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Mama Santa Restaurant & Pizzeria
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
25 reviews for Mama Santa Restaurant & Pizzeria
I can't believe two things about fellow Yelpers' reviews of Mama Santa's.
Firstly, the antipasto salad. Come on. They have been making this simple yet scrumptious salad forever, and it still rocks. The secret must be the vinaigrette, which I believe they make. I've eaten two by myself at one meal (happened to be my birthday, so I was entitled). It has meats, cheeses, olives, tuna and comes with their great bread. You wouldn't go to the Louvre and skip the Mona Lisa, would you?
Secondly, 2.5 stars average? The food here is excellent. I concede the canned mushrooms, but the sauce, the crust and the meat toppings are killer. If there is a Cleveland style pizza (and I don't think there is) this would be it. I have never had a bad meal here - been going my whole life (and my parents started going when college students before I was born). The soups, pastas - in fact everything I've had here has been good, but the antipasto and pizza are what make it a must stop when I'm back in Cleveland.
This is the epitome of a family (owned, run, friendly) pizza place. The worst thing I can criticize - parking isn't the easiest. I've copped to nostalgia influencing my reviews in the past, but this one stands on its own. If you don't like it, that might say more about you than about Mama Santa's.
They burn pizza like nobody' s business! Seriously, i think all the Mama bashing is a bit much. The pasta fagioli is hearty. The drinks are affordable. The atmosphere is cozy and basement-ish(like Polish Village in Detroit-that's not a bad thing). And one of the people burning the pizzas back in the day used to be a dj from the Chamber. I guess that last tidbit was pretty useless. Also, my mom used to wash dishes here when she was fresh off the boat back in the 70's. So at least the dishes were clean three decades ago.
It's cheap,casual and homey. Good enough for me and adds some authenticity to the high falootin' yuppified neighborhood. I'm gonna pop in on Columbus Day and get a burnt pie, yum!
Canned mushrooms. If you love canned mushrooms, then this is your place. Having heard this place dishing out some of the best pizza in Cleveland (seriously, are these people who have never tasted pizza before?), I jumped at the opportunity to try Mama Santa's during a recent trip to Little Italy. Can't complain with service, as we were seated right away, but the pizza ... hmm ...
The crust is a thin-crust, which I prefer, so points there. But, the crust was lacking flavor. Seeing that our pizzas came out with burnt edges, I was expecting a wood fired, smokey flavor. Nope, just a charred, burnt flavor. At one point, the crust was reminiscent of that rectangular slice of pizza we'd get on Fridays during elementary school. And, that's not a good thing. Eek!
The sauce was okay, maybe homemade. But, when I saw those CANNED mushrooms on my pie, I took back any thought that their sauce might be homemade. I also got pepperoncini on my pizza, which was good, but for the wrong reason. They were crazy spicy, which I love, and helped drown out the lackluster crust and ... well, those canned mushrooms.
If you're looking for great pizza on the east side, don't miss Geraci's Restaurant. My photos & review: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Family in town for graduation, and was bumming around Little Italy one afternoon... being unfamiliar with restaurants in the area, I tried this place. Big mistake, unfriendly staff, hole in the wall atmosphere (which I don't mind as long as food is good), and crappy pizza. Seriously. Canned mushrooms, bad crust? No thanks.
Mama Santas:
What a place! What a woman! My date of course...ah what the hell Mama Santa also. This is a classic place and staple of Cleveland's Little Italy area. The pizza is hand made and all of the meat topping (pepperoni / sausage) are extremely fresh. The only drawback is that when it is busy the small dining area can be very loud. A quick recommendation with respect to dining at this place: Once you are finished eating, walk a block and a half up the road and have a fresh doughnut at the sweets stand. Bring back to your dorm room a half a dozen doughnuts for your overweight college roommate and he will leave the room for you and your girl.
I have never completely understood why people go crazy for Mama Santa's. It's cheap yes, which might be why there were only eight olives on my pizza. And yes, they were even the garden variety from a big tin can. The crust, depending on the day, can be cardboard like ....
