Marinas On the Square Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria

We had calzone and eggplant parmesan. They both we very good. the only complaint I have is my calzone was slightly under done with some doughy parts. that is the reason for the 3 stars. the marinara sauce that came with calzone was very tasty.

As an ex-​long time employee, I’ve been highly critical of the food in the last few years, and have stopped going as much b/​c it just «wasn’t as good as I remembered, toppings were sparse, etc.». However, our office ordered out from Marina’s today and everyone was very pleased! My specialty pizza (I’m one of those annoying ‘lite cheese, extra…) was as good if not better than ever! Toppings well dispersed, perfectly cooked, and so on. I’m thrilled; whoever was on pizzas 5÷20÷16 — lunch time shift — well done. THAT is what people will come back for!

I lived in Italy so I was craving of Italian food.
It wasn’t actual italian food but still good. Tiramisu here is good. I loved it. I’ll try other dishes bext time

Standing outside at 845, closing time posted as 9. Locked the door in our faces. We will not be returning, though we’ve had a lovely meal there before.

Great location, and that’s it!!!
Food was some of the worst Italian ever, some of the worst food ever! Soppy, fake, overcooked, and made me physically sick. There were 6 of us. None of us enjoyed any of it and the kids couldn’t even eat the food. I think we went to Chick Fil A after. We are Italian and thank God we get to know what real Italian food should taste like. This was cheap southern Italian. Bummer!
I don’t remember there being a great ambiance. It should have but it was like pizza parlor meets fancy tablecloth wanna be’s. Booooooo

Great food! great service! couldn’t ask for anything better. The waiter went out of his way to make sure we were completely satisfied. The chef clearly knows what he is doing. This food was phenomenal especially for the price! This place is a great local find!

First time visit. The stuffed mushrooms are excellent! I had lasagna. Really good. My wife ordered the Tuscan shrimp. Didn’t know it was spicy and she couldn’t enjoy it. They were kind enough to not charge us for it. We’ll be back!

I have to say I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to Italian food buttttttt being a first time visitor I have to say this place is amazing!!! I had the Dantes Inferno and it had such great flavor. Great service as well! Will be virseting agurn surn.

This is a family favorite! We have been eating at Marina’s for 13 years. Thursday’s are «Date Night» and they offer an appetizer, 2 entrees (with soup or salads) and either 2 glasses of wine or 2 desserts for a very reasonable price. If you go, definitely get the spinach dip! The cannoli is amazing too.

Quaint location on the square. Simple salad and bread. Sangria was good, but I would likely not spend the money on it again. I got the fettuccini pasta with Alfredo, pesto and chicken. Great portion size and bold flavor I was only able to eat about half. I want to try the lasagna next time!

It was… Ok. It’s not terrible, but not with the 30 minute wait. I had better Chicken Parmesan at Macaroni Grill. Pizza was good.

Wow! My wife and I had our anniversary lunch there yesterday. It was fantastic! I have the lasagna. It had such great flavor with the cheese and the sausage. My mouth is watering right now as I write this. It probably the best I have had in my life. My wife ordered the chicken parmesan. I like mine a little more crispy, but the chicken was cooked to perfection. Marinas has a great atmosphere. I can’t wait to bring my parents there.

My son and I stepped in because of the smell on the square. It was our first time here. We both loved the atmosphere but the pizza left much to be desired and the service was efficient, but not warm.
I don’t know if our crust just wasn’t done, or the overly tangy sauce, but the pizza tasted like a 1980’s school cafeteria pizza. Or, as my son said it, theme park pizza. I loved that they had specialized toppings (spinach, ricotta cheese). But I can get better pies at Your Pie.
I’d try this place again, but only for the Italian food that I see others rave about.

