Marcello’s Pizzeria

I went to Marcello’s for years for great pies. Then in late 2015 their service went down the tubes. Too many times I have now shown up 30′ minutes after ordering after being told 20 – 25′ wait and the pie isn’t even started yet. They have lost employees, and I can only believe it is because they are not paying them enough or treating them right. Now I am going to Dimaio’s.

I LOVE MARCELLO’S! I have gotten take-​out from Marcello’s for easily a decade now. I have only sat down and eaten at Marcello’s once, but that experience was beyond pleasant. Even «just» getting take-​out, the staff is always welcoming, always extremely nice and accommodating. Our favorite go-​to is the Brick Oven Margherita pizza. It is even delicious reheated days after! (A mark of great pie, to me.) The tomato sauce is so fresh, the mozzarella perfectly balanced, and I love how they sprinkle a little parmesan on top. There is always a lot of flavor and seasoning, but not too much. To sum it up: they are consistent. Again, for a decade! You can’t get much better.

I stopped in here with a friend on a Saturday night. We had already eaten dinner, but were looking to have dessert and coffee somewhere. When we entered Marcello’s, we were hit with the aroma of pizza baking and it smelled delicious. We were then greeted and seated by friendly staff. Marcello’s has an extensive dessert menu with pictures and quite an array of different kinds of desserts. We were told before we ordered by our server that some of the desserts on the menu were not available. My friend and I both chose the cannoli, which is HUGE and absolutely delicious! The cannoli was very fresh and the shell was nice and crispy, not soggy at all. I had coffee with my cannoli, that was nice, fresh and hot. While we were sitting and enjoying our dessert and coffee, we were watching a family having dinner– their food looked so good! I was dying to know what the one woman was eating, so I asked her. Turns out, she created the dish herself and orders it every time she comes in or gets takeout. She explained that she orders bow tie pasta with mozzarella, black olives and the house made marinara sauce. I will be trying it the next time I come in because I am eager to try the Italian dishes here. If they are anything like the dessert, I will be very pleased!

Sat in the dining room, the service was quick and great and very accommodating. The pizza though was a huge disappointment, maybe it was an off day but it just was average at best. Very disappointed.

I’ve never been disappointed by the service or the food. The pizza is among the best in NJ and the place gets crowded. Guess why? See previous sentence. Yes the pasta has garlic. You want sauce with no flavor, go someplace a bit less traditional — or order something else off the menu. They do a great job and the price can’t be beat. Can’t beat the Brick Oven Sonoma pie, IMO —

Have to give Marcello’s two stars tonight and that may be too generous; sorry I didn’t follow my instinct and go somewhere else the second I saw how crowded the restaurant was tonight. The best thing about the experience was the beautiful evening; we sat outside and the weather was great. The inside was packed (I think they had a private party inside) and the outside almost full; ultimately, after two plus hours it was 9pm and we had to take the food to go; the second best thing about the night was the wait staff who worked tirelessly to make a bad situation better; they were sincerely apologetic about the delays;

I had high hopes for this place but was ultimately disappointed. I ordered a calzone and my friends had a pizza and some ravioli. The food was pretty good, but the pizza had too much garlic. The service was terribly slow, the food didn’t come out together, and they weren’t even busy. We had to ask twice for our drinks and had to go find the waiter to get boxes and our check. We probably won’t be returning.

I grew up eating pizza from Brooklyn and their regular pizza is pretty darn close (can’t speak for brick oven as I never had). It’s the reason we keep coming back. The service could be better but I prefer good food over good service any day of the week.

At first, it was really loud with screaming children. Poor acoustics. Thankfully, the families with screaming children left after about fifteen minutes. But then we had a very long wait for food. Over one hour to get our food. We should have known that we were in trouble when the owner took off his apron and sat down at a table. The restaurant was not very busy. This was shameful. No one came over to us during that time to explain the long wait. My wife had fish and I had lasagna. My wife thought her fish was ok but my lasagna was terrible. It has a greyish meat cheese mixture in it that did not taste very good. I love italian food and I love lasagna. This was by far the worst lasagna that I ever had. I really couldn’t believe how long we had to wait. I would have spoken with the owner but he was sitting with his friends. It would have been awkward. I certainly will not return.

Ordered 2 brick oven pies to go. Got them home in less than 5 minutes. Both were cold, and one wasn’t even what I ordered. There was hardly any sauce on them, very little toppings, and almost no flavor. I would expect pizza like this in Florida, not NJ. Will not go back.

Excellent menu items. Very good chef. Just like mom use to make. During the warmer months you can eat out doors. I have also enjoyed the pizza.

