Maria’s Front Room

A friend and I had dinner reservations for 7pm on a Friday night. I was not very busy when we arrived but the place soon filled with patrons. Our waitress was nice but a little bit too cheery.
My friend ordered a custom dish (spaghetti with chicken, veggies and aioli) and I had the chicken piccata. My friends dish came without chicken. The waitress seemed taken aback by this and said she would bring a grilled chicken breast out immediately to add to his dish. She then said she did not know how long it would take because the kitchen was really busy and that there were others orders ahead of his. She offered to bring us bread immediately as hold over until the chicken arrived. We waited 20 minutes for the chicken and the bread never came.
The food was ok but nothing special by any means. The service made the experience less desirable. The manager also came to our table to apologize but never made any efforts to sway our opinion of the experience.
I would go here again, but only if I was in a pinch. It has nice atmosphere (cozy and intimate) but I feel the place has lost some of its charm.

My boyfriend and I are so disappointed that we wasted $ 75 on a terrible dinner… Not only we wasted money but we wasted a fat day!!! The Caesar salad we not bad but not good. The lasagna was bland and cold. We had to send it back to be reheated. The other dish was the pollo di amore. We substituted the chicken w veal, it was bland as well n it came out luke warm. The sauce was watery. Overall the food was not good, very disappointing. Needless to say we are on our way to Taco Bell for a nacho bel grande.

being generous with the 2 rating. The only, and I mean the only, reason I gave it a 2 was because of the waitress who took our drink order.
For starters, owner was present and sitting at the bar as we watched the kitchen staff whooping it up. One of the staff was dressed in a tank top which, after thinking about it, grossed me out. thinking of underarm hair possibly getting in my food. Owner did nothing about the kitchen activities.
While sitting within three feet of him he had a «conversation» with one of the employees where he announced to them, «I am the fucking owner and…» the rest of the comment was indistinguishable. Our speidini appetizer was OK and not what we remembered from one of the other Maria’s locations we had previously visited.
This place needs serious help. I thought of that reality show Restaurant Rescue and they should be in there. As everyone knows, you can always find another restaurant that does it better and there are certainly a lot of restaurants in and around Ferndale where your money will be well spent. I won’t be returning unless there’s a change in management or ownership.

While this will never be the go-​to spot for Italian, it works in a pinch. Maria’s is clean, reasonable and cozy (Though a little crammed, resembling more of a hallway with tables than a restaurant).
They seem to play nothing but Louis Prima songs, and that’s not even hyperbole, nothing but Louis Prima songs.
I had the lobster ravioli which is a huge portion and was good. The soup was iffy. It was a quick dine in for me, I believe I was in and out in under an hour.
They keep very limited hours, only being open on average 4 hours a day which is very inconvenient.

I joined Unilocal just so I could write this review. I came upon Maria’s by happy accident back in June, 2014. We wanted to find ourselves a new restaurant, with the only rule being that it was not part of a chain.
I have had a lot of Italian meals over the years, but Maria’s is the best .I’ve had. I’ve been back 3 times, so I’ve been able to try the lobster ravioli, veal marsala, chicken marsala and veal con porcini. All excellent. Their bread is famous. I even tried a creamy vegetable soup (don’t normally like creamy or vegetable soups). I’d now make a point of ordering it.
All the staff is extremely friendly. Service is very good. Prices are reasonable.
The atmosphere is quaint, old school and romantic for young and old.
I have now scheduled dinner meetings there for various groups I run, just to give me an excuse to go back more often than I might normally get to the Ferndale.
This is now my favorite restaurant of any type. And I ain’t no kid. The FB picture attached is not me, by the way.

I went to a birthday celebration with my daughter at painting with a twist she ran out and pick up a pizza. Due to many drinks she could tell us where she went we only know that she walk… This pizza was so awesome that I went to Unilocal and located the pizza’s. In the area and it as from Maria the Ferndale Pizza best people I’ve had in my Life… I tell everybody about this awesome pizza …

Great staff and food, even the cooks are friendly. Everyone seems really happy and like they care about their customers. The food was amazing and the portions are LARGE! Bonus :) Cute date night spot, very cozy.

