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Mama Mia Italian Ristorante
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:30 am - 12 am
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 1 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
41 reviews for Mama Mia Italian Ristorante
Review Highlights
41 reviews in English
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Review from Peter C.
Hollywood, FL
11/28/2011
This is one of our favorite local Italian restaurants. Good atomsphere. Good service. Good food. Hits all the catagories that matter to me.
We love the intimate atomsphere, and the service is always attentive. It's a great kick-off spot for a date.
We started with Calamari A La Palermo. It was almost an accident because we wanted the regular Fried Calamari. The difference is the spicy batter; both my wife and I now prefer this version.
The complimentary dinner rolls were hot and tasty. We had both the regular and garlic versions.
I had the night's special (can't remember the name). It resembled the Mozzarella Caprese, except it's served over three patties of chicken parm.
The veal parm was very good too. The crust was light, crispy, and flavorful. The veal was very tender. The portion was insane! This particular dish lasted two more meals.
Sure, it's a bit commercialized & Americanized, and we do go elsewhere if we wanted something more authentic. The place is a great people perch next to Young Circle; and with good service, dinners have always been enjoyable.
I always thought the food is a bit over-prized, but the portions are huge and they do offer certificates online. -
Review from Jadine R.
2/4/2012
I was not impressed by the ambiance nor the food of this place.
First of all, I got some mixed sense of what type of restaurant it was. It had some outdated 80's retro decor mixed with Italian themed decor along with "trying to be cool happening place but wasn't" decor....Second, it took forever for our waiter to finally realize that we existed. I think we waited more than 20 minutes to order our food. Already, our first experience was off to a bad start. I also had the impression that this was a nice restaurant. There were families there that looked like they walked in straight from the beach, mind you we were there in the evening for a nice dinner. So that threw me off too. What kind of restaurant is this??? I was again confused by the type of restaurant this was.
The food was okay. The dishes looked better than they tasted. At the end of the night I regretted choosing this restaurant. There were so many others we could have chosen and yet we chose this one. It was a sad night for me. -
Review from Shradha A.
Chicago, IL
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
We had made a reservation for 5 to dine at Mama Mia Friday night. We still had to wait 15 minutes to get a table. Our server seemed new and inexperienced and quite nervous.
To cut to the chase, the food was very A-OK - it reminded me of college cafeteria food. By chance, one of the people in our group noticed that all the servers were wearing Sushi Room ties and the two restaurants seemed connected. We asked if we could order off their menu and they said yes. I have a separate review for the sushi rolls.
Before I close here though, I do want to recognize them for one thing - the worst tiramisu I've ever had! -
Review from Randi M.
Canyon Country, CA
2/7/2012
I love this place. Every time I go to S. Fl, I go here. The food is so good and so reasonably priced. I love the salad dressing, I always take some back to my house because its that good. The garlic rolls are amazing too. The early bird specials are a great deal. I even had my 40th bday party catered by Mama Mia. So good. Go, you wont be dissapointed.
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Review from Jacq A.
Pompano Beach, FL
1/11/2012
Dining al fresco in downtown Hollywood? Check this out. You gotta pay for parking though, just like everywhere else in downtown Hollywood young circle. I had the cheese platter and a glass of red wine as starter and then ordered risotto which i would rate 6 out of 10. My husband ordered pasta and the sauce is a bit runny. Food is okay, not outstanding but it's not bad. Would I come back? I don't think so.
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Review from Dave G.
9/7/2011
It's been years since I've eaten here although I used to go all time. Mama Mia has gone more upscale in that time. It used to be a more family style red and white checkerboard table cloth kind of place. Now it's white linen with wine glasses already in place before you sit down. At least they've up-scaled the menu to go along with the decor.
The garlic rolls are the same, yea! You don't eff with a good thing and they didn't. Although it contradicts their classy vibe, this would not be a good date spot. You bring a girl here and eat these extra stinky rolls, you ain't making out for a week. On the other hand you are both protected from Vampires, so.....
