Mario's Pizza & Ristorante San Pedro & Uptown — Restaurant in Albuquerque

This restaurant, sadly, is a poor shadow of what it used to be. We'll be looking for Italian elsewhere. The service, whether take out or dine in gets a little worse every time. Several of the recipes have changed... for the worse. The chicken is now flavorless and unseasoned, the vegetables in the salad look like they've seen better days. Some of this may be due to supply chain issues and the staffing issues caused by the pandemic.. but the current management doesn't seem to care. The last couple of times the service staff forget to bring out some of the items ordered. The wait staff only comes around to take the order, bring it out and then bring the check. They don't bother to take off the items they forget to bring out from the bill, or the wrong appetizers they brought out. The wait staff disappears after the order is brought out and you never see them until they bring out the check. Unless you order alcohol, no comes to check on or refresh your drinks.

The poor service happens whether the restaurant is 75%, or 25% full, whether it's dinner, lunch or even carry out. On one occasion, two pasta and salad orders had not been brought out after 40 minutes with only four other tables with two or 3 diners a piece. No one came to check on our table for 40 minutes and when we asked about our order the waitress barked "it's coming". On another occasion, a carry out order had a completely wrong order. They sent an Alfredo order instead of a marinara order.

Then to top it off, management has a could care less attitude when you bring the poor and slooooow service to his or her attention. In the last occasion we actually had to ask for an apology from the manager for the forgotten appetizers, and lack of any attention from the wait staff. Only after asking if he was concerned about the poor service, inaccurate order, non attentive staff, and for an apology did he offer a half hearted one with an excuse about being unable to retain good staff. Over $50 for a dinner for two, forgotten items, no napkins, virtually no wait service..., missing table condiments.

This service and attitude is the norm now at Mario's (in at least 2 locations), but is not prevalent throughout the rest of Albuquerque's restaurant community. Every place makes mistakes now and then, every wait staff has an overwhelming day now and then, and for your favorite restaurants you give them a pass now and then... but when this slow or no service becomes the norm, when the recipes change for the worse, it's time to move on. There are plenty of Italian style restaurants in Albuquerque... It's too bad, this was a nice bistro when the original owner ran it. This one, like the now out of business Quarter's that suffered from the same issues, is now one to say goodbye to. Sadly, it's time to move on to restaurants run by people who know what service means and how to treat patrons and employees. Goodbye Mario, you were a nice place to dine, when you were a nice place to dine.

Weeks after this review, absolutely no response from management... par for the course and pretty...

Edit: Joe has reached out and I am confident the issue will be resolved in an expedited manner and I appreciate the customer service I have since received, and as such my rating has been changed. Thank you very much Joe for the response and your apologies, it means the world to us. Again many thanks.

Unfortunately it seems as if Mario's is cutting corners to save $ in this covid environment. Just to clarify I studied at Mami Camilla in Sorrento italia and worked as a chef in Napoli Italia restaurants for two years as an illegal immigrant at michelin star establishments and common pizza joints. I know what a decent quality pizza looks like as I have had proper italian training in italy itself. My girlfriend has been going to Mario's for 15 years and recently we have seen a decline in the quality of their product due to them using less ingredients to save a few bucks while charging the same prices, and the customer service has declined as well. We ordered a pepperoni pizza and manicotti with a side salad, and received 3 manicotti for $13 and the pizza had the pepperoni mainly on the edges of the pizza, definitely not italian style in the slightest and the portions underwhelming. The generous amount of pepperoni has decreased to two pieces per slice at best, very disappointing. Overall they need serious improvement in their customer service and the quality control of their products plus a standardized portion control. Unfortunately they have lost a customer especially since we called to express our displeasure to a manager, and instead of apologies and/or reassurances which was all we wanted, he argued and blatantly called us wrong. He practically called us liars. He could have asked us to bring the product back to replace it at best or just sympathize with our opinion. Now we have to resort to leaving a negative review? This is not where we wanted to be. I have extreme sympathy for the struggles that restaurants are experiencing, but don't take it out on the locals that desire to support local business. Now our business will go somewhere else. That is very unfortunate and a clear sign of the unsatisfactory customer...

If you are not eating Mario’s, I honestly do not know what you are doing with your life. I have these guys cater lunches at work and the entire crew goes silent the second the boxes hit the table. You would think we just discovered fire or invented pizza ourselves. One minute everyone is arguing about deadlines, the next they are in a trance, devouring slices like it is their last meal.

Then there is dinner. Mario’s at night is a full-blown experience. The pizza? Straight-up perfection. The crust is crispy but foldable, the sauce is bright and full of flavor, and the toppings actually taste like what they are supposed to. You can tell these guys are using real ingredients. None of that frozen nonsense. It is the closest thing to New York pizza I have found in Albuquerque, and believe me, I have been searching like it is the lost city of gold. Real New York energy, without the plane ticket or someone yelling at you for walking too slow. You close your eyes and you might as well be on the corner of Mulberry and Spring. The vibe is that legit.

Now let’s talk about the pasta. Every single dish is a home run. Whether it is the spaghetti and meatballs, or the creamy Alfredo, it all comes out hot, fresh, and actually seasoned. You can taste the love in it. And the garlic knots? Dangerous. Straight-up addictive. Golden brown, buttery, garlicky heaven. I would fight a grown man for the last one.

And the staff? Top tier. They are always friendly, always hustling, and they make you feel like you have been coming there your whole life even if it is your first time. They remember names, orders, and they somehow still smile when I show up twice in one day.

Bottom line: if you are eating pizza anywhere else, I hope it is just because Mario’s is closed. Five stars does not even come close. This place is...