Mama Mia’s Italian Restaurant

We were passing through the area & felt like Italian. Mama Mia’s popped up on our GPS so we thought it might be a nice Italian restaurant. It wasn’t even close to an Italian restaurant. It’s was dingy & small. The staff could use more training and the cheap tableware was dirty. The menu was 4 pages of American dishes with only about 7 pasta dishes. We ordered Spaghetti with Italian sausage ($ 9.50) and the combo platter (spaghetti, lasagna & fettuccine — $ 8.50). The pasta tasted like it came out of a can & was even cut into about 3″ lengths. Nothing cheap or tasty here. Save your money & keep on driving.

I have never been disappointed with anything I have ordered and you can’t beat the prices. The wait staff are all very friendly and attentive. 2 thumbs up!

Don’t be filled by a nice little hole in the wall place! Salads are good. Everything else is very bland. Friendly staff.

Two words can most accurately describe my love for Mama Mias…
1.) CHEAP!!! everyone loves CHEAP!
2.) Freaking awesome!!!
and tell me who does NOT love BOTH of the above. helllooooooo!!!
This is my Dads go to place all the time– he loves greasy spoons, and he loves cheap… its his heaven really…
I’ve been to this place on several occasions, and have NEVER had anything that was NOT hot, and not delicious—
Breakfast is so amazing, good flavor– and good price, nothing around like this place.
The ambiance only adds to the experience, and please do not expect anything fancy, bc it is everything BUT.
They normally have some very awesome pies in the freezer, but I have yet to embark on one of those journeys.
If you ever happen to be in the «hood”— stop on in… :)
you will be pleasantly suprised.

We went for dinner on June 4, 2013. The food was great as it normally is and our waitress was great, however our problem came when we checked out. The owner rang us up. Our bill was $ 19 and some change. We used our debit card and told them to charge a total of $ 25 to include the tip. So the man punched $ 25 in the credit card machine, my husband signed it. On June 7^th the charge came through the bank for $ 30, they applied the tip 2 times. We went up there at noon and we were told the owner wasn’t in yet to come back at 3. My husband went up there at around 4ish and was told the owner had to leave, but the waitress took our phone number. Saturday came no phone call. Sunday came no phone call, we go back up there Sunday. Talked to the owner, but of course he now has to go through all the recipes at home. He took our phone number and still at 5:30 on Monday no phone call.
I know it seems trivial, but I don’t have the kind of money to spend like that. This could have very easily overdrafted our account, which would have been even worse. The least he could do is give us a call back.
Just tried calling and he isn’t there of course.

Greasy, fattening, cheap cheap cheap. Everything you want in comfort food. It’s a dirty little whole in the wall that once you visit you will go back to again and again.

Everytime I’m back in the Wood River/​Alton area, I always find a new surprise. Well, this time an old family friend knew about Mama Mia’s and suggested we all have lunch there during our visit.
As soon as we walked in, I noticed the Black Forest cake in the case. Black Forest is not readily available around here, and it’s a favorite of mine. I put it in my mental checklist of «eat before you go» and off we went to our table.
Okay, the décor here leaves a lot to be desired. But what they lack in aesthetic style they make up for in service. The people are so friendly here.
The portions here are HUGE. They also bring out fresh bread they make onsite and meals come with soup or salad. The honey mustard dressing is really good.
I ordered the fried chicken and it was HOT and delicious. Our friend ordered from the Senior’s menu and they brought her three very large pieces of fish. My mom ordered a Reuben. She could only eat half of it.
Though I was stuffed, I went ahead and ordered that Black Forest cake. Those cherries burst in my mouth with the flavor of a mighty tasty liqueur. Definitely moist and delicious.
Prices are awesome. Three of us got all of that food for $ 28 (not including tip).
A definite great bet if you’re in the area!

Mama Mia’s is great, whenever we feel like some comfort food we go back to Mama Mia’s. Large portions, low prices, friendly service. I’ll admit, the place is small and could use some redecorating (in my opinion) but don’t let that stop you from trying it out. They have the best chicken tenders (which are all you can eat!) And I love going there for breakfast and getting a ham and mushroom skillet — yum! They also have a variety of steak and seafood, I love that I can buy my boyfriend a steak and shrimp for dinner without going broke! The place is usually crowded and has people in line to pick up their carry-​out orders, but that just proves how good the food is :-P

This place is quite nice.
It is very family-​style, which is a good change from modern America, and the service is phenominal. The food is all splendid, and cooked like your gramma used to cook. By that I mean delicious every time!