I ate at Marina’s this weekend for the first time in a hundred years… or closer to 23. Marina’s is a long-​time establishment in Murfreesboro, and it was one of the few places on the square open for lunch on Saturday. (Note to other restaurants on the square: please open for lunch on Saturdays. We’re trying to shop local but need to eat as well!)
We were quickly seated and served nice warm bread. Since I’m leaving for Italy this week, I did not want to go heavy on the Italian. So, I opted for a vegetarian sub and a side salad. The side (garden) salad was crisp and refreshing on a warm spring day, and the balsamic dressing was the perfect consistency and taste. The 6″ sub was warm, but the bread remained soft — which I completely prefer over bread that gets overly crispy when heated. There were olives, onions, red peppers, spinach and probably a couple other vegetables I’m missing on it, in addition to cheese. It seemed to be a bit skimpy on the filling, and while I wasn’t overwhelmed with the taste (it was a bit bland), I ate every bit of it!
Our service was acceptable as was the food, making it an average dining experience all the way around. I’ll have to not wait another 23 years before returning next time and try some of the more standout items on the menu.

We went here on a Saturday evening if you call ahead then they will put you on the waiting list for the time you want. We had the cheese bread it was very good
I had the pick 3. I got the chicken parm it was very good and the Alfredo was also good. The spinach stuffed shells were ok. I wish the sauce had a little more flavor but it was still good.

Great food and service! Super reasonable prices and great location. Décor is a little dated, but that’s really not a big deal because Italian restaurants should be cozy, which this place is.

Absolutely love the location right on a street corner on the square, even a nice little bar next door to chill at if there is a wait at marinas. The pizza is wonderful, quality toppings and amazing dough. Very antique inside which creates a nice environment.

After eating Italian food in Chicago, it’s hard to impress me. Nothing ever seems to measure up. This place is close though.
The Cheese Bread was delicious. Good quality cheese and bread. Very nice flavour on both.
I measure all italian places by their Eggplant Parm. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It was dressed perfectly, right amount of cheese and sauce and baked well. It had a spaghetti side that came with it.
My boyfriend got the pizza. It was good but not a standout. They need to cook it longer so the crust is not limp.
My son got the spaghetti with meat sauce. He thought it tasted okay. He did not come close to finishing it.
As for the ambiance. I’ve read where others thought of it as tacky. Get over yourselves really. It’s an Italian bistro and looks the part. I for one appreciate walking into an establishment that look and feels like it was uprooted from a neighborhood back home. If you want an Olive Garden then go their to get your food for the masses. This place is priced VERY well.
Lastly, I would like to mention the service. It was great! We LOVED our server. She had a great attitude made great suggestions and we thought she made our stay enjoyable.

I ate in store for the first time since I was a child. I always remembered they had amazing pizza but not much more. I had the Ravioli special, my tastebuds were shocked. The pasta was perfect and enormous. Their sauce was a surprising point for me. Maybe a bit to much grated cheese for some. It was a great lunch stop and the service was phenomenal.

Poor customer service and food was nothing special. Upon arrival we were informed the wait time was 35 min. No big deal, we waited. As we got closer to the time our table would be ready my husband asked if we could place an order as I am pregnant and was starving. We were told that’s not allowed because they want to make sure our food is not cold when we sit. We couldn’t even order a soup as we waited. We ended up buying a muffin next door to hold me over. We didn’t walk away because we only had a few minutes of wait left and the food was supposedly great. Ordered the chicken parm and meat lasagna, sauce was so greasy we couldn’t finish our food. The only decent things about our meal were the soup and the desert which came from the microwave. Not going back and do not recommend this place.

Let me start by saying the food I had was HORRIBLE the Tuscan shrimp pasta looked it has been sitting out for hours. When I had my salad the pieces of lettuce were so big I had to take physically cut them. The only good meal I sort of enjoyed were the stuffed mushrooms which was dripping of butter. Overall my waitress was nice, but the food not so much.

My wife and I have eaten at Marina’s many times over the years. The food is good, portions are large (we always take home half of our entrees) and the Thursday night date-​night deal is very reasonable. But tonight, service was disappointingly slow to start, and our server said that we were in a «no man’s land» of a table, but he would take care of us. We were seated beside a half-​wall topped by latticework, with kitchen work going on directly behind it with occasional banging so loud that we could feel it through the floor. When I looked toward the noises I noticed that the sill where the lattice meets the wall, between me and the kitchen, was filthy with thick dust. See photos. Our meals were very good but we left tonight wondering what else needs a thorough cleaning.

