Trattoria Da Marco in Baunatal

I’ve visited this restaurant before and loved the food and service. During the most recent visit the food was good and the service decent, however it didn’t live up to my past experience, granted this visit was during the pandemic. Will give them another chance in the future but not any time soon. I definitely support this restaurant but please set your expectations accordingly during pandemic times and order takeout instead. This place is expensive so you better be craving what you want. I visited during the lunch service and ordered the business lunch. My friend ordered off the standard menu. The appetizer was potato soup and it was delicious. The entree I had was the quail. It was well made but didn’t have the flavor that I had on previous visits. The dessert was the chocolate cake and honestly tasted store bought from Costco. On prior visits there were other complimentary items provided as well, this time around it was the standard fare of nibblers at the beginning and refreshment of bread. Parking is valet only, even during the pandemic. Didn’t see any wipe downs of the vehicle during the park process but the valet was kind enough to let me park on my own. Strong 6 out of 10.

Never disappointing. Atmosphere, food and service are excellent.

Attentive Service. Great food.

A Houston institution

Great pasta and boar ragout. Truffle pasta phenomenal but spendy. Great curb side takeout service.

Excellent and authentic food, class service and ambience.

Da Marco is an upscale Italian restaurant and has been a Houston establishment for a long time. This is a special occasion type of place since it is NOT CHEAP!

The food is outstanding as is the service.

Amazing. Great food. Great fun. Worth it. Go and enjoy

Unfortunately this establishment did not live up to the glowing recommendations we received from our friends and family. We dined here on 9/25 for what was supposed to be an intimate dining experience for my husband and I celebrating his birthday. The overall experience was lackluster and both of us felt as if we were being “rushed out” from the moment we stepped foot in. We came for the pasta which we had heard amazing things about but was thrown off when the price read $115. That’s an awful lot for pasta with 3 (yes 3) shavings of truffle on it. From the videos and photos I saw online, it appeared to have an abundant amount of fresh truffles piled onto the pasta—which would rightfully justify the price—but our experience was the complete opposite. The truffle was shaved into the pasta by a man in a black suit (not our waiter) in the quickest manner and not on our table but when our dishes were still on the side. Then we ordered the sea bass which our waiter highly recommended and suggested we split. When the dish came out he looked frazzled that it was not split into 2 and proceeded to split it at the table right then and there. *I should note it was the waiters suggestion that we split the entrees rather than ordering our own. Now the issues I have do not regard the food, yes the food was good — good, not great. The presentation was mediocre, and the service fell short. The prices were absurd, but we would have happily looked past it had the service been up to par. The overall experience was awkward and we were disappointed and needless to say we skipped dessert and left as soon as we could.

Love this place. Excellent food always. Service impeccable.

Italian food and the atmosphere at this spot is great. visited at eight, it was not full. the staff was friendly and observant.

Absolutely fantastic. Experience, service, FOOD. Wine, port, desert. Meat, pasta, cheese. Everything. 100%.

Italian food... so good. I like it here always quality food & service. The staff was friendly and observant. Prices are decent.

Ok location for quality Italian food. Came in on a Thurs.

Great experience. The Black truffle tagliolini was amazing and the service was spot on.

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.

Best Italian Food in Houston

6/5 ⭐️ for service! 👏🏻 Most of the food was good, unfortunately I wasn’t too fond of mine, but the manager was committed to making things right. So, I’m very impressed by their level of service there. Next time though we will probably stick with the traditional Italian dishes.

Staff were outright rude and hostile. That place is dangerous.

We went as a family last Friday evening to celebrate our daughter's graduation. We wanted a special night for her since all of her other celebrations (prom, graduation, etc) have been canceled or turned virtual. Everyone selected dinner portions of the primi selections (pasta dishes). My daughter and I both had the wild boar and pappardelle. My son had the spaghettini and clams. My wife, the agnolotti. Everything was phenomenal! I didn't even know that I liked wild boar. For dessert, Eric (who led our wait staff) recommended the granita special, which we all declined in lieu of various chocolate things (because they're chocolate!). When the dessert came out, they also brought our daughter a complimentary serving of the granita on a decorated plate with "Congratulations!" written across it in chocolate. It was compliments of Mr De Marco and just a beautiful gesture during challenging times. We shared everything and the granita was really good. Think of a New Orleans sno-ball flavored with almonds. Light, fluffy, not too sweet, and very refreshing. Definitely consider it! The food, the service, and the atmosphere were all wonderful, especially given the very challenging circumstances involved with masks and gloves, etc... We will be back!

