It embarrasses me as a BOI who lived in Galveston for 27 years to say that the first time I ever ate at Mario's Ristorante was a few nights ago. I've gone down 61st countless times, but not once have I ever set foot inside this longtime Italian culinary institution. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ordered from here, either. Mario's was on my radar for the evening on Wednesday after I toured the new Ball High (Class of 2000). I failed to resist the siren song of the dinner buffet, which takes place every Wednesday from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. For about $17, diners could have their pick of the five or so pizzas in addition to entrees, pasta, salads, and deserts. I decided to have a slice of each pizza -- cheese, pepperoni, supreme, meat lovers, etc. -- since I was a newbie to the establishment. The slices were the usual hand tossed and not too thick. The cheese-to-toppings ratio was pretty even. Fortunately, I enjoyed each, so much so that I felt stuffed as I worked on my third slice. After pizza, I assembled a plate consisting of fried fish, potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken pasta. My taste buds were continuously treated to straight-up Old World Italian deliciousness. I couldn't get enough of the fried fish and chicken pasta. It took me a while to finish the spaghetti because I was beyond the point of full. I had no choice but to forego the chicken masala and seafood rice pilaf. Mario's, which has existed since 1967, has the undeniable feel of an old school pizzeria. Guests can actually feel the warmth emanating from the kitchen as well as the staff. When dining in, be sure to ask for Wyatt. He'll make you feel right at home. Whitney is another person you ought to get to know also. I believe that a lot of my Wednesday evenings will be spent here. read more

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My husband and I came here after our minimoon in Galveston. He grew up coming to Marios and it was my first time! The food was tasty, large portions and fairly priced we thought! We split a bottle of wine! The service was great but we also went in September so it was pretty dead around the island. The ambiance is a small town/island/Italian feel and close to the water! I'd go back! read more

Mario's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

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Went for the lunch buffet and it was amazing! Fresh hot pizza and the salad bar was awesome!! Would definitely return.

11/28/2025: For a restaurant with "ristorante" in the title, I expected it to have a little bit more of an Italian decor. They could've done more with the space. They have regular tables and booths available. A small bar is also available for seating. Upon entering, I used the restroom and washed my hands. No paper towels available and the hand dryer was not working. So far, we were not off to a good start. We ordered a glass of wine while we looked over the menu. We settled on the calamari for an appetizer. It was very chewy and served lukewarm. Even the marinara sauce was lukewarm warm. We ordered a second marinara sauce and it was a good temperature. The batter on the calamari was good, but the calamari itself was very chewy. It is large enough to split. We ordered the Mario's Special. We wanted to substitute two of the toppings, but they told us it would be $2.25 extra for each. I don't understand why it would be extra if we're taking something off and just exchanging it, but they do have a disclaimer on the menu that states they do not substitute. Just one more way customer service is lacking these days. The only reason I'm giving them four stars is because the pizza was absolutely wonderful, even though we couldn't get the "extra" toppings. I would describe the crust as hand tossed on the thin side. It was flavorful, crispy, and flaky. The toppings were fresh and the marinara sauce was perfect. The pizza saved the day! Wyatt was our server and I know he was just doing his job, but I also know he could have at least compromised with our requests. Maybe give us one "extra" topping? We still tipped him 20%. Our total bill was $60.59 before tip. I would go back for the pizza or even better, get delivery to the condo. If they want to spruce up the establishment, I would suggest giving it a more Italian feel. At least fix the bulbs on the "M" and the "a" for the exterior sign. We dined at "rio's" last night. read more

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You know how nothing hits quite like a slice of pizza after a long day at the beach? That was us in vaca mode on a Monday night in April, totally wiped out from sun and fun. We were staying out on the West End, where restaurant options are kinda limited. The closer Mario's location was closed, so we drove out to this one and it was worth it. We rolled in about an hour before closing, the staff was super sweet and welcoming. No rush, no weird vibes, just great service. We ordered a large cheese, pizza, well done (we like ours on the toasty side). It could have stayed in the oven just a tiny bit longer for us, but honestly, it was really tasty. Nice crust, solid sauce to cheese ratio, and the leftovers crisp up perfectly in the air fryer later that night. This place has clearly been around a while for a reason. Definitely recommend if you're in the area. read more

