Little Roma Restaurant — Restaurant in La Mesa

Italian food was on mom’s mind. She recalled seeing an Italian restaurant somewhere in la Mesa in a small strip mall when we went out for sushi last weekend. Thank goodness she remembered it and I was able to navigate to it.

This adorable little Italian restaurant has a true Italian neighborhood feel to it. As soon as you walk in, you feel the energy of the room and the warmth of the staff. Our server was misty. It was her adorable Spirit that made us feel welcomed immediately. She was even kind enough to have the music turned down just a bit so my parents and I could hear each other as we conversed.

As we eagerly awaited our meal, we were served warm, homemade bread with a tomato dipping sauce. Delicious.

It was difficult to choose, which homemade meal we each wanted!

Mom, is very picky about her Italian food. She had eggplant Parmesan with a side of spaghetti and house salad. It was a huge hit making this her top choice in restaurants for Italian food.

Dad had veal Parmesan and enjoyed his meal. Which translates to it was very good. His primary complaint was there was so much he had to take some home for the next day.

I had the butternut ravioli and minestrone soup. Really enjoyed the soup as it was very obvious it was homemade. Tasty. As for the ravioli, for me, it was a bit too smothered in sauce, hiding the true flavor of the butternut in the ravioli making it a bit hard to give it a true review. The bread that accompanied it was delicious.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience capped by the service from Misty. We love the neighborhood feel and that everything was homemade. So we are adding it...

I don't get it. I see a lot of great reviews and I can't help but think I ordered the wrong thing? One star for pleasant service and one more for being timely. I used to frequent this place five or so years ago, but the ownership and service was horrible, so even though they had really good spaghetti and meatballs, I put them on "the list". Well I got in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs and saw the big sign outside saying they were under new management. OK, I'll give them a try with a to-go order; spaghetti and meatballs, small antipasto salad, $21.70. Spaghetti and meatballs is a dish ANY Italian restaurant should be able to make well and as such, it's turned into my benchmark for judging the quality of a restaurant. If you can't make this, you can't make anything. Short-story long, worst spaghetti and meatballs I've ever had, which is saying something since I served in the Navy for 28 years and mess-decks spaghetti was way better. The sauce was more of a pomodoro; flavorless crushed tomatoes with no real "sauce" to it. The spaghetti was over cooked for my liking and just a minute or two away from being mush. The meatballs were tough, chewy, and tasteless. The sausage was little better than the meatballs; clearly cutting corners on meat quality. The picture is of the dish deposited where it belongs and Little Roma goes back on "the list" of places I no longer need to patronize... where they belong. Even the salad was the very definition of average...

The portion size and amount of seafood in the Fettuccini Fruiti di Mare for the price is fair. The pasta was al dente, but the marinara sauce was a little on the bland side. I needed to add some basil and oregano to the sauce to make it tasty. The accompanying garlic bread and vegetable soup were good. The cashier was friendly. The order containers were placed in a paper bag which was then placed in a plastic bag. As a result, I was very pleased that the food was still hot when I arrived at home. Update: Dined in and got the Shrimp Fra Diavlo and the Seafood Risotto. The Shrimp Fra Diavlo was tasty with large shrimp. The Seafood Risotto was a disappointment. The risotto was a little undercooked and not tender. The shrimp were smaller than the ones in the Diavlo. The three scallops and two clams were tasty. There was no calamari in the risotto, contrary to the menu. The main reason I ordered the risotto was that I was in the mood for calamari and I didn't see it listed in the other seafood entrees. Our waitress Sandra didn't come by after our entrees were served and just when it was time to pay the check. I asked her about the missing calamari and she said they ran out. I told her that calamari was why I ordered the risotto. She said she should have told me they were out when I placed my order. I agreed. No compensation was offered. The Garlic Knots and accompanying marinara sauce were excellent and the highlight of my meal. The house salads...