Pizzeria Trattoria Mario — Restaurant in Oxford

There I was, on a regular Friday, feeling hungry when I decided to try to make myself no longer hungry so I went to 'Pizzeria Trattoria Mario'. As soon as I went in, the laid-back atmosphere hit me like a ton of feathers and I immediately felt at ease. I spoke to the gentleman at the counter and asked politely if I could order a 'Spaghetti Carbonara' for takeaway. This kind man said 'No problem, it will take 15 minutes.' I was overjoyed. I left to purchase a soft drink from a nearby store and returned 15 minutes later to collect my hot meal but when I walked back through the door, I was horrified to find that my 'Spaghetti Carbonara' was not ready yet. The man I had initially spoke to asked the chef 'Marco, how long until the 'Spaghetti Carbonara' is ready?' No response was given from the poor Marco. This raises suspicion on my end for two reasons. Firstly, it made me wonder why the place had the name 'Mario' in the title. Surely if Marco was cooking everything, he should be represented in the restaurant name. Poor man. Perhaps I misheard. Secondly, the lack of respone from Marco/Mario implies that the dish was nowhere near ready to eat. Thankfully I was prepared to wait until it had been fully cooked and I sat down for about 10 more minutes until it was ready. It was only now, during this time, that I was able to truly appreciate the feel of the restaurant. I yearned to be amongst the hustle and bustle of the establishment, to let the sound of cutlery against plate fill my ears. I became sad that I chose to order take away instead of staying in to eat however that appears to be the price for being a man always on the move, I suppose. The actual food was quite nice, maybe could have used a little salt, but overall it was extremely delicious. I will probably order a...

Mario and his staff have done for Oxford cuisine, what the Louvre did for Paris: they've taken timeless artworks from overseas and presented them to the hungry masses. Some evenings when I'm feeling low I will walk up Cowley road for a big whiff of those fresh pizza fumes and instantly I am transported to one of the many 5 star nights I've spent there. My latest (hopefully not last) visit was earlier this week. We were a party of 11, but I had only booked for 10. The staff added another chair with absolutely no fuss, for which I am still grateful because the 11th person was actually late and is very sensitive and often worries about causing a scene. The tact of the staff is flawless. They brought abundant food and drink with grace and perfect accuracy (I often find that with large parties usually someone's order is mismanaged - this was not the case at Mario's). It is not hyperbole to say the dough is sublime. I saved my crusts for last, and by the end my face and hands were slick with extra virgin. We wrapped up the evening with an industrial-sized tray of tiramisu for the table, which they kindly offered us at a slight discount because of the occasion. The waiter obligingly confirmed that there were no peanuts in the tiramisu, which was also confirmed independently by us when none of our party fell into anaphylaxis. Overall, I cannot praise this establishment highly enough. It is an unassuming home-away-from-home of a restaurant that I will happily throw my money at for decades to come. Thank you...

Brilliant pizzas, great atmosphere and perfect price.

Mario's is my favourite pizza place to eat out at. It's the one I regularly take guests visiting Oxford to if they're craving for something affordable and tasty. The staff are brilliant, and will rush off their feet to get you another beer or some oils to pour over the pizza.

Mario's was also very obliging when we wanted to have a birthday meal there. They let us bring the cake in early and kept it hidden until after we had eaten! Then they dimmed the lights, and brought the cake, lit up with candles, to our table while singing happy birthday! It was far more than we expected and the birthday boy (... 21 years old) LOVED it.

I would definitely recommend Mario's to anyone hankering...