On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Haymarket (Orange)
Aquarium (Blue)
North Station (Orange, Green)
Mon-Thu. 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
The food here is absolutely succulent and delicious. I went during restaurant week and was able to sample an appetizer, entree, and dessert for a lesser price than usual. The appetizer was creative and tasty. It was a salad with a sweet lemon and balsamic vinaigrette topped with pistachios. I wanted much more than was on my plate because it was so good. My entree was a wild bolognese over some thick elbow type noodes. It was so nice and meaty. Nothing makes me happier than a meat sauce and noodles. The best part of the meal was the dessert! I had a strawberry torte pastry thing whose name eludes me but oh my gosh it was amazing and sweet with nice ripe strawberries, a sweet cream and thin flaky crusts. I want return just to enjoy the dessert all over again. This is the best Italian food that I have had in the North End so far.
I was BLOWN AWAY by the food here. Was in Boston for a conference and was taken here for dinner.
First of all, the ambiance was wonderful. I loved the victorian home feel of everything and the lighting was perfect.
Second, the food was fantastic. We started out with a spinach ravioli appetizer which was succulent and melt in your mouth. Next was a wedge salad with an amazing vinagrette and pistachios, followed by my entree of choice, the lobster dumplings. The dumplings were like huge raviolis stuffed with an amazing amount of lobster. The only negative was that I thought the dough around the edges was a little tough, but the filling more than made up for it.
One of the girls joked that we missed the tuna appetizer and the next moment a waiter brought over an entire entree of tuna!! Tasty tasty, though the black noodles I could live without.
The dessert was not too bad. My favorites were the panacotta and the chocolate mousse.
Very Nice North End Restaurant. I went here for work. Nothing really stood out as exceptionally bad. The food was delicious, I had the pork (no not the pasta surprisingly...)
I would recommend, but definitely a date place or even a big group as that worked out well.
Excellent osso buco, over some non-competing greens and smashed potatoes.
I wish I could give it another star. I want to, really I do.
The waiter unceremoniously dumped dessert menus on our table, when we knew we didn't want dessert, and we waited 12 more minutes to get his meager attention for the bill. He ignored my cold and empty coffee cup throughout the meal. I had to ask for refills. To me, that spells sucky service.
The room is subdued and real feeling.
Over the past couple of years, Mamma Maria has gone from being the best food in Boston to mediocre.
We first ate here in January of 2008. It was the best meal, the absolute best meal, that we had ever had this side of the Atlantic. The pesto was to die for! So scrumptious. The beautiful thing is that it is so simple - olive oil, basil, garlic, and really good quality parmesan cheese. It gets its nutty flavor from the cheese - no pine nuts at all!!
Our food was spectacular. I had porcini-flavored pasta - which was so rich and melt-in-your-mouth good. It was in a bolognese sauce that was so creamy and rich. I still dream about that meal!!
Fast forward to more recent times - the pasta dishes are uninspired and basically taste like store-bought boxed pastas. The Bolognese Pasta has gone from porcini-flavored pasta in that delectably rich sauce to a pricey serving of beefaroni.
We had heard that the chef has changed. Regardless, we have been twice since our first succulent meal. We fear it may have been the last time - even though the pesto is fabulous, the atmosphere is quaint and cozy, and the staff are extremely attentive and knowledgeable. Please find your old chef!!
Despite some flaws, I give this restaurant an enthusiastic 5 stars as it is probably one of the best restaurants in the North End. Mamma Maria's is to Italian as L'Espalier is to French fusion. I had been wanting to try Mamma Maria for probably 2 years but the price was always prohibitive. Thank you restaurant week!! For $33 I got three courses (my appetizer and entree alone would have been $45). To start I had oysters florentine, delicious! It had this crazy seaweed on the plate. I asked the waiter what it was and he didn't know so he said he'd ask the chef and he actually did. Second course was the best cod I've ever had in my life on top of scrumptious potatoes. 3rd course was dessert, an amazing peach dish with some type of fluffy pastry surrounding it. The atmosphere is charming and sophisticated. The wait staff is outstanding.
Now for the flaws: When we entered the restaurant my fiance grabbed the railing outside and got tar on his hands, wierd! We then waited over a half hour for a 7pm reservation. We got drinks at the bar but the bartender didn't give us a bill and the hostess said they would transfer them to the table, but that didn't happen. Not sure that's really a flaw for us as we got 2 free drinks out of the deal!