My husband and I were in the mood for Italian and wanted to try something new. I hopped onto Unilocal,read the reviews, and decided that Maria’s sounded good. It wasn’t good… It was AMAZING!
First, the bread is to die for! We kind of over ate on it, but it was so worth it! I ordered the lobster ravioli and my husband had the pollo ala romono. Both were excellent dishes and we had plenty left over to bring home for a second meal. I’m a little sad that we are moving, I would frequent here and will probably end up making the drive from Brighton just to eat here again!
Service was also excellent and we really appreciated the manager checking in with us too! Bravo!

Delicious house bread and tasty entrees!
There are also a good amount of vegetarian options. Definetly worth a visit.

I love this place! The warm bread they serve– seriously, out of this world. If you’re a chicken Parmesan lover like myself– give it a try. You will not be disappointed!

While you were all standing in line waiting to overpay for breakfast somewhere else (and probably still are), I just checked out my new Ferndale fave for brunch! It was fantastic! Try the breakfast pizza for sure, and the Ferndale experience omelet. You can get bottomless mimosas and bloody Mary’s here too!

So Maria’s started their brunch service this past Sunday and let me tell you, I loved it. The menu was unique and very tasty. I am sorry I didn’t try this place sooner, so now I have twice the reason to come back and try them for dinner.
FYI — Sunday brunch service is 11am to 3pm and features bottomless mimosas. Come on in and try it out.

Let’s just start with that bread loaded with melted butter and garlic Parmesan concoction that is just to delicious for words to explain. A group of us were hungry walking around downtown ferndale craving carbs, we walked in and were seated immediately by the courteous staff there. We ordered two Margherita pizzas, and one with mushrooms and olives. Both were tres delish. Dough was amazingly tasty, and was cooked just right. I felt the Margherita pizza had to much cheese, and wasn’t able to cook as well. Was kind of doughty, but still amazingly tasty. Can’t wait to go back!

Okay… this is seriously the best Italian food I’ve had in Michigan!
Let’s start with the bread… OMG…it’s light and fluffy, and you can literally eat 10 loaves and not notice a thing until you’re finished with dinner a few hours later. We ordered a side of marinara to dip it in, and it made it extra delicious!
For the entrée, I ordered the pesto tortellini. It’s a cheese tortellini with creamy pesto sauce… this deserves another OMG… I’ve seriously been having dreams about when I’ll get to have this pasta again… not anytime soon, because Ferndale is somewhat of a drive from where I am… but I’m going to find a weekend to squeeze it in!
Just a heads up… make reservations, especially Fri/Sat…we just walked in and had to wait about 30 – 45 minutes… but it’s cool because the Oakland is literally next door and you can pass the time with some yummy drinks.

From start to finish, Maria’s Front Room wowed me.
First, let me join the chorus on the bread. It comes to you freshly baked and doused in butter. My friend and I polished off TWO loaves with our meal.
I had a chicken dish with a lemon butter sauce that was so rich and delicious, I am salivating just thinking about it. My friend ordered Chicken Parmesan, which was cheesy and delicious.
To say the least, we were both STUFFED by the end of the meal, and had to pass on desserts! The table behind us (a woman with 3 kids, who was treating the outting like a field trip/​learning experience, which was adorable to witness) ordered desserts, and they looked so delicious! Next time, I will have to remember to save room!

Just a quick update to boast about the phenomenal service we had last night from Rachel. She was warm and endearing and helpful offering advice on her top five favorites at Maria’s. I tried the Pollo con Asparagus this time… chicken cutlet in a garlic parmesan cream sauce laid over linguine and topped with asparagus spears. As she mentioned it was very simple but I liked it very much. My very special lady had the Chicken Marsala and loved it too. BTW the patio front or back was a great seating option for the beautiful weather but fair warning, the tables were a little wonky FYI.

We came here for my husband’s birthday dinner and we weren’t terribly disappointed lol. You can see where this is going. I started off with the Caprese Salad. I love, love, love this but NOT this one. The tomatoes had ZERO flavor.ZERO. I was so disappointed. I did however, LOVE the huge loaf of buttery, garlic bread that they bring to your table. That made up for the Caprese. I then had the Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions. Delicious! My husband got the Spaghetti Puttanesca. He is a bit finicky about his pasta and prefers Angel Hair… did this place have it? No. What Italian restaurant doesn’t offer Angel Hair? So he was bummed but ate it anyway. A tad too spicy. I had to deal with his heartburn throughout the rest of the night-​lucky me! The service was great, the ambiance cozy and dark. All in all, we had a great night.