While the unlimited olive garden like salad has gone by the way side here, the huge portions have not. So if you love leftovers, this is your place. While I went pretty traditional with a baked ziti, my brother did not and ordered the Sunday Gravy. Beef Braciole, Sausage, Meatballs, and Pork ribs in a San Marzano tomato sauce served with a big pile of linguine. The Beef Braciole stole the show. Rather than just a pounded thin flank steak, it was a layer of the most succulent beef that flaked away like a pot roast that had been simmering all day. It was stuffed with a Parmesan cheese/ egg mixture and garlic, then rolled and sliced. It just melted in your mouth, truly a 5 star dish. I asked if you could just order the Braciole, but they said nobody ever ordered it because most people aren't familiar with the dish. Knowing they had a good thing on their hands, they reworked it into the Sunday Gravy rather than giving up on it. The homemade sausage and meatballs were also good, although I wouldn't have minded the sausage spicier. The pork ribs were also fall off the bone. Adding pork to anything is always a great idea.
My baked ziti seamed like it was in a pink sauce rather than just marinara sauce with melted ricotta mixed in. Served i in a huge bowl with lots of melted mozzarella baked to a golden brown on top, it was very good and I didn't come close to finishing it. Also of note was that the Parmesan cheese that they come around and grate on your dish was very aged. It had a nutty quality to it. Since it was so strong, I asked for way too much of it on top of my ziti. There's no such thing really as too much cheese, but the strong flavor really covered up the flavor of the dish. A little warning from our server before I had him cover my 4 year old daughter's pasta with that strong cheese would have been especially helpful.
Now that Mama Mia is back on my radar, I look forward to the next time I'm in town and I can enjoy that 5 star Braciole!! -
Review from Lesley S.
3/10/2011
We hit up this spot before heading out the the club scene. They had so much food that looked amazing that I didn't know what to order.
We started off with the Bruschetta. You can't pass up prosciutto and mozzarella. Love it Love it Love it.
I ordered the Shrimp Absolut Citron linguine. It's basically shrimp with some basil, mozzarella and sauce. It has a hint of citrus flavoring.
The staff was great and I loved the restaurant as a whole. It was definitely good times with good friends. -
Review from Michael J.
Miami, FL
10/7/2010
After walking around Young Circle, enjoying a beautiful night with friends and family, we followed up on our reservation: dinner, for 5, at Mama Mia.
I was a bit uncomfortable at first, considering I had to sit at the outer edge of a 4 person table, but when the garlic rolls 'rolled' in, I made haste to forget about it. The garlic rolls were fresh out of the oven, doused in buttery splendidness, and powered, lightly, with cheese. I simply could not get enough!
Our server was very nice, polite and concise. He made sure to fill our glasses to the brim whenever necessary, but still gave us room to socialize.
It was rather disappointing, however, when I asked for a Peroni (common Italian beer) and was informed that they don't serve that kind of beer. Instead, I was given something that was supposed to be 'similar' but turned out to be bland, and really uninteresting. So uninteresting, in fact, that I forgot the name.
I ordered a Chicken Francese (my favorite Italian meal), sipped on my beer, and stuffed my face full of garlic rolls for about 35 - 40 minutes until my meal arrived...
Absolutely fantastic! The chicken was succulent and as "lemony" as I had hoped. I couldn't help but make short work of it, and moved on to the included pasta (I always eat in a very organized matter, one thing at a time). The pasta was magnificent!
All in all, Mama Mia is a great, not so pricey, Italian restaurant with a decent variety of options. Just don't plan on taking a trip here for drinks or excessively good times. Save it for the family time and casual meetings. -
Review from Jax W.
Brooklyn, NY
12/7/2010
This place is spot on for 'omg I've got to take my whole family and all my cousins somewhere to eat' Dragged the family plus cousins here while in town, luckily this place is not cheesy. I'd like to thank them restaurant owners for two large plasma TVs that kept the kids busy with the Simpsons. While normally I don't like cartoons playing while having dinner, this was a dinner to avoid any, 'I don't want to eat moments'
Anyway, I got the grilled salmon with the grilled veggies, it was nice. Not the best, but it was nice. The rest of the family liked their lasagna, pizza and other pastas.
Oh and they give you a mega plate of garlic bread on the house- which you can gorge yourselves on pre-meal.
Overall, a good spot- good family spot and very family friendly. -
Review from Lisa A.
11/13/2010
Let's keep this simple, shall we?
Garlic rolls- Badass
Calamari- Crispy, sea creatures sent from heaven.
