Stopped by during the Feast for a quick slice and the cheese pizza was hot, fresh, and the perfect middle ground between not being too thick or too thin with just the right ratio of sauce, cheese, and crust. The line also moved surprisingly quickly for the amount of people there, which was impressive given how busy the event was. The service was great and the staff kept things running smoothly. Overall, a quality slice with a quick and efficient experience! read more

Pizza was great! Half cheese, half sausage and onion. Service was so-so. Our server wasn't all that present. Also came off a tad bit short ‍ Other than that, felt like a cool Italian pizza joint in little Italy. I'd recommend going at 4. The dinner crowd landed at 5 and the place was crowded! read more

We ordered take out at a friend's recommendation while in town. Chicken fettuccine Alfredo had fresh pasta but was drowning in sauce, and I LIKE a lot of sauce. Only 3 shrimp on the shrimp fettuccine. Bread was very thin sliced and dry. My friends like the chicken parm and lasagna. read more

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. read more

See all

1 star. Worst pizza my family and I have ever had -- cardboard dough, stale/odd sauce, and so oily it felt like a grease trap on a plate. Quality was a joke and a stain on the name of Italian pizza. Inside felt gothic and depressing even on a bright sunny Aug 29. Not worth a penny. Skip it. read more

Mama Santa's has great Italian comfort food. Love their handmade pastas. Great bread and lovely people working there.

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

See all

This is a classic spot in Little Italy. Or gets pretty busy at the weekend. I had a chicken parm sandwich once, which comes in sliced white Italian bread and I guess I prefer a roll, so it wasn't my favorite, but was good. I also had a decent pizza, but there are other places I prefer, so while I wouldn't refuse to go, it might not be my first pick. read more

I'm so sorry to give this level review. And hubby would be appalled with me. This is a homey traditional Italian restaurant, but I was just very disappointed in my meal and my mother-in-law was not impressed either. I felt like you were paying for the location (CLE's Little Italy), not the food. Hubby's office is nearby, so he often brings home their pizza and I'm not a fan of that either. Sorry to those loyal regulars out there! read more

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?)! read more

See all

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 read more

See all

Mama Santos in Little Italy had the kind of energy that made the whole experience feel rushed for no good reason. The manager/owner seemed tense and impatient, pushing customers to sit at dirty tables and creating some awkward moments. There wasn't much direction on seating, which only added to the confusion. We did try the pizza, and it was... fine. Average, nothing bad, nothing particularly memorable. In a neighborhood packed with great Italian food, that just doesn't quite cut it. Little Italy should feel welcoming and relaxed, and this experience missed that mark. read more

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. read more

Mama Santa's - Lasagna - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

I ordered cavatelli and meatballs. Sooooo good. Love the sauce. And noodles and homemade meatballs. Side salad was delicious meal came with fresh bread. Yum read more

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. read more

See all

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

Mama Santa's - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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. read more

Mama Santa's - Veal Scaloppini Combination - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

Food was good except I ordered a veal cutlet and I got a veal scallopini. That should be changed on the menu. Our server was good but looked frazzled. I prefer a restaurant that takes reservations. I won't be returning very soon. read more

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

See all

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. read more

See all

We drove from Michigan to come here. I love authentic 'old school' Italian food and this is where we decided to eat. Pizza was amazing! Chianti was very good! My wife had the Fettuccini Alfredo. It was so good, I ordered one myself. I came here with an appetite. Service was mediocre. I liked the old look of the restaurant instead of it being updated so I could care less what the interior looked inside. My wife went across the street to Corbo's Italian bakery for some desserts. We will definitely be back! read more

Little Italy. Narrow streets. Parking half on the sidewalk. Adorable places to visit for a meal. Coming here, someone was touting this as their best memories from their college days in the area. Go and get the pizza, they said... Well, the sausage pizza was okay. The problem was that it reminded me of Tree Tavern frozen pizza. Wow! For little Italy I was hoping for a lot better experience. The place and service feels like a typical pizza place in any town USA so that made the experience even more out of place. The punch line, however, was a 30% service charge for a large group. Yes, we were a LARGE group that took up probably almost the entire place. Yes, the food is cheap. 30%? On what planet does that make sense? read more

Mama Santa's - Sausage pizza - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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. read more

