Excellent meal and Great service ... a lot of food - soup, salad, garlic bread and pasta (great sauces on both of our plates!

Awww I'm so disappointed. I had high expectations for this place. It was just ok. I had the lasagna and I've had way better. My husband had the chicken piccata and that was pretty good. Only reason I would come back is to taste the pizza. I was told it was really good. We'll see.... read more

No more relish tray, bread sticks or licorice liquor. Bus boys seem to want you to leave...the minute you put your fork down they ask you if you want a box. Wow. Dark and dreary inside. Food is just o.k. Nothing special. The waitresses could be nicer, too. read more

My wife and I have been going to Mama Cozza's for over 30 years and my family for even longer! The Cozza family has not lost a step in quality even with the crazy increase in business after being on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yes, the wait for a table has increased but it is well worth the wait. My wife's favorite dish is still the Shells with meat sauce. My favorite is a Pepperoni, Mushroom and Sausage Pizza and with a close second is the Linguine with the Domery sauce (Guy Fieri's recommendation). Over the past 30 years we have taken over a hundred friends to Mama Cozza's and not one has had a bad experience and all continue to eat there to this day! Thank you Cozza family for all the years of fantastic food and great atmosphere! read more

Decided to try this place out for a business dinner. Mama Cozza's has the look of a hole-in-the-wall dive, but she is a massive local favorite. Of the dishes I was able to sample (believe me there was some sharing going on,) I enjoyed all. At first I was a bit taken back because my sad palette is used to the Italian Garden. As the meal continued, I began to notice the deep flavors that are skillfully compiled into each dish. Definitely the place you want to go in Orange County for Italian! read more

Giving a 5 star is veeeery tough for me: I went to University of California, Irvine to see a neurosurgeon and my bestie and I took a lunch trip over here afterward. Ho-ly schmo-ly!! Where do I start?? We we're greeted instantly, regardless of the parking lot being packed (unfortunately-but nice in this case-I had a disabled placard) and, we got front door parking. We were told to take a seat wherever we wanted so we found a comfy booth close to the restrooms. They had what looked like a very old sign outside and the place looked very danky and old-IT IS. The first thing we noticed, even prior to being greeted, was the incredible smell of fantastic Italian food/pizza. While we were deciding what to have (based on Guy Fieri's airing) the owner, himself, came to our table to greet me for a kitchen tour. I had asked our server earlier if I could have a peek at the kitchen. I got to see exactly what I saw on, "Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives" thanks to the tour by Frank Jr.. The giant pot of sauce made me want to submerge my entire head in it! I ordered the, "Mama's Special", and my bestie got, "Fettuccine with Domary Sauce". W O W this was absolutely fantastic! Even the soda was awesome. Our server seemed experienced with customer service and menu knowledge. She noticed we were still surveying the menu, even though we likely knew what we were going to get ahead of time, and asked if we needed more time. We both responded affirmatively but gave our drink orders and they were promptly, and freshly, served. She seemed to also notice when we were ready to order and arrived rather promptly again-N I C E!! Our food came out way faster than I am used to and was just incredible. Shortly after that we were both greeted by Frank. Next time I am ever in Irvine I will definitely have, Mama Cozza's, on my go to list for nommies! Thanks so much, Frank Cozza Jr. and the entire Cozza, family!! read more

Came here because we saw it on DDD. On first arrival, it looks great - old school, smell of sauce cooking, and checkered tablecloths. As we were brought into the other room, a musty smell took over for that of the sauce. Sat down and the tablecloth that looked so charming was ripped, worn, and not very clean - sticky in multiple places. The booth we were sitting at had food stuck in the seat. Now, I will say that the place was decorated for Halloween, and you could see that the restaurant itself (fixtures, backs of booths, etc.) was clean. Maybe we just had a dirty booth. Took my son to the bathroom, where there was no soap in the ladies room. Told my server, but no one took care of it while we were there as I took my daughter in before we left and still, no soap (15-20 minutes later). Our food was fresh and certainly homemade. We had the cream of vegetable soup, which was good but was full of a frozen vegetable medley - cubed carrots, beans, corm and peas. I ordered the vegetable lasagna and was surprised to see those same frozen veggies in my pasta. I've never had a veggie lasagna like hat before. Kids had pizza and enjoyed it - dough was fresh but overall, bland. I guess that because I live in a city where DDD has filmed and it is an excellent diner, I hold all DDD places to the same standard...this place is not in the same league as Frank's Diner in Kenosha, WI. I will also say that Kenosha is a town with excellent Italian food, so maybe my standards are just high. Bottom line: not bad, but not that good either. I would probably head to Olive Garden next time. read more

