Marias Pizza & Pasta

These guys make the best pies in the area, bar none. Go there.

Perfect place for a delicious, affordable Italian family lunch. Appeals to three generations of my husband’s Philly Italian family. Fresh ingredients, including lots of veggies, homemade sauces and breads, good coffee, friendly service and clean dining area have brought us back for more each time we visit family in the area.

So delicious! They have amazing Italian food comparable to expensive restaurants in Philly and NYC. The bruschetta is the best I’ve had in my life.

I forget what we had the first time we ate here. But I got a pizza and it was just ok. The dough and sauce were good but the cheese didnt seem as good as it could be. Maybe it was just me.

Just tried Maria’s for the first time. It’s an unassuming little place nestled between a liquor store and a bar in a strip mall. Nothing about the exterior would suggest that this place is anything special. But the food… my god… so good.
I had the chicken parm sub — delicious toasted roll, tender chicken and the perfect amount of sauce and cheese — hit the spot. My wife had the penne alla vodka and it was impressive as well. We will definitely be back.

Visited for a quick business lunch and was not very impressed. The place smelled like smoke and the bread was stale! We ordered a few slices as well and the pizza was blah. There are many good places in this town, but we opted for something new.

Why are they in business — every time we go here the pizza slices have been sitting for hours — or they closed early. Tonight we went at 9:01 and no slices — except one that looked like last weeks pizza. Maybe they have a lunch crowd — not sure why they are taking up a spot in this location. So much potential.
Don’t eat here — go to the Mexican or the sushi place — awesome food and great people.

I’ve gone to this place a handful of times. The first couple of times the food was great (Vodka alla Penne… yum!) but my last experience wasn’t that great. I went there with 2 people and the place was empty. The young girl waitress was distracted by one of the male employees the entire time we were there. One of the people I was with asked her what the soup of the day was, she said she would check and never came back because she was talking to that male employee. At the end of our meal we wanted to order dessert and I actually had to get up to hunt our waitress down. Finally the guy because the counter had to go in the back to get her. The service was bad.
Also, I ordered a chicken sandwich with broccoli rabe. The rabe was dripping with oil that saturated the entire sandwich to the point, I had to stop eating the 2^nd half because it was just mushy and tasted nothing but oil. I don’t know if I just went on an off day but as I said, they were far from busy to be that bad.

Just had an awesome meal at Maria’s. The house & antipasto salads were fresh and delicious!
Hockessin Pasta was fresh & delicious, nice size portions. Loved the Hercules pizza!
Great cheesesteaks on garlic bread.
For dessert, the Profiteroles are a must, cream puff rolled in chocolate mousse! Yum!

There must be 50 pizza joints within a 5 mile radius of Hockessin, DE. It’s the positive reviews on Unilocal that made me want to visit this one, and I must say I was very pleased. I read that Maria’s «Italian House» Pizza & Pasta restaurant was small so I decided try take out and then check out the seating situation upon pickup. It is cozy but, on this particular night, only 2 of the 10 tables were occupied.
Since it was my first trip, I played it safe and got the «Napoleon» plain cheese pizza. It’s the closest I’ve seen in the area to a real «New York Style» pizza pie and it was delicious. The cheese was not greasy (which means they use really good cheese) and the crust was perfectly chewy. With that test passed, I cannot wait to try some of their other «gourmet» style pizzas and the Sicilian one as well.
I also got dessert for my partner and I. Cannoli for her and a lemon tart for me. She said the cannoli was one of the best she ever had … even better than the ones we get near the Philly Italian Market. She said the «crust» had a little cinnamon in it which made it extra unique and delicious. And the lemon tart was absolutely to die for!
This may be dangerous to our diets! :)
NOTE: 2^nd day … heated leftover pizza on pizza stone in 550 degree oven. OMG! Even better the 2^nd day! Yum!

Maria’s pastas are very good, especially the seafood ones. They also have occasional nightly specials that are very good. We recently enjoyed a bone-​in pork chop with an apple walnut compote, roasted potatoes, and cold string beans and tomatoes. It was cooked perfectly and extremely tasty. Even Maria’s garlic knots, warm breads, and Italian wedding soup are very good. I do miss the chocolate cake they used to have. Their current version with the raspberry on top os not nearly as good as the old one they used to have.

Great pizza! Really enjoyed their margherita pizza… Soo good! Their lasagna was ok. Very plain, nothing special. Excited to try other pasta dishes from them…