary. Yet we were seated in the back room (the newer part of the restaurant, from the looks of it) right next to the wait-staff stand. Our anniversary was never even acknowledged. I wasn’t expecting a party hat (obviously!), or a dessert with candles, but a simple acknowledgement would have been nice.<br/><br/>Our waiter was knowledgeable, but every time we asked for recommendations, he recommended the most expensive item on the menu (whether it was an antipasti dish, or the main course). Now, we knew we were going to spend a good deal of money….we wouldn’t go to Da Marco if we planned otherwise. But don’t recommend the most expensive item every time…it just looks like you’re trying to get a bigger tip. And at the end of the night, as we were contemplating ordering a night-cap from their extensive wine list, my husband asked the waiter (as we were the last table in the room) “are we holding you up? Will we be keeping you here if we order one more” His response was “Yes. But do whatever you want”. So we did…..we went somewhere else for a nightcap. We were not about to end our anniversary by spending more money with a waiter who obviously didn’t want us to stay.<br/><br/>One other item that put a damper on our experience…at the end of our dinner, we asked for our leftovers to be wrapped together in one box. I had had the Colorado Lamb Chops "Scottadito" with Cumin Yogurt (very good…though if you love the taste of lamb like I do, ask them to put the cumin yogurt to the side…it overpowers the flavor of the lamb), and had about half of my lamb left. I specifically asked for the full lamb chop, and the bones of the other two to be put into the to-go box. It’s a $45 meal….I wanted my leftovers. When we got home, my husband’s leftovers had made it into the box, as had my sides. But not the lamb. I immediately called the restaurant and spoke with the manager (Mr. A___), who told me that he would remedy the situation – I just needed to come see him at the restaurant on any night that he was working. I called the next day (Sunday) around 5pm, and was told that Mr. A was unavailable at the time…the hostess took my number and said that she would have him call me. I heard nothing back. Da Marco is closed on Mondays, so I didn’t expect to hear anything. But on Tuesday I heard nothing, so I called again, and again left a message/my number with the hostess. That was two weeks ago. I have never heard back.<br/><br/>Needless to say, my husband and I are happy that we have tried Da Marco...it’s a Houston institution, and it seems as though many customers have had much more satisfying experiences. But overall, we were disappointed, and based on our personal experience, we will not return.

Oh yeah, baby!. This is my favorite restaurant in Houston, and quite possibly, the world. Simply outstanding. It is pricey but oh so worth it. You do not come here for meatballs or lasagna. Weekends can be hectic, and yes, you may have to stand at the world's smallest bar to wait even though you have made reservations. If it is too expensive, try it at lunch which can be very reasonable, less crowded but not one iota of quality compromised. The food is superb, the dining room elegant and the service "distinguished". It is only superlatives when describing Da Marco,

Dinner on weekday. Very good selection of wines. Tasty and unusual salads.<br/>Superb specialty fish, though expensive, very well prepared. Unfortunately, as we over fish the oceans, high quality seafood will becoma even more scarce and expensive to taste!<br/>Very attentive staff.

One of the best in Houston!. We had the wild boar gnocchi and chianti-braised short ribs. They were both great. Service was good as well. Will definitely be back!

Awful. The service that Da Marco provided was the worst customer service I had ever received from any restaurant. The waiter took for ever to take our drink orders and once he took them it took forever for him to come back. They place a chalk board in front of my table and left it there. Nobody went over the menu items. They act like I was interrupting them. This is a pricey restaurant to be treat like this. I didn't eat my food because it was awful and nobody bother to ask was there a problem with the food. I was there all together only 15 minutes and half of those minutes was use waiting on the waiter. I had to flag down our waiter just to get the check. Nobody ask how was the food or did I want a to go box. I will never visit them again

Bad experience!!!. Made a reservation a month in advance for a friend's anniversary for 8 PM last night. We hire a car we have a great suite at Hotel Za Za. Our table was 45 minutes late but we treated to stand in the world's smallest bar with all of the waitstaff busing trays over our head. Finally we are seated in a room off to the side of the main room only to find a table of 20 seated at a long table assuring that he only way to communicate in the hot room is to shout at each other. I ask the waiter if this is as good as it gets, as it is now 9PM so where else are we supposed to go? My seat is at a very small table next to an interior window, crowding me and further making what was to be a great evening a real disappointment. The waiter was great and gave great service and the food was good. We recently ate at the French Laundry where obviously they understand that great food, great wine and great service must be delivered in a setting that,at $700 a table should be sophisticated, relatively quiet and not thrust upon anothe'rs reception. The experience was really poor despite the efforts of a very professional waiter. The manager obviously has more business that he needs from me and our table. This place will certainly not miss me or my wife, we live elsewhere part of the year. Our friend's whose anniversary it was were disappointed. He had recently sold his energy company and were expecting a fine dining experience and we got something considerably less. We could have gone anywhere in the states that evening for the special occasion however we made the mistake of choosing DeMarcos. The Manager failed us greatly, the ability to mange placing us in what appears to be a large loud group that should have required a dedicated room with it's own fee not to ruin all other guests experience would have been obvious to any manger at Chilli's but not here, not this night. After the seventh toast with glasses clinging, to get every one's attention, it was obvious that we had made a mistake. Great food is simply not worth what the manger had us endure. So after this poor experience, did he offer us a complimentary glass of water, anything, a personal appearance at the table? No, nothing. Truly the height of ignorant, rude and sophomoric management. We were treated to being told that the offending group had one of the great wine collections in Texas. Wow that made me feel so much better. I shall contact my Centurion advisor and forward our experience. This place just was really poor and I could not recommend it.

Love It!!!. This is the best restaurant in Texas. My wife and I drive 150 miles round trip to spend an evening here several times a year.

I'm craving it.... So we went to Da Marco's for my boyfriend's birthday in June. I can't wait to go back! We had the egg ravioli which was absolutely the best thing I'd ever eaten...until I indulged and ordered the $40 pasta bowl. It was a truffle pasta dish. I was a bit skeptical, as I was new to this whole "truffle" business. I actually tried to get them to add a chicken breast or something. The waiter assured me that I would be pleasantly surprised with my dish. So I figured what the heck, there's a McDonald's down the road if I'm hungry after we leave.<br/><br/>They prepared my pasta dish table side, slicing fresh truffles into the bowl. I have never had anything so fresh, flavorful and delightful. I didn't even want to share my entree with my boyfriend, who usually ends up eating his food and 1/2 of mine. <br/><br/>If you're looking for truffles, amazing italian food, a great date spot, impressive wine list, impeccable service and a wonderful dining experience, look no further than Da Marco's.

Romantic. Unexpected flavor combos. Terrific deserts. Cheers, Loren

Once upon a time—the fall of 2008, to be exact—I lived in a castle in Italy. It was only three months, but those three months took my love for food, which had been there since I can remember, and made it blossom. It was my trip that made me think I wanted