Marica Restaurant

Look no further for a special place to have date night or cozy meal with excellent food and great prices. I may regret authoring this review as will never get another table. Marica offers an intimate space where the owner cares for customers personally while her husband runs the kitchen. Cocktails are solid and very reasonably priced for the Bay Area. The mesquite grilled shrimp appetizer was elegantly and generously presented with a mildy spicy and smoky flavor. Might just be the best grilled shrimp I’ve ever tasted - plump and tender, perfectly cooked with a grilled lemon on the side for adding citrus notes. Fish stew was delightful with intense bisque flavors that run long on the palate. The shrimp and white fish can benefit from being added later as slightly over cooked. But hey, I can find fault with anything. Swordfish in lemon beurre blanc was cooked just right and not salty as seems to be the trend. Asparagus perfectly cooked and delicately coated in pistou (pesto without pine nuts) sauce. Creme brûlée was silky in texture with deep vanilla notes, delicately covered with a thin caramelized orange flavored sugar crust and blackberries. Chocolate soufflé exuded bittersweet chocolate notes with light texture, topped by excellent vanilla ice cream which my wife raved about. Total bill $135 for 2 that included a salad, Manhattan, Old Fashioned and tax. Giving 5 stars balancing quality and price. Can’t wait to go back!

Look no further for a special place to have date night or cozy meal with excellent food and great prices. I may regret authoring this review as will never get another table. Marica offers an intimate space where the owner cares for customers personally while her husband runs the kitchen. Cocktails are solid and very reasonably priced for the Bay Area. The mesquite grilled shrimp appetizer was elegantly and generously presented with a mildy spicy and smoky flavor. Might just be the best grilled shrimp I’ve ever tasted - plump and tender, perfectly cooked with a grilled lemon on the side for adding citrus notes. Fish stew was delightful with intense bisque flavors that run long on the palate. The shrimp and white fish can benefit from being added later as slightly over cooked. But hey, I can find fault with anything. Swordfish in lemon beurre blanc was cooked just right and not salty as seems to be the trend. Asparagus perfectly cooked and delicately coated in pistou (pesto without pine nuts) sauce. Creme brûlée was silky in texture with deep vanilla notes, delicately covered with a thin caramelized orange flavored sugar crust and blackberries. Chocolate soufflé exuded bittersweet chocolate notes with light texture, topped by excellent vanilla ice cream which my wife raved about. Total bill $135 for 2 that included a salad, Manhattan, Old Fashioned and tax. Giving 5 stars balancing quality and price. Can’t wait to go back!

Enjoyed Marica over the years for special occasions (our first time was back in 2012 when we moved to the area from SF). Glad they switched back to this format/menu after doing the pizzeria for a bit. Ambiance & service still 4-5 stars. Food freshness/quality 5 stars. Food preparation 4-5 stars. We’ve tried many items on the menu over the years and have been satisfied -amazed/delighted. The only nit to pick is that dishes at times are on the salty side - a little heavy handed with the salt shaker. Def ask for no or low added salt if you like to watch your salt intake. Keep it up, you definitely have many fans!

Enjoyed Marica over the years for special occasions (our first time was back in 2012 when we moved to the area from SF). Glad they switched back to this format/menu after doing the pizzeria for a bit. Ambiance & service still 4-5 stars. Food freshness/quality 5 stars. Food preparation 4-5 stars. We’ve tried many items on the menu over the years and have been satisfied -amazed/delighted. The only nit to pick is that dishes at times are on the salty side - a little heavy handed with the salt shaker. Def ask for no or low added salt if you like to watch your salt intake. Keep it up, you definitely have many fans!

I was looking for a new place to have a company dinner and phoned Marica to see if they could accommodate. Thomas answered the phone and made the reservation for 11 people seamlessly. When we arrived, they had set up a nice long table for all of us by the bar, which who doesn't like being close to the bar? Nina and Thomas were so kind and attentive and we got plenty of recommendations including some great bottles of wine. All our food and drink were delicious and they went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and two of our employees feel special at their relocation party. Can't wait to eat here again. What a gem of a place, with kind people, great wine, and good food.

I was looking for a new place to have a company dinner and phoned Marica to see if they could accommodate. Thomas answered the phone and made the reservation for 11 people seamlessly. When we arrived, they had set up a nice long table for all of us by the bar, which who doesn't like being close to the bar? Nina and Thomas were so kind and attentive and we got plenty of recommendations including some great bottles of wine. All our food and drink were delicious and they went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and two of our employees feel special at their relocation party. Can't wait to eat here again. What a gem of a place, with kind people, great wine, and good food.

I have heard so much about this place and so I wanted to give it a try being that most of the reviews I read were five star! After my visit in the evening that I had, I ended up giving the restaurant a four stars. The Ambiance is excellent and it's very upbeat and modern, service was good but not excellent. We had to ask for bread and they brought us this small single roll with four slices. Very stingy on the bread. The appetizers that were ordered was the calamari and they were a little skimpy on the calamari versus other restaurants that I had visited. The calamari also seemed a little bland even though it wasn't deep fried, but it appeared it was stir-fried with some spices, but it still seems like it lacked something. For my dinner I ordered the lamb rack and it was very tasty and cooked as expected. The ribs had a good portion of meat and it was seasoned quite well. My date ordered the seafood stew and she particularly didn't care for it and said that she would not order it again. I tried the stew and it appealed to me however I am glad that I did not make this as my main entree. Dessert was five stars! We ordered the chocolate mousse with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and that was divine. It made up for all of the previous sins and I would go there just for the desert! All in all like I said I gave it a four stars out of five and would I dine here again? Of course I would!

