Mamma Mia Italian Bistro of Holly Springs — Restaurant in Holly Springs

Mamma Mia's WAS our favorite 5 star Italian place to eat! And after last night the best we can give it is 1 star.... It was an Italian chef. We had met the owners, delicious food, ample portions we could go on and on.

Last night was our first night out in a long time ( we have 4 children under age 10), and, oh my, what a change. It looks like they are under new management. And, unfortunately, it shows.

The first thing we noticed was that we were the only people there. Now it was a Thursday, but literally no one?

Our waiter was new to the place. No problem. He didn't know the specials or anything really about the menu. We thought it was his first night. Then he let it slip that he'd been there several weeks, but it had been so slow that he hadn't learned anything yet. Um... ok?

That was the second clue that things were not the same. I mean, Mamma Mias is usually very busy on Friday and Saturday. And if you've been there several weeks, maybe you ought to know a little something about the menu?

Okay, staff is usually very friendly whether they are your servers or not. Hostess is usually checking on each table. Staff is always professionally dressed and proficient. Last night, two guys hung out on the floor in rough jeans and T's and played with their phones and never looked up.

The Food....

We ordered the Fried Calamari to start while we decided mains. We've ordered this before and loved it.

It came out in less than 2 min. Surprising. The portion was about 9 small rings alongside some wilted lettuce. The price is $13.00! It wasn't totally rubbery. But there was no seasoning, not even salt! What? I asked the waiter about it, considering We've had the dish before. He told us that "that's the way it is. I'm not the chef".

Ick... at this point, we had serious doubts about staying for dinner. Now, I am on a strict gluten-free diet and have in the past been allowed to substitute pasta for vegetables on dinners. Mamma Mias has in the past said this was no problem and was happy to oblige dietary restrictions. I have enjoyed their dishes this way previously.

Apparently, that is no longer the case. They said they could leave off the pasta, but if I wanted a few heads of steamed broccoli in a dish next to the main, it would be an extra 6.00! Wow... again, some places have an upcharge. We're just comparing Mamma Mia's to themselves.

Anyway we decided not to order dinner just yet and ordered a house salad with Italian vinaigrette. ( we've had it here before it's excellent). What we received was a balsamic vinegar mixed with oil. The Balsamic wasn't bad, thankfully, but a vinaigrette it was not. The waiter then brought us our check! He didn't ask if we wanted to order dinner or dessert. He just decided for us we were leaving!

Sooooo.... we obliged and paid for a lackluster appetizer and house salad and went and found another restaurant to eat dinner at. We will not be returning. I will be surprised if this place is still open in a year. It's really such a shame as it was the best little Italian restaurant we'd been to in Raleigh.

On our way out, we noticed some Asian decorations and paraphernalia. Which is odd at an Italian focused restaurant.

(We have eaten at some amazing Asian Cuisine and Asian owned restaurants in North Carolina and New York. ) So I have nothing against ownership of anyone who knows what they are doing. It was just a clue to us that perhaps the ownership at Mamma Mia's had changed.

We are sorry to say the best 5-star Italian restaurant in Raleigh is now a barely recognizable 1 star that will probably close in another year or so.

If you remember Mamma Mias and are looking for a night out. Keep your memories, but look for another venue. The Mamma Mias, you remember sadly, is no...

The western world’s greatest empire fell, officially, in 476 AD, when the teenaged emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed by a barbarian king. But to ordinary Romans life in the late 5th century continued more or less as before. Water flowed from the ancient aquaducts, the Senate continued to meet, chariot races were still held at the Circus Maximus. For the typical citizen, there was no reason to doubt that theirs was still the eternal city. It was only some 71 years later when the true end of the Roman age came, precipitated by a long siege carried out by the Ostrogoths. The countryside was pillaged, the city walls battered, most crucially; the aquaducts were severed. The people suffered from hunger, thirst, plague. For the first time in centuries, the fountains ran dry. The population fell from its height of over a million people to a mere 30,000. The forum, the Palatine hill, the Colosseum, all stood abandoned, becoming nothing more than grazing land for animals. It was the moment Europe was plunged into the dark ages. For 1500 years, it has stood as the greatest ignominy visited on the Roman people. Today it is eclipsed by the pastas served at this restaurant.

Many of us have had an embarrassing first attempt at making cacio e pepe. Perhaps it came after a holiday in the bel paese, or maybe just a couple of glasses of vino and an episode of Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy. It’s all too easy to get the timing wrong; to much cheese, too fast, pasta that’s a bit overcooked already, trying to rush to get it all to come together, all resulting not in a silky coating of pecorino and black pepper but in clumps of spaghetti glued together by mounds of solidified melted cheese. It’s possible you skimped on the pecorino Romano and tried to get by with grated parmesan. Maybe you committed an even greater sin and tried to rescue it with some heavy cream, leaving your sad, lumpy pasta swimming in an unappetizing and entirely un-Italian milky, peppery sauce. If you’re like me, you curse under your breath, throw it all out, tell your wife you’re ordering takeout, and decide to try again later. But if you’re Mamma Mia you apparently…serve this? And call it cacio e pepe? And charge $19 for it – this dish that is defined by its simplicity and humble ingredients?

What is pasta carbonara, the most decadent of the four pastas of Rome? The answer is that it is just cacio e pepe, livened up with the addition of egg yolk and crispy guancale. Done right, and made with the right ingredients, it’s heavenly, maybe the world’s most sublime pasta dish. The carbonara here is…well, clearly not based on their cacio e pepe (no huge clumps of solidified parmesan) but instead appears as spaghetti drowning in a slightly eggy cream sauce with chewy bacon. To order this expecting to taste what one tastes in almost any trattoria in Rome and instead to be served what passes for carbonara here is simply heartbreaking.

That the entrees were preceded by a plate of improbably chewy overcooked calamari was almost forgotten in the disappointment that accompanied their arrival.

The prices were far to high for what was served, but of course that would have been true at any price point. The true cost is psychological; it comes from the joy of seeing on the menu these classic dishes, so rarely attempted in stateside Italian restaurants, followed by the trauma of what comes next. As it is this place will cost slightly more than the Olive Garden and deliver a similar level of authenticity but somewhat less flavor and infinitely more despondency.

The service was friendly...

First, best Italian restaurant in town for traditional Italian food. Period.

I've tried quite a few things on their menu just to get a feel if I like this place... They sell their pizza by the slice, that's a good sign if you're not aware. They will accommodate you with adding provolone, (if you're not aware of the difference, I'd suggest you try it.)

Being from NJ and Italian you always feel compelled to know a good place from a bad place. There are two Italian places, this is thr better one and the bad one compelled to write this one.I believe I've met the owner twice, nice Italian guy.

Their food is traditional Italian, so what that means is, the food may be more bland then what you're used to if you visit a chain of resturaunts, but I feel I've asked for a few changes on the menu to order and that's a good thing for me. It's not what I make at home because I am from a different generation. It's classic grandma's Italian food. It's done well.

I think their table bread with the brand of virgin olive oil and high end vinegar glaze is really good. This is better then the appetizer I ordered and would say it must hurt their appetizers for the fresh bread they make. (This should be a hard dig at the next door Italian resturaunts because they must reheat some wonder bread and serve it with some cheap olive oil)

The staff is really good and sweet, much like their desert. The canollis are made right and taste authentic. Fresh. I would wish they would make some different options but for a traditional canollis, this is it. Their tirimisu is amazing as well. That is the limit of what I had.

There are 2 Italian places, this is the one you want to go to if you...