Server never ask if want my salad first bad service food so so i dont come back again 1 star is to much only bus boy nice

Awesome authentic Italian Food! I live in the area and this has been a family favorite for decades. Pasta is always perfect and Mommas sauce is the best. They use the same sauce for Pizza, with fresh veggies, the best cheese, and homemade pizza dough. Super busy when reruns appear on Diners Drive In's Dives; otherwise usually a short wait; they also take reservations. MC has the pizza is the best ever!! Also recommend food to go if you are close by. Cant beat their pizza, buckets of pasta, and salad to go. Plenty of food for 10-12 people for a small price. Highly recommend this place! read more

On my top 10 list of favorite restaurants! I have never disappointed eating here. They give great portions for pasta and the pizzas are amazing too. The atmosphere is perfect, I love that it's a family owned restaurant. I'll be coming here for years to come. read more

Why all the pizza reviews here? You go to an Itailian rest. for the DISHES! Anywho, they have been my families fav. rest. since my dad took us there 35 yrs. ago. The best Veal Para. ever!!! Don't know why people still think Olive Garden is the best. I guess they think Taco Bell is the best Mex. food too! read more

Don't listen to all those baby's crying over bad service, maybe don't go to a small restaurant with 30 people! Bottom line is the food is great and the staff are fun and super nice. We go every time we're in Disneyland and completely satisfied each time. Now I'm thinking about it....hmmm might have to leave the rain and fly down this weekend! Keep it up, thanks! read more

Just went in tonight with my family and my goodness ! This place is the best. It may be a little pricey but it is worth the price by far. I ordered the calamari marinara and my boyfriend ordered the prime rib. There was so much food that we couldn't finish it. And my BF is a big guy ! The bread , clam chowder , salad , everything was delicious ! No disappointment and will hopefully be back for another date night thank you so much to our server as well she was the best and super sweet ! read more

Best pizza ever and the service was great. Had apple martinis that were more than worth the $8.50. Have Loved this place for 35 years and they never disappoint. read more

Thank goodness I don't live near Mama Cozza's, otherwise I'd weight 300 lbs. The food is awesome and comes in huge portions. Only slight downside is that seating is slow because they're always busy. I've always had good service. Been there about half a dozen times. I always get the cheese sticks but they'll fill you up. read more

Can you imagine what it would be like to walk into an Italian home? Me either...at least not until I walked into Mama Cozza's in Anaheim. Ok, so the outside is no big deal. You think you're at some mini strip mall with limited parking. Then you walk in and it's an entire feel. It feels like someone's home. It's cozy and the staff right away makes you feel welcomed, I love the crunchy bread sticks on the tables, very genuine. The atmosphere is very old school restaurant and you have more than enough old photographs to keep you reminiscing. The prices are a bit steep so it's no very often that I will visit, but it was very good. I will speak for the pizza for now, since this is what we ordered. I'll have to owe you my review on the pasta. It's clean overall, although I would recommend the containers on the table to be cleaned more often so I won't have to see the finger prints of the last person there. Friendly service, but a bit a little slow. Maybe it's just because they seemed busy, after all it was a Saturday night. Hey momma! Maybe try hiring a few more people to assist, huh? More likely than not, I will go back and check out some of the other menu items. So, in a way this review is to be continued. I look forward to see where this review takes me. Ciao bella gente! read more

The place is dark and therefore gives the appearance that it is dingy. My veal was not salted, the Marsala sauce was bitter, and spaghetti with red sauce accompanied it. The red sauce was also bitter and tasted like it was from the can. The garlic bread tasted more like paprika than garlic. The best part of this meal was the fresh cut celery and carrots with pickles and peppers. I am disappointed Mr. Fieri! read more

So Mamma Cozza's has totally redeemed themselves. All I have to say I went back for a second try and they made up for it! I have to admit that I think it was just the server that we had that night. I kept trying to convince my friend to go back and give it another shot, and even though he was reluctant he agreed, and even though we were a little nervous going in there it was a great experience. Our server, Dawn was so friendly and very personable. I got my salad with Bleu Cheese dressing, and it was great. I even though it's a pretty simple salad, their bleu cheese dressing is awesome, an i'm a Bleu Cheese Fiend! We got one of each soup, the Minestrone and the... (I can't remember what the name of the other was, but she said it was a sort of Egg Drop with Spinach and something else). They were both good though. For dinner I had the Spaghetti w/ White Clam Sauce, I thought it was really good, but I think I may have liked it just a tad creamier. And he had Chicken Parmesiana, and i thought it was really good also. We still have yet to try the pizza though, it looks so good!! So I'll say this place is greeat, it's got good food, a great homey-feeling decor inside, friendly people (Except the one server from our first time) and a nice local place to stop by. We'll be returning! read more

