Macchialina Taverna Rustica

Not worth the hype. Portions are minuscule, especially for the big price tag, and nothing special. There is also probably 10 menu items total, and one of the dishes was sold out. Burrata was amazing, and the special truffle pasta was good, just wish it was bigger. Probably won't return.

This is one of our most favorite restaurants on the beach. Food is always solid, strong professional staff, and yummy cocktails . The short rib lasagna melts in your mouth, and all the pastas are home made and delicious. Highly recommend!!

We had an absolutely wonderful date night at Macchialina! I've been wanting to try Macchialina for ages, and we finally got the opportunity. It caught my eye months before, when I happened to be walking by and saw all of the tables full and lining the sidewalk. I thought based on how full the restaurant was, it must be good!

These sidewalk tables were what I had been thinking all along were the "patio tables", but man was I mistaken! We reserved a patio table on a Sunday evening, and we were led to our table through this gorgeous and seemingly enchanted back patio away from the sidewalk and passersby. You'd never know it was there! It's covered in case of weather and has a cozy and romantic ambiance to it.

We were promptly greeted by our attentive server and ordered a bottle of wine. Their wine selection is vast - many regions, varietals, and prices. All of the food we got was excellent. We started with a meat and cheese plate which our server assisted in making recommendations for. This came with these puffed rolls, which were fluffy and moist, very different from your typical dinner roll in the best way!

We also ordered the polenta as an appetizer, but this ended up coming out after our entrees, so it was more of a side dish. It was super creamy and had big chunks of mushrooms in it. For entrees, we ordered a lasagna that was on special and the Tagliolini with the truffle add-on. Both dishes were AMAZING but on the smaller side. Macchialina doesn't seem to be one of those restaurants where you get a massive bowl of pasta, but rather, in true Italian fashion,the pasta is a smaller first course followed by an entree. The lasagna had so many layers and a great flavor. The truffle add-on to the Tagliolini was expensive ($45) but well worth it and plentiful! It was a hearty portion of black truffle, and it added immense flavor to the dish. The truffle add-on is only available for certain dishes, which I liked because it shows the restaurant takes care and consideration into where it will compliment best, rather than just dumping it onto anything and everything.

For dessert we got the banana bread pudding which was served with what looked like ice cream, but upon tasting it was not ice cream but rather a cream of sorts. Very delicious and decadent, perfect sharing size!

I loved Macchialina and thought it totally lived up to the hype. Despite our polenta not coming out at the appropriate time, I still think they're deserving of five stars, and I can't wait to go back.

We had a wonderful time at Macchialina. Highly suggest sitting outside. It's gorgeous. We really loved the ambiance. The service was impeccable. They allowed our dog to come.

The best part was definitely the food. The cavatelli macchialina is one of the best Italian American dishes I've ever had. The chicken parm was fine. Nothing special. We also really liked their take on tiramisu.

We'll definitely be back.

Beautiful space with great outdoor/patio seating - perfect for a lovely dinner!

We knew when there were many groups waiting for the restaurant to open at 6pm, we had done well to make a Resy - but also tables filled up quickly short after! We enjoyed our meal - especially the Polenta (creamy homey goodness) and the Chicken Parmesan (which tastes super fresh with the tomatoes, kind of like a bruschetta). Make sure to leave room for dessert - which looked allll so delicious but we were too full!

My goodness this place is wonderful! Every single dish we had was just so delicious we wanted more. We tried the four course chef menu, which they brought us the meals that the chef recommended. It was $70 per person which was a great deal, I highly recommend if you are hungry and want a surprise. The best dish was the broccolini al cesare, I just wanted more. It's an intimate and romantic place, so the ambiance was great. As far as parking, it's all street parking. There is a lot right next to the restaurant but that is private, so beware of parking there, they will tow. I'll definitely be back!

Busy busy busy! Make reservations so you can guarantee yourself a table.

Service was great as was the food.

The entire table did a chefs tasting so we got 3 appetizers, 3 pastas, 3 entrees, and 2 desserts.