I have had some good times here with a cheap carafe of wine and/or the mock sangria and then pizza then was a-ok, but hey, I was drunk. And with good friends. The pizza did not the good time make!
I had the best lunch here - pizza and spaghetti - a few years back and have tried to go back since but always hit during their vacation :(. I prefer NY style (thin) pizza and this was more doughy but I really liked it. Very old school, great atmosphere.
People in Cleveland don't know how pizza is supposed to taste, that is why everyone loves this place. There is an older guy who worked there who has a terrible disposition. He thinks he was a big shot. Do not like him at all. I never will return because the pizza is garbage. Plus this old guy is a complete clown who does not deserve my business.
Horrible experience. Having tried some of the other Little Italy restaurants, I figured I'd come here for some cheap pizza and italian appetizers. Walked out angry...
Let me start out by saying that it's clear this place's specialty is pizza, and that's really what we wanted. Maybe it's a unspoken rule that you must order to-go and call ahead for the pizza, but that's definitely a well kept secret. So when we sat down to order pizza, she told us that "it would take too long" and asked us to order something
Atmosphere: Not wanting to take out (only can afford / make it to Little Italy so often) we wanted to sit down in the dining room. We got lucky, because there's normally a long line down a crowded hallway, but they were able to sit us right down. Unfortunately they then sat down a table with numerous children pretty much right next to us, making enjoying the dinner hard.
Food: Tasted like frozen food heated up. No non-red sauces for pasta. Pasta was watery. Bread was cold (?)
Not so good.
UPDATE
============
I finally got Mama Santa's pizza and I'm definitely feeling the place much more then I was after eating in. Delicious crust, a lot of cheese and pretty good sauce. Large Cheese = $6.
Still, it's clear that this is a cheap option. Toppings are sparse when you add them and the sausage didn't taste great. Just get the cheese and deal with the fact that this place isn't anywhere as nice as the other places in Little Italy. Don't go for eat in.
Growing up in the 70's as a person of color, Shatangi was taught to avoid Little Italy because it was "dangerous". Nothing could keep me from Mama Santa's when I discovered it in the 80's. Incredible pie mad in an ancient oven. Looks almost burnt but tastes the best in C-town that i've had. NY stylee yo
Shatangi told you
Shatangi, sometime I need to tell you my Little Italy New Year's Eve story, when the house we were partying in was stormed and literally trashed by angry local "utes" because we dared have people of color at our party in "their" neighborhood.
That being said, I did enjoy pizzas here but not much else.
Wow...since I've moved to the west side...I gotta say I miss this place. Weird thing is I originally thought their pizza was only OK and just went there cause it was cheap....that all changed when I found the key topping that I seem to have trouble finding at other pizza joints...the pepperoncini pepper....mmm so goooood. NOT a banana crappy pepper..these have way more kick and lack that bad pickle taste...anyway..I digress.
GOOD STUFF: The Pepperoncini and Pepperoni large pizza please, to go. Cheaper than most other pizza places. Cool location in Little Italy so you can walk around before and after.
BAD STUFF: The wait....lines can be outrageously long at times...given that the interior is nothing special I advise to take away rather than eat there.
PRICE: cheap, even for pizza
OVERALL: Still my favorite pizza place in Cleveland. I don't get it as much now that I live on the west side. If you like spicy pizza toppings definitely check out the pepperoncini at Mama Santa...you won't be disappointed. (minus one star for the wait)
I honestly don't understand why people think this place is so wonderful. It's the most overrated pizza in Cleveland. Our pizza came to us burnt, it was even black in places. We were told we should have ordered it "undercooked". I didn't know you had to tell someone to cook a pizza properly. On top of that the service tends to be very brusque, indifferent, even borderline rude. Topped with the fact they tried to overcharge my debit card. I know prices are cheap here, but there's much better pizza and service to be found in Little Italy.
One of my favorite places to eat in Cleveland. Pizza and fake Sangria are a great combination and incredibly cheap.
