Maria's Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Los Angeles

On 12/23/2024, I brought my family, six people, to dinner at Maria’s Kitchen, Sherman Oaks. I have been coming to the restaurant for the past twenty to twenty-five years, having lived just south of Valley Vista Blvd. I have known many staff and many managers there. The food is always great. However, tonight, we were seated at a table whose server was dismissive from the beginning. When I asked her for a sweet wine for my wife, she said, “Well, all we have is…such and such,” as if I was a bother to her, rather than her responding with something like, “I think your wife would find this variety pleasing” or anything positive. She seemed to us to want to be done with us as soon as possible, and when paying, we never got a “Thank you for coming by, we hope to see you again.” The reason that I point these things out is that every server I have ever had at this restaurant was friendly and warm. The shame of it is that I had been telling my sister about this restaurant for the past ten years, and this was her first time there. She noticed too. I had a short talk with the manager, Chris, about our experience on this night, and he apologized for her. My wife commented to me before we even got to the car how this server lacked any kind of welcoming attitude. I hope that this is the exception and not the norm from here on out. I will come again to Maria’s Kitchen as I always have, but before being seated next time, I will ask for the manager to make sure I have a different server. Tonight was a disappointment, my first of its kind at...

Did not have a good experience. Was this an anomaly? I really wanted to like this place, but I just couldn’t. Waited 20+ minutes before even receiving a “hello” after being seated. We were then apparently forgotten about, even after asking several staff for water multiple times. My party was literally about to leave, until a waiter finally came over, and he was really sweet, I have to say, and tried to mend things with a bread basket (which, I don’t eat bread, but appreciated the gesture). It’s sort of nuts that an Italian Family Restaurant charges for bread in the first place; I get that it’s tough times, but wow). Afterward, it did get a bit better. Waited another 10 minutes for our drinks to arrive (still without water…), but our Calamari arrived shortly after, and was cold, rubbery, and flavorless. Our waters reached the table 45 minutes after being seated. That’s laughable, however, we enjoyed Peroni from the tap in the meantime. We ordered Chicken Masala, Penne Alfredo, and Chicken & Broccoli. All were generously portioned and just ok. I’ve definitely had better Italian food elsewhere. I don’t know. I sort of wish we did walk out and avoid this whole experience. I certainly won’t rush back to this place. It seems like they prioritize their takeout over their dine-in. Disappointing to...

First of all, the food was awesome and the prices were reasonable! I love Maria's Italian kitchen in Sherman oaks. We were first greeted by Rosie who is a great hostess/manager, we let her know we had our dogs with us and needed an outside table. She happily made accomodations for us and set up a table herself. They are very pet friendly, Rosie also brought our pups a few bowls of water. Our server zolana was super nice. She was very helpful with the menu and was just a delight, giving us great tips on what to order. They were really busy when we arrived but the wait wasnt long. I was happy and suprised that they gave us complimentary brushetta for our wait I wasn't expecting it. We were the only table outside but they never forgot about us, Rosie even chatted with us for a bit and asked me for some bussiness cards to give out to customers who needed dog care. The general manager Bill Christie came out greeted us and asked us if we needed anything. Then brought us some delicious garlic bread and told us a little bit about Maria's Italian restaurants 30+year beautiful history, this is definitely a pet/family friendly place. I'm writing this review to let everyone know how fabulous they are. The ambiance is calm and casual, making it a great place to eat. Will...