Mario's Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

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I had a meatball sub for lunch today and had forgotten how good Mario's is!! Some places you go for atmosphere -- others you go to for food. As a foodie -- this is one of the latter. They are 3rd generation Italians serving their specialties in Galveston for over 50 years. The food quality and ingredients they use is always superb -- especially their olives and cheeses! You can almost taste the love in every dish! My meatball sub was enough for two meals, but if you're travelling and have hungry teenagers, be sure to check out their LUNCH BUFFET. They don't publicize it -- so mostly only Island residents know. But it's daily from 11am to 2pm and Wednesday nights from 5pm to 9pm. It includes a full salad bar, numerous hot dishes daily, and 5 or 6 types of pizza -- all you can eat for $14.25. If you haven't been in a long time -- or are just passing through -- it's "molto bene!" read more

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Authentic Italian Food. My dad lived in Italy for two years and said it was just like being back there. Everything was made from scratch and it was amazing. We got there at 7 pm. The service was great. The restraunt was very busy and they still made sure to check on us and we got our food quickly. All the staff was great. The food was amazing. We tried multiple dishes and loved them all especially the Alfredo. The atmosphere was great. We had our 4 year old and 7 month old with us and they both loved the food and the staff was very kind to them. We sampled the gelato and it was delicious. Would recommend this to anyone wanting good Italian food. We will absolutely come back. read more

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The pizza was very good. I dropped my keys and they fell under the car so I had to get down on the ground to retrieve them as I was leaving. 2 of the employees came running out to see if I was okay. Greatly appreciated. Excellent food and caring staff! read more

Parking lot is ample for what it is inside it seems like. We got here June 8th on a Saturday and there weren't that many people here at that time at 6:00 but then it seemed like everybody followed us in here. The atmosphere is kind of like not much enthusiastic except for our waiter which shown through and deserves his credit. We had Andrew is what the ticket showed. Everybody else seemed to be in a frumpy mood.. If you could block out the ceiling tiles, the interior is really nice decorated but oh my God there are black ridden tiles everywhere especially near the vents mold city? I don't know if this is a common thing in Galveston but it really takes away from what you're looking at other than that the walls are nicely decorated.. The house wine whatever it was was outstanding for what it was! $15 and I would have felt that it would have been a 15 dollar a glass cabernet.. The bathrooms were a decent clean no complaints there especially when we were almost the first customers before the rush. Remember they were not separate any checks more than a table of six or more starting May 5. We have the appetizer mushrooms and the medium meat lovers pizza. The mushrooms are outstanding I mean they were the main part of the meal it's seen because it wasn't too salty and not bland, also Health we had ranch dressing and we peppered it a lot with some Parmesan cheese but we want to order that again. The pizza we've had a lot better I mean it was not bad at all but far from what seems like the other reviewers complimented on. The prices are kind of decent mediocre, $44 for a medium meat lovers Pizza and a half carafe of cabernet. This could be a three and a half star but for Pete's sake do something with those ceiling tiles! Gross read more

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This is our favorite pizza place on the island. They have dine-in but we always place our order for pizza to go. It takes about 20/25 minutes to prepare so we phone ahead. We have dined inside but it has been a while and to my recollection, it is a typical Galveston older restaurant We always order the largest pizza they have with sausage, green pepper, mushrooms and extra sauce. It is really really good and never disappoints. They have a sister restaurant on the west end, but it is not nearly as good as this one. read more

Mario's Ristorante - Largest pizza they have w/sausage, green peppers, mushrooms and extra sauce - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

Really delicious everything! We were hungry and not sure what we wanted. Never ate here before just read the reviews and looked for a place that would deliver. We ordered pizza, spaghetti, tortellini, and wings, with side salads. Everything tasted great! Delivery was a little late, well worth the wait! read more

I placed a delivery order and was charged immediately, but no one contacted me to say they couldn't deliver. I only found out after waiting for a long time with no updates. Completely unacceptable to take money without fulfilling the order or notifying the customer. I had to follow up myself just to find out what happened. Poor service and zero communication. Will not be ordering again. read more

Ordered the Sicilian Crust / Hawaiian Pizza....It was good, very good! Definitely will order again! read more

Mario's Ristorante - Sicilian Crust! - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