Terrible place, owner is rude and has zero customer service. Not family friendly. Essentially the place hates kids and is not nice enough for anything except being a kid pizza joint. Would stay away from this place, too many other better options in the area

Had to counter some of the poor reviews. We disagree. Been taking out from Marcello’s for many years-​we moved to town in 1993. Great pizza, traditional and brick oven, delicious sautéed calamari and chicken country style. And Marcello is a great guy– nice people staff the take out counter.
Only criticisms would be the bread included in take out orders-​perfectly ordinary. Should get a better baker. The fried calamari is rubbery.
Those small matters aside, Marcello’s serves up some really good eats and is a favorite with our family.

This is the second time I have eaten here. I don’t recall what I ordered the first time, but this last visit I ordered a panini. It was by far the worst panini I have ever ordered. I was very disappointed in the bread. The bread was maybe pressed before it left the bakery because it wasn’t got or pressed when the sandwich was made. I ended up taking the sandwich apart and just eating the inside and not the bread.
The pasta dishes that were ordered looked good, but I did not try them. However, one of the guys asked for gluten free and was told he had three options to choose from. The choice he made was not what was brought out. And was later told there were no options — just the dish that was brought out.
So, don’t get your high hopes up… it’s not a suburb dining area.
The pizza looked good, if you enjoy super thin crust.

Everyone is nice, outside is nice, waiters are very nice and they cater to whatever you need and want. Totally recommend this place!

Avoid at all costs. Marcello’s is the center of the galaxy of horrible pizza places that is New Jersey. This place has nothing going for it other than it is across the street from the Trap Rock brewery and it is located near a gas station. If you are feeling hungry and thinking about going out to Marcello’s to eat do yourself a favor, heat up a hot pocket and call it a night. Giving it 1 star is being overly generous. I will NEVER go back to this place and will tell everyone i know to avoid it at all costs.

I was really looking forward to making Marcello’s part of my regular rotation because the first time I went there, the food was excellent. But on subsequent visits, the food went downhill and the already mediocre service took a complete nosedive.
The last time I went, my boyfriend and I were the only people in the restaurant (maybe I should have taken that as a sign…), which makes our terrible service even more unforgivable because it’s not like they were super busy! Anyway, when we came in, the staff greeted us begrudgingly and it was obvious they had been looking forward to an empty night. On previous occasions, we had gotten a bread basket and at first I wondered why we didn’t have one but I let it go because I knew I would be eating a lot and shouldn’t be having extra bread anyway.
The staff was rude and ignored us most of the night, instead choosing to spend their time laughing with each other at the front of the restaurant. Not once did we get asked if we needed anything and after waiting 15 minutes for a water refill (again…we were the ONLY people there), I actually went up to the kitchen and asked for it myself. Hell, I probably could have just went in and gotten the pitcher for all they cared.
To top off an already terrible night, the kicker to all of this was that, as we were getting ready to leave, two women came in who obviously knew the waiter or the owner or something. They were greeted with warm smiles and before they could even sit down, warm bread was on their table. I am certainly not the type of person who is only satisfied if the staff waits on me hand and foot. But to be treated like I’m not even there is just unacceptable for me.
Don’t go to Marcello’s unless you want to feel like a second class citizen.

Haven’t been here in forever! I use to love coming in and grabbing a slice with their brick oven and hitting the road, never stayed for dinner.
I decided to come in one night with the wife for dinner. The food is really good here but the service I’m afraid leaves you with a taste that can’t be make a comeback with the food. We ordered a pizza and never got cheese or pepper, which would be common but whatever, my life’s not going to end over it. Then I wave down the closest employee and ask him for some and he laughs and walks away? I then learn to find out, IT WAS THE OWNER! What kind of owner is that? I was so frustrated and angry I asked for the check and left. No point in asking to talk to the manager about the unprofessional-​ism because I’d end up just telling the owner himself. Will NEVER return for anything more then a slice of pizza to go.

Keeping my three start rating… Service has gotten somewhat better. Food sis still solid and their patio is one of the better ones in the neighborhood.
We always get these two items which goes perfectly with our bottle of cab (yes it is BYOB).
— mussels/​squid/​schungilli (snails) with Mariana sauce. You can pick sweet or hot. They also give you wan bread which is perfect for soaking up the sauce.
— Vesuvio pizza — clams and spicy peppers. I haven’t seen this offered anywhere else so we sometimes crave for it. It is quite pricy for the size you get but packed with flavor.
Their new menu seems quite interesting, with beef tripe etc. Tempted to try but was hoping someone else may try it first.

I work in the area and Marcello’s has been a part of my lunch rotation for some time.
Above average for a pizzeria in both food and ambiance. The chicken parm and grilled chicken panini are my go to’s.