I don't like pasta or Italian food....but one dinner at Mario's changed ALL of that! In fact, we returned for dinner again a month later! Pasta Primavera served with olive oil and garlic is what changed my mind-nice and light, lots of veggies and pasta that didn't make my gut hurt. You can opt for a regular size or a large size -both are generous servings. My husband had fettuccine Alfredo and loved it.... The menu is large with lots of offerings. The ambience is friendly and fun , with lots of conversation. Seating is comfortable, even at the bar. The food comes out relatively quick and the wait staff is friendly , appropriately attentive, and clearly enjoy their work!!! The second night, we met friends for dinner and we met Mario, who told us his grandson Vito, was our waiter! Vito blushed, but gave us a big smile! Highly recommend Mario's. No reservations needed, unless you have a large party to be seated...even non-pasta eaters will find something delectable on the menu! read more

Ordered Pizza and Sausage the small was enough to share with my Baby. We also ordered mozzarella sticks, but they tasted like they had freezer burn. The wait staff was decent. Food was decent as well. read more

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Steady favorite for Italian American food. Great service, a place that if you are a regular ypu feel like family. $5 Chianti is a real deal, and the wines not bad. They have great lunch specials and their stuffed pasta is cheesy and delicious. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Manicotti and Veal Parmigiana - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

I have to say I frequent Mario's I go there mayb once a month. My only critique is that for the past three visits I have asked for angel hair pasta and gotten regular spaghetti which I dis like. And especially this pasta it's too think it's more like udon noodles. So please please take to the chefs or the wait staff and let them know if a customer asks for a certain pasta that's what they want. I did not say anything to the waitress just for fear of wasting food. I don't do that. Thank you. read more

NOT GLUTEN FREE SAFE If you have Celiac disease do not eat here. The waitress doesn't care that you do, that you asked her to let the chef know to be careful about cross contamination of food items that contain gluten, wheat, barley or rye. Food was contaminated and I was sick by the time I got home. read more

Pizza, Ceasar salad and clam chowder were all delicious! The hospitality was beyond amazing. Chef Mario walking table to table asking how things were and chatting it up. Our waitress was very friendly. We are visting from out of town. On our way to a chain restaurant and thankful gps had us drive thru Mario's parking lot. We will definitely be back. read more

I was unimpressed. Ordered the chicken Parm and had to work to find the chicken. Ordered a side salad and got something served on a plate the size of a coffee saucer for $4.99. The portion sizes are tiny. I asked several times about the Ravioli and if I could substitute the spaghetti for ravioli at an extra charge...no. Do you offer the Ravioli as a side? No - we sell it as a main dish. When the customer wants to pay you to upgrade the pasta, set a price and do it. I was not impressed and won't be headed back. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Chicken is in there...someplace. - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Always delicious! Our Italian go to restaurant for terrific pasta, pizza and eggplant parm. Delicious garlic bread-the BEST! And they fill the wine glasses all the way to the top. Great happy hour! Highly recommend and we will see you there at our Italian restaurant! read more

Stopped in tonight for dinner and to our surprise it was a full on birthday party. They were celebrating Mario's 83rd birthday. We have known Mario and his family for many decades now and the food is always excellent and they always treat you like family. Birthday cake was served all around and it was delicious (homemade by Karen)! Happy Birthday Mario, can't wait to celebrate you again! read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Celebrating Mario's 83rd birthday! Harpo in attendance. - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Walked in to have dinner on a Saturday night. Kids were going crazy and it seemed every restaurant we called was booked and wouldn't budge. They sat us within 2 min and were super friendly and nice. You can tell the employees like working here and management is very organized and efficient. This is a true neighborhood spot with 99% locals so you know it's good. My wife left her bag at the table and a random stranger chased her down to give it to her. It's really a place close to my heart. Started with a side salad and it was the classic wedge with shredded cheese and got it with ranch dressing. It's probably not the most fancy salad but did the trick and came out quick. Ordered a penne Alfredo, chicken piccata and Marguerita pizza and ended the night with the tiramisu. Everything was excellent and you will feel the garlic here. Just how I like it. Our waitress Toli was super friendly and honestly I hope we can come back someday because this meal made our day. Highly recommend this spot for a nice easy atmosphere and good quality food. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Mario's!! - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Went here with a group of 6. Large selection on entrees and portion size. Super price on house glass of wine $5. Food was decent but nothing really outstanding IMO. We called ahead to ask what corkage was for wine and were told $10. We get there and now it is $15. Told server we called but still charged $15. No big deal but should have honored the $10. Server not the best and not too friendly. As far as the meal it was hot and okay. Very inexpensive as far as pricing. Not really my type of really good Italian food. However had the best time visiting with our group. read more

