Mamma Onesta's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Canton

I really want to give this restaurant 5 stars but because of their veal I cannot. We were in on Friday evening - there were 3 of us and I ordered the appetizers of the fried calamari and mussels. The calamari was great- not rubbery and the breading was perfect- not too much- it was excellent. I don’t eat mussels but my husband said they were very good. I ordered the penne with vodka sauce which was fantastic and a side order of meatballs which were a good size and not dense. I loved my meal. Our friend ordered the chicken Onesta and he enjoyed his meal very much. My husband ordered the veal parmigiana and when I asked him how it was he said “ I don’t know because the veal is so paper thin all I taste is sauce and cheese.” He showed me his veal and I was shocked at how thin it was sliced. Anyone who eats veal knows it needs to be pounded thin but this was way beyond thin. If it was any thinner it would have been shredded. He was very disappointed to say the least. When we were living in NC a restaurateur who owned a local Italian place told us he didn’t have veal on his menu because good veal is ridiculously expensive and he said it would not be cost effective for him to pass on to his customers so he chose not to offer it on his menu. I personally along with my husband would choose to pay for good veal but most people probably would not. That being said, my personal opinion is that Mamma Onesta’s should either choose to offer a regular portion of their veal and pass that cost on to the customer or take it off their menu rather than serve something so sub standard. My husband does regret not saying anything when he was asked by staff if everything was ok. I must say that the staff and owners are absolutely wonderful. Our waitress was Madeline and she was great. Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. We just moved to this area in a 55+ community nearby that will have over 500 homes and everyone here is always looking for good restaurant recommendations and I will be honest if asked. I would absolutely love to give this 5 stars if...

COVID- space inside feels slightly crammed however, I see that they make it a point to seat different parties in separate areas. They have two rooms. I was seated in a room with the bar (room is more narrow).

FOOD- I thought everything we got was delicious. We were recommended appetizers that’s pretty much all fried and they were good (fried mozzarella, Sausage+ peppers, and fried calamari). I would say my favourite was the peppers that came in the sausage+ pepper app. I had lasagna and it was delicious.

WINE/ BAR- we ordered two bottles recommended by the bartender by a company named Donati Family Vineyard (2017 Cabernet and 2016 claret/ red mix). It is super easy to drink and was a huge hit at my table. I usually recommend a easy to drink wine that everyone can enjoy that is not dry at all. The Cabernet was surprising because it didn’t have much oaky vanilla to it. It was very fruit forward, specifically berry notes. It is medium bodied that i didn’t think was dry at all. However, it also wasn’t very sweet. Even though it was fruit forward, it wasn’t acidic. The Claret was mellow. Compared to the cab, it didn’t have much distinguished high flavours.

We didn’t get cocktails the the bar looked impressive.

VIBE- this place is fancy enough that you can bring a date. I highly recommend the bar side because it felt more upscale.

SERVICE- fantastic. Server had great recommendations. I believe the manager/ maybe owner called few hours before to confirm our reservation. We...

After reading all the positive reviews we were excited to eat at Mana Onesta, we were very disappointed! Rachel served us and she was the highlight of the evening as was the owner / host. The best way to describe our meal was the chef owner is more like a mechanic than a surgeon, no finesse! Our Caesar salad was literally floating in a bottled dressing that did not resemble Caesar dressing at all, more like oil and heavy vinegar. The garlic bread was a dinner roll with a lite brushing of garlic butter, about as bland as you can make. My wife's chicken francaise and my veal francaise were both tender and tasty, however, both were highly over seasoned with garlic, salt, and lemon. The pasta was well cooked but floating in the same sauce. It appears the chef owner is aware of complaints such as the salad but doesn't care to change. He probably is talented but does not understand the nuances of using seasoning when making delicate dishes. He definitely needs to rethink the Caesar dressing (much better bottled dressing available if he won't make it himself) and the garlic bread should be real Italian garlic bread and not a dinner roll. We have no plans to dine there again! Additionally it took us 1 1/2 hours to get our main course. They might want to rethink the wine list as well! Very poor selection of wines by the glass especially Italian wines. The comment was that they're not known for their wine...maybe they would be if the put some attention into...