Mama Mia 44 SW

A group of 10 went for dinner last Saturday night. It was fantastic. The staff was very attentive. The food was excellent. We will go back again.Try it for yourself, plenty of places in Times Square but this was the best, not a tourist trap. NYC's finest authentic establishment.

Mama Mia was just an ok experience, and I don't see myself visiting again. Everyone had a taste for Italian, and Yelp led us to Mama Mia.It was fairly busy around 6:30p, and there was only one waiter -- he was working the bar and managing several tables. As such, service was a bit slow. The lighting in the restaurant was a bit dim. Too dim! I don't have the best set of eyes, but I needed my flashlight to see the menu!We ordered mozzarella sticks, baked clams, chicken parmesan, fettuccine alfredo, and the fish of the day (branzino). I tried the mozzarella sticks, baked clams, and my entree was the branzino with spinach. The mozzarella sticks were really good--came out piping hot and the cheese pull lived up to its name. The branzino was just ok. The menu description indicated it would be served alongside spinach and capers. However, there were more olives on my plate than capers. I was a bit disappointed. Additionally, the plate was filled with oil. While the fish was seasoned well, there was simply too much oil. As a matter of fact, later that evening, I felt a bit nauseous. I attribute it to my oily dinner.The baked clams were also just ok. There was too much breading--so much so that I scraped the breading and got right to the point: the clams! I wouldn't get this dish again.As mentioned earlier, service was slow. I had to flag down the menu waiter for the bill.Mama Mia wasn't really my cup of tea, but clearly with their Yelp 4-star rating, I'm in the minority. Cheers!

We tried this place in a whim and a quick look on Yelp to see what was available after we finished watching a play. The motiff was a bit a little bit too dark for my liking, but my family was fine with it. The was a group of young adults that were too loud, very loud. Even my kids thought they were obnoxious. Other than those, the place was nice and quaint. The servers were friendly and cordial. I just wished they requested that group to keep there noise level down.When it comes to the food, it was very good. Very tasty and affordable. I was surprised with their pricing, especially being it in the theater district/Hell's Kitchen area. Their menu shows the price difference between paying with cash/debit card vs credit card, so you can at least know ahead of time how much the final bill would cost you. I thought that was a pretty good touch. Was the food mind-blowing? No. It was just good old fashioned New York Italian Food. A good place to fill your belly and relax after watching an Off-Broadway show. It's definitely worth checking out.

Great spot to go for a cozy dinner before a Broadway show or if you're staying in Midtown! It's a very homey inside with kind staff and fast service. The pasta is wonderful and all of the appetizers are worth a try! Also, the portion sizes are great. My favorite dish is the Vongole Di Napoli (Linguine with clams) though the Seafood Combination is also great!

We came on a week night and it was super busy. Definitely recommend getting a reservation. Staff were attentive and the food quality was okay.

Somewhat stumbled across this place looking for something nice, fancy, yet quick enough where I can potentially catch a 9pm bus back home. We arrived around 8pm.The place is pretty dimly lit. Almost unassuming of sorts, but perhaps a bit romantic depending on the person you're with. We ordered a fairly straightforward meal to share: eggplant parm. We also each had a glass of Merlot. The wine probably took away from us truly experiencing the full taste of the eggplant parm, but it was fine. Food was solid. Nothing crazy, but it did the job.The only slight tip for them is that I wish the bread came with olive oil instead of butter, but that's only personal preference to me. Maybe they do have it....I hear that the ambiance of the place is much different during the day when the sunshine adds a lot more light indoors. There's also the outdoors area, of which no one was occupying because of the rainy weather.The eggplant parm took a bit to arrive, but we somehow ended up out by at 8:45, leaving us plenty of time to get to Port Authority and in line.Unfortunately, this review won't have photos as it was just too dark for photos and I was a bit distracted with conversations and such.

In our rush to watch a show and don't know where to eat, we stumbled upon Mama Mia 44 SW a short walk from our hotel. Server was kind enough to rush our dinner knowing we are watching a play tonight.Food was good. Seafood Combination in white sauce was a bit bitter, the taste of wine a bit too strong. Otherwise good

There's definitely a correlation between my reaction to a Broadway show and how hungry I am after the performance no matter how late it might be. Case in point was Jamie W.'s and my recent attendance of the acclaimed Sondheim revival, "Merrily We Roll Along" (review: https://yelp.to/xfJVp2pzgR). It was simply fabulous, and we were ravenous. We didn't walk very far on 44th before we came upon this busy Italian restaurant.We were seated close to all the foot traffic from the kitchen, but frankly we thought it was part of the post-show vibe at any tourist-magnet restaurant in the 'hood. The menu was pretty traditional, and we each started with the perfectly fine $10 Caesar Salad (photo: https://yelp.to/MyXNbHZU_S). We were in need of Parmesan cheese with barely visible lettuce.Jamie went pasta-free and ordered the $11 Homemade Meatballs. He got three of them buried under a thick mound of thick marinara meat sauce (photo: https://yelp.to/f236ie_--r). The same sauce was ladled on my $22 plate of Linguine Bolognese (photo: https://yelp.to/IEsDI3UZQR). It was delicious in a homestyle way with, of course, plenty of Parmesan cheese. BTW the '44SW' refers to its location in the southwest corner of 44th and 9th.FOOD - 4 stars...old school Italian made Mama-style AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...kinda dark and a bit packed but it was the post-show hourSERVICE - 4 stars...busy but attentiveTOTAL - 4 stars...nice to know a convenient post-show option in the Theatre District RELATED - Hungry in NYC? Here's my collection of places I've tried and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2YS9ELs

It was such a beautiful day; therefore, I elected to sit outdoors. I enjoyed the Pasta Del Giorno (which was healthy and filling) with a glass of Chardonnay. The service was top notch! I definitely recommend this establishment if you have a taste for some Italian food.

I have been going to Mama Mia since 2008. I do not live in New York, but it is the once spot I am guaranteed to dine while on one of my visits. I am always warmly greeted and welcomed by one of the family members, the staff is always attentive, and I have never been disappointed by any of the food I have tried. And even if you're just stopping by for a cocktail in the bar area, the atmosphere is a relaxing place to watch the busy people passing by and to strike up a conversation with locals and visitors alike.