Marcella’s Lasagneria

I was doing an event at Dogpatch studios and popped over for lunch. It was amazing. Lasagna without the gut bomb requiring an afternoon nap. Fresh, home made and home grown. I went back for lunch the next day. 4* only because they weren’t open for dinner when I wanted more!

Best lasagna I have ever had. Had the abruzzo and the verdura. I don’t know what makes the lasagna so magical but I imagine it has to do with how thin each layer of pasta is in the lasagna — there’s also probably 10 – 15 layers of pasta in it. A bit steep at $ 11.50/serving but after the first bite I had no regrets. I can’t wait to go back to try all the other lasagnas. Great staff with a great sense of humor.

Holy moly! The lasagna is amazing! They really have a good thing going here. Can’t wait to go back!

OMG glad we finally tried this place. Living in Europe you get spoiled with great Italian food. This is by far the best lasagna in the city. The opening times are tricky but they said some delivery services will bring it to you. The people who run it are super nice too. Very authentic and Italian!

Quite possibly the most delicious lasagna I’ve ever tasted, and my Italian-​American guests were hard pressed to think of better ones from their home country. The lasagna is made using an old, elaborate style of using lots of thin layers and extremely fresh ingredients. The lasagna cuts like cake almost and doesn’t slop all over your plate like so many poor imitations. The Abbruzzo and the Verdura are my absolute favorites, but there is not a bad dish on the menu and I eat here weekly. For the size of the pan and the deliciousness of it all, $ 14 for a lunch special with salad and drink is peanuts for one of the best meals in San Francisco, regardless of the price and setting. The owners, John Franco and his father, are two of the most courteous hosts I’ve ever come across. What they do and serve truly comes from generations of passionate cooking and hospitality.

Standard food, nothing to write about.
Ordered a special pasta. asked for something with veggies in it.
Waiter said — «You want veggies, go to the produce store.»
Then he was like — Want chilli in it?
I said ‘lots’.
He said — «I’ll put so much. make your butt burn.»
Don’t know why he was being so familiar… didn’t like it. Yeah family business. personal touch etc. too personal methinks. Not coming back. can easily skip this experience in my day.

My husband and I had two different types of lasagna.
I had the «Verdure» — I will admit, aesthetically it didn’t look quite tasty. BUT to my surprise, it was the yummiest vegetable lasagna I have ever had.
My husband had the Meat and it was delicious. My husband wanted to try all the lasagnas after that. We told Franco that perhaps they should have a lasagna platter sampler in the future. :)
Franco is a very friendly guy and stands behind what he tells you about his food.
Try Marcella’s and you will enjoy their food!

I look forward to Lasagna nights. We’ve pretty much tried them all and all of them are delicious but our favorites are: Eggplant, Mushroom and Abruzzo (in no particular order) We order 2 of either one of those 3.
The place is small but comfortable. You’ll see family photos and a fridge full of other tempting delicious dishes. The owners are super friendly and welcoming. Love this place!

What I ate: LASAGNA!
Visit date: September 16, 2015
First time? Yes.
I was greeted with a smile and the most informative lesson in warming up my take out order at home. Marcella’s is small, and I had heard stories of their fabulous lasagna. I was just never in the area during their restaurant hours… until today! O-​M-​G. The food lives up to the hype.
On this visit I ordered the sausage, mushroom, and butternut squash lasagnas. If you have a choice to heat up your lasagna in the oven or in the microwave, choose oven! All the layers heat up evenly and the cheese melts but does not ooze out oil. The flavors of the lasagna were intense. The sausage had lovely notes of fennel and a little kick. The mushroom had the best textures; there were even crisp onion (or maybe they were mushrooms, too) bits, the butternut squash was toothsome (not mushy!). The gooey cheese, the sauce, and the thin layers of pasta made these lasagnas the ‘lightest’ lasagnas I’ve ever had. I am drooling and dreaming about them as I write this post.
I can’t wait to go back and try other items on their menu.
Note: They also sell house-​made dried pasta and sauce pairings for $ 12. Lasagna is served until 5p; other items on the menu are only available until around 330p, but you can call ahead for pick up if you can’t make it before then.

A friend took me here as the restaurant was only opened limited hours and he’s been dying to go this place. We were here for Monday lunch and it was extremely packed — you can tell there were definitely a lot of frequent customers as everyone was happily munching away at their plates. The father and son immediately greeted us and just like everyone had said, they were super hospitable and got us seated right away.
We went with the Abruzzo (meat/​sausage) and Bianca (white sauce /​pancetta) lasagnas and the pieces were large and steaming hot — mostly importantly, they were both sooo delicious. I especially liked the bianca because it was super creamy and the salty flavour of the pancetta really came through. We both completely cleaned out our plates.
Definite recommend for anyone who is looking for some good Italian homey food!

I think I was in Italy for an hour. My friend and I were welcomed by Massimo (father) and Gianfranco (son) and told them that we were from the Peninsula and they treated us like they were family. The food was amazing, the service was like we were their cousins. I will definitely go back and try every lasagna and pasta they have. The soup that came with the meal was flavorful and mouth watering. I kept dunking my bread in the soup that when my pasta came, I was full but ate as much as I could. Can’t wait to have the lasagna tonight.
Thank you Gianfranco for accommodating me today so I could bring my friend and her family some food. Raise she’s sick and is home from the hospital. I will forever be your faithful customer.

