So: I passionately enjoyed my dinner at Mamma Roma. The reason that this is unusual is because I'm…read morenot big on going out for Italian food much at restaurants - other than on holidays - since I eat so much Italian food at home. I can make an exception for more casual Italian meals at only a handful of Italian restaurants, and Mamma Roma's is now one. Growing up partially Italian, and a mix of other ethnicities, my family cooks Italian better, of course, than at any restaurant. No one made better Italian dinners than my Na-na (grandmother). But Momma Roma's hummus cream rigatoni could definitely keep me coming back for more. No one made better meatballs than my Mom but the meatballs at Mamma Roma's are flavorful enough. No one made better sauce than my Aunt #1 but the sauce on Momma Roma's ravioli was good and so fresh. And no one made better cookies than my Aunt #2, but Momma Roma's cannolis and rum cookies are tasty. There are a lot of Italian restaurants in the area and I've read that Mamma Roma's is one of, if not, the best. I can only say that while my first visit here a decade ago was fine, this visit goes into my memory as "need to get back there, eventually, if not sooner," after delighting in their new menu item: a creamy hummus rigatoni with sausage. I love hummus, though wasn't really sure if the texture of hummus sauce would be too gritty. It was not. It had a lovely, substantial flavor and silky texture that was balanced well by the impeccably-cooked al dente rigatoni. Add to that the garlic, cream, sausage and herbs in this dish and you've got a winner. I highly recommend this rigatoni, of the 3 rigatoni entrees on Mamma Roma's menu. I haven't even tried the other rigatoni dishes, but still ... don't miss this creamy, garlicky hummus dinner. And the portions of rigatoni in this dish were very generous. The presentation of the lasagna was impressive, in layering and shape. I only had a bite. It had a nice flavor, but I would have needed more bites to give a better description. And since it wasn't my order, I could not indulge. The portion was generous. Also, I would never order lasagna from any restaurant given the reasons cited earlier, but this one was good. I hope someone is laughing because anyone who has grown up in a subcultural group in the US usually sounds exactly like me about the home-cooking they grew up on. Another of Mamma Roma's menu items I'd like to try is their corn and arugula white pizza. I've only found one lovely corn pizza ever at Zelo's in an LA suburb, so now that I have seen this on their menu my curiosity is piqued. Love love love the variety of the dessert menu options. It's not just the desserts in the case on display that you can order. While there are gorgeous cookies on display, the dessert menu has a long, lovely list of all kinds of variations of cheesecakes and cakes. I would like to try the lemon cake on a return visit. And more of the cookie flavors! When I asked the barista what the top desserts were, he was quick to name the cannoli as a first. You'd probably be surprised to find out that this is a counter service approach: you order and pay up at the front and the waiter brings you your food and whatever else you need. You get your own fountain drinks or tea with ice. You can tip in advance, in good faith, when you order in the beginning or you can leave cash on the table at the end of the meal, having already paid your bill in the beginning. There is also the charming dessert counter/bar and espresso area that I mentioned earlier. So, when you are finished with your lunch or dinner, you can go to the barista's counter and order dessert and cappuccino. I love that if you order cake or a cannoli, a cappuccino is only $2. This is an awesome value especially for the evening crowd. For old school Anne Arundel county and Annapolis locals, Mamma Roma's is better than the original Squisito's pizza -- and higher in quality -- but it is a bit reminiscent of that restaurant in terms of popularity and a family feel. Plus, I have never tried the pizza here, but I'm guessing it's good given the quality of the ingredients and preparations we experienced with the pasta dishes. One thing that also really stands out about Mamma Roma's is that they are the only Italian restaurant that is nestled back in the suburban Piney Orchard division of Gambrills. In other words, it's more neighborly there vs. other restaurants along the majorly-trafficked Route 3 corridor. The restaurants along Route 3 have many more transients coming in, given the ease of access, so they are naturally less neighborly. Finally, when we brought our leftovers from dinner home I set them on the kitchen table and left them for a bit. When I came back into our kitchen, it was filled with such delicious aromas! Friends, this is just how fresh the food at Mamma Roma's is. For a casual, counter service suburban, it is quite bellissima!

Mamma Roma's is the best italian food you're going to find in the area. All of their menu items are…read morefantastic (shoutout to the Pollo Paprika). I haven't tried their pizza, but it looks great. Their service is always top notch, along with very fair pricing and great portions. They have online ordering, which helps me out alot as I work nearby. I haven't actually dined inside yet, I live about an hour away, but I can imagine the service will be just as good. They have some outdoor seating and plenty of indoor seating with a bar and lots of wine options. Please check them out if you're in the area,

Great food, great service, great environment, one of our favorite places to eat on special occasionsread more

very nice workers that are professional.one of the best restaurants I've been too! definitely…read morerecommend.