All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant. Outstanding. Go during restaurant week and save a few bucks.
Like most things in the North End, I think the reputation precedes the food.
The ambiance and decor is great. It's cozy, simple, and elegant. It's just what you would expect from a high-end restaurant, that does well, in the North End.
While the food was good; it wasn't great, especially for the price. I got the Lobster dumplings and it was good, but I think the presentation may have been more than the food could live up to. Nothing was really "wowing" about this dish. Simple and good; but nothing took me aback.
Not much else to say really.
REALLY great date spot. I used to come here for the lobster ravioli specifically. I don't think it's on the menu anymore, but it used to be an entree item and I'm sure they will make it for you if you ask. (I did that once and the waiter was very accommodating.)
Mamma Maria attracts an older crowd, but I love the ambiance and the lack of crying babies and screaming children.
It's kind of a walk if you decide to take the T and a cab could get a little expensive. If you enjoy long strolls and it isn't -35 degrees outside, I say walk it!
Interesting experience, is like sitting in someones living room. In my opinion the food was delectable and inventive despite the sub-5star atmosphere..definitely different from your regular Pollo Parmigiana, my boyfriend thought food was a bit too hyped. Great service.
It's a $200 meal if you really get into it, and it's not $200 worth of food. I've eaten here twice now, which means I've tried four entrees, and none of it was impressive enough to warrant this kind of cash. I like eating bunnies as much as the next guy, but I hear they like to fuck, so I don't see why it needs to cost $30 to kill one. Fact is, if you took the bunnies out of that dish it would have been pretty pedestrian. Kirsten's scallops were cooked perfectly, but they're cooked pretty well in my kitchen too.
It's in a house, which gets some people all excited for some reason. Here's what it really means: there's no room near the front door so the few minutes you're standing there while they get ready to show you to your table are very uncomfortable. Waiters are squeezing by you with other peoples' food. (And they have to climb the stairs to the dining room about 1000 times a night, which must get pretty old for them.) And I find the dining room very loud.
It's just not as good as it thinks it is.
This is some of the best italian food I've ever had. The plates were very small and expensive, but so delicious! I had a spinach linguine that was to die for.
One downside was the atmosphere. The restaurant was very cramped and dark. I like candlelight, but not candlenight. I could barely see the rest of my party (aka. two parents).
Other than the darkness, cramped quarters and price, this is a great place for a special occasion dinner (don't forget the heels or ties!)
Fantastic. I was there with the lady and her parents. First time meeting them. I couldn't help but also notice the restaurant. The service was good: when we asked for a quieter table, they accommodated us without difficulty. Everyone seemed to love their dish. My veal chop was perfectly done.
I am a well traveled individual that has been lucky enough to experience great food and great service at all price levels. This, without a doubt, was one of the absolutely, postively worst service experiences I have ever been subjected to in any city at any price point. The fact that we spent almost $200 for dinner only added insult to injury...
.... we waited 15 minutes, yes 15 minutes, for water .. another 5 for bread (after I requested it from the busboy).... the waiter seemed to be one of the most incompetent servers in all of North America and has to be related to the manager, because that is the only way he could have a job there.. we were completely and utterly ignored the entire meal ... it was just inexcusable...
.. The food was good... I do want to be fair.... but the complete lack of service was so profound there was absolutely no way I could give this anything but 1 star...
so came here last night with a friend.
this place was really cute, it looked like a small boutique hotel from the outside but the whole thing is the restaurant. the hostess wasn't the nicest i have met. when someone else asked if we needed our coat checked, he answered no before i had a chance to say anything... that was a bad start.
but everything else went well that night, we started off with the prosciutto and bib salad and it was pretty good (not amazing but pretty decent) oh forgot to mention the spread for the bread was also really good. i liked it a lot, i think it was pesto and garlic and olive? i think.
anyway for entree i got the scallop and my friend got the rabbit pasta. i liked my scallop really fresh and cooked just fine. although it was a little salty but other than that was great. the rabbit was decent. i thought it was very flavorful.
for the wine, we asked the waiter to recommend us a white wine, and he recommended a wine from Nerva, it was really really good, crisp with a little bubbly taste, and it went really well with my scallop i thought.
overall, a decent meal.