Mama Santa's - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

Food is authentic we had spaghetti and the veal real taste great The food took a while but we were a party of 10. All pasta cooked to order read more

Was in Cleveland visiting my son and wanted some pizza. My husband is gluten intolerant and the reviews for this places gluten pizza were really good, so we decided to stop for dinner. It's a cozy little place in a decent part of town. The staff is friendly and the food is phenomenal (including the gluten free pizza). I also ordered an antipasto salad and was not disappointed. It was a total win. Can't wait to go back. read more

I brought my friends who were visiting from out of town. We were very underwhelmed. It's not the Mama Santa's of my youth. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. My friends ordered a pizza and I ordered a pizza to go. The noodles and sauce were ok. The meatballs (2 of them) looked and tasted like they came out of a bag from the frozen food section of a grocery store. They were smaller than a golf ball. Apparently this dish comes with only 1 meatball because they charged me $2.95 for a second meatball. Seriously?? I had to waive down the waitress for more water. I just got up and got a container for the left over pizza. Just not impressed. read more

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

LOVE this place. We used to go here more-frequent (prior to kids). Went here on a Friday, lunch hour. As-always, kind and courteous staff and delicious food. I remember the garlic bread more buttery and garlicky. Didn't quite get that this time around. If you're in-town, and have never been here, visit this place! read more

See all

Mama Santa's is an institution in Little Italy and somehow still underrated. Step inside and it feels like time paused in the best possible way. No frills, no hype just seriously good pies. read more

Alrighty, well for one we didn't wait much for a table. Waiter was not at all attentive for a place that wasn't busy. Food was a solid 8.5/10, it did taste homemade but one of our dishes was wrong. They do bring out the pizza first before the dinner dishes but we were aware of that. Refills are not free! Over all, cleanish place. FYI: We were a party of 7 and we were charged a 20% gratitude tip. SO DONT TIP CASH. read more

See all

This little Italian restaurant is adorable and the chefs are obviously very talented, but it's more like a 4 1/2 star restaurant than a 5 star one, but I digress. I've never been to Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood before and wanted to hit the best-of spots for my first visit. This affordable joint was highly recommended on the Cleveland subreddit, so we went for a weekend lunch visit with a slight bias already. The place was packed, but we were seated very quickly and provided with yummy Italian bread as a starter. The staff were all kind and very warm and this might sound a little presumptuous, but I immediately wanted to become a regular and become engrossed in this restaurant's "family!" That's a good sign for a long established family restaurant. My brother and I asked for the two "must-tries" and ended up sharing a sausage and pepper small thin-crust pizza as well as their pasta specialty, cavatelli with meatballs. The pizza dough was perfect, the toppings well-distributed, and the cheese pull was decent. But the sauce made the pizza taste like a high-end Totino's frozen pizza. Is that a good thing? I don't know. The pasta also had a sauce problem - it was better than Ragu but needed herbs, spices... something! BUT the meatballs... oh boy. Now those were the best part of the meal! They were absolutely packed with flavor and the meat quality was solid. I could keep eating the pasta and meatballs forever - just with a different sauce. In all, I loved my visit here and plan to visit again very soon! read more

See all

My boyfriend and I have gotten takeout pizza from Mama Santa's twice and we absolutely LOVE it. The pizza is so delicious (freshly made, buttery crispy crust), the service is fast, and everyone is SO nice there. One of the times, we ordered pizza to go but asked if we could dine in since it was pouring outside. We were immediately sat and they gave us our pizza on a hot tray. The restaurant seems family owned and it gives a wonderful sense of community. Definitely go support !!! read more

Mama Santa's - sausage and onion pizza - Pizza Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

I saw MAMA kissing SANTA'S... We came right after Xmas & it was packed at 5 pm already. The server was nice & came pretty fast. They brought homemade bread & butter which was a nice teaser to the rest of the meal. Fried half chicken was interesting, it wasn't breaded just fried. Came w/ no sauce or dip but a side of pasta. I requested a side of ranch to dip in. Large cheese pizza was delicious, right amount of greasy & salty. Crust was nice & thin. The fettuccine was really good w/ mushrooms and a good amount of sauce. To go boxes came out fast w/ the check. In & out under an hour! read more

