Mamas and the Tapas Café — Restaurant in California

After reading all of the reviews for this place I had to give it a try. Let me first start with the negative since they are few and easily fixed. I went here with my wife, daughter, father, brother, and sister. When we first sat down there was no silverware at the table and we had to ask for them otherwise I don't believe we would have received any. Also, it took a bit before anyone came by to take our orders and we were clearly ready with our selections. That's about it. Our server was very polite, I just wish we would have seen him more often and that he would have told us his name but he was definitely a bright spot in a fairly busy night.

The positives have to begin with the food. It was all delicious. We had the sweet plantains, the Caribbean burger (and sliders), cannon balls, chicken flautas, beef empanadas, a pork empanada, the cubana sandwich, and coconut rice. So there was a bit of a wait but that was perfectly acceptable to us because of the amount of food we ordered. It all came out to us hot and fresh. I would recommend the sweet plantains the highest since we had 4 orders and nothing left of them by the end of the night. I do not recommend the black beans though, way too watery.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, it is pretty casual and non intimidating which is always great in my opinion. The menus were simple and easy to read. The Caribbean Rum Punch was the only alcoholic drink we ordered and my wife really enjoyed it. I had to drive so I just had Dr. Pepper.

It is a cool little place, and I could see us coming here 1 to 2 times a month because it is a bit on the pricier side of things. I would say that most menu items warrant the cost, since the sauces are brilliant and we left full and satisfied.

One last note though is I wish they had more dessert options! Thank you for reading and...

So glad I found another hidden gem in Central Valley. This family restaurant (I'm assuming from all the family pictures on the wall) has some of the best tapas in town!

To be honest, all dishes we tried were delicious! *Cannon Ball (Yucca Relleno) - 5 big stars! Fried yucca balls stuffed with seasoned ground beef and chorizo. If you like Potato Balls from Porto's Barkery (a Cuban bakery chain in LA), you MUST give these a try when they are fresh. It's like an upgraded potato ball drizzled with Sriracha aioli (if I may say so). *Jerk Chicken Salad - 4.5 stars. This is one of the best salads I've had this year. Fresh green with cucumber, tomato, mango salsa with lime cilantro vinegerette, and a super generous portion of tender jerk chicken *Cubano sliders - 4 stars. Mini slider with pork shoulder, thinly sliced ham topped with melted Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. The best part of the grilled cheese skirt, which melted together with the meat. Oh mine it was delicious. *Jerk Chicken Wings - 3.5 stars. $12 for a dozen wings is a great deal. The sauce wasn't my favourite because it had a lot of ginger. But my fiance enjoyed the jerk sauce a lot.

Overall, this place has some of the best Cuba/Puerto Rican/Caribbean food I've ever tried. I almost don't want more people to know about it. Just kidding, great food...

Cubano Sandwich + Sweet Plantains. The mustard and char on the ham prevented me from tasting the Garlic Sriracha Aioli. But I ate the whole thing, so it wasn't a bad sandwich. The char on the Plantains was kinda nice. Bananas were sweet and tangy. Tropical Bavarian Betty dessert (on in-house menu) -- white cake with Bavarian cream, crushed pineapple, whip cream, toasted coconut (according to menu). I did not taste toasted coconut. And I forgot there was cake involved because it was lost somewhere in the middle of the Parfait-style dessert. Even though I ate the whole thing, I kept thinking, "if only there were chopped pecans on top..." But that's just me.

'Mamma' was all over the customer service. Daughter (?)/'Not the mamma' lost her focus even moreso after her son and boyfriend arrived. Mammas and the Tapas regulars and first-timers like me where there. The dining area was filling up. Take-out orders were coming and going also. I sat at the bar. I do not recommend you do this if you want to be in the thick of it all.

Everyone was friendly. I will go back. There are several more items on the menu I'd like to try.

P.S., I just realized I wasn't charged for the Arnold Palmer that the 'Not the mamma' served me. Feel free to add it on my next...