I love Italian food. But more than that, I love really, really good Italian food. Mamma Maria serves up some of the best in Boston.
I have been to Mamma Maria for several dinners and a private party and each time the food was amazing. The Osso Buco is to die for.
I really don't have much more to say on this place. Do yourself a favor and visit this restaurant. You will not be disappointed.
A classic Italian establishment in the North End, however, I would pick another spot next time I go into the area.
2 things stuck out in my mind when going here for the first time.
A. Excellent service. Our server was highly educated on the menu from drinks to dessert. He was awesome.
B. the Rabbit dish!!! It was soooooooooo good. So much flavor!
It was a perfect match with the Barbaresco red wine I was enjoying.
3 stars for the host and hostess..rude vibe. and the awkward room they sat us in with 2 large parties. They drowned us out!
Very good food, slightly over-priced.
We went as a group of 4 early on Saturday evening, before it got busy. There was some faffing around before we got seated in a charming little booth.
Menu was more limited than I had been expecting - but very interesting. The Steak Tartare was excellent, as was the rabbit pasta and mushroom ravioli. The Osso Buco was outstanding, as was the Beef with foie gras.
The cheese sampler was the low spot of the meal - rather uninspiring choice of 3.
Chocolate torte was superb, Panna Cotta was very good, Best value is the sampler for 3, which also included an apple pie.
More faffing around getting our coats on the way out, but a really good meal.
Why not 5 Stars? Firstly the front of house needs sorting out - including having to pay the valet cash rather than adding it to the bill. which always irritates me. Secondly, the prices were 10-15% over expectation ($16 starter, $32-36 main) for the North End. The food certainly merited being at the top of this range, but the rest of the experience was lagging a bit.
I arranged our company holiday dinner to be here. There were only eight of us, so they sat us in the lower dining room. Valet parking is $18 and you will need it unless you took public transportation.
The dining area and the whole building feel like someone's house which makes it very cozy. The decor is attractive and homey. We had 7:30 reservations and they sat us right away. We ordered some wine and a lot of appetizers. The baked oysters are out of this world and the aspargus with a poached egg on top was great too.
I had the Osso Buco which was tender, tasty and top notch! It was a large serving and I was unable to finish it. It was served on a bed of risotto that was also quite delicious.
We did not get dessert as we were all so stuffed from our meals. I would definitely go back here for a romantic dinner for two or something like that.
Having heard that Mamma Maria was offering a 3 course pre-fixe menu, I easily convinced my friends that we should go there for dinner after we enjoyed our personal showing of "Mamma Mia" on Blu-ray. =) A fun movie, by the way...
The menu presented to us had no mention of this pre-fixe option, but since it wasn't 6:30pm yet, our waitress readily responded to my query with the separate half sheet listing the choices.
As is my habit, I asked her opinion about the options - 3 appetizers, and 4 entrees - and she enthusiastically recommended the oyster appetizer over the antipasto (which also sounded good). Their rabbit pasta dish (Classic Tuscan pappardelle pasta with roasted Sonoma rabbit and fresh rosemary, $28 on the regular menu) was listed as an entree choice, and I had been dying to experience tasting bunny... 3 of us ended up ordering these two dishes. As an alternative to the bottle of house wine which counted as a third course, we opted for dessert and coffee (something for teetotalers and wine snobs to take note of). The other two decided to order the tenderloin off the regular menu - Grilled Black Angus beef tenderloin with Hudson Valley foie gras, roasted asparagus and baked macaroni, $33.
Slices of bread (soft with a crispy crust) was served fanned out in a long basket with little dishes of olives and pesto (nice!).
For my appetizer, 3 oysters arrived plated in a row with two nubs of lemon and some seaweed garnishing the plate. I squeezed a little citrus over my bivalves, and scooped one into my mouth - yum! Juicy and so tasty! The other two quickly followed, then I quietly sopped up the remaining juices from the shells with some bread when my table-mates weren't looking.
My rabbit and pasta arrived nestled in the central divot of a large bowl... but looks can be deceiving, as I realized the portion was just fine by the time I finished (although I still wondered whether we were presented with a smaller portion than the normal entree). The tender pieces of rabbit masqueraded as chicken with a gamey taste. The wide ribbons of pasta were al dente and tasty as they were draped in sauce spotted with little pieces of carrot and celery.
