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Mario's Italian & Seafood Restaurant - Seawall

MY REVIEW: My wife wanted to get out of the house for a Friday after work special. So we drove from Friendswood, walked along the beach with the kids and then started looking for a kid friendly dinner place. Mario's came to mind, but I haven't been there in many years. My son's eyes were wide open when the macaroni and cheese came out. It was swimming in cheese sauce. He loved it, although I thought it was rather bland and the penne pasta made it difficult to eat. The other kids plate, spaghetti and meatball, was right on.

My wife and I had shrimp. Hers were fried and she said it was great, but her spaghetti marinara was also bland. I am not a big salt person, but there did not seem to be a hint of seasoning on my grilled shrimp. My penne pasta must have been cooked in unsalted water. The shrimp were very fresh, but the seasonings seemed to be missing. Even the garlic and basil in the sauce seemed to be old and did not have any flavor.

Overall, we had a good time in Galveston. Even the lady behind us who was letting her little kid throw food at nearby tables didn't dampen our spirits.

NAME: jtom58
SUBMITTED: 8/27/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Pleasantly surprised. We paid $8 to park at Stewart beach and another $30 to rent a couple of beach chairs. We couldn't drive anywhere for lunch or we would have had to pay again to park at the beach so our restaurant choices were limited to where we could walk. Our hopes were not very high when we chose Mario's, assuming it was just another high priced tourist trap. What a surprise! The service was excellent! Our server, Chad, was new but very attentive. He did not know the answer to a couple of our questions about the menu but asked the chef and came back immediately with answers.

First out was the bread. Best bread I have had at a restaurant in a long time. We ordered Chicago style pizza. Having lived in Chicago for several years, we know it's hard to find authentic Chicago style pizza in Texas. The pizza was excellent! We were a party of six - two adults and four children. The six of us had an excellent lunch for around $40 - including a generous tip!

NAME: Lisa from Austin
SUBMITTED: 8/8/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Stay away from Marios. unless you have money to throw away or you like paying for avergage food and very bad service why?

We Came in yesterday 3/19/2011. We had been there before and food as service were great, however yesterday Mario's is off of our list to restaraunts to vist. My wife ordered Alfredo with 1/2 scallops and 1/2 shrimp. She never got her soup of the day the waiter kept blaiming the kitchen and it would be out and it never came. When my wife got her Alredo it had chicken and shrimp. She immediately notified the waiter and again the kitchens fault and said it would be coming out. Again never got the scallops. My wife ate a little bit since she go tired of waiting and just ate the half where the shrimp was. To add insult to injury when we got our bill we were charged for both chicken and shrimp add ons. This was probably the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. you need to train your wait staff in customer service .

NAME: KatyTx
SUBMITTED: 3/20/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/19/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: We eat at Mario's fairly regularly. Food is decent. Pizza is much better than D*omino's or other chains available here. Prices a bit high (especially after hurricane), but that's life. Lunch buffet offers good variety and speed. Main complaint is inconsistent service. Ordering a pizza for delivery is like playing roulette. Will the ball land on "timely delivery" or "two phone calls and still no pizza"? (This evening, for example, our pizza NEVER showed up. We finally gave up and ate something else.) As much as we love their pizza, this time may be the deal breaker (after nearly 20 years of patronage). Sad for a place that encourages everyone to "Shop Local."

NAME: G-Town Local
SUBMITTED: 10/16/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: The restaurant is an awesome place to eat. the waitstaff is so friendly and helpful. i enjoy going there because everytime when i walk in they know exactly where i want to sit and what i want to drink. i love the spaghetti a la marios and the gelato. i think everyone should go there whenever they have a chance.

NAME: i love marios
SUBMITTED: 8/26/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I politely and respectfully told the server the veal was tough as leather; she could have cared less; rarely smiled, service was so slow; she kept disappearing, never offered tea refills; didnt bring the requested napkins. Our tab was $87 including her tip (which she did not deserve) We expected better & won't ever go back.

