Big Mario's Pizza — Restaurant in Seattle

Big Mario's has had a location up on Capitol Hill for quite awhile now but I have been reluctant to go because of crowds and parking and just a lack of general knowledge of the place altogether.

Enter, Big Mario's location number 2 now in lower Queen Anne.

As an Uber driver, I've brought a lot of people to and from this location and since it is more convenient and the parking isn't a nightmare, I decided to finally give them a try. I mean heck, I have been looking for a good pizza joint that served New York style pizza and my standards for my pizza are really high when compared to the average person. What I mean by that is I won't order from places like Pizza Hut or Dominoes because even though it's pizza, it's horrible and I don't like horrible food.

Pizza is a simple food and because of the simplicity, the elements must be correct. The dough must be made correctly and give you a crunch as well as be chewy. The sauce is a huge component of any pizza and should taste fresh and well seasoned. 100% real cheese is a must and fresh cured meats and sliced veggies are of utter importance as well. Not that this is news to most of you.

One of the alluring aspects of Big Mario's is that they stay open until 2:00am so when I am out driving for a living, it's easy to swing by and grab a slice or two. Working graveyard doesn't give me many opportunities to go in and sit down to eat so I really appreciate places that stay open late.

They have three pizzas that they keep on hand for selling slices. Cheese, pepperoni and their Special Sicilian. You can build your own full size pie but you cannot alter the slices. I did the math and one slice of pepperoni which is roughly the size of 1/4 of a large pizza cost $3.50 so if you were to buy four slices of pepperoni separately, it would cost you $14.00 plus tax. To purchase a whole pepperoni pizza would cost you $18.99 for the basic cheese and an extra $2.50 for the pepperoni so for the same amount of pizza, the total would be $21.49 plus tax. Something fishy to me in that equation but if you have to pay $7.00 for the box, the pizza must be that good.

I enjoy their pizza too. Every time that I've gone in, the pre-made pizza's have sat for a bit and so when they throw them in the oven to warm them back up, they get a little extra crispy. I like my pizza on the well done side but I hope to get in one time when the pie is fresh out of the oven and the crust isn't so well done.

One day I will order a whole pie but until then, the slices are satisfying.

Thanks...

I am originally from NJ (the home of the world's best pizza) but have lived in Seattle for over 30 years. I regularly travel back to NJ and NY and I eat pizza almost every time. I have been going to Big Mario's since the first location opened on Capitol Hill and I have been a fan and champion for years. Before Big Mario's opened that spot, many pizzarias in Seattle (Pagliacci, Piecora's, Rocket...) were purveyors of what they claimed was "New York-style pizza," but none got it quite right. Big Mario's nailed it: the amazing sauce; immaculate crust; right amount and quality cheese; excellent toppings; and perfect proportions. Tonight, I stopped in at the Queen Anne location (I have been there MANY times and always been more than pleased) and the first thing I noticed was that the slice pie size had shrunk, from a large 18" to a medium 16" pie. Ok, fine - not a deal breaker. Shrinkflation at work. I ordered a slice of veggie (nothing fancy: black olives, onions, mushrooms) and was charged $8.18! I understand that things have gotten more expensive but EIGHT BUCKS for a smallish slice of pizza is NUTS! For context, slices in NY and NJ are anywhere from $3-$4/slice. I had not been to Mario's in a little while but I'm pretty sure last I was there a slice was a much more reasonable $6. To top it off (and the inspiration for this review), the slice was sub-mediocre. The dough had been overworked, so the crust was dense, not airy, as it ought to be. It was overheated so it had a dry, crumbly consistency and there was not nearly enough sauce. Very disappointing and obnoxiously expensive. I am writing this in the hope that the decision makers at Mario's can make the necessary changes to re-ingratiate long-time customers and recapture the spectacular product they were once known for. Maybe I'll check back and try again down the road but for now, I'm done...

Honestly the worst service I’ve ever received. My husband called to order pizza and we were asked to be “put on hold,” which is basically them putting the phone on the counter, for 20 minutes. The totally forgot we were on the phone and we’re just chatting away in the kitchen. We could hear everything they were saying. Someone picked up the phone and put it back on the ringer so we called again. AGAIN we were “put on hold” for another 20 minutes. At this point we decided to drive to Mario’s... if you’re wondering why were so persistent, it’s a friends birthday and she loves the pizza and we wanted to bring her some. So we drive to Mario’s, STILL ON HOLD, to order pizza and the kid at the counter says “we’ve been so busy, the phone has been ringing off the hook.” Lol. No it hasn’t. Your line has been busy because we are over there just hanging out on the phone on the counter. Anyways. He walks over the hang up the phone and while we have our phone in our hands. Line disconnects. Whatever. We ordered our pizza and they said 40 minutes. Okay. Cool. We can deal. We go buy a cake and some birthday things and come back and the pizza is still not ready. They said 20 minutes. Keep in mind this is just ONE pepperoni pizza. Listen, I’ve worked in customer service, I’m not a Karen on here complaining with no experience in annoying customers. I get it. But this was ridiculous. I never write reviews but this was beyond okay for us. So big marios, I’m here just to say do better. We love your pizza...