Eggplant parm- HUGE portion!
Staff- Hit or miss, I've had good servers and I've had poor servers.
Overall, I love this place. I miss it's sister location that used to be out in Davie, however the Hollywood location serves up some mean Italian food. -
Review from Ivana O.
Miami, FL
8/5/2011
For Mother's Day I took my parents for a nice Sunday brunch. The staff was very pleasant and the food that we ordered was abundant and very delicious. I ordered chicken parm. Chicken was tender, juicy and very tasty. Pasta that came with it was equally delicious. My parents were very satisfied (and even my dad who is hard to please with any kind of non-homecooked-meal deal). We left with full tummies and happy faces.
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Review from Brenna M.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
5/14/2011
Came here with about 20 friends for happy hour and had a great time...not sure the regular patrons loved our presence since we were probably a little rowdy, but the staff treated us well and the drinks kept coming. We hung out in the bar area the whole time and enjoyed 3 for 1 drinks and 2 for 1 appetizers. I loved the Roma Pizza appetizer. Would definitely like to come back for a more quiet dinner sometime.
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Review from WENDY S.
Plantation, FL
8/31/2010
Wow! What a different experience I had then the last review on 8/28!
We went on 8/24, a Friday night around 7:30 pm with a party of 6. I have eaten there for lunch (a lot) about 2 years ago, and it was never more than mediocre. What a change! I understand the management changed and it is reflected in the food accordingly- great!
We ordered the edename (not something I like, but everyone else said it was good), shrimp tempura which had a great light cream sauce ,(they are also attached to an Sushi restaurant, so offer Italian and Japanese/Thai), the fabulous shrimp and calamari in a spicy red sauce (I will never order fried calamari with marinara sauce again). It was lightly fried shrimp, and calamari that was then tossed in a rich, spicy tomato sauce - simple yet great flavors.
And let me give a special shout out for the most incredible truffle bread I have ever tasted. Freshly baked Italian bread, drizzled while hot with white truffle oil. People who love truffles will drool, people who do not will not eat it. Personally, I could have just eaten that and gone home.
The wines by the glass were good, the portions huge - easily sharable with at least 1 other person. In the case of the manicotti, 3 people shared it. We also tried the beef tartare, which was excellent and plated well, and the shrimp with pasta in a lemon vodka sauce.
We were all full and happy, but shared a dessert of fried banana tempura, another light, very flavorful dish.
Our service was good and consistent. We were inside, next to a window, and the server made sure we always had water, wine. The manager came over and asked how things were ging and he continued to talk to regulars and new people with the same ease. Very welcoming. The decor is old fashioned, but the food is very good.
So after a 2 year hiatus, I will definitely be going back! The truffle bread is calling me now...... -
Review from David W.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
7/13/2011
Great food and huge portions, plus its on Youngs Circle! Classy traditional atmosphere.
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Review from Bernardo A.
Hollywood, FL
7/16/2009
Disclaimer:
In my book, red-sauce Italian food is, more often than not, a cop-out that allows restauranteurs to serve bad food that appeals to the lowest common denominator.
Mama Mia displays every symptom of a bad "Italian" restaurant. From the chain restaurant type decor to the garlic rolls that taste of nothing and are dripping in cheap olive oil and mounds of garlic, to the over-sized pepper mills. By the way, I have found that the quality of the food served in any restaurant usually is inversely proportionate to the size of their pepper mills. Try it...it works.
To my taste, none of their tomato sauces are fresh. Even their marinara sauce, which should be fresh and zippy tastes like bolognese sauce without the meat. To me, it tastes like they use the exact same sauce for all their red-sauce dishes.
Nothing new or different in their menu. They are going for tried and true "classics"...the way The Olive Garden does. They do however offer free Italian lessons with every meal. I learned from our waitress that bruschetta is pronounced with a "sh" sound instead of the "k" sound that made me look like a country bumpkin.
The food at Mama Mia is mediocre and generic. There's nothing Italian about it except for the name. Still, people flock to it on weekends because it appeals to the lowest common denominator. I recommend their Anything Parmesan with extra mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese on top and some extra red sauce on the side to dip your super garlicky garlic rolls in. -
Review from Simona S.
