Pizzeria Marino’s

My only knowledge of Italian food comes from what I’ve seen in the movie Goodfellas. Needless to say, I don’t know anything except maybe you can cut a garlic really thin using a razor blade. That is why I leave it to the experts at Marino’s instead! More than just your average Italian restaurant, this place always somehow reminds me of a sunset in Tuscany. I think this is probably because of its wall color. It’s always nice to eat at a place where they really invest in their theme. Nice décor, atmosphere, with even better food. So let’s begin.

First off, obviously, they have pizzas and pastas. The gorgonzola in particular is magnifico! Their cream based pastas are served by the noodles being heated and rolled around the insides of a halved carved giant cheese wheel to ensure it has ample cheese-to-noodle or should I say “CheNoodle” ratio (coined by yours truly). Usually, customers order the set menu for two or three persons which you can get one type of soup, one type of pizza, one type of pasta, and three cakes per person from the dessert bar. Despite having a quite copious main dish menu, it’s the dessert bar that takes the cake (pun intended).

The cake selection alone is already a whole other story. They have strawberry short cakes, shu cream (cream puffs), blue berry cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, and many more. You can even just order the dessert buffet and forget about dinner all together. They have some other seasonal items in their menu such as roasted chicken, ribs, risotto, and fondue which are all very delightful. Price range is around the low to low-mid class range where you can have a set menu for 2 people at around 4,000 yen. If you decide to get some extras such as the drink bar or wine selection, it might end up closer to 6,000 yen. Foodie tip: if for some magical reason you cannot eat all three of your cake slices (we get it, you’re thin. Sour grapes congrats on all your success), you can take them home in little cake boxes.

All in all, highly recommended for some good fast Italian. This place works for couples just wanting a dinner escape from their kids, entire families, friend’s night out, or even for a first date. There are a few branches in Okinawa primarily in San-A department stores. The easiest one to access I would say is the branch located in the San-A main city at Gushikawa because they also have to easiest parking area.

They accept yen, credit cards, and IC cards such as Edy