Cameron is a great server. He had a very full section and still found the time to make sure we were ok. Food is always amazing. Don't miss this spot. read more

We came here on a Thursday night. This is where you eat when you're extra hungry and want to be FULL. We ordered buttery garlic bread, which had a tasty Italian seasoning. Our entrees were cheese pizza, Mario's special pizza, beef ravioli, lasagna, and chicken Marsala. The pizza was the best, with a crust both soft and crispy. The lasagna and beef ravioli were good, but lacked salt and flavor. The chicken Marsala was tender, nicely cooked, and the sauce was good but not great. The ambiance is spacious. It's a big restaurant with plenty of seating and parking and friendly servers. read more

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This restaurant was recommended for their sicilian pizza. We tried it and I was blown away with the quality and flavor of the pizza. We added the meat ingredients and if I lived in Galveston it would definitely be my go to place. My wife ordered a Greek salad and it was so much better than one we ate at another pizza place we tried. Server was great and the place had italian music playing so added to our experience. read more

Well, been going here over 20 years and it used to be our absolute favorite ...... recommended it to everyone and now it's totally disgusting !!!! Snotty waitress, horrible "supposed" manager that looks about 16. People are rude, bar is decrepit with ceiling tiles falling in.....food's bad, really sad !!! DO NOT recommend to anyone. Do not go here .....go to the one on SEAWALL... it's not the same but reasonably similar .....and they have great employees and a great view!!! read more

Came here after a bird watching trip with a bunch of friends. It was a full day and I was hungry! This place absolutely hit the spot. Started with a glass of their Merlot which definitely put me in the right place. I then ordered a Garden Salad which was very tasty, but I forgot to take a picture first because I was so hungry. It was really pretty fresh and a nice medium size. For an entre I had the "Shrimp Fra Diavolo". When it said "spicy" I was thinking Texas heat. It's really spicy in the Italian sense of the term which I kind of take as a sharp marinara. It was absolutely amazing! That Italian sharp spiciness with a sweet, chunky tomato bases was the perfect companion to wonderfully cooked shrimp. This was absolutely my favorite meal of the week. read more

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The food we ordered were fried cheese, lasagna, and a cheese pizza. It all tasted pretty good. The service was great from the hostess, waiter, and the busser. The ambiance in the restaurant was very pleasant and friendly to all who were there. read more

Mario's Ristorante - Lasagna - Meat Sauce, and Mozzarella. Four Slices Of Bread. - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

Food was great. We split the red snapper with the grilled vegetables. Service was a little slow. No wait ( other places near Seawall had 1 hour wait lists). Lots of variety on menu. Will be a go to place when I visit the Island read more

I have been eating their pizza for many years. Over the last year the special x-large pizza which my family has raved over for many years has taken a very bad turn. I tried ordering several times over the last year hoping they would return to the quality pizza we enjoyed for tears. No way.... what they serve now is substandard... a pity. Sauce was non existent, crust was dry and ingredients sparse . There was at least 3" from the edge of the pizza which was devoid of sauce and toppings. Mario's was our family pizza tradition, unfortunately I will never buy from them again. Very sad. I tried repeatedly to continue with Mario's, a tradition ruined by greed? They should have just charged more for their pizza and kept th quality. Bummed...​​ read more

Pizza is delicious and delivery is fast. We love that it's always still hot!!! Thanks Mario's!

Food was great. The pasta was really good! Will go there again. This is my Galveston go to spot.

Great food and service! Sorry no pictures this time. The lunch buffet was plentiful and had lots of tasty options. The gentleman who seated and waited on me was very polite and helpful. He told me that this restaurant had been in the area for years! I wasn't surprised with great good they were serving. I will definitely be back! read more

With a sign that says since 1967, we had to find out what Mario's was all about. Boy we were glad we did! My kiddo got the spaghetti with meat sauce and it is a hefty portion. Noodles were al dente and just the right amount of sauce. She sprinkled Parmesan on top and BaM! Hubs got the linguine with white clam sauce. Lots of little neck clams with clam bits in the sauce. Noodles were great but a tad soft. My older daughter and I split a 12" cheese pizza with mushroom and though it had good taste and lots of mushroom, it was lukewarm when it arrived. I love piping hot pizza so it may just be a me thing! Great place to go if you've had your fill of seafood. read more

