My family and I had lunch at this restaurant this past weekend. We have had wonderful experiences in the past with dinner service. This visit, was much different. We sat down and after drinking some water we all agreed that it has a chemical taste to it. We kindly asked the waitress for bottled water and explained our concerns. She returned with a refillable bottle and when asked if it was the same water in the cups, she informed us it was. We again explained our concerns and she without reply, walked off and returned with new cups of water then immediately walked away. We tried the water and it did not have the poor taste and we were content. The remainder of our party (8 total) arrived and as soon as they sat down, she asked if we were ready to order food and tossed down a plate of warm bread with the bread rolling off the block. She ignored this. We informed her of the appetizers and beverages we wanted and those who had just arrived asked for new waters due to the same chemical taste. The walked away with an attitude. She returned with waters and slammed them down onto the table spilling water on the table before walking away again without comment. Another waitress brought additional beverages and appetizers out. The original waitress then returned and asked if we were ready to order. We ordered and informed her that we had still not received one of the soft drinks. Another waitress later delivered our lunch and we again requested the beverage we had not received. It is worth mentioning that three of the 8 meals we ordered were incorrect, with the wrong protein or no protein. Shortly later the other waitress brought back our drink. Another waitress brought us dessert menus and we ordered. At the end of the meal she brought the check and walked away ignoring one of my family members requests for a box until she was about to get up. Service wise, this was one of the absolute worst experiences I have ever had at a restaurant. The server was passive aggressive, disrespectful, rolled her eyes at basic requests, and made for an incredibly uncomfortable dining experience. It is worth mentioning that all of the other staff we interacted with were kind and wonderful. We ordered clams casino and fried calamari as appetizers. The clams were dry and the cheese was hard. The texture of the calamari felt like it had been sitting out. It was not warm when it was received and it was a bit soggy and tough. We all thoroughly enjoyed our main courses and desserts. I would be unlikely to return due to horrific service if it were not for the delicious main courses. We were seated in the group area of the restaurant which I was in for the first time. It was definitely a step down from the main dining area which I was not happy with as we chose this location for a special occasion. Decor in this section was tacky compared to the main dining area. It is also with mentioning that we arrived shortly before our reservation and our area was set up for us. read more

We've dined here a number of times before and have also ordered from Mama's for catering. This time, we hosted our son's first birthday and we again were extremely pleased with the quality of the food, the taste, and presentation. The service was extremely prompt and efficient. We will 100% use Mama's again for catering as well as dining there. read more

I love Mamas. I've been going there for 30 years. Now that they have vegan and gluten free menus it's easy for my whole family to get what they love. And Tommy is the best!! read more

To experience expensive. Great gluten free options but beyond that it's a far cry from true Italian food. read more

We were in town and my husband absolutely loves this place. We were seated right away on their outdoor patio. We ordered the Cheese Tortellini Alfredo pizza. Omg, this is absolutely delicious! What an amazing combination. lol. They also even brought us a pretty good size sample of one of their pastas. I'm not sure which one it was but it was really good. I don't know about you guys, but I've never seen a free sample of pasta at a restaurant. Everything was amazing and perfect here. The customer service was good and they also have happy hour Monday to Friday. To top it off, they are also dog friendly! I wish there was a location in AZ! read more

Mama's Cafe Baci - Cheese tortellini alfredo pizza - Italian Near Me - Hackettstown, New Jersey

Very good gluten free food, the service is always great and the place itself is clean and comfortable. First choice for gluten free take out and eat in!! read more

This is a great place. Staff and food are the best and the afternoon tv movie is nice

Sad experience at Mamas. Pasta too al dente in both dishes, Espresso Martini poor at best. Should be made with real espresso....Service was ok. Decor could be modernized for sure. Also, the table for two in front of wait staff station is horrible seating. read more

