Mama Santa Restaurant Pizzeria

02/04/08

Good pizza. The best???

by BroccoliRob at Citysearch

I'll won't dwell on the negatives about the space others have brought up. Yes, the 2 person tables against the wall are not for the claustrophobic or large of build.

We purposely went at lunch due to the other reviews. The thing that ticked me off the most was, no soap in the bathrooms, just a half hour after opening. Don't they service it overnight?

Wait service was OK, but then they weren't busy. The pizza was good. I don't like burned food, so I was tempted to ask fro underdone as others mentioned, but decided to leave it in their hands, and it was fine. The cheese did appear a little dark, but tasted fine, and the crust was not burned at all.

The crust was excellent. The sauce was average. The toppings were good. The best in Cleveland? I don't see what was so special about it. Pizza is my favorite food, and I've eaten it all over the US. I've gotten pizza of this quality or better at many places in my opinion. I'd get it again if I lived close, but I don't. I won't make another trip for it.

• Pros: very reasonable prices, good meatballs
• Cons: too much hype, some quirkiness

10/03/09

Mediocre at best

by HockeyMonkey at Citysearch

I drove from North Ridgeville because of all the accolades of Mama Santa's pizza. I was disappointed. The pizza crust was a bit dry, the toppings were fairly sparce and not even close to fresh...had to be canned/dehydrated/frozen. I left with a taste of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix in my mouth! After 2 pies, 2 Pepsi's, 2 beers, the total was $50.05 and I could of got better from Georgios, 2 12packs of Pepsi, and a 12 of adult suds for the same price and not had to squeeze my (already small) car into a door ding mill of a parking place or pay a tip.

That being said, the wait staff was top notch and attentive. Kudos waitstaff!

I'd pass on Mama Santa's....IMHO!

• Pros: Traditional almost to a cliche atmosphere
• Cons: Pizza quality that of a chain store

03/08/09

Seek a Better Cleveland Pizza

by whirledepicurean501 at Citysearch

On faithful insistence of friends who are Mama Santa?s fans, I gave Mama Santa?s pizza three separate tries. Unfortunately, three strikes.

As an enthusiast who has tried thin crust pizza at over 100 purveyors (NO chains, please) in numerous states, I found Mama Santa?s pizza experience lacking in several key elements. First, their crust, sauce and cheese just lay limp and sloppy without integration to blend flavors. Second, the sauce is deficient of pleasing subtle spices, failing to entice my palate to the next bite. Third, the decor is badly dated, but no so as to be delightfully kitschy, just bad. Lastly, the service is, at best, adequate, absent of personality or charm that would draw me back. All this in an otherwise wonderful Italian area of Cleveland!

On a personal note to reviewer DeathDealer9: For a restaurant review site to develop and sustain credibility, it must include all critiques, even those that disagree with our own tastes and experiences. To do otherwise would be disingenuous. Similarly, to maintain integrity, the review site must reject obviously biased puff praise from insiders and false damnation from competitors.

May Mama Santa?s fans continue to enjoy what they have come to prize. As for me, I will continue to seek a better Cleveland pizza.

• Pros: Loyal fans
• Cons: Limp, weak-tasting pizza. Hideous decor.

02/21/09

rocking

by annaduchene at Citysearch

where else can you go and get a great pizza, a bottle of wine and 2 salads for $22 bucks! Always great food!

• Pros: great pizza and price
• Cons: decor

12/11/08

nice place for couples

by lauka1500 at Citysearch

it is a nice place to spend time as a couple. nothing in particular, but we enjoyed it.

if you livein the area, you do not need to search further

• Pros: Pricing is OK, food OK

11/30/08

For All the Haters

by DeathDealer9 at Citysearch

First off you Haters, Shut The F*** up. I've had the pizza many times there, and I Know its some of the best around. Key word there is Some; and by many i mean more then 50. Sorry to be so openly mouthy but seriously, all you supposed "pizza connoisseur's" give me a break; Just try and tell me that some of your favorite pizza you've had only once in your life. Not Gonna Happen. You have to have it more then once if not just to make sure. Point being, Try it again, Then again, a good judge takes in more then one perspective. As for service, in any place of business one should know that not every single server is going to be bright and jolly; and time frame, well if your there on a Friday Or Saturday, I'd like to see you serve people faster then them. Going back to you pizza connoisseur's just shut up pizza is pizza and not eveyone has your taste in it so don't try to speak for everyone, and stop f***ing posting that s*** like your some hot shot know it all.

