Maria's Restaurant

This was the last night they were open in their old location. Nothing special. We’ll wait to see how the new location works out.

The sauces were very watered down which lead us to believe that cream/ milk wasn’t used due to the Oct storm.

The bread was delicious, but food portions were on the smaller side, and rather pricey. The ambiance was nice and the service was satisfactory.

Great as always. We’ll look forward to the new location!

The food was great and so was the ambiance. It was a bit pricier than we expected but that won’t stop us from going back. Only suggestion would be to note on the menus if any sides come with an entree. Even though they were training some new and very young servers, the service was great and very timely

Anthony's Italian food is the best around! Maria's is Top Notch!!

Food was excellent, waitress was very knowledgeable, personable, and quick, even if she was busy and overworked. Great restaurant

The food was very good. The restaurant recently reopened after a short closing. Menu was not what was listed on website. Limited selections. Very short staffed. One waitress and it was only her second day. She did well due to the circumstances. Host had no personality. Don't think I would return. Too many other good restaurants in Portland.

The food was decent. Most people enjoyed their red sauce. The service and the decor was underwhelming. Took 10 minutes to get a waitress to come to the table. Took drink orders and then took another 10 minutes to come back and forgot the wine. Orders went in and had to ask for the complimentary bread after 5 more minutes. Finally got meals and ate. Asked for bill another 5 minutes. Place has seen time fly by.

The food was 3 1/2 stars I had to wait a long time to get my meal then they brought the wrong meal. I finished my glass of wine and it sat empty for the remainder of the meal ! I had a Caesar salad that was fresh and the bread was excellent! After sitting for a while without any attention I asked One of the bus people to bring me a carton to package by meal. After waiting for a while for my waiter with my meal packaged up he finally approached me and asked me if I wanted desert! Synopsis, the food was decent for the money and the service wasn’t! Would go back but in no hurry!!

Maria's is a quiet, nice place. The food is adequate, but overpriced. Service and atmosphere are good.

Very nice little place. Does look a bit outdated but it's nice and cozy. They are always more then happy to make me my favorite dish that is not on the menu.

Old decor. High priced. Not all items listed online menu are available. Nothing spectacular about the flavor. Good deal with a Groupon

Always a great Time At Maria’s Restaurant, We Have Had 9 Anniversaries there and Numerous Birthdays. The Times We Have Had At Maria’s Has Been Very Memorable With Great Food, Great Ambiance and Wonderful Staff, We Look Forward To Many More Great Times And special Memories.

Weird. Our server was a teenager that had no idea about wine. Asked to sit somewhere besides the only other table occupied in the entire restaurant and was told no. Which was strange because only two tables dined the entire time we were there. Food was sub par.

I had a good time, worth the Groupon!

Overall we enjoyed our meal, I found it very basic food, nothing special. The service was great.

Parking was difficult and right across from the homeless shelter, which made me feel bad about eating a nice dinner. The eggplant parm was great, but I was surprised when I wasn't offered freshly grated parmesan cheese. The garlic bread wasn't anything to write home about and should have been offered with the meal rather than purchased separately. The desserts were good. The table and seats could have been cleaner. The waitress was very nice and we enjoyed talking with her. Overall, the food was a bit pricy. It was nice for something different and for a special occasion, but I wouldn't be in a hurry to return.

As always, Maria’s feels like family! Dinner was delicious!!

It was wonderful we enjoyed all of our 6 course meal!

Having heard great things, I was, quite frankly, expecting more. The Caesar’s salad had badly wilted romaine, which was overdressed and had too much cheese; in fairness, the anchovies were delightful. Our entrees were mediocre at best. My eggplant was bland and not properly seasoned and the same could be said for the sauce, which was acid-forward and no spices discernible. Our other entree was meatballs and pasta. The meatballs lacked flavor and the sauce was the same as above. The garlic bread was decent, but added little to our enjoyment. Service was alright, but had our server paid closer attention I would have liked another glass of wine. By the time the inquiry was made, I’d finished eating. The leftovers were retooled, the sauce bolstered with onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and garlic, and the meatballs deconstructed and recontextualized in my own version of what sauce should taste like. So while we were disappointed, we salvaged the investment by bringing some much needed enhancements to the dishes.

We have now eaten at Maria’s many times and we have never had anything less than delicious food. First class professional service and a kind of old fashioned classic atmosphere. Soft Italian music. Convenient parking in the back. Portions are very generous. We will continue to eat there as long as it is there.