Came here with my wife on a Sunday evening, staff was super friendly and prompt. Fresh bread was given to start and was great. For apps we got fried raviolis which were decent, probably frozen but fried nicely. And we got the crab and shrimp stuffed portobello mushroom which was subpar. The mushroom was chewy, crab and shrimp tasted very fishy, and there was a large mess of cheese and undercooked bell peppers on top as well. They brought out a complimentary lobster penne Alfredo which was nice, just needed more seasoning. For main, my wife had the shrimp fra diavolo/shrimp vesuvio duet. Both were delicious and the definitely the highlight of the meal. I had the filet mignon tips/ shrimp and scallops with linguini duet. Shrimp and scallops with linguine were tasty and cooked well. The filet tips were not cooked consistently though. Some pieces were a nice tender medium rare while other pieces were way overcooked. Lastly for dessert we got the crème brulee and the apple berry crisp. The crème brulee was not set at all, it was liquid, and the sugar on top was badly burnt. The apple berry crisp hardly had any fruit inside, just undercooked pastry and ice cream on top. I also got their peanut butter cup to go. For $7.50 they gave me a paper thin medallion of dark chocolate with a scoop of peanut butter on top. Not what I had in mind when thinking of an eight dollar peanut butter cup. Overall, service was great, some of the food was great, some of it was not. For the price they charge for everything on the menu you'd expect everything to be great. Most likely not visiting again. read more

Where do I start. The food was amazing and the gluten free menu was very extensive. All the gluten free food was delicious. The portions were huge and I happily finished my pasta the next day. Staff was very friendly and service was quick. The outdoor pooch cafe was not open yet as it was a chilly night but I can't wait to experience the restaurant with my dog soon! read more

I came here as a teenager when it was not much more than a counter in a shopping mall (in the same town). You simply will not find better NY-style pizza anywhere in the world. And it is exactly the same pizza 35+ years later. My friend and I ordered the pear purse pasta beforehand. The sauce was heavenly. Diane ordered the combo pizza by the slice and of course I ordered the cheese pizza. I tried to warn her that cheese was THE pizza to order here, and even though she liked her pizza, she wished she would have taken my advice when she tried mine. :) The next day, I stopped by to get two slices to go. Best pizza place in the nation. Maybe they'll open a location in St. Louis some day! read more

Mama's Cafe Baci - Pear Purse Pasta - Italian Near Me - Hackettstown, New Jersey

First time visitors, recommended by a friend because I have celiac disease. The GF menu is extensive and one of the best Italian GF menus I've ever seen. I had mozzarella sticks, chicken Parmesan, cheese ravioli, bread and cannoli - yes, I was in food heaven. My fave of the group was ravioli in rosa sauce - delicious! The other guests also enjoyed their dishes as well. The service was great and we were received by the owner and made to feel very welcome! The restaurant was busy but had a pleasant atmosphere. I'm already planning a return visit! We gave four stars because the prices were a bit higher than expected but loved our experience at Mammas. read more

Lots of Great Classic Italian Dishes to choose from here at Mama's Cafe Baci and all of them are delicious. Freshly prepared pasta dishes that are certainly a wonderful, tasty experience and the homemade sauces are incredible and full of authentic Italian style flavor. Heavenly meatballs that I can only imagine come directly from Mama's secret recipe box and will be haunting my dreams until next we meat lol. I can't remember the last time that my taste buds were on such high alert with anticipation. I do think I'm starting to have 'feelings' for this restaurant. We were only a table of 4 but at one point we had several servers continuously checking on us. It was a change of pace for sure and to say that service was 'on point' would be an understatement. Very friendly and helpful service at Mama's. I had to deduct a star for the lack of bathrooms. Lines were forming at a time that didn't even seem like they were very busy. One person at a time bathrooms are for pizza parlors not restaurants. read more

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Food is amazing They always make you feel like family Great service The the ambiance is perfect! There is a family area and there is aromantic couples area with love muaic on certain days read more

We had Mama's cater our Christmas Party. The food was delicious and everyone commented on how good the food was. We had 2 salads: eggplant Pisa salad and a red onion, feta salad. We also had trays of gluten free penne rustica, gluten free champagne Palma, and gluten free eggplant ricotta. Everything was a huge hit. Our guests complimented the food numerous times throughout the evening. Ordering was easy and Sherri went over everything with me, to ensure that everything was correct. I highly suggest Mama's, for your catering needs. Mama's is also a great place to dine, and also to have a dinner party. read more

I wish I had better things to say but we tried this place a few times. It's always the same experience. Slow service, mediocre food and plagued by flies. read more

I love mama's. They cater to my dairy allergy. The food is fantastic. The service excellent. And the owner is very nice and accommodating. In the summer I love sitting out back. The ambiance is so romantic. read more

Shame there so far away from where I live or I would be there daily. The grilled chicken Parm is the best I've had. The side of grilled veggies equally as good. We also enjoyed the cauliflower pizza a lot. I'll return when back in the area. read more

