Maribelli Fine Italian Restaurant

We just love trying the small town, authentic «Mom and Pops». Again, we were not disappointed! The character of these unique cafes and diners are what road trips are all about! It felt as if we had stepped into Little Italy itself! The high back upholstered booths that could seat a big Italian family of eight welcomed us. Our food was terrific and the staff discreetly appeared as soon as our drinks needed refilling. The BEST feature: the bread. Must. Bring. The. Family… All eight of them.

Very quiet lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Overall, prices are pretty low here for what you get. Chianti by the glass was OK quality. Breadsticks were tasty. Salad was disappointing with big pieces of iceberg lettuce. Italian dressing was unremarkable, but not bad at all, especially if you mop up the dressing with a breadstick. Kinda weird pseudo fancy décor. They need a designer badly. I imagine it looks better at night. The eggplant parmesan was soggy and inedible. The spaghetti served alongside was overcooked and sauced with a bland marinara that tasted like it came out of a jar. The Italian sandwich, meats on a baguette, was better, but still just OK. The service was OK and the place is very clean. They need to fix the food with real Italian prepared properly, not Sysco items, and they would do a lot better. Not recommended unless you are desperate.
On another note, I wonder about the other reviews on here. I suspect they are «bought reviews» from a supplier. One review states the restaurant is their favorite in West Texas (um, we’re not far from Houston here). Also, there is another Unilocal listing for the same restaurant with poor reviews. Looks like they started over and bought some good reviews to get them started. Not cool.