Manhattan, NY
1/13/2009
It really is as good as it gets... for what you're paying. If you come here before 6:30, prepare yourself for a laminated menu or items ranging from $7.95 to $12.95 or so which includes soup or salad (GET THE SALAD, THEN BRING A CONTAINER SO YOU CAN STEAL THE DRESSING!), entree, dessert, and tea or coffee.
Oh! And garlic bread! That's quite a steal, you can't even get a deal like that at Olive Garden, the sweat shop of "Italian Food."
Service really was great, our waitress was super nice and could keep up with our group and two very specific orders. She had a good sense of humor and seemed sincere and genuinely interested in our thoughts about our meal.
I got the eggplant rollatini which came in a wonderful sauce and was really quite good. I was told the chicken parmigiani was terrific along with the giant meatball. The fam told me they come here all the time and it's always consistently good.
It's not mind-blowingly amazing, but in these economic times, who doesn't want to leave with a fully belly for MAYBE $15?
PS- I was serious about the container. They have awesome salad dressing. -
Review from Nydia C.
3/23/2009 1 photo
Have you ever wondered what mozzerella sticks would look like if they were jumbo size? Ok, me neither, but I found out during a trip to Mama Mia! I went here for dinner with a friend who was visiting. We'd been drinking and didn't want to drive anywhere so we chose Mama Mia. I almost decided against going here because I'd been here once before and I remember their pizza (I think that's what I got) wasn't all that great, however we wanted some italian food so we gave it a shot and I'm glad we did.
Needless to say we ordered the mozzerella sticks as an appetizer which were huge (see pic). Granted there were only 3 but they were really big and tasty. We also ordered the Chicken Parmesan which was very good as well. I wish I'd taken a picture of that too because it was a big portion. I ended up having leftovers the next day.
Anyway, the food was good so I'll definitely be back here, especially since it's right around the corner from me.Listed in: Hollywood Hangouts!
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Review from Cherine A.
Coconut Creek, FL
2/18/2010
I came here the other night for my friend's birthday dinner, for a group of 8 people. We were seated once everyone in our party arrived, and had to squeeze between tables since they seem to be so tightly packed together. But our table was in the corner, so we didn't feel squished.
Our waiter took our drink orders, and looked a little upset when we didn't order any actual beverages, just water. What can I say, we're a healthy bunch! He was a good server though - always made sure our waters were filled, and very prompt when we asked for anything. We started off with the garlic rolls, which were some of the better rolls I've had in Italian places down here. I tried to stop at one, and failed. When it came time to place our orders, our waiter told us we could add a salad to our entrees for $1.95, so 6 out of 8 of us did that. Then when he brought the salads, he had brought out two extra, and just told us to keep them for free. I had the caesar salad, which was quite good - they didn't skimp on the dressing, which had a slight zing to it, and the lettuce was fresh.
For my entree, I ordered the manicotti, which was brought out on a GIANT platter (the kind of platter usually reserved for the Thanksgiving turkey at our house). The manicotti was one very large, long piece. It would have fed three people. Needless to say, most of it came home with me. My dining companions ordered lasagnetti with sausage, chicken parm, chicken stuffed with risotto, pork chops, steak, veal parm and baked ziti, and we were all happy with our selections.
Since it was my friend's birthday, they brought a chocolate mousse cake with a sparkler in it for dessert. I'm not a chocolate mousse cake fan, but it was good for what it was. Like everything else, the slice was gigantic, and we only finished it because all 8 of us dug in.
Oh, a note about parking: there are very few spaces in the front, and a valet. If you don't want to valet your car (and we didn't), just drive around the corner to Van Buren St. and park on the street by Kindred Hospital. There are street meters there, and it's a short walk to the restaurant.
Overall I really liked this place. I enjoyed my food, the service and the company, and walked out paying only $20 for my meal and a portion of the birthday girl's meal as well. Not bad at all :) -
Review from David G.
Miami Beach, FL
8/5/2009
I was a little scared when we walked in for dinner tonight. The place smelled. It's hard to describe, maybe like melted cheese in a bus tub. There's nothing that bothers me more than a smelly restaurant.
The menus we received were wet. The second thing that freaks me out is being given wet anything at a restaurant. What kind of wet is it? Where did it come from?