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Came here for dinner with mom. The ambience is so cute, you feel like you're in Italy. The painted walls with the murals, and the grape vines with lights. The music was so cute as well. We came on Monday night, so it was not crowded, the food was delicious, we got a large margarita, pizza, a small Caesar salad, and a small angel hair pasta with meat sauce. The service was great, they kept showing our waters and asking if we needed anything else. We will definitely be coming back. read more

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They make a great Italian sauce. We found their pizza was very good. The service is great. Love the staff. They really take care of you. And we loved seeing the chef come around to the tables. Nice atmosphere. read more

The food was great. Wednesday was rib day and it hit the spot. The service was very friendly and even the other diners were nice to each other. Mario, the owner came thru the dining room and stopped by every table to greet his customers. Nice touch! I found everything very comfortable and good. We had enough food to take some home and all for a reasonable price. I call this place my own "CHEERS" read more

The wait was short; decided to wait for indoor sitting; too hot outside. Fast service; super cute spot! We oredered the chilaquiles and decided to share. Huge portion size; 3 People coulde have eaten with this dish; side of bacon and and a pancake to complete. And the flight to start was excellent. I loved the lavender and pinapple. We will most difinetly be back. Affordable prices. Just ask for extra sauce for chilaquiles. A little dry but good still. Queso fresco, pico on top. read more

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We came here for dinner this week. The service was okay. We had to wait a while to have our order taken and it was spotty after that. The food was a mix of excellent and so so. Caesar salad was very good. Garlic bread was great. Brussels sprouts were perfect. The meatball side was good - the meatballs themselves had a good texture but the sauce tasted more like the base of a minestrone than a marinara. My hubby had pasta with red sauce and it was the same sauce. Not our favorite! However, the brussels sprouts were good enough that I went back to get some of those to go! read more

Amazing restaurant!! Original owner, welcoming of his customers and guest very home like feel! The ambience is welcoming and warm. The food is exceptional. Even came back the next day for lunch.!!! Every time I come to Palm Springs I'll be coming to Mario's on Highway 111 read more

Had reservation at location on Hwy 111. Made it in person a week before. Lady Crypt Keeper didn't see it. She asked and I said I made it with you. She wrote it in the book with her claws. Seated and had some dirty looks. My party was group of color. They said some things weren't available on menu. Ugly looks from others. Several of our party walked out. If I knew issue, would've joined. This is how you will be treated at Mario's on Hwy 111. read more

They used to have the best garlic bread. However, they changed and now it's this rubbery bread drenched in butter to compensate. I'm sure this change was to cut cost. Such a shame. read more

Ordered a Cesar salad and margarita pizza on Friday last week. The salad was so drenched in dressing it was hard to eat. The pizza was legit uncooked. The bottom and center were raw. The top was barely browned. I ordered it for pick up so I didn't realized this until it was too late and I was 30 min away. They also didn't have any plastic forks for the salad. I called to tell them about the uncooked pizza and they said Dan would call me back and of course he didn't. The food is over priced, under cooked and way too much dressing. Do not recommend. read more

Damn bro. It took 50 min to for food to come out and it was just US in the restaurant, my chicken came out pink and hard, then they remade it and it came out with bits of ham and bacon in the sauce. Only 2 stars because the LOVELY waitress had the sense to give the meal for free after the kitchen ruined my family's disgusting meal. 5 stars for her. As for the rest, Shame. read more

Enjoyed the spaghetti lunchtime special for 995 with one piece of garlic bread and I ordered two more pieces of garlic bread because it was so good. The restaurant is decorated beautifully and the waitress Elaine was very friendly proficient and professional. I would definitely return here for lunch or dinner in the near future read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

we had I idea what Mario's was going to be like, but I must say we left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. the service was friendly, and for me food was fantastic! I had the veal Marsala with pasta and I must say the Marsala was exceptional , and the pasta sauce equally as good. my wife had chicken Marsala and opted to have the Marsala on her pasta instead of the red sauce. at one point the chef came out and greeted all the customers and checked on every table which is always a class move. overall I look forward to returning on our next visit to Palm Desert. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Chef greetings customers - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Always consistent, always available to eat without a reservations, everything I've ordered as been r was lot good Priced just right as well, they age. Great early bird special as well read more

All dishes are delicious The staff is great.. Always laughing folks in the booths. read more

Been coming here for seven years, since we bought out here. I'm just about at the end of the road with Mario's. They are inconsistent with their to-go pricing. I go in to get some Italian salad dressing and clearly tell the young guy that I want a pint, which is always $5.95 plus tax. So he rings it up and it's $5.95 plus tax. All good so far. Then he brings out a half pint. I said woah, I ordered a pint. Him getting my order wrong notwithstanding, he says, no, a pint is $8.95 plus tax. I told him that the last half dozen times I've ordered it, it's been $5.95 plus tax for a pint. So he just looks at me and asks if I want another half pint. lol, no. I don't think he's lying because there was a chart taped to the partition at the register. Could he have been reading it wrong? I don't know. The bigger thing to me is, if they are charging $5.95 for eight ounces of salad dressing, I can't support that and won't be back for pizza, pasta or anything else. Too bad. read more

I ordered Meatloaf to go, and I got Spaghetti instead. Very disappointed. Not what I ordered, or what I wanted.

