Mama D’s

The pizza was really good, and my server, Heidi, was great. I’ll definitely head back soon.

Great food! Our server Heidi was exceptionally nice and accommodating to my large and needy family. She was patient with our requests and went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed. Highly recommended choice if you’re in the area!

No better gluten free bread on the planet… my daughter and I were amazed and could not shovel it in fast enough. For others with Celiac Disease. you can relate to this little known bliss.
Chris was super friendly and we loved Charlotte’s girl power.
Thank you from two Colorado fans !!!

Finally came back here a year later for the second time just two nights ago. I had Jr’s Chicken Limone and it’s exactly what it sounds like: lemony. But food was delicious. They have a wine deal where you buy two glasses of any wine and get the third one for one cent… Who can complain about that when you’re treating yourself?

Stopped in on a Sunday night for dinner after being referred by a friend and really satisfied we stopped in. The atmosphere was amazing but even better was Stephanie our server was awsome. The timing of our food was perfect. appetizers salad main course desert. everything was delicious and spot on for such a busy night. Steph made us feel very welcome and like all the signs said on the wall «we felt like family» thanks to her and friendly staff. Can’t wait to go back next week ;0)

Mama D’s is a family-​friendly restaurant with very good food at reasonable prices. Even better is the attentiveness of the staff. Everyone from the hostess with free samples to the wait staff is friendly and professional with the goal of making all guests feel comfortable and welcome. It’s a little loud sometimes and the seating is a little tight but everything else is so good that it’s easy to ignore those two modest inconveniences.
We took friends there on a Saturday night and Amanda was our waitress. She really impressed our friends with her prompt, professional, and efficient service. Kudos to her!

The food is ON Point! Everything is always perfect, but what makes Mama Ds the best is the service! From table side chats with Chris the owner, to the incredible wait staff and hostesses, your happiness and satisfaction are what they care about!
The bread, the «pink sauce», everything is incredible! Worth the wait if it’s busy, don’t make a bad choice and not choose Mama Ds.
I come to LA once a year, and this place is on my «Must Do» list!

We got first class service at Mama D’s. The staff was fun and efficient and team oriented. The food was yummy.
I went with my husband and kids. This was our first trip there. Everyone’s food was delicious– we all ended up eating food from everyone else’s plate. We all joined the clean plate club that dinner, not because the servings were small, but because the food was great! I caught my daughter wiping the sauce from her plate and licking her finger! Bad manners, but a testament to delicious food.
Family friendly!
We’ll be back!

After a long hour and a half journey to Manhattan Beach, I was more than just pleasantly surprised by this small Italian eatery. As someone that works at another SoCal Italian restaurant and has developed a taste for Italian food, I loved this restaurant. My girlfriend and I were quickly greeted and seated and within less than 3 minutes we had received complimentary garlic bread with a dish of oil and vinegar. All the servers are extremely attentive and friendly, especially our server Charlotte, who were easily approachable and nice. The extensive menu covers all the popular Italian dishes and the prices are relatively average. The portions are very large, but keep in mind Italian food is typically very carbohydrate oriented and heavy.
The pizza we had ordered was very flavorful and the red onions and peppers tasted crisp and fresh. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant and I would not think twice about coming back

Not too many places impress me on the service side of things. I think sometimes we don’t think about it because we’re busy judging the food. But I’d come back here purely because I really felt like the owner as well as the waitstaff really appreciated us dining here. Seriously, they wait on you hand and foot. They bring basket after basket of bread, drinks and even some free appetizers! I didn’t know who to leave the tip for because everyone tended to us! The owner Chris came by our table to check on us and even paid for my nephews pizza. He was awesome!
I gave four stars because I didn’t swoon over the pizza. I adore pizza. I love it. Truly. And the pizza here was way too thin for my tastes. Almost paper thin. The crust is so crisp that it crumbles when bite into it or grab it with the slightest bit of force. The bread they offer while you wait is great. It’s real bread with real garlic and olive oil. Phenom.
The ravioli they sent to the table was delicious too. I think I’ll try a dish (like the lasagna) the next time I go. I also hear that they’ve got a pink marinara sauce that is out of this world.
Again 10 stars for the service! It’s great to know that owners still value the people who choose to dine with them. I’ll definitely be back!

Definitely a favorite restaurant. Love the food here, always above and beyond what I’m expecting. The service is wonderful, along with all of the staff, especially Heidi!

