Side-by-side, I would prefer Olive Garden. And, for the record, I'm not a fan of Olive Garden. We stopped here to meet friends for dinner. It was our first and probably last visit. (I couldn't pick from those two opening lines and figured I would include them both.) I had their Chicken Marsala. The chicken was bone dry. The brown sauce was brown and tasteless. The pasta was overcooked. On the plus side, the bread was pretty good. However, not good enough to redeem the rest of the meal. read more

Food was delicious and the customer service was remarkable! I will come back to this establishment! I love the local "mom & pop" atmosphere!

Spaghetti alla carbonara is to kill for! Great service! First time here and coming back. read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

Great service and great food! We love going to Mamma Lucia's for special occasions -- they never disappoint. read more

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I have eaten here and liked it but I usually get takeout. My fave is eggplant parmigiana. It comes with spaghetti, and soup or salad. Very generous portions as a rule. I also recommend the stuffed pizza for those with big appetites. read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Pasta Fagoli - cup - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

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Pretty good! Great place if you are in the area. I loved the dessert selection. I ordered steak and cheese plain. read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

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I had the Rockfish Positano which was outstandng, I large filet of Rockfish and huge shrimps, I got 3 meals out of the portion - my wife had the spinach ravioli which was also excellent. read more

They have the best pizza! It's always busy in here, but the service is great! You can sit at the table, or in the bar area! It's always filled with spirit nights for school fundraisers or family dinners! Their pasta is delicious too read more

My steak and cheese sub and fries is so freaking delicious! Talking about steak and cheese subs in the office, my coworker suggested I try this place. Honestly I wouldn't have ever thought to come to this restaurant especially given 2 and a half stars on Yelp! Anyhoo- my sub was seasoned perfectly. The sub roll just melted in my mouth: soft, buttery and warm...The onion's, peppers, and mushrooms took my sandwich to a whole 'nother level! My fries were piping hot and perfectly seasoned as well. Definitely a 10/10 for me. Will definitely be venturing back here. I'm excited to share this new found delicious sub having place with my husband. He would LOVE this sub! Plus they have my all time favorite PIZZA!!! We have to venture back to try their pizza now...lol... *Date night coming right up!* My only complaint is the fixings were falling apart as I would bite into my sandwich! Hahahaaaa! read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Half of eaten Steak & Cheese - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

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This review is specifically for the grilled chicken salad. I don't know what it is about Mamma Lucia's -- and I have eaten at all three of them in Calvert before two of them closed -- but for some reason the cooks there don't know how to grill chicken without burning it. Either the grill is too hot, or the chicken is left on too long. Whatever the case, if you don't enjoy eating char-marked, dried-out chicken, then order something else, or just go to Ledo's where you can get grilled chicken that is browned and flavorful, but not burned. No, I don't work for Ledo's. They simply make a better grilled chicken salad. read more

Owner bullies his staff! I've frequented here frequently for a decade till moved away in 2020. Was back in town Today and had early dinner. Food ok but not as good as it used to be. Reason I'm posting which I rarely do is - The owner berated his staff. 2 18-20 yr old hostesses. He is a total bully. Owner, Old over weight man, should have discussed any issues and set an example vice raising his voice and bullying them. I'm never coming back to enrich such an obnoxious bully. read more

The worst Italian food ever. From the moment I opened the container, I was hit with a foul smell. Took one bite and spit it out. I am sure I would have been in the bathroom all night if I would have consumed the food. Do not recommend. read more

Food was terrible. The table was sticky, the whole place had a foul odor. Our waitress Jackie was rude and ignored our table for long periods of time. We witnessed the manager Maria berating an employee during dinner service to the point of the girl crying. I will never spend my money in this restaurant again. read more

Food never disappoints! I love the fettuccine Mediterraneo! The shrimp, Scallops and crab meat are nice portions! And I also love the old bay shrimp as my appetizer! The drinks well the lemon drop I had to send back and the magarita tasted like a fruity drink with sprite in it. So I probably would stick to wine or beer next time read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Fettuccine Mediterraneo - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

