Service was good but the food was fair at best A lot of restaurants this time of year don't have the business and don't turn their food fast enough and customers that do come end up with aging food and not fresh Honestly the food felt old and no flavor, salad had wilted greens, chicken was bland and wife's dish was overpowering with powered seasoning Will be a while before we go back again that's for sure read more

Tried to order take dinner for the family and was rudely and immediately told to "hold". I took a screenshot of how long I've been on hold as I write this review. Check this out!! Over 18 minutes already. While I hold, I went online and ordered my family's dinner from Sabattino's. Adios Mario's! Thanks for nothing! read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Italian Near Me - La Quinta, California

The food was good, decent, and affordable, with a $5 glass of Chianti and great lunch, dinner, and happy hour specials. You really can't beat that. The pizza was a bit thicker than I wanted; I was hoping for more of a thin-crust NY-style pie. The calamari was very good, crispy, tender, and perfectly cooked. Definitely recommend coming during happy hour and grabbing the HH Calamari and small pasta; only $18 and makes for a full meal! Next time, I definitely want to try their Italian sub. read more

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We came here on Sunday for lunch. There was little wait and we were seated relatively quickly. The waiters were super friendly and patient. The restaurant decor was cute with lots of Italy-esque imagery. I ordered the Garlic Bread Basket and Chicken Parmigiano Sub. The flavoring of the Garlic Bread Basket was a bit on the blander side but the bread was pretty good. The Chicken Parmigiano Sub was pretty flavorful and warm and the bread was crunchy and delicious and overall not bad. The prices were relatively inexpensive (especially the lunch special) given the portion sizes. I had a pretty good experience here but I would recommend trying other items on the menu. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Garlic Bread Basket - Italian Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Finally dined at a Mario's and we were pleasantly surprised. Our server was friendly and professional. I started with the best Long Island Iced Tea I've ever had. I would go back just for another one of those. We shared a nice, large Caesar salad which would have been enough for 4. He really enjoyed the Angel Hair Pomodoro Allolio-eAglio. I had the Eggplant Parmigiana, which was fine, but I've had better. The portions were huge, my husband's wine pour was healthy, and it's a nice, comfortable dining room. We went rather early, and as the place filled up we could tell many of their customers are regulars. This is a nice spot for a casual meal. read more

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We have always received excellent service from Justine. She is very attentive to our needs, and is personable and friendly. The food is the best Italian fare in our area. read more

I was really excited to try the Al Vodka but this recipe does not have heavy cream, which is a key ingredient in any Al Vodka recipe. It tasted more like meat Bolognese pasta. It just bummed me out that's all. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - That's the Al Vodka, however they don't make it with heavy cream. - Italian Near Me - La Quinta, California

We got food for take away. The pizza was good. I know they didn't have their liquor license squared away yet so they didn't serve alcohol. The people who worked there were friendly and accommodating, but again we ordered take away. Cute restaurant inside. read more

The service was terrible and so was the food. The salad was frozen and watery and the lasagna was a pile of slop on a plate and was way too salty. All of the staff were young and were watching videos and cracking jokes in the booth behind us. Horrible and as long Mario's fans, not ever again. read more

Good local Italian food at a reasonable price. Always friendly service in a well-appointed atmosphere. They make our favorite pizza and antipasto. The $5 glass of wine is a great bonus! It's a full glass too! read more

I ordered food for my fathers service. Kim made the process so easy they delivered the food to the church hall and it was excellent. Thank you so much for everything read more

We love Mario's!! Great food, tasty and reminds us of Italy. I live their spaghetti & meatballs. The wide range of menu items makes choosing different meals easy. The lasagna was delicious! I love their Italian subs too. The environment is clean, friendly, can be a little loud on weekends and enjoyable. Friendly staff. read more

We ate here around 8pm on a Friday night. Our server Lindsay was nice. However we ordered a small pizza well done and it was burned. The worst tasting pizza ever. read more

Very disappointed in this place. Just ordered a large pizza, wings and prosciutto. Pizza was ok the rest was just awful. This will be the last time I will eat at this place. Sad it used to be one of my favorites. read more