Ferndale’s diverse restaurant district features few multiples, but Italian restaurants are well-​represented by the noisy patio or expansive family dining at Como’s, and the intimate, quieter interior of Maria’s Front Room. They bring entirely different experiences to the fore, united by a common heritage of tomato sauces and al dente pasta.
Maria’s specializes in pasta and traditional Italian entrees, served up with positively addictive crusty bread that disappeared within minutes of appearing on our table. You could order an appetizer and snack all night on that bread without guilt, it’s that good. The usual pasta suspects are on hand — baked cannelloni and ravioli, lasagna — and favourite entrees like the moist chicken parmigiana and chicken piccata in two different styles that fellow reviewers praised highly. The beau steered towards lasagna, his favourite yardstick by which to measure an Italian joint’s praises; I went for the chicken piccata.
Waiting for your meal is easy in the intimate, romantically lit interior. The quiet ambiance is great for a date night or just a quiet evening with your loved ones, a far cry from the bright, karaōke-​laden razzle-​dazzle of Como’s. Earth tone walls and padded seats go very well with the selection of wines; I think I went with a lambrusco that mellowed me out handsomely. The bar towards the back carries an array of wines; they also serve cocktails, if memory serves right, though I would honestly go down the street to the Oakland to put your name on the list before dinner.
The chicken piccata I received was all right, not sensation but perfectly acceptable. The lemon and olive oil sauce ensured the meat stayed moist, but a few more capers and more herbs would have been welcome. I found the sauce fairly mild, not quite as citrusy or as flavourful as I would have liked. The meat was less memorable than the veggies it was served up with, which I nibbled down in fairly record time in spite of myself. The accompanying noodles were also tender without being mushy, though a little bit on the chewy side. I can forgive them because they reheated like a charm the next day.
The beau’s lasagna was impressive in size, and he managed to get through two-​thirds before admitting defeat. The pasta sauce was enriched by a lot of tomato and just a whisper of something underneath; Worcestershire sauce? I can’t say what, but there’s something giving an additional kick.
Maria’s is not an everyday night out place for us, the average entrees running about $ 14 to $ 20 each. The romantic ambiance definitely gives Maria’s an edge in Ferndale, where fewer establishments have that relaxed and intimate atmosphere.

Let me start by saying the food should get a 4 star but I am subtracting 1 star for not having a wheelchair accessible bathroom, and another star for a ranch and no heat incident.
I met two friends here for a girls night out. I ordered the chicken diablo which was pretty good except it tasted like it had alot of oil/​butter in it, but it was edible. I love the fresh warm bread they bring out to your table… very good! My friend ordered a shrimp primavera dish and the other friend ordered chicken parm.
My friend that had the chicken parm said they chicken was wayyyyy too thick. It looked like it had been pumped up on hormones a few times. My friend that had the shrimp primavera said it was delicious. So I guess it depends on how much seasoning/​butter/​oil you like in your food.
They have a few seats as a bar, there are no lower seats for wheelchair seating. The tables are very close together because of the small space of the restaurant. Our waitress was trying to clean up the table next to ours when she dropped an entire bowl of ranch dressing and it went all over my friends suede coat, in the hair of my other friend and a small amount on my shirt. She apologized and brought us a dirty rag from the back to wipe ourselves off. We didn’t let it ruin our night but I thought they could have compensated us with something. The owner and the waitresses are all nice there and I appreciate a nice hostess.
Since we were still there near the end of the night they had turned off the electric heaters, I guess to encourage us to move along. We hadn’t recognized it was 10 mins past their closing time until we all grabbed for our coats to keep warm.
Overall, the food is ok but I was soemwhat disappointed in a few events that happened like the ranch and no heat!

I had been to Maria’s under the previous ownership– and was mostly happy until they put canned mushrooms on my chicken marsala.
I’ve been a few times now under new ownership, and I can attest to the food being quite good. The bread that they bring out before your meal is highly addictive. They have a nicely balanced menu of Italian dishes — although I feel their appetizer menu is lacking a bit. The house salad is a bed of greens with cranberries, blue cheese and walnuts — quite fab. The wine list has something for everyone. Portions are also large and hot!
The only inconsistency I’ve experienced is with service. I definitely get good service more often than bad, but it would be unfair to say that it’s been consistenly great.
I’ll be back.