Mama D's Italian

Let me start off by saying that this restaurant will forever be one of my most favorite places to go with friends, family, or even by myself. I have been going to Mama D’s for many years, and will continue my patronage for many reasons. Firstly, hands down the best Italian food you can get without flying 3000 miles to NYC and taking a cabby into the heart of Little Italy. Hailing from an Italian family from Brooklyn, I never quite filled that void of good home cooked Italian style dinner when I moved out to the west coast 9 years ago, until I found this little gem in Manhattan Beach. When I get home sick, there is only one place that comes to mind that can settle my nerves and set me right again; Mama D's! From the smiling hostesses to the friendly servers, something about this place just feels comfortable, feels like HOME. Not only is the service top notch, the food is phenomenal. Freshly baked, piping hot foccacia bread on my table before I'm even sitting, and a garlic and oil dipping sauce to die for! Seriously, you HAVE to take some of this stuff home. So a place this great, the wait must be forever right? Sure, sometimes it takes a minute to get a table in this tiny New York City-side-street kinda place, but while you wait they give you FREE appetizers; as if it were a dinner party! Relax outside and sip on some complimentary water or lemonade while employees pass out and serve all sorts of goodies like fried calamari (my favorite on the east or west coast), mozzarella sticks, and chopped up meatballs! As a frequent regular to this incredible eatery I can honestly tell you that you will not be disappointed, and it will be hard to leave this place without saying to yourself, WOW! Two thumbs up, five stars, and a big thank you to Mama D’s and her staff for bringing a little bit of my home from New York back into my life here on the west coast. more

A friend of mine recommended Mama D's and I wasn't disappointed; the food was very flavorful, specially for those who like garlic, and the atmosphere was so vibrant and upbeat. The servers and hostesses at this restaurant go out of their way to make sure their customers go home satisfied. The great experience started when I was still waiting for my table and they passed around their "to die for" focaccia bread. Besides the bread I also sampled calamari and their delicious meatball. I had their chicken parmesan for dinner and I really enjoyed it. My server was very hands on and at the end of my meal, she gave a free appetizer card for my next visit and complimentary warm chocolate chip cookies. What else can a person ask for? I'm definitely going back to Mama D's. more

I had went to Mama D's to eat with my family for my sisters birthday and went to the back to tell my server it was her birthday and this is where I saw the cook pick a piece of what looked like shrimp off the ground and put it back in the pan. I could not see him putting it in the pan, but I overheard another in the kitchen make a comment about it.No one at our table was eating shrimp so I never mentioned it to the table until after we left. The environment here is very family like but seems very fake and is a "great place for kids to go." We were sitting against the wall where the drink station was on the opposite side and my children overheard our server swearing! She was a pretty girl with long dark hair and I was amazed. I was very unsatisfied with our visit and will never go back!! Not only were the servers swearing, but the boss was swearing loud at his employees while they were all huddled around him. We went there when it was not too busy. I am not sure what kind of place this is. I was told it was very family oriented and a "great place for kids" but would NOT recommend going there. The food is okay....not GREAT, but maybe worth getting to go. more

I had heard Mama D's in Manhattan Beach was an awesome italian restuarant, so went there with very high hopes. The service was very good, our server introduced herself right away, asked out names, and called us by our names throughout the meal. However, the food was just okay. My husband had the chicken parmesan, which was delicious, but I had the Chicken David, which is a chicken, mushroom, marsala wine sauce over pasta dish, and it was just okay. The chicken pieces were very fresh, as were the mushrooms, but the marsala sauce was bland and boring. My 8 yr old had spagetti and meatballs, and did not like it at all (spagetti and meatballs is his FAVORITE FOOD). The meatball was mushy and spicy, and the sauce was not very flavorful. The garlic bread they bring to the table was good, however. Their menu had many delicious sounding dishes, such as the seafood ravioli. Would I recommend this place to others? Maybe. more