Until last Friday, my last visit to Da Marco was I think back in 1999 – yes, ten years ago. (One reason I haven’t been in a while is the extremely hard to remember and pronounce address on Dongzhu An Bang Lu, near Jiangsu Road!) But in the last 5 days, I’ve actually been twice. It was popular back in 1999 with Shanghai’s small expat community and it’s even more popular a decade later, and it’s easy to see why. It’s crowded every day of the week. I went fairly late (after 9pm) on Tuesday night, foolishly thinking a booking would be unnecessary and ended up waiting in the crowded bar area sipping complimentary Prosecco (Italian dry sparkling white) while waiting to be seated.
It’s quite chaotic in the waiting area and there’s no strict order being followed. Some people arrived after us but were seated first, but we were also seated before at least one European couple that clearly arrived before us. I was happy at least that there was no favouritism shown towards white faces! We actually waited for at least 20 minutes, but with a place as popular as that, I was just happy and grateful to get a table at all and certainly didn’t mind the wait.
The menu is fairly simple with basic pizzas and pastas as well as meat and seafood options. After making a fatal mistake a few days ago, I made a much better job of ordering this time. The portions are huge – even one starter portion would be enough to feed 3 of your favourite tenors – so be warned, just one salad and one pizza is more than enough for two to share – I went for the sausage and blue cheese pizza and just a regular mixed salad.
I wasn’t planning on ordering wine, but on the opening page of the wine list, there’s a quote from the owner saying “dinner without wine is like a day without sunshine”. Now, those of you who have been in Shanghai for the last few weeks will know that we haven’t had sunshine for 20 days, so I decided I needed a little bit of “sunshine”.
The prices here are definitely credit crunch friendly too – the pizza was 63 rmb and the salad was a mere 48 rmb. And yet this is no student hangout. Quite the opposite in fact, with most of the clientele being of the well dressed, business variety, almost 100% westerners, apart from several western guys with their Chinese dates, plus a few HK Chinese who always tend to enjoy western food more than mainland Chinese.
I finished with a tiramisu and an espresso macchiato and it’s always a good sign in Shanghai when you can ask for a macchiato and not get a confused look from the waiter, whose knowledge of coffee in most places is usually restricted to cappuccinos and lattes at best.
The bill came to just 254 rmb for two and that included 2 glasses of red wine, dessert and coffee. There’s a 10% discount if you have an Enjoy Shanghai card, which of course I never go anywhere without, even though my American Express card rarely leaves my bedside drawer at home. I have to say, for the money, I can’t remember the last time I had a more enjoyable meal experience.
It’s worth noting that although they have several Shanghai locations, this one is by far the best, if only because it’s where the owner Marco spends most of his time.
Overall then, 8.5 out of 10 and I’ll be back again a few more times before the week is out!
March 5th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Sounds like a great place. I still love the old fashioned Italian trattorias serving the simple comfort foods like pasta ragu/pommodoro, pepper steaks etc.
March 5th, 2009 at 7:04 am
How does it compare to, say, Lawry’s?
March 5th, 2009 at 7:24 am
I love Da Marco because it is not a pretentions place and has good food at reasonable price. Drinking complimentary Prosecco while waiting to be seated does not sound too bad! In Italy we often have ‘aperitivo’ to stimulate the appetite before a meal. For the best pizza in Shanghai, you should go to Papa Mario (370 Dagu Lu). There, they also have some nice ‘digestivi’ to aid digestion, such as Fernet Branca or Limoncello
March 5th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I looooove Da Marcos! It was one of the first western restos I went to when moved to Shanghai and it is also one of the best ones. U know they have a ‘new’ (well not new anymore.. it is quite old by now) location in Xujiahui as well? Although I prefer the one u went to -it is a bit messy but charming
March 5th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I just went there last night! They were closed quite a while for remodeling. I’m not sure how you can get away with such a low price, WoAi! Six of us went and it was 2,220 RMB. I guess if we went for salad instead of the veal and such it would make a difference. Da Marco’s is a place to splurge though.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Emily – Missed you by one day! Did you use the Enjoy card for 10% off? Pizza was just 63 rmb and salad was 48, so that’s just 111 rmb and then 2 glasses of wine at about 40 rmb each plus one coffee and tiramisu came to 282 rmb then 10% off dropped it to 254. We sort of splurged the previous time because we didn’t know how big the portions were so everyone had a starter and main course and we had 2 bottles of wine. So the second time I wanted to see how cheaply it could be done and being a Tuesday night, I didn’t feel the need to splurge.
SHE in China – Glad it’s one of your favourites too. The Xujiahui one is in Grand Gateway but I heard it’s not as good so avoided it.
Wancestyle – As an Italian that’s a real compliment to Da Marco. I’ve already tried Papa Mario on Dagu Lu. It’s a completely different vibe there, good food, but less ambiance. And I can’t stand Limoncello, it’s way too sweet for my taste.
Dingle – Thanks for asking, it’s a lot cheaper than Lawry’s. In fact the whole meal cost less than a glass of water at Lawry’s, but variety is the spice of life.
Rich – It’s a bit like that but quite big, so not as cosy as you describe. But the whole place has a sort of buzz that really makes it a great experience. Authentic Philippino waiters too!
March 5th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I don’t like Italian places that just have pasta- but this place sounds really good.
248 including a bottle of wine- you really can’t argue with that!
March 5th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Swiss – It’s not just pasta they have meat and seafood from the grill, pizzas and pasta, soups, salads, everything really. 2 glasses of wine, not a bottle, but bottles start at around 170 rmb.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Remind me to remind you to take me there when i ever get to go to shanghai OK?
March 5th, 2009 at 11:53 am
My friend lives in Da Marco’s building. We order pizza from there all the time (they’ll only deliver within the building)
March 5th, 2009 at 11:58 am
So we can add Da Marco’s and Enjoy to your list of sponsors?
March 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Dingle – Sponsors pay money. I’m just sharing the great deals I come across with fellow Shanghai residents out of the goodness of my heart!
T – I almost lived there in 1999 when I first came to China but it was a bit beyond my price range at the time. I’m not surprised they don’t deliver outside, they’re busy enough as it is.
Sue – Remember to remind me to remind you to remind me to bring you there when you come.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
[...] a tip from WoAi I went to Da Marco’s italian restaurant last night. This place is really close to Jing-An, [...]