Unfortunately, my friends commented that their tenderloin, while perfectly cooked, was low on flavor. Same with the sides of pasta.
For dessert, I was given the choice of any dessert on their menu... two called my name - the warm chocolate torte, and the panna cotta. I ended up with the panna cotta (so silky and creamy and yummy) and a taste of one friend's chocolate torte (really good) and another friend's biscotti (crispy and good flavor) which arrived four on a plate with her glass of dessert wine. Yeah, I really enjoyed the desserts here. And oh, they willingly swapped the coffee for tea (they gave me a choice of 4 types) for me.
The only err in service was the lack of silverware with dessert, which was quickly remedied once we brought it to their attention.
Although many pricier restaurants seem to be having a bit of trouble in today's economy (see the recent closure of Excelsior to revamp to a new concept in the fall and the various special meal deals going on), there were plenty of fellow patrons at Mamma Maria's during our visit - perhaps 80-90% capacity by the time we left?
Note: valet parking available for $18.
Winter from Hell Menu
Choice: 3 appetizers & 4 entrees w/ bottle of house wine
$30/person - min 2
Sun & Mon nights - all nite
Tue-Sat - before 6:30 & after 9:00
(Bottle of wine may be switched to dessert and coffee)
edit 2/21/09 - as the Winter from Hell menu is no longer listed on Yelp by Mamma Maria, I highly recommend calling the establishment to confirm that it is still available before you go...
I deleted my original review. I would even go so far as to stand outside this place and pay people to not go in here. THAT is how much I hate Mamma Maria. We had our wedding rehearsal dinner here a few weeks ago and they totally screwed us over, in more ways than I can count.
- They charged a full rate of $75 per person, for kids. Kids that did not eat the appetizers, the salads, the entrees offered, or the dessert. Basically, the kids (well, the ones that stayed awake long enough to eat) each ate a small plate of pasta. For $75. Given the fact that we had 30 adults eating the full priced meals and drinking a lot of wine, you think they would have given us a bit of a break on the kids. Nope.
- Their function menu includes 4 courses (apps, salad, entree, dessert). We started at 7pm. We did not leave there until after 11pm. It took them over 4 hours to serve us. That is absurd. As a result, several people had to leave early to take their kids home (they were falling asleep at the table) or relieve their babysitters. Those folks never even got to eat their dinner (although we were charged for it).
- Do you know what happens when you have close to 40 people sitting around waiting, waiting, waiting for food? I'll tell you what. The staff just keeps pouring more and more wine. In fact, they apparently poured so much wine that they ran out of the initial red that we ordered and replaced it with $150 bottles of wine (without confirming it with the host of the party).
When all was said and done Mamma Maria billed us 30 bottles of wine (we only had 23 wine drinkers!). We seriously doubt that each wine drinker had more than a bottle of wine each. But, we were there for 4 hours thanks to how painfully slow their service was, so who really knows? We were so surprised by that number that we politely asked to see the empty bottles, but they refused. After a bit of questioning on our part, they did agree to take 5 of the $150 bottles off the bill. How big of them.
Keep in mind, they automatically got 20% gratuity on the cost of every bottle of wine they poured. Even all of those glasses that were nearly full when we left that night. Gone to waist because after 4 hours of sitting, many people were just too tired to drink anymore or even eat dessert.
And speaking of dessert, the one thing we coordinated well in advance was that there would be at least one chocolate option on the dessert sampler. Out of 4 items on the sampler that night, not one of them was chocolate.
The service was flat out terrible and in some instances, rude. I asked the servers to please ask the kitchen to speed things up and I explained that it was getting late and we had kids there and that we had a big day the next day. This was after hours had passed and still no entrees had arrived. Do you know what he said to me? "We have a whole restaurant full of customers downstairs that we have to take care of." That may have been true, but who says that? More importantly, who says that to you when you're paying them close to $200 per person in your party!
I deleted my original review. I would even go so far as to stand outside this place and pay people… Read more »
I really, really like this place!
I've been here three times and each time have been treated to a fantastic meal with great service! The water glass was always refilled as soon as it reached about half full, our chairs tucked in and napkins folded whenever someone had to stand up to make a phone call or use the lavatory, and the waitstaff was great explaining the menu and answering questions patiently.
