Mama Melrose or Holywood and Vine?

[jncvh]

I have a ressie for Mama Melrose and the Fantasmic ticket for October 15th? I am bringing three children, including a 2 year old. My wife loves Italian. Is Mama worth it or should I try to convince her to go to H&V? By the way I booked 6 ressies including Hoop De Doo and was able to get all of the times I requested. Some of the restaurants that I booked at are Mama Melrose, Chef Mickey's, Ohana's breakfast, Le Cellier, and 1900 Park Fare for breakfast. I wanted to thank all who left reviews as this is how I picked my ressies.

 

[danny1649]

Mama Melrose's and had good food.Is it great or good Italian,we are not the best to ask.Being from small midwest town Pizza Hut is good Italian here LOL.So that said we have had great service and food in our opinion at Mama's.Have tried H&V twice and was not impressed with it,not bad just sub-par and bland I guess I would say.

 

[DebIreland]

In my opinion, there is no comparison. Mama Melrose beats H&V by a mile! We ate at both places last year and here are our experiences:

Mama Melrose:
- Friendly, efficient staff. For example, my 8yo found it difficult to find anything he wanted on the menu other than plain pasta so the waitress asked him what would he like to accompany it if he had a choice and he said "garlic bread". So she called the chef over to us!! He said even though they don't do it, he'd make garlic bread specially for DS!!! How's that for service?!!
- Beautiful food. Fresh and tasty! (Not huge portions so a possible downside is that sharing food is unrealistic - didn't bother us but just so as you know!)
- Great atmosphere - friendly and relaxing. We could have stayed there all day.

Hollywood & Vine:
- Slow - we made our ADR for 6.30pm and weren't seated until 7.15!
- Uninterested and unfriendly staff (after about a half hour we finally got someone's attention for drinks - only by seeking out someone though.
- Food was only ok, nothing special, limited choices with many of the trays empty with no-one re-filling them
- rushed, chaotic atmosphere

I'm looking forward to going back to Mama Melrose. I wouldn't go back to H&V if it was the only restaurant at MGM. Hope that helps. I'm aware that for every restaurant you'll have thousands of 'for' and 'against' opinions so take my opinion for what it's worth!

 

[kj2mom]

I have reservations for Fantasmic dining at H&V on Oct 7. I decided to go with that because I thought it would be more condusive to my children since it is a buffet they will have numerous choices and less wait time for a meal. This trip for me is all about trying to make decisions that I think will make my children happy. Happy children = happy mommy

I think any restaurant can be running behind on the ADR times, I wouldn't base my decision on that alone.

 

[MagicForMe]

Mama Melrose without a doubt. H&V are so disorganized I'm never goin' back. I ate there twice, once my choosing and again when I met a friend who had already arranged it. Both times we were outside waiting for waaaaaay to long - 30 minutes the first time on a cold January day and 50 minutes the second time which was a Fantasmic package - we gobbled down our dinner and ran to get in line for the show. The food was bland, staff were sour - stood around chatting and laughing in groups while customers went without drinks. Mama Melrose is great and it worked out cheaper for me when you consider the rush and the limited choices in H&V, it only seems cheaper on paper!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Mama Melrose's sounds great! Maybe we should give it a try this time. Thanks for the great info.

 

[kimkarli]

Going in July and have reservations for H&V!!!!!

 

[Mr. Disney 1986]

I like Mama Melrose. I enjoy the chicken parm and find the restaurant to have a nice atmosphere. I am also partial to Tony’s.

 

[asdfghjkl13]

Mama Melrose is better. H&V I didnt like.

 

[GBC1]

We ate at both places via the Fantasmic package. As stated above the quality of the food at Mama's is much better. However, when we went to Mama's with our 11 year old he had to order a full entrée which he did not like, nor could he eat. If you have kids that still have “young” appetites but are too old to order from the kids menu, I would recommend H&V.

 

[B-Ride]

Is Mama worth it or should I try to convince her to go to H&V?

Definitely Mama Melrose for serveral reasons:
1. We ate there a few years ago and really enjoyed our meal.
2. H&V is just an standard buffet with nothing to make it special.
3. Most importantly, in my experience you should never try to talk your wife out of anything. If she doesn't like H&V you will regret it.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I don't like either but if I HAD to pick it would be MM.

 

[Seamus9]

In my opinion, there is no comparison. Mama Melrose beats H&V by a mile! We ate at both places last year and here are our experiences:

Mama Melrose:
- Friendly, efficient staff. For example, my 8yo found it difficult to find anything he wanted on the menu other than plain pasta so the waitress asked him what would he like to accompany it if he had a choice and he said "garlic bread". So she called the chef over to us!! He said even though they don't do it, he'd make garlic bread specially for DS!!! How's that for service?!!
- Beautiful food. Fresh and tasty! (Not huge portions so a possible downside is that sharing food is unrealistic - didn't bother us but just so as you know!)
- Great atmosphere - friendly and relaxing. We could have stayed there all day.

Hollywood & Vine:
- Slow - we made our ADR for 6.30pm and weren't seated until 7.15!
- Uninterested and unfriendly staff (after about a half hour we finally got someone's attention for drinks - only by seeking out someone though.
- Food was only ok, nothing special, limited choices with many of the trays empty with no-one re-filling them
- rushed, chaotic atmosphere

I'm looking forward to going back to Mama Melrose. I wouldn't go back to H&V if it was the only restaurant at MGM. Hope that helps. I'm aware that for every restaurant you'll have thousands of 'for' and 'against' opinions so take my opinion for what it's worth!

What kind of I talian place doesn't have garlic bread on the menu? Mama's.... and that is not it's only shortfall.

 

[catne]

This thread is resurrected from 4 years ago, not a real question being asked right now, lol