Aylin helped me and gave awesome recommendations!…read more Service was super friendly and fast. Food was delicious! Would definitely come back. The Limone Salad (add the Cajun salmon!) and side spaghetti were exactly what I was looking for. Thank you Paradiso and Aylin!

4 of us sat outside! Very clean and inviting. Everyone was welcoming and friendly. The food came…read morehot and well prepared and tasted great. The bread was warm and fresh. We ate chocolate gelato, which was fine and lemon cake and that was great.

We love everything about Manalu! The food is absolutely delicious! Without a doubt, they have the…read morebest Chicken Parmesan we've ever had. The chicken is hands down, the most tender chicken we've ever experienced in an Italian chicken entree! All the servers are really good, but if we had to pick a favorite, it would be Fernando. Enrico is a most gracious host, and is always welcomig, too. Normally, we would be the last people to want to have the servers sing "Happy Birthday," to us, but we so look forward to being serenaded with the accordion and the servers singing in Italian. Manalu gets a 10 out of 10!!!

This is my second time coming here. We were celebrating a birthday and the service was amazing. Our…read moreserver helped us with all we needed for the cake and he was very attentive with our plates. The music at the restaurant is nice and the food was just amazing. The best plates we had was the calzone, which was HUGE, and the lasagna. Even just the normal American pizza had an amazing taste. Additionally, we tried a wine cup and let me tell you, it was so delicious.

Stopped in here the day after Memorial Day so the restaurant wasn't very crowded. It is a corner…read morerestaurant with plenty of seating and booths lining the walls. I met two friends for dinner and we had wonderful service from Olga. She allowed us to talk and catch up but was also very attentive to us. I had the Shrimp Fra Diablo, which definitely had a kick. The shrimp were large and plentiful. But the chili flakes in the sauce made it a bit hard to taste the other flavors in the sauce. However, the portions were generous enough that we all had leftovers for the next day. I have eaten here often and will definitely return again.

Outstanding!! Linguine Vesuvius and crab cake dinner was delicious. Ordered carry out and…read moreeverything was correct and hot. Reviews didn't lie, crab cakes were on point. Reveled dedicated seafood restaurants!! Will be back for the cream of crab

Yesterday, I had the absolute pleasure of treating my son, mother, and myself to one of the best…read moreValentine's Day dinners I have had. I have to share our experience from the beginning. So we drove a good 30mins to get here, with anticipation from seeing this restaurant on a travel channel, but the original location is in NY. We get there, and its plenty of free parking. We ask for seating for 3 and we are told they are only seating individuals who booked a reservation. Totally understandable considering its Valentine's day. I dropped the ball folks. I didn't make a reservation. So I noticed a bar lounge which we were told we could wait for a seat to open up. As we were waiting a coupled jumped in front us and took a seat. The manager Claudia came to the rescue like the dark knight but with more grace. She mentioned she was willing to put us on the list for a table in the main dining area. I accepted her kind gesture and continued to wait for bar lounge seating to open up. A couple was kind enough to come over to us and ask if we were waiting for bar lounge seating. They offered their table to us as they were ending their night. There was a 2 man band playing in the lounge area that was very soothing to the ear. As I tried to help my mother get comfortable at the hightop table, I noticed she was having a difficult time getting seated in such a high chair. Guess who came to the rescue, you guessed, Claudia! She's the best, 100 grand, made me a real fan. So she came over and said our table was ready if we wanted a booth seating and we all know that's the best seats in the house. All I could think is look at God. The wait wasn't even long either. 10 out of 10 for saving the day. In addition our waitress was such a sweetheart. I mentioned a white malbec I saw on the menu that I was astonish to see b/c I never knew of such a thing. She bought me a small glass to taste and my God, I am a true believer Jesus turned water into wine. Its so clear like water but the taste is amazing. The food is so delicious. The restaurant is very clean. The staff is very personalable. Everyone cartered to us. You would have thought we were the Obamas or something. As we were stuffing our faces, Claudia comes around handing out roses to the men/boys to give to their dates. Complimenting my son and his daper outfit she hands him a rose and tells him to give it your mommy. At the moment he lights up with a big smile as if he paid for the rose himself. I can tell he felt like a gentleman and good that he could give his mother a red rose on Valentine's day. That small gesture was very thoughtful and appreciated. I apologize for my essay, but they desired it. I love the service, the ambiance, the food, and service. I haven't seen my mother smile so much in a while. So it bought me great joy to give my mother this experience on Valentine's day. I thank Nonna Angela's staff for such a wonderful experience.

