Mario's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Tyler

I went to Mario's for the first time last night and definitely want to go back. There is just so much to like about this place. It isn't the perfect restaurant but the atmosphere, service, and food are good enough for me to give it 5 stars.

The ambience - Although the place was packed and the tables a little too close for my comfort, I enjoyed the feel of the place. I'm a fan of "old" films and their stars so walls covered in pictures of Sophia Loren, Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, Laurel and Hardy, and many others was a genuine pleasure for me. Listening to the singer cover Sinatra and other blast from the past singers was much fun. He has a very good voice and was dead on in some of his attempts to sound like well known performers.

The service - We arrived at about 8:30 PM and waited less than two minutes to be seated. Our waiter was professional and attentive without being suffocating and polite without being ingratiating. He made sure we had plenty of drinks and bread but didn't hover.

The food - I don't know that I've ever had "authentic" Italian food as I've heard others describe Mario's offerings so I won't claim the food to be that. I will say it was very, very good. We ordered the fried zucchini as an appetizer and although it was a little greasier than I expected or like, it had a good flavor and the sauces for it were nice. The bread and dipping oil are out of this world and if I could go back and eat nothing but those two items I'd be a happy camper! Our veal marsala was flavorful and tender but would have been better with a little more veal and a little less pasta. I love pasta but the portion was huge, much larger than one serving, and the dish would have been a better value with more veal.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Mario's and although I don't get to Tyler often I plan to enjoy another...

A friend and I came in tonight for my 28th birthday. The food is usually very very good with wonderful service. Dude, it wasn’t that at all tonight. Our server kept hiding from us. I think her name was Addison? Our appetizer took a while to come out. No problem. I’m a server I get it things happen but a server to a server communication with your guest’s is always key to keeping them happy. She finally brings it out & we had gotten our food order put in for a minute or so by then.. or so it seemed. We showed up at like 6:10ish it was 7:20 (we checked our phone’s) whenever we were like “let’s wave down someone because we’ve been waiting a while”. Our food finally comes out. It’s lukewarm. I try to eat what I can of it. But my stomach couldn’t take the texture’s plus temperature without getting sick. I had ordered the Seafood Allá Mario. It sounded good. My friend order the chicken piccata. Our plates looked exactly the same. Our food looked like marsala’s not what we ordered. It was the other server’s in the nearby section that kept checking on us plus giving us refills on our water’s. That one server pre-bussed the table offering us dessert whenever our server is like “Yeahh.. do y’all want any desserts?”. Again, I’m a server I know the game. If I could I would’ve rather had the other server who kept our refills going, checking on us & pre-bussing our table. I expect semi bad service at a big chain restaurant not a local own joint. It might be a while before we return. The live singer was great as before. Definitely a talented dude & I appreciate how he makes the whole room...

What a nice place, great experience, delicious food and overall atmosphere. We went to Tyler, Tx to attend friend’s surprise birthday party and just spent one say there. We just randomly found a restaurant close to our hotel. True as people say, never judge the book by it’s cover. It was just an average view from the outside but was total surprise inside.

The restaurant decor and ambience was very nice and warm, felt like home. Our waiter Jeffrey was super nice and very social. Started talking and in conversation he realized that the restaurant owner may know about our original home country Azerbaijan. He got the owner Moe to meet and greet my wife and I and turns own we had so many things in common and even spoke same language. What a small world. Moe’s wife Dominique also stopped by and we had a great conversation about life story and restaurant.. It felt very welcoming. There was a live music during our visit and the singer even stopped by our table to greet us. Food was very delicious and really enjoyed it. Jeffrey was awesome taking care of us and made experience very warm and welcomed. The cost was very reasonable. We even got a group photo with Moe and Dominique. Very pleasant couple with strong family values and it’s reflected in their business. Definitely recommend this place and will definitely visit again and recommend this place to my friends. Again, never judge the book by it’s cover, go visit and experience yourself.

Moe had plans to visit Baku, Azerbaijan and I wish him all the best and...