Mario's Italian Restaurant

A small family oriented Italian restaurant with amazing and authentic food. Definitely a gem in this area.

I've been going to Mario's for probably 20 years and for standard, economical Italian fare it can't be beat. No reservations taken; in Lexington you go to the sign-in book, put down your name and the # in your party, and wait to be called. Long time customers know the best times to go to get seated right away; be prepared to wait most weekends at dinner time.I've sampled several things on the menu and my go-tos are either chicken parm with meat sauce (you can get everything marinara if you prefer) served with shells (you can choose spaghetti if you prefer) or pizza (best sauce ever) loaded with sausage, extra cheese, onions and black olives. All the portions are plentiful (I always take half home for leftovers) and always tasty. I've had the lasagna, which is huge but lacking in enough sauce for me (I'd order extra sauce if I were to get it again) and the ravioli which I have no complaints about. Bread is served to the table in the form of fresh rolls.I often get a side salad for dinner and did so last night. It's usually fresh and tasty but for some reason at 5pm the salad I served was limp and tasteless. Maybe left over from another day?The service is impeccable. The waitstaff take orders, deliver to tables, keep track of who's waiting to be seated and deliver them to a table when one becomes available. Orders are taken quickly, food is delivered hot. Fun fact: often during the summer students on vacation are working there, which makes for fun small talk.As you can imagine Mario's appeals to everyone; families, couples, singles, so don't expect a quiet, romantic ambiance where you can have a leisurely meal and a private discussion. When full the place is very lively.There is a large metered parking lot (2 hr max) directly behind the restaurant and a larger one behind that if you want to, say, also go to the Lexington Venue (movie theater) or visit the many shops in Lexington Center.

This is an Italian restaurant that is small but quaint and clean. The food is all good and the prices are very reasonable. Service is good.It's located in the heart of Lexington, where history began. There's paid parking in the lot in the back. This has to be my favorite Italian restaurant. That's why I keep coming with friends and family. You just have to try it once, then you will become regular customers.

I love Mario's for the meatball sub. It's probably the best meatball sub I ever ate and certainly the best one I eat on a regular basis. Get it with meat sauce and provolone cheese.I like it with a Mediterranean salad and a glass of Chianti. The service is casual but friendly. The style is old school with checked tablecloths and dark wood. They don't take reservations and the wait can get long, but it's worth it.

Really great place overall. Delicious food and nice servers. If you are in the Lexington, Massachusetts area and want to have some good Italian food, I say go here. Great place. And affordable too!

Marios will always be my favorite Italian restaurant. Good prices, good service, cozy atmosphere. Been coming here for years, and the food is always delicious--I recommend the chicken parm!

We stopped by here for dinner, since my daughter was craving pasta, and the quick service and nice atmosphere definitely didn't disappoint. The portions are absolutely HUGE and will leave you stuffed, and the prices are relatively cheap. The quality of each dish is also good. We ordered the baked ziti, spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti and meat sauce, and one pizza, thinking that one dish for each person would be enough. I definitely recommend sharing dishes though because of how much food they give you. We also ordered a strawberry lemonade. Baked Ziti: Super cheesy, steaming hot, comes with marinara sauce, lots and lots of meat in the middleSpaghetti and meatballs: Huge portion, comes with huge meatballs, lots of sauce and noodlesSpaghetti and meatsauce: Generous with the meat, sauce, and noodlesPizza: Definitely surpassed our expectations, was actually one of the best dishes we had there, crust & toppings were executed perfectly, the right balance of sauce and cheese Strawberry Lemonade: Not too artificial of a strawberry flavor, but very, very sweetWe were seated after waiting around 10 minutes, even though there were barely any people in the restaurant, which is a small complaint I have. The staff were very polite though, and we got our food pretty quick, as well. We sat by the window and had a nice view of the sunset and the street. It's a great neighborhood and we walked around after our meal. Definitely recommend if you crave some yummy but affordable Italian food.

My wife went in to pickup a large takeout order with only her credit card as she knew she would be carrying out a large box. She paid for the order and asked if the extra salad dressing she asked for was included. The server stated that it would be 25 cents extra. She was not going to add this as another transaction and said forget it. Food was mediocre at best. Reheated frozen chicken cutlets, watery sauce and meatballs the dog wouldn't eat. Won't be back.

One of the single worst dining experiences we've had in a long time. Food was sub par to say the least., reheated frozen chicken patties. I was served a boiling hot bowl of spaghetti swimming in the pasta cooking water topped with watery marinara our view of the kitchen yielded a cooking crew without stern health code practices No hair or beard coverings . Getting to the rest room was dangerous and had you in the kitchen at one point dining room is cluttered unkempt and loud. Waitress was very kind and polite Will never return

Coming here for years. The food is delicious and portions are generous. Service is great too