To be fair, I had relatively high expectations of this place - I had heard that it was good, authentic Italian food, "kind of like Ti Amo but cheaper". Having spent most of my weekdays during university years lingering there over a pasta and carafe of house red , I was excited to think that a similar local gem resided mere metres from my door.
Maria's has the kind of very understated, old-school Italian décor that makes your mouth water in anticipation of really fantastic home-style pasta, charming candlelight from Chianti bottles, and that lovable Italian friendliness. (Note: Today We Learned that Lauren D is Italian).
Unfortunately, Maria's really didn't hit the mark.
Main points to note:
1. Service - Not tragic by any means, but definitely flighty for 6.30pm on a Monday. I received the wrong pasta, but this was fixed up pretty quickly so no real drama there. But overall I got the feeling you needed to be a regular to get any consistent service at all.
2. Serving sizes - Holy mother of God who can eat that much for an entrée?! My friend and I both ordered entrée sized pastas, and both of them (Amatriciana and Trattoria) were large enough to serve as a main for a normal-sized human, with some left over. I felt bad seeing the leftover pasta looking so woebegone but there was nothing I could do; I am only one woman, with a finite capacity for food intake.
3. Food - Sadly, nothing special. The garlic bread managed to be simultaneously soggy, burnt and lacking garlic. My friend's Amatriciana looked OK, but my Trattoria had obviously been cooked too quickly after the meal mix-up, and had a bunch of ingredients that *could* have been tasty if only they'd been allowed to cook for a few minutes.
Verdict: I wish I had better things to say, as I love the romantic notion of a delicious Italian trattoria being my local. But it just wasn't very nice food. I might give it another go purely because I really want to like it, but if you're looking for solid Italian food there are much better options for the same price. read more