More than five years after closing its doors, Marcello’s Wine Bar and Café will reopen for dinner tonight in its original location in the Southdowns Shopping Center on Perkins Road.
About half the dishes on the restaurant’s menu will be familiar to longtime patrons of the original Marcello’s, which had a successful run in the space from 2009-2012. But Marcello’s 2.0 also features several new dishes, updated twists on traditional favorites like fried calamari and, even, a new restaurant format.
“We’ll have small plates, share plates and entrée plates,” says owner Gene Todaro. “We’ll also be making some of our own pasta, which we didn’t do before, and our own gelato.”
Todaro announced plans last fall to reopen the restaurant, which closed in 2012 after Todaro decided to open a Marcello’s in the competitive downtown New Orleans market. While that venture proved successful and remains in operation, he says he kept hearing from his loyal Baton Rouge patrons, who encouraged him to come back.
In his absence, the 3,600-square-foot space in the Southdowns Shopping Center was home to a string of short-lived eateries, including Romacelli, Portico and, most recently, Table Kitchen and Bar.
Todaro says the local food scene has changed for the better over the past six years, with more diverse and cutting edge offerings being prepared by an impressive group of young chefs.
“I see a lot of good things going on. I see people taking more risks, trying to do things differently. It’s not just sautéed fish with asparagus and Brabant potatoes,” he says. “There are young people doing good things all over. It’s not the same old, same old.”
Todaro says the new Marcello’s will have a new energy with a décor that includes more natural light and less of a “cavern feel,” and sleek tabletops with cloth napkins but no tablecloths.
“If you want to feel upscale you will feel upscale, but if you want to be relaxed you also will feel comfortable here,” he says.
The bar will open daily beginning today at 4 p.m., and dinner service will be available from 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Beginning in June, Marcello’s will also serve lunch on Fridays only.
For the first few weeks, the restaurant will offer a limited menu.
