The wine list is all Italian and frankly pricey, but you won’t regret the house wines judging by the current red, a 2003 Sicilian Colosi Rosso ($8/glass; $14/half-liter; $25/liter). I think the half-liter and liter sizes work a little better for two or four people who like wine with food. The wine itself is a little soft but not showing any alcohol, and it’s loaded with black-cherry fruit — a lot like restaurant house wines in Italy. The house wines are served in odd conical tumblers; real bottles get real wine glasses. Decaf coffee ($3) and espresso ($3) were both excellent.
If there is a weak course at Marco, it is dessert, where the chef has not allowed his imagination to run far beyond the norm. Chocolate panna cotta ($7) was nice enough, with a bitter chocolate layer for those who need it and handsome slices of blood orange set around. Tiramisu ($6) is served in a stem glass and layered more carefully than most in the North End. You might guess that a French chef owns the restaurant. But the flavor is simple and sweet.
Service at Marco is pleasant but can lag when the room gets full, as it usually does pretty early. (These second restaurants get more buzz from the name of an established chef than the same chef had when making the first big move.) The room also gets louder as it fills, although it’s too small to get really loud, even with bare-brick and yellow-stucco walls, polished wood floors, and a semi-open kitchen. The second-floor location is no friend to the disabled, but it makes for a nice view of Hanover Street and a light feeling even when seated away from the windows.
Marco Cucina Romana | 253 Hanover St, Boston | Tues-Thurs, 5:30-10 pm; Fri-Sat, 5:30-11 pm; Sun, 4-9:30 pm | AE, MC, VI | valet parking $14 | up a full flight of stairs from street level | 617.742.1276
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Robert Nadeau: RobtNadeau@aol.com