I've had the Frutti di Mare pasta, Osso Buco Veal Shank, and the Monkfish and Lobster gnocchi. The first two dishes were by far the best of the three. The third was alright but the gnocchi and sauce were surprisingly lacking...
I've had my company Christmas party here the past two years, and it just gets better and better. The service and food selection are phenomenal.
Picture this -- an asparagus salad, with...wait for it....an over easy egg on top. This is one of the best concoctions I've ever tasted. Pair that with an AMAZING Osso Bucco, served on tomato risotto, great wine and better people, and you have one memorable north end experience.
Navigating the treacherous north end roads in the dead of winter can be difficult (we've had a cab die on us on the way there -- true story), and parking can be tricky (though they do offer a valet service, with fairly rude attendants), but I highly recommend this place for a great Italian experience.
Am I the only person to be utterly confused by this restaurant?
It's called Mamma Maria and it's in the North End. Call me guilty of brazen stereotyping, but shouldn't this place be all about strolling musicians, candles in wine bottles, and giant plates of never-ending seafood fra diavolo?
Not so much.
It's one of the most tastefully-decorated restaurants I've been to lately (beiges, taupes, gilded mirrors) and the prices definitely complemented the high-end decor. Being on major budgetary constraints the night I came here (huge mistake), I ended up just ordering an entree - the $27 asparagus ravioli with sweet pea tendrils. Maybe my expectations were misguided, but when a plate of five boiled ravioli stuffed with asparagus (according to the menu, the raviolis also had pecorino - undetectable) and topped with some sauteed pea tendrils arrived, I was decidedly disappointed. It's not like I was looking for a stick-to-your-ribs cream sauce, but something other than boiled raviolis topped with evoo-sauteed pea tendrils might have been appreciated. Yes, the asparagus flavor really shone through, but that was it. A very, very simple dish. In my opinion, too simple.
On the upside, they offer $15 valet parking, which is the same as all the local lots. And the bread and pesto is phenom.
See? I'm not a total d-bag.
With the eleventy billion Italian restaurants packed into the North End, it's hard to pick only one to patronize. Mamma Maria was ultimately chosen for its rave reviews, location not on Hanover St., and overall word of mouth.
Apparently you oughtn't believe everything you hear.
While the establishment was charming, elegant, and in a fabbo location, that would be about all that I would consider as its highlights.
The food ranged from orgasmically good (the beef tartar) to "WTF?" (the asparagus ravioli). This sort of performance may be forgivable at your local Generic Italian Restaurant, but when meal prices are averaging in the $30 range, one expects more ecstatic outbursts and less "is it supposed to come this way?"s.
Overall, unless someone else is footing the bill, I wouldn't recommend Mamma Maria's. But hey, if it's going on the corporate AmEx, why not? Just avoid the asparagus ravioli and keep the drinks flowing.
This place is in the middle of North End, but very different than any places you can find on Hanover Street.
They keep the old structure and details of the older house, very beautiful and unique dinning atmosphere.
The good thing, it's not one huge dinning room .... They partition the place into multiple rooms. Even though it was fully seated, it was not noisy at all.
Very elegant, classy and romantic.
Get a table right by the window on the 2nd floor.... overlooking North Square, the view is gorgeous and relaxing.....
I have tried the lobster dumplings. They were fresh and delicious .... filled with huge chunks of lobster.
I also have tried the roasted rabbit, which was very good too. The homemade pasta was awesome!
The waitstaff was full of sense of humor.
They have pretty good selection of wine too.
This place is .... a hidden jewel in North End.
My sister had her Wedding Rehearsal Dinner here. OHMYGOD! So good, I still kvell at the thought of it.
Not the usual Italian food fare. Such a great menu variety, and the service was exemplary, given our really large party. Kind of too good, as my wine glass got filled way too often, if you know what I mean. I lost track of what I had imbibed. By dessert, I was chugging water, to slow the effects down.
However, the entree of Lamb I got was cooked perfectly. The sides were also cooked to the peak of perfection. My Mom was doing her seat dancing thing; which means she was loving her meal, too.