Steph was our server she was very helpful with us from deciding what to eat all the way to refilling out drinks. She was on top of the service. I would go back just because of her. The food was delicious. Our kids meals were exactly what the kids wanted and we ordered a special plus a pizza that were fantastic. They gave us a free app of ravioli and garlic bread that was great. I would say if you’ve spent the morning at the beach then head to Mama D’s for lunch or early dinner. This is the place!!!

The food and ambience was great but what was even better was the amazing server, Charlotte! The service is the best I’ve ever had! Charlotte was very attentive and friendly. She was super nice and even talked to us when the meal we had finished our meal. We ordered the Barbecue Chicken Pizza which was very good. My boyfriend and I loved the pizza and the service! Thanks Charlotte you are awesome!

The bread was amazing. The garlic knots also amazing, but a bit too similar to the bread. Fettuccine Alfredo was very good, the seafood special (I forget the exact name, but it was the most expensive dish on the menu) was very good as well, but quite simply not worth the money.
If you’re in Manhattan Beach and want pretty good Italian food, come here. Didn’t take us long to get seated, food was quick, and our waiter Heidi was very friendly.

I LOVE you Mama D’s. LOVE.
This is what every dining experience should be. Only at Mama D’s are you offered:
1. Hearty Italian food samples hot out of the kitchen while you wait to be seated.
2. Relationship advice and a real conversation with the owner, Chris.
3. A waitress who knows it’s your first time and makes an effort to remember your name.
4. Endless supply of fresh baked bread and delicious olive oil/​garlic.
5. Delicious fresh baked chocolate w/​white chocolate chip cookies with your check.
6. Oh, and a kid surprising his mom (your sweet waitress Lisa) with flowers for V-​day. SO. CUTE.
My boyfriend had the staff pick Chicken Sausage w/​rigatoni and I had the rigatoni pasta with pink sauce — THE BEST PINK SAUCE IN THE WORLD. SERIOUSLY.
The leftovers didn’t even make it more than two hours. I indulged like a gluttonous monster in Mama D’s and it was worth every calorie, carb, cent, and wait. I didn’t even mind walking back 19 blocks to the car. Because I had a bag of precious pink sauce rigatoni in my hand.
Thank you SO, SO MUCH for making our low-​key Valentine’s Day beach trip into a really special evening.

We had friends from Minnesota in town and we wanted to take them to one of our local restaurants. Mama D’s never disappoints – great food and quick service. Stephanie was our waitress and she was AWESOME! Very friendly and made sure everything was great for us!

This place has awesome service. Our wait on Valentine’s Day was on 15 minutes. While we were waiting they brought out samples of pasta and garlic bread sticks to munch on. Ryan was very polite and attentive. We got refills on our drinks before we asked and even more bread! I would make the 45 min drive again for sure.

From beginning to end a terrific experience. They had a gentleman outside with samples of the food to draw you in. Once inside the service was fast, friendly, and the staff was warm and engaging. Our server Junior was more than helpful and added some fun to our meal with some familiar banter. Not only was the service great, but we were given free samples of appetizers to try during the course of our meal.
I went with two of my sisters and we decided to get three entrees to share between us. We ordered spaghetti with bolognese sauce, Sergio’s Broccoli and Cream Fussili, and the rigatoni in their house special pink sauce. Every dish was delicious and we cleaned the plates with gusto.
My sister lives nearby and I’m sure we’ll be back because not only was the food great, but the atmosphere and service is something you rarely see these days.

This place is always busy. It has a cozy atmosphere. Very traditional, yet inviting.
I ordered the lobster tortellini with pink sauce. It was amazing. The best part is the bread and olive oil.
The dishes are a bit on the expensive side, but that’s the price for homemade dishes and excellent service.
After the meal they give you cookies and if you have a small child then can sift through a toy chest! Omg.
I wish you could bring your own wine. Other than that, great experience.

4.5 for this place.
After dinner at Simmzy’s, we decided that it’s time for dinner part deux. This tiny place probably holds 50 people MAX. The hostess told us it was a 20 minute wait. As I was semi-​full from said dinner, I decided to just order the Mama D’s Pink sauce w/​Fettuccine to share with the BF. The server (sorry can’t remember his name) was super friendly. He evan gave me a sample of the ravioli while we waited.
When the main dish arrived, holy smokes, it was fantastic. It was so soo good. I just ordered it naked. No chicken, no seafood, no nothing but the sauce just perfects the dish without any difficulty. It was delightful! I was using our left over bread to scoop the remaining sauce (I know disgusting, but it was sooo good). I am still thinking of how great that dish was as I type this review today. I will definitely come back to taste their other dishes and have some more pink sauce!
So why 4.5? minus half star for warm beer. :-(

Food was fantastic, location is very convienient to where our condo is located. Will be coming back, Im sure to take advantage of the wine specials!
My only complaint is that the tables are quite small which was not very comfortable.