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I've always been disappointed in this place but I'd been wanting manicotti and this was the closest place to get it and how can you mess up manicotti?!?!?! Well they managed! That will be the last time I go there. read more

Very disappointing experience last night. Our server was very polite and attentive, but the food was extremely disappointing. I ordered chicken Fiorentina, and it was a disaster. The chicken was tough and overcooked, and the sauce was a thick, cheesy mess all over the plate. There was so much sauce, the chicken was completely buried. I had to hunt around with my fork to find it. My wife and son also had chicken dishes, and theirs was also overcooked. The menu really lacks any variety and it's hard to even call this place a legitimate Italian restaurant. I know this is Southern Maryland, but Old Bay has no place on an Italian restaurant. My advice to the restaurant - make the portion sizes SMALLER, make the menu SMALLER and add more meat options to the menu. You would do a lot better to have no more than 20 dishes on the menu, and then work on perfecting them. read more

This is definitely one of our favorite Italian spots for dine in or takeout. The food is absolutely amazing. It has a very relaxed vibe for casual dinner with a bar if you want to watch the game. Service is pretty good, and the food is even better. Also, they are SUPER quick on takeout orders. They've never left me waiting for my food and it always comes packed neatly and in a box to ease travel and prevent spillage on the ride home! - a pro touch. read more

Absolutely delicious. Classic Italian food & pizza. Sauce is delicious. Quality cheese. Light & crispy dough. Meatballs were very good & can tell homemade with that delicious red sauce. Best pizza I have found in the area. read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Cheese pizza small - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

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There are problems with the food. I couldn't believe the bizarre way some of the food was made. Let's start with the normal food first. I got 4 dishes for carryout. Every entree comes with a garden salad and bread. The salad consisted of iceberg lettuce, red onions, green peppers, carrots, pepperoncini, an olive, a marinated mushroom, and a cherry tomato. It came with homemade Italian dressing. The dressing had broken bay leaf in it, and it was hard, so remove it before use. The salad was basic in every way. The bread was sliced Italian bread. It was hard on the outside and dense on the inside. The interior was somewhat soft and slightly chewy. Better proofing of the dough would help make it less dense. It tasted typical. Here is what I bought. 1) Calamari Fritti It was overcooked and rubbery. The breading was soft, not crispy. That's due to the dish sitting a long time in a closed container. How do I know that? They forgot to give it to me. My wife noticed when I bought the order home. I called them and asked them what they could do about it. A woman answered and told me that I could go back and get the calamari or they could give me a credit to use in the future. I asked if a refund could be given since I charged it on my credit card. She say no because it's very hard to do in their system. Unbelievable! So, after going back to get the calamari and confirming their no refund stance, we received this rubbery chewy calamari with the soft breading. It came with marinara sauce and a spicy orangish colored sauce. The orangish sauce tasted like mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. It didn't compliment the calamari flavor at all! A bad idea. 2) Linguine Posillipo It had clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari in a marinara sauce. Everything was cooked well except for the calamari. The calamari was overcooked. It wasn't as rubbery as the fried calamari. The sauce had a mild flavor of tomatoes, herbs, and seasonings. This pasta dish was good, but the herbs and seasonings need to be increased. 3) Lasagna Bolognese This is where bizarre begins. It had 7 layers of lasagna noodles. 4 layers had NOTHING between them. Some oil leaked between some of the empty layers. Look at my photo. How does that happen? The bottom 2 layers had filling. The bottom layer had ground beef and oily tomato sauce. The layer above had ricotta cheese. There was mozzarella cheese on top. The tomato sauce was bland. The tomato flavor was weak, and the herbs and seasonings were hardly noticeable. The beef was good in taste and texture. The cheeses were typical. If you love eating lots of plain lasagna noodles, then this is your dish. Let me know if you've ever seen lasagna made this way. 4) Tiramisu This was the weirdest tiramisu that I have ever seen! It was packed into a pint-size soup container. Who puts tiramisu in a soup container? It had a creamy exterior all the way around. The center had coffee soaked ladyfingers. The center tasted like strong dark roast coffee with a slight sweetness. The creamy exterior was whipped cream mixed with mascarpone cheese and lots of vanilla extract. It was moderately sweet. This creamy concoction was a bit nauseating when eaten alone. It has to be eaten with the ladyfingers. There was no liqueur or cocoa powder. This didn't taste like tiramisu. It was a BIG disappointment! The service was quick and polite but lacking in competence. There is something going on in the kitchen with the personnel which showed up in the food. This restaurant is the only full service sit-down Italian restaurant in Dunkirk. It's the only choice if you don't want to leave the area. It's better to go outside of Dunkirk and spend more for better Italian food. Best wishes to the owners in finding better recipes and people with better cooking skills. This place deserves a 2-star rating, but this was our first purchase, so I am giving them a lot of leeway. Hopefully, the issues that I have written about will be looked at by the management and corrected. read more