My boyfriend and I were in here on Thursday night. The place was very slow only one other couple in the bar. So we were seated in the bar. The first server that came by was a gentleman he left and sent another gentleman over and then he sent a gal over. I think they were enjoying the view. They were enjoying laughing at an older woman with a younger man who's happens to be Egyptian. So we ordered drinks. Then we ordered food. my boyfriend being Muslim wanted the beef ribs asked four or five times to make sure that they were beef ribs. Yes, beef ribs. Yes she made it clear. Yes, the beef ribs. OK got it so then he wants pasta on the side with the sauce on the side, OK sauce on the side with noodles perfect. I order chicken Parmesan so 20 minutes later we finally get our drinks along with our salad that we ordered about 20 minutes later she brings the food set the ribs down in front of him puts the pasta down that's supposed to have the sauce on the side and of course it doesn't. OK, so then she looks at me and says is there anything else I can get you guys now and I looked at her and was like really how about my chicken Parm?! She had completely forgotten to even put that in or write it down. I'm not quite sure how she could've forgotten that I guess they were just enjoying messing with us because of a white girl with an Egyptian maybe I don't know. So she goes to put in the chicken Parm. I had my boyfriend go and tell her that I didn't want it. I didn't wanna wait another 20 minutes. She said it's almost done and that was a lie as well. So he sits back down and tries to eat his dinner, but he's thinking that these are definitely not beef ribs. So we get her over and she says oh no they're the pork ribs. Are you fucking kidding me pork ribs after we asked and cleared clarified it three or four times absolutely beef ribs yes OK so then she comes back and looks at the plate and says oh no those are the pork ribs seriously fucking unbelievable so my boyfriend she takes the plate away. He gets him goes to the bathroom to vomit that shit out of him because he can't eat pork 15 minutes later brings the chicken Parm that I asked not to have brought because she couldn't even remember it in the first place because they were too busy staring and whatever we're a very nice looking couple by the way I'm blonde and he's Egyptian and he's younger than me but it's OK for an old fuck to have some young gal, but not an older woman to have a younger guy so it was quite interesting for and fun for them. So she takes the ribs away set the chicken Parm down which I had made clear I didn't want at that point anyway so she's trying to apologize for serving him pork when we made it perfectly clear couldn't have been more clear that it needed to be beef because they have beef ribs on the menu as well and that's what he asked for. So she tells us that we can pay for the salads and the drinks which is fine I would've paid for the whole fucking dinner cause that's what we came for. We didn't want free shit so if she brings two boxes, we left the boxes and the chicken Parm behind we didn't want free food. We just wanted good service and a nice evening and all we got was a fucking disaster. Terrible service terrible food terrible everything whatever you do don't ever go into this place. read more

Food service was great!! The portions were pretty big, the workers were pretty friendly and approachable and the quality of the food was great!! Definitely coming back! read more

I was so glad my wife and I tried Mario's Italian Cafe instead of dining at the generic restaurant in our hotel. The food, staff, and ambience are fantastic at Mario's. There are beautiful murals of Italy all over the restaurant. The prices are great and portions are huge. Get ready to take home leftovers. We loved the garlic bread, chicken parm sandwich, and spaghetti. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Front Entrance of Mario's Italian Cafe. - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

I've been hunting for an Italian restaurant in the Valley that wouldn't break the bank, and we finally found one. It's a great family style cafe with very traditional seasonings and hearty portions. Would I recommend it to impress a first date - probably not. Would I suggest it for a reliable business lunch or a spot to meet friends before a movie - certainly. We were greeted immediately and seated quickly. The place was about half full slightly after the lunch rush. The waitress approached in a timely manner and was very friendly and appropriately casual. When I asked what she'd recommend, she asked how hungry I was and what were some of my favorite entrees. She then steered toward their lunch specials. Pretty standard fare, but that's why I came here. And their prices were very reasonable compared to several of their local competitors. We split a large antipasto salad which was large, fresh, and tasty. My first order at any unvisited Italian space is always spaghetti with meat sauce, and I was not disappointed. It was served piping hot and the meatsauce seemed freshly made and enjoyably stout. The bread wasn't anything to write home about, but it complimented our dishes just fine. We'll definitely be back and try some of their higher end specialties. read more

