Pete & Maria’s Italian Bistro

Awful
Slop
I had the spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs tasted like they were purchased from Winco. Will never waste my money there again.

Have been wanting to try this place out for a while. Their menu items were a little pricey, $ 12 for pasta dinner. So we opted for a pizza.
We ordered the GIANT combo pizza with anchovies. The toppings were plenty and very fresh. What I like the most about the pie was the butt load of cheese. You couldn’t see the toppings because there was so much cheese.
After four pieces I was full, so there was plenty to go home with us. As I’ve said I other pizza reviews the best sign of a good pizza is how it holds up the next day out of the refrigerator. This one did not disappoint.
The staff was great. Our waitress was very friendly and made sure our glasses were full and got us our food quickly.
I would have left five stars if the before meal bread was fresh. It was the only disappointment but I think Diciccos has spoiled us.
We will be back for pizza. It was better than Pizza Factory and Diciccos. Almost as good as Round Table but definitely cheaper than a giant King Authors Supreme. On Fridays they have a prime-​rib special we are going to try
Check out their coupons in the Madera Value Quarterly. It saved us three bucks on our pizza.

The most amazing pizza of my life!!! We go every time we’re in town. Great customer service– they make you feel like family.

We are local Rancho people, so we are happy to have a good Italian place right here.
The «upside down?» pizza is really good, which is the toppings UNDER the cheese, not on top. Way better than your average pizza. Lasagna al Forno is delicious as well. a very good fresh Marinara sauce is used. Just not a big fan of the bread, wish they had a yeasty dense French bread. They are all very nice Employees/​Owners too.

Pete & Maria’s is perfect home town Bistro. The owner is always around and you can bet they’ll stop by your table to say hi and make you feel welcome. Never had a bad meal and that’s saying something because… I’m Italian and know what it should taste like! Plus it’s easy to find right off Ave 12

On our way from Los Banos to Oakhurst we decided to grab a bite to eat in Madera. So i decided to Unilocal a place for us to eat and since we were in the mood for Italian cuisine we decided to give Pete and Marias Italian bistro a try. Once we opened the door we were greeted by Chell and the chef (I think he was the owner, not sure though). We ordered a minestrone soup for an appetizer, the combination pasta plate which consisted of lasagna, ravioli and spaghetti. We also order their bistro combination pizza. We received some home made hot fresh bread and butter for free! It was very good. The minestrone was perfect and very flavorful. The combination pasta plate was very good because the sauce was very delicious. The pizza was very cheesy and the toppings were of good quality. This place may be a little tucked away because its on avenue 12 but it is worth the drive! We will be coming back because the place was very pretty with nice paintings on the walls, friendly service and chef and great delicious food! Also it doesn’t hurt to support locals :) great place and great food!!!

This place is a very friendly and family run Italian joint that is a nice pearl in the Ranchos. They make their own fresh bread that they serve you before every meal that is amazing, you just can’t go wrong with fresh bread. They have a very good Calzone which I would recommend to order «Al Forno» so that they smother it with sauce and cheese. The pasta and standard Italian dishes are great quality all the way around.
The pizza is pretty good, «Maria’s Favorite» would have to be my favorite one. My only critique would be for them to use a better quality sausage on their pizza, other than that, definitely a good place!

Best food in the Ranchos. the sauce is edible by fork. Pizza is awesome; better than pizza factory. They certainly don’t skimp on the cheese! Anything al forno is to die for. Never had a bad meal here

Fantastic! Very good food and service. Our family loves to eat here. Best pizza in the ranchos, sorry PF.

Family friendly. Relaxed homey atmosphere. I’ve been to Italy and must say Pete & Maria’s can rival with the best when it comes to flavor! The sauce is amazing, love the pasta choices… not everyone can do a gnocchi justice but they do. Reasonable prices. Fast service… servers were very attentive. My glass was never empty. Highly recommended by my kids for their Pizza!

First off Great appearance inside, and clean. Table wasn’t prepared with iTunes and we had to ask for them, also had to ask for straws. Minor things, the food taste like it is mostly out of a can. The noodles were pretty cheap quality and taste like paper. Ordered a coors light on tap, It was flat as a board. Won’t be returning.

This has to be the best Italian food i have ever tasted. All of the meals are prepared fresh and the Calzone is the best. Pete and Maria are the very friendly owners and always go out of their way to greet and talk with us at every visit. The atmosphere is very laid back and they have many HD LCD’s TV’s for your enjoyment. I have personally been there over 10 times and never had one complaint. You must try it yourself to believe it.

Great Italian Food served in a fast friendly manner. Lasagna is excellent. Great fresh Bread served with your meal. Eggplant Parmiagiana is outstanding. Pizza is great also. We highly recommend you try their food!

OK… first things first. This is the best restaurant in Madera Ranchos and we have really enjoyed dining there a couple of times since they opened a few weeks ago.
Their Italian dishes are top notch. My kids have loved their pasta, meatballs, and sausage. The calamari appetizer is among the best we’ve had. The Calzones are fantastic… so much better than most restaurants «folded pizza» approach. Dinner salads are great, service is wonderful.
This is a new restaurant, and they are obviously working out minor kinks.
My ONLY complaint… we ordered entrée salads tonight. My wife had grilled chicken, which seemed like it had been grilled quite some time in the past, most likely by Tyson’s. I had the salad with the «crispy» chicken, which was far from «crispy» again, probably «crispy» at one point at a Tyson’s factory. Otherwise, the salads were great… fresh ingredients, tasty and of decent size.
My impression is that they will read this review in the very near future and fix this issue. I think Pete & Maria’s is a winner that will be in the Ranchos to stay… THANK GOD!!!