Mario’s Butcher Shop, so Nice I Went Twice

Mario's Butcher Shop 

1000 Bristol Street North

Newport Beach, CA 92660 

This post is a little different from most of my restaurant reviews. Usually, when I visit a restaurant they have only one chance to make an impression. Since I pay for most of my meals, I can not make multiple trips to the same restaurant, as that would get quite expensive. I almost always try to eat with a group of friends or get a combo meal, so I can share with you a better view of what a restaurant is all about. For this review, I did make two separate trips a few months apart to Mario's Butcher Shop. 

Mario's opened in June of last year, and almost immediately after opening their doors, I started hearing amazing things about their sandwiches and burgers. The OC Register has run a couple of articles about this place, citing their smoked pastrami sandwich as one of the best around, and also naming Mario's one of the top 7 butcher shops in OC. There were also nice write-ups in the Newport Beach Independent and a very detailed article on the Eater LA website.  

There actually is a Mario here, and it's Mario Llamas. He's originally from the South Bay, went to culinary school, and moved to Mexico for fourteen years to work at an Argentine steakhouse in Guadalajara. When he moved back to the states, he was working in restaurants, but the long hours kept him away from his kids. He took an apprenticeship with West Coast Prime Meats and learned the art of becoming a butcher. When he was furloughed in 2020 because of the pandemic a friend suggested that he open a butcher shop, and thus Mario's Butcher Shop became a reality. 

Mario's is located near the corner of Bristol and Jamboree, in the same shopping plaza as French fave, Moulin, Vibe Organic Kitchen and Juice, and Il Barone Italian Restaurant. The inside of the space is dominated by the well-stocked meat case, which has some nice cuts of high-end meats for sale.  There's also a grab-and-go section that features salads, beverages, and other sides.  

I purposely picked pre-lunch times to order from Mario's. Ordering was very easy through their website, and once I reached their storefront, my food was ready within a couple of minutes of the promised time. The online menu features a great number of sandwiches and burgers, along with breakfast items for early risers. I'm not entirely sure if they serve breakfast all day, as the hours are not posted on their website. Also, keep an eye out for specials on their Instagram page, which they update semi-frequently. Enough background, let's see the food. 

Here's the first of two things that I got on my maiden voyage to Mario's Butcher Shop, starting with their Grass-Fed Burger ($12) and Potato Salad ($6). This burger came dressed with sliced cheese, tomato, and a little lettuce on a very soft bun which got a little misshapen on the car ride home. The burger patty was thick, with crispy sides due to contact with the flattop. The meat was juicy and full of flavor, while the rest of the burger components complimented the beef wonderfully. I'd probably get this with bacon next time, as I think it would make the burger pop a bit more. The potato salad at Mario's is probably the best I have ever tasted. Great consistency to it, lots of herbs included, and a good creaminess to it. I could not get enough and found myself licking the container clean.  

For the second part of my initial Mario's visit, I selected the Corned Beef Rueben ($15). Ths sandwich came with Russian dressing, sauerkraut, pickles, and thinly sliced corned beef on toasted rye bread. I'm more partial to pastrami, but this corned beef was fine. I expected a little bit more meat on this sandwich, which would have helped the corned beef stand out a bit more. It was a little overshadowed by the kraut and Russian dressing. A well-put-together sandwich, but one that I would personally skip on my future visits to Mario's. 

I went big with my second visit, starting things off with this Smash Burger ($7). Smash burgers are all the rage right now, as my Instagram feed is filled with them every time I log on. For those of you that are not aware, a smash burger is smashed on the grill, which causes more surface area in contact with the heat source, thus creating a toasty, crisped burger. I'm not a big smash burger fan, as I usually like more girth to my burgers, but this one was delicious. Not dried out like some tend to be. I'd probably get a double smash burger next time, which would be right in my wheelhouse. 

Even better was the Patty Melt ($13). Cheese, onion, and pickles on rye bread. Yes, the patty was a little on the thin side, but I could taste the high-quality beef that they use here and the cheese and onions were plentiful. I'd probably ask for a double patty the next time I get this, which will make it even better.   

Pastrami on Rye ($14) is what gets the most love at Mario's, and after my first bite, I can see why. This is one of the better pastrami sandwiches in OC. The pastrami is sliced perfectly, not too thin not too thick, so it showcases the delicious pastrami really well. The coleslaw, Swiss cheese, and a touch of mustard add just enough supporting clout, to make this a very balanced sandwich. It was a true pleasure eating this, and I did not want it to end. After my first trip to Mario's, I could not skip the potato salad. It might have been even better on this second visit. Do not miss it.  

Mario's is a true gem not only for people living nearby but for all of OC. The pastrami is the thing to get here, but I look forward to eating my way through the rest of their menu in the near future. They have recently run a Cuban sandwich special that looks amazing, and I'd also like to try their breakfast options at some point. The prices here are pretty competitive with other spots right now, so you might as well visit Mario's to try their elevated sandwiches and burgers. I'm very happy I made two trips here, but they will definitely not be my last. 

Out of five wrestling mats, (because the most famous Mario I can think of is Mario Lopez, star of Saved By the Bell, where he played wrestler, A.C. Slater), five being best to zero being worst, Mario's Butcher Shop gets 3.5 wrestling mats. 

For more information about Mario's butcher Shop, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.mariosbutchershopdeli.com/