Marca Trattoria

Rarely do we find a place to eat that has sophistication for the adults, but also simpler meals for the kids. Appetizers, entrees and desserts were extremely enjoyed by all.
Tried the pastas, calamari, steak. Will be back to try the pizza’s next!

Went here for dinner last night to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We live in the neighbourhood where good restaurants are sadly lacking. I’m happy to report that Marca fills that void.
The smell that hits you when you walk off the elevator is incredible. The space is nice and cozy, but the tables are small. Probably wouldn’t be an issue with 4+ people, but 2 people at a tiny table with the booze, the water, the bread, it’s cramped.
The service was great. The waiter (Anthony?) was kind and knowledgable and he didn’t rush us as we took our time placing our orders and enjoying the drinks. The menu is pretty basic in some way (not a lot of options), but that’s b/​c they have a long list of features. This makes me want to go back to see what’s up for offer next time!
For apps we ordered the sicilian arancini, which is one of my fave dishes and Marca’s did not disappoint. It was crispy and gooey and the sauce was excellent. We also ordered the caprese salad which was also very nice. No complaints.
For our mains, my husband had the seafood risotto (feature). They ended up being out of mussels by the time we ordered, but they compensated with extra shrimp. My husband, who is the pickiest sometimes, said it was the second best seafood risotto he’s ever had (best being in Boston, probably caught and cooked that day, which is pretty hard to compete with!). I had the rigatoni (roast chicken, mushrooms, cream sauce) that was recommended by the waiter and it was delicious. The pasta was cooked perfectly and it was so decadent. I’m drooling just thinking of it.
They knew it was a special occasion and brought out a complimentary dessert of tiramisu and cannoli. I dislike tiramisu, but took a bite b/​c why not and I was blown away. Maybe I dislike it b/​c I’ve never had it like that before: fresh made, with silky cream and fingers that were just right in texture and flavour.
Thursday nights there is a pizza special and we will be going back for this. That pizza oven smelled incredible. The best part about this place is it is not expensive! For the quality of food, it is very reasonable.

Lovely spot. Open concept, great vibe. Sammy our waiter was great. I had the veal with balsamic reduction and really enjoyed it.

I went here in early July — on a nice, cool, and beautiful evening on Main Street Markham.
For parking, I parked in the adjacent parking lot on the far opposite side of the pharmacy — closer to Main St.
As it’s a restaurant on Main Street, and without having seen it before but having read a few reviews, I thought there’d be an outdoor patio. However, the restaurant is located on the second floor of The Old Town Hall. As soon as you walk in the door, head straight and you’ll see an elevator marked exclusively as «Marca Trattoria».
The elevator doors open up to a nice wide and modern space with wooden floors and red and black accents. There’s adequate natural lighting too. For a main street restaurant, the modern look is different and refreshing.
My friend and I were craving pizza so we ordered two different ones:
Margherita ($ 16): tomato sauce, bocconcini, & fresh basil — it was delicious and light. The tomato sauce isn’t heavy and hearty but rather savoury and fresh.
Verde ($ 18): olive oil base, eggplant, roasted red peppers, zucchini, and onions. What I liked about this one is that it’s olive oil-​based. There’s no tomato sauce base but that doesn’t mean that it lacks flavour. The veggies liven it up and add to its healthier, lighter, and fresh taste.
The pizzas were well-​sized too. At 6 slices each, they’re each enough to feed 2 hungry people.
I definitely recommend Marca Trattoria as a great Italian restaurant. Its location is a nice bonus — cute & a cozy main street Markham.

Came for dinner tonight. We ordered the calamari for starters. Was soft and tender and had good flavours.
Kiddies got meatballs with spaghettini and the seafood linguine. I ordered the chicken parmigiana and we got the shrimp special too. The spaghettini and meatballs were ok. Lots of tomato sauce but I expected better tasting meatballs from an Italian restaurant. The chicken parmigiana was nice, chicken wasn’t too dry. The sides leave a lot to be desired. Carrot sticks, 4 broccoli florets and 2 potatoes. To call these «seasonal veg» on a $ 26 plate of food is not acceptable in this day and age. All veg was a tad undercooked. The shrimp special was grilled shrimp in a spicy sauce. Was ok, wouldn’t order it again. The star dish was the seafood linguine. It had a decent amount of seafood and the sauce was delicious. I would recommend it and order it again.
Service was ok, not outstanding but adequate. We did feel welcome, even with the kids. Sometimes, restaurants don’t like young patrons.
Saw quite a few people order the pizzas. Nobody in our party ordered one, maybe next time.

Solid Italian place. Very nice atmosphere and its on the second floor!
Ordered the rigatoni $ 18 and it was so good! Creamy and rich, with lots of mushroom … Delish! My friends ordered the seafood linguine $ 24 and the momma Rosetta pizza $ 18 … Everyone said their food was on point. Good job! Would definitely pay the price for this quality Italian food.
The only drawback is the manager seemed to be on every person on staff. Kept pointing them to do rounds and stuff. I mean, good that youre making sure the guests are being attended to but can’t you do this behind the scenes? Bit awkward. You could tell who was new too.
Either way, I’d come back for the food.

