Mario's Seawall Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Galveston

I had lunch with my wife and her mother on a Sunday afternoon. We were warmly greeted and seated. Our server, Sinead, was welcoming and friendly. My wife and I arrived early, and her mother arrived about 5 minutes later. Sinead took our drink orders and gave us ample time to review the menu. Although the restaurant was busy, the timing and flow were great - we were not made to feel like we were creating trouble just because we were waiting for someone.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Paesano Platter which features mozzarella sticks, toasted ravioli, & garlic bread. Each item was really good. The garlic bread was not only well seasoned but had a light covering of shredded cheese! The bread was soft but not mushy or excessively buttered) The toasted ravioli was our favorite. The accompanying sauce was fresh and flavorful.

Mom had the Chicken a la Mario - grilled chicken breast topped with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil lemon butter with veggies and potatoes, and she was very pleased.

My wife had the Spaghetti a la Mario - featuring the familiar pasta topped with a generous helping of sausage, meatball, and mushrooms with meat sauce and she was delighted with her choice as well.

I ordered the Spicy Rigatoni Vodka - the pasta was cooked perfectly, and the lightly spicy vodka sauce was outstanding. The pasta was complimented by a lovely, contrasting cool dollop of fresh ricotta. The Italian sausage was amazing and full of flavor. I ordered grilled shrimp to go along with it, and it was beautifully done.

We had made room for desert; my wife and her mom enjoyed the Key Lime Pie and I had a scoop of lemon gelato. My wife said the pie had the right blend of sweet and tart (I agree, having stolen a couple of bites) and my gelato was sweet and creamy.

Kudos to the staff in the kitchen and on the floor. The manager stopped over to ask how we were doing. I understand the protocol, and in other places it seems perfunctory, but Chris was warm and genuinely engaging. He even personally delivered our desserts!

What can be said of our server Sinead? I literally told her I don't have enough adjectives to describe our experience and that someone would need to pry us off the seats to get us to leave! Like Chris, she was friendly and courteous but more than simply polite. She has a bright personality that puts one at ease. Sinead was on point the whole time - helping us with small adjustments to the order (e.g., like extra lemons in the tea - which she replenished frequently with great timing)

She demonstrated great poise and grace which was so awesome considering that the restaurant was so busy. When mom had a question about something she had ordered, instead of being defensive or frustrated, Sinead was super kind and took the time to help her understand it better.

If the ambience, the food, and the team continue with this level of experience making, I am certain Mario's will continue to be one of Galveston's best options for Italian dining!

TL/DR - Go to Mario's! The food is amazing; the staff are...

Yesterday evening on a Sunday my family and I came to eat here. Despite a strange encounter upon entering with the would be hostess/seater, who abruptly stopped talking to us to attend to someone else without so much as a “ one moment please or I’ll be right back with you” the next staff member, Patty, a few minutes later who seated us was very friendly and informative. We asked to be seated outside as the weather was beautiful (October 8). There is very pretty ocean views from their floor level dining area outside. It appeared to be the same for indoors but I can’t be positive. There were lots of windows though. My only reason for leaving off one star for atmosphere is the music volume and genre was a bit off and off putting. The music was quite loud, which was no problem for myself but my 74 year old mother was a little apprehensive. Also, the choice of music was not very authentic to an Italian restaurant. They played club music with lots of base and very uptempo. Again, not much of a problem to me (I’m in my 40’s) but my Mom wasn’t crazy about it). I’m thinking maybe more Frank Sinatra/Louis Prima type of music would have been more fitting at just a few decibels lighter. Our server Bruce was wonderful! Very professional, polite, informative and nice looking. Our food was delicious. The Lasagna, Raviolis, and Chicken Parm, in that order, we’re all SO good! I wish we had been offered bread as it’s not a free part of dinner but considered an appetizer I guess. I did end up ordering some for my table of four and it was just ok but not really enough for a table of four. The butter was served directly on the serving tray, loose and stuck to the knife, in mounds. The atmosphere was nice as we watched the sunset and had good views (most of us). There were families with small children, couples, friends and other family dynamics making up the outdoor dining guests and it was quite pleasant. I forgot to add that parking is directly across the street as well as on street parking with no charge to us on a Sunday very early evening. We parked in the parking lot, free, just approximately 40 ft. From the front door, very convenient after walking The Strand and Seawall for hours prior. Not sure what a Saturday evening is like here but on Sunday it was very easy, convenient and stress free. I would definitely recommend this place and would definitely eat here again. It...

My husband and I came here with our family to celebrate our anniversary. And the entire experience was a complete and total disaster! First of all my husband called a day in advance to make reservations for a table of 10 people at 2pm. By the time we got there Sunday September 14th at the time that we made the reservation for, they tell us that they don't see a reservation under our name. Which means whoever took the reservation down did not write the reservation down. We spoke to the manager The manager apologized for the wait and said that it should be only about a 15 to 20 minute wait. That 15 to 20 minute wait turned into a 1 hour wait just to be seated. Then when they finally sit us down at the table, our waitress came took our drink orders in our food orders. We waited and we waited and we waited some more. Once again we called for the manager to come out. He came out and we told him once again we're having to waiting a long time just for food to come to the table. What's going on? He once again apologized and said it'll be another 15 to 20 minute wait. And guess what that 15-20 minute wait turned into yet again a 1-hour wait just for food to come to our table. Which means for a total we have waited for 2 hours. Now that the food has finally arrived, My dad's spaghetti and meatballs he said was disgusting. My mom said she didn't like her meal either. Another family member said that the pizza didn't have enough cheese on it. Another family member said their food was too salty. A family friend came with us and she ordered a salad, when she got her salad not 1 not 2 but 3 flies flew out of it. She was so upset. She told them to take the salad back and she walked over to McDonald's across the street. After such a dreadful experience, do you think the manager did anything for us to compensate. Nope not a thing, we even asked if we can get a discount for the awful experience that we went through. He told us no. I was so upset with the whole experience I was in tears, Happy anniversary to us. The only good thing that came out of the services was our waitress. She deserved a five-star, she felt so bad for us that she even offered to dance for us just to lighten the mood. We tipped her very well. As far as coming back to this restaurant, you...