About these comments —
Marino’s lives in these memories as more than a restaurant; it was a thread running through people’s lives, stitching together childhood, courtship, get-togethers, family rituals, and quiet weeknight dinners. Plate after familiar plate, it became a place where guests were recognized by name, where a waiter knew an order before they sat, and where red booths and kitchy paintings framed decades of stories. The love there was practical and unshowy: sauces tended for hours, pizzas exactly as remembered, staff who shepherded regulars through celebrations and ordinary Tuesdays. In the end, what people cherished was not just great lasagna or “the best pizza in PB,” but the feeling of having always been, unfailingly, welcomed home.

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I have nothing but praise for Marino's. Not only is it authentic Italian cuisine, the service is outstanding. They feel like extended family. Mark, Sue, Camille, and the entire gang are most excellent. I was so happy to be able to take Vera and little Darina there as well; they love them too. It's like a scene right out of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We need more family-run businesses like this. Thank you, Marino's!

I have driven past this neighborhood Italian restaurant on numerous occasions. I finally decided to come one evening to pick up some food to go. There is no dedicated parking lot, so finding a curbside spot along Ingraham, Garnet, or Grand can be difficult. A small party was seated inside when I walked in, and the interior looked cozy. I ordered an Italian sausage sandwich and a full order of spaghetti with meat sauce and one meatball, plus garlic bread. The sandwich was simply sausage patties in a roll, no cheese or sauce, so it was a bit plain, but the spaghetti was just what I expected and very satisfying.

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I came here at dinner time with two other diners. We had a meatball and black olive pizza, mushroom pasta, and lasagna. The food was delicious. The lasagna was just the way I like it… piping hot, with cheese and sauce bubbling up around the edges. The pizza had a light, crunchy crust and was very tasty. The service was friendly and efficient, and our waiter had the timing down perfectly. You can tell he’s been doing this for a while. I have a feeling this will now be on our regular rotation of favorite Italian restaurants.

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The definition of a cozy neighborhood joint. The food is good, not something I’d drive across the county for, but exactly what you want from a local Italian spot. The charm and friendly vibe are so welcoming, and it reminds me of family-run restaurants back in the Midwest. The service is super personable and sweet, and the prices are extremely reasonable. I like my tomato sauce a little thicker, but I’m looking forward to trying more of their pizzas and sandwiches. I really hope this place doesn’t get priced out of the area. Awesome baked ziti.

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Love this place! Super old-school Italian. We had pasta that tasted homemade, loved the Italian salad dressing, and the minestrone was super delicious — I want to go back and get a huge bowl. The service was excellent, very attentive and friendly. Definitely check this place out.

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Been coming here since 1962. Pizza hasn't changed. I remember when Matilda used to sing. If they ever close, a part of my childhood will vanish. The pizza is legendary and excellent, the minestrone made from scratch, but frankly I can't recommend anything else. Doesn't matter, order a pizza, you'll be delighted.

Marc and his staff made it through COVID with all of us getting food to go, and I’m sure glad. This is the place for honest and flavorful pasta. I am still in love with their meat lasagna and spaghetti with meat sauce. Consider getting extra sauce to make a few meals with it. If you get the dinners, you basically have two large meals: eat the cold salad the first night and microwave the soup the second. They work hard to make this food themselves, just like my grandfather from Cerda, Sicily.

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I’ve been going to Marino’s pizza since the late ’60s. My stepdad would take me most Monday nights to pick up pizza to watch Monday Night Football. As I got older, I would always take my friends and family for special events in my life. I loved the piano guy they used to have there, the casual PB wait staff, the décor, the big painting, and the romantic table for two near the door. The pizza was fantastic (my favorite!) and the atmosphere was always fun. I almost cried when I saw it was closed. It was an institution in PB, and PB will never be the same without it. My thanks go out to the owners and staff for all the great memories. You will be very much missed.

Marino's was the source of all comfort food for me since 1979. The great art and cozy booths were perfect on rainy nights. The owners were wonderful, and the place always felt like a welcoming refuge in Pacific Beach.

Very good! Visiting from Iowa and found a gem. Great atmosphere and service, reasonable prices, and really good food. Sometimes you stumble onto a place that feels like a neighborhood spot even when you’re from out of town. This was one of those.

Marino’s – mom-and-pop Italian, my favorite in San Diego. Right on Ingraham Street in PB, it was always the place I’d recommend when someone wanted a cozy, unfussy Italian meal with character.

