Mama Di Roma — Restaurant in Fairmont

I hate giving local mom and pop places bad reviews. So my two star rating might be "beefed up" a bit because of the sympathy I have for the people who own this spot. It's hard to run a restaurant. Its hard to find good help or a great location. But at the end of the day, as long as the food is good, all the other things don't matter. But with this spot, that's where this place fails BIG TIME. It's been open for a couple years now, and I have often thought of giving them a try but every time I consider ordering a pizza from there, the photos of their pizza just look terrible. From the photos it looks like their pizza suffers from what I call : "The TOO deadly sins of bad pizza" (Too Thick, Too Floppy, Too Soggy, Too many toppings, Too much cheese, Too heavy, Too Soft, Too undercooked)

The service was fast, and right on time. Ready in exactly the amount of time they had stated. The people who took my money were very nice and polite. I did not eat in the restaurant. I did take out. The place looked clean and inviting. However, I was the only person in there who was not an employee.

The pizza Suffered EVERY SINGLE "TOO DEADLY SIN" unfortunately. and it was one of the worst tasting floppiest pizzas, I have ever seen. Its crust was something that tasted like Bisquick. The toppings were cheap tasting and there were far too many of them. It was one of the worst pizzas I've ever eaten in a long time, even for Fairmont which does not have a reputation for good pizza.

The price of the pizza is one of the highest prices I've ever paid for a large pie. I don't mind paying close to $30 for one pizza, if its great, like Difara's in NYC or Sally's in New Haven or Lucali in Brooklyn, but those places deliver high quality. This has a high-quality price with terrible quality pizza. I will not be back. I can still taste that aftertaste from the "Crust"... it's not a good thing. GO to Cantoni's for take-out pizza in Fairmont instead. That's where I usually go, but I wanted to try something different....

My wife and I went to Mama Di Roma's to have a nice Valentine's Day dinner. The sign in front stated "Seat Yourself". We went to a table in the back corner. We got there early so there were few people in the restaurant. The waiter came out, took our drink orders and returned with them. My wife ask for more time to make her selection. The waiter was kind and agreed to come back. Shortly after, a white haired man came barging from the kitchen and asked if there were only two of us or four. We told him that it was only the two of us. He scolded us and said, "This table is for four people, not two." He started looking around as if he planned to make us move. He grabbed our waiter by the arm, swung him around, and demanded that he prepare another table for four. Our waiter came to our table later and apologized. I asked if he wanted us to leave. Shortly after, a couple sat at the table to our left and were asked to move because it was meant for four people. There was nothing on the table to indicate that it was reserved in any way. They moved. Another couple came in later and sat at the same table. They were also asked to move. As they were trying to find another place to sit, the gray haired man came over and told them to go ahead and sit where they were. We later placed our order, the waiter brought our food and we didn't see him the rest of the night. We had to ask another waiter to get him to bring our check. Our food was average at best. The staff was trying hard but the gray-haired guy kept barking orders and yelling at everyone keeping them all stressed and struggling to keep up. This will most definitely be my last visit here. If you go, I hope your experience is better than ours and several others...

The Real Deal... truly the best Italian food I've eaten since moving to West Virginia 2 years ago. I've been searching for a spot that reminded me of all the great authentic Italian food I grew up with in New Jersey.

I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana Sub and was so happy when I opened the sandwich and saw actual chicken cutlets, most likely homemade. Not some frozen knockoff tyson chicken tenders like all the other italian/pizza places use that taste like cardboard. The Sub was loaded with mozzarella and a delicious red sauce on a fresh baked roll, instantly I was reminded me of Jersey food. And for $10 !!??!! The most affordable meal I've had, while simultaneously being one of the tastiest and fresh cooked meals I've had in 2 years.

Mama di Roma would be considered one of the legendary italian spots on the east coast. A hidden gem of West Virginia, dont hesitate to try this great food. The owner is very friendly and I am so glad many others feel the way I do about Mama di Roma.

I will not be going anywhere else besides here for delicious food and a welcoming...