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It's been a while since we have been in, I used to love eating here. I use to eat here a few times a week for many years and then they opened a new location in Prince Frederick. I never really cared much for the food in PF it just wasn't the same as Dunkirk so then they opened the Chesapeake beach location and the food went way downhill. They closed down the PF and Chesapeake Beach location so we thought let's give it a try. The Dunkirk location really could use a remodeling the ceiling tiles are very nasty and some look like they are falling down. I ordered what I would always get calamari with extra red sauce and a pizza, OMG the calamari was nice and tender and the sauce was perfect and the pizza was soo good just like I remember it being when Sal first opened. I don't know what happened if they stopped buying the same ingredients for the restaurant or the cooks were just fixing things different. But now that it's just one restaurant the flavors are back. Now the service is sometimes not that great, Sals sister in law waited on us this last time and she was terrible after she took our order. She was more interested in the party in the other room why would she even take a table if you have a party? We will be back for the pizza for sure. read more

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The service moves at a glacial pace. If you order a drink on a weekend night and you're sitting at a table, you might get it a half hour later. Regardless if you order Seafood or Steak, it's never cooked to the way you asked for it to be cooked. It's either overdone or undone. On any given weekend night, you walk in, sit down at a table, and the table top is sticky, tacky, filthy, not cleaned. And every time we went to the location in Chesapeake Beach where the Baia Coastal Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar now resides (A much better Italian place BTW) - It literally took over an hour to receive the food. But I can understand this, since it must be extremely difficult to work for such a slavedriving b-tch. Not enough staff, and the staff that they DO have left is overworked, therefore it's not the staff's fault, it's the owner's fault. The owner has got to be the most rude woman that I've ever met in my life. You'd be better off making your own pizza at home, and if you're Italian, you obviously know how to do that. Save your coin & save your experience for cooking at home, because the cranked up prices are not representative of the food/drink/experience that you receive in return. read more

I'm originally from NJ and these guys make a solid NY style pizza. They're super accommodating and even made a buffalo chicken pizza for us on the fly. We DoorDash here every other week. read more

Love their carbonara, service is good and clean atmosphere. Nice bar area with a tv's to watch the games.

We've only sat inside Mama Lucia once. It's quite the crowded place. We now purchase pizza from them; just plain pepperoni. They have some of the closest to NY style and flavor--just a bit salty. There isn't much in the way of excellent pizza in Calvert Co. read more

The service and no matter what your order, the food is always good. Friendly, no stress atmosphere. Definitely a go-to restaurant for locals and when I visit friends and family in the area. read more

About a dozen of us gathered for a dinner meeting here -- on a rainy Thursday night. The place had plenty of folks, and everyone looked happy. They seated us at a long table in quiet corner, and even pulled floor to ceiling drapes around to provide us some privacy and a quieter space for conversation. The apps and entrees were all served timely, the staff was attentive but didn't interrupt the meeting, and everything -- from crab dip and salads to pastas and and salmon plates -- was delicious and fair priced. Highly recommend. read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

This review is solely based on the interaction had between the manager/owner Maria and myself. I placed a phone order for three items. Two eggplant Parmesan dinners and one chicken Parmesan dinner upon returning home we realize that there were three eggplant Parmesan dinners. I called the restaurant only to be told that I had to wait another 40 minutes for the replacement which I said was ridiculous because I already waited 40 minutes for the first dinner and this was not my error. I spoke to Maria on the phone and she said she wanted photos of the meals to show the kitchen, we took the photos and my husband brought them to the restaurant upon arriving at the restaurant. She questioned the photos because they were not all in a row meaning the eggplant were not all next to one another, which was highly insulting because it's not as though we wanted to wait and Get something over on them she was questioning our ethics not her kitchen. There was no apology. There was no anything of taking responsibility for the error very disappointed in the service we received will have to think about coming back again. read more

Great food, good service and beautiful ambiance. They have a bar area with television for sports.

