Mom & Dad's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Georgia

We were tired from traveling all day, and I wasn't very hungry, but I knew I would be if I didn't eat, and Hubster said he was starving, so we looked for a place that would accommodate us, preferably with a good sandwich or salad for me and a meal for him... Close to the hotel.

This seemed to fit the bill and it has 4.5⭐ (for some reason). The parking lot was almost packed, but since it was 7:45pm, I figured everyone was probably either finishing up or drinking, since it has a bar.

We walked in and the lobby was crowded. Hubby wanted to walk right out, but I insisted on checking how long the wait was... The young man behind the hostess stand said, "Not too long. There are only three people in front of you." Well, that wasn't exactly an answer, so I said, "How long is not long?" "Not that long, if you give me your name and let me start seating people, I can get to you in probably five minutes" 😳 Really? Attitude?

It took 15 minutes for him to seat us. I was a little worried he'd forget us and start seating people that came in after us, but he didn't. He called our name and sat us right around the corner from the front door; close, but hidden around a wall. Honestly, I couldn't have been happier with the seating location.

The waitress, Liv, brought us three slices of soft bread that tasted fresh and homemade, though it was cold, not warmed. She mixed a plate of herbs, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar at the table for us to dip the bread in. The sweetness of the balsamic took me by surprise, as usually the dip is salty and herby. It was quite good.

Liv took our order right away: a large House salad with Ranch dressing for me, and spaghetti with meatballs and a side salad with ranch (See photos of both) for Hubby. It didn't take long to come out, maybe 15 minutes?

My salad was the perfect size. It was VERY fresh iceberg lettuce with tomato wedges, mild pepperccinni, pitted black olives (which were slightly bitter), and crunchy croutons (which would have been so much better if they had been homemade. They aren't that hard to do, and it seems like they'd have the old bread to make them with). It would have been very good, except they overloaded it with dressing, and this was thick dressing that sticks to the lettuce (see photo), so you can't tip the bowl and drain the dressing to one end, leaving just the right amount on your salad. 😳

Also, they came around after and topped the salad with cracked pepper. I adore cracked pepper on my salad. This was STRONG pepper 😥. It made the dressing taste more like peppercorn dressing than ranch. I wasn't in the mood for peppercorn, but... I've been craving salads lately, so...

I ate most of it anyway, scraping the dressing off as best I could. Besides, it was a $14 salad.

Hubs' plate was practically overflowing with spaghetti, there was so much. There were two meatballs with a marinara sauce (ACK! He found a green pepper in it and was not happy... 😂. He picked it out and said, "What do you suppose THAT is?" I told him it was a green pepper. Just put it on his other plate, he didn't need to eat it. He said, "Who the hell puts green peppers in spaghetti sauce?" 😂 A lot of people, Hun.)

Here are his thoughts on the spaghetti... "I will not go back there again, at least not for spaghetti. It had some weird taste to it, a weird spice or something, and the meatballs tasted like hot dogs." His salad also had too much dressing, but he did not get cracked pepper on it, so it did not taste like peppercorn dressing.

We were both full, though by the time we asked for the check, so the meal wasn't inedible.

We both got water to drink, which was given to us immediately, as soon as we sat down. I asked for a straw, because I don't like drinking out of a glass. Liv told me she'd be right back with one. I never got one.

The atmosphere was quite loud. The table next to us was six or eight people and they were quite rowdy. Hubby said, " It's an Italian restaurant. What do you expect? 🤷🏻‍♀️" I still say it...

As a person who has eaten at a variety of Italian restaurants from chain restaurants (Olive Garden) to quite expensive privately owned restaurants; Sardelli's Italian Steakhouse, Buca Di Beppo, and Cannoli Kitchen to name just a few. I was so excited to experience this old fashion mamma e papà restaurant. And, sadly, that is where my excitement ended. During covid my husband and I ordered take-out from Mom and Dad's. The lasagna was so blan that it tasted like I was eating baby food and the pasta was very much over cooked. I will not continue with how the food tasted and the presentation of our seven items ordered. Just know those are the kindest words I have to bestow upon that order.

Fast forward..... I chose to give them another try a week ago and I am sad to report that their food has only gotten worse. I ordered the Snapper Scampi Special (my apologies for not taking pics) and my daughter ordered the Chicken Alfrado from the children's menu. My daughter (16 yrs) took one bite and refused to eat it. She disposed of what was in her mouth into a napkin. My scampi sauce tasted more like chicken broth then scampi and the Snapper filets were a breaded wet mess. It looked and tasted like they took some frozen breaded fish filets from the freezer section of Walmart, put it on a scant bed of angel hair pasta, then finished it off by dumping chicken broth on it. I am much to respectfully to relay the bill paid for this swill.

If you just love food as much as I do and absolutely shine when experiencing great Italian food then I implore you to save your money and GO ANYWHERE ELSE BUT TO MOM AND...

Im not sure if the son taking over has changed things but we were very disappointed. Sadly, it was on par with a low mid range all-inclusive resort. I am Italian and we cook Italian…all the ingredients required to make authentic Italian food are very much available in Valdosta. Maybe they are feeling the hit financially from Covid, hurricanes, etc. But they still cannot cut certain corners. First, the garlic used was WAY OLD and not prepped correctly with the sauce. It was also very apparent in the spinach, which was flavorless & inedible. If poor/old garlic or only dry herbs are used in sauce…using a below average tomato base company cannot hide that well. I was most surprised about that. The acidity was also off. The lasagna was one layer & dry. The ceasar dressing as cited in other reviews is not ceasar. It was watery and the other comments in the reviews about the fishy taste are most likely due to not knowing how to use anchovy paste. There are good easy Caesar dressing recipes which do not require an anchovy paste. Inexpensive, white balsamic mixed in with that was really bad. Perhaps they’ve hired different cooks who aren’t familiar with the heritage and cuisine ? Seems like the parents built a solid reputation which is why it disheartens me to write this . On a positive note the service & drinks...