Bistro Di Marino

Went to lunch today and the only option was the buffet. The choices were phenomenal and the food we chose exceptional. The problem was for me and my friend, what to tip. We served ourselves and although the server was very nice and kept our water glasses full it was not waiting on us.

Great food and fantastic service! Did I mention the incredible dessert! Never had a bad meal here!

My 4^th time here. We like ordering apps. Love the antipasto. Beans sausage and broccoli rabe a go too for me. The deserts are yummy. And the staff is very sweet and attentive. The décor is warm and I like the brick walls — a romantic place with the right person.

Food was excellent. Service was fantastic. The outdoor seating in the summer is so nice. Highly recommend this place!

Best gnocchi on the planet! Most hospitable staff! The Lunch buffet is an amazing value and the patio dining spring/​fall is second to none. On an avenue jam packed with Italian restaurants, this one really stands out for it’s amazing food and awesome staff.

The food is unreal. Service is fantastic and thank you God for Christopher our waiter. He is beautiful and a good waiter.

Went here this past Saturday after late breakfast at panera. Wasn’t sure what to get but went with the short rib sandwich and the chicken parm sandwich. You can get a small side and I got the tomato basil which was good and the pasta fagioli which was so so. This came to around $ 20 and took almost 10 minutes to make but worth the wait! Short rib was really good but the chicken parm was one of the best I’ve had in awhile. Would have to go back to try some other stuff but two good starts for my first visit!

Back again for a client appreciation dinner. Stellar food (gnocchi and meatballs) stuffed flounder like you never thought possible and mini cannoli. Tim was great server and Michael is always keeping the front of the house running smoothly. These guys know how to please.

Went during restaurant week with a friend — amazing chicken arrabiata and pappardelle. Waiter was awesome and prices weren’t bad! Will definitely be returning to this little local gem :)

First time for us here. Made reservations through Open Table, and when we arrived our table was ready, no wait time at all. The dining room is smaller than we expected, but nice and intimate with dimmed lights and candles on the table. It made it a little hard to read the menu. As an appetizer we ordered the gnocchi, which were pretty good. We both got chicken, my wife got saltimbucca and I got the chicken Nonna. The entrees were really good, and for the 2 of us it cost about $ 50. All in all a good place to go for Italian food.

Favorite place in Collingswood. Courtyard is a great gathering place! BYOB and delicious food– wonderful combination!

First time there. Loved the courtyard! Excellent server named Anthony. Gnocchi is AMAZING! Just melts in your mouth. Very fluffy. Highly recommended. Stay away from the calamari. Very bland and way too many onions. We will def be returning!

Went on a Saturday night and sat outside, it was really nice. The service was good. The gnocchi appetizer was as advertised. Ordered the chicken parm with a side of penne vodka. These are my 2 favorites dishes to order so it was great to order both. The chicken parm was delicious and the penne vodka was amazing, one of the best I’ve had and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The dessert was ok but I don’t think anything would of been as good as my appetizer and meal. I will be back often!

Completely obsessed with this place. The patio and the food are EVERYTHING.

I really wanted to like Bistro di Marino more.
I made reservations, for a weeknight, requesting a more private table for two. I was put right next to the hostess’s station, and when I asked for a more private table, the hostess shrugged me off and apologized and said it was the only table available. I expected a bit more empathy…
Reading the menus was nearly impossible; the menu that I had looked like it was a copy of a copy and the wording throughout was very blurry. I pointed this out to the waiter, who apologized, and clearly knew about the issue. Why doesn’t the management team invest in menus that a 25 year old can easily read?
I ordered the veal Gino, which was just OK. I ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes and detected no garlic; which may be due to my high tolerance of garlic, but regardless, I have never ordered garlic mashed potatoes without tasting a hint of garlic. I also ordered a side of penne vodka, which was a little overcooked and rubber-​ey; I would have preferred it more al dente.
My partner ordered the gnocchi sampler, which was available as an entrée, although the menu did not state this. The gnocchis were really good and definitely the highlight of the meal.
We finished off the meal with chocolate cake, which we both found far too rich — even for chocolate cake. Yes, this is possible.
Also, I would have loved to hear more about Bistro’s partnership with a local winery, since the BYO subject somewhat fascinates me. I’m unsure if I did not receive this explanation because we brought our own wine, or if there was another reason for this. Either way, I would have liked to know more for future reference.
I’ll give Bistro di Marino a try again later this year; perhaps I would have better luck dining outside?