• Pros: If i could rename the Large pizza it would show up on the menu as "Delicious" THe rigatoni, spagetii and stuff are good too, all of witch are Cheep
• Cons: Dumb customers Makeing STupid reviews

11/11/08

What a disappointment

by murpay at Citysearch

My husband I drove from Mayfield Heights to Little Italy (about 8 miles) to sample the supposedly best pizza in Cleveland. What a disappointment! I wish I would have read the above reviews before we set out for the evening. The crust was thin with a very bland flavor, a little dry. There was VERY little pizza sauceon it, so it lacked any flavor there. I ordered mushroom and green pepper toppings for 1.25 each. The mushrooms were canned and there were very few pieces of green pepper on it. The cheese they use is obviously a very cheap kind because as I am sitting here typing this, I have terrible gas from it! Our dinner was $36 (before tip) and consisted of 2 dinner salads (iceberg lettuce with shavings of carrot, 2 very small pitted black olives, 1/2 very small cherry tomato and bland italian dressing), medium pizza w/2 toppings (as above), mushroom fettucine (again, canned mushrooms), 1 glass of chianti ($6 and was good) and 1 glass of water. My husband enjoyed his fettucine dish dispite the canned mushrooms. Overall, it was not worth the drive for very mediocre food. We won't be back unless they revamp the food quality.

• Pros: Our server was very friendly and attentive, but not overbearing.
• Cons: Parking-bad, ambiance-bad, food-cheap ingredients. Why bother?

10/19/08

Nothing Special

by britk07 at Citysearch

My sister came to visit one weekend and we decided we wanted really good pizza, and I had seen that Mama Santa's was always mentioned when people taked about great pizza in Cleveland, so we decided to try it. The crust was really good, super crispy, but the overall taste was just ok. Maybe the pasta is better (seemed to see more people eating it), but our food wasn't anything great. It was the some of the greasiest pizza I've ever seen, but that didn't seem to affect the taste for better or worse. The other big thing that bothered us was that they only give you one free refill on soft drinks, which are served in really little glasses. I don't drink a lot of pop normally, but I really like it with pizza, so I wasn't really a fan of that policy. Our waitress was really friendly, but the our impression of the service overall at the restaurant wasn't that great. We decided next time we'd just go to Donatos.

• Cons: Greasy average pizza, Service not great

07/27/08

Great pizza; terrible service

by o2man at Citysearch

The pizza at Mama Santa's is some of the best I've ever had, but our waitress was terrible. It took 10 minutes for her to take our drink order and another 10 minutes to bring the drinks. After my wife and I where clearly done with our pizza our waitress was no where to be found. We had to ask another waitress to find her, and when she couldn't they other waitress had to bring us our check. My advice is to get the pizza to go.

• Pros: good pizza
• Cons: service

07/13/08

overrated

by grendelslair at Citysearch

I was told this place had the best pizza in Cleveland. I was shocked by what I actually got. It was overcooked, even black on some parts. Even if it was fine the service leaves a lot to be desired. Service is indifferent to say the least. Everyone is pretty brusque and unfriendly, almost like they don't care if you come back or not. Don't worry, I won't. Soda is served in a small glass at $1.30 and no refills! It comes across as very cheap on their part. Stick with the free water they give you. To top it off they overcharged me when I used my debit card to pay.

06/24/08

So-so Taste but Costs Little $$

by cupcake77777 at Citysearch

Good pizza and manicotti. Stay clear of the lasagna. Decor a little tacky. Service is inconsistent- sometimes efficient and friendly, other times slow and a tad bit rude.

• Pros: pizza
• Cons: parking- tiny lot in back, otherwise on the street