Best in Htown !!

Very good place with interesting dishes and a pleasant atmosphere, somewhat expensive

As always this is one of the best spots to dine in Texas

II heard nice things about this but have not been here.

Management/service

Excellent. 1000% recommended!

Bad customer service First and last time Been waiting for 20 mins for our table

Good food but unbelievably overpriced, €18 for a pasta dish. I would expect a lot more for the prices

Enjoyed the lobster-sweet corn ravioli, braised short ribs and grilled Colorado lamb chops.

Oh my goodness! This gem has become my favorite restaurant in Houston ❤️ The fish, pastas, breads and dessert were exceptional. The staff is accommodating and genuine.

Love this place! Cozy, casual, and very delicious.

Food is really good, went as a guest.Im still upset when I went a year ago and was charged $75,00 to uncork my own wine bottle,and management would not discuss with me the charge.i have told all my friends, they have stopped going there,i keep up,their business is way off.Food good,bad management BAD BAD!

Extraordinary place to eat well Italian

Great!!!!delicious food, Service outstanding......

This is great place to have some good food. It's a bit pricey for the other restaurants compared to its category in houston. I would highly recommend the blue crab ravioli. Their wine selection is quite amazing.

The place has amazing Italian food. The atmosphere is great as well as the services.

This is the place we go for special occasions, and it has not disappointed.

Delicious

Enjoyed the calf liver "veneziana" w/ polenta. Best liver I've ever eaten. Service was great and nice atmosphere.

Great place for a romantic dinner! Thank you!!

Truffle truffle truffle. Can I say more

Fine Southern Italian Restaurant

7:30 reservations, hubby made a courtesy call that we might be a few minutes late due to traffic. Walked in at 7:36 - went to the bar and while having a glass of wine rec'd email notice that our reservation had been changed to 7:45. Went to inquire with hostess - "because you said you'd be late". Mind you, before 7:45 we were enjoying a glass of wine at the bar. Were not seated until 8:10! There were two open tables for 2 in the main room starting before 8 yet we still waited. Got seated in a dark corner in the side room next to a table of 7 that arrived about 15 min. later. That table had the 2-3 waiters hovering and serving the entire time. I had to ask for bread then water refill while we waited for our "meh" meal. We felt like total stepchildren. Service was subpar. My lobster ravioli was chewy and warm when it arrived like it had been microwaved to reheat. Table of 7 ate, had dessert and left before we were finished - we did not take a long time to order. Food was ok - nothing that either of us were wowed by when we usually are. Slow Dough bread and our bottle of wine were best parts of the meal. Very disappointing. I've always loved this place but we're heading back to Brennan's for date nights. We could have gotten better food and much better service elsewhere. Very off night at DaMarco.

Attended the Federation of Houston Professional Women Education Foundation Women of Excellence Gathering event and had the appetizers served and they were delicious. Servers were excellent. Will have to come back to try dinner. Luan York

Best restaurant in Houston. Quiet atmosphere, great homemade pasta, best service I've experienced in a city that prides itself on top notch service. Extensive wine list.