Okay, so didn’t know this was the original! I love MAMA D’s and now I know I don’t have to trek all the way to Newport just to get me some diavolo sauce or my fave pink sauce!
The garlic bread is to die for, I have a favorite Italian place on the west side of LA and MAMA D’s is right up there with it ;) I like both for different reasons.
Sergio was our server, and he was great! Super attentive, and even gave us a free appetizer voucher for when we come back! We came on a Friday, just before 12 noon, and we missed the rush! Around that time, Sergio said it usually is super busy.
I was happy to have my bread, EVOO and garlic dip. I tried something new this time, Leslie’s Pasta Sorrento with the Pink Sauce added. It was delicious and hearty.
Honestly, the service was so great, it really made my experience that much better, Thanks sergio!

We stopped in here for a late lunch before seeing Jay Leno at the Comedy and Magic Club. We had seen the awesome reviews so we were excited to give it a try. It definitely did not disappoint!
The restaurant itself looks more like a carry out pizza joint (you know, the kind with the red and white checkered table cloths). We were seated at a table adjacent to a long row of tables meant for big gatherings. When a large group came in, they were seated a mere inches from our table, so we had to walk sideways to get in and out of the booth. The server didn’t see it as a problem until we brought it to her attention how uncomfortable it was to be seated that close to a big, loud group. But, at that point, not a lot could be done since we already had quite a bit on our table and it’d be a huge hassle to try to move everything (especially given the difficulty of moving around with the people seated inches from us). I don’t know why the server couldn’t have moved the tables a little further from our table before seating the group since the place was practically empty when we came in. While the service and ambiance were a tad lackluster, that was about the extent of our complaints.
After we were seated, we were treated to a basket of excellent bread and garlic infused olive oil. The server asked us if this was our first time in and we told her it was. Then, she brought out a couple ravioli, since that was apparently their specialty. Man, were they good! The pasta had a nice bite to it, while the filling was creamy and delicious. It was a nice touch!
For the main entrees, we ordered a pizza and the Kelsey’s Capri with Italian sausage (I wanted something a little lighter). The pizza was decent – not mind-​blowing, but not terrible either. I really enjoyed my pasta. The olive oil it was tossed in was very flavorful with all the garlic, and paired with the spicy Italian sausage and mild, stringy buffalo mozzarella, it was truly delicious.
When it came time for the check, we were once again treated to another plate of goodies – this time, double chocolate cookies. They, too, were fabulous! They were a little on the crunchy side, but were nice and rich. It was a great way to end the meal!
Overall, I’d recommend Mama D’s if you’re in the area. Although the ambiance and service could use a little work, the food was worth the trip!

My pizza has no toppings on one side. Wtf. Poor quality, never order
From here again.

Every once in a while I wonder about my fellow Unilocalers reviews. This was one of those times. We got to Mama D’s early because we didn’t want to wait. We sat at a six top that had a chair and a long bench on each side. Benches? Um okay. We were approached by our server Heidi quickly and she brought our drinks, and the bread. The bread was yummy and the olive oil with garlic was flavorful. Good start!
We ordered a large pizza, chicken parmesan, penne pasta with Mama D’s pink sauce, and Kelsey’s Capri with fusilli pasta. The food came out fairly fast, and we immediately started eating. All the pasta dishes were cold to lukewarm. If you have read any of my other reviews I am a big believer in the fact that hot food needs to be served hot and cold food should be served cold. There is no room for lukewarm. We told our server about one of the dishes (because we were starving and only sent back the truly cold one), and she brought it back within a few minutes. She brought back the same dish. Must have been put in the microwave or under a salamander. Ugh!
The Kelsey’s Capri had no flavor, the Mama D’s pink sauce was okay, and the chicken parm was okay. The only good part of the meal was the pizza. I’m giving one star for the pizza and one star for the service for a completely forgettable meal. I would not go back to this restaurant. The food was bland and I did not enjoy sitting on a bench with no back support. We kept commenting to ourselves that it must have been an off night (way, way off). I could get better food, served piping hot at many other restaurants. So very disappointed. :(