I have heard so much about this place and so I wanted to give it a try being that most of the reviews I read were five star! After my visit in the evening that I had, I ended up giving the restaurant a four stars. The Ambiance is excellent and it's very upbeat and modern, service was good but not excellent. We had to ask for bread and they brought us this small single roll with four slices. Very stingy on the bread. The appetizers that were ordered was the calamari and they were a little skimpy on the calamari versus other restaurants that I had visited. The calamari also seemed a little bland even though it wasn't deep fried, but it appeared it was stir-fried with some spices, but it still seems like it lacked something. For my dinner I ordered the lamb rack and it was very tasty and cooked as expected. The ribs had a good portion of meat and it was seasoned quite well. My date ordered the seafood stew and she particularly didn't care for it and said that she would not order it again. I tried the stew and it appealed to me however I am glad that I did not make this as my main entree. Dessert was five stars! We ordered the chocolate mousse with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and that was divine. It made up for all of the previous sins and I would go there just for the desert! All in all like I said I gave it a four stars out of five and would I dine here again? Of course I would!

We have been here several times for date night and have enjoyed the simple food, ability to walk in and get a table and the throwback late 90s vibe. Sometimes when it’s hard to pick options at a restaurant it’s the menu and not the diner and it felt like that on this recent visit. In the past we have both enjoyed the pan fried calamari. The potential is so high, but the execution so critical to what a cook is capable to produce. And does it make it out of the kitchen? It did for us and it was not nearly anything like previous visits. It was greasy and the breading wasn’t there it was really odd like the oil was too cold but warm enough to cook the food but not set the crust as it all looked like it was rolled in oily bread crumbs. And a server served it. We hadn’t been there in a year. We’re hungry. Wasn’t horrible. And next our entrees were presented and after a few bites determined they were severely burned. Not like when you order something blackened but more like when something cooks on a grill in a grease fire for 5 minutes and the products is grey on the sides and has a thick black crust of char on one side. Not only did the cook prepare this but they decided to serve it! Both seafood entrees were grossly burned. Motioned to the staff and showed them. They immediately acknowledged this and offered to prepare new dishes. It was late and you could tell they were closing the kitchen and still… the cook (doubtful with experience or care) didn’t inspire confidence for a round 2. We said we’d eat around it and they said they’d comp the entrees. Generous and appropriate, we managed to enjoy the best we could. The soufflé was tasty, firmer, but was the one element of the meal that was wasn’t egregiously wrong. Smidge ironic. Well, they took one entree off the bill and sometimes you just don’t feel like giving real time feedback twice in an evening. Finding talented staff who care is hard, boh and FOH no doubt, but when there are such huge gaps in the preparation and service it is really concerning. The offer to hold themselves accountable fell short at the bill, based on their promise, and I know date night would have been much better spent at home that night eating whatever was around.

We have been here several times for date night and have enjoyed the simple food, ability to walk in and get a table and the throwback late 90s vibe. Sometimes when it’s hard to pick options at a restaurant it’s the menu and not the diner and it felt like that on this recent visit. In the past we have both enjoyed the pan fried calamari. The potential is so high, but the execution so critical to what a cook is capable to produce. And does it make it out of the kitchen? It did for us and it was not nearly anything like previous visits. It was greasy and the breading wasn’t there it was really odd like the oil was too cold but warm enough to cook the food but not set the crust as it all looked like it was rolled in oily bread crumbs. And a server served it. We hadn’t been there in a year. We’re hungry. Wasn’t horrible. And next our entrees were presented and after a few bites determined they were severely burned. Not like when you order something blackened but more like when something cooks on a grill in a grease fire for 5 minutes and the products is grey on the sides and has a thick black crust of char on one side. Not only did the cook prepare this but they decided to serve it! Both seafood entrees were grossly burned. Motioned to the staff and showed them. They immediately acknowledged this and offered to prepare new dishes. It was late and you could tell they were closing the kitchen and still… the cook (doubtful with experience or care) didn’t inspire confidence for a round 2. We said we’d eat around it and they said they’d comp the entrees. Generous and appropriate, we managed to enjoy the best we could. The soufflé was tasty, firmer, but was the one element of the meal that was wasn’t egregiously wrong. Smidge ironic. Well, they took one entree off the bill and sometimes you just don’t feel like giving real time feedback twice in an evening. Finding talented staff who care is hard, boh and FOH no doubt, but when there are such huge gaps in the preparation and service it is really concerning. The offer to hold themselves accountable fell short at the bill, based on their promise, and I know date night would have been much better spent at home that night eating whatever was around.

Amazing service, best seafood in town, and delicious alcoholic beverages! The Cosmo was a real winner! The seared scallops were. My favorite and oysters are 1.50 each! So fresh! Pay in cash and you save around 10 percent! Complimentary bread is served and I recommend making reservations because it gets busy!

Amazing service, best seafood in town, and delicious alcoholic beverages! The Cosmo was a real winner! The seared scallops were. My favorite and oysters are 1.50 each! So fresh! Pay in cash and you save around 10 percent! Complimentary bread is served and I recommend making reservations because it gets busy!

Absolutely loved this place! They have a decent amount of outdoor seating, the staff is *so* friendly, and the food was genuinely amazing. We shared mussels and some dessert, and I got the lobster combo (roll with salad and clam chowder). Highly recommend.

Absolutely loved this place! They have a decent amount of outdoor seating, the staff is *so* friendly, and the food was genuinely amazing. We shared mussels and some dessert, and I got the lobster combo (roll with salad and clam chowder). Highly recommend.