Appetizer:
1. Local Burrata was very yummy!
2. Creamy Polenta was very flavorful and my favorite appetizer
3. Broccolini Al Cesare was another great option

Pasta:
1.Cavatelli Machialina was my favorite pasta with the meatballs and the al dente pasta
2. Cacio e Pepe was the one I looked forward to the most and liked the least. I felt the flavor was off/missing something
3. TAGLIOLINI AI FUNGHI was yummy and I actually liked it more than expected

Entree:
1. Pacific Halibut was very yummy!
2. VEAL MILANESE both this one and the VEAL PARMIGIANA were spectacular and I don't even really like veal!

Dessert:
1. Tiramisu was good, but not my favorite
2. Chocolate mousse was AMAZING! I could eat two of those

A great restaurant for date night or family dinner. Seating is intimate and they have outdoor dining as well. Fine service throughout dinner. I appreciated the restaurant offered smaller portions of entrees which allowed us to try a few different dishes. The food was fresh. We weren't fans of the texture of the bread pudding. It wasn't a traditional bread pudding recipe.

Macchialina was cute, quaint with a lovely intimate setting, but my experience was not as great as expected.

There were 3 of us and we each ordered a pasta dish and shared the burrata appetizer. I was pretty disappointed with the quality of the food. The pasta portions were too small and lacked salt. I was definitely still hungry after finishing my meal.

Overall, the ambiance was nice and the service was good, but the food was just average and lacking real flavor.

Amazing experience. Highly recommended. We shared two pastas, 4 cocktails and the two gelatos of the day. I still dream of the pistachio

A firm splurge and feel good about it restaurant. I can understand the full reservations on the daily and the rush to get their monthly one day limited menu, like their Mack burger. I myself went when they were offering the Chicken Parmesan dinner, which starts you off with a clams casino appetizer. You can only get these one day only dishes by reserving and pre-paying for them, including tax and gratuity (via Resy). Their reservations go fast for inside seating, so if you wait until the last minute to look for a table, you could end up with outdoor seating on their sidewalk.

There's a parking lot next to the restaurant that does not belong to them, as indicated by a sign when you walk in that says you will be towed if you park there. You best bet is to street park, which can be doable for earlier times in the evening for Alton Road.

The inside of the restaurant is cozy, both in ambiance and space. You will probably be bumping an elbow into something or someone or having to move your chair several times throughout your meal. But it's worth the maneuvering to enjoy anything on their menu.
The clams casino were herb fragrant, unctuous and dense in flavor and texture, satisfying even to have one or two. The chicken parmesan was well put together and huge, with the freshest marinara, melted mozzarella and penne that I've had in a while. I was able to share it and take a sizable portion home to enjoy the next day.

We shared the Cavatelli Macchialina, another great reason to claim that pasta is an essential part of life. The cavatelli has just enough firmness and was doughy enough to be a star dressed in well seasoned tomato sauce. The occasional baby meatball and porchetta made each bite even more delightful.

What I found cool was that while they have an expansive wine list (though limited on wines by glass, you'd have to go to a half or full bottle for rarer wines), they specialize in original martinis. It was fun to see the diagram of the base spirit in each martini, the vermouth, and the garnishes and understand what makes it unique. I had a Bambini Tini ($10), the 1.5 ounce pour for when you want to try more than one drink without having to ask yourself why you thought having 2 martinis was a good idea. I had had the Martinez, what was described as their version of an Old Fashioned. It was slightly sweet but flavorful , like if a Manhattan decided to get some aromatic friends.

Our server was knowledgeable and did not pretend like he knew everything that we asked about. He went and asked the bartender about our martini questions and returned with answers that helped us decide on the drinks. Our plates were served and taken away promptly, and sometime after settling the bill, we were asked by a hostess to vacate our table for the next reservation. If you like lingering at a restaurant after dinner, I suggest you do it somewhere else, because there's someone waiting to have the same meal as you. Why don't you go by and be that someone too?