Mama's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Florida

Our waitress Lisa was AMAZING!!! The whole restaurant runs like a well oiled machine, but she really stands out...She was VERY friendly and accommodating to my family and was happy to give recommendations on the menu...I asked about HER favorite salad dressing, she said Italian so I said yes, & it was amazing...she was bringing out more drink refills & had ordered us more garlic bread before we even had to ask for it. ALL our food was great, the portions were huge & are brought out when they were ready, not "sitting in the kitchen" waiting to come out. She was on top of EVERYTHING. My 14 year old son had noticed and I told him that he should tell her that and he did. He said "You know, you are REALLY good at doing your job" and you could tell that it ment alot to her, she had such a huge smile while she thanked him & said God bless your heart. It was such a great moment for all of us. She came back a bit later with some candy that she said she went & got it out of her purse because she was so flattered. I could tell he had made her day & hope that she can think back on him saying that during those times when she has to deal with those "difficult/unhappy/you just cant please customers" that ALL wait staff have had to deal with at 1 point in time or another...(you know who you are, get over yourselves we're doing the best that we can)...believe me, personally working at the 2018 TripAdvisors #5 ranked top burger joint in the country for the past 6+ years, I Know what I'm talking about....Go to Mama's Italian Restaurant to eat, if there's a line, it's worth the wait, and if you're lucky...You will get Lisa & the same phenomenal...

We ordered a pizza over the phone at 8:40 PM, knowing the restaurant closes at 9:00 PM. We weren’t sure if they'd take a late order, but they did which we appreciated. However, before my boyfriend even hung up, someone on the phone said, “Well, we close in 20 minutes so… we hope to see you before then,” which came off a little passive-aggressive. I get that late orders can be frustrating, but the tone just felt unnecessary. When we arrived around 8:50, one of the staff—who was younger and friendly—initially asked if we were picking up for someone else. After we corrected her, she smiled and went to check on our order. But then another woman smirked and said to her, “Well, you would’ve lost that bet,” and they both laughed. It felt like they were making jokes at our expense, which made the interaction a bit uncomfortable.That said, they did offer red pepper flakes and parmesan, which was a nice touch, and our pizza came out shortly after. The pizza was decent, and I know from past visits that their pasta is genuinely great. It’s a solid spot overall—just felt like the vibe from the staff this time around was a little off, which took away from the...

Mid-afternoon (2:00-3:00 p.m): base price for food $11.99, total $16.91. Server Brought iceberg lettuce salad with crackers! Fountain coke was good, and there are refills, however, to get one I had to wave at the serving station where four servers were congregating. Lasagna brought, looked good. Waited to eat because it was hot. Waitress brought garlic bread to table, by the taste, I would guess that the bread was frozen-garlic-bread, the type you can buy in the pizza section at a grocery store. The lasagna lacked a subtle spice flavor. The tomato flavor of the sauce, and the large amount of cheese dominated the taste. A bit greasy from all of the cheese. Service poor. One waitress was busy, four tables, with the rest doing nothing, including my waitress who came to my table only to bring an item as it was given to her, I was her only table. This is a popular restaurant in Englewood and has been there for decades, so it must please a lot of people, however I found it to be overpriced for the value of the meal. I won't waste my...