The whole experience was amazing. Giselle was my waitress and she was fantastic. Nice, Sweet,…read moreProfessional and Attentive. She made excellent suggestions for my first visit here. It most definitely won't be my last visit. The decor was so welcoming. As if you were eating in an Italian restaurant in Tuscany or your favorite Nonna's kitchen. The food and drinks were fantastic. From the hot fresh bread with fresh garlic, vinegar and oil, to the perfectly cooked pasta, to the sweet cannolis. Magnificent.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly owner who calls herself "mama"! We sat in airy alcove…read morewhich reminded me of a Italian sunroom. After we were seated our waitress, the owners daughter, made numerous suggestions of the many entrees available. Each members of our party ordered different dishes which were all amazing. The food was fresh, authentic, and homemade. The owner was persistent on making sure the food met our expectations, which it did. I highly recommend La Fonte to anyone passing through or living near by who wants a fresh homemade Italian meal. Service was terrific!

I'm going to tell you right off the bat that you do NOT come here for fancy ambiance. You're going…read moreto come here if you want to feel like you've been invited to your Italian grandmother's house for a Sunday meal. Because, honestly, that's what it feels like. Other reviewers have mentioned that when they walk in, there didn't seem to be a lot of people there. We experienced the same thing. We didn't mind though, because we expected a great meal based on the reviews. So we are warmly greeted, drink orders are taken. An excellent martini is placed before me. We order the calamari. Now...I'm not sure what to think about the calamari. It was very crispy both inside and out, it was reminiscent of potato chips. It was very tasty, just a different texture. I'd probably skip it next time, but honestly, it was a small blip on the experience. I chose to try the veal, even though it's pricier than I typically pay. But oh my heavens, it was worth it. I'm a veal parm snob, and you just can't get good veal parm anywhere in Harrisburg. Until now. It was a generous portion and I literally cut it with a fork. The sauce was so good, with a distinctive acidic tans. The pasta was perfectly al dente, which is another rarity. Hubby had Seafood Fra Diablo, and it had a wonderful kick. He absolutely loved it. Again, pasta was al dente and oh my that sauce again. Service was terrific. Mama also came out to chat with us. It's obvious that they don't see this as a business. It's just Mama and her daughter wanting to feed people. An appetizer, 2 entrees, and 4 drinks was $100.00. We have leftovers in the fridge. This is a wonderful treat, and we will definitely be back.

Best Greek pizza I've ever had!!! I've had a lot of…read moreMediterranean, Greek, vegetable, all different types of white pizzas. I love white pizzas. This one is absolutely the best I've ever had.! Highly recommend!!!!!

I had a pizza hankering and we were in the area. This place had some great reviews and it lived up…read morefor us! The waitress was super nice and on top of it. They gave us two tiny buns as an appetizer and they were delish. We got the onion rings for an appetizer and they came out fast and hot. We both ordered a medium pizza so we'd have lots of leftovers for home. It was also out quickly and was very tasty as well. The seating area is smallish and not fancy, but everything is clean and well cared for. We will be back to try other things here!

Caffè Bottega Italiana!…read more A true GEM in the heart of Leesburg! The hope for Northern Virginia to have a true authentic Italian market! The store owner David who is a second generation Italian, run the store with his staff but most importantly with his wonderful first generation Italian parents! I love them! They are a wonderful kind people! The store has everything imported from Italy! Including the Focaccia bread, according to David!! Lots of Italian goods! Frozen items! Desserts! Everything! Lots of Italian cheeses! Lots of authentic and rare Italian cold cuts Focaccia sandwiches Amazing varieties of Arancini Best Lavazza espresso drinks Wonderful outdoor benches for a nice lunch date! Everything was delicious and authentic! I drive 30 to 40 minutes to get there and it's worth it! What are you waiting for? Why are you still reading? Go feed your Italian addiction and get all what your heart has been longing for! Go to take your girlfriend or your wife for a wonderful lunch experience! Single? Go get Espresso and drink it by yourself proudly at the outdoor area .. be happy! Say hi to David and say Grazie to his wonderful and lovely parents! I really wish to see this place getting bigger and bigger to become like an Eataly store one day! Actually they have been growing and occupied more space! I almost forgot to tell you that they have amazing wine selection and I think they have opened a wine bar upstairs by now! I'm not sure ... go check it out and let me know ;) Try it, vote for the review , message me, or compliment me with any comment or question, and don't forget to ... Pray for me ;) All my 2026 reviews are gifted to my beloved & wonderful father Sami Wahib Tawadros 01/07/1955 - 12/08/2025

Very much impressed with this family run store and cafe…read more Besides the wine selection of affordable and unique Italian reds and whites there are other sweets and pantry items imported directly from Italy. I also enjoyed the panini with Soppresata and arugula... I highly recommend this spot for a casual lunch and unique Italian food and wine.