Absolutely delicious home-cooked food, good portions, and amazing, friendly service. Family owned and never disappoints.

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My family has been coming here for 40 years! So glad we had the chance to go tonight. Service was excellent. The food was excellent. The salad was tasty, the pizza was delicious, and the veggie lasagna… just YUM. Thank you, Mark.

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This place is a place I went to every Friday since I was 5. It has a very special place in my heart, as well as the best Italian food I have ever had.

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I'm a first-time customer who will definitely return. The food was excellent, as was the service. I had the baked ziti (with 2 meatballs), and my buddy got the spaghetti with meat sauce. WARNING! Our server warned me that the ziti was crazy hot from the oven… I didn't listen. The cheese on top was like lava, delicious, stringy, gooey lava. If you've never been, go now! You won't be disappointed.

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This place is proper old school, like stepping back in time. The menu probably hasn't changed since it opened, and there is no reason it should! Favorite dish is the zucchini al forno, so good!

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Excellent Italian food. All of us loved our dishes: Alfredo, spaghetti, and ravioli. Great service and great food!

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Marino's has really good traditional Italian food, from the eggplant parm to excellent lasagna. Their red sauce is bada-boom delicious. This Italian approves! Highly recommended.

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I love Marino's! Everything is delicious here… great sauce and pizza too.

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Solid linguine and white clam sauce along with Italian sausage and mushroom pizza, cozy and warm, friendly atmosphere, love the decor.

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Super yummy and friendly service!

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Best pizza in San Diego by far. I gave up on pizza in California until I found this place. Stay away if you’re from California; this is good pizza, not “healthy” pizza.

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Great homestyle Italian. If you are looking for good Italian, this is your place. We ordered baked ziti, lasagna, and a pizza. The servings are generous, and the dinners come with soup and salad. The soup was okay, nothing to write home about, but the Italian dressing was good. Then the meals came — LARGE portions. I probably didn't even finish half my ziti. Good wine, good food, and a nice homestyle atmosphere. We went early, but it started picking up. They know patrons by name and order, and there are a lot of carryout calls. Overall, sad that it's taken me two years of living in the neighborhood to try this one out!

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I've been eating there since I was a kid and it was a new establishment. Although I haven't lived in San Diego in over 30 years, I still made it a point to stop by for dinner on occasion when we were in town. Now we live out of state, and as my wife and I were having dinner she brought up your lovely restaurant and wondered if you'd survived the COVID restrictions. I was elated when I looked you up and saw you're still in business. We will have to stop back by the next time we're in town to see the grandkids.

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Nice atmosphere, very Italian decorated, live piano playing. Tried Birra Peroni for the first time: pretty nice blonde beer, highly recommended for the family. More important than all, the food is delicious, pasta al dente, homemade from scratch.

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This place is amazing, hands down. That is all.

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WOW. The pizza is awesome. The lasagna is fantastic. Like East Coast taste. Best pizza in PB.

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Super kitschy Italian family restaurant. Four people, two drinks, 32 dollars. Thin-crust pizza. Go for the kitsch!

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I have been coming here for more than 25 years. Every dinner has been stupendous. From their spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, to their pizzas, it has been the best. It is down-home good and especially good on cold winter nights. Every dinner comes with a nice salad and homemade soup. Mark is the main man here, but the whole staff and chefs are very friendly and capable. We eat here a few times a month and always look forward to our dinners here. We usually take some home and it microwaves very well, except the pizza deserves a real oven for warm-ups. The food and the ambiance are old world, from a time when people were kinder and meals were a family gathering. A wonderful family-owned place!

Great food, service, and atmosphere. We were made to feel welcome from the first moment we set foot in the door. Great variety of Italian dishes, including unique toppings for pizza. We had cannelloni, baked zucchini, and tortellini. Soup and salad were included as an option for a full meal. Portions were good-sized, and we left with plenty for later at home. Good assortment of wine and beer as well. The walls were filled with wonderful paintings, with many curios on shelves throughout. You won't regret a meal from this hidden gem.

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Amazing service and food! Wonderful family-owned, authentic Italian food. Would rate 10 stars if I could! They are very welcoming as soon as you walk in and the inside is so cozy and comfy. Super clean and delicious. I will be recommending them to everyone.

