The food was excellent, starting with meatballs and marinara sauce. My wife doesn't normally do meatballs but found them very good. The bread was not the normal oven baked but an Albania roll that was excellent, had them in Italy, and once again, my wife was happy because Italian oven has the hard crust which I like, but it's a personal taste. What can I say, but the overall dinner was excellent.
Visiting Charleston for the first time from Connecticut. The food was delicious, the service was great. I highly recommend it. We enjoyed our dinner last night. Most definitely would dine again.
Just had delivery and the meatballs were inedible- old and nasty- tried to call and report/ no answer! Nasty
Chris Kaechele
I don’t write reviews often, but this was some of the best Italian food we’ve had, period. Not to mention the service was so genuine which is the primary reason for me sharing the experience - we came in with four kids among two families and they did such a great job to seat us quickly and be very accommodating and so friendly throughout what was a hectic and yet amazing dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Rigatoni Alla Vodka
Adam C. Diskin
Highly recommend!Quaint little Italian restaurant in downtown - family owned - can never go wrong with that!Antipasto: bruschetta with an espresso martini. Bruschetta (broo-sket-tuh) - perfect balance of tomatoes, kalamata olives (!!) and oil/balsamic.Espresso martini - fresh shot made with espresso vodka = better than plain vodka.Primo: spaghetti Bolognese with a perfect red wine pairing by bartender. Spaghetti - perfectly al dente - with a great ratio of flavorful bolognese to pasta ??Environment: quaint, can be intimate.Service: efficient but relaxed.Can't wait to come back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bruschetta
Fern Bailey
Klajdi was absolutely wonderful as a waiter. My friend and I got the vodka rigatoni and the fruiti de mare and both were incredible. We got cosmopolitans as well. So good. Absolutely everything from the atmosphere to the bread was exquisite. This is somewhere you take your best friend and have a long conversation about your lives. It wasn’t even my birthday, just the day before, and they were kind enough to give me a free dessert. Their service is truly unmatched. 10/10 recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
victoria marks
The food was amazing, but the service was so poor I can't justify returning.A friend and I came to eat here at 4:00PM (right when they open). The restaurant was completely empty and we sat at the bar. The bartender told us we couldn't sit unless we were 21. When we explained we were he told us if they get busy we will have to move (there was no one there...). He took our food and drink order and then did not speak to us until it was time to pay the bill. Our food came out separately and our drinks were never refilled. However, he was super kind and chatty with two other patrons who arrived while we ate our early dinner. I'm not sure if we upset him, but definitely not how you treat customers.
Food: 5
Service: 2
B M.
My family and I ate at Mario's on a relatively busy Monday evening in April. The manager / owner secured a table for us as quickly as he could. The place was packed. Service was speedy. Food was delicious. Highly recommend, especially if you like Italian.
Marc-Anthony Arena
They say there's no good pizza in the South. No longer true.My family and I were in Charleston for a wedding this week. We ate at Mario's 4-5 times, no joke.Every time we went, there was a line out the door. The staff worked very hard.The first time we got takeout and it arrived intact. The rest of the time we dined in and it was phenomenal.We're Italians and this is real deal Italian food. The Napoletan style pizza is chewy and rustic and made from real imported Italian flour.
this guy is the real deal !! the most incredible italian food i've had in a long time...like when i was a kid...so fresh, so packed with authentic flavors, such high quality, every detail of the experience top of his class...i love this place i will be back first thing anytime i'm in Charleston...litteraly every single item on the menu is mind blowing. Thanks Boss #1
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anemone Garden Club
I think we have eaten everywhere in Charleston. Somehow we had never heard or seen this one until last night. It was close to our hotel and it was getting late. The food was incredible. Pizza was perfect and pasta carbonara was better than what I had in Rome. Wonderful atmosphere and the staff couldn't be nicer. We are going back tonight! It is that good. It will be on our definite list for our Charleston visits.
Food was delicious, we ordered meatballs and a Marguerita pizza.Service was fast and efficient. (We told them we did it have much time, as we had a tour in 45 min)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Italian Meatballs
Abbas Mohamed
Pizza margarita was badPasta badChicken Alfredo was spectacularCheesecake was really good
Such an amazing little gem! We had barely walked up to the front door with a party of 7 and the owner greeted us on the sidewalk, asked how many in our group and immediately brought us inside to our table. It appeared to be a family owned and ran business. All the servers and bar tenders were extremely friendly and efficient. But...the best part was the food! It was absolutely amazing and the best Italian food I've ever consumed. As authentic as you can get in the states. My husband just returned from a work trip to Italy and he even said Mario's food was top notch. Absolutely recommend and we may even consider driving 10 hours again just to visit Charleston for this cuisine again! Thank you Mario!
