Mamma Carmela Cafe Pizzeria — Restaurant in Adelaide

Informal, casual, non-fancy place with reliable food and a nice view of sunsets if you sit outside.

As at many restaurants in Australia, this is a get seated, read the menu, get-up-and-order-at-the-counter then return to your seats place.

That bread with the toppings on it in the photo is Bruschetta Mamma, and it is very more-ish. If you don't like salty salami, this might not be your thing, but for those of us who do, oh, I come back to this place again and again when visiting Adelaide to have some. Some nights, they give three slices because the bread is small; it's usually two larger slices of bread.

They offer a good selection of pastas and other food, including a bit of seafood, chicken schnitzel, and pub steak, at "beach prices" (that is, you could probably get the same quality for a bit less away from the beach.) Living near the beach in Sydney, I'm used to this and have figured out various menu hacks at my local places to get the best value.

Here, one menu hack is that if you have an entree (like the bruschetta, hint!), the small "entree size" of the pasta will likely be plenty to satisfy your hunger and will save $3 (and save lugging home the leftovers). You could call it a lunch size or a ladies size, but really, it's plenty for a meal -- at least for a female -- if you're having something else with it (or dessert) or aren't just returning from a 15km hike! :-)

With my bruschetta, I generally have an entree size pasta or the rosemary pizza bread (pizza crust with salt and rosemary on it), so I can't speak to the quality of the dishes beyond those. Their napoli sauce is a bit unusual (I think it might be done with roasted cherry tomatoes) and seems a cut above what you'd usually get when ordering the most basic pasta there is. In addition to featuring on a pasta that just has that sauce on it, the sauce is incorporated into various other pastas with additional ingredients. There are also numerous pastas with cream-based sauces.

Also, if you like wine but aren't into a lot of it (hello work day lunch or work night dinner), they offer a smaller pour as well as a larger pour of any wines they sell by the glass. I only ever get the small pour, and it runs around $8-10 per glass for interesting wines like the Miss Harry GSM that you don't see everywhere, as well as some, like a Pepperjack red, that are better known.

Perhaps the most unusual thing about their beverage selection is that they offer 3 different sizes of sparkling water: 250, 500, and 750ml. (Who knew sparkling water was bottled in all of these sizes?!)

I've seen people on informal dates, startup staff proudly collecting their stacks of pizzas whilst all wearing their company t-shirts, people catching up after work or having a meal after an arvo at the beach, etc. there.

In COVID times, I feel it is useful to include a bit about how COVID-safe a venue is. The outdoor tables are well spaced (I haven't really noticed the indoors... I always sit outside), and there is hand sanitiser just inside the entrance. Staff do a good job of wiping down tables very soon after a party has left. Cutlery is provided directly to the table rather than just sitting in a bucket of a dozen knives and forks for folks to take what they need. They do provide salt, pepper, and cheese in standard containers to each table, and I don't know if they wipe those down between uses. If you asked, they'd probably do so, but I don't use them so it hasn't come up. I'm one of the 40% of Australia who's considered "vulnerable" to COVID-19, so I care about these things. And I feel 100% safe eating here, hence why I return...

Walked down Jetty Road after a movie to find a pizza place for a late supper This iconic cafe was always open til late !? Being next to an international Tourist Hotel an right in the heart of Glenelg Tourist district We walked in and saw a sin to say wait to be seated A sweet young girl greeted us waring a uniform and escorted us toward a table for two she was polite and gracious Then before we sat down a young man came bustling acoss the room to tell her loudly that the place was closing soon and that we could ONLY order Pizza from the menu and shouted out that last drinks and coffee were being served The young girl showed us to the table and explained what we had just heard the young shout across the room and came back to tell us to hurry up and order or we would miss out on food The man was waring jeans and a hoodie - No idea how to tell who he was and if he even worked there?

I ordered and got just one glass of Merlot which the girl showed me My partner tasted it and I went back to order another indicating and describing the bottle to the whom I presumed was ‘The Manager’ He abruptly interrupted me and said”We only have one Merlot so that’s what you’re getting “ The pizza was very nice but we were being rushed out the door and chairs were going up on tables around us and people were hovering over us wanting to clear the table There a few other patrons with 1/2 bottles of wine taking their time and another table of 5 still drinking their beers

I have never felt so uncomfortable in a cafe ever And I would be embarrassed if they treated tourists this way in my home town Very disappointed to...

I’ve visited Mamma Carmela’s in Glenelg twice recently, and unfortunately both experiences were disappointing.

The first time, I ordered the Spaghetti Napoletana. It was extremely oily, with a pool of greasy tomato oil sitting at the bottom of the bowl. The flavour was bland and unbalanced, and even worse, I ended up with severe food poisoning afterwards and was unwell for a week. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, and it was really disappointing that food served could cause such a reaction.

I decided to give the restaurant another chance and came back a second time. This time I ordered a pizza, which tasted better but was still quite oily and not very filling. What really brought down the experience, though, was the service. Several staff members were sitting at a nearby table, and one of their chairs was sticking out into the aisle behind me. Even though they could clearly see it was in the way, they didn’t move it, and I was left pressed up against another chair until they left.

The only positive aspect was the friendly young waitress who served us and the restaurant’s great location in Glenelg. However, overall, the food quality and staff attentiveness need serious improvement. I really hope Mamma Carmela’s takes this feedback on board, as it has the potential to be a great spot if more care and...