Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Bakersfield

This is a fantastic restaurant. We will go back again and again. The quality of the food makes the price worth it. We enjoy every bite.

We went in with a party of nine. It was a little difficult to get ahold of the restaurant for a reservation. I left a message and sent an email and I did get a call back the next day, so I'm glad I called a couple days before. But they had our table ready.

The staff is friendly and pleasant and the server was very knowledgeable about the menu and very nice.

The restaurant is very clean and charming inside. The restrooms are clean and the staff is neatly dressed and very professional. The chairs are comfortable. The whole place is like a picture perfect family owned Italian restaurant.

Everyone's food and drinks were delicious and we were all really excited about what we ordered. They had some amazing specials. One person at our table ordered duck and others ordered the surf n turf with filet mignon, scallops, and shrimp. Everything was delicious and high quality.

Now the reason this review is four instead of five stars: several people ordered steak. Two of the steaks were not cooked correctly. I was really shocked at this because the quality of the kitchen is so high that I didn't expect that to be a problem.

I was disappointed with my filet mignon surf n turf. The steak was very good quality but it was cooked incorrectly. The server started to argue with me, not about how it was ordered, but how it was actually cooked, so I dropped it even though it was definitely not cooked correctly. The scallops were cooked PERFECTLY but the jumbo shrimp were also overcooked and chewy. I had the homemade GF ravioli on the side. They were so delicious, but the server did not tell me the "small upcharge" was actually +$16. And that was the only GF pasta option they had. I'm used to paying extra for GF, but I was thinking maybe +6, not that I was paying for a whole second meal with my filet mignon that was already $85. So definitely ask about prices before ordering off-menu if you are on a budget.

The whole meal was a huge treat, loved the atmosphere and had a blast. Other than my own issues with my meal, everyone was super happy with their food and we all had...

Only reason why I am even giving 2 stars is because atmosphere was nice and restaurant seemed clean and price point was right. Atmosphere is more for dating couples or those wanting to get together for drinks, however, not a family atmosphere at all. We called ahead, and the soonest reservations were about 3 hours from when we called (so 7:30 pm) aka, they wanted to get all their small tables out of the way for dinner rush instead of accommodating for a large table. When we got there, 10 mins early, the table was ready and we did sit right away, so there was no waiting... which was nice, as well. But then it took about 15 minutes to even have someone come over to get a drink order, in which 2 people at the table completely got skipped over and did not get to order. No biggie, we had water to compensate. Then it took about 20 more minutes to get someone over to get food ordered (meanwhile they kept walking by to get to the computer, but there was no acknowledgment to us at all)... not even an appetizer order or anything... so we ordered everything at once. The appetizers came out timed right, I will give them that. However, our food order was completely messed up and, some just settled for what they got, but one person at the tables was totally wrong... they were going to just settle after such a long wait, but the server said it wouldn't take that long to make the right thing... but it did. That person had to wait for the time it took everyone else to eat and then when everyone was done eating ans the table was pretty cleared, it finally showed up. There was no offer for compensation of anything at all. Nothing. Plus, the food was not that great at all. Nothing special that I couldn't make better at home, honestly. The bolognese sauce had a funky smoky taste, salads weren't that fantastic, it honestly was not worth the wait at all. On top of the messed up order, there was like 2 extra, unordered, entrees on our bill and we had to wait ever longer to get that fixed. I would never return here.

On top of this, in the restroom, there was no changing table. Made having a young one very hard....

Definitely good restaurant but there it's a lot to be improved upon. The place is "L" shaped with one entrance on 18th and another on Chester. The host(ess) stand is in the centre of the place so you have to walk through the bar to get there (if you enter on 18th) or past all of the tables (if you enter on Chester).

The service was a little slow. We thought it was maybe because there were a couple of very large parties taking up the bulk of the main dining room, but even after they left and the place was nearly empty it was difficult to get our server's attention. Also, as a "nice" place, I shouldn't have to listen to the bussers slam glasses around in the dish racks (which they brought out to the floor- completely distasteful) or make a loud racket with the plates and silverware. I've worked in restaurants, from diners to 4 star and there's a difference in how you pre-bus, bus, and reset your tables without being a complete and total distraction. It was so loud when they were slamming things around I couldn't hear what my boyfriend was saying and he was sitting right next to me.

Now let's get to why they get 4 stars. The food is phenomenal! The bread is nice with a perfect crisp crust. The bolognese is savoury and rich. The porcini sacchetti are out of this world and bursting with flavour! There was a lot of excess oil "sauce" on the plate. The braised rib ravioli are incredible and the sauce was perfect, not too much. The prosecco is fairly priced. The "gelato" is not worth mentioning, especially at $7 for a small scoop. Better to ask what deserts they might have that day. All in all we will return. I'd like to try more of what they offer. As an Italian, it's great go to a restaurant that offers REAL Italian inspired dishes instead of American staples...