The food was excellent, starting with meatballs and marinara sauce. My wife doesn't normally do meatballs but found them very good. The bread was not the normal oven baked but an Albania roll that was excellent, had them in Italy, and once again, my wife was happy because Italian oven has the hard crust which I like, but it's a personal taste. What can I say, but the overall dinner was excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Tagliatelle Alfredo
Visiting Charleston for the first time from Connecticut. The food was delicious, the service was great. I highly recommend it. We enjoyed our dinner last night. Most definitely would dine again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Chicken Parmigiana, Bruschetta
Great place for italian. Fabulous food and service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rigatoni Alla Vodka, Tiramisu, Cannoli, Tagliatelle Alfredo, Chicken Alfredo
Just had delivery and the meatballs were inedible- old and nasty- tried to call and report/ no answer! Nasty
I don’t write reviews often, but this was some of the best Italian food we’ve had, period. Not to mention the service was so genuine which is the primary reason for me sharing the experience - we came in with four kids among two families and they did such a great job to seat us quickly and be very accommodating and so friendly throughout what was a hectic and yet amazing dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Rigatoni Alla Vodka
Highly recommend!Quaint little Italian restaurant in downtown - family owned - can never go wrong with that!Antipasto: bruschetta with an espresso martini. Bruschetta (broo-sket-tuh) - perfect balance of tomatoes, kalamata olives (!!) and oil/balsamic.Espresso martini - fresh shot made with espresso vodka = better than plain vodka.Primo: spaghetti Bolognese with a perfect red wine pairing by bartender. Spaghetti - perfectly al dente - with a great ratio of flavorful bolognese to pasta ??Environment: quaint, can be intimate.Service: efficient but relaxed.Can't wait to come back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bruschetta
Klajdi was absolutely wonderful as a waiter. My friend and I got the vodka rigatoni and the fruiti de mare and both were incredible. We got cosmopolitans as well. So good. Absolutely everything from the atmosphere to the bread was exquisite. This is somewhere you take your best friend and have a long conversation about your lives. It wasn’t even my birthday, just the day before, and they were kind enough to give me a free dessert. Their service is truly unmatched. 10/10 recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was amazing, but the service was so poor I can't justify returning.A friend and I came to eat here at 4:00PM (right when they open). The restaurant was completely empty and we sat at the bar. The bartender told us we couldn't sit unless we were 21. When we explained we were he told us if they get busy we will have to move (there was no one there...). He took our food and drink order and then did not speak to us until it was time to pay the bill. Our food came out separately and our drinks were never refilled. However, he was super kind and chatty with two other patrons who arrived while we ate our early dinner. I'm not sure if we upset him, but definitely not how you treat customers.
Food: 5
Service: 2
My family and I ate at Mario's on a relatively busy Monday evening in April. The manager / owner secured a table for us as quickly as he could. The place was packed. Service was speedy. Food was delicious. Highly recommend, especially if you like Italian.
They say there's no good pizza in the South. No longer true.My family and I were in Charleston for a wedding this week. We ate at Mario's 4-5 times, no joke.Every time we went, there was a line out the door. The staff worked very hard.The first time we got takeout and it arrived intact. The rest of the time we dined in and it was phenomenal.We're Italians and this is real deal Italian food. The Napoletan style pizza is chewy and rustic and made from real imported Italian flour.
Restaurantji Recommends
this guy is the real deal !! the most incredible italian food i've had in a long time...like when i was a kid...so fresh, so packed with authentic flavors, such high quality, every detail of the experience top of his class...i love this place i will be back first thing anytime i'm in Charleston...litteraly every single item on the menu is mind blowing. Thanks Boss #1
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I think we have eaten everywhere in Charleston. Somehow we had never heard or seen this one until last night. It was close to our hotel and it was getting late. The food was incredible. Pizza was perfect and pasta carbonara was better than what I had in Rome. Wonderful atmosphere and the staff couldn't be nicer. We are going back tonight! It is that good. It will be on our definite list for our Charleston visits.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Rigatoni Alla Vodka, Cannoli, Tagliatelle Alfredo, Bruschetta
Food was delicious, we ordered meatballs and a Marguerita pizza.Service was fast and efficient. (We told them we did it have much time, as we had a tour in 45 min)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Italian Meatballs
Pizza margarita was badPasta badChicken Alfredo was spectacularCheesecake was really good
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pizza Margherita, Tiramisu Cake, Chicken Alfredo
Such an amazing little gem! We had barely walked up to the front door with a party of 7 and the owner greeted us on the sidewalk, asked how many in our group and immediately brought us inside to our table. It appeared to be a family owned and ran business. All the servers and bar tenders were extremely friendly and efficient. But...the best part was the food! It was absolutely amazing and the best Italian food I've ever consumed. As authentic as you can get in the states. My husband just returned from a work trip to Italy and he even said Mario's food was top notch. Absolutely recommend and we may even consider driving 10 hours again just to visit Charleston for this cuisine again! Thank you Mario!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Cannoli, Bruschetta, Caprese Salad, Chicken Alfredo