The setting is fantastic; as it's in a Historic Home, in the North End, a couple of doors down from Paul Revere's House. It's an old house, so maybe if you dine there, you won't have the space we had. However, it's a lovely spot.
We had amazing service, as I mentioned. And, I didn't have to pay for anything, so I'm ALL GOOD. I don't even want to know what the meal came to, as I would probably have had a heart attack.
Holy cow holy cow holy cow holy cow! WOW! I grew up in an Italian household and don't generally get too excited about going out to eat at Italian restaurants. The food at Mamma Maria was simply fantastic. The bibb lettuce salad with lemon pistachio dressing, the pappardelle with rabbit, the bolognese...everything just kept getting better and better. AWESOME. It's not cheap and that's probably why it doesn't taste just like every other Italian joint. WOW.
Went there with my wife and 2 other friends for a later dinner (8:30) on a Sunday. One of our friends (local) liked the place a lot, and wanted to take us there.
Atmosphere is great, charming, and romantic. There was only 1 other party (older couple on what seemed to be a first date) in the main dining room with us, which seemed strange, but it was a Sunday night, and the economy's not doing so well now. But this allowed us to enjoy dinner as if we were sitting in someone's private dining room next to the window. We hope it's not always this empty, as we'd like to make sure they stick around.
Our server was great. He seemed a bit young (younger than us), but was very cordial and gracious, while allowing us to relax at the same time. Granted we were the only ones in the dining room after about 30-45 min., but the attention provided was just right.
Food was very good. Baked oysters Florentine style was nice, and a good alternative to the otherwise raw oysters at other restaurants. Their osso bucco entree should be tried at least once. Pasta with rabbit was very good. Sea bass was some of the better fish I've had in a non-Asian restaurant. Chocolate torte tasted like the inside of a molten chocolate cake - the best part! Poached pear dessert brought back memories - why don't more restaurants serve this? Get it with a side of espresso gelato.
We went to No. 9 Park the night before. No. 9 Park and Mamma Maria are offer different styles of cuisine, atmosphere, etc., but we liked Mamma Maria much more.
I was excited to get a table during the weekend of the marathon, so many tourists!!
My Bone on Short Rib was cooked perfectly.
My Ladies enjoyed their Asparagus Raviolli and the Roast Chicken was juicy and yummy.
The food tasted clean. The service was great, a bit odd maybe, but attentive. The location is quite unique. This is a "Mother in Law" place for sure!
Old-world charm infuses both the atmosphere and food at what is certainly one of the best Italian restaurants in the North End.
Yet another Restaurant Week Review...
Honestly, though, I don't think my opinion would change much if I came here on any other given day. The crazy prices would outweight any small improvement.
Let's start out on a positive note...The ambiance here is really neat. It's several floors and we were seated upstairs. It's very cozy without feeling squished...Definitely a nice restaurant for a date. The view from the room upstairs was very pretty too (since Mamma Maria is up on a hill in North End, you can see some of the tall downtown buildings from the 2nd floor). One issue I had was that it was hot in there! Now, I am the type of person that is usually chilly but by the end of dinner, my contacts were so dried out from the heat that I could barely make it down the stairs without one falling right out of my eye! Anyhow, I digress...
My friend and I each really enjoyed our appetizers. The arugala salad and the spinach ravioli were both fantastic. We both opted to order Frutti di Mare for dinner and that was a disappointment. It was surprisingly small, the fish and shellfish in it were overcooked and it didn't have much flavor outside of the tomatos that were topping it. I would have been pretty ticked off if I had paid full price for that dish. Again, though, were were impressed with dessert...The espresso panna cotta was to die for!
I think my biggest gripe with Mamma Maria was the service. Our order was taken right away and our appetizers followed shortly thereafter but our entrees took almost an hour. My water glass was also frequently sitting empty (and it's not like I was chugging, although maybe I was because of the intense heat!). All in all, we were there for about 2 & 1/2 hours. That's just too long if you're not intentionally dilly dallying and chit-chatting with friends.
I honestly feel like there are so many many fantastic restaurants in North End that I probably won't be back here. Pretty disappointing...
My husband and I went to Mamma Maria on our first serious date, 10 years ago. We've eaten there a few times over the years, and found the food to be as good as we remembered.
But, after eating here last month for our 10th anniversary, I have to say that this place seems to have taken a serious turn for the worse.
