Mama’s on Main — Restaurant in Covington

Great Food, Mismanagement in the house

Our evening started out well. We were greeted and escorted to a table with a wobbly chair that was quickly changed out. We were offered water and a friendly hello from the waiter who took our drink orders along with appetizers. Our drinks arrive, the server (not our waiter) asks "Who ordered the old fashions?" I told him we didn't, that we had actually ordered negronis (a cocktail that was invented in... Italy). Responding, "Oh, these must be negronis" he puts them on the table and leaves. Thankfully, they were, indeed, negronis (and delicious ones at that).

Our appetizers arrived, calamari and Ceasar salad, both marvelous. We then ordered our main courses. They were brought by a different server (not our waiter) who auctioned the dishes off, not knowing who ordered what. That's a "no-no" in a restaurant that Mama's on Main claims to be. Forgiveness came fast, however, when we dived into our meals which were out of this world.

In a good restaurant it is customary to collect plates when everyone has finished. Taking a plate away while another is eating gives the impression that the lone slow eater needs to speed up their tempo... not very nice. Now, I tend to eat faster than most so my plate was empty before everyone else's. Sure enough, someone wants to take my plate. I say, "No thanks. I'll wait until my guests are finished."

Now everyone is finished. Two of our four main dishes are cleared as we place our desert order. The other two main course dishes along with bread dishes sit. And sit. And sit. My guests stack the plates themselves and place them at the corner of the table. They still sit. And sit. Lo and behold, dessert arrives with dirty main course dishes and bread dishes stacked on the table, never collected. I ask them to clear the dirty dishes before giving us the dessert. The server (not our waiter) says, rather nonchalantly, they have to serve the desert first. Wrong response. I sternly told them to take the dessert away and bring it back once they remove the dirty plates (C'mon!). Another server corrected this, taking the dirty plates and dessert made it to the table.

Look, I really wanted to enjoy this experience. As fantastic as the food was, the service ended up being on the other end of the spectrum terrible. And at $80.00 a head, things should have been better.

If what goes on in front of the kitchen can be raised to the level of quality found in the dishes coming from the kitchen, this restaurant would go from being a dissapointment to a regular "go to" place. Good training goes a long way. Until that day comes, I urge you...

I reached out privately via email to share some constructive feedback about an experience I had with a hostess but was ignored. I had a reservation booked for 4 on New Years Eve. I called asking to change it to a party of 6 if possible. I understand this is a very busy evening for restaurants and my chances were slim. The young woman who I spoke with on the phone was immediately dismissive and curt - stating the restaurant was booked. I understand. I explained that we were hoping to expand our reservation so that my mom, who is in hospice for cancer, could enjoy her last NYE with our family. She responded very short with a simple “nope we’re booked.” No apology. No empathy. I felt like I couldn’t have been more of a bother to her.

I understand sometimes accommodations can’t be made. In this situation - a very sensitive time for our family - a little empathy and compassion would have gone a long way, even if the restaurant couldn’t accommodate our request. This review is not about being unable to expand our res. This review is about the lack of compassion and care held by the staff.

This was supposed to be our first time dining at Mama’s. This encounter has caused me to lose my taste for this resistant and being ignored demonstrates the type of management this place has. We won’t be visiting in the future. I simply wanted to share an experience I had in hopes feedback will be given to this individual and prevent this from happening to someone else - especially someone dealing with tragedy over the holidays. But it appears that’s not a priority for the management at...

Visited "Mamas" on May 28, 2025, with my wife and two other local friends. None of us had ever been to Mama's Italian Restaurant but were told that the food is exceptional.

Found this small Italian Restaurant on Main Street in Covington, KY and was surprised to see that the whole area was "reborn" in the years I have been away. Mama's is in the midst of a vibrant and charming Main Strause neighborhood. Off Street parking was not an issue. Reservations were for 6:15pm and they were ready to seat us when we arrived. The waitress was knowledgeable and professional. She knew the menu well and said she had sampled nearly everything. She was very helpful to us as we quizzed her about the various dishes they serve, and she made recommendations based on our feedback to her. It's nice when your server knows the food / entree products they serve to the guests. The Menu is "limited" but sufficient to provide its guests with options.

The food was very, very good and the service exceptional. The prices were less than the quality of our wonderful Italian meal and this restaurant will do well in the future with the great service they provide to their customers. My only advice to the owners of Mama's is to equip the dining room with some noise dampening materials as it was so noisy in the small glass enclosed space that we could hardly talk/hear the conversations of our...