So after living in Murfreesboro for 5 years or so I finally decided to give Marinas a try.
I really like the fact that it’s a local joint instead of a chain. Mom & pop Italian restaurants are something that Tennessee is sadly lacking in. I dig the interior of this place; it reminds me of the sort of small Italian place one would find up north. It definitely gives a relaxed and intimate feeling. It’s an interesting setup, with the kitchen being in the middle of the dining area.
The menu is fairly standard. I tried their lasagna and was rather impressed by it. Enough so that I’ll definitely be back to sample their other offerings.
I really wish there were more places like this around here. For some reason it seems that the only non-​chain Italian places in Tennessee try to be some sort of overpriced haute cuisine. Pasta and tomatoes aren’t expensive ingredients! I’m glad that Murfreesboro has at least one option for a reasonably priced family restaurant.

As I sit here on my lunch break eating my leftovers from this place, I am compelled to write a review, though I’ve been dining here pretty much my whole life…
This past Saturday evening, I was coming home from a long day at work and wanted to take my parents to dinner as a thank you for being awesome. I asked where they’d prefer, and fortunately for me, they asked to go to Marina’s.
The restaurant itself is cute, sitting on one corner of the Square, in what used to be an old grocery store, according to my Murfreesboro-​native father.
We had to wait about 25 minutes for a table, but in my opinion, that ain’t too shabby for 6:30 on a Saturday night. They have a decent wine selection as well as the normal soft drinks, but I had water just ‘cuz.
I ordered the lasagna, which I’d never tried before. I’ve previously had pizza, calzones, veggie pasta, angel hair, and tortellini with various sauces, and it’s always been good. Pasta comes with salad (pretty average) or soup (decent) and the most delicious bread in the tri-​county area.
My gigantic portion of lasagna came out piping hot and magnificent. It was truly delicious, and I took half home with some bread, warmed it up at work today, and it was just as wonderful. My parents had the chicky chicky parm parm (Tom Haverford, anyone??) and an Italian sub, which they enjoyed thoroughly. My little brother had penne Alfredo, his usual.
In the YOLO spirit, I decided to order desserts for the table to share. We ordered spumoni (one of my all-​time favorite ice creams), which was delicious, and a piece of their homemade strawberry cheesecake, and MY GOODNESS. It was the most perfect piece of cheesecake I’ve ever had. Buttery crust that wasn’t overly sweet and didn’t have that fakey graham flavor, dense, creamy cheesecake, and fresh-​tasting strawberry topping… gahlee. Amazing. My only disappointment was that they no longer have their homemade chocolate cheesecake, which was my favorite dessert EVER.
The only reason this place gets 4 stars instead of 5 is the fact that their service is so dang hit-​or-​miss. Some of their waitstaff are excellent, while others are socially inept or favor certain tables over others, as was the case with our waitress.
Overall, great experience. As always.

We ordered food to go tonight and it was all really good! I got fettuccine Alfredo with a side of baked eggplant and a house salad with house Italian dressing. My husband ordered the eggplant Parmesan with a Caesar salad. Everything was tasty, including the bread. For some reason, I liked the bread more the second time around. Maybe the sangria got to me and my taste buds on our first visit. Ha! The girl who took my order was really friendly and the portions are a decent size for the price. We will be back.

Ugh. Disappointed.
I live pretty close to the square and have had numerous people recommend Marinas to me. I decided to try it out for the first time tonight and am quite unhappy with my experience.
First of all, the wood on and around the windows is rotting. The tacky wallpaper is falling off in some areas. The décor of the restaurant is a mess. It was an immediate eyesore when we walked in.
Secondly, the food was not good. We ordered the spinach dip, caesar salad, baked ziti, and a calzone. The baked ziti tasted like it had been sitting in a heating tray for the past 8 hours as I crunched my way bite by bite through the meal. My boyfriend ordered a calzone, which tasted like bread with some mozzarella in it, thrown into a microwave. So. Disappointing. Not fresh at all.
The only good thing about Marinas was our waitress. She was extremely nice, friendly, helpful, and attentive. She is the one positive star in this review.
Overall, we were unimpressed with this place. I highly doubt we will be returning. There are MUCH better restaurants in Murfreesboro.