Mamma Lucia of Olney — Restaurant in Maryland

Took the family out for dinner. There are three choices for Italian food in Olney, however this is the only one that serves zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash as alternatives to pasta in your entree.

The busser was right there as we sat down with water for us..Our waiter Francis was good. He was on the spot with bread and took our drink order right away. Mamma Lucia's welcomes almost any customization to existing selections. My daughter had the kids fettuccine noodles and white sauce with chicken. We asked to add broccoli and had a resounding yes from Francis. My wife ordered the Seafood special. As they did not have it listed on the menu I asked if they still had the zucchini noodles. Francis said yes but offered that they also had spaghetti squash as well. I had the Calamari with red sauce in the spaghetti squash. My daughter said her fettuccine was good and my wife said the same qbout her meal. I also enjoyed the spaghetti squash I had ordered.

Francis again was on the spot with refills of milk, water and ice tea. He even pulled plates when we finished our salads and bread before the entrees came out. The food and service was great up to the point when we were leaving.

As my daughter had only finished a 1/4 of her meal and my wife only finished half Francis offered to box up their entrees. Francis brought the check and took away the food to be boxed up and bagged. He returned with the food boxed and bagged up. At this point I paid the bill and picked up the bag by the rolled top. As we walkes out we were met with smiles and byes from the staff. As I passed the host stand i fell the weight of the back lighten and a crash was heard. The meal containers were on the floor and the food spilled on the floor.

I turned back to the host stand and the hostess looked quickly for help the manager came out and said dont worry it happens. He squatted down and started cleaning up. Looking at the bag, the bottom of the bag had ripped neatly around the square fold. Flipping the bag arround the bottom flipped back closing the bottom. I could see the exterior of the bag was dry. I looked closer and confirmed it was dry to the touch. Fipping the bag over so the bottom flipped opened I could see the entire inside bottom was wet. Flipping it back over the exterior bottom as dry.

During this time the hostest said. This had happed alot tonight. I said the inside of the bad is wet at the bottom. Thats why this bag broke. I said it again lloking at the hostess and again looking at the manager as he walked away with the spilled food. I waited for any acknowledgement for thr hostest or Manager but got nothing. I waited for the manager to return but he did not. I essentially paid for and entree to fall on the floor because the bag that was given was wet on the onside. But no one was acknowledging I had said anything about what happen. Mamma Lucia I gave you a low rating because although the food was good and for the most part the service and people were good. Not acknowledging that I had said something or apologizing for the fact our food was poorly package or not coming back to see if I needed something else is poor...

Constant bad and rude service is the reason for a 1-star. Food is ok, but nothing exceptional for the price. The bar area is hit-or-miss on service (can either get a good bartender or a lazy one serving your table). The main seating area is OK, but nothing special. They minimally try to go for an Italian nuance, but then stick a huge Pepsi refrigerator into the mix of it for everyone to stare at. What is getting them a 1-Star though is their consistently horrible and rude service in the main restaurant. Have been going here for 15+ years and we are officially now done with them. The last four times (and there will be no more) that we have been sat and served in the main area have each had yielded the same results. Bread is brought out, but still no server after almost 10 minutes, even though there is an over abundance of them standing around the server station trying not to make eye contact with the patrons, even with only 4 tables sat in the entire area. Our pizza takes forever (only food item ordered), yet our bottle of wine still hadn't arrived (only water and our server is hiding in the back, haven't seen him since we finally ordered). Wine is brought and dropped off (not poured). The pizza is wrong, but we can't tell anyone because they keep sitting stuff down and walking straight away without saying anything. Ordered Pepperoni & Mushroom, but was just given a plain no-topping pizza. With no one coming back, we decided to accept it and started eating anyway. No one ever came by and we had finished our bottle of wine and were done eating for almost 15 minutes (now there for almost almost 50 minutes). After finally seeing our waiter for the 2nd time walking in the other side of the restaurant, I flagged him down and motioned for a check. When he came over, I started to let him know the pizza had came out wrong, and half way through my first sentence, he rudely and loudly states, "No!". It really threw my wife and I off. It let him know that I was not trying to get a discount or anything of that sort, but he kept telling me that I had ordered a cheese pizza like I am some kind of idiot. My wife and I love to tip heavily, especially here at the holidays (usually paying 100%+ tip) because we can and it truly can make a waiter feel appreciated for the service they provide. I can say though with all honesty, this was my first time ever leaving a $1 tip anywhere. I understand that a single bad service does not reflect a restaurant as a whole, but this consistent lack of service at this location tells us, our family, and our friends that Mama Lucia's in Olney no longer cares about their...

Boring. Uninspiring. Substandard. [1] The toast slices served when we first sat down were hard and chewy. Were they warmed up in the microwave? [2] I ordered the spinach roll and asked for white sauce in lieu of tomato sauce. I was charged $2. The waiter did not tell me that the white sauce would be extra. I was miffed. I didn't say a thing, but it's a matter of principle that I should be informed of an additional cost when I request an ingredient replacement. [3] The spinach roll dough was tough on the bottom and hard to cut. I stabbed it with the fork and held it down hard as I sawed through it with my knife. Not easy. I was afraid the fork would slip and the whole thing would fly off my plate. The spinach roll was way too big and had enough calories for 1 day, maybe more. That’s the only thing I ate that day because it wouldn’t have refrigerated well. The taste: barely ok. [4] The pasta bowls include a salad. The friend who ordered the salad and I watched the other two people eat their salad until the main dishes were served. I hate that! What would have made more sense is to serve the pasta and the salad at the same time, perhaps in two smaller plates, then all of us would have been eating at the same time. In my mamma’s kitchen the salad and pasta are served together. [5] The massive bowl of pasta this restaurant serves would have served 3 in my mamma’s kitchen because we always ate a lot of salad. The salad’s moisture works perfectly with the pasta. [6] In my entire life, only twice did I order pasta at a restaurant (not counting Asian noodles). That’s because pasta dishes are usually served as massive globs of goo in deep bowls that are about the size of serving dishes instead of single-person plates. I did not ask if this restaurant serves ½ meals which seniors prefer. How about a normal human-sized meal of salad+pasta? Or is pasta so cheap that the restaurant owners want you to take home the soggy leftovers to make you feel you got your money’s worth? [6] Instead of one massive spinach roll on a barren plate, I would have loved it if I were served a smaller spinach pie (a third of the size of the roll) with some baby lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber, and a few pitted black olives. Make it special and throw in a few pecans. Not asking for fancy ingredients. Just the basics with a flair.

No imagination at Mamma Lucia. Maybe the owners are bored and too busy crunching numbers instead of checking that their toast is...