Do not be fooled by the small parking lot being filled bcus its just the employees. They were not friendly & did not seem happy to work there. This place has horrible service overall. Just hope you don't get Gloria as your waitress, she was rude & didn't offer us much service at all. They never asked for our drink order & never checked up on. Us the whole time. Do not buy the expensive tiramasu! You'll just get a big blob of cream- it's all filler! read more

Went here after a day trip to Hollywood with my girlfriend since she had seen this on the Food network and loves Italian food. When we first arrived it was a smaller place just off of the main road and there was a large group of people waiting outside. We got our names in and were told it would be a 45 minute wait. We left for a bit and came back about 15 minutes later and waited inside the restaurant. We sat and looked at the menu and looked around. The restaurant had a very homestyle italian atmosphere and was very nice and it smelled amazing. On the walls are pictures of well known people who have eaten there and a large poster with Guy Fieri's picture on it. To our surprise we were seated much sooner than we were told and were led to a table in the next room over. The whole restaurant was full and very lively. In the room past where we were we could hear a live jazz flute performance which was very nice and added to the experience. Our server was very friendly and took our orders quickly despite it being so full. With all the pasta dishes you get soup, salad, and garlic bread with it. I got their egg drop soup and it was nothing special, but not bad, just a simple noodle soup with egg in it. My girlfriend got the minestrone and it was still nothing amazing, but still good, although I usually prefer when the minestrone has a bit of spice to it. We then got our salads which were good with the house Italian dressing, again nothing amazing, but still good. Then our main dishes were brought out. I got the Eggplant Parmeseasn and my girlfriend got the sausage spaghetti. My eggplant donned a small Italian flag and although it was not particularly outstanding, it was good and was a very generous portion and also came with spaghetti. I got halfway through the thick brick of eggplant and cheesy goodness before I was too full to continue, barely even touching the spaghetti. My girlfriend also got two large sausages with her spaghetti and only finished half before she was full too. One of the servers then took our food to be boxed as we had enough food left over for at least one more meal each! While we were waiting was when my girlfriend found the dessert menu which was not on the larger menu. Being extremely full but not wanting to turn down an opportunity for dessert we decided to split the cannoli. This was my first cannoli and it definitely won't be my last! The light, almost airy, sweet ricotta cheese filling with cinnamon and chocolate chips inside the hard shell was a great ending to this Italian meal! Overall the restaurant was a good place to have some good Italian food with a nice comfortable and fun atmosphere, although I was expecting a bit more after hearing it had been on TV. The prices were very good and some of their other dishes definitely sounded good and may be worth returning to try another time to see if they more accurately live up to the hype. read more

As much as I wanted to like this place, I just can not say any of the good was stellar. The wait staff was great and very attentive and that was the best part this place. The alfredo sauce was so plain tasting it simply reminded me of thickened milk. The pasta was okay but did not taste homemade at all. I just think it was okay. read more

Not sure what the hub bub is/was about this place. Salad was tasteless, how does an Italian restaurant mess up an Italian salad? Service was slow, and the place is dingy. If the food is great then I don't mind a place that is a little slow or dingy, but man not sure what to say. The main dish was good, but seeing this place on TV I was hoping and expecting something better. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing? read more

delicious! The food was great, the atmosphere was wonderful, and our waitress was so sweet and accommodating to our 800 kids and huge group! I would love to go back when we are down that way again! read more

I just visited this place not too long ago. They are very generous with their toppings, a little greasy, but still well worth the visit. The parking is a bit of a problem, best to get there early. I would go back. read more

I tried the pepperoni pizza. They baked the pepperoni underneath the cheese which I've never seen before on a thin pizza. The pizza was tasty, a little bready for my taste, but great pizza none the less. My girlfriend had the spaghetti with meatballs. The sauce was decent. I prefer my marinara sauce with stronger flavors. I do like that they gave you enough sauce to coat the spaghetti. I hate when they skimp on the sauce. I will definetly come back. read more

