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    Mama Santa's

    3.6 (519 reviews)
    ModeratePizza, Italian
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Mama Santa's Photos

    Business Info

    MAMA SANTA'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Mama Santa's

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    Reviews With Photos

    Thomas L.

    Enjoyed the pizza for lunch. If you haven't been to Little Italy, it's a must attraction for anyone near Cleveland. So many restaurants, shops, bakeries and bars to choose from. It is gorgeous at night and during holiday seasons. Could be tough to find parking but well worth it. Now back to Mama Santa's. Great little old Fashioned restaurant. They don't have an extensive menu but do all items extremely well. The pizza is wonderfully cooked and taste crispy and light. Very well priced. The inside restaurant is decorated old school Italy with booths and tables available. Not a fancy place but a great little spot for a lunch or dinner. No outside seating. In the street parking or valet service available. I've been to multiple spots in Little Italy and just for the vibe I give it a 9.1 out of ten. Mama Santa's restaurant is a solid 8.6 out of 10.

    Anthony G.

    Still the best takeout pizza in the 216. Quick and friendly service. Still hot when you get home. Delicious pizza.

    THEY BURN THE PIZZA EVERY TIME. every single time. Unless you tell them in advance "DON''T burn the pizza". Seriously

    Basil D.

    The pizza here is excellent, some of the best I've had. The lasagna is wonderful, made with ricotta, not pasty cheap bechemel! The veal sandwich was disappointing. It was very thin veal, so much so that the breading overtook the taste of the veal which was very dry. The spaghetti with meatballs.....meh. It was ok. But not exceptional. Their homemade noodles are more like spaetzel or dumplings! Don't get them! It doesn't taste right, just get the regular noodles/pasta. The marinara sauce was very sugary....too sweet if you ask me. And they serve it in a deli tub when you get it to go. Not terribly appetizing. The meatballs were mediocre at best. In short, go for the pizza and lasagna. That's it. Go elsewhere for everything else, not even the spaghetti and meatballs (a basic, ya know?)!

    Medium pepperoni & onion pizza
    Larry C.

    Visited Mama Santa's finally. There was a line waiting to be seated but it moved fairly quick. The place is not large and they were busy but you didn't feel like you're on top of anyone. It had a real authentic old school feel. We started off with basic mozzarella sticks and they hit the spot. Very fresh. I had the chicken parmigiana with spaghetti. Best sauce ever. Period. Loved it. The chicken was good but the sauce made it the best spaghetti I've ever tasted. My wife's pizza came out a little later. They let you know on the menu that they have 2 kitchens so that may happen but it was worth it. Great pizza. Portnoy have it a 7.6. I'd go higher. My wife and I shared both plates and it was a great evening

    Lasagna
    Winston C.

    Great food. Old world authentic Italian. You have to get the house made noodles for any dish. The lasagna is perfect. Love the garlic bread to soak up any leftover sauce on your plate. Make sure to pair your dinner with some authentic Italian beer as well. You should order a pizza to take home with you as well.

    Chicken Parmigiana Combination w spaghetti
    Amy J.

    Greasy and exactly as ordered. Nothing special but nothing lacking either. Dripping with grease flavorful chicken pizzaioli with lots of goopy onion and pepper pieces and rotini with sauce. Came with three slices of totally plain bread which was kind of confusing. The mozzarella sticks are exactly what you'd get frozen at the store but again nothing bad, just there. $30 including 15% tip for both items in all.

    Veal Scaloppini Combination
    Mike M.

    Came as part of my 5,700 mile 30 city food tour research as I wanted to explore little Italy in Cleveland. Very friendly staff. Poorly lit and semi outdated dining space. Ordered the veal scalopini in a red wine tomato sauce with food network featured spaghetti noodles. Nothing was bad. But nothing was remotely memorable. Meat slightly oily with the sauce. Spaghetti felt like basic out of the box. Even the plating was a bit on the boring side.

    Front Menu Cover
    Adolphus M.

    Great food very flavorful, the young man that served us was great. The dining area was vintage (good). This place I highly recommend!!

    Table Bread
    Les R.

    Food is delicious. I recommend the Cavatelli and add the meatballs, you won't be disappointed. Service was good and friendly. Ambience definitely had what I imagine to be an old school Italian dining feel. Seating was really cramped for us as we were at a table against the wall but decent amount of room in the dining room overall. Absolutely recommend and is a must in Cleveland and the Little Italy area since 1961.