So, back in the late 70s, my buds and I were living in PB. We were all college age, and, yeah I admit it, used to indulge in a bit of the wacky tobaccy. Naturally, one gets a mighty appetite happening after such indulgence, and nothing could satisfy it like a big Marino's pie, and a couple pitchers of golden lager. We would show up, walk through the door and do our best not to draw too much attention to our delirious condition. After getting seated and taking a long time to decide what we wanted, we'd place our order with Matilda. She was always so nice to us, even though we were almost falling off the chairs. After what seemed like an eternity (owing to our inebriated condition), the pizza would arrive and we would inhale it with gusto. We did this frequently for several years​, each time waiting patiently for the eons to pass before the pizza arrived. Then one day, it occurred to one of us that we could CALL AHEAD and order the pizza, which would be waiting for us upon our arrival. Why the dumb, stoned bunch of us never thought of that before is a mystery for the ages. Best memories! Best Pizza!! Love you Marino's!

Food is always good. Little family-owned local gem.

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Best lasagna I’ve ever tasted. Make sure you look at the painting on your way out. Do you see the dog or the lady? Fun conversation piece. Family owned and amazing service.

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I grew up in Crown Point, and being Italian we ate here all the time. I remember always getting the spaghetti with butter (I had lots of stomach issues as a kid), but when we didn’t eat in, we always got their pizza. Loved it. I will be 52 on Sunday, and my boyfriend is taking me here for dinner. It’s really awesome to see a family business going strong after all these years, especially in the beach area. I'm excited to go back after all these years! Update: Had dinner with the boyfriend. The place is smaller than I remembered, but I guess everything looks bigger when you’re small. Very friendly staff and not much has changed. It’s a good local Italian place but nothing fancy. Only open for dinner and very little parking. I hope the locals support it enough to keep them open for another 50 years.

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The food is excellent. A small, authentic, family-owned Italian restaurant. We have loved everything we have had there. Very friendly staff and excellent service.

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I have been coming here at least once a month for over ten years. The stuffed shells are to die for! Family run, always friendly, amazing food!

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Very fresh, authentic Italian fare with a great marinara sauce. Great service. They know their regulars and are welcoming.

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Amazing Italian food. Great wait staff, very friendly. Can't wait to visit San Diego again, and this will be a regular stop. Wish I took photos, but we had ravioli, spaghetti, pizza, and lasagna — very good.

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Just wow! After reading the Google reviews, we decided to give Marino's a try. I had the stuffed shells and my son had meat lasagna. Both were incredible but had very different flavors.

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Marino's has the best pizza, and all of the staff are helpful and courteous.

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1950s inside and has a nice Italian feel with red booths and walls covered in nice paintings and pictures. Spaghetti and garlic bread were great! Nostalgic old traditional feel and fair prices. Some parking in the back, too.

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We love this little family establishment. Been in PB forever. Their gluten-free works pizza is the best in town. If you want a warm and cozy Italian experience, stop by and enjoy.

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One of the best hole-in-the-wall Italian joints I've ever been to. Food is reasonably priced and fantastic. I had the vegetarian lasagna, and it was phenomenal. Came with a soup and a salad. I will definitely be coming back.

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Love this place. Reminds me of a great New Jersey–style family Italian place. Stuffed shells are awesome.

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Marino was able to accommodate our 20-person reservation for a dinner on a Saturday. The dinner was prix fixe and served family style.

Old-school, hole-in-the-wall family Italian restaurant. No fancy dishes, just wholesome, family-style cooking. Marino’s pizza is a tradition with us, going back many, many years. The crust, the sauce, the cheese, the ingredients—unbelievably delicious. It takes a long time to find the best pizza in San Diego, but we did, and we've never looked back. There's a reason Marino's has been there since the 1950s (and it ain't the “décor”).

Our favorite pizza in Pacific Beach. We are welcomed and treated like family. Authentic Italian recipes. Delicious pizza, homemade sausage, cheesy stuffed shells, and lasagna are our favorites.

This has been my family's go-to for 30+ years. Love the family and the restaurant!

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My girlfriend and I were unsure of what to eat, and this place was down the street, so we decided to check it out. We split the lasagna and a pizza, and it was delicious. The sauce on the pizza was homemade and had so much flavor! The portions were large; we took half of it home, and our dinner for two came out to 30 dollars, which is more than fair. Definitely going back.