NAME: Slow Whip Dancer
SUBMITTED: 6/16/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 6-10-2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I am sitting here at mario's right now. It has been a year since i was last here. It is really slow right now and the service is in sloooooooow motion. And i am too hungry to be waiting. My last visit was ok. Now its really bad :( so disappointed. Oh and there were a couple of flies flyin around too.

NAME: Gjlock
SUBMITTED: 5/17/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: Today
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Food was very good but not great. I ordered cheese ravioli with meat sauce and meatballs which was an extra charge. That seemed ok because the menu said $3 so I asked for 3 meatballs when the waiter asked how many I wanted. When the bill came I was charged $6 for the 3 but I elected to pay it since my intent in visiting the island was to "help" local businesses in their recovery. My wife had the buffet and her only complaint was that the food was not hot enough on the serving line. Price wise Mario's is a good deal. Just be careful in reading the menu. Waiter was young but a lot better than the one we had the night before at a more expensive seafood establishment.

NAME: airwulf6
SUBMITTED: 11/14/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: Nov/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The meatballs were good, but the sauces were liquidy. The restaurant seemed too casual for the prices on the menu. There was no bread; what kind of Italian restaurant offers no bread or grated cheese? The service was very slow.

NAME: Meatball_Mania
SUBMITTED: 6/8/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 06-08-08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Made a big mistake trying Mario's for lunch. The restaurant was not busy at all, yet it took almost 45 minutes for our food. My son's Chicken Rollatini Marsala was cold and tasteless, my daughter's Alfredo was very watery, and my Tomato Basil Soup tasted like they opened a can of tomato paste and added water to it. We are not picky eaters, and I have never written a negative review before, but the food and service were too awful to not let others know. Also realized after the fact that we were given the dinner menu(at 12:00 in the afternoon) instead of the lunch menu . . . more money for them on a slow day I guess. There are plenty of other good restaurants on the seawall - avoid this one.

NAME: Jack
SUBMITTED: 6/2/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: May/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: GREAT pizza. Had the spicy shrimp pizza and it was fantastic. Sadly, the waiter was not so great. He essentially ignored me until the end of the meal, then wanted to chat and asked me many personal questions (are you married? where do you work? etc.) and READ OVER MY SHOULDER and made comments on the work I was doing. I really liked the food, but I will probably not go back because of the service.

NAME: Bean
SUBMITTED: 4/16/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: April 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: It looks a bit dumpy on the outside but is standardly decorated inside. The bathrooms are clean and you can see into the kitchen. We ordered spaghetti w/marinara, chicken parm and alfredo. All had the wateriest sauce I've ever dealt with! It was splashing all over us as we wound it around the fork, even the alfredo. So so food, waiter was slow and my daghter was served an obviously meaty spaghetti when she clearly asked for marinara. We won't be going back.

NAME: TXJeep
SUBMITTED: 2/18/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: i have been a long time Mario's Seawall Fan. Everytime i go there it's like the food and recipes get better and better all the time. My husband and i go there for dinner alot and the atmosphere is always so sirene. I love that the Managers and waitstaff know my name. I feel so at home with everyone there. i would send any and everyone there.

NAME: naomi
SUBMITTED: 1/23/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 1-012008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: We were in town for the Motor cycle rally. The hotel we were staying at told us to go to the Mario's on the Seawall and we did. They know there stuff. We had group of ten and we were seated quickly and give prompt service. I ate the fettucine alfredo with seafood and thought I died and went to heaven it was so good. My friends shared pizza and I had to take a bite because it smelled so good. We will be back!! Thank you Robert for the attention.

NAME: Mark Bower
SUBMITTED: 11/6/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/06
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I have enjoyed eating at Mario's Seawall for over 10 years. My wife and I enjoy eating on the Patio. Everyone has always been friendly and they always bring our drinks before we even order, now thats attention. I think the pizza is great for afternoon eating but the pasta dishes are great for evening dinning. Highly recommend.

NAME: Jim&Mary
SUBMITTED: 10/24/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/10/05
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

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