I recently came here for my dads birthday lunch. He always craves Italian food so we decided to come here since we’ve never been before. It was surprisingly empty, but I figured most people are probably trying to find a Sunday brunch spot versus an Italian restaurant, but it worked out for us since we did not have to wait at all. Once seated our server came up to us to order any appetizers or drinks. Her name was Amanda and she was very friendly and helpful throughout our whole meal. Excellent service!
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Complimentary bread with garlic oil: That garlic oil is to die for… I wish Unilocal let us use emojis since I would be using the heart eye emoji right now. It was delicious! The bread is perfect since it just soaks up all of the garlic oil.
Traditional lasagna: It’s what you expect when you order lasagna. The only thing that was slightly different and that I liked is that they add a couple canned tomatoes on the side of the dish to keep it nice and juicy. They definitely put a lot of cheese on it too which made it a little heavy, but it was still tasty. 3.5÷5
Lobster tortellini: DELICIOUS! Now don’t expect huge chunks of lobster, but even the small little pieces added so much flavor to this dish. We ordered the tortellini in the pink sauce. I highly recommend this dish! ⁴⁄₅
Homemade spinach ravioli: The filling of the ravioli was flavorful and delicious, but the ravioli itself was slightly undercooked so the pasta was tough. We also ordered this in the pink sauce. ³⁄₅
Overall, I enjoyed my experience here at Mama D’s. I enjoyed some dishes while other dishes didn’t stand out. The service was great here and I will definitely be back to try the seafood lasagna and the pizza.

My husband and I have recently discovered and fallen in love with Manhattan Beach. I checked Unilocal the other weekend to see what dining options were available near the pier and found Mama D’s. Since we are New Yorkers, we were excited to try an Italian restaurant with good reviews.
Service: My husband and I often complain about how horrible wait staff is in California compared to NY, especially in NorCal. However, this place knocked it out of the park when it comes to great service. Our server Charlotte was perfect and all of the other wait staff were very attentive as well. We were offered prompt refills of our drinks and extra bread. Hands down, five stars for great service, probably some of the best we have had in California over the past 16 months. If you can impress us with restaurant service, you must be good. I would give them 5 stars in this category.
Ambiance: This is a cute and small Italian themed joint. 5 stars for ambiance!
Food: My husband was in LOVE with the bread that Mama D’s gave us and I must say, it was quite good. Definitely try the bread! Our meals were ok, a little bit on the light side. I was wondering if they use a skim ricotta and that might be what makes it taste different than NY Italian food. Next time I am curious to try the pizza. My husband and I would give the food 4 stars.
We will definitely come back and try this place again. We visited at lunch time on a weekend and it wasn’t too crowded.

I’d hate to be a party pooper here folks, but my experience at Mama D’s was a disappointment.
My rating is based off of all the italian restaurants that I have eaten thus far in all of LA and Italy. The food is average and not authentic. But even then if it tastes good then I would be okay with a higher rating.
First of all we were seated in an extremely tight corner with no room whatsoever to move. My boyfriend is 6’2″ with very long limbs, he physically had a hard time eating his dinner, period.
The garlic oil that came with the bread had a bitter burnt garlic flavor. The bread was just horrible and a waste of calories. My boyfriend ordered the Spaghetti with meat sauce and I had Angel Hair pasta with tomatoes. The portions were plentiful but tasteless. We had requested to have loads of shaved cheese on top and still we could not finish our dishes.
Our waiter was super sweet and attentive. Although he gave us 2 samples of their Raviolis on the house, we tried only one and well… that was that.
At the end of our meal, the same waiter slipped us a business card with this writing on the back: Download free Unilocal app and give us a review. Seriously it was in bad taste.
We did not want to stay for dessert nor got anything to go.
Overall the food was bland. The focus was on quantity not quality. They should reconsider taking out the table where we sat. We would’ve waited longer for better seating. But honestly we would not be coming back.

Excellent restaurant avec un pain pizza super moelleux. Les pâtes à la sauce tomate et ail est excellent. Dommage pas de wifi.

L’esprit familiale italien est vraiment au rendez vous. Nous avons été servi par Kelsie qui a été vraiment très gentille et agréable. En arrivant nous avons eu droit à du pain italien au fromage. Nous avons commander un pizza poulet barbecue pour deux. La petite taille était largement suffisante pour nous deux et vraiment très bonne. Pour patienter avant l arrivee de notre pizza, Kelsie nous a fait goûter des raviolis au fromage. Juste fabuleux !!! La sauce tomate était faite maison assaisonnée juste comme il faut. Et sans oublier les cookies de la fin, juste sortis du four!!! Et le prix de tout cela? A peine 10 dollars !!