All of the food was at least a level below the quality you'd expect for the price. In particular, my lobster ravioli were terrible: the pasta was pasty and gluey, the filling was badly seasoned, and the size of them made them feel more like empanadas than anything italian -- too huge by an order of magnitude.
The service was utterly terrible: Our waiter ignored us for part of the meal, brought my husband the wrong glass of wine (and then sneered at us when we pointed out his error, insinuating that we couldn't tell one wine from another by taste alone), and didn't do anything at all other than take our order and bring our food -- at this level, the server should be an active part of making the dining experience pleasant, which he certainly was not.
We left without ordering dessert, sad to see such a sentimental favorite fall so far.
I went to Mamma Maria for dinner one night and living right around the corner I had great hopes for this place. As a local I knew this place was pricey but for good reasons, the food was supposed to be exceptional. First hand experience proved otherwise; not only was the hostess down right rude and unpleasant but the service was sluggish and the food was either over-salted or completely flavorless.
As a result of showing up a little early to our reservation, we were told in a smug tone to "not even think about showing up early" and ignored us until we understood they were hinting for us to wait outside of the restaurant. After returning 5 minutes after our set reservation we were finally showed to our table 25 minutes late by our previous stuck up hostess. My main course, which was a mushroom ravioli, was cold and far too salty to have more than a few bites. My friend had the Fruitti de Mare (which is hard to mess up anywhere) and they managed to pair it with an odd and over-sized angel hair pasta which failed to soak up any sort of flavor from the dish. Meanwhile, throughout the entire course we were offered more than a generous siesta during our appetizer, entre' and desert due to us appearing invisible to the even more invisible staff. The desert was delicious (espresso flan) and the two stars all go to this flan. I am sorry but will not return to Mamma Maria nor would I recommend it, in fact Giacomo's right around the corner is a far better choice for italian food in the North End. This tiny restaurant is far to over-priced for the low quality of food and staff I experienced here.
UPDATED!
I went back with 3 other girls for a "girl's night." After my not-so-great experience on the 'deck' area, I requested an indoor table.
We were seated promptly in the small inner room (has only 3 tables) which was perfect - great atmosphere (100% better than the deck!)
Because the room was sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant, it took the waiter a while to come take our orders. So my basic complaint was the slow service (it also took a while to clear our dinners and bring the dessert menu).
Again, the entrees was FANTASTIC. I had the rabbit again (it was so good last time!), and my friends had the bolognese, the orichette, and the osso buco, all of which they said (or, I tasted them) were amazing!
The dessert was disappointing, however. We got the chocolate torte, which was extremely mushy and not very flavorful.
Overall, my experience was MUCH better this time, and I'd give the restaurant 4 stars (5 for food, 4 for service, 3 for dessert, 4.5 for atmosphere). I would definitely come back, though I still prefer Prezza.
Food gets a 5-star rating, but service only 2-stars. I got there before the other 2 people in my… Read more »
Ever since I first set foot in Boston and put my milkcrate of NES cartridges onto my Charter St. floor in the North End, I had been hearing about Mamma Maria's. I was told it would change my life, and that I would never be the same. The North end has different sects, and although it was 2 ft away from my house, I consider that part the other-side-of-the-tracks(anything over Hanover), and never had really gone to check it out.
For some reason I thought it was going to be more casual than it was. Last winter my dad and I rolled up in scrubby clothes after he helped me hang a few paintings in my room including my Bambu rolling papers shirt.
O. -hides self in trench coat-
Hotel carpeting, random museum-like accents, it's a bit too showy for me. If Mr. Monopoly + Mr. Peanut + Nana D. had a function together, it would probably be held here.
But not Dennis D. and Liz D. we are simple folk who like good grub. The other mother of the N.End, Mother Anna's, is where you will most likely find me.
We sat by the window upstairs which gives you one of those nowiknowwhyi'mhere views of North Square and the city skyline, which look even more impressive with the falling snow. I'll give them that. But I could also see the same views from my roof, because I am spoiled.
The food was mediocre, I think the menu has changed, but I at the time had a salmon risotto dish and my dad had some shrimp/pasta fare which left absolutely no impression on me.
If you are going to be spending so much money, you want food to bowl you over and leave you clawing at the door at 5pm the next day before it even opens to get it.
