Little Mario’s At the Beach

Awesome highly recommend this place. Everything was great and our waitress Iris was very friendly and helpful. You will not be disappointed.

This IS NY style pizza! I ordered take out and had wine at the bar while I waited. I really enjoyed talking to Maria the owner. She showed me different menu items, is so sweet and personable, and really made what was meant to be a quick stop a memorable experience. I also picked up a few garlic knots and WOW! I’m officially hooked and will be back again and again. Amazing food, great people, and first class service.

Awesome pizza! And they give the kids raw pizza dough to play with. This is my daughters Mario Man creation.

Pizza is delicious! They have moved to a new location than what Unilocal has listed — they are now at 610 S 3^rd St. Jacksonville Beach FL 32 250

This terrific restaurant owned by Pete & Maria has moved 12 blocks north after nearly 20 years next to the water tower.
The food is still good, and the Francisco still makes the best pizza in Jax Bch.

Terrible. They use frozen meatballs! With kids, I could pick a frozen meatball out of anywhere, and they definitely use cheap frozen meatballs, and charge $ 12 for two. They got three orders wrong, and didn’t even offer to fix them. Avoid at all costs. I can honestly say there wasn’t one redeeming thing about this place: bad food, bad service, over priced, slow… yuck!!!

Amazing food, Amazing service, amazing portions all around an amazing experience.

Ate here during TPC week 2013. We were looking for a good pizza place near the beach and scored with this one. The NY style pizza was great, the sauce in particular had a nice flavor. Looking at some of the meals other tables were getting made me wish I lived nearby so I could come back and try more. Looked like serious authentic Italian food. Service was excellent as well. I would suggest they get some better signage by the road, because if you didn’t know where you were going, you might miss it.

I’m a big fan of Little Mario’s. Their New York style pizza is tasty and more than any other pizza place at the Beach, PLENTIFUL for the price. For $ 12, you get a humongous large pizza with those beloved giant NY-​style pieces. We ordered a Pepperoni Roll alongside our pizza, which was just as tasty as their pizza. We didn’t eat inside, only taking out, so I can’t tell you much about the experience of the restaurant, but if you’re looking for a lot of food for $ 20, you’ve come to the right place in Little Mario’s at the Beach. Family owned and operated … and it shows. If you’re sick of Domino’s, Pizza Hut and the other chains, try this. You’ll enjoy it.

EXCELLENT food! We had one of the best pizzas we’ve had at Little Mario’s. Very friendly service. Brought complimentary bruschetta that was pretty good and delicious bread with a light dusting of Parmesan cheese. Menu had the traditional Italian dishes you would expect in a place like this. Wine list was a little sparse. The only thing keeping us from giving five stars was atmosphere. If you’ve ever been to a family Italian joint in the Chicago suburbs you would recognize this place. The food and the service make this place worth a visit or placing a take out order. As implied, close to the beach.

Great little Italian Restaurant!

Im picky bout my pizza being from NJ and finally found my spot. Havent had anything here that wasnt great! Beer specials too.

Out of all the locations, this one is still my favorite. Great food, great service… very reasonably priced and it is a local hole in the wall, but its hard to beat

Great atmosphere — stopped in last night and had two personal pizzas. Tasty sauce! Sat at the bar while waiting on a table outside, and the bartender was quick, attentive, friendly — ended up just staying at the bar for our entire meal! Great place, would definitely eat here again.

Damned. Good. Pizza.
Great service behind the counter and in the dining room.
Family owned and run. The owner moved to Jax from New York, and brought the deliciousness with him!
Try the Grandmother Slice!

Our film crew gets the opportunity to come to Jax once a year and work with the HEAL foundation and Mario’s is always our first stop after we check-​in! (and at least 5 times in two weeks) I read the reviews on here focused on the pizza. Well the pizza is great. What I didn’t see mentioned is that virtually every thing you order is made from scratch! Pizza, pasta and The BEST cannolli u can get outside of a hand full of places in America! This family run business is a Gem, and locals are lucky to have such a great place. The owner Pete and his staff make us feel right at home (literally). So go down to Mario’s and I dare you to find something that’s not delicious!

Complaining about pizza in Jax … that would be me. Guilty as charged. ;) But thanks to Meredith, I’ve got another option near work that I can turn to when the urge hits. I liked the NY style pizza here (had the pep and sausage) and will go back again I’m sure. My cohort, another Noreaster, felt much the same way.
That said, while I’d give Mario’s three strong stars, I’d still give a slight edge to D’Fontana’s (reviewed, four stars). To me, the pizza was just a little bit better at D’Font’s, even if the interior is a half step below.
While I’m posting about pizza, it’s also worth noting that I’ve had a few good slices at Milano’s on 3^rd St. — NOT the one on Beach at Kernan, which was a bad experience. Whatever the one at 3^rd St is doing, the other location needs to learn. Right now, I’d rank it tied with D’Font’s for first place in the Beaches area, and Mario’s a close second.
So now I’ve got some local pizza options. Thanks for the tip, Meredith.
(Ratings context: Totonno’s and Joe’s are the best pizza I’ve had outside of Italy, so they would get the full five stars hands-​down. It may be unfair to rate others against that because hundreds of pizza joints in NYC and beyond fall way short of those two, but that’s the top of my scale, for what it’s worth.)

I saw a couple of posts on here complaining about the lack of good pizza in Jacksonville. I was also suprised that Mario’s didn’t have a review. I grew up in and around New York CIty, so I know good pizza when I have it. There is just something about the crusty/​chewy-​ness of that NY pizza that you have to fold!
Mario’s brought some of that to Jax Beach, so you definitely have to give it a try! I have been going to Mario’s for a few years now, and I’ve never been disappointed. I often order it over the phone and pick it up. If it isn’t ready, they will usually give you a taste of something at the bar while you wait. A meatball or two, some antipasta, some bruschetta…
They have a myriad of other Italian items on the menu from Seafood Diablo to Calzones. They offer dine-​in service inside and outside as well. In a sea of chain places around Mario’s, it’s definitely an affordable diamond in the rough. :-)