Mamma Melina Ristorante

03/02/2009 Posted by seafudie

I had my first experience with Mama Melina last night, and was sadly disappointed. There were four of us in our party, and only one felt their meal was mediocre at best. We were excited by the fact that therestaurant had been named Citysearch Best Italian Food 2005, and had frankly expected much more than we received. Obviously something has happened in the last four years... no one in my party could figure out why this honor was bestowed. It was a busy Sunday evening... the majority of tables were occupied when we arrived for our 6:30p reservation. The curt and cold "host" showed us to our table, which was sandwiched in a row of four-tops, with only several inches of clearance between them. We each ordered something different... I had the Risotto di Parma ($15.50), the other dishes ordered were the Gnocchi di patate ($13.50), Rigatoni di Sorrento ($12.95) and the Scampi al Vino ($17.95). Unfortunately the best thing we ordered was the wine... hard to ruin as it does not pass through the kitchen on its way to the table. The risotto was wholly unremarkable and tasted like it came out of a box, over-salted and boring with a sausage planted firmly on top, which was also flavorless. The gnocchi itself was actually not too terribly bad, if it weren't for the bland sauce it was dressed with... tasted like Chef Boyardee. The scampi and rigatoni were marginal at best. When our attentive server (up to this point, the only shining moment of the evening aside from the wine) came to clear our plates... she noticed that I hadn't eaten any of my meal and asked if everything was okay. I told her that I really didn't like it at all.. without going into detail assuming she would ask me, apologize, let me know she would inform the manager etc..... nothing, not a word... she just continued to clear the table then came back with dessert menus... wow. The other major disappointment: Husband of owner is billed as an opera singer, yet all I heard last night were 70's cover songs.

Pros: Cozy atmosphere, great potential

Cons: Food, music, parking, food, sub-par service

02/14/2009 Posted by gidons

We came in for a Saturday lunch, and the place was nearly empty, which got me a bit worried - unjustly, as it turns out. The service was polite, friendly, and pretty fast, and the decor is pleasant enough though nothing special. We ordered a bruschetta to start, which came heaped with fresh chopped tomatoes and a bit of funky but yummy parmesan, and drizzled with some nice olive oil. We ordered two entrees, with side salad and soup, which came first. The soup ($1.95 extra) - lentil with sausage - was tasty and hot, though too salty. The salad was simple fresh greens, with a surprisingly mild but tasty balsamic vinaigrette (many restaurants make it either too acidic or too sweet.) The chicken-prosciutto panini ($8.95) was good, but not remarkable - I guess that would be really too much to expect from a panini, though. The linguine alla vongole ($8.95, with clams, white wine, garlic, cherry tomatoes) was very good, with no fishy taste and a lot of garlic and clam flavor. The pasta itself was done perfectly al-dente. We finished our meal with espresso (Umbria) which was flavorful and well done. The check was $35 including tax, which for the meal we had is a steal. I will definitely come back, and concentrate on the pasta next time.

Pros: Relatively cheap; tasty; friendly service.

Cons: Parking; no diaper changing station