Mamma Maria's Ristorante — Restaurant in Ontario

Good Food, but the sauces have suffered! What was once fantastic, is now just average!

Updated to reflect COVID-19 Health Regulations. Reservations strongly recommended. As required, one must sign in with contact info upon entry, with a mask. Our 4-top sat 3 of us. There were 3 8-tops(maybe a 10-top, but I'm not sure) & several other 4-tops, most with only 2 seated. All tables were the regulated 3 metres apart. I ordered the bbq'd full-rack of ribs with mashed potatoes, vegetables & soup of the day, cabbage. The soup was barely hot, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not mouth-searingly hot, but just I would have preferred it slightly hotter. The vegetables were roasted carrots & broccoli, neither of which I will eat, so the compost to the bread plate. The mashed potatoes were of the 'dirty' type, pieces of skin left on when mashed! I prefer mashed potatoes smooth & creamy; fully peeled & well mashed, almost whipped, with lots of butter!!! I detest the skin's texture while chewing. I personally refer to these as "Lazy Mashed Potatoes"! I managed to force myself to eat about half of the serving. Another move of compost to the bread plate! Thd ribs were precut into 3 smaller pieces & were 'fall off the bone' perfection. The steak knife almost seemed overkill. The bbq sauce was very flavourful & not overly vinegary or sweet. Very nice! I definitely cleaned each & every bone!!! My black coffee was a bit weak. The other two enjoyed their meals(perch & fries with a garden salad/ the cabbage soup & fettuccine with mushroom creme sauce). It was very busy inside & both front & rear patios were also in use! This created a very noisy room. Conversation needed to be strained. Even though it was likely only at half pre-Covid capacity, it felt full. Both waitstaff & customers, coming & going, were uncomfortably close to my back as they walked by. Most were between 1 & 3 feet. Staff always were masked. One of the large seated tables likely overstayed as the were receiving their food as we were seated & were leaving as we had a final coffee, waiting for our cheque. Staff had to move tables around about the midpoint of our meal, in order to make another large seating table plus setting up a folding table to accommodate a couple. Three of the party seated at this large table were close enough to reach out & touch one of our party, another only a forearm's length more! A while seated & unmasked! It was very uncomfortable & we left as soon as we paid at our table. Before that, the overstayed large table walked by to leave; remember this was cm's from my seat. 2 of these held their hand over their unmasked mouth, another holding their cell phone over theirs!!! One needs to ask, "How were they allowed in & seated, without a mask??? If they had one, why weren't they used when leaving? How could staff not have noticed when seating?"!!! There were only 2 waitstaff, with an occasional 3rd, for the large room & the outside patio, on the same side, so they were busy. This was the most uncomfortable that I've been at any time since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak! I considered filing a complaint, but I do understand the chaos that an overstaying table can cause at any busy restaurant. The staff were very busy & yet rearranged tables to facilitate a large reservation, plus a 2-topper, in a matter of minutes. I believe it was an oversight, but once that group finished, the tables would be returned to their compliant locations. I would have reported it to staff, but they were scurrying & I just wanted to leave! Sadly, this is not the Momma Maria's that I'd loved with such creamy, rich sauces for several years after their opening!!! We even held our wedding reception in their back room!!! I'm not certain if it is an ownership, chef or economic reason, but it is far below what made it the finest restaurant in Chatham!!! Maybe with the hope that they regain their opening quality, I'll try them...

Hello, my devoted eaters and readers, let’s take a deep dive.

First of all, thousand thanks to Mr. Sisnik to give my spouse and I the best table by the window. Given the fact it was a full house and he went out of his way for us to sit next to each other.

Okay here’s the thing, I believe exceptional work by people that work their tails off needs to be mentioned. Thank you Don Marie, you took our order with such grace and took care of us with dignity! You are an asset to this institution, kudos to Mr. Sisnik seeing your worth and talent.

Two, when I lived in Chatham in 2003, there was not a lot of haute cuisine restaurants in town and the moment I sat down I did not have any pre-conceive notion, no high expectations, knowing Chatham is a small rural town… I know I have high standards than the rest of you, I have nothing harsh to say about Mama Maria’s, you are now frontline for the go-to Authentic Italian restaurant in town.

I mean, it was just a masterpiece experience, we really felt we were in a piazza in Tuscany. The family feel, the staff going the distance to make you feel at home, at ease. They didn’t upsell us on dishes we didn’t want to eat, we were elated. Personally, honestly this is the only time I didn’t even think how much it was going to cost at the end! If you love Italian food, and you need it at that particular moment, and you want to impress your significant other, YOU WILL PAY regardless. No one should be subjected to eating cardboard… ‘cause I know when I want to eat a quintessential dish, I need to taste it!

I highly recommend the Braised Short Ribs with the risotto to begin your journey into the unknown. Then, go to heaven and die with the Dusted Calamaris. Of course, if you want to have an affair with your food, please order the Spaghetti Pescatore – with fresh spaghetti, fresh mussels, fresh scallops, fresh jumbo prawns and fresh calamaris… Everything fresh!

May I add, putting a special attention to— I never seen a kitchen being well run as Mama Maria’s! A special thanks to the one of the chefs, Jeremy Inthachack (I hope I have the correct spelling). I spoke to the young man, highly knowledgeable, highly talented, with a bright future in front of him, I loved the passion in his eyes. Now you will know how the dishes comes out the kitchen, you see the special touches, the attention to details once you take the first bite. Thank you Jeremy and to your kitchen team.

My spouse and I sat there, smiling in complete happiness, pure emotional high and you don’t come down when the food is finished, you take the ‘‘chef-d'œuvre with you home.

So please go to Mama Maria’s, order what you feel will make you happy and if you don’t go, at least lie to your friends that you did.

Thank...

Disappointing ...

Seating was slow even with a booking for a large party. The previous customers had to be told to leave by staff who still needed to clean and set the tables for our group.

They would not allow us to sit at an empty table of 10 because it was reserved. Until the manager (?) came along some 15+ min later.

Servive was slow. The staff did take orders by overlapping drinks, appetizers and main course. Smart, to allow bar and kitchen to keep up. Yet, there was a long wait to get it all. From our booked time to getting the main course there was wwll over an 1h30. We were starving.

Food ended mostly cold, somewhat blend.

My appetizer, the calamari, was a very nice portion. But, it was overcooked and cold... on chewy side.

Others had different appetizers, but same comments - nothing special, especially for the price.

The bread had come too early for a group now starving. We had to do our own olive oil and balsamic mix to dip our bread in.

The ceasar salad was fine, a nice portion.

I had the seafood risotto. Aside from being blend and rather cold, it was a fair portion. Scallops were perfect, melt in mouth. The lobster or crab, hard to tell, had no taste ... the fillet of red snapper was too cooked, a bit too dry.

The chicken seafood special, although cold as well, was very good. I had a taste. There was two large shrimps, the chicken moist & well cooked. Instead of a few small carrots for garnish, there was a large carrot. Weird.

In other words, all plates could of been near perfect but for being long to arrive and too cold to serve.

We had no time for dessert.

The bill eventually came. Ouch! Two beers, two glasses of wine, a shared appetizer and two main plates, no dessert, and the forced tip of 27$ totalled a little over 200$.

I had better and warmer for less.

At least the group enjoyed the opportunity of being together.

Sadly, I would...