This was our second visit to Maria's. The food was excellent but the service was subpar. Unfortunately the wait staff was not as attentive to our needs as our first visit. We did not feel waited upon in a timely manner. We were not checked on at all during our visit. Our salads were served before we even received our drinks. It took a long time to "catch" someone to ask for bread, which took a while to get. Unfortunately it was not our best experience, and we really like to support local businesses, but we will not be rushing back.

Excellent food and service. Huge portions, great wines, veal could have been a little hotter but as a complete meal, enjoyable and excellent.

Made a reservation, arrived at the door. was turned away due to an accident in the kitchen and someone headed to hospital. Next day I read their facebook page and it said they were closed for a catering event that night. Why lie to us? Just tell us you made a mistake and forgot to cancel our reservation? I think we deserve a free meal.

We had reserved a table for a party of four and was seated immediately on arrival. Waitress introduced herself to us and was very friendly and professional. Service was excellent and she checked with us on a regular basis to make sure we had what we needed. The food was excellent and the sauce was fantastic homemade with a tomato base. All four of us were completely satisfied and will return.

Read previous reviews and was alittle susceptible about going.
Boy am I glad I did not pay attention. This was old school Italian food and ambiance.
Servers were great from start to finish. Wish I remembered her name, but there was an East Longmeadow, ma La Florentine bakery connection
Will return First time patrons

small neighborhood restaurant, old world charm, but way past its prime. went there with groupon which was the only redeeming factor.
waiter was young, but un-trained. Had to ask for bread, did not offer specials, did not clear dishes...
food was s0-s0. do not see a future for this restaurant.

We really enjoyed eating here. We had no wait to get our table and the staff was very friendly. We loved the family pictures around the dining idea, giving you the feeling of having a nice dinner and a friend or family member’s house. The food was excellent and served very fast and very hot. When we go back to Portland we will definitely be visiting Maria’s again!

Maria's needs an overhaul!!!! I've been there multiple times over the past three years and they are struggling. And don't listen to them blame the neighborhood, Isa and Back Bay Grill are doing fine, and they're in worse sections. Maria's is stuck in the 70's. Their ambience is terrible. Their bar is always dead. Their maitre d' is a dick. Their menu is bland. Their beer selection sucks. They charge you for salad with your entree which is a story in its own. If they don't start welcoming the 21st century while keeping to old-school traditions (don't show my girl where she can hang her jacket, you do it), they're gonna be dead as dead in five years.

The staff was great! The atmosphere was mostly great! The Italian Soda was great for my 8 year old. The food selection wasn't the best (just wanted more or better options), the food quality didn't leave me singing utmost praise, but it was good. Nice wine selection. The price for the quality and selection of food was a little off. I do think a little refreshing on decor, the viewing window with the old fake fruit and flowers? Just one of those things restaurants should do every few years :)
Also - can we please fry the calamari? It's just a personal preference, but I was excited to order it, then the waitress forewarned me, good catch on her part, but it seems like she's gotten used to having to let people know when ordering. I think maybe cooking it the way people expect would be a good move.

Great food, great service. All around a great experience!

Maine Restaurant Week special was more than we had expected. Food was excellent, service outstanding. This vintage location maintains its classic character and "old charm". The only downfall was a very "loud and happy" table across the room -- other than this minor point, good not have asked for a better evening out with friends

Amazing all the way around!!! Service and food we wonderful!

There actually was a problem with the reservation. The restaurant said they had blocked out time with open table and the App still gave me a reservation time. This put the restaurant in a tough position as they did not have my reservation listed. They did however fit us in when I showed them my confirmation from Open Table. Aside from that the food was excellent. Maria’s is always a good choice

Old style restaurant. Nothing fancy, and very simple, but good and good value.

I‘m very sorry but your food was not good. The bottle of white wine that we ordered was warm. We did take our leftovers home and I decided to taste again and a few bites tasted like seafood in one part and my dish was chicken Parmesan..? Sorry maybe it was just a bad night in the kitchen.. I wouldn’t tell anyone to not eat at your place but At the same time I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it to someone.

Having not been at Maria's for maybe 20-25 years, I found it disappointing. Bland food, no sausage in the sausage lasagna...eggplant overcooked....calarami even disappointing, again sauce very bland with it. Waiter forgot salad. Gelato not available....My husband liked the beer.

The service was terrible. The waiter never came back to our table in inquire if I wanted another glass of wine ... mine was empty for a long time or never asked how our meal was. The only time we saw him was when we asked for the bill. The food was just okay ... on the high side for what you get. No bread with the pasta meal and salad had to be purchased for $5.00. Not planning on going back

Dinner was great but seemed that they were a bit short-staffed on a Friday evening, was a bit of a wait to put in initial drink and food order.