My Mother's House Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Las Vegas

We went to this restaurant to celebrate our birthdays but did not have a great experience as I had hoped to. 😪 I called the day we wanted to go to see if we could get a reservation for that evening as my mom, who lives in Sun City Summerlin, told me they are very busy. To my pleasant surprise, we had our choice of times to come that evening and the person I talked to on the phone told me they were even having live entertainment that night.

Upon arriving at the restaurant where there was only 1 other table of people seated, we were greeted by the very friendly owner Michael who told us about his menu specialites. This friendly interaction quickly turned to be incredibly annoying as he continued to push the brisket that he is very proud of. We told him that I'm sure it's great but we didn't want to have brisket at an Italian restaurant as we planned to have Italian food. He came over to our table many more times to tell us how great it is, how everyone loves it, blah, blah, blah. Okay, already!

In hindsight we probably should have ordered the brisket as he probably already had that prepared and that would have avoided the VERY LONG wait for our food, almost 30 minutes more after we had already finished our salads. Furthermore, the entrees were not served together and after my parents received their shrimp scampi dish, my boyfriend and I waited another 15 minutes to get our spaghetti and meatballs entrees. This type of service is not acceptable in a casual restaurant, such as Chili's, but is even more inexcusable and shocking in this fine dining upscale atmosphere. I'm now wondering if Michael was also the one cooking and that might be why the food took SO LONG to be served since he was spending large chunks of time talking to restaurant patrons, both our table and the one other table in the restaurant at the time.

The shrimp scampi tasted good but only included 4 shrimp, quite skimpy for a dish with a $40 price tag. The spaghetti sauce was delicious but unfortunately both of us that had the spaghetti and meatballs entrees ($26 each) ended up sick later that night and into the next day. Sadly, we ended up throwing our leftovers away as while we had looked forward to eating that again because it did taste so good, we didn't want to get sick again.

Finally, the last big shocker was when we got the bill and saw a $10 per person "entertainment fee" that was added to our check....therefore an additional $40 on top of an already overpriced meal in a quiet, senior living community restaurant. There was a "one man band" singing in the restaurant but of all the restaurants I've been to in this town, never have I been charged an "entertainment fee" for mediocre singer providing background music while dining. What's next? Charging us to use the cloth napkins, the restroom or for the excess chatter provided by the owner?

This small, quaint restaurant has an interesting set up with tons of random decor around the room. Most of the tables in the restaurant were empty (except ours and 1 other) and we were seated at one of the few tables that weren't long banquet tables, set to accommodate large groups but we were seated so close to the kitchen, I could feel the heat from the food warmer as it was directly over my head...nice for the warmth on a cold evening but odd to have the server that close to me when she came to the food warmer to get dishes that were ready...

We decided to go to My Mother's House because it had been recommended to us multiple times. We finally gave in and made the trip from Henderson to this neighborhood in the Summerlin area.

We called and made reservations for 4. The staff who answered asked if we had any kids. Initially, I was thrown off by the question but when she asked if we needed a high chair I immediately knew kids were welcomed. Her name was Aunt Cheryl.

We finally arrived and we're greeted by Aunt Cheryl who showed us to our table. Our name was on paper to indicate the table was reserved. There are tables in the middle that seat 4 but they're close enough to another party...I call it family style seating.

Now, the staff are all "Aunt" or "Uncle" and that's great. You feel just like family when you walk in.

The food is great, the meatballs fall apart in your mouth, the marinara and garlic bread is to die for and frankly, the best we've ever had! We opted to get a large family dish of chicken parmigiana over spaghetti. It was grand, even our kid who is picky cleared her plate. Best of all, we had left overs and they packaged it into an oven friendly container so we could just reheat in oven later or the next day.

Now, for our little one...she was treated like a special guest by the owner. Notice the Christmas decor still up in one of the pictures?! Well I'll upload a video so you can see.

Parking: Is good as it's in a little shopping center

Food: Authentic and tasty. Daily specials, individual entrees, or family/shared meals

Space: Kind of small but comfortable; decor is beautiful

Entertainment: We went on a Sunday and there was a gentleman singing. I don't remember his name but it was as if we went back in time and were transported to a live concert with Elvis, Sinatra, and many others! He was definitely a one man show and AMAZING!!

Inclusive: In reading some of the other comments I felt I needed to include this, some of the negative reviews on this page inferred but if you don’t look a certain way or act a certain way they’re gonna treat you differently, definitely was not the case for my family and I. We are a Latino and Pacific Islander family, we went in on a super casual lazy Sunday, my husband and I have tattoos, my husband looks like a typical “Cholo” and we were still welcomed, treated cordially and like they knew us forever!

Affordability: It was roughly $120 for a family of 4 with left overs to last us the next day. Not complaining- we got what we paid for- food...

UPDATE: My wife and I visited this restaurant for a second time on 8 Sep 2023 (5 years after our first visit) to see if the quality and service still matched up to the first visit, or if we just got lucky. Needless to say, the result was pretty identical, if not even better. The food was a little slower this time around, but our server, "Aunt Cheryl" did everything she could to keep us entertained and fed while we waited. Definitely one of the best servers we've had in a while in Las Vegas - truly remarkable. We ended up ordering the Frutti di Mare and Chicken Piccata which both entrees were wonderful. I thought I could finish the Frutti di Mare all by myself, and although I came close, I was indeed defeated. The live entertainment was great; Chef Mike surely knows how to keep people smiling and have a good time. His better half (Chef Laura), is phenomenal - from the time you walk in to the time you leave the restaurant, she makes you feel like you're part of their family. My review of this restaurant is the same; I highly recommend this place to everyone. Note: I added pictures to this review from this visit.

My family and I tried this place out for the first time in Sep 2018 timeframe and I realized today that I forgot to rate/comment on their business via Google - I did however, manage to rate/comment on Yelp. When we walked in, we were greeted with warmth and with the sounds of a live band. Apparently the band only plays 2 nights per week; we just got lucky that we arrived on one of those nights because the music was excellent. Now the food...it was outstanding. Our table had a mixture of seafood, polenta, and pasta - it was all very good. Also, did I mention that their bread and sauce were good? Well, it was outstanding too!!! They had an excellent wine selection and the service was beyond expectations. I recommend this place to all local residents to include anyone visiting Las Vegas. The food is great and if you can plan it, try to visit them on one of the live music nights. Recommend making reservations too because everyone knows this place rocks! Thanks for the...