Marcello's in Port Isabel

by Hugh Barlow
(Harlingen)

Don't want to spend a fortune eating on the Island? Want some of the best Italian food in the Valley? Try Marcello's. Weekdays they have an all you can eat special that is simply fantastic. You get all you can eat pizza, pasta, soup, and salad for around $10.00 (more or less as the whim and prices fluctuate). The all you can eat special usually ends about 4 PM.

Their Italian dressing is a bit unusual in that it seems to be made with red wine vinegar (it may or may not be the secret in their secret recipe). Whatever the secret is, it works for me. I think it may be the best Italian dressing I have ever had.

Marcello's serves a bottomless bread basket with marinara sauce, and free refills on soft drinks. They also have a bar and serve wine and beer in the restaurant.

Marcello's serves fish, poultry, and traditional Italian meat dishes as well as pizza and pasta. Prices are a bit high for the Valley, but CHEAP for the Island area. If you want a special night out at a fair price, I would roundly recommend them. Service can be a bit slow for the regular dishes (fish, poultry, and meat), but the all you can eat special is usually at your table within minutes. Soup and salads are served promptly, and are usually copious in quantity, and good in quality. There is usually several carafes of tea and water waiting on a table for the staff to use to refill glasses. Sodas have to come from the bar.

The restaurant is directly across from the lighthouse at the base of the Queen Isabella bridge in Port Isabel. Parking is on the street and most of the streets in the area are one way, so that can be problematical on weekends. Weekdays you can usually find a spot right in front of the place.