Pizza Tuesday at Marca Trattoria is a sweet deal. For $ 15 you have a choice of main (pizza, panzerotti, pasta and mussels) with a glass of wine or beer.
Don’t order mussels if you are really hungry or when mussels not in season as you will left hungry… really hungry.
Panzerotti is ok but I would not order that again.
Maybe I should stick with Pizza or Pasta?
The Tuesday menu supposes to change frequently. I might be back to try them out again.
At least I was in a good mood after drink two 5oz glasses of red/​white wine.
The interior is dark with dim lighting. Good for a romantic date.

Second time there and it doesn’t disappoint. The gnocchi are delicious and their tomato sauce is one of the best I’ve had at any italian restaurant. Staff are so friendly and host which I believe is owner is attentive and really cares about your experience. While we were there we received a free sample drink… bartender was experimenting. We hold that raspberry mojito makes the menu. LOVE THIS PLACE! One of the top restaurants in Markham!

Marca costs a bit, and you get what you pay for. We visited based on the numerous recommendations we got in person and from Unilocal reviews. We ordered 2 Italian staples: a Quattro Stagioni pizza ($ 18) and a spaghetti and meatballs ($ 18). I LOVE the spaghetti and meatballs. It came with 2 beef meatballs and 2 pork meatballs, both were slightly larger than golf balls. The meat was fresh, and there wasn’t any filling. They were similar to the meatballs that I would have made at home. The housemade sauce had just the right level of sourness and thickness and had a light aroma that I suspected was from olive oil. This was one of the best spaghetti sauces I have ever had. The quattro pizza was covered with fresh and quality ingredients: whole pitted olives, bocconcini cheese, low sodium prosciutto. It was bold in flavours. The portion of both entrees was generous. I doggy-​bagged half the pizza.
The services was friendly and refined. The venue interior is well lighted, airy, pleasant, light classy metropolitan.
I enjoy this dining venue. The food is nice. The overall experience is cultured and relaxing. It is a great place for an intimate dinner with a special someone or a cosy dinner with closed friends.
If there is any complaint, it would be that I wish it is more visible from the street. Marca is located on the 2^nd level of the historical Old Town Hall building. The restaurant signage is not very noticeable. Even so, Marca is busy. We got seated without a reservation only because we arrived at 5:30pm and finished by 7:00pm. Many tables were reserved for the whole evening when we arrived.

This is a bit of a hidden gem. There’s very little signage (I hope this changes) and you need to take an elevator to the second floor of Markham’s old town hall. Once you get there, it’s quite a pleasant surprise though! I should have taken a photo of the space; it has a mirrored skylight that makes the restaurant look huge. Despite the illusion, it’s actually still quite big for Main Street Markham. The décor is fairly modern but there’s photos of old movie stars, etc. throughout. The bar is quite nice; its covered in some kind of shiny tin-​like material (I’m sure there’s a word for this type of treatment!).
I had the calabrese pizza and it impressed. The crust and ricotta cheese were top notch and the portion size was pretty generous. To drink I had cider, which they have on tap along with a few beers, and I liked that they served in with ice.
For desert we had the tartufo and it was also excellent.
The service was helpful and friendly. Despite not being easy to spot from the street, it was relatively full, especially for a Wednesday. I hope word of mouth continues to spread. All in all, this is a great addition to Main Street Markham (take that, Main Street Unionville!).

The acoustics are horrible. Way too loud with nothing to absorb the sound of patrons. There weren’t even that many people inside and couldn’t hear the music or the waiter read the specials. Waited an hour and a half for pizza. Saw them all sitting on the counter getting cold for over 40 minutes to only realize that they were for another table. An hour after waiting we asked if our veal had been put on and they said ‘no’ they were waiting for the pizza. Crazy unprofessional! This place has a lot of potential if they just get the kinks worked out. It’s nicely decorated and if it was managed better and they hired an acoustical engineer things could be turned around. Too bad I won’t be going again though.

I visited the Marca in Cobourg several times and I was excited about the prospect of a Marca in Markham. I was sorely disappointed that the service fell desperately short. The waiter is to blame. Shaved head, short guy. My friends and I are in our late 20s, PhDs and professional degrees. Nonetheless, the waiter thought we should be treated like kids. His tone was unprofessional, and his humour was out of place. I ordered the tiramisu at the end, he warned me that it might not be ready. I asked him to make sure that it had set, and if so, to bring it over. It wasn’t ready, and he brought over a plate of soupy mush. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t acceptable. After dessert, I asked him to split the bill (for four people). He refused and told me that I must tell him at the beginning, otherwise, he can’t do it. Bull. Lazy.
The only reason I didn’t give this a «2», is because the entrees were still excellent, along with the appetizers.

Awesome food, impeccable service and generous portions! Décor was tasteful and relaxing. Our new favorite spot! A great addition to Markham’s main st.