Marri’s Pizza & Pasta Restaurant — Restaurant in Long Beach

I am a Chicano, born and raised in south central LA (everything in this review is important to me). We started with 2 for 1 pizza, moved on to little Ceasar's; which quickly changed from selling pizza, to selling cardboard inside a pizza box and calling it pizza, but hey, it has cheese on it, who cares right? Well, I did! To say I lost hope is an understatement, so on a hiatus I went. After maybe 15 years (yes 15 years away from pizza, I know) of avoiding the normal pizza place, pizza palace, and pizza, "Gods" I decided to jump back in. After all, my dates were getting expensive, and which girl didn't love pizza right, it was a no brainer. To my surprise, the pizza regime had somewhat gone cold, in other words, a good pizza was hard to find, no biggie, I'll go to New York, travel a bit, and draw on those pizza taste buds. After all, New York is the champion when it comes to pushcart pizza vendors right. Hold it like a taco, and cram it down your face they said, SO I DID! For only a dollar, we rationed pizza like soldiers wading off hunger. It was good, but not excellent. I left with the desire to find my pizza savior. I was not satisfied. Upon returning to Los Angeles, here I was, back at square one. To make this short, King of New York pizza, some Chicago style places (super dense stuff), and thin crust advocates all failed me. Some people don't care, some people say, "pizza is pizza" and I don't need that negativity in my life. I refuse to settle for less, those people are cheap seats, with cheap liquor personalities, I'm not one of those people. To make my point clear, I hope you realize what I'm saying, are you picking up what I'm putting down!? So if you're like me and have been waiting to be able to raise a giant pizza box over your head and say, "I FOUND IT!" and have stopped in to Marri's pizza, I congratulate you. I too have been able to relinquish my pizza history, stand tall and devour these airy, fluffy, smorgasbord of pizza pies. I don't care what they put on top of these things, just give me the pizza I have been waiting for all my life. I am near 40 years old, I am very healthy, and after all these years I can honestly say, this place fills my heart with pizza love. To the world famous Marri's, thank you. I commend you for staying true to the pizza Gods and gracing my presence with such a fulfilling experience. The place, the flavor, and of course, the customer service. Not much else can be said except I love your pizza, and thank you. Thank you forever, for everyone, all...

Marri's has been an institution in Long Beach for as long as I can remember. The "graffiti wall" is legendary, and I have memories of eating there a few times as a child. I was "reintroduced" to Marri's when a good friend reminded me of them nearly 30 years ago and my wife and I have been regulars ever since. The staff is always friendly, the portions are generous, and the price is more than reasonable. My wife, and several of our friends have sampled various pasta dishes, and we don't know if they're "authentic", but they're definitely amazing. As a lifelong TMMT fan, I've always been into pizza, and while I'll eat most any pizza -except those Mama Celeste ones made of paper plates and garbage - there are definitely tiers. If Pizza Hut is the equivalent of McDonalds, then Marri's is the pizza equivalent of Ruth's Chris without the price tag, or pretension. The dough isn't a cracker, or Brooklyn thin, but neither is it deep dish thick. A solid "hand-tossed" base that's just flavorful enough without being too much. Where a lot of pizza is better the next day because the sauce has had time to age - Marri's sauce is perfect right out of the oven. They're toppings are fresh, flavorful, and plentiful. And, finally, they're marinara is thick, gooey, and generously heaped on top - if you're not an I like some pizza with my cheese person, like me, you won't need to worry about adding extra like you do in most places just to get adequate coverage. If you live in Long Beach, or are just visiting, and you've never been, do yourself a favor - Go see Shelly and Julio for a slice, or 12. And, if you have been...

My 50 year romance with Marri's is over - because of trust over a side of forgotten meat sauce.

I was introduced to Marri's as a child 50 years ago and over the past 3 decades as a father have gone out of my way to bring my family to the tasty pizza joint of my youth regardless of where I'm living at the time. That's all been changed now due to one bad apple among their staffing choices.

My last family order was take out and was a bunch of dinners and a few pizzas, but when I got home I was missing a side of meat sauce that the receipt showed I paid for. I trusted it was an oversight, but since it was 7 miles from my house, decided not to drive back. I figured I'd get it the next time I ordered. Turns out I was wrong.

I was placing my new order today and mentioned the meat sauce issue and was told I'd have to call back tomorrow and speak to the manager who would need to look up the receipt to verify that I actually ordered the side before they could do anything. The girl was very matter of fact and short, leaving a very bad taste. Well, that was enough of an insult to break what was previously unbreakable for 5 decades. Yes, I cancelled my order and will never go back, nor bring my family to this restaurant again. I've spent many thousands over the years and they don't trust my word that I was shorted a $5. item. I'm very bummed, but there are far too many good food choices available, if that's all it was about. I was going back for the belief of supporting what I...