Where to begin...service started ok. We were seated right away and orders taken. Drinks arrived promptly followed by a family style salad that was decent. After that, things went downhill. We ordered 2 small pizzas...they mistakenly made one a large and waitress apologized and said we wouldn't be charged. The food itself was very bland....got one margarita pizza and one meat pizza and both lacked flavor. Needless to say we had lots of leftover. Then came time for the check (mind you we had been sitting for an hour before anyone checked on us, offered refills or asked if we wanted the check). We attempted multiple times to flag down anyone in the politest way possible and it was a struggle. Finally...someone looked over and asked for the check, they took the card and poof....30 minutes go by and no bill of receipt or card. I joked that they were back there swiping our card away. Jokes on us...they swiped 3 times!!! I noticed the multiple charges a few days later (charged after saying pending) and called the restaurant. The manager was very nice about it but we had to go through our bank to cancel the extra charges. Long story short, will not be back. Food, service were 1 star at best. read more

Food was tasty, the wine they fill it up to the top of the glass and great service. The owner Mario came out and asked how our food was and even told us how to heat it up in a skillet the next day. Such a great experience will definitely come again. Very traditional Italian restaurant, love the vibe here too read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Ample parking, lunch & dinner specials are always a plus. Got here at 2:45 was given the option to do lunch special that ended at 3pm or wait for dinner special that began at 3pm. We opted for the dinner 3 course special. There light Italian music playing which makes it welcoming. I Lasagna was baked perfectly smothered in meat sauce, topped with cheese. It was flavorful & filling. The mozzarella Marinara was ok, a little oily. But they were big portioned. Steak pizziola was not over saucey which was good. The bed of spaghetti it was served on went with it perfectly. We got cannolis for dessert they were tiny but mighty. Our waiter was super attentive & friendly. The food wasn't bad as some reviews claim. The ambience was nice & welcoming. read more

LOOOOOVED it! $5 BIG glass of wine! Friendly, excellent service! Great early bird specials! I'd be back every week if I lived less than 2 hours away! As a bonus...they feed the needy every week and support Veterans! I'm coming back! (For the shrimp scampi...but dying to try the meatballs!) read more

Pretty decent food, to be fair I can't count the service or ambiance as we got takeout. I'd imagine tho the food would be better in person

What a great time we had Sunday evening I've been to the one in Palm Springs and my friend actress Kathy Garver was in town and suggested here so we did we got her fav booth the one way in the corner that seats six the food was delicious I had the clam in linguini and we both had Greek salad s and she had the eggplant and we had chicken Parma. And a order of chicken Picatta The service was friendly and attentive and the ambiance could be improved with classic Italian music playing and dimmer lighting it was lit up inside like a baseball field. Nice music and lighting would make the experience much more pleasant but that aside I didn't let it lower the rating which I normally would but I let it slide based on the experience with wait staff and food taste. And the booth we loved read more

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Nice Italian ambiance. Pizza is hand tossed perfectly crisp. The toppings were the right amount. The service was friendly and helpful. Recommend this family friendly place read more

Ahhh Mario's Pizza Cafe. Ummm. Yaaaa. This wasn't the vibe. Are people on Yelp blind? I feel bad reviewing a place like Mario's because it's a small business and obviously has a core following, but I don't know how someone can actually sit down and eat in here. My appetite was immediately turned off after stepping foot in Mario's. The carpet, the booths, the place mats. The joint opened in 1987 and it looks like nothing has changed since. I think the safest thing to order from the menu is the pizza. It's not bad, but also pretty mid. Very cheesy, greasy, and everything in between. I think the locals probably love this place. But I'm probably going never going to go again. Sorry Mario. read more

Mario's Italian Cafe - Pizza - Italian Near Me - Palm Desert, California

I think the latest report by the health inspector which gave them a "B" should be all the reviews needed. Don't pay for overpriced food when they were written up for a waitress eating off a plate before it went out to a customer, then wiping her mouth and not washing hands. Certainly don't pay for a head chef seen using the restroom and not washing hands along with working with one glove on and hands showing cuts and sores. Like really really need to look at management, this is some Restaurant Nightmare, call chef Ramsey type issue. They also observed all kinds of manner of improper food and cleaning standards. Don't do it! Not worth the risk of getting sick. Especially when the dishwasher was not dispensing the sanitizer! Gross. I know it's hard to find good Italian food but don't eat here. read more