Well we wiped off the menus and I got over it though I really should have just walked out on principle. The restaurant looks nice inside, however.
First off, this isn't fine dining as much as it wants to be. It's simply a pretty normal place to have dinner. Every time I've eaten here, I've enjoyed my food. This is not the place to try to find Wild Mushroom Truffle Risotto or anything. This is where you have a good Chicken Alfredo or Spaghetti Bolognese, or in my case tonight, the Pasta Fagioli soup and then Shrimp Absolut Citron with Fettuccine. Gordon Ramsay would be appalled. However, you don't have to be.
6 large pieces of shrimp in a vodka sauce with basil and melted cheese. Shrimp cooked well. Sauce: tasty and replete with orange and lime flavoring. Think about it: a place that puts a brand name vodka on their food menu... well you get it, right? Maybe some of the stuff came from a can. My friend commented that his Alfredo Sauce tasted like something he had from Publix.
"Is it good?" I asked.
"Yes, it's fine."
Of course there are better Italian places around but if I survey the Hollywood restaurant landscape, this place is a decent choice. You can do worse.
P.S. The smell went away. -
Review from Jeff K.
Winter Springs, FL
6/10/2011
Not at all good. Wife had some overcooked overpriced fish dish "the special" that tasted like it went from freezer to microwave to table. My overcooked lasagna had some sort of beef and filler digest in for the meat that tasted like it came from tacobell. Terrible!
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Review from Milan S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
10/25/2009
"4th generation Italian-American food"
I'm no critic on any interior of a restaurant, unless it's completely broken down (no really). The feel of the restaurant is like walking into a retail carpet store.
And I thought I'd give the place a shot after one of the hostess made a a pleasant introduction, so we were escorted inside the bright magic red carpet and sat by the window.
I already knew that this place was nowhere near authentic, especially when you name an Italian restaurant "Mama Mia" you know it's nothing above average . That's 4th generation cuisine at its finest folks.
We both ordered Chicken Parmesan. Our food came and the portions were huge (no surprise). We both thought it satisfying, though when your hungry anything taste good. But we didn't have the munchies. -
Review from Ashley M.
11/4/2009
I know this review is very long, but I have a strong opposition to this restaurant and feel it should not be open with the horrible service they have employed. This restaurant needs a complete overhaul to be presentable, and I have voiced my dismay at this establishment throughout South Florida.
We have visited Mamma Mia's twice, both times with a different server, and both times the server was extremely pushy - telling us what to order, how to order, when to order and what we weren't ALLOWED to order per her standards. The first time we visited, we wrote it off as a bad server and the food was excellent. The second time, we wrote it off as a bad restaurant, and the food followed suit - completely night and day, flavourless and no presentation when the first time was so lovely.
We ordered an antipasto appetizer (which BOTH servers almost begged us not to order - telling us our meals come with salad so why do we want an appetizer??), lobster bisque (which I will come to in a moment on quality, however BOTH servers also tried to get us to share the soup when we clearly ordered two bowls??), and two entrees.
FIRST EXPERIENCE:
The antipasto was wonderful, arrived as expected and all items were fresh. The lobster bisques arrived in delicious italian bread bowls, and was hands down the BEST lobster bisque we had in our lives - including against the real thing in Boston. I ordered a stuffed sole entree with angel hair pasta - to die for. My husband ordered a veal parmesan with linguine - was a bit dry and somewhat flavourless, but since the other food was so amazing, we didn't seem to notice his meal wasn't too good.
In this first experience, the server fought with us every step of the way when ordering. She tried to persuade us not to order the appetizer, not to order the lobster bisque, we wanted to order two of the stuffed sole - but she wouldn't let us, telling us we had to have two different entrees and how could we order the same thing?? We didn't budge on the appetizer or the lobster bisque, but we did give in on the entrees ( A HORRIBLE IDEA, my husband would have enjoyed the meal much better had we both ordered the fish ). Overall, we let the lobster bisque and my meal (which we ended up sharing and throwing away the veal parmesan) shine as they rightly should have, and were excited to return.