The service was "meh" and had to flag down our waiter for H20 on more than one occasion. It was great catching up with Dennis D., but we could have just as easily done that at McDonalds over a #1 and a vanilla shake.
I heard there is an elusive "Table 99" somewhere in the restaurant that you need to book reservations for weeks/months(?) in advance which apparently has its own little nook room at the end of a hallway. I didn't see it. But I don't really need a VIP table in a mediocre joint anyway.
Great italian food. One of the best, if not THE best in the north end. The atmosphere is old-fashioned and simple, but elegant. The staff is super hospitable and friendly. Mamma Maria specializes in really simple traditional Italian cuisine that's incredibly flavorful. Dining at Mamma Maria is a special treat. I highly recommend it!
It's incredibly small inside, i think there were probably 16 people crammed in our room, but the food was absolutely amazing. I had the pork which was flavored perfectly with the broccoli rabe. My boyfriend had the rabbit which was the best he's ever had. The dessert was pretty good as well. The waiter we had was phenom and i would totally go there again. The service was a little slow, but we really had a chance to enjoy the atmosphere
This is the best Italian restaurant I've been to in the North End. The food was really spectacular (I had the osso bucco based on a zagat reviewer's rec) and I loved the atmosphere. We sat upstairs by an open window listening to the streets of the North End below. Our honest waiter confessed their desserts are not worth it and steered us to Mike's Pastries nearby for some fantastic cannoli.
Its always pretty sweet when you spot a celebrity at the restaurant you are eating at for your birthday dinner. It was Father of the Bride... yup, Steve Martin. Apparently he is doing another Pink Panther movie in Boston (no comment on that).
I loved the ambiance of the restaurant which is located across the street from Paul Revers's house in the authentically Italian district of the North End in Boston. The cobblestone streets really make you believe that you are in a past century. The large windows in the restaurant enable great views from the 2 story restaurant.
As far as the service goes, they really need to step it up into this century because it is poor. It shouldn't ever take the birthday girl 10 minutes to order her drink and another 10 to get it.. am i right? My selection of the heirloom tomato appetizer salad was the BEST decision of the night.. it was covered in a divine olive oil dressing and was delicious. I should have chosen better for my main course because the mushroom pasta was DRY and not flavor full.
If it wasn't for the celebrity spotting and ambiance, I would have rated this place lower, but it was my birthday and I did have a fabulous time regardless of the service and meal.. so I guess this place gets the benefit of the doubt this time, but I won't go back.
My husband and I flew to Boston(his hometown-my 2nd hometown) in late October for a "Babymoon Weekend"/my birthday trip prior to the birth of our daughter and decided to try Mamma Maria because of the raving reviews. We stayed at the Intercontinental so we knew it wouldn't be that far of a cab ride. We arrived on-time and had dinner reservations but still had to wait 20-30 minutes to be seated.
We ordered the Fig Salad and it was very good. I ordered the Filet and my husband ordered the Pork. Both lacked flavor and it took forever to get our food in the first place-so we were starving.
Our table was a 2-top upstairs seated next to large groups and we could not even hear one another without practically yelling. I was 8 mos. pregnant at the time and had no room to sit comfortably. The service staff was horrible. We felt like we were completely ignored because we weren't drinking "bottles and bottles of wine" like most other patrons were.
We decided to give dessert a try but they were out of most everything we had our eye on from their website menu. So we settled on the Chocolate Tart and it was the worst dish of all. Our 8 year old daughter would have been able to make a better dessert. It looked to be a science project/easy bake oven experiment. I kid you not! We ate 2 bites and asked for the check. Disgusted we ended up in one of the fabulous pastry shops in the North End to "get full" on cannoli and other treats instead.
Mamma Maria was a HUGE dissapointment to me because this was supposed to be a very special night for us away on vacation. We aren't afraid of spending good money on a good meal-but this time we felt VERY taken advantage of.
Neighborhood: North End
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: North End
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: North End
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: North End
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: North End
Category: Italian
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Looking at this list, I realize that I am truly a…
From fresh veggies to fresh fish, here's my take…
I like Boston. A lot. The people here talk…
The things I miss the most (or least) about moving…
These are the places that have been talked about…
These are just my favoritest favorites for eating…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
