Mama's Pizza & Grill — Restaurant in Jacksonville

I have to say the food is awesome! However there are a few things that have bothered me the last 3 times I have came here that will prevent me from coming back and is sad to lose a regular customer. First time things went wrong... my husband and I were going to just pick up food and head back to my office but decided to dine in. Everything was great up until it came time to pay the bill. I went to pay the bill and I gave my card to the cashier and when I got the check I automatically added 25%. Well after I signed it I went to look at why the bill was so high in detail. They had already charged me an automatic 20% just to dine in!!! So I ended up paying 45% gratuity!! I asked about this and the lady points to a small sign on the register!! Ok that's fine but Florida law states you must clearly put this on the receipt AND on the menu!! This is no where to be found!! So they are not abiding by the Florida state law. Oh well I said it's my mistake anyways because I should have paid better attention to my bill. My second time things went wrong was when I called in a Philly cheesesteak w/ fries and a lobster ravioli with a house salad. I called the order in and it was well over $40. I didn't have to pay over the phone. It only took my 5 mins to get there. I went in to pay and decided to get a fountain drink. I paid and went outside to wait. I waited well over another 20 minutes. When I went back in I had asked to get a refill. I was told no refills on carry out orders. I was like wow!! Ok. I then got the food and headed back to my office to meet my husband. We sit down to eat.... where are the fries?!? So I call up the restaurant and they admitted they forgot to put the fries in the bag but that I could come back and pick them up. I said no because by the time I go all the way back up there to pick up one order of fries the rest of the food would be cold. I asked if I could just get them replaced at a different time. They said yes no problem. About a week and a half later my husband stops in for lunch and orders his sandwich and attempts to get the fries replaced. Nope! They have no idea what he's talking. So no fries were replaced! My final time was tonight. I'm at my office and I call to place an order. I was then asked for my card number. I stated that I had never been asked to pay prior to picking up and we have placed MANY carry out orders before. Nope... they won't do it.. based on my prior experiences I am NOT giving my card number over the phone prior to me checking my food. So 5 minutes later I pull in and placed my order and paid cash. I only continued my order tonight because my husband and I decided on this place and didn't feel like trying to decide on something different. Tonight's total was less than $35!! I was a regular customer between myself , my husband, and my cousin that lives with us we order from here at least once a week. No more! I know we are not going to effect the sales just us but it f you give others this customer service you will start seeing a drastic change in your sales. The fact of you charging automatic gratuity and it NOT being on your menu like the Florda law states and not giving you a simple fountain drink refill after you wait almost a half an hour!! Then to promise to replace an item that was left out but then refuse the replacement!! The customer service is horrible!! All that to save a buck!! Well that costed you several loyal customers! And because I used to be a server I know I am a great tipper!! But oh well... so keep your fries, keep your fountain drink and continue to not abide by the Florida state law!! But I will NOT be back. I am a corporate office building manager in Deerwood park and a lot of my tenants order lunch from here.. I am definitely going to spread the word of how I was treated and the type of customer service that is handed out here!! So good luck!! I will definately miss the food. But there are so many other places that have great food AND great...

Mama's Pizza & Grill was an experience made delicious by good, well-executed Italian food similar to what you'd see back up north. I'm from the Pittsburgh area and many of their offerings scratch that itch for home style, unfussy Italian food that I took for granted up there and now miss a lot since moving to Jacksonville.

The restaurant and bathroom were clean and looked well-maintained. All of the serving staff was polite and attentive. Our drinks never went empty and my diet Pepsi was bubbly. There were an array of seasonings at our table - salt, pepper, Parmesan, crushed red pepper. All of these bottles were wiped and clean as was the disposable napkin dispenser at our table. These small touches and care for cleanliness are much appreciated by me and others who struggle with compromised immune systems.

Onto the food! In particular it was lovely to see zucchini fries on a menu! I have really missed those and these were super nice, with crunchy breading. I'd imagine they are great served with marinara, but these came with ranch which was also good. It didn't taste like bottled ranch to me, which is important for all of us ranch people out here.

The wings were breaded, but crispy and well-sauced with a homemade honey garlic sauce. Large, properly cooked wings can be a difficult find here in Jax so I appreciated having them here.

Mama's garlic knots were light, airy, and fresh. I enjoyed them as a side item but they could easily go well with some marinara or garlic butter dipping sauce too, which would likely be accommodated if you asked! Definitely a good one to try for the bread lovers out there.

The penne alla vodka was cooked to a nice al dente. Each piece of pasta was well-coated with sauce and it would be a nice selection if you wanted a tomato based sauce without heavy acidity. Overall a well-executed pasta dish.

Finally the pizza - we had both the macaroni and cheese pizza as well as the pesto chicken Chicago-style pizza. The macaroni and cheese was very tasty - plenty of cheese, not too dry, and not too bland. It would stand well on its own as a dish and on the menu they do have some dishes that include it and I think it would go over very well that way too.

That said, the Chicago-style pesto chicken pizza was a clear winner for me, with a lovely cheese pull (not the greatest photo included) and flavorful pesto sauce. It was oozing cheese and really hits the spot if you're looking for that super filling Chicago style deep dish! I look forward to coming back to try more of their Chicago pizzas (with a side of zucchini fries) as they have a lot of unique...

My experience at Mama's Pizza was not a satisfying one. My daughter and I both ordered Chicago-Style Pizza. As always, I checked our food before we left the parking lot. The pizzas were hard on top and around the crust. To be sure, I took both pizzas back in to ask if they were always that way. The owner came out and explained that they only cut this particular pizza if you eat in, because customer's have complained that they have caved in the middle. He told me to add the sauce, cut it and it will be fine. I tried that, but the cheese was chewy and crust was too hard. I could not eat it. I called and asked for another one and the owner agreed. However, when I arrived, he offered a NY style pizza or another item. I told him I only wanted a deep-dish. He told me he could offer another, because how my pizza was cooked originally is how it is all the time. I asked for my money back. He said he could, but the money had already been collected so I would have to wait. I explained the combined to and from trip is close to an hour. I could not come back. He agreed to remake the pizza and my wait would be 25 minutes. During my wait, no one even offered as much as a drink, a side or a future meal for my inconvenience or drive back. By the time I made it home, the pizza had caved in the middle anyway and I had to rewarm the pizza. With an opportunity to win over a new and unsatisfied customer, he failed. He did the bare minimum and no more. I have never owned a restaurant, but I have managed one. You have the authority to make the customers happy, to retain your customers. He did not do this. This was my experience and the reason...