SECOND EXPERIENCE:
We arrived, horrified to see the same waitress in the restaurant. We breathed a sigh of relief when another woman came and introduced herself as our waitress. However the relief was gone once she asked us for our drink order, as we requested to order the antipasto and two lobster bisques to start. She asked right away if we would be ordering entrees, when we said yes, she then started to try and talk us out of the soups and appetizer!!! I should have walked out immediately, but I was so looking forward to the food that I tried to not let the ridiculous service both me. We were extremely firm with this waitress, but she still told us that she wasn't going to come back to take our entree orders until we had finished the appetizer and soups??? I just said okay to get her away from the table.
Our antipasto arrived first, with the presentation and taste exactly the same as expected. The night was off to a good start. But then the lobster bisques arrived. The first horror was that they were suddenly served in metal bowls instead of the wonderful bread bowl. We asked what happened, but the runner didn't seem to know what we were talking about. Upon opening the small bowls (they were cast-iron with lids), I was astonished to see a runny, thin mess. Nothing like the deliciously rich bisque we had tried just weeks prior. I tasted it, hoping it would taste the same, but it tasted just as bad as it looked. No flavour what-so-ever. Dismayed at what just happened, we decided to forget about the $10 a bowl soup and order our entrees.
We had to literally call the waitress to order our entrees, and again fight to order. It seems that the stuffed sole was only a special, therefore I settled with the stuffed shrimp and my husband ordered lasagna. Both entrees arrived a little while later, and while the stuffed shrimp was again very good (the stuffing was the same as with the sole) the lasagna was flavourless and less than mediocre.
Overall, the management in this restaurant should take a hard look at the staff they are employing - both in the kitchen and in the dining area. I am amazed that this restaurant has survived this long, and would not be surprised to hear that it does not survive this economy. -
Review from Lola C.
Jamaica Plain, MA
3/3/2011
Went here last night with 3 over-tired and hungry kids, but wishing we could have a 'grown-up' night out. It was a perfect place. The kids had a blast people watching (and dog watching), and the other diners didn't glare at the boys giggling and having fun. The kid menu was very reasonable and the kid portions were huge..one kid chicken parm could of fed all 3 boys. We ate outside, they quickly brought amazing garlic rolls which quieted the 3 beasts. The first visit the service was actually very good, I wasn't sure what all the complaints were about, we loved Oscar, our waiter who had the patience of a saint. The service was pretty lousy the second time we went to Mama Mia's. One example; towards the end of the meal we asked for water...we waited so long for them to come that I went inside to the bar, only to see the waitstaff hanging out yapping away with each other...which wasn't cool as the bus boy told me that the waiter was busy but knew we were still waiting on waters. The bartender (who had nothing else to do) flew into action and brought them out. Not cool Mama Mia!
Wine was big and well earned. And the veal parmagiana....wow. Thakfully we split it, because it was enormous and on the bone, pounded very thin, perfect sauce and cheese...I can't wait to go back there. The only disappointment was the ceasar salad- too much dressing and a horseradish taste (instead of anchovies) I was the only one at the table who didn't like it though.
Everyone left very happy and can't wait to go back. -
Review from Lynne D.
7/5/2009
I've eaten here about 26-30 times since it opened nearly 15 yrs ago.
I've had the seafood salad, the snapper oreganato, meat dishes, soup and salad with the garlic rolls, tiramisu, and other desserts.
I have never-ever been served a bad meal here. Ample portions, great place to sit outside, eat, and watch the people go by, great place to bring friends from out of town, just a great family restaurant..
They put a tarragon flavoured homemade dressing on their salad.. they bring it in a gravy dish. that dressing is sooooooo good, it's even good to dunk the garlic rolls in and chow down.. but don't chow down on the garlic rolls.. leave room for the entree.
The seafood salad is fresh, yummy and full of fresh seafood.
The snapper dish is my very favorite.. mouth watering, melt in your mouth snapper. awesome!!!!
bring the kids, sit outside, enjoy the view!
bring a big appetite too... as the portions are huge!
very reasonable--- competitive with downtown restaurant prices. -
Review from Andrew M.
Stewartstown, PA
4/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Wanted a nice italian resuaturant one night we were down, it was amazing!!!! Wait staff knew what to promote (we were unsure of our wine, waiter selelcted a delicious Pino Blanco for us that was their selection of the month, it was perfect) Food was delicious, big portions but for the price, it was a great value. 1st choice in Hollywood for italian.
