Mazara Trattoria — Restaurant in San Diego

Saturday night… Divina server was knowledgeable and gracious. Ni wonder since she is the Niece of owner and this great Family owned restaurant was started by her grandfather 37 years ago While not as popular as nearby new places, give me family tradition and longevity anytime. She suggested the Rigatoni with Italian sausage green pepper onion and mixed red sauce…mildly spicy and cooked perfectly. Huge portions are what family style is all about. House red wine for less than $7…very tasty Don’t fall for false marketing of popular places. Most young people have little clue about quality ethnic foods. So following the crowds and high prices mean nothing in this space. Monday night… This place helps restore my faith in authenticity and true value and family traditions. I had the place mostly to myself again and just can’t understand why.

I have eaten in two other neighborhood Italian eateries and pizzarias. For taste, serving size, and friendly family service…Mazaras wins hands down.

I came back fir the pizza before reviewing. I had a slice of “The Works” (minus olives) and oh my. Look at the photo for size! The size of most whole small pizzas back home.

Since I didn’t think it would be enough, I ordered a side of meatballs. Again look at that portion of double bite sized meatballs with tons of the best marinara sauce I have had in maybe years!

They also have a huge wine list at great prices with bottle service you can take out. I don’t see that anywhere else here. Prices are low for these times and this bill (attached) would be twice that at the popular joints down the street!

I hope visitors or residents in this area will continue to support this place of taste and value for years to come. I’d rather be here than most any of the pretentious places in Little Italy...

We went here for lunch. Given, we arrived before noon and so it was empty and maybe this restaurant is more of a dinner place, but as mentioned previously, we noticed it was really empty. We were confused at first, coming into a liquor place, full of refrigerated alcohol and wine, but then tucked to the side is the restaurant side. We ordered the meat ravioli and the penne pasta that had chicken sausage and vegetables. Before our entrees came our garlic bread and salad. The garlic bread was no more than a slice of white bread and butter and garlic smeared on it. And the salad we ate was clearly wilted. When we got our entrees, my husband's ravioli had a copious amount of marinara sauce on top of his ravioli. And my penna was overcooked based on how the pasta was breaking apart. The food was mediocre at best, something I could've made at home. And don't take my word for it, but something to consider. When I went over to the cashier to ask for the bathroom, I noticed an open jar of marinara sauce on the table inside the kitchen area. I didn't do a double take to confirm, but for those of you who claimed their sauces to be too sweet or tastes expired, your sauces might not be homemade or freshly made. The staff was friendly but I felt really bad about how poorly this restaurant is doing...

I can only vouch for the pizza, as that's the only thing that i've ordered so far. However, based on the pizza alone, this place deserves a perfect 10. Lots of reviews mention how the marinara sauce is sugary, but... that's how marinara sauce is supposed to be, slightly sweet and tangy, not whatever BS they are serving at papa john's or whatever. In fact, out of all the things on the pizza I commend the sauce the most, it is as close to perfect as it can get. While a bit on the pricey side (24$ for one one-topping and one two-topping 16' pizzas) it is without a doubt worth your money. Perfect amount of toppings, perfect dough, everything about the pizza seems well made, honestly the best pizza I have ever had, EVER.

Side note: many reviewers also mention the friendly staff, and I don't doubt it, but as I was getting into my car with the pizza several staff came out and said I didn't pay, despite the fact that I paid when I made the order(?). The problem was quickly solved by the person who got my order, so there wasn't any real issue, if a bit embarrassing. Won't dock stars for that since it seems it was simply a one time miscommunication error between the front desk. Hope it won't happen...