Almost Better than Home-Cooked
I've lived in Lexington for 28 years. Restaurants come and go. Mario's always was and still is #1. The staff is fantastic, service is great and the food tastes just like home-cooked. The pizza crust is perfect. They are very reasonably priced. The chain restaurant a block or so away, charges $$$$$$ and their staff could take lessons from Mario's. Hope they never close down while I still live here.    [19 Oct 2001 11:36:15]

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Recommended Dishes: pizza with sliced tomatoes and crushed garlic, lasagna

     ­Anonymous   mdesi87978 at aol dot com

Cozy BYOB
Mario's has a charming, cozy atmosphere. Bring your own wine or beer, and enjoy a casual, affordable dining experience. Staff is wonderful.    [04 Dec 2003 15:49:35]

Food:    Service: -   Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: pizza

     ­Anonymous   

Everything is always wonderful, and exactly what you expect.    [17 Jan 2004 19:54:35]

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     ­Anonymous   

Yummm
Nothing fancy here - but you cant beat the quality of food, service and price. I miss the croutons they used to have in their salads though.    [27 Dec 2004 15:08:09]

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Recommended Dishes: chicken parmesan

     ­Anonymous   

Where's the Baked Ziti?
Mario once had a secret weapon to beat all Italian (not Greek) recipes - Baked Ziti - with a real baked custard top and an overall wonderfully, truly salient culinary experience. When the owners changed, so did the quality and the menu. Want good food? There are a lot of other places to go than Mario's    [10 Dec 2006 12:54:37]

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     ­Anonymous   

Simple and Good Eats, but Not 4 or 5 Star
I miss the baked ziti as well. And the chicken parm is now batter fried, deep fried chicken "cutlets" like you get a Denny's for a kid's meal, with Marinara and way too much cheese on top.

But, the meatball sub is great if you ask for the roll to be toasted first. The pasta with marinara is good. All pasta dishes are really overpriced, so get an entrée with pasta as a side instead. Eggplant parmesan is good but also greasy. I can't figure out why they are deep frying instead of pan frying...uck.

No kid menu makes for expensive dining with kids 14 and under.

Also, the chairs are small captains chairs and the tables are all squashed together, so anyone over a size 14 woman or a man XL has difficulty "fitting" in the space.

Prices of entrées are good. Bread should be heated.

I don't know why people give this 5's unless they don't dine in nice restaurants very often and don't know the difference.    [09 Jan 2007 20:03:06]

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Recommended Dishes: meatball sub with pasta as a side with the house salad

     ­Anonymous   

Good Food, OK Service
The food is good overall for this family-friendly diner. I like the chicken parmesan, but I take most of the cheeses off. My family and I love the fact that you can get the food to go...in only about 15 minutes. It's great to call and pick something up on the way home from work. Too much cheese and deep frying of the chicken/veal makes it hard to make these dinners healthy. Seating area is cramped so we prefer to eat it at home. The wait staff is OK but not great. It's Denny's style service.    [18 Feb 2007 14:52:53]

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Recommended Dishes: subs, chicken parmesan

     ­Terrie B., Lexington   

Calm Down, Reviewers
This is a unpretentious, Italian restaurant. There are no long tables, and it is not crowded; many large people eat here. It may be heavy-handed, but it is cheap, reliable, clean, and the service is excellent. It doesn't offer gourmet or especially healthy food, just the standard Italian-American favorites. It is not a greasy spoon, nor is it overpriced. It is definitely a popular family restaurant; many children eat here.    [25 Apr 2007 12:27:44]

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     ­Neal Rubenstein, none   neal at nii dot net

Good Food, Good Prices, Overall B+
OK. So we've been going here quite some time. Good news. Ziti is back. Bad news. Chicken is still deep fried. I'm sorry, but mamma pan seared the breaded chicken or baked it, and didn't deep fry it. It's only Italian food for non-Italians... But, the menu has variety. There's something for everyone. People are nice. It's a casual experience. And I much prefer them to Bertucci's. I would pick Mario's any day over a franchise.    [11 Nov 2007 19:35:08]

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Recommended Dishes: chicken parm, large salad

     ­Jill Cosgrove