Mario's — Restaurant in Town of New Lebanon

We have been coming to Mario’s every year for our anniversary. Tonight was our 29th year. We arrived about 10 minutes late, because sh!t happens! I’ll start by saying that the food has not changed. The food is exquisite, and just simply mouthwatering! The chef should be commended and deserves all the stars! I had the tournedos of beef, and my husband had the special, seafood fra diavolo. Compliments to the chef! They knocked it out of the park! The waitstaff is where Mario’s falls short here. Waitress seated us, took our drink order, came back and, wanted us to order our meals. Told her we needed a minute or two. Her reply was to inform us that she “needed the table for 7:00 and we were late, so we needed to get this going”. Shocked doesn’t even begin to describe how we felt at that point. We ordered. I got a 2nd glass of wine that I wasn’t able to finish because I felt so rushed. I was getting sick to my stomach and breaking out in hives. She asked if we would be ordering dessert. We declined citing the time, as she made it perfectly clear that she needed the table. I really look forward to that crème brûlée every year, too. I’m so disappointed that I missed out on so much this year. Pointing out that we were late upon entering the restaurant was bad enough. But when we asked for a minute to peruse the menu, and she was basically timing us to be out in an hour and a half, well that was just downright tacky! Perhaps some of the waitstaff (or at the bare minimum, THIS waitress) needs to have some additional training on how to treat your patrons. We should not have to feel rushed when we are spending $50-100/plate for a meal that we then have to choke down. I only tasted the first couple of bites, the rest I don’t even think hit my tastebuds. We shouldn’t have to shotgun a nice glass of wine or a cocktail to get out of the seat for you, either. We will miss celebrating 30 years at Mario’s, because sadly this experience was bad enough that we will, more than likely, not be returning. The server that we were unfortunate to have tonight, she ruined...

Just enjoyed a great meal at Mario's with my wife. Everything was delicious. They start you off with fresh, warm, and I'm assuming homemade, bread and a bean type "salsa". It's not salsa, that's just the best way I can describe it. It's like mini kidney beans and vinegret. Its light and delicious. That's all you need to know. Then we had our appetizer, which was tempora style squash flowers. In the pic I included in this review. Sorry, I stink at descriptions. Bottom line, again, light and delicious. A little while later come the popovers, as fresh as can be. They do not make these ahead of time as they are paying attention to each table and where you are at with your meal. Nothing is rushed nor is it too late. Just at the right time. Then, after you've had some time to digest, the main course. I ordered the blue cheese encrusted filet mignon with mashed potatoes and swiss chard. Cooked perfectly and just absolutely delicious. My wife had the scallops and risotto dish. She also enjoyed her meal and the risotto was true risotto cooked perfectly. We've had risotto at other restaurants who have faked it. This was the real deal. We split a desert special which was puff Peach Tart puff pastry topped with their homemadevanilla bean ice cream. The puff pastry was nice and light and the peach was fresh and juicy.

As far as the staff is concerned: they are spot on and didn't miss a beat. Their timing was perfect. Again, nothing rushed yet nothing taking too long. And always paying attention to our table without being overwhelming or suffocating. Just an all around great dinner. We will...

What a suprising gem! My parents live in Vermont, my family and I live in Westchester. As such New Lebanon is a frequent pit stop about 1/2 way through the trip. We've driven past Mario's (no hyperbole) hundreds of times and never stopped in. By chance, last Friday we met up and our usual meeting place was closed so we decided to give it a try. I can say with alacrity that this place is the definition of "don't judge a book by its cover". The exterior is a very simple, unassuming, red, wooden, single story building. Clean and well kept, but nothing interesting. I honestly just assumed for years that it was a pizza place. Man were we wrong! As soon as we walked in we were greeted by a very elegant dinning area, very warm lighting, nice decor, and pleasant music. The wait staff was sharply dressed and very attentive. But the food, oh my gosh. After drink orders were placed a fresh loaf of home cooked bread with delicious white bean relish was delivered to our table. We ordered swordfish steaks for two, and duck confit. The swordfish was cooked to perfection, laid in a delicious cream based sauce with capers and asparagus. My mother declared duck to be some of the most delicious duck she's ever had. Whats more, as we're enjoying our meals a girl came out of the kitchen with a giant basket, came straight to our table and asked "Would you like a fresh popover right from the oven?". Hell yeah we did! My only regret is that I was too full to even look at their dessert menu. We'll have...