I've loved this place for years. In fact, just writing this review is making me hungry for the food! If you're wondering where to go out to tonight, you can't go wrong here Pros: great... More

I've loved this place for years. In fact, just writing this review is making me hungry for the food! If you're wondering where to go out to tonight, you can't go wrong here Pros: great atmosphere, fantastic food, large portions Cons: none
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Besides the huge plates of undeniably tasty food and stiff drinks, this place gets it when it comes to making you feel good and letting you have a good time. The walls floors and tables are simply... More

Besides the huge plates of undeniably tasty food and stiff drinks, this place gets it when it comes to making you feel good and letting you have a good time. The walls floors and tables are simply jampacked with all kinds of kitschy coolness. Of course there's the Elvis room where we had a birthday dinner for my Dad last September. The staff are my kind of people. Youthful and humorous and trying to rock through the night as well as can be done. If you want a corporate style prerehearsed dialog along with dinner then you aren't going to find it here. Five stars from this happy, stuffed, and a bit tipsy fan. Pros: Lots of tasty food and booze. Great people all around you. Cons: Can't think of any. Really I can't.
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I've been here before and to be honest, only put up with the terrible service cause I really do enjoy the food, but tonight was the last straw. Our waitress seemed cold and despondent, as did most... More

I've been here before and to be honest, only put up with the terrible service cause I really do enjoy the food, but tonight was the last straw. Our waitress seemed cold and despondent, as did most of the other wait staff. I placed an order for a margarita, and apparently she said she'd be back to check my ID, but I didn't hear this. When she came back she got short with me because I didn't have my ID out. I apologized and quickly got it out, but before I could even hand it to her she walked away from our table. She ended up coming back and checking it. During this time however, my water cup had been empty and not once did she offer to fill it. Those chips they give you make you really thirsty! and it wasn't until after she brought me my margarita that she finally filled my water. And all I could think was "Gee, thanks" When we were ready to leave my four friends and I had to split the check. There was a line around the register that we weren't really sure where it began. We decided that two of us would wait in line while the other two waited outside. As I'm waiting in line with the rest of the small crowd of people I was trying to do my best to stay out of the staff's way since we were standing in the way of a kitchen entrance. And that's when one of the staff walked past my friend and I and very rudely said "Standing there isn't such a great idea". As if we had much of a choice! I thought it was completely disrespectful and was really offended by this and rather than cause a scene when they were so busy I decided what I really wanted was just to pay and get the hell out of there and never come back. When they get a better staff maybe I'll come back. Until then, I'm done. Pros: decent food Cons: rude wait staff, poor customer service
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I've been to Mama's many times and have always been underwhelmed. The environment is cool, but the food is just so blah. So, if you don't mind blah food and just want a typically Seattle "cool"... More

I've been to Mama's many times and have always been underwhelmed. The environment is cool, but the food is just so blah. So, if you don't mind blah food and just want a typically Seattle "cool" place to eat, go. Pros: ambience is cool Cons: the food is so not good
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I have worked in the restaurant industry. I ask that my food is tasty, my service adequate, and that the food is priced based on its quality and portion size. I have no problem eating at a truck... More

I have worked in the restaurant industry. I ask that my food is tasty, my service adequate, and that the food is priced based on its quality and portion size. I have no problem eating at a truck stop. Nor do I mind paying extra for higher quality food or larger portions. Service: We were seated in the Elvis Room, but were asked to move because of a forgotten reservation. When we placed our orders my husband mentioned we would prefer to split the check. Service was slow. My friend asked for salsa multiple times. Drink refills were a wait. Coffee was never refilled. The check was not split up and added 18% gratuity for a group of 6 (most restaurants parties of 8+), and she'd MISCALCULATED our total, EXTRA $10 to her gratuity! She returned with a pen and paper so we could split the check ourselves! Handwriting was tough to read and she'd scribbled the order all over the ticket. She had the nerve to mention she had given us the happy hour prices on our drinks (even though she wasn't sure about the time). What!?! We got there at 5:30pm and happy hour ends at 6:30pm. Our drinks were ordered in time. We were still there because of slow service, not order time! Value: I paid $6 for a small weak strawberry margarita, 1 enchilada with beans and rice was almost $10, tiny portion and looked like a kid meal. I would have gotten 2 quality enchiladas for the same at Azteca. Salsa is extra. The menu on their website is NOT up to date. Prices were higher. Food: The quality was low. My beans had chunks of burned cheese. Made me wonder if they reused cookware without washing thoroughly because the cheese on my enchilada was not burned at all. The beef in the enchilada was alright, but not much flavor. Stale chips. Location: Little parking. We noticed a disproportionate number of creepy homeless guys. Area seemed sketchier than I remembered. While we ate we watched three squad cars responding to an incident across the street and a police officer pulling contraband from a man's pockets. There was a homeless guy shouting unintelligibly in front of the restaurant's entrance when we walked in, not a place to walk alone. Conclusion: I must assume that this was once a better restaurant. They have many positive reviews and have apparently won local awards. That said, it is currently a mismanaged establishment lacking in service and food quality, charging a higher price than other Mexican restaurants in the area. Pros: Close to the Crocodile Cafe Cons: Bad Service, Poor Food Quality at Higher Price
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Yes, it's not "real" Mexican - who cares? If you want real Mexican go back to LA/Phoenix. Mama's is great. And, yes, I do know what "real" Mexican tastes like and I still love Mama's and I love... More

