Sea Mario Italian Restaurant

Absolutely delicious! Great for date night, special occasion or any time you want authentic Italian or a culinary experience. We drove by this restaurant in a small shopping center too many times before finally making a reservation. Don't wait, book a reservation today!

Very, very good !!! Traditional authentic Italian cuisine.

We’re so excited to find this place! The food, ambiance and service were all excellent. We can’t wait to go back.

We drove by this restaurant and it looked so inviting, we had to come in. So glad we did! What a great find! It’s small, so if you blink you might miss it.

The staff and owners were very welcoming. The owners are from Italy and Mario was the chef that night. The food was incredible! It was like we were transported to Italy. Even the presentation was beautiful and the ambiance is very romantic!

The owners also shared with us their friendship with Andrea Bocelli as I used to sing background for him during his Valentine concerts. Mario asked me to sing, so since it was closing time, I said ok. I sang O Sole Mio for them and they were so kind and encouraging. What an unforgettable experience!

I’ll definitely be returning

Lovely staff and delicious food! You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu!! Will be back :)

Awesome, small italian restaurant. The hostess and cook are the owners. Lovely conversation with them. Food was amazing!

Our family came here to celebrate our son’s 18th Birthday. From the moment we entered we were greeted with warmth and basked in the relaxing ambience that was Sea Mario. Owned by a husband and wife who have been in the restaurant business for 30+ years, you can tell how this was their life’s calling. The food was beyond expectations- we had octopus and calamari to start, enjoyed the perfection that was the Maine Lobster Catalana, 7 fishes pasta, and more.. the wine was recommended and did not miss. Our favorite part was that there wasn’t a push on dairy by any means. The food isn’t saturated in cheese or butter and didn’t need anything but a fork to enjoy. Absolutely incredible! Highly recommend!

We are Newyorkers who had been to this restaurant once in December 2024 and we had a guest with us this time that we thought for sure would enjoy the restaurant. Upon being seated, we were greeted by the owner/waitress who told us all the nightly specials with prices unknown. Being adventurous we tried the Lobster Bisque and the Yellowtail Snapper Arrabiatta: both were fabulous and worth the aggressively priced amounts. The other 2 parties ordered off the menu and were also very pleased with the quality and taste of the food.
We just returned from Italy and surprisingly Sea Mario’s food tasted just as good (if not better) than many of our meals that we had on that trip, so if you’re looking for real home made fresh old school flavorful Italian cooking, this is the place for you.

My only suggestion is to bring the bread to the table with the drinks and without having to request it.

This place is right out of a Billy Joel song. Beautiful and cozy, run by a lovely Italian couple from the old country. The food and service are superb. The Golden Crab and Scallops in a pink curry sauce with pasta was to die for. To finish, the cannoli was the best I've had, and I've had my share. Buono!

Thank you for a great dinner ❤️‍? Very clean and cozy restaurant. We really liked absolutely all the dishes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Imported Sicilian Cannoli, Burrata Ai Porcini

I'll start by saying that I truly wanted to love this place and was super optimistic to start.
I've seen a lot of great reviews on social media of Sea Mario and being so close to home I was excited to give it a try.
Made reservations for 5:45pm and arrived just prior, and was seated promptly. We were the only two in the place when we arrived and by the time we left two other tables had joined.
Inside was really nice, black and white clean decor and owner Mario and a nice woman greeted us.
Sat and quickly served water and specials were reviewed. Ordered a bottle of wine, a Montepulciano ($62 and the least expensive on the list), and list was fine but seemingly expensive in comparison to comparable establishments with similar pairings.
I ordered a lobster bisque and the fried calamari. Both came out in a reasonable time and both looked and tasted great. Huge calamari rings flashed fried nicely. Bisque was creamy and nice pieces of lobster, a bit tart and not the buttery creamy bisque you would expect, but fine nonetheless.
For dinner, I ordered the lamb shank ossobucco with papardelle pasta that the owner and Chef Mario highly recommended as the best meat entree on the menu. Partner ordered the ribeye steak which I first confirmed was a prime cut prior to ordering, with side of spinach.
Entrees came out and steak looked grey, poor sear and no seasoning whatsoever. Flavor was bland and very very tough; there is not a chance this was a prime cut of beef. Was also extremely undercooked (rare) after ordering medium, but didn't even mention it as the flavor and chew wouldn't have made a difference.
The lamb shank was the toughest piece of meat I had ever had and I was genuinely embarrassed. I had to shear off piece with a knife and it was chewy, tough, grisly and inedible. The pasta was not papardelle for starters, was a minuscule portion and the sauce tasted of canned turkey gravy.
Owner Mario came over to check on us and I advised of the extreme issue with the shank. He said "I just made it today so it needs more time to cook" and took it away to address the issue (know full well there was nothing he could do to make the shank edible in any short amount of time). I sat for 15 minutes as my partner tried to eat his steak, and I waited. Mario came back out with a larger portion of pasta to entertain me while the meat was still being worked on. When the meat finally arrived back, it was the same as when it went back, tough and inedible. I declined it and it was removed from the bill. I went from so excited and impressed to disgusted very quickly. To top it off, the bill was still over $200 with the one meal removed and only one bottle of wine. Needless to say, will definitely not be returning.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 5

Im just back from a trip to Italy which is always a great food experience
However the food and service this past Saturday night at Sea Mario was better than any we had in Italy , what a fantastic hidden gem in Pompano We will be back for sure

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Sea Mario has a wonderful selection of wine that compliments their incredibly delicious food. The pork and chicken were tender and incredibly flavorful.
I can’t wait to go back and try more of their menu! Sea Mario is a must visit if you are in the Ft Lauderdale/Pompano area.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Truly the best AUTHENTIC Italian food. Small and intimate atmosphere. Beautiful music. Exceptional service. Absolutely the best Italian food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli

What a special Italian restaurant. Fresh and tasty. Had the sword fish and carbonara and couldn’t be happier. Tried the grilled octopus that was simple and just full of flavor.

Service was on point couldn’t have asked for a better dinner.

I’d make reservations as it’s a small quaint restaurant and was busy.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Bucatini Carbonara, Grilled Octopus