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Review from Genevieve M.
Plantation, FL
1/21/2009
The food was delicious!!! The prices were reasonable. The outside dinning was very nice, right on young circle, good people watching area.
I would definitely go here again, although my boyfriend and I were quite put off by the service...it SUCKED!!! We are hoping that was a fluke.
The salad was very good, the garlic bread is super yummy!
Also..be careful ordering a draft beer, we did, and were served a beer (which was about 3/4 head) in a 8 oz. glass. (wtf is that about!?) I think it may have had something to do with our AWFUL server.
get the Provolone Fritta!!!!!!!!!!! -
Review from Alex G.
Broward, FL
8/29/2009
Negatives:
Looks like you stepped into the 80's.
Carpet old and dirty.
Waiters cursing in the back area.
Two ice cubes in my drink.
Place needs to be totally renovated.
Positives:
Manicotti special was huge and tasty.
Fried mozzerella was a great treat. -
Review from Kaffy C.
Jacksonville, FL
8/28/2010
Someone else here commented about the servers & that person was spot on. The staff here is a joke. Terrible, terrible, uninformed & unaware service. Our server tried to be friendly & nice, but completely overlooked the fact that she took terrible care of us. She was pretty clueless about the menu when asked any questions. Took a nice long cigarette break in front of the restaurant while my girlfriends water glass sat totally empty. We sat outside so I was able to also see pretty clearly that she ducked into the bar next door for a minute. Tried to sit inside but there was a very weird smell that I know I could not have dealt with throughout the meal. It was a Saturday night at about 10 and we were happy to find that this place was open late, but could only assume that they sent the good servers home after the rush and that we were dealing with what was left. They all looked pretty haggard.
I had been craving Osso Buco all day so I was pretty excited about finding it here. But as we sat, waterless & ignored, my excitement was fading fast. We had a fried mozz appetizer that the server talked us into that was good, but it's pretty hard to mess that up. I had a glass of Zinfandel that was just fine. But when I ordered it, the server said "white zinfandel?" and when I said no, the red one by the glass, she looked at me with surprise, looked at what I was pointing to on the menu and then back at me as if she never knew another kind existed. Everyone has been raving about these garlic rolls too, but ours were nothing special. It's not even good bread. If you think it's great just because it's slathered in garlic butter, then you will love it.
I was watching the hostess text on her cell phone when another server came outside, stripped off his button down to a t-shirt and lit a cigarette. I guess now he was in his "civilian clothes". Apparently this made it ok for him to sit there and complain to the hostess, loudly, about the other servers and how lazy they were. And to make sure she understood he meant business, he was swearing up a storm. Now, I am no prude. But this was getting ridiculous.
By the time our food came, I had pretty much decided that after everything that I had just witnessed, if it was not pretty damn tasty I was sending it back and walking out. I already felt like we were getting the raw end of the deal, so I was not about to pay $27 for a meal that I was not totally happy with. I was totally convinced after seeing the behavior & attitudes of the service staff that the kitchen must be a total joke. Who the hell was managing this place, after all??
Our server dropped off our food, looked directly at our water glasses and asked if she could get us anything else. I said some water would be nice since they had been empty for about 15 minutes and we were sitting outside in South Florida. So she grabbed a bus boy and sent him back with a pitcher of water.
My girl ordered Chicken Parmesan, which is pretty basic and she said was pretty good. Like I said, I no longer expected much from this Osso Buco, but thank God, it was good! It came with a truffle risotto and it was also tasty. A little softer than it should be, but the flavor was great. Portion was large, flavors were good, and the staff was spared what probably would have been a minor meltdown from the angry lesbian sitting outside.
If the food is good, I am willing to forgive a mountain of sins when it comes to service. One I can not, however, is the empty water glass, especially when my girlfriend was only drinking water. I had a glass of wine, but it's pretty terrible for her to have had to sit outside, in the heat, with an empty glass. There was not even anyone around outside to ask for water, it was like we didn't exist. I could have probably yelled over to the hostess but I guess I just thought that for sure, any minute our server would realize that we may be thirsty or that maybe she should check on us. I really wanted to stiff her on the tip, but I started to feel sorry for her. She was clearly clueless and management didn't care. So I blame them for allowing it. Either they didn't bother to train her, or they were OK with the fact that she was awful. Either way, it's their responsibility. So I left her about a 5% tip. I don't know if she got the hint or just thought we were cheap. -
Review from Matt R.
