Mariola Italian — Restaurant in Wooster

I have such mixed feelings about this place and I really haven't been sure how I wanted to rate it. I guess I'll just take it one item at a time.

First, the SHORT part and the primary things that everybody is interested in: This restaurant has a bright, casual, fun atmosphere. It's a bit loud, so it wouldn't be the place to go for a cozy, quiet, romantic date. I think it would be a perfect place to meet friends, colleagues, more casual dates, dining after cruising the businesses in the area, etc. The only drawback to the atmosphere for me was the fact that they had the windows wide open. While this while this added to the casual ambiance and the fresh air was very pleasant, there were no screens on the windows, so I contended with 3 flies that were continually buzzing around my face add my food throughout my entire meal. The service was great. All of the staff was friendly, well trained, and helpful. Major Bonus: After ordering my drink, I need to go to the ladies room. I discreetly spoke to a lady that I assumed was the manager (she was actively walking the floor) and asked if they could hold my drink at the bar so it wouldn't be sitting unattended at my table, since I was dining alone. She was more than happy to assist me with that and my server brought it to me promptly upon my return to the table.

Now, on to the food (the LONG part): 1.) The homemade focaccia & dipping oil was is absolutely delicious. This may just be the pre-meal bread but it was amazing. 2.) My long island iced tea was not drinkable. I'm not sure if they used too much of a particular liquor or if it was poor quality liquor but it was horrible. On top of that, it didn't taste like it had a twist of lemon juice... It tasted like it had the whole darn lemon. The closest thing I can compare it to was if one took original Listerine and blended it with an entire lemon. At one point I asked my server if she could get the bartender to add another splash of cola (just to see if it would help... this is also why my beverage is darker in the last picture). Neither she nor the bartender had any problem with that at all. Sadly, it only helped very marginally. I don't think I drank more than 5-6 small sips. This is not a drink on their menu but it's a well-known one, so I thought it would be ok. I would suggest sticking to the cocktails on their menu. 3.) I ordered chicken parmesan with a caesar side salad for my meal. a.) The caesar salad was so outstandingly good that I could make a meal of that all by itself. They clearly make their own dressing and it is the best I've had. It is so good that I didn't even mind the fact they use powdered parmesan, rather than fresh grated. I was a bit surprised at the $3 upgrade charge, since it was also a side portion but I ordered it anyways. Thankfully, it was delicious. b.) The chicken parmesan was incredibly disappointing. On the one hand, the chicken was perfectly breaded and fried. It was tender and juicy on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside. The one glaring drawback was that lacked any discernible flavor. Perhaps they don't season the chicken itself because they rely on the sauce to lend flavor but that was a bit of a problem too. The spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente however the sauce was watery with cooked down bits of tomato. The flavor was just basic tomato, acidic, and without any discernible flavor. I could see some bits of onion but if there was garlic or basil in it, I could neither see it nor taste it. *Side Note: The table next to me had a gorgeous looking pizza, while the table across from me ordered some delicious looking alfredo. Perhaps I simply did not order their specialty? I don't know... aside from the sauce, my food looked equally appealing. 4.) The tiramisu at that I ordered for dessert what is absolutely divine. That is one of my favorite dessert and, after the dinner I had, I was a little afraid. Who wants their fave done wrong? I was NOT disappointed though. The Nonna who passed down THAT recipe was...

It pains me to leave negative reviews. From the moment we pulled in until the moment we pulled out of the parking lot was disappointing. They have parking spaces, but the majority are 'reserved' for pickup. I don't mind walking, but none of the pickup spots were being used during the very busy dinner rush. We were told it would be a 25 minute wait (no problem), but as we sat there over an hour with 3 parties ahead of our party of three according to their online seating system, I watched at least 6 parties sat. I overhead the family next to us say they had 8 in front of them and even they were sat before us, with the same amount in their party as us. We were sat near the fireplace (IN JULY!!!), which was very uncomfortable. We ordered our drinks and my iced tea was warm. I had to ask twice for a cup of ice before the server remembered to bring it. I started with the ceasar salad, the lettuce was wilted and warm, the dressing was watered down, and the croutons were tasteless. Our entrées came and lacked flavor. My baked ravioli was a small portion of chewy ravioli with a bland red sauce, topped with way too much cheese, and normally too much cheese would never be a problem for me. It was all topped with a powdery grated parmesan that felt like you were eating dust. Another member of my party had chicken Alfredo, and the chicken was terribly dry. He also said the Alfredo was bland. We weren't offered refills on our drinks until we were finished eating, which by then was pointless. The only positive was that my husband enjoyed the muddled strawberry old-fashioned drink. The place definitely didn't feel cozy. It felt loud and commercialized while trying to pass for a homemade Italian restaurant. The prices were disappointing for the lack of quality in the food. I understand they are new, so service kinks may need to be worked out, but even if that improved I don't know that I'd want to return due to the lack of quality...

Average dining experience, I was expecting much better. Average food. Small portion (I had eggplant parmesan which was one eggplant cutlet about 4" diameter and a fist sized portion of pasta. The bread was outstanding but cut into strips about like bacon strips. Four pieces of bread got lost in the basket. The salad was nothing special, iceberg with a bit of cheese and a few grape tomatoes and some uninspiring olive rings. The total for my entree and salad was about $23. My wife had spaghetti and meat sauce and the salad about $22 total. Her portion was slightly more generous, but nothing that couldn't be recreated at home for $3. My mother had the lasagna and salad $24 the lasagna was more generous (she took some home). My perception is that Italian pasta dishes are very economical to produce and being stingy with them is a poor business model. The salads could have been more special or have been included in the price of the entree. Honestly, I was not as happy with the food or price or the experience as I am at olive garden and that's not a really high target to shoot at. We typically spend $100 or more on a Saturday lunch with the group I just described and am happy to do so. We dropped $80 today including a beer and a Italian Margherita, and felt like I got a poor value. Wooster needed a good Italian restaurant and it still does. If Mariola can expand the menu, be more generous with the pasta and sauce and bread ( all are cheap items) they may get closer to what Wooster needs. Until then you'd be better to try other dining options in town. Wooster has plenty of great Mexican restaurants which have figured out how to serve plates which can't possibly be consumed in one setting at better value. There are also many Asian options that are a good value. And as much as I'm not a fan of franchises, the Wooster choices are a better bet...