Mama Santa’s

Best Pizza in Northeast Ohio!!! Right in the middle of little Italy and one of the oldest restaurants in Ohio. Great fresh ingredients and homemade sausage. Affordable prices but limited parking. A must stop Resturant if you are in Cleveland :)

Is this some type of a joke? The worst Italian food I’ve had in my life. Stale bread, and a chicken parm served on white bread!!! Unbelievable the service was ok, but the food was horrible. Tasteless, bland just shitty. A trained monkey can do a better job cooking.

This is a very poor restaurant with a good story but very poor quality food. Servers can’t focus or give you attention you need. Sauce is not seasoned nor is the chicken. Can’t believe that. Salt and pepper can go along way. Pizza is very dry and flavorless. Overall poor food and service.

My girlfriend wanted to take me out to dinner, and I wasn’t going to complain. I was nursing a wicked hangover all day though. I rallied and we made it to Mama Santas.
I don’t frequent Little Italy often, but I always look forward to a trip there.
We arrived, and to my surprise, it was more of a hole in the wall than most of the other restaurants in the area.
There was a considerable wait, so we bought some Reeses from a girl going restaurant to restaurant; A nice little pre-​meal dessert.
I’m not going to lie, my expectations weren’t the highest. But the pizza blew me away. It was light, and crisp, but not super thin. I finished my half in about five minutes.
We also started with some house salads, which were also very good.
I’d definitely like to come back in the future.

I absolutely love the pizza here. The flavor of the sauce is amazing and there is a perfect amount. The cavatelli pasta is also delicious but I am not w huge fan of the meatballs. My only problem is that service can be a bit slow when they are busy so be prepared for a bit of a wait.

Mama Santa’s gives the Little Italy neighborhood the perfect flair of old-​time Italian with classically, delicious food.
I make it a point to come from the West Side as often as possible so that I may indulge myself in their pepperoni pizza and a side of meatballs. The environment and décor is something I appreciate in a time where everyone is trying too hard to be hip, fresh, and new. Mama Santa’s sticks to their roots with wooden panels on the walls, checkered tablecloths as well as paper, and waitresses that have probably been doing this since before I was born.
The lunch and dinner rush is bearable and I consider it worth the wait. just make sure you’re not coming in to order, eat quickly and run, because this is a more relaxed restaurant in the sense that nothing is rushed.
Kids, adults, seniors, Italian, and non-Italian’s will all find something tasty to get off their large menu, whether it be the various selection of pizzas, cavatelli or meatballs, everyone goes home full and happy.

A classic and vintage 50s style Italian restaurant café decorated with plaid black and white tablecloths. Known for their inexpensive southern Italian cuisine and pizzas. Pizza is served thin crust. Tiramisu is a must have. Very clean and brightly lit. Service was pretty good. Full bar is well stocked and food is pretty good. Hostess seemed clueless in her lackluster attempt to seat us. Nobody greeted our table for a full seven minutes. When we asked for bread we were actually refused when we were told our meal doesn’t come with bread and that they were short. All this while we subsequently watched several tables get a bread basket. So that was a bit tacky. You would think that if you ask for a side of cottage cheese with an ounce of red wine poured over it they would accommodate you. Apparently this is not their motto. The redeeming factors are that it’s very inexpensive, they do offer carryout service, and the food is decent. Park on the street if you can. There are municipal lots but their a brisk walk away.

I was so excited to come here after hearing so many excellent reviews of this restaurant. Huge disappointment. The food had little to no flavor and tasted like a microwave dinner; it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting to come out of Little Italy. Unfortunately the service was less than mediocre as well. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Amazing food, prices and service! Love the manicotti and homemade ricotta. Yummmmm. I always get the spumoni as well — it’s a staple that I won’t miss (even if I’m stuffed). :)

the food was cold, meatballs tasted pretty bad, and the service sucks. This place used to be good around 10yrs ago but fast foreword times have changed, this used to be my fav place for
cavetelli and meatballs but will not be going back. Oh pizza is ok kinda tastes like the chef boyardee pizza kit from the box

We drive 30 minutes to get their pizza. It’s not fancy but all the food is great. Love the neighborhood, Little Italy. This is a very casual, friendly place to eat. I like to get the manicotti and a side of sausage or meatballs, that way I have more pizza to take home.

