Marcello, the natural Italian cuisine restaurant in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Set across the Marché Saint-Germain, Marcello is THE local restaurant in Saint-Germain-des-Prés mixing Italy's softness to the sophistication of cuisine in a resolutely modern setting including a wide terrace safe from the city's hustle and bustle. A great place the editorial board visited... Let us tell you more about it!

Italian cuisine mixed to French sophistication... Fans of fabulous and natural cuisine are expected at Saint-Germain-des-Prés Italian restaurant Marcello, taking us far away from the Parisian bitumen with its lovely cobbled terrace downrue Mabillon and its large room with a design and clean décor, and the spring menu packed with sun-inspired wonderful flavors!

A true haven of peace where foodies and gourmands are delighted by the modern and urban décor, as well as the mouthwatering menu featuring very original and delicate dishes. The owners of the place, the Vaconsin sisters, are not new in the city, as they already run Bocca Della Verità and Blueberry, two restaurant set rue du Sabot in Paris 6th arrondissement too.

Here, they came up with a hybrid place serving great cocktails, and fabulous hot drinks, as well as a whole range of Italian flavored treats. The editorial board taste-tested the cuisine... And what a surprise! For apéritif, a cocktail, the Milano Sling, a drink based on Maraschino, Noyaux cream, cherry liquor, lime and frizzante. A sweet cocktail recalling us the Shirly Temple because of the cherry but with alcohol.

As for the menu, a great moment with, as starters, the spring salad (with spinach sprouts, beetroot spourts, arugula, asparagus, mint, fresh snow peas, toasted almonds, parsley and organic lemon), vitello tonnato, seabass tartare and vegetables, and a smoked half-burrata with snow peas, and asparagus alla scarmmozza and Parm ham. Starters really delicate in the balance of flavors, that truly stand out. But we must grant honorable mention to the vitello tonnato, incredibly flavorsome.

As for mains, we got the Evergreen and burrata (intense pesto trofie and pine nuts), gnocchis primavera and sliced asparagus, squid à la plancha, polpette (meatballs and tomato sauce), the paccheri bottagra and carciofi (artichoke paccheri and mullet bottarga, served with tomato sauce). Great dishes, very delicate and very pleasant to the mouth.

Moving on to desserts, a festival of sweet flavors with the Dolcetti (a mini-chou pastry filled with almond ice cream), homemade tiramisu, pistachio semifreddo, the M Chocolat (a chocolate bar based on a cookie and intense ganache shaped as an "M"), as well as a strawberry tart. Honorable mention to the perfectly balanced semifreddo. The best way to finish a meal... Unless you go for a hot drink: a caffee d'Orzo (a great alternative to decaffeinated coffee, based on roasted barley), for some, or an infusion del professore for the others, based on lapacho, orange, star anise, cumin, fennel, nettle and sage.