Los Angeles, CA
7/21/2011
we stopped here after looking for a good italian place to eat at. we ordered the sicilian stuffed peppers. they were too good and we didn't even eat all of it. i ordered the skirt steak and my fiancee ordered the chicken parmigiana. both dishes were really good. really large portions and great service.
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Review from Bryan F.
Cooper City, FL
7/31/2011
This is my new favorite Italian restaurant in Broward County. I cam with a group of 5 and we decided to order a bunch of appetizers instead of entries. we had 6 all together that were just to die for. Delicious soft shell crab lettuce wraps. OMG. We had the calamari that came coated in a delightful sauce and also enjoyed some beef carpacio and prosciutto bruschetta. The big surprise of the night were the Rice Balls. I recommend this meal to anyone. Crispy and soft at the same time with parmesan cheese and a perfect red sauce to go with it. Lobster bisque was served in a crispy bread bowl and rivals any i've ever tried. Garlic rolls are those gooey half baked kind that i love and coated perfectly with garlic and oil. We had a bevy of deserts and shared 4. The owner told us he was bringing us out 4 deserts that were not on the menu in order for our table to try them and tell him what we think. A berry pie and banana boston creme style cake were to die for. The grandma's special was also lemony good. Overall we had a fantastic dining experience and I hope to come again very soon.
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Review from Maya G.
1/15/2010
We have gone to this restaurant many times and we have never had a bad experience. The food is good and the service is friendly. While it is not the best italian I ever had, it is nice to walk downtown and then head to Mama Mia's. I would suggest sitting outside because the table's inside is really close together. They really tried to pack in as many table's as possible, so sometimes you feel like your sitting with the people at the table next to you. The best part of this restaurant is probably location.
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Review from Jessica O.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
12/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
The service was horrible. The food is less than average, the wine was gross and the glasses were dirty! I do not recommend this place and I'll never go back!
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Review from Maria L.
Miami, FL
11/28/2008
Excellent pasta dishes/pizza! Mussels with red wine sauce and garlic galore, yummm.
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Review from Dawen H.
Davie, FL
8/31/2008
Good food, nice waitress, but if you do not go there with 4 or more people with you, you are very likely to be ignored for a long time.
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Review from Victoria P.
Miami Beach, FL
3/20/2010
Great family restaurant, been there many times. The food is very good and portions are huge! If you want a casual family night with great service - go to Mama Mia!
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Review from Carla B.
5/22/2010
I've only eaten here once, but it was late night, yet a good experience. The pasta was very tasty and the servers were nice. Nice atmosphere too. And it's located in the heart of Young Circle.
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Review from Lisa Z.
Stuart, FL
4/20/2009
Mama Mia is a great Italian Restuarant - as someone who will not frequent an Olive Garden for it's fake Italian, mediocre service, employess who do not speak English or Italian for that matter (I could handle that) - Mam Mia is a great place. The few times I've been have been with a big party and a couple of times just my husband and I - but the food never lets you down. Sometimes it does take some time, but if the quality and freshness is there, I can excuse that. I like the idea that my food might not have been sitting in a microwave all day waiting to be served. When in town if the opportunity arises, I enjoy a trip to Mama Mia!
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Review from Shannon P.
Hallandale Beach, FL
2/19/2008
Yummy pasta dishes. Attentive staff, good spot to hit up for lunch.
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Review from Christie B.
Park City, UT
4/3/2008
Okay, so a week of visiting Italian relatives was kicked off at Mama Mias. What a nice surprise! My birthday and 10 of my friends from High School were there to celebrate my day! So wonderful to see them all and break bread and drink wine (or martinis). Great to see Ed, Helen, Lindie, Sue, Barbara R. and Barbara U. Oh, and the place is really fun, too. Good wait staff and good meatballs. Thank you, Barbara, for putting this evening together.
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Review from Kristine S.
Middletown, NY
5/10/2009
Really good salad dressing. I had the tuscan chicken soup which was really good. Nice atmosphere.