Their pizza is a great value and delicious (that has been so for decades).
What they are under rated for is their «homemade noodle» pasta dishes.
Little Italy location is pretty, park at Holy Rosary, say a prayer for us all. Then go inside Mama Santa’s restaurant which is refreshingly no fuss and humble.
Great restaurant for family meal with kids.
Also great for takeout pizza too.
I love Mama Santa’s.

Service was slow. Food was good. But our pasta was cold when it came out. But it tasted great. Home made pasta was great.
Be sure to set in one of the side rooms in the winter as the front door let’s cold air in the main room. Brrrrrr.
We got pizza too. It was good but came out about 30 minutes before the pasta. The kitchen needs to get their act together.
Still a great landmark in Little Italy. I will be back.
Hanna did a great job.

I’ve lived here for twenty years and even worked at a restaurant in Little Italy, but never tried Mama Santa’s. I’ve always heard such great things! But, unfortunately, I don’t get what all the hype is about. It was kind of a thinner crust and so it got soggy fast. And flavor wasn’t mind blowing or anything. Essentially nothin’ special, just order Pizza Hut.
p. s. mushrooms are canned, blegggch.

3.5 stars really. Server was nice and attentive, didn’t mention the fact that I had two kids with us, no menu or drinks offered to them. BAG SALAD… ick. Pizza pretty good, crust was soft and chewy. Good sauce. Prob won’t go back. House wine was not bad, but unless I’m in Italy, I
prefer to know what wine I’m drinking.

Let’s keep this brief: Mama Santa’s is coasting on its past reputation.
My fiancée and I stopped in for lunch on Saturday afternoon. After waiting five minutes to be acknowledged, the host walked us into the next room, handed us menus, and pointed at the table where he wanted us to sit.
We ordered a medium pizza. The crust was oversalted. The sauce (where existent) was flavorless, as was the cheese. The mushrooms were straight out of a can. The green peppers consisted of tiny little cubes consistent with the frozen variety. And if there were onions, I sure as hell couldn’t taste any. In quite amazing fashion, Mama Santa’s managed to make a pizza that tasted like a German pretzel bread.
Hands-​down, this was one of the blandest and worst pizzas either of us have ever eaten. It’s quite obvious that no one on the staff cares. Take your money elsewhere – I’d be happy to recommend several great pizza places, or a frozen DiGiornio pizza that you heat at home.

Their pizza is 5 star amazing — the crust is just the perfect combination of crispy and chewy and flavorful. We ordered half cheese, half sausage and loved every bite. My picky daughter also had an order of fries and they were fresh cut and salted with a good amount. The service is why I give them a 3 overall. At the beginning of the lunch hour we waited 10 minutes to be acknowledged and seated. Then were put at the booth by the bathrooms when the other sections were open and mostly empty. Finally we requested parmesan and red pepper and water refills and never got them. And they still weren’t busy. My recommendation is to get takeout instead of dining in.

First time visitor to Cleveland and enjoyed lunch at Mama Santa’s. The bread was very good. I ordered cavetetti with meatballs and it was very good. My brother had ravioli and it was tasty. My sister enjoyed the manicotti. The wait to check out was long. The place is old with lots of character!

PIzza was kind of soggy, and fairly bland. We ordered some toppings on the whole pie, and some on only half. They made it a some toppings on one half, and some on the other, they charged full price for all toppings (which isn’t an issue due to the hassle of having to make a half (also not that much of a hassle) but seriously if you’re going to do something, do it right) anchovy app was just a can of anchovies on a plate (I should of asked). Pass on this place.
Random side note, the restaurant origin story on the menu mentions the founder fought in WWII for the Italians and was a POW. It doesn’t clarify if he was fighting with the Nazis and captured by the Americans or vice versa, but it would be nice to know.

Consistently good pizza at decent prices. My favorite is the pepperoni pizza. This is not a place I’d recommend dining in — but pretty reliable for take out. Couldn’t speak to items other than the pizza.