Stopped by for lunch yesterday and had a really good meal. We had the option of sitting inside or in an outside tent. We started with an appetizer of fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted peppers, tomatoes with a balsamic reduction. Everything was fresh and delicious and the prosciutto was sliced perfectly. What really stood out was the fried spinach it was served with. It was deep fried from what I could tell and it was crunchy and very tasty!!! They also gave us a complimentary portion of pasta with Alfredo sauce and it was one of the best I have ever had!! There was also warm fresh backed rolls. I ordered the Eggplant Pisa Salad that came with mixed greens, breaded eggplant, portobello, spinach, roasted red peppers, artichokes, gorgonzola sauce, balsamic reduction. This too came with some of that awesome fried spinach!! The salad very good and I loved the fried eggplant inside. We finished off with cappuccinos that were made VERY well!!! Can't wait to come back and try some of the other offerings. read more

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Food was really good my complaint is everything just felt rushed. It was just my wife and I and we were looking forward to a date night, but we got sat down, ordered our appetizer, appetizer came out same time as bread and pasta sample which would've been fine but we hadn't even finished eating out appetizer or started on the bread when our entrees came out! This was about five minutes after receiving the appetizers! We didn't want our food to get cold so we just moved on to the entrees and as we were finishing the entree the waitress asked if we wanted the check! Really disappointed we were in and out in 25-30ish minutes and that included that waiting for the check! Giving it the two stars because the food was good, but please read the room mama's! I know some people like to be in and out but this was the only date night we could get this month and it was over so fast. read more

About time I wrote a review!!! This is our favorite restaurant in the area. We have been here many times and not ONCE have we been disappointed. Incredible staff..incredible food...and you NEVER leave hungry. They actually have menu's for all dietary needs. Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten free...and of course a regular menu. Wish I could remember servers name...but we were in the 2nd booth on the right when they opened. She was a doll. Husband had the Calamari appy and the chicken BLT wrap. I had the portabella/crab stuffed mushroom over fried spinach and the sausage parm sandwich. EVERYTHING amazing, as always. Superb wine to accompany our entrees. We shall continue bringing friends and family and recommend to anyone that will listen! This place is amazing!!!! read more

The best Italian food! We love this place. Excellent service, efficient and respectful. The food is fresh and delicious, generous portions as well. The sauces are delightful, the pasta is perfect. Appetizers are amazing. Salads crisp and fresh. Highly recommend! read more

We haven't eaten here in over 4 years only because we are never ever in this part of Jersey. We loved this place so much the first time we went back then that we were having them cater our wedding in Budd Lake (which ended up being cancelled). Our most recent return reminded us what we loved so much the first time. The incredible vegan and gluten free menus. Everything we had was so delicious. The vegan eggplant francese, vegan ricotta, vegan lasagna and vegan penne vodka pizza with meatballs were all so good. The service was also outstanding. We can't wait to go back! read more

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My favorite restaurant ever !!! the best food for gluten free, vegans, and even regular people ! The staff is always extremely friendly and attentive. 10/10 would recommend and will keep coming here for ever! read more

The owner is simply amazing. Made us feel comfortable ordering food for my son's allergy. He even made a special order of milk and egg free mozzarella sticks for my son. Highly recommend! read more

Great ambiance ! Everyone is always friendly ! Food is delicious and owner is extremely accommodating! That is how you run a restaurant!

My family and I love this local restaurant. Not only because you are treated as family, but the food is out of this world. We were recently there for my birthday and had the family style dinner. Order came with salad, appetizers, and 3 entrees. The owner came out and asked us if we liked seafood, and brought out a seafood Mixto platter to share on the house. We had their eggplant rollatini, pescadores linguini, and chicken toscano. Dinner also came with desert, cannolis and zepoles. Definitely recommend it. read more

Mama's Cafe Baci - Italian Near Me - Hackettstown, New Jersey

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We have been to Mama's twice in the last 2 weeks to dine outside. Both times we ordered appetizers and pizza, and both times everything was delicious. Last night, I tried the cauliflower crust and it was SO good! Thin, crispy crust with generous toppings. We also ordered a penne alla vodka personal pie, also amazing. read more