See all

We went to Mama Santa's for lunch after a great day in Lakeview at Daffodil hill and really enjoyed ourselves. It was a fairly long wait for seating and service and getting the food but it was a glorious day in Little Italy so it was to be expected. The staff was courteous and friendly, the manager (owner?) was very friendly with everyone who entered and checked on us during out meal. The restaurant was dark like many true Italian places tend to be but the bottles and maps on the wall made it feel very comfortable. The food was above-par. Bonnie's Manicotti was delicious. My fettuccini was not what I was expecting... I guess I did not read the menu correctly. I was expecting Fettuccini Alfredo with Meatballs but it was delicious. The pasta was so light and fluffy it Has to be homemade. Victory really enjoyed his pizza and it was good. The pepperoni was a thicker cut while the crust was thin and well done. Excellent. I would definitely try this place again. read more

See all

Our server was amazing! It was a very busy Monday lunchtime during Christmas week and she was in the ball. The pepperoni pizza was delicious! Well seasoned, tender crust, good amount of pepperoni. Came out piping hot! We had ordered it as an appetizer and it came out before lunch. Highly recommend the pizza! I did have higher expectations for their pasta dishes since Mama Santa's has been a staple in Little Italy for so long but was disappointed. The spaghetti was bland and the tomato sauce was nothing to write home about. It didn't have much texture or taste, I wouldn't consider it well seasoned. I got the veal parmesan and the same sauce as on that. The veal was crispy but the breading was salty and the slice of veal thin. The garlic bread was thinly sliced white bread with butter doused in a lot of garlic powder and salt, so much so that the bread's color is a pasty tan/grey. It shouldn't take much to make a good garlic bread. Finally, the bathrooms are in an area requiring you to navigate between narrowly spaced tables and then to scoot behind a table, all the while customers are eating. I feel bad for the people at the table closest to the bathrooms. All in all, I wouldn't go back unless it was for the pizza. read more

Mama Santa's! A place so good that when you tell your family you're heading there, they literally reply with an "I'm jealous!" and sigh with an expression of admiration. Mama Santa's is a Cleveland institution in the heart of Little Italy with a space a lot bigger than you might think. Compared to some other spots, they have an ample amount of seating. The prices are also super reasonable, making Mama Santa's an all-around slam dunk. I agree with Tom - this might be some of the best pizza in Cleveland! The service is lightning fast. I can't say enough good things about the pizza here. They are huge pieces with ooey gooey cheese and delicious flavor. You can totally split a pizza with another person and be more than full. I've also had the cavatelli and meatballs and can confirm the meatballs are an A+. If I lived closer, I would stop in for takeout all the time to enjoy the Sicilian amazingness of Mama Santa's. read more

See all

A great old school Italian restaurant. I always get either the Veal Scaloppini or the Chicken Cacciatori. I add mushroom sauce to my pasta. I've always had great service. read more

Been frequenting this establishment since 1996. Always enjoy their homemade pasta, decent pizza. Not gourmet but good wholesome food. Love the long time staff who are always attentive and helpful. read more

Came right in on a Saturday with no wait for lunch: service was very slow. They have no kids menu despite saying they are kid friendly. Pizza was good. No one cared for the cheese ravioli. Cavaetelli was okay read more

See all

My husband and I walked in today for our first visit to this restaurant. It is very dark, and old looking when you walk in, but I had a good feeling about it when a very Italian woman came up to the checkout counter to tell the younger man working there that, "His mom wanted to talk to him in the back when he got a chance." Then she looked at us and asked how many, then led us to our table. The tables are the old Formica topped tables like all our grandmas had in their kitchens. The tables and decor have obviously been there a while, however it was all very clean, and well cared for. My husband and I were there after a long morning traveling from Indiana to the Cleveland Clinic, and were there in the late afternoon before the evening rush. We just wanted a good meal, and then our bed back at the hotel. We both ordered homemade pasta with red sauce, and meatballs. The red sauce is delicious. The meatballs are tender and flavorful. The pasta is worth the hype. I had the fettuccine, and my husband got the cavatini. Four thumbs up from us both. Our service was wonderful, and literally what you think of when you come to Little Italy to eat. If you want simple, delicious, homemade food like mama makes, this is your place. read more