Venue Review: Marcello's La Sirena

With an intimate dining room and an extensive wine list, Marcello's La Sirena practically drips with amore. Located on South Dixie Highway between Bunker Road and Forest Hill Boulevard, this upscale eatery has been serving the finest in Italian fare since 1986. My fiancé and I decided to splurge on a recent Saturday night and found a place we're sure to revisit for special occasions.

We walked in around 9:30 that night and were surprised to find a full house. Since we hadn't booked a reservation in advance, the host suggested we look over the wine list at the bar until a table became available. Calling it a "list" was somewhat misleading, as the leather-bound book looked more like an encyclopedia. Half an hour later, when our table was ready, we were still weighing our options.

We sat down at a white-clothed table decorated with a small vase with three pink roses. A few moments later a waiter served water and fresh bread. Luckily, the food menu was only one page.

At the host's suggestion, we started with an order of Lumache vino blanco ($9). The dish consisted of nine escargot, or snails, sautéed in a white wine, butter, and garlic sauce with a hint of mustard, served around a toasted baguette and finished with parsley.

Whoever thought to put mustard in the sauce was a genius. This was the best escargot I've ever had.

My fiancé ordered a bowl of Zuppa del Giorno ($6), a lentil soup with carrots and herbs, but both of us agreed that the escargot was our favorite dish of the night.

For dinner we decided to try two of the entrée specials. I chose the pasta of the day ($22), which was a homemade ravioli filled with sausage and broccoli rabe, topped with a light butter and parmigiano-reggiano, and finished with sage. My fiancé chose the fish of the day ($35), which was boneless pompano covered in toasted almonds and finished with a white wine, lemon and butter sauce. Both meals were delicious, but the combination of citrus and nutty flavors in the pompano made it our favorite of the two entrees.

Neither of the entrees was particularly large, but after both appetizers and entrees, we decided to forego dessert and just finish with the last sips of our Chianti.

It was truly a night to remember and we will definitely return to La Sirena, next time with reservations.