We had a great dinner here for our first visit. Emma and staff were great. Food was legit. Price points are very fair. Will be back. One thing. I would love to see a tip line on the credit card receipt. I know there is a service charge included in the bill, but if I have a solid experience, and want to leave a little extra $$, I have that option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Emily Burton
One of the best dining experiences in East Bay so far. Incredible ambience, really delicious, fresh food, with small details that really stand out. We did the prefix menu during restaurant week. Everything even down to the bread was so unique. Can’t wait to come back here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Boris D
OMG! Went last night and and every single thing was so delicious! And the service was so good.
Went in during Oakland restaurant week. Service was prompt and attentive. Super good food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Malcolm Moody
Tl;dr the actual human service is great, but the overall service and experience is disappointing.Note: visited for restaurant week. Menu is $45 instead of $35 and comes with focaccia and meatballs for the table (basically 2 slices of focaccia and 1 meatball per person). There is an arancini option for vegetarians.Total bill: 2 pre fixe menus, 4 glasses of wine: $210.Service:Mama’s uses a main server and then drops everything with a team, so it’s a very refined experience. Service was personable and helpful!Mama’s charges a mandatory 20% tip, which I’m not a fan of. First, you pay tip ON TOP of all of the Oakland taxes and fees, not just the food charges. Second, there is a health and wellness charge baked into the bill that is not publicized. From my perspective, this is a huge knock against the ownership and colors the service under a poor light. If you feel like your staff deserve a pay increase, then give them a pay increase and reflect this in your menu pricing. Frankly, I don’t think the menu is worth a 20% increase (see deep dive).Atmosphere:We sat in the parklet. The weather was really nice, but the parklet feels a little rough. This is enhanced by the near constant barrage of motorcycles, dirt bikes, and ATVs driving by doing wheelies. There is a decent amount of sidewalk traffic as well. I think Mama’s should drop the parklet. There is no way of preventing the street noise, half of the parklet is unshaded, so the sun gets in your eyes, and it doesn’t seem to match the ambience inside.Parking is street parking, challenging to find super nearby, but you can probably get a spot within 1-2 blocks.Deep Dive on Food:1st course was excellent, super creative. We had the potato leak with prawns and clams. Very flavorful, bright with a bit of heat. We also had the beet and burrata salad, which was excellent.The focaccia was good, loved the garlic oil. It was a little dense from my perspective, but the rhubarb onion jam and ricotta really elevated this.2nd course: everything was good, but not noteworthy. We both had the sugo, but someone else at the table got risotto. The pasta was a little on the gummy side (like right between Al dente and overcooked) and was a little bit light on the sauce. The meatballs are good. Frankly, I prefer them on the sandwich you can get on Thursdays [?], by themselves they are not super noteworthy.3rd: the desserts were fine. I felt that the tart needed more “tart”. It was a bit flabby. The Tiramisu had some of the best base in terms of soaked lady fingers and cream, but the tempered chocolate on top was just a miss for me.Wines: all the wines are super good, but a bit on the pricy side. Everything was $16-17/glass for Italian imports and some local options from Lodi. Interesting wines, but not great value from my perspective.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Janney Lockman
LOVELY. Excellent food, excellent experience, at an amazing price for a dinner of this caliber. I love the business model (and not being overwhelmed by choices) and look forward to going back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Little Gem Salad, Mama's Sugo & Garganelli
Alexander A
A fantastic spot for dinner celebrations or romantic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Johnnie Griffin
!Great Food, go for it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yvonne Moreno
Great place, I love the soft music.
Food: 5
Aaron Buckley
What an incredible food experience! Fancy Italian food at affordable prices. Excellent wine menu. Amazing service. Chill vibes. A must go in Oakland!
Incredible food, fast service, fast table turnaround. Planning to come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Scallops
Carlos S.
Don't even get me started on how this place is. Honestly, don't even come here so I can keep coming here! LOL Jk. 10/10 service, 10/10 food, 12/10 overall. Wine selection? GreatFood? Amazing. Will I come back. Absolutely Menu is pre-set and changes every week/month. Every time you go it could be different. There are options to add to the meal, and if you had to do so, get mamas meatballs! Had the Sugo, and that is the one. Definitely a great date spot and definitely recommend going with someone so you could try everything. Server was awesome and would be back just for that. Who ever Mama is, she must be proud because I don't think I've ever had such amazing Italian food and service in the Bay like this place. Reservations are a must! See you there!
Linda N.
It was my husband and I's first time here and we throughly enjoyed it! A reasonably priced preset menu in Oakland! The preset menu comes with three courses and you can add focaccia or entree add-ons for additional prices. We highly recommend the focaccia, it was delicious with the dip it comes with and the soup appetizer. The restaurant itself is not too big, but feels like a small Italian restaurant, and the staff are kind and continued to check on us throughout our meal. We are excited to go back and try their new dishes since the menu changes frequently!
Gabriela RW
Everything was epic, from start to finish.Service was warm and friendly, and our waiter was super knowledgeable.The ragu, do not ever sleep on the ragu. Holy hell, made my week.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Theresa R.
Such a warm and welcoming place. There's indoor or outdoor seating options. They have the heaters roaring outside.We had the mushroom risotto and the Bucatini with beef; also a smoked trout soup which was amazing! Lastly, a dessert included on the pre-fixe menu - Panna Cotta and we ordered one more!It was all cooked perfectly. It felt like I was in Rome, with the Al dente pasta and rich meat sauce. The Panna Cotta was to die for. Wonderful meal!