Yes, it's not "real" Mexican - who cares? If you want real Mexican go back to LA/Phoenix. Mama's is great. And, yes, I do know what "real" Mexican tastes like and I still love Mama's and I love the spotty service and no one is better than Bella. Mama's is "real" Seattle and I hope it stays that way. Pros: Great ambiance, good is good, even though it's not authentic, service is, well, Mama's service and I like it Cons: None
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Been there 3-4 times a year for 35 years. Food is always great. Lost some charm now that the water glasses match. Summer dining by the sidewalk is good entertainment watching the locals.

Been there 3-4 times a year for 35 years. Food is always great. Lost some charm now that the water glasses match. Summer dining by the sidewalk is good entertainment watching the locals.
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I am not a big fan of Mexican food, but I really enjoyed myself at this restaurant. The food was good and you received a lot of food for your money. The staff was exceptionally nice and friendly.

I am not a big fan of Mexican food, but I really enjoyed myself at this restaurant. The food was good and you received a lot of food for your money. The staff was exceptionally nice and friendly.
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My husband and I met his children here for lunch today and the service and food was so bad, that I felt compelled to write a review immediately so that some other poor suckers would save themselves... More

My husband and I met his children here for lunch today and the service and food was so bad, that I felt compelled to write a review immediately so that some other poor suckers would save themselves the misery of a meal here. I'm not snotty or snooty and don't care about the decor in a restaurant, but I do expect decent food and service. This was beyond bad. We were seated in the Elvis Room (there were 7 of us) and were promptly forgotten about. Finally, one person had to leave our table to hunt down a staff person, who said "Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here". Okay, so we ordered beers and nachos while we decided on what to eat. It took at least 15-20 minutes before our waiter came back with the beer and nachos (hello? couldn't we have our beers while waiting on the nachos?) and it was the wrong type of beer and we were shorted a glass. Our waiter then asked to take our orders and when my husband told me to go ahead and order out of courtesy, the waiter said "Okay I have to leave for 2-3 minutes to check on my other tables if you are not ready to order." What? We politely told him that we were ready and everyone ordered quickly. The best meal of the table was bland slop. The worst, which was mine, a fish taco (and he forgot the rice and beans that were supposed to come with it) was inedible. I took one bite and that was it. It was fishy, cold and covered in some kind of mayo sauce. Someone else got the chicken sope which was like a hockey puck. The waiter NEVER came back: we ran out of water, I wanted to order something to replace the food I could not eat, and he never brought the extra salsa we asked for. Nothing, nada. We figured that since we were a large group they were tacking on the gratuity and he didn't care. This place is seriously bad. As we were leaving, I felt like standing on the corner and warning anyone who might be going in. I'm not kidding, this was the worst meal I've had in years. Pros: Not one Cons: Everything you go to a restaurant for is wrong here.
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We went to Mama's while vacationing in Seattle. We went on a Monday night and had to wait a few minutes for a table, but it was worth it. We had water and chips & salsa at our table as we were... More

We went to Mama's while vacationing in Seattle. We went on a Monday night and had to wait a few minutes for a table, but it was worth it. We had water and chips & salsa at our table as we were sitting. The chips keep coming, but try to limit yourself as the portions are huge. We had chicken fajitas, beef burritos, and a beef taco. The fajitas were great, real good juicy, flavorful chicken. The beef in the burrito and taco was good, just a bit dry (it's more of a shredded beef style). Service was great. I would recommend. Pros: relaxed atmosphere, good food
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