Get extra sauce on the pizza. The cheese is supposed to be caramelized. Best sauce on a pizza ever.
THE UP-SIDE:
If not the best pizza in Cleveland, a close second.
THE DOWN-SIDE:
No frills and rushed, impersonal service. Weird, old people hours.
THE SUM-IT-UP:
This place is a must if you are in Little Italy. Go for the pizza but don't expect any added bonus.
the pizzas are good here--still not new york style, but good. pretty thin crust, better than most you'd get in california fo sho. the best part was our server, I believe her name was amy. Super friendly, and knew the menu. easily accommodated our 12 person party that came in just before the 11 pm closing of the kitchen. she was super tired, but was still very friendly and gave us lots of great advice about what to order, including the hand made pastas, and of course the pizza.
I always just get a cheese to test how close to a Ny style they are, but we also ordered a pizza with everything, and they were both good. good crust texture and taste, good sauce, good cheese ratio.
The pasta, while being fresh, was a little bland though. I got the homemade spaghetti which was very thick, but the marinara sauce was pretty bland, and the noodles could have been more chewy.
I guess I like this place cause I went here throughout high school and then when I was at Case. The pizza is solidly good and they have pasta and other choices. It is a local institution. A bunch of friend were here late one night and we spontaneously decided to drive to New York for the July 4th weekend, so It will always be memorable.
WOW was there a huge line when I got to this place. The line was awful, hot and crowded. The waitresses were splendid but I'm marking them down for the food. The pizza is not great, I think even Pizza Hut has better pizza that this. Like a previous post mentioned, they use something that resembles canned mushrooms on their pizzas. I was not expecting that at all and was extremely disappointed. The canned mushroom taste does not go well with pizza. We also got the pesto w/ noodles that are said to be homemade. They reminded me of gnocchi, wasn't anything special. Some people say this place is popular cause it is cheap,,,,, but I don't think it is THAT cheap. I do wonder how the pizza gets rated the best. They get their bread from Presti's that they serve here which taste good. Bottom line I would not come back. i think I can whip something up my self that would be better [and i can't cook!]
never understood why this place has such a reputation. it's just boring, flabby pizza. sort of like my first (and lasting) impression of cleveland - nothing good, nothing bad, just sort of OK. i have no idea why people go bonkers or wait in line for this stuff other than it's cheapness. the pasta is especially boring.
if you do go, it's definitely better to get takeout - otherwise you will end up taking the greasy pizza smell home with you.
God awful.
Shut down by the health inspector for several months a number of years ago, and it came as no surprise to me. I have literally never understood the praise heaped upon this restaurant. It is routinely the 'best pizza in Cleveland' winner of various sites/magazines.
Yes, they are pretty cheap. So is dog food.
Dirty, crowded, burnt or generally unpleasant food, poor service, its really got the works. Once my water glass was even jagged on the top; luckily I noticed before slicing my face up. Infection is guaranteed at Mama's!
And yet inexplicably it seems everyone else in Cleveland loves it!
They have decent pizza here, and the antipasto salad is pretty good. They put tuna in the salad instead of anchovies, which I'm told by Sicilian-Americans, is a no-no, but they'll gladly substitute or add anchovies for free.
Pizza is yummy. Pasta is average for being in Little Italy. Nice little joint to stop in for lunch.
Wow. I had some really bad luck here the last time I visited.. The pizza did not look burnt...it was absolutely burnt...as was our garlic bread-( both times our rather clueless server brought it out). Salad greens were a touch less than fresh. I'm not much of an in-house complainer...but when I asked for food that wasn't so burnt, the server and her manager were really rude.Granted, it's cheap....but definitely not worth what I paid for it. I remember really liking the pizza years ago- don't know if it was a really, really off day or maybe has just gone downhill. Anyhow, won't be back any time soon.
good pizza at a great price. Nothing to special on the inside but a decent atmosphere. Take away is a good idea as lines can get pretty long.
an average place. nothing outstandingly bad. not exceedingly the best either. but it's still okay.