We have been dining at this place for years now, but unfortunately the food is getting worse and worse Last night I ordered a margarita pizza , the cheese was falling off it had huge chunks of raw tomatoes on it tasted horrible. I don't think we'll be going back. read more

I'm in Coachella Valley on business and of course Mrs. E is with me. Usually in this area once a year and this time staying in La Quinta. So it's Friday night and I owe Mrs. E a date night dinner. I checked Yelp and see Mario's. Now this is going to sound crazy but we had Mario's back home which in the day was awesome. Unfortunately the restaurant changed ownership and went downhill until they had multiple " FIRES", and closed. Let's get to this Marios. Turns out Mario is originally from Long Island but no relation to our Mario. This Mario's is located in a shopping center. We are seated quickly and are approached by three different people to serve us, and one of them is Mario's wife. We place our orders, mine is Lobster and Crab cannelloni with shrimp sauce. My wife orders Shrimp Scampi. Our meals come out pretty quickly and by the description of each, a little too quickly. Well both are bland and honestly we didn't finish, just wanted to leave. Mario, as a Pisano from Long Island, this may be good Italian food for the area, but for an Italian from NY, sorry 3 stars. read more

Always love this place and always will. Great food , service , deals, atmosphere and all . All the locations are fantastic!! read more

Went for lunch today. Haven't been here for a while because not crazy about their sauce and only like specific menu items. Hostess was okay and immediately got our drinks. The waitress on the other hand, took forever. And this was after seeing her just chilling in the kitchen area. Eventually she came out and she was fine. But we ordered to-go at the end of the meal and she gave us not only the wrong food items, but the dressing, too. In between there, a woman came in and was literally raising her voice to get anyone's attention at the front and it took minutes for her to even be acknowledged, even though it was clear everyone could hear her. Won't be back. read more

Usually they provide excellent food and service. They would get a 5 star but last time the Pizza was we t and sloppy. Do better Marios !

Nice place and they have gluten-free pasta! The service is good. It's a warm family feeling plenty of character and a good place just to sit and relax and enjoy your meal. read more

Mario's La Quinta. Jefferson/50. Started off with a 10 minute wait at the door. No hostess, no greeting, no acknowledgement at all. Finally got a table. Received menu's and water. Another 10 minute wait. Finally ordered. Food came out piece mail. One order 4 minutes later another part. Salad was horrible, dressing was spicy...too spicy. Pizza was salty. The server never came back to check on us. Horrible!!! read more

I love this place , their Alfredo is the best. Ordered to go and was paying cash. I couldn't believe they didn't have change. The hostess/cashier was horrible , had an attitude because she had to break my $100 and I only got back $1 and two-three $5. I work in hospitality so I get it. But honestly she was rude and really off putting. read more

I've been going here for years. Always had good food and decent sized portions. It's been a bit over a year now and it looks like things have changed for the worse. I ordered a large sausage parmesan and got something different. There was at least two pounds of cooked pasta in the bowl, insufficient marinara sauce and only one sausage link. One link to feed two people. Most of the pasta had no sauce and there was insufficient to coat it all. The dish looked like it was quickly thrown together and an attempt to save money. Four entrees, two Caesar salads and four cannoli....$160.00!!! I won't be going back to Mario's any time soon! read more

The portions were absolutely gigantic. Very tasty, classic Italian pasta. The bread was nothing exciting just your typical homemade garlic bread. read more

Not as good as it used to be. Seems to be loosing luster. I don't think my pizza to go was fully cooked.

We love Mario's. The food is great, service is good, and the 5 dollar glass of wine is huge and wonderful.

Terrible tonight! Been coming for years and things have really gone to the gutter. Shortly after we sat down, in an empty restaurant, a customer walked out after not being served and when he told the manger about the poor service (she could careless) We then proceeded to wait 10 minutes before anyone came to our table. Once he approached, had as much personality as a dead ant! We ordered and said thank you, he said nothing. Food came after way too long, it was terrible, water for Alfredo sauce. I could go on but do I really need to, you get the picture. The owners really need to come spend sometime retraining at this location! read more

This was the worst Italian food I've ever had in my life. I ordered the Osso Buco. It must've been over two weeks old sitting in the fridge. Osso Buco is usually the most moist and tender meat. This was dried hard as a rock and tasted like it was a month old. I hope I don't get sick. Stay away from this place. read more