Mama's Cafe Baci - Insalata - Italian Near Me - Hackettstown, New Jersey

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TL;DR If you can make your way past the exhaustive menu, this place always delivers. We have been going to Mama's for years (my wife has been going there since childhood) and all I can say is that the food is always solid. Come to think of it, I don't recall ever having a subpar meal here. Even the lasagna, which would never win any awards for appearance, is delicious! The owners are from and center and although they might be a little TOO present, it is endearingly so; you can really tell that they care. If we're being honest, the decor is a little too... unrestrained; at times it can feel a little busy, especially when the place is so crowded that you can hardly hear the person sitting across from you. Normally this would annoy me, but they are constantly trying to adapt and keep the place fresh. So I get it. Lately it isn't such a problem since everything is mostly take-out, which means that you're getting a solid meal. In some ways the menu mimics the décor - a little cluttered and A LOT going on. But to be honest I appreciate that they have it organized so that if you're GF like me you can simply flip to a specific page and all of the GF items on the menu are listed; much easier than thumbing through the entire thing looking for special symbols. I don't know if it's hometown favoritism or what, but I can pretty much guarantee that you will come away satisfied with the food. read more

Huge shout out to Tom and his crew on Mother's Day 2020. He was like a conductor leading an orchestra. Made great things happen out of what looked like chaos. Thanks for doing your thing. read more

Great place, nice outdoor seatings, food is great. Had the family style dinner, portion is huge, especially enjoyed calamari, salad and the pasta dishes. Owner came and greeted us, very welcoming place. Will be back highly recommend. read more

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Being an owner as well (in california) there are things you don't do in this business and Cafe Baci did it. You first sample the easy things on the menu that should be the places "cash cow" such as the pizza. Other thing you should do if live up to your reviews of food this and that, they didn't. Walked in and there was an understandable wait, and we were willing to wait. The owner refused and sat us in about 15 minutes. I rather of waited however long it took. Luckily Covid was over, but this guy didn't care whatsoever how many he had in the main dining room. Tables that were designed for 2 people (and we thought only two people were going to sit there) he turned them into table for 4, making everyone that sat at these tables have 1/2 their body sticking out of the size of the table, and basically coming to the point of having the other customer's really touching them. The owner just cared how many he could pack in the place, so that he could pocket an over priced menu, that was nothing more than medicore Pizza type dining. So first thing we had to sample was like we said their money maker, the pizza. The pizza that was served to our table was from at least 5 hours ago and they had the nerve to serve it to a customer. You could tell immediately that the pizza was not fresh. Fresh pizza starts out a yellow color and the older it stays it turns more of an orange color. So the pizza was delivered, the pizza we knew was at least 5 hours or more, the pizza was totally orange, the cheese was that great, and it was leaking oil all over the dish. You can tell that reheated pizza is reheated just by the way it looks and tastes, well this was no different. So here's were customers get ripped off. The platting, this place's idea of platting and displaying food to the customer is exactly like the olive garden. Make it look like a full plate with cheap stuff. The plate was long and narrow, meaning that your getting about 20% less food than a normal circular plate. So we asked purposely to place our pasta on a separate plate just to see how much was actual the item we had ordered vs. how much "fluff" there was. "Fluff is something in the industry meaning something used to make something appear bigger and is cheap. Such as whipped cream on a desert, cheap pasta as a side order, or a small amount of vegetables on a place etc." For $24.99 plus tax, you received 6 to 7 oz of chicken and a bread dish sized amount of pasta. The pasta took up more than 1/2 the plate and was placed on the same plate as the chicken just to make it look bigger. We went to the waitress, went to her and say, this is a pizzeria and nothing more, is this really $24.99 she yes yes, took the plate of pasta off the dish, and said the same thing over again, she took a few steps back as in "holly sxxt" to relieze how much of a rip off the actual dinner was. I said the total amount of chicken on that plate was no more than $3 with 35 cents worth of pasta! We didn't take anything out on her, because she wasn' t the one that made the prices, we all knew that. Food was nothing to jump and down on, it was typical pizzeria style. Desert. oh boy, RIP OFF THEN SOME! Using this as an example, a Pod of Lavazza is $18.49 for a 40 servings, making it about 50 cents a cup. (https://www.webstaurantstore.com/lavazza-perfetto-coffee-single-serve-keurig-k-cup-pods-box/110LVKCPERFT.html) . Lavazza is one of the best brands to use, especially for businesses. He wasn't using it. Heres the rip off, $8.00 FOR A CUPPCCINO! / EXPRESSO. Soda, $3.49 that cost places less than 5 cents an ounce, and the list goes on and on! The owner kisses too much but and tries to over play the place, that's his job to hide the fact that the food is way over priced, the deserts are boxed from a bakery or from bendi or nesto's. Mama's is nothing more than a pizzeria with a way overpriced menu. Whether people don't care, have no clue on what dinning is, or whatever, the BS this guy is blowing up people's buts is amazing. He's cashing in on everyone that is decides to believe the false hipe! You could go to a normal pizzeria, pay 1/2 as much as what this place charges, get more food than MaMa's. Main course, slice of pizza, and a soda, was over $45 dollars. You could get the same exact order at a local pizzeria for about $18 to $20. We're sure there are a lot better places, that won't take advantage of your wallet. read more