    Kathy D.

    Not sure if people who love Little Italy are just used to unseasoned, half-cooked, low quality, overpriced food but just seems like the pattern here. I really have yet to have passable pasta anywhere in Little Italy and Mama Santa's is as bad as Maxi's. The sausage was good though. It was seasoned, good texture and a reasonable portion. But my, my, we have to talk about their pasta. I got the olive oil fettucine and what--do they just stop seasoning after a drizzle of olive oil? What about salt? Pepper? Italian herbs? Anything? Others in my party got the cavatelli and meatballs and it all looked like a plastic play-dough dish...inedible. This picture I included was after I dumped half a bottle of red pepper flakes, pepper and salt (had to ask for them b/c they weren't even at the table!) and parmesan cheese (I don't even like this but it gave it flavor!). The "garlic bread" that was served was plan, thin, cheap pieces of white bread toasted and scraped with the minimum of butter with garlic powder. How is everyone okay with this??? Portions were tiny and prices were high. Our server was nice but her voice was so raspy it was hard to hear. So yeah, 1 star for their sausage and 1 more for their tiramisu which was pretty good.

    Sausage pizza

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    1 month ago

    Total order was reasonably priced and excellent quality food. Order was takeout but was warm and ready for pickup when I arrived .

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    11 months ago

    We went for lunch. I had to have pizza! It was super delicious! Pleasant server! Nice atmosphere!

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    Page 1 of 13

    Mama Santa's Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Mama Santa's

    What's the parking situation? Valet? Street parking? Lot? Thank you

    Valet on the weekends. Parking is a challenge. Holy Rosary Church has a lot for about $10.

    Is there a private room?

    No there is not a private room.

    Yelp says hours 11:00 to 22:00 Sunday, however CLOSED?

    According to their website they are closed on Sundays. I edited the hours here.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Went in yesterday for pizza with my boyfriend. Realized on google it said it was more of a "take…read moreout" place so we ordered ahead. Coming into the store there was a cute counter by the window if you did decide to sit inside and eat. We came all the way from Kent for the pizza and wanted to try a slice before we left for home so my boyfriend ate a slice in the parking lot really quick. An employee (possibly the owner) came out with napkins and offered us to sit inside. We declined as we had to leave but the man graciously went inside and brought us out cold water bottles for our drive home! It was such a thoughtful gesture. Now onto the pizza. It was delicious! We ordered a regular pepperoni pizza and the white Neapolitan style pizza. It wouldn't let me add pineapple to my pizza online, which was fine because it didn't need it, the pizza was so good! My boyfriend loved his pepperoni pizza and I also enjoyed my Neapolitan style white pizza. It had a great garlicky flavor and was crispy on the crust. Will definitely be back to try the margarita pizza next! So if you're looking for a great pizza with hospitality I recommend coming to Joe De's!

    I've been here twice and I think it's become my new favorite pizza place! The regular pizzas are…read moregood and generous with the toppings, but the Margherita pizza is AMAZING omg! It reminds me of my trip to Italy! I didn't care for the motz sticks personally, tasted like a funnel cake to me haha. The wings were okay. The onion rings were tasty! The garlic bread was tasty too! I wish they had a few better salad options personally. The employee (and I assume owner?) is SO warm and welcoming, treating you like an old friend. I LOVE THIS PLACE !

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    Angelo's Pizza

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    4.2(1.2k reviews)
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    $$

    Now this is what I'm talking about people! A few coworkers and I were in for a long day, so I…read moredecided to get us all some pizza for lunch. I went to Yelp and found Angelo's, which wasn't far from where we were, so I placed an order for pick up. We got a large cheese, a large pepperoni, a medium half cheese/half pep, and two salads. Let me tell ya, that was plenty! When I arrived this place was pretty poppin for a Thursday at 1pm. Clearly they draw in the lunch crowd. It only took one bite into my slice of pizza and I understood why. The crust was pillowy and chewy, the sauce was sweet but just the right amount, and the amount of cheese was perfect. We got a side of ranch and it just added even more awesomeness to the bite. The salads were pretty large, but it would have been nice if they cut the veggies up a little more. There were full sized baby carrots thrown in there which were impossible to cut with the plastic utensils we got. I would hands down order from here if I lived in Cleveland. They would likely be a rotating option for me. Hell, I wish I could have some right now.