We had a great dinner here for our first visit. Emma and staff were great. Food was legit. Price points are very fair. Will be back. One thing. I would love to see a tip line on the credit card receipt. I know there is a service charge included in the bill, but if I have a solid experience, and want to leave a little extra $$, I have that option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
One of the best dining experiences in East Bay so far. Incredible ambience, really delicious, fresh food, with small details that really stand out. We did the prefix menu during restaurant week. Everything even down to the bread was so unique. Can’t wait to come back here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
OMG! Went last night and and every single thing was so delicious! And the service was so good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tiramisu, Mama's Sugo & Garganelli
Went in during Oakland restaurant week. Service was prompt and attentive. Super good food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tl;dr the actual human service is great, but the overall service and experience is disappointing.Note: visited for restaurant week. Menu is $45 instead of $35 and comes with focaccia and meatballs for the table (basically 2 slices of focaccia and 1 meatball per person). There is an arancini option for vegetarians.Total bill: 2 pre fixe menus, 4 glasses of wine: $210.Service:Mama’s uses a main server and then drops everything with a team, so it’s a very refined experience. Service was personable and helpful!Mama’s charges a mandatory 20% tip, which I’m not a fan of. First, you pay tip ON TOP of all of the Oakland taxes and fees, not just the food charges. Second, there is a health and wellness charge baked into the bill that is not publicized. From my perspective, this is a huge knock against the ownership and colors the service under a poor light. If you feel like your staff deserve a pay increase, then give them a pay increase and reflect this in your menu pricing. Frankly, I don’t think the menu is worth a 20% increase (see deep dive).Atmosphere:We sat in the parklet. The weather was really nice, but the parklet feels a little rough. This is enhanced by the near constant barrage of motorcycles, dirt bikes, and ATVs driving by doing wheelies. There is a decent amount of sidewalk traffic as well. I think Mama’s should drop the parklet. There is no way of preventing the street noise, half of the parklet is unshaded, so the sun gets in your eyes, and it doesn’t seem to match the ambience inside.Parking is street parking, challenging to find super nearby, but you can probably get a spot within 1-2 blocks.Deep Dive on Food:1st course was excellent, super creative. We had the potato leak with prawns and clams. Very flavorful, bright with a bit of heat. We also had the beet and burrata salad, which was excellent.The focaccia was good, loved the garlic oil. It was a little dense from my perspective, but the rhubarb onion jam and ricotta really elevated this.2nd course: everything was good, but not noteworthy. We both had the sugo, but someone else at the table got risotto. The pasta was a little on the gummy side (like right between Al dente and overcooked) and was a little bit light on the sauce. The meatballs are good. Frankly, I prefer them on the sandwich you can get on Thursdays [?], by themselves they are not super noteworthy.3rd: the desserts were fine. I felt that the tart needed more “tart”. It was a bit flabby. The Tiramisu had some of the best base in terms of soaked lady fingers and cream, but the tempered chocolate on top was just a miss for me.Wines: all the wines are super good, but a bit on the pricy side. Everything was $16-17/glass for Italian imports and some local options from Lodi. Interesting wines, but not great value from my perspective.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
LOVELY. Excellent food, excellent experience, at an amazing price for a dinner of this caliber. I love the business model (and not being overwhelmed by choices) and look forward to going back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Little Gem Salad, Mama's Sugo & Garganelli
A fantastic spot for dinner celebrations or romantic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
!Great Food, go for it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place, I love the soft music.
Food: 5
What an incredible food experience! Fancy Italian food at affordable prices. Excellent wine menu. Amazing service. Chill vibes. A must go in Oakland!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Incredible food, fast service, fast table turnaround. Planning to come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Scallops
Don't even get me started on how this place is. Honestly, don't even come here so I can keep coming here! LOL Jk. 10/10 service, 10/10 food, 12/10 overall. Wine selection? GreatFood? Amazing. Will I come back. Absolutely Menu is pre-set and changes every week/month. Every time you go it could be different. There are options to add to the meal, and if you had to do so, get mamas meatballs! Had the Sugo, and that is the one. Definitely a great date spot and definitely recommend going with someone so you could try everything. Server was awesome and would be back just for that. Who ever Mama is, she must be proud because I don't think I've ever had such amazing Italian food and service in the Bay like this place. Reservations are a must! See you there!
It was my husband and I's first time here and we throughly enjoyed it! A reasonably priced preset menu in Oakland! The preset menu comes with three courses and you can add focaccia or entree add-ons for additional prices. We highly recommend the focaccia, it was delicious with the dip it comes with and the soup appetizer. The restaurant itself is not too big, but feels like a small Italian restaurant, and the staff are kind and continued to check on us throughout our meal. We are excited to go back and try their new dishes since the menu changes frequently!
Everything was epic, from start to finish.Service was warm and friendly, and our waiter was super knowledgeable.The ragu, do not ever sleep on the ragu. Holy hell, made my week.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a warm and welcoming place. There's indoor or outdoor seating options. They have the heaters roaring outside.We had the mushroom risotto and the Bucatini with beef; also a smoked trout soup which was amazing! Lastly, a dessert included on the pre-fixe menu - Panna Cotta and we ordered one more!It was all cooked perfectly. It felt like I was in Rome, with the Al dente pasta and rich meat sauce. The Panna Cotta was to die for. Wonderful meal!