My sister got a Shirley temple, she got extra cherrys , the waiters are VERY nice and kind. The waiters brought our appetizers in a good relaxing tone, the service ‍very good. The boss here was giving us weird vibes because she just stared intently and with desire for my sister, respect The main dishes arrived,I ordered pasta, food was terrible but felt like home, because it reminded me of great great grandfathers cooking I'd also like to have the manager's number read more

Dominos has a better pizza not that I like Dominos ..soup was salty as hell Guess the soup was old so they added more salt....I wouldn't even give this place a star...had because of app give a star..booo read more

We were just there Saturday evening, was seated instantly, a little hassle, they tried to sit us next to the restroom, declined, but then they set us to another nice table. The menu is nice, everything Italian I like, but ordered a pastrami sandwich, that was excellent! (I know my pastramies) the ladies had shrimp pasta, and a pizza, they liked them. The service was normal, no complaints.. Nice restaurant, clean, and not crazy expensive, like many of them around here. read more

After over 50 meals here over the past 3 years, Mario's has become our " go to" restaurant for Italian food in La Quinta ( actually, anywhere in California). Not only is its food the best ( and most economical) ; but, its service by Kim and Vanessa is truly remarkable! I recommend it to the most discerning of palettes and pocketbooks living in or visiting the area ! read more

The food was delicious, perfect portion sizes, great prices, will not disappoint. Great place to take the family for a nice casual dinner! read more

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Important update...I ordered takeout a few weeks ago and food was fresh and delicious! Yesterday we decided to try again for lunch and I am happy to report that the food, salads specifically were fresh and tasty! We sat on the patio because we had our pups with us and our waitress was very friendly and attentive I believe this Mario's is back to the level of service they had previously and I look forward to any future visits! read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Old lettuce. - Italian Near Me - La Quinta, California

Always good food!and lots of it! We only eat here on occasion, but never disappointed. read more

My Penne pasta was prepared without adding the flavor apparently but even worse you can't put a big sign on your restaurant window that you support the troops and not give a military discount when asked. I don't know why I keep giving this place my money, and it's all locations not just this one. Terrible. Save your money go to Enzo's! read more

Nothing fancy but good food and great service! My wife and I shared a large Antipasto Salad and a large Margherita Pizza. Throw in a Peroni and a Peach Bellini and it was a good night. Total was $60 and again great service so another $20 for the tip. As with everything out here when it's the season everywhere is busy. We got here around 5:00 on a Thursday night and was seated immediately but when we were leaving they had a wait. read more

Great pasta, good service, and garlic bread. Pasta comes in great portion. Small is enough if you are hungry or for leftovers

After a long day of moving, we stumbled across Mario's in La Quinta. We were promptly seated and given our drink order. Then we waited and waited. After about 30 minutes, we approached the front desk to speak to a manager. There wasn't a manager on duty. We asked to pay and explained that the server was MIA. The cashier said 'yeah, he likes to stand around and talk to the other servers.' Guess while the cat's away, the mice will play. read more

Need a quick and easy Italian lunch? Give Mario's Italian Cafe a try. With seven or so locations in the Coachella Valley with up to four Yelp Stars, Mario's offer typical Italian dishes at a very affordable price. We visited on Saturday afternoon at about 12:30, and it was about fifty percent full. We were immediately greeted, seated in a booth, and our drink orders were taken. The greeter was very friendly. Mario's has some great basic entree specials. We ordered the Meatloaf (interesting) Parmigiana with spaghetti and the two pieces of pizza lunch specials. The pizza lunch special came with a side salad, and the Meatloaf came with a small piece of garlic bread. Each item was $6.99. The Meatloaf was very good, the sauce excellent, and the pasta was cooked just right. The pizza was thin, basic, but good. The salad was good for the small size. I also had an iced tea, and it was excellent. Although the items were ordered were very basic, they were great for the price. In regards to the service, it was excellent. Our waitress was Kayla, and she kept our drinks full and checked on us often. As I indicated earlier, the greeter who took our drink orders was very friendly. So, if you want a quick and affordable Italian lunch with great service, give Mario's a try. read more

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