Mama's Pizza & Grill

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 flavor combos.

I opted to try this spot after seeing it pop up a few times on Tiktok. It's a store front establishment with a few tables and chairs. I ordered a 10-inch half pineapple half mushroom pizza because it was just me. *Reserve your judgment about fruit on pizza.* Pros: it came out pretty quickly and hot 🔥Cons: it lacked flavor. It just needed something more.

Hot, fresh pizza made with real ingredients. Such a rare gem! Delicious food, hospitality on-point, neighborhood bodega vibe when dining in. Authentic and welcoming from the moment we opened the door. Thank you, Mama's for making our family's Saturday night out special! The menu has something for everyone; we had the fried mushrooms, cheese bread, meat lover's pizza and pepperoni pizza---all delicious.