Great food, service is wonderful. Awesome Italian ambiance Soup good, friend mushrooms my favorite

Great local restaurant. We had the Buffett a good deal and delicious food. Also we have had the pizza in the past it too was good. read more

If you are looking for authentic Italian restaurant, this is the place on the island. We are extremely pleased with all three top categories: food, service and ambiance. We had your tradition spaghetti with meat sauce and seafood pasta. The portions are huge with perfect Italian's flavor. And you be very happy with the prices. We will be returning to this awesome 61st street eatery. read more

Classic Italian Food Dine in or take out Always Good Custom pizzas Great salads and soups Classic entrees Cannolis for dessert! read more

It's been a couple of years, but the Angel Hair New England is my favorite dish in all of Galveston! I wish I had a dish of it right now! If you want a delicious seafood pasta dish, order this! It's the best pasta I've had outside of my grandmother's. I wish I had the recipe since I don't live nearby now. Grab a dish at Mario's on 61st right now! read more

First pizza after two weeks of cafeteria college food. You can imagine the taste. Also just super good.

Okay this was our first time trying this restaurant and it was not good! I ordered a lemoncello martini and it was literally lemon water with a little bit of vodka. When asked if it was good I told the waiter no it tasted like lemon water and he said well we were out of lemoncello mix... so instead of telling me that and asking if I would like to try something else he just gave it to me... I told him I would just drink it but it wasn't good and not even rimmed with sugar.... Also the bottom of the pizza was burnt and u could taste it!!! We will NOT be coming back here. Plus it is EXTREMELY run down and the tiles on the ceiling are all brown from water damage..... pretty sad!! read more

Easy online ordering for tired vacationers. The pizza was hot and delicious. The delivery pro was kind and prompt. Because our delivery was to a hotel, paper plates and napkins were delivered with the food. A great experience! read more

Alexis was a fantastic server! Our dinners were delicious! Every person in our family enjoyed their meal. We had appetizers and entrees. This was our favorite meal this week in Galveston! read more

Mario's Ristorante - Chicken Marsala! - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

So we just had a really unpleasant experience with our lunch order. We ordered before noon and at 12:15 was told our order was on the way. We live less than 2 miles away. We still had not received our order by 12:45, so I called the restaurant and canceled our order after we were told that they "do this all the time", i.e. bundle 5 or so for one driver . We then see someone riding around in our neighborhood (it's a large circle, so you can see anyone coming or going) only to have the driver finally come to our door with the pizzas we had ordered 45 minutes before. After telling him we canceled the order, he refused to leave for a while. We had to finally tell the driver that he was trespassing before he finally left. We've never had an issue like this before, but it makes me not want to try there again. read more

Shout out to Israel, our waiter at Mario's. He made our first dinner out with my grandson amazing Thank you for going above and beyond for our little guy! Pizza is always delicious. We also loved the fried zucchini and spicy honey bbq wings read more

Mario's Ristorante - Pizza dough fun with my son and grandson - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

Penne del sol yes!!! Wonderful Caesar dressing. .. yummy tomato basil soup Awesome Pizza lovely desserts too!!! Must try!

This place was bad, Bad food, bad service, Dirty dining room, dirty restrooms. Just dirty and gross all around. When I walked in there was no music. I ordered a caprese salad and the tomato's were very mushy. I also decided to take a look at the buffet and all I can say it was disgusting. Please don't waste your money here. read more

Mario's Ristorante - the exit sign - Italian Near Me - Galveston, Texas

We had the most wonderful meal experience at Mario's Ristorante this evening. Our server Ese was so conscientious. One of our guests requires a gluten free diet. He took great care to ensure the chef preparing the food knew of the dietary restriction. The food was wonderful. Our appetizer, entrees and dessert were delicious. The only drawback we experienced was the temperature of the restaurant. The air conditioning in the restaurant was too cold. Ese did inform the manager at the beginning of our visit. However it was not until the meal ended that the air conditioning stopped blowing on us. read more

The seafood alfredo and mussels linguine were not fresh. They mixed plump, fresh gulf shrimp with frozen, disgusting crawfish. The mussels tasted spoiled as well read more