Triple D got it wrong. Sauce was like tomato paste. Servers were great, too bad the food wasn't :-(

This place was visited by Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and I've tried very hard to like this place but my two experiences have not been good. The service is poor and slow with no attention, consideration or sincerity whatsoever. I think this maybe due to how busy it is and all the additional attention they've gotten from being on the show. The pizza the first time I went was amazing, this last time not so great but out of everything this is the only thing I would eat again. However, the quality of the food, the lack of service and the not so clean environment has just made me decided never to go back again. I'm sorry I tried.... read more

I saw this in food network so I went there, but it wasn't great. Foods are average I think a little over priced. It wasn't my favorite restaurant... read more

With a party of 7, we waited too long for having reservations. Seated in a side room which got little to no attention and waitress got our requests wrong (for extras like napkins and such) two outta three times. We ordered a myriad of menu items including pepperoni pizza, pasta, egg plant parmigiana and salad. Only really good thing was the pizza. I won't be a return guest. No idea what was so appealing to Guy Fieri?! LOL read more

Old school! Right down to the breadsticks on the table. Service can be a little eh, but the food is more than worth the trip. Be prepared to eat, the portions are large! Splitting dinner and dessert is a good idea! read more

Pizza ,fettucini. whenever we're in the area on vacation we make it a point to have a dinner here. old local spot. great hand made pizza, fetuchini is good. great atmosphere. its old so a lot of history. read more

Saw this place on DDD, honestly had HIGH expectation because of the praise from Guy. But however it was short of what I was expecting. I order the pizza, meatballs, and ciopinno*. The pizza was worse than Dominos, the base was soggy ad cheese was thick, the pizza sauce had barely any flavor. The ciopinno had good flavor but the seafood was obviously frozen and tough. The meatball were alright but was very bland and kind of dry. Overall, this would be a place to come for quick pasta , but not a place of good quality italian food. read more

First time here based on recommendation from a friend of my wife. Overall pretty good and we will be back. I liked that the soups and most of the salad dressings are homemade, (the bleu cheese was excellent) and my lasagna was really good. This place has been here since like 1965 and it looks like it, which is cool. The service was excellent, but could be a little faster however we didn't mind the slower pace. Another nice touch was they bring you a post meal complimentary shot of anisette (licorice flavored) which was also nice. Next time we will check out the live music in the other room as well. read more

I first came here as an invite for our office from the Cozza Family. They are super friendly and very family oriented. I'm sure everything on the menu is great. I ordered the "Shrimp Fresca" served with jumbo shrimp, fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil sauce over linguine. It was rich in flavor and sauce was delicious. My husband ordered the Mama's Special Pizza with meat sauce, he said it was bursting with flavor. Must Visit. Authentic Italian Food. read more

I heard about Mama Cozza's from Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives. I was excited to try the food here! My boyfriend got the seafood pasta sauce Guy described on the show and it was great! However, I got the ravioli with Mama's sauce and it was fine, but not great. I expected a little bit more flavor. To me, it was bland. I hear the pizza is good, so when I get a chance I will give it a try. read more

Came here because of dinners,drive ins and dives.....ordered what he ordered on the tv show the food was very bland tasted like an Italian TV dinner ......horrible read more

Super yummy food!! I got the chicken Marsala and my bf got the stuffed shells. Seriously...I moved his plate close to mine so I could enjoy both (his and mine) without having to choose. There may have been one or 2 times that I stabbed his hand with my fork to make sure he knew I wasn't sharing EITHER and he should order something else!!! Truth be told, I am not ashamed for my actions...if the food wasn't so good...I wouldn't have to be so hostile!! The staff was extremely sweet and helpful!!! Can't wait to go again!! read more

I stopped by for dinner last night for the second time and I was not disappointed! They are celebrating their 50th anniversary and WOW! The special menu for the celebration is great I got somewhat of a sampler trio plate with Lasagna, ravioli and I forgot the name of the other pasta lol for only 10.99! I shoulda been rolled out of there lmao! MY BF and I were very pleased. Come try it! read more

I'm giving 3 stars for the service, which was pretty good. If not for that I'd be giving a 1. To me the whole place looked really dirty, the carpets were filthy. The food was not good at all. I had pizza and pasta and it was all not good. I always try to be fair when rating but this place just wasn't great. read more

My family has been coming here since they first opened, and it will always be my favorite pizza. Mushroom, sausage and anchovies every time.