RESTAURANT REVIEW:

By John Reger

Dec. 31, 2008 12 AM PT

Mario’s is never going to be confused with an upscale Italian restaurant, but it doesn’t try to be something it is not and that in itself is refreshing.

It is a family restaurant, catering to couples with kids, teenagers on dates and surfers on breaks from the beach.

The menu reaches a bit, mixing pasta, sandwiches and salads with dishes like chicken kebab and tiger shrimp.

The most known item, however, is probably the pizzas.

The restaurant has the traditional toppings for pizza, such as pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and olives, but also has other more exotic choices.

Among the more unique choices of the 30 toppings are jalapeno, feta cheese, eggplant and artichoke heart.

Some of these items are utilized on Mario’s seven special pizzas.

The Heaven’s Choice has sliced turkey breast, Italian house dressing, sliced mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.

It is an unusual way to make a pizza, but the combination of Boar’s Head turkey breast and Italian dressing creates a fresh spin on an old, traditional dish.

The Mediterranean has eggplant that is sautéed in olive oil, caramelized onion, feta and mozzarella and a choice of balsamic dressing or pizza sauce.

While the pizzas are good they do not keep for long as we found out when we ordered a couple of slices. Rosa and I didn’t want a pizza, but a slice a piece to try the grilled chicken and Kona pizza.

The grilled chicken is chunks of chicken breast that are marinated in herbs and lemon juice then baked into the pie. The Kona is a variation on the Hawaiian pizza, but this one adds ham to the Canadian bacon and pineapple.

Both came to us lukewarm, and I had to send them back to get reheated.

My guess is they had been sitting in the warming display rack for a while because they tasted a little old.

The pepperoni pizza looked a little sickly, so I would get a fresh pizza next time.

We wanted a Greek salad, but again size was an issue. The salad was huge, and we were looking for a half order but they didn’t have one.

It’s a shame because we saw another customer’s salad and it looked really good.

There are several salads offered, including a grilled salmon and Santa Fe, but again no half orders are available.

We pressed on and went to the pasta. We shared the meat lasagna and were quite impressed. The beef sausage works with the ricotta and mozzarella. It is not sweet like Italian sausage and is not obtrusive.

Other pastas available are spaghetti, fettuccine, ravioli, ziti or mostaccioli.

They come with a choice of meat sauce, marinara, alfredo or champagne sauce.

There is also an eggplant Parmesan and a pasta primavera. The manicotti is also good and should be ordered.

The portions are definitely plentiful and that is good, even if it didn’t suit our needs. We took half of the generous serving home with us and had a nice lunch the next day. I would much rather a place serve too much food than too little.

The sandwiches are just as large as the pasta dishes.

The turkey breast with cheese is tender and good, and the sub sandwich has a variety of meats, including ham and salami.

There is even a tuna sandwich if you want something a little healthier.

Thrown into the menu are four grilled specials that definitely have little to do with Italian cooking. There is a chicken kebab, grilled salmon, tiger shrimp and a vegetable kebab. You can get pasta with them.

Mario’s is a unique little place that is worth the drive if you aren’t expecting anything fancy.

Sometimes it is nice to have that option and still enjoy quality food.

MARIO’S

ADDRESS: 4507 W. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach

PHONE: (949) 722-7151

CUISINE: Italian

SPECIALTY DISH: Chicken Parmesan

ALCOHOL SERVED: beer and wine

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $7.49 to $14.99

FAMILY FRIENDLY: Yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover

RATING: ** 1/2