This place needs a serious renovation. The tables are sticky,the place has a nasty smell to it and the food is nowhere what it used to be. It is dirty in there. read more

The food was delicious. I got a dish with blue crab and you could see that it was fresh and made with lump crab meat. The staff was friendly and attentive. Got there after the lunch rush and we had the place to ourselves. Very good food with good service. read more

fantastic food and drinks, been coming here for years. Simply the best! staff is so friendly steak and cheese is fantastic, ambers special is also a great choice. read more

The restaurant was dirty. The dessert menu on the table was gross. The serving was huge. Two of the three veal Marsala patties was tender, the third was all gristle. The pasta serving was enough for three people. It was just okay, nothing special. read more

Great food and great staff. Nice pleasant atmosphere. Everything is spectacular from the appetizers, to the main courses, to the deserts.

Go see sal and get the pizza. This is our go to party pizza when family come over for parties, fathers day, mothers day or birthdays

It's been about two years since our last review of Mama Lucia's, so time for an update. Most southern Marylanders are familiar with this family-owned mini franchise of three different restaurants. One is in Prince Frederick, one is in Dunkirk and one is over in Chesapeake Beach. The Dunkirk restaurant is the original. Mama Lucia's features Americanized Italian food. The owner Sal, is actually from Italy. It's a shame that he doesn't make real Italian food but perhaps it just wouldn't sell in southern Maryland. That said, the food that he does cook is always reliable. Most entrees come with a salad and a basket of fresh bread. You can also opt for a Caesar salad in place of the house salad. The house salads always feature olives, onions and pepperoncini. Our latest visit was to the Dunkirk location, which we prefer. My suspicion is that the food and service is better because Sal is normally at this location. The restaurant does a bustling business and is normally crowded at dinner time. We were quickly seated and our drink orders taken. One minor annoyance was that we were close to the hostess station and the phone rang constantly. On this latest visit I noticed that prices have gone up substantially with many entrees approaching the $30 range. of course the old reliable pasta dishes can still be had for about $18. We went with our usual orders of spaghetti Alla belladona and homemade ravioli with meatballs. Spaghetti comes with capers, black olives and anchovies and is more than one person could eat. The ravioli is also good but could use more sauce. The servers are almost always professional and experienced and good at their jobs As usual my rating system is three stars for restaurants to which I would return, four stars for restaurants at which I would like to be a regular, and five stars for restaurants to which I would drive out of my way. read more

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This place was fine when we moved here 8 years ago, but in the last couple of years we've been disappointed every time we've gone. The prices are sky high for mediocre food. $21 for tortellini in a bland cream sauce was just exorbitant. I have tasted cream sauce from a jar that had more flavor. The meatballs have been undercooked the last couple of times we've gotten them and they taste like there's too much filler to the meat mixture. Very disappointing and we won't be back. read more

Best pizza around! Great customer service! Perfect night out for the family and great lunch spot.

Really good Italian food! Service was really friendly and the prices are great! Will definitely be back!

We sat at the bar. The bartender also served as our waiter. Rico gave excellent recommendations and service. The food was absolutely fresh and very tasty! read more

Mamma Lucia Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Dunkirk, Maryland

Food was good. Salad was fresh, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, olives, with an oil vinaigrette tortellini Alla Penne ( cheese tortellini in a Parmesan sauce). Very good. Cannolis were mediocre. The side order of broccoli was delicious. We cannot comment on the side or of meatballs as they forgot them. The young lady at the take out counter was very polite and courteous. It didn't seem our order was all together for her to hand over. We arrived 10 minutes after our order was ready and it wasn't a busy time. read more