Mario's Italian Steakhouse & Catering

Former Location

2740 Monroe Avenue, Rochester NY, 14618

Status

Closed December 23, 2015

Mario's Italian Steakhouse & Catering (aka Mario's Via Abruzzi) was an Italian restaurant on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. They used to offer a Sunday Brunch Buffet. After the restaurant closed in 2015 they continued to offer catering services and were used for banquets and special occasions for a while. After a further period of disuse the building, which was in the footprint of Whole Foods Center, was demolished in early 2019.

Awards

Voted "Best Buffet" by City Newspaper's 'Best of Rochester' Awards in 2015.¹
Voted "Best Italian Restaurant" in City Newspaper's 'Best Of' awards in 2002², 2006³, 2007⁴, and 2010⁵

Comments:

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See Archive Page for comments prior to 2009.

2009-01-22 18:20:42 I went here with my husband for a company function. The owners of the company had been in the restaurant business for four generations, so I will admit that there were some high expectations all around. The food was good, but not worth it for the money. I got an "Italian" onion soup that was too sweet with sherry and I had to send it back. The service was fantastic, and yes, I agree with the many statements here about the bartender - he was friendly and absolutely fabulous. Needless to say, my husband and I wont come here again unless the food is already paid for. There are so many choices in the city that serve fabulous food for lower prices, why go back? —CatMagro

2009-04-27 13:54:03 I have ate here every easter for three years: the sunday brunch is pricy but extravagent, with a humongous range of foods, some very tasty. That being said, every year there are less people showing up and the food is simply less tasty. I'm not really blaming that on the Mario's cooking staff, it's probably the sign of the economy. Hopefully things will pick up, but I'm not entirely liking the trend. —NoahLeaf

2009-11-24 12:59:42 Sunday brunch is a bit pricey but the food is good. I'd definitely go again. —Liren

2010-05-21 13:41:06 It's been a while since any comments have been made.I felt it needed a little updating. If you haven't been here in a while, continue to stay away! They have changed the restaurant again, now it's a confusing mix of fast food italian and a steakhouse. I really wish they would have stuck more to homemade traditional italian fare.The food is bland and not fresh. the presentation of the food was very poor with sauce spilled willy-nilly all over the plate. I was also told about their "pretzellini" for sale now, I was a bit surprised because this is not a creation of mario's. I know of two other places who have had this fried pasta for years before them. i thought it was cheesy for them to offer to sell it to me. While service here is friendly, it was not good enough to make up for the lackluster food. Perhaps they should spend a little money in making sure they have fresh,tasty food rather than boxing up greesy fried pasta. Who's running the joint now anyway? Maybe Mario should come back into this restaurant things were much better when he was there. —janetdickenson

2011-07-03 12:11:03 I'm from the Bronx and my Uncle was a chef from Sicily. I grew up eating really good Italian food and can't find anything to complain about at Mario's. Their marinara is perfect. I love their selection of home made pastas. Also, they have, BY FAR, the best cannolis (Italian dessert) I've had in Rochester. The ambiance is very classy, with a superb wait staff of friendly and professional servers: again best in Rochester for me.

I'm really surprised about some of the older negative reviews, seems a bit unfair to me. I need to make one comment on the post from "FirstLast" - I'm not sure why a vegetarian would go to an Italian STEAKHOUSE? I'm also sorry to inform you that pretty much every Italian recipe for tomato sauce uses a meat base (e.g. beef bones in the delicious marinara sauce at Mario's :). —walternmoss

2011-12-08 19:23:06 I often meet my girlfriend at Mario's after work for happy hour. Not only do they have a great wine list and delicious seasonal cocktails, but from 5-7pm they are only $3! They have the best minestrone soup I've ever tasted! Mario's has also turned me into a calamari lover. Their grilled calamari is the BEST and very hard to find in Rochester! —HeatherOh

2011-12-08 21:52:31 You can find calamari in ANY Italian restaurant in town, Heather. Gimme a break... —Alex-C

2011-12-17 15:22:29 Wow, Alex-C! That was pretty nasty. Also, I don't remember seeing GRILLED calamari at a lot of Italian restaurants in this town? —RachaelT

2011-12-19 16:26:38 No, you see grilled calamari at many Italian restaurants, Rachael. And, I was only being flippant because of the history of people who come here (and every other review site) with a brand-new account, and drop 4 spam reviews of only the 3 restaurants (and 1 car wash) owned by Mario Daniele and family. Check 'her' reviews, and you'll see. 'She' is only a sockpuppet, I believe. —Alex-C

2012-04-24 13:51:53 Been to Mario's twice for work. I simply cannot get past the hideous decor. It's like Staten Islands meets Walmart.

—NewtonNola

Agreed! —EileenF

2014-02-17 08:30:57 This place, hands down, has one of the best brunch buffets I've ever been too. If you are over 21, the price also includes unlimited mimosas with your brunch. Delicious food and a great selection. I can see why you often need a res to have brunch there.

That being said, I prefer their brunch to their dinner. Nice wine selection but I felt dinner wise, it was a bit pricey for the food. I mean, the dinner food was good but it didn't knock my socks off. —RochFoodie

2015-11-02 06:32:46 Dec 23 is the last day this place is closeing... sad to hear that as I enjoy the food —bonnev659