Mamma Melina Ristorante

08/20/2008 Posted by streetcardesire

I've been there twice now with my husband-once when we were just dating and then, again, the other night on our first wedding anniversary. it has been consistent. they have delicious food. they do have options for vegetarians and are just as good as the ones for the meat-eaters! wonderful wine. and such a beautiful, romantic atmosphere. you can dress up or go in jeans and it's no problem. we had ONE waitress who seemed a bit robotic. but the other staff were very friendly. and she was too, really, but needs to loosen up, perhaps? i don't know! it's not important! the important thing is that it was a lovely way to celebrate our first year of marriage! and sumone ice cream for dessert! :)

Pros: atmosphere, food, music-wonderful pianist/singer who takes requests!!!

Cons: none worth mentioning! it was lovely!!!!

07/02/2008 Posted by Martin1212

My girlfriend and I had heard about Mamma Melina from friends over the years and gratefully decided to dine there last Friday. We didnt have a reservation, and waited probably 10 minutes or so, but we would of waited alot longer if we knew how tasty the food was going to be from the beggining The bread was so fresh, and HOT! My girlfriend ordered a penne dish with eggplant and smoked mozzarella, with a light tomato sauce. I cant remember the name, but the texture of the eggplant was perfect, and the smokiness of the cheese was a great compliment to the pasta dish. I had ordered the Veal Marsala myself. I've ordered this at other restaurants so I thought I knew what to expect. Not even close!!! This was THE BEST MARSALA SAUCE I HAVE EVER TASTED. I havent eaten yet today so my mouth is watering just writing about it. Anyway, the veal was tender as it should be, and the sauce was, well, I cant expain it to much in detail, but its my favorite now. All in all, we had a great experience. Great ambiance, food, wine, and service, with affordable prices to along with it. We will be back!

Pros: Food, wine list, service, ambience

Cons: None so far

06/22/2008 Posted by mcbare

Given the low menu prices, I'm always expecting the food to be mediocre at best. Instead, it's flavorful with good texture and I always leave wanting more. Last time we went, we were seated next to a famous local Seattle glass artist. Not a place I'd think of for celebrity-watching - I considered it a testament to how good Melina's food is!

Pros: Food, service

Cons: Parking

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

04/29/2008 Posted by sandracoons

My daughter and I decided to try this restaurant Monday night. The service was good, but the food was a disappointment. I ordered the baked rigitoni with meatballs, the "gravy" was unbelievably salty and the meatballs were obviously frozen. I didn't understand the frozen meatballs being served in an Italian restaurant. On a good note, my daughters fish was good. I wouldn't return - this to me was a disappointment in "real" Italian food.

Pros: Service

Cons: Food

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

03/25/2008 Posted by Daners00

my boyfriend and i came to seattle to see the sites and eat the food. this restaurant made the entire trip well worth it! we showed up sorta late, around 9. got beautiful seatting. first thing i noticed about the restaurant was the environment was really comfortable. sometimes i get too uncomfortable with candle lit dinners but this was really cozy. we got our food right as the restaurant was closing and we were the last ones there. this made me feel bad, but the managed was really cool about it. he kept the music going and the wine comin. i LOVE the fettichini! i couldnt get enough. the dessert was insane! the wine list was brilliant. we would up staying until WAY after they closed BSing with the manager about music and wine. we had such a great time, we came back the next night. this really was a restaurant to remember. please go!