I just had a terrific lunch here. I didn’t really know going in that Marcella’s is known for their pasta (a friend had recommended we go) so I (naively) ordered a chicken panini. The guy taking my order (who runs the place with his dad) was totally funny and basically said «you gotta order the pasta». Who am I to argue?!? He made me up a custom dish of spaghetti with the Abruzzo sauce and it was awesome. Just the right amount of heat in the sauce, perfect portion size, and the spaghetti itself was excellent (made fresh on site).
I loved the food and the people running it seem like really great people. Kudos!

I will judge anyone who visits Marcella’s and doesn’t agree that they kill it with their lasagna and make your afternoon with their Italian friendliness. They are literally the nicest restaurant owners I have ever encountered.
Extra cool points for being a ‘lasagneria.‘
If you’re having a hard day at work and don’t know where to go for lunch in the ‘patch, go to Marcella’s because they’ll cheer you right up. If you’re having an average day or a spectacular day you might as well go too.
I’ve tried several of their lasagnas and my favorite is probably the verdura. It has toasted zucchini on top and almost looks reptilian but the pesto-​y cheesy goodness inside ties all the layers together. I still need to try their pasta specials which friends have raved about.
Today, the son, unfailingly friendly, read my mind and recommended getting half pistachio/​half gianduja gelato. That just made me like them even more.
I have never visited Marcella’s and not left happy, full, and actually smiling. If I’m going to pay for a meal, this is exactly the end result I want.

one could try to have all of the marvelous thin noodle lasagnas, but it will be difficult not to stray over to the daily specials: today’s pennette [sp?], with – of course – the delicious and perfectly balanced Santa Catalina vino rosso is a fine example.
Yum.

Looking for lunch in the neighborhood, and what could be better than a lasagneria?
We tried both the sausage (abruzzo) and the white (bianco). Both are flavorful. The sausage is spicy, the bianco rich. A decent portion size. Excellent. Didn’t leave a speck on the plate. I love that they use very thin noodles. I don’t like lasagna made with thick rubbery noodles. Got the lunch special which also gives you a soup or salad. We tried the root vegetable soup which was good, with a nice roasted flavor. Want lasagna? Come here.

This place is great for homemade lasagna in a variety of flavors. You can get meat lasagna or veggie lasagna. A tomato based lasagna or indulge in the creamy bianca lasagna. There are so many delicious choices! The lasagnas are premade and cut and heated to order.
Their pasta dishes are yummy and I got the caprese salad and you get a big ball of burrata cheese!!!
My only gripe is that it is salty for me. I’m really sensitive about salt so I can taste a dish when the salt is over used. So I don’t go as often. But I’m sure I could ask no salt for the non lasagna dishes.

We got catered lunch from Marcella’s. Food was fresh and healthy with lots of veggies. Mediterranean mountain salad was really good. Fusilli was decent. Overall, food was heavy/​oily. I was full but not satisfied.

Restaurants that offer service that makes you feel like the most important person in the world and treat you like a friend always have a special place in my heart. Even if the food is mediocre (And it’s not here, we will get to that), outstanding service can more than make up for it. Marcella’s Lasagneria is probably one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area for service, and believe me, as someone who was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a foodie, that is saying A LOT. The owner and his son make you feel straight at home and offer true Italian hospitality to all of their customers. I have been here a few times now and receive the same great service all of the time.
However, this aspect is just icing on the cake. The food itself is delicious. I am a huge lasagna fan and this place definitely does the job of satisfying my lasagna cravings. I’ve tried several of their lasagnas including the bianca and sausage lasagnas that are great as well as their black truffle ravioli, which is equally as delicious. I want to try some of their other dishes but I just can’t deviate from getting their amazing lasagnas. You can definitely taste the wholesomeness and the love in each of the dishes. If you are a lasagna fan, you definitely need to stop by here. You will not be disappointed.

My man had a business lunch meeting here, & I requested he bring an order of lasagna home for me to try later. The mushroom lasagna, please.
OMG. This mushroom lasagna was UNBELIEVABLY good. It was divine, pillowy perfection.
It actually MELTED IN MY MOUTH.
This is after it had been in the fridge for several hours & reheated for dinner.
Blissful.
Then…there’s the next day. The following morning, I thought it’d be a good idea to warm up what was left for breakfast.
Again, it actually melted in my mouth.
This lasagna is easily one of the best lasagnas I have ever had. Flavors & texture both crush it. The way that the pasta is so divinely soft, yet not at all over cooked, is mind blowing.
This lasagna rivals, & is even perhaps better than, the lasagna from Italian Homemade. What?!
Further bulletins as future taste tests warrant!
I’m not sure who Marcella is, but she is a lasagna master.
5 stars.

I’ve been meaning to try Marcella’s… pretty much ever since I moved to the neighborhood. This proved to be fairly difficult, given that they’re only open during work hours, and, well, I usually work. But! Thanks to a concussion I received a few weeks back, I ended up getting to finally try their oh-​so-​famous lasagna during one of my rest days.
Coming in after regular lunch hours, I ended up ordering their abruzzo lasagna, which came out piping hot about ten or fifteen minutes later. For a little under $ 9, you get a pretty solid, filling slice of tasty, crispy lasagna — though they also have pastas and other dishes (along with daily specials) to try as well.
Chatting it up a bit with the owner’s son at the end, I found out that everything they have is handmade the day of, which is largely why they limit their hours: they really need the downtime to rest! That said, they have actually been considering expanding into the weekend, but that’s still a bit up in the air at the moment.
***Accessibility Info***
Venue — A fairly tiny space, with maybe 10 tables inside. Accessible, sort of: the tables are hard to seat at because the style of table legs prevents you from scooting in completely, and the shape of the shop means that only a percentage of the tables are actually suitable for wheelchair positioning.
Bathroom — Didn’t check them out.