I've been coming here since I was a kid. The people that work here are genuinely great and offer wondered service. Having the option to eat out side on a nice day (with umbrellas for shade) is fantastic. The pizza unfortunately is not my favorite. It could be the sauce for cheese but something about it doesn't do for a jersey pizza (3-4 stars in my opinion) its the pasta and other items here that really shine. Penna vodka with chicken is phenomenal and my favorite, Marsala- exquisite! A lot of variety of pasta, gluten and other allergy free dishes. It used to BYOB, but now they do serve alcohol. They also sometimes have live music. Definitely worth a try if you're new in town or have never been! read more

This review is for catering. Attention to detail is amazing. Food delivered promptly, hot, fresh and tasty. Guests raved. Experience counts! Catering consultation invaluable, and nothing left to chance. Highly recommend Mama's for your next event for Italian catering. Everyone is engaged in your party's success at Mama's. Enjoy being a guest at your next event by calling Mama's! read more

Their service was impeccable when my friends and I had a bridal shower. They took care of your needs and treated you like you were family. Tom, Shari and Sydney were wonderful. All the employees were great! Everyone loved it. The food was delicious too. I didn't have 20 people and they still wanted to help me with my shower. Other restaurants would not accommodate me unless I paid for a room of minimally 20 or more people. I think they are great read more

We have been meaning to try this place since we moved in almost 2 months ago. For a birthday celebration, we decided to give it a shot and we're not disappointed. First of all, they have food for all different dietary restrictions and lifestyles. As you walk in you are offered vegan or gluten free menus. We didn't order off of it, but as someone who does not eat red meat I am planning to try the vegan sausage next time! We started with a large insalata to split. I thought it was perfect. It is lightly dressed, which I like, but if you prefer a lot, ask for more on the side. The salad is large enough to split or to get as an entree. For our meals, I got the Cosmopolitan and he got the Lobster Ravioli. Both of us were very happy. This is one of the only places that doesn't over cook the pasta. Also very flavorful sauce and perfectly cooked shrimp. The service was kind and quick. Will go back! Updating my rating. Only downside is the price you pay for the portion you get. Can be pricy and all a la carte. read more

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Very disappointing. Service was extremely lacking (and I say this as a server myself). The food was overall bland, with one dish was missing a key ingredient that was advertised. The vegan chocolate cake, as mentioned in other reviews, is sliced so thin that it can't be more than half an inch thick if even that, and it's $11. I get a huge slice of the same cake in a downtown manhattan restaurant for less than that. Overall overpriced and just not good food. Edit: In response to the owner, I am aware of exactly where your cake comes from, and I am telling you that the same bakery delivers to a restaurant in downtown manhattan that charges less for a full slice, than you do for a slice that's so thin you could put 4 slices together and still not have a normal sized piece. I've seen other reviews telling you the same thing about the price and yet you've raised it from $8-$11 instead of reducing it. read more

My favorite restaurant in the Hackettstown area, I don't think I've ever had a bad meal here. The menu feels like it's right out of a restaurant in Rome, I've had everything from pizza to meat & seafood as well as pastries. Highly recommend it read more

Updating to 5 stars because someone took the time to respond to my original review so I did actually stop by and order something on my own. I ordered a couple appetizers- the fresh mozzarella and calamari. It was a complete 180 from the catering order and staff was amazing. Fresh, quality, and delicious read more

A for effort on offering plenty of vegan dishes but I don't think I can go back anymore. Each time I've felt robbed and underwhelmed/offended by overpriced pasta dishes. I've been reassured in the past that prices are due to the freshest ingredients etc.. but about a month ago I went out with my husband and I am happy to splurge on good vegan food but this dish was a complete joke. We got the vegan rigatoni Alfredo dish with broccoli which was over $20 and the sauce was super bland and not creamy in the slightest but what was most offensive was that the broccoli was without a doubt in my mind microwaved. It was water logged, tasteless, and limp. We got a calzone which was really delicious but that was the only dish that impressed us. Cute place and friendly staff but these vegan dishes really need to be worked on.. there's so many ways to make them better, especially for those prices! read more