Pros: fabulous food, great wine list, terrific dessert, lovely service

Cons: i live no where near it

03/09/2008 Posted by The_Big_Ragu

I was with a group of four people. We went last Friday (definitely need reservations for a Friday/Saturday). We were seated quickly. The waitress brought a hot basket of a homemade bread that was exceptional. We all ordered drinks. I tasted both the house cabernet and called Avalon (I think?). Don't order the house cabernet. I ordered the Caesar which was good, pretty much what I expected. Caesar salads seem to be that way, you only remember when they bad or exceptional. I then ordered the spaghetti with Italian sausage (yeah I know, no imagination), anyway it was great. The noodles were handmade(?) and very hearty and the sausage was flavorful without be greasy or heavy. My wife ordered the gnocchi which was very good, probably handmade too. My friends ordered the salmon with bow-tie pasta and a penne pasta. The salmon pasta dish was very well done. The salmon was good but not overpowering (which salmon can be in a 'light dish'). The penne was good too although a bit on the 'trendy side' and I didn't like it as much. We ordered thre desserts; NY cheesecake (it was on the fluffy side but very flavorful), Tiramisu (could have used a little more flavor but I would still recommend it) and a chocolate soffle/torte which was very good and not too dense (I'm not sure how they made it so fast?). The service was quick and efficient and very friendly. They had a piano player that came around and asked for requests. The whole experiance was very nice and I would definitely recommend it.

Pros: food, service, atmoshpere, music

Cons: parking

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

03/01/2008 Posted by gdmk

Nice Italian in the U district, the place is nothing fancy, but is warm and welcoming, and we were there on a Friday when there is live music. The service was very friendly, although I didn't appreciate much the fact that they brought us the check while we were still working on our desserts and coffees. We ordered the spinach and prosciutto salad that was very tasty but not as big as I we whould have wanted. We also had the eggplant rolls that were really great and very genuine tasting. We had the penne alla siciliana which were very good, and the spaghettini piccanti which my wife found a little heavy, but I though were not bad. The wine list was decent, not very long, but with few pearls. We had a Montepulciano, variety that I am familiar with, but the cantine we chose wasn't the best ever, not bad though. As for desserts, the tiramisu was below average, while my chocolate tortino was ok. At some point the singer/pianist, funny and friendly guy, that had put an entertaining program passed from the tables to get requests. Not in our immediate priorities but we might be going there again some time.

Pros: Good Italian, live music, friendly staff

Cons: Parking, plastic table covers (are you serious?)

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

02/16/2008 Posted by Karl34

I highly recommend this establishment based on a very positive experience there last night. Making the reservation (late on Friday afternoon for the evening) was easy; the person I spoke to was extremely helpful and accommodating. We were seated immediately upon arrival. The place has an intrinsic ambiance that made us all feel "at home". Water and warm bread were on our table very quickly. The menu selection was very reasonable; they also had two specials also which sounded delicious. Friday is apparently opera night, and it was wonderful to listen to the pianist/singer while enjoying the food (he even did a song from Phantom of the Opera - which my wife likes.) The service continued to be very good throughout. Our food overall was delicious. We'll be back here again!

Pros: Service, Ambiance, Entertainment, Food

Cons: Noise level, Parking

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

01/25/2008 Posted by louise_if_you_please

Mamma Melina Ristorante serves Italian dishes prepared with a keen awareness. On our most recent visit, I started with the chef’s whim salad, a daily special, and it was a savory sweet treasure arranged with Gorgonzola and pear. Everything after that was just as superb and we have tried many Italian restaurants. After dinner we had planned to go upstairs for a free movie screening. As we were enjoying our finely prepared food, we noticed a line forming outside the movie theater (The Landmark Seven Gables Theatre, just in case you want to do dinner and a movie too). When our waitress saw our concern as we reviewed our free movie pass she reassured us that the line had to reach a certain distance before the theater would reach full capacity. She even went to take a peek outside to make sure we were still safe as we finished our coffee. If you want a charming place to enjoy a fine Italian meal before a movie, or anytime, just try Mamma Melina’s. The Landmark Seven Gables Theatre tends to play arty future classics and we received our free passes from Scarecrow Video, which is in the same Roosevelt neighborhood.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

01/19/2008 Posted by jessrdh

My family and I recently ate out at Mama Malina's. I have two small children and a husband who's a resident doctor so you can imagine we don't get to go to restaurants much. When we do go out, though, we want it to be family friendly and worth our money. Mama's was that and more! Not only did we get genuine service, we got our food quickly (great for the kids) and felt welcome with our children in this restaurant. The waiter was well-seasoned in the arena of kids. He had the chef make a special children's dish for our daughter, then gave us a heads-up as to the temperature of the food. This restaurant also hosted my daughter's preschool for a culinary fieldtrip. The owners truly are good at what they do and extend themselves to individuals, families and this community. Thank you Mama Malinas.

Pros: Family Friendly!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful