Mario’s Restaurant & Pizzeria

They lose a couple of stars based on my last couple of visits. Both times I had the veal parm lunch special and both times they were disappointing. The veal was a thick gristly cut and overcooked. What cut of veal are they using? I’m used to thin filets. It was bad.
Also, the price is $ 13 but is a small portion and doesn’t include a salad.
I don’t expect it to be as good as Appian Way or Cornell’s but it’s time to find someplace else for a while and see if Mario’s can get its act together again.
In reading the other reviews, it seems like Mario’s ain’t what it used to be. I hope mgmt will fix it so it’s the great local place it once was.

This is our favorite place to go for excellent wings, pizza, and a generous size glass of wine!

I was searching for a really good pizza place in Schenectady, I was having a hard time. Many places have the chewy crust, which seems to have some sort of additive.
Mario’s is delicious! Whoever the maker is, you are a craftsman!!!

Katrina and her team do an amazing job. A long time favorite with the locals living and working nearby, this spot deserves more recognition. Love the meatball sandwich and the pizza. well worth the drive over to River Road

Ate there this evening on a mother daughter date. Arrived pre dinner rush being the third table sat. Initially our server was attentive, but as soon as the restaurant filled to capacity, the service fell off completely. So much to the point I started the timer on my phone. I ordered chicken francaise & daughter ordered pizza (individualized). My dish arrived about 10 minutes before her. Once her pizza was dropped off, no one stopped back for 30 minutes! No drink check, no «how’s everything. I watched the busser and manager talk to most other tables, many of obviously regulars. 5 tables that came in after ours ate and left before I asked the busser to get our waitress. She didn’t come by for 9 min. I handed her credit card & the busser delivered the credit card slip. I ordered a pizza to go at the time i placed my order, which took 30 minutes after I reminded the busser, since she became our server. I guess if you not a regular then don’t expect much. But how can one become a regular if new customers aren’t welcome. I won’t return soon. Scotti’s on Upper Union street is better all around for a similar locally owned Italian place.
By the way, the food was good. The atmosphere is cozy & homey with about 15 tables. The pizza uses a very good quality cheese and the blue cheese dressing was delicious — clearly home made — although the salad was of a straight outta the bag quality. My chicken was decent. I’d probably go back if the service wasn’t so awful. Many people were picking up pizza and I understand why for those in neighborhood.

The Good: it’s cozy. Pizza is really good. Their weird, long pizza is different.
The Bad: It gets very crowded after 6.

We go here mostly for the pizza but they have a lot more on the menu too. I think they have one of the better pizzas in the area and have never had a problem with the service once we got seated. It can be very crowded on weekend evenings and you’re gonna have to wait if you don’t go early enough. The parking can be totally full at times too, so go early and enjoy a great pizza.

Stopped in for lunch mid-​week, my party was able to be seated immediately. The waitress was quick to come over and take drink and food orders. The Sicilian pizza takes a bit to come out, but is well worth the wait! The large easily fed 4 people. Definitely worth checking out.

Mario’s is a real oddity, in that it is very much the neighborhood watering hole-​and-​pizza-​Italian joint that is common to denser, built-​in neighborhoods, but it’s in more of a roadhouse location. It has two distinct clientele: there’s the after-​work beer-​and-​bull crowd, which appears to be largely from GE Research and Knolls Atomic Power Labs; and there’s a family dining out crowd, drawn from the neighboring area because, well, there’s no other place to eat for at least a two mile radius off River Rd.
The pros are: slightly above average homestyle Italian, with decent «Greek style» Neapolitan pizza that is neither that special nor objectionable, homey atmosphere with friendly service (albeit in a sort of halfway to a dive décor/​setting), and lively, hopping mix of fellow customers. There’s Brooklyn Ale and Saranac on tap, albeit at bottled prices.
Cons are it’s very tight and usually crowded by six (if the front parking lot is full, so is the tiny seating area; food service tends to the slow side; and the prices are in the $$+ range for $-style food.
I like it for the ambiance and decent fare but I can’t say that the limitations are not going to be in my mind when/​if we decide to try it again. Some downgrades as a «family» restaurant because of logistics in this regard.

When I first went here, about five years ago, I thought the food sucked. I hated it and would’ve given one star. But then again, I was a picky eater and if it wasn’t made the way I made it, I hated it.
Fast forward to January, where I decided, on a whim, to try Mario’s again. I am so glad I did! I have the penne with vodka sauce. Usually I hate penne because most places try to cook it rigatoni, but it comes out so chewy that I feel like I’m eating a balloon. NOT HERE! I took one bite and damn near shoveled the entire plate down my gullet. You could taste each ingredient. It was amazing. My father, who loves this place, came with me and ordered his usual — the Veal Parmesan. The portions are HUGE and his veal was so tender and the sauce was so hearty and rich!
I’ve been back a few times since then and now, my favorite dish of all time has to be the Veal Mario. It’s tri-​colored tortellini in a cream sauce with veal throughout. The tortellini was like biting into a bit of heaven. Again, I usually hate stuffed pastas because they are usually overstuffed or not cooked right. The tortellini was cooked to perfection, the veal was so tender and smooth. The sauce complimented them both perfectly and I inhaled the entire dish — which is unheard of for me! I love taking home leftovers, but here, I always seem to eat everything on my plate, no matter how big the portions are!
If you go here, be sure to ask for some oil and balsamic for your bread. the bread is freshly made and comes out still warm, but the butter kind of takes away the flavor while the oil and balsamic enhance the flavor of the homemade bread. For salad dressing, the house dressing is the best — it’s a balsamic vinaigrette that tastes homemade, but it could be from a bottle and I wouldn’t really care.
As an Italian woman who cooks her own pasta, noodles and all, from scratch, I must say, this place gets tops marks. I wouldn’t dream of going to another Italian restaurant again!

My family has been eating at Mario’s since it opened in the 1990’s. For years we dined in, had delivery, take out, and even catering for family events and grad parties. I can honestly say that there was a long period of time when Mario’s was my FAVORITE restaurant but oh, how the times have changed. Of late, the restaurant has been in serious decline. I cannot say whether the ownership has simply become less inclined to see their restaurant succeed or cannot cope with demand but their service and consistency have tanked. I find myself needing to send back orders MULTIPLE times for preparing incorrect meals. I don’t mind waiting once to have my meal prepared correctly but a second time is simply unacceptable when people go out to eat on weekdays with little free time. It would not be so upsetting if the ownership was more helpful but they are more likely to argue than to satisfy their customers. Most importantly, the quality of the food is simply not what it used to be. If you are in NIskayuna and looking for a very middle of the road Italian meal, then by all means, go to Mario’s but do not be surprised if your meal comes out wrong once or even twice. After eating countless meals from Mario’s since they first opened, I am sorry to say that I will NEVER eat at Mario’s again.

Mario’s is a place that my family has been coming to for years because of the high quality dishes and truly great service. Over time we’ve build a rapport with the waitstaff and even though I haven’t lived in town for over 4 years the waitresses still remember my favorite dish.
My favorite is the Chicken Parmigiana. The chicken is always impeccably prepared and the sauce is well balanced, never too salty.
By and large their plates are well prepared and tasty. My family has a particular fondness for the Shrimp Genovese, their Salmon dishes and the Chicken/​Veal Marsala.
If you choose Mario’s be prepared to face a menu with basic yet well prepared dishes. The plates lack a creative flair, plating and excitement but they have always pleased.
The waitresses and the Maitre D’ have always been extremely helpful, kind and responsive if there have been issues with the food.
That said there are some strong drawbacks. As previous reviewers have said the restaurant is far too small for the volume it draws and the acoustics are quite poor. There is a constant din in the dining room and the tables are so close together that if you are placed near a large/​loud group it will ruin your meal.
All things considered, Mario’s is a great restaurant, with wonderful service and good simple Italian food.

Mario’s is a great family and neighborhood. Staff could not be more pleasant and food is absolutely fine. Great drinks. Wife and kids and I love it. Been there many many times.

Went here tonight for dinner with the fam. Good stuff. They had a great selection of beer on tap. I had a Saranac Pale Ale for round one, and a Brooklyn Brown Ale for number two.
Shared a large 8-​cut pizza. This is a lotta food, especially after following a green salad and bread + butter which they brought beforehand. Very yummy & very filling.
I like this place especially because it is a very home town place, with great service. Mom’s salad arrived with the wrong dressing, and they took it back & replaced it with a smile — even with apologies from the chef. Wow.

Before it closed, Castelo’s in downtown Schenectady had the world’s best calzones. Now I’ve found the ones at Mario’s to be the best available, and that’s pretty damn good!
They are very different from the Castelo’s calzones; quite juicy, and absolutely HUGE. Perhaps filled with fat. But I recommend them, pretty much without reservation.

Good hearty food for a reasonable price. Service is good. It is mostly italian style food. Pizza is good. Hot sandwiches are good. I usually sit at the bar after work and get some of that good old comfort food with a beer. Its a little place but its good for what it is.

We’ve tried Mario’s several times, mostly because there aren’t a lot of restaurants nearby, and have always walked out disappointed. The food is okay, but the service is horrible. We call it the restaurant where food is served with an attitude! It’s worth the drive elsewhere to find better service and food.