Great food, great service, and the place is really cute. Get the gnocchi. Everyone is friendly and accommodating. Love it!!!

delicious with a great staff! Also, back patio is great for family functions! We had a bridal shower there and everyone loved it! Also came back for my graduation dinner!
Gnocchi misto (gnocchi sampler)
Fried artichokes
Long hots (super spicy)
Braised short rib!
Dessert sampler

I would say that this place has one of the best outdoor seating areas in the Camden/​Burlington County area. It is very cozy, especially at nighttime.
The Booze: Collingswood is a dry town and this restaurant is BYOB. However, to promote NJ Winery’s, they can now sell NJ wine as well (currently, they sell Sharrott Winery exclusively). So, with that said, my wife and I drank two bottles worth of the Sangria, good times were had! So, you can BYOB, purchase wine bottles or have them make you a Sangria pitcher (I think they serve wine based cocktails/​spritzers as well?)
The Food: The Grilled Antipasto was very good. The ‘Traditional Meatball’ offering comes with 4, nice size meatballs (makes a generous appetizer). It was good but I have had better tasting meatballs. Kate had the Ribeye special, it was excellent, cooked perfectly as ordered! I had the Pork Chop with stuffed sausage special. The Pork Chop was d-​e-​l-​i-​c-​i-​o-​u-​s! The risotto was cooked al dente. However, I didn’t care for the sausage stuffing, it was too mushy and had a pâté like consistency. I would of preferred more of a crumbled/​crispy consistency. We had no room for desert.
The service: Our server was very good. He gave us the perfect mix of attention and space. Our water glasses were refreshed in a timely manner.
The Pricing: We felt it was reasonable/​competitive for the area.
We will be back.

Bistro Di Marino has been on our list for a while and I’m glad we finally got around to checking it out.
Located on the fringe of the Collingswood downtown, you probably wouldn’t walk by here if you weren’t specifically headed to this restaurant. As with most parts of Collingswood downtown, street parking is a little tough on the main drag, but turn down one of the side streets and you should be fine.
We arrived on a Friday night around 7:45 without a reservation and with a little hesitation by the hostess we were seated. The place was pretty busy and loud. With the exposed brick walls that happens, but the huge group of old Italian men added to the volume. It wasn’t to the point where we couldn’t enjoy the meal though.
The Room:
Simple and inviting. I love the exposed brick. With two rooms there is plenty of space and you don’t feel cramped next to your neighbor. They also have a cool outdoor patio area (no restaurant in Collingswood other than El Sitio has this) for outdoor dining on summer nights.
The Service:
Our waiter Jeremy was very courteous and shared with us several specials for the evening. The bread came out soon after and the support staff was quick to refill any near empty water glass. In addition, the owner seemed to be keeping a keen eye on the room and chatting with the patrons from time to time to see how things were going.
The Food:
The complementary bread that came out was very warm and the pesto oil on the side was delicious. I could have eaten this the rest of the night.
As for the main dish, I went with the Cappellini Bambino (which the owner told me was named after his mother). It was delicious, but for the price it could have had a bit more lump crab and maybe a few more shrimp. Not bad though.
The wife went with the rack of lamb over risotto. Very good… but very expensive. I wish they would have told us it was going to be $ 37 beforehand.
The crème brule for dessert was also delicious and the wife wants me to point out that they used real cream, no fake can stuff. The complementary after dinner drink was a nice touch too.
Overall, I gave this a 4 while the wife gave it a 4.5. Currently tied for 3^rd on my best Italian restaurant in Collingswood list. We plan on visiting here again… hopefully when it warms up and we can sit on the back patio.

I was teetering between a 3 and a 4-​star review through my entire meal here tonight. If I was only reviewing my dish, I’d definitely give a 4, but with places like the phenomenal Kitchen Consigliere, That’s Amore and Il Fiore mere blocks away, this is a definite 3.
I live right down the street now, about three blocks away, and wanted to try this place out tonight. My mom and I walked in sans reservation, and were able to get seats.
Bread was served with a pesto/​oil mix, which was really good/​different.
To the entrée part: After so many chicken parms that I’ve worn myself out of the parm part of the dish this week, I asked the server if it would be possible to modify the dish a bit, which was no problem at all. My mom ordered the pesto gnocchi, as the Bistro prides themselves on their gnocchi, but it came out with an unexpected surprise: cheese.
Description of dish: «Homemade Bistro gnocchi, served with fresh basil pesto cream sauce with fresh roasted peppers.»
Now, if I was the one being served the cheese, I’d likely request more and drown the gnocchi in it. However, my mom loathes cheese to depths I simply don’t understand. Nevertheless, they replaced it, but she still wasn’t too pumped about the dish.
After she sent her food back, the service definitely shifted. For one, the owner was hovering behind her, which made me feel pretty darn awkward, and for two, our server didn’t stop over until the end of the meal. My mom requested the check, and if he said anything about dessert, I certainly missed it. …And dessert is my favorite time of the day! I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
I then overheard him peppily telling the table behind me about some email club they have, where you can sign up for specials or something. I don’t know more simply because he didn’t tell me about it.
So that kind of sucked, because I did really like my entrée.