I wanted to like this place; It's been on my list FOREVER and I was excited to finally get a chance to go here for my birthday dinner last night. I was expecting the BEST Italian food cause of all the amazing reviews and don't get me wrong, it was good.. it just didn't blow me away. Solid 3.5 stars. Valet parking and we were seated right away - smooth sailing, zero kinks. The restaurant itself was very elegant, a little more sophisticated than "homey" - but also not extremely fancy where you feel uncomfortable. Yes the waiters are dressed in black and white; However, there were people dressed up in suits and then there were folks in a jacket and jeans as well. I don't think they were extremely particular about the dress code - just don't show up too casual and you should be good, meaning jeans and a button-up shirt at least. Service was good - not the best service I'd ever had but nothing to complain about either. I was expecting a bit more from such a nice/expensive place? They present you with the specials of the day on a board, but take the board away to present to the next table before you order... The tables are a bit close together because you can hear the conversation next to you. You can also see and smell the food for the other table as it is being prepared "tableside" - omg that truffle being shaved.. he was so teasing me! =) But at the same time, my face and noise shouldn't be so close to someone elses' meal. The peach bellini was delish - I ended up getting 2 and totally not that bad in terms of pricing (at $8 a glass). Now for the most important part, the food: *Burrata di "Puglia", Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - The burrata was fresh and fantastic and so were the sweet roasted cherry tomatoes. Bursting with flavors. I quite liked this dish, especially because it was so refreshing - it tastes exactly like you would expect. 5/5 *Spaghetti with Wild Santa Barbara Sea Urchin, Crab & Chillies - okay so this was THE dish I wanted to try because I haven't seen sea urchin spaghetti anywhere else in Houston and I absolutely loved it when I had it in Positano. I saw photos of it on Yelp and decided then and there I had to make it here to get it. I was so disappointed. The spaghetti was not serve al dente, there was no "bite" to the pasta. It was actually a bit overcooked. The flavors of the sea urchin did not stand out - it was overpowered by the crab and everything else, which made the dish a bit too "fishy". I think I could've done without the crab, I didn't end up eating all the crab pieces and thought it didn't add to the dish at all. There were small pieces of shell in my meal, most likely from the crab. I cut the chilli up a bit to add a kick to the dish, but it was just an "addition" on the side and didn't add to the dish either - the crab and the chilli didn't compliment well. To me it didin't feel like it blended together well in flavors. I'm glad I ordered the primi size because the server told me there was also a larger dinner size - I definitely wouldn't have finished it. It was rich and saucy and a bit too much to want more of. 3/5 Overall, the service was good. The place was nice. We loved the appetizers more than the main dishes. The mains were just okay.. and not worth the price because the portions are way small for what you pay. I also think if you pay for a nice meal, you want premium quality ingredients and with the best ingredients, you want those main ingredients to stand out in your dish. The steak should've stood out and spoke for itself, just like the sea urchin and the spaghetti should have stood out and been cooked perfectly. Yet it didn't and the sauce overpowered it. $125 for the truffle pasta? I really wanted this but I don't think I'll be back for it because of my experience with the other dishes. If you want to charge $52 for a small pasta dish, the noodles better be cooked to perfection regardless what sauce it is served with.

Wonderful good with a great atmosphere. The service couldn't have been better.

ROACHES, UPCHARGING, UNWELCOMENESS!! First things first, my significant other and I love going to local Italian places when we are celebrating something or looking for a nice evening out. We have had a lot of success at various restaurants in the Houston area! Unfortunately this location is not one of them. When my significant other and I are looking for a nice place to eat, we usually stay away from any restaurant that has a $$$$ or above listing. After spending an evening at Da Marco, I can say with 100% confidence that this location should be a $$$$$ rating and not the $$$ listed (be wary). Therefore, when we entered the location are took a look at the menu and saw the absurd prices for entrees, we were devastated knowing that we had fell victim to the $ category that good reviews had placed on this location. Our server made this experience exponentially worse. The server quickly realized that the location was not in our price range after we denied a pushy barrage of items both on and off the menu. I mean seriously, it felt like he was a car salesmen that would not leave us alone until we chose something to eat. He became noticeably frustrated as we kept turning down options. We decided to just get a couple drinks and a couple of appetizers and quickly get out of this server's way to open up his table for the next guest. After we ordered, the server appeared extremely offended that we did not choose one of his $75 per plate items. We noticed that he would constantly look over to our table, scolding us and talking amongst the other staff. We felt extremely uncomfortably and unwelcome. About halfway through our meal is when the real show started. Right behind our table, within arm's reach we saw a 2-3 inch cockroach crawling along the wall. I didn't want to make a show or raise any sort of scene so I notified one of the staff who quickly took care of the roach. It was very unpleasant but we got over it quickly because we were still conscious of how much the staff wanted to quickly get rid of our table. Then the second roach appeared... This time multiple tables saw the roach and the staff began to chase it around with towels as it quickly scurried under multiple tables and on the wall until they finally caught it. What a disaster, we finally finished and were so ready to get the check, pay and be on our way. The waiter gave us the check and, I was shocked when I noticed that he had charged us $22 per drink. This was 50% if not 100% more than what was listed on the menu. I was so upset with how we were treated and the roach infestation, I didn't want to cause a scene with the check so I just paid and left. I can't see myself ever returning to this restaurant.

Well, the food is incredible and the waitstaff is wonderfully attentive. Have been coming to this restaurant for a long time, and has never failed to please the palate. Wonderful place!!