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I've been coming to Marino's for about twenty years, and I love the place. I almost invariably get the same thing: a small dinner salad, a large cheese pizza, and a glass of chianti. It's the best pizza I've had in the 41 years I've lived in San Diego, and I've tried dozens and dozens of pizza places here. Highly recommended! Adrian is usually our waiter, and he's wonderful. In fact, we don't even have to order; when he sees us arrive, he already knows what we want, and it's as good as we expect every time. If Marino's ever closes, I'll just have to pack my bags and move back to New York to get fabulous pizza.

Always love this place. Good, family-owned and run Italian food. I love the thin-crust pizza.

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It's so charming, and the family that owns and runs it are incredibly nice. The food is always fresh and hot and never a letdown. It's great!

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Like their pizza, a PB staple…

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Great authentic Italian food! Family owned and operated. Casual atmosphere. Just the way Grandma used to make it!

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We've been coming here for at least ten years, and the pizza is always awesome. Thin crust, perfect blend of cheeses and sauce. I love the minestrone soup, and the customer service can't be beaten. Mark and Adrian always welcome us with smiles!

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Wonderful little mom-and-pop place, great food, great price, and a talented pianist to boot! I loved it. The world needs more pianos in restaurants!

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Great food and a neat old-world feel. Been here a long time. A must-visit.

Excellent home-cooked Italian. Chicken parm, lasagna, pizza, all great. Our server, Camille, was amazing and so good with our kids.

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Love that cozy environment and food. I will never get tired of that place. Really recommended.

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Outstanding pizza. Great service and very reasonable prices for the quality.

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We happened upon this fantastic restaurant by pure chance. In talking with the owner and her son, we discovered Marino's has been serving San Diego since 1954. The decor is rustic Italian, with owner Sue's collection of eclectic antiques.

Chicken Alfredo was very tasty, liked the tortellini. Service and atmosphere were fantastic.

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Excellent old recipes, real Italian food every time!

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Love this place! Delicious menu options, easy-to-share portions. Place needs a bit of an update, but it's worth the stop.

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Best Italian food in Pacific Beach. There is a reason why this establishment has stood the test of time. The sauce (family recipe) is perfectly balanced heaven, and the cheese is loaded with flavor.

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The staff is really nice and warm. Food is out of this world!

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Great food and people. Good portions and welcoming atmosphere.

My family and I have been customers of this Italian restaurant since the 1950s. The menu is authentic and consistent in taste, quality, and preparation. These family recipes can't be duplicated — I’ve tried. For a delicious and cozy Italian dinner, this is the place.

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Family has been eating here for four generations now, and we all love it. Be cognizant of the style of Italian it is and enjoy. Only downside is no desserts, but you may be so sated it won't matter.

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AMAZING ×10!

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For 15 years this place has never disappointed. Incredible Italian food, friendly and great service. Excellent prices!

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Pizza is delicious. You can tell they use really good ingredients. They don't overcharge you either.

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Casual, comfortable, great service! Good food, reasonably priced!

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Their food and service haven't changed in the 50+ years I've been going there.

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Great pizza and nice staff.

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Best classic Italian menu, and superb service makes you feel at home.

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Great food, all handmade in the back. Staff are friendly.

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My friends and I have eaten there for years.

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Pizza is thin crust and very cheesy. Loved it.

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Been eating there over fifty years — just as good now as it was fifty years ago.

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Great staff, good Italian food.

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Busy place, good for get-togethers, comes recommended as authentic Italian cuisine.

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Great family environment, food was amazing, portions were fantastic.

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A tradition going on 40 years. Love this place.

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We were seated on a quiet Wednesday night. Our waiter was super nice and recommended the chicken cacciatore as a gluten-free option. It was really good. My hubby ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and was impressed. My kiddos and hubby had pizza and said it was amazing. I believe them.

The very best pizza in Pacific Beach because the cheese is just the best.

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Always a great meal at this establishment.

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Good pie. Momma's house kind of feel.

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Fun staff and excellent service! I would come back for that veal and side of bread every day if I lived there!

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Had a pepperoni pizza that was out-of-this-world good.

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Classic Italian restaurant, excellent service and food.

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Always an excellent pizza.

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The best Italian food across the board.

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Been coming here over a decade. Marino's is perfect for all occasions. Don't know why we sometimes even bother trying other Italian restaurants or pizza places. Marino's is always the best food, atmosphere, service, and prices!

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No other pizza tastes like this one — YUM!

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Meatball sub, nomnomnom.

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My happy place.​