    Came here Monday and it was an hour and a half wait. Apparently the pizza is half price on Mondays…read more When we got seated, we finally ordered some wings and the meat pizza. The wings were great and juicy. The pizza's crust was amazing. It was buttery and had a hit of a focaccia bread. Waitstaff was attentive. I will definitely come back. Just not on a Monday.

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    Angelo's Pizza - Inside

    Inside

    Angelo's Pizza - Mediterranean Pizza, Large, Deep Dish Crust

    Mediterranean Pizza, Large, Deep Dish Crust

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    Outside. Parking is on the street

    Napoleon's Pizza - Deluxe pizza

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    Austin is a standup guy and and an asset to the company. Stepped up to take care of everything…read more Great customer service. Good to know there still are stand up people out there. Much appreciated!

    These guys are polite, and the prices are fine. The sauce on the (square) pizza, however, is so…read moresweet that it could be considered a dessert. If you check out my reviews, you'll see that I've sampled pizzas in more than one state and more than one country, including Italy. I've sampled many types of crusts and sauces. While the crust here is fine (not the best), the sauce is repulsive. My daughter said "Dad, this area is heavily populated with people from Eastern Bloc countries," to which I responded "If they like their pizza sweet, so be it. But I certainly don't." I understand that there are plenty of pizza styles, including the Greek version, which includes cinnamon on occasion. Yuck. This place is called Napoleon's Pizza, and they claim to conquer pretty much everything, from your pizza craving to the whole town of Parma. Indeed, Napoleon was an Italian dude who was born in France. His conquering skills were excellent, until his greed resulted in the deaths of thousands of soldiers who froze to death. All of that to say, I might've named this place Napoli's Pizza (since Napoli is the birthplace of the pizza we know today). But the sweet sauce here is an abomination, so maybe 'Napolean's' is more appropriate after all.

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    Veggie w/ the white garlic butter sauce

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    Lil Ronnie’s

    Lil Ronnie’s

    4.4(27 reviews)
    5.0 miTremont

    Had a pepperoni and sausage with pesto and hot honey. Was in and out in no time nice guy who made…read morethe pizza . Small spot but that's all u need.

    Imagine: you and your friends have spent a long evening bar-hopping through the lively Tremont…read moreneighborhood. Buzzed and starving, you stumble across a NYC-style slice shop directly along your critical path. In the moment, it feels like Moses parting the Red Sea before your very eyes. You watch happy patrons pile out with slices as large as your head, you smell the delicious grease; you can practically taste your pie already. Stepping inside, this religious experience continues when, right as you ready yourself to order, you watch the pizza barista pull a hot, fresh pie directly from the oven. You can see instantly deduce the pizza is perfectly cooked--the cheese is melted evenly, the smell of the tomato sauce lingers in the air, the crust has just the right bend--you look the cashier in the eye and declare that a slice of that fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza pie is exactly what you want. Now imagine the horror as the cashier takes that fresh slice of pizza, perfect as Michelangelo's David, and PUTS IT BACK IN THE OVEN. Horrified, you can do nothing but watch as your already amazing slice of pizza is burnt to a crisp. Served to you five minutes later, your wonderfully floppy New York slice now has the consistency of a saltine cracker. It has been charred to the point of burying the cheese and sauce--replaced by the flavor of charcoal. You might think this is an indulgent (and even pretentious) way to simply say "the pizza was overcooked," but I believe understanding the promise of this product is essential to understanding the pain of its disappointment. Lil Ronnie's is the type of place that has all of the potential to become a legitimate contender for the best pizza in town--it does so much right with its atmosphere and location, and my nose and sight told me the potential exists within that original version of the slice! Just please. We only need to cook the pizza once.

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    Lil Ronnie’s - Big Slices

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    Edison's Pizza Kitchen - Bacon and spinach

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    It's convenient that you can get pizza by the slice when you don't want a full pie, but the pizza…read morewas extremely greasy. Even without the pepperoni oil just drips off, reminded me of amusement park pizza a bit. Maybe I'd return if I'm in the area.

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    Mama Santa's - pizza - Updated May 2026

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