Whats wrong with MM?

[Gotta Love Eeyore]

So, a lot of folks say not to go to Mama Melrose. What is "bad" about it? We wanted to try something different at HS and this was one of our choices. I know everyone can have a bad / good experience any time but is there something really bad here?

 

[Dsny4fun]

I love Mama Melrose...Have eaten there at least 4 times and have never had a bad experience there. The Pasta w/ the spicy sausage is my favorite.

Hope you enjoy your meal there.

 

[mom2meiko]

we only ate there once but have never wanted to go back and try it again. the service was really bad and i ended up getting really sick because they gave me food with dairy of some sort in it even though i had been very clear that i could not have any kind of dairy whatsoever. (i am extremely lactose intolerant.) i ended up spending most of fantasmic sick in the restroom followed by a torturous bus ride back to our resort and a miserable night in total.

 

[onelilspark]

For me, it's not that MM is bad, it's just that I can find better Italian at home, so I'd rather do that and eat elsewhere at WDW. (To me they overload the food with garlic.)

 

[Tam1067]

We have had dinner there twice and been happy both times. It's one of the places DH requested for our upcoming trip (we skipped it last time), and just this morning, I made an ADR for lunch there in August.

The food is fairly basic Italian-ish if that makes sense. I think that all restaurants have their good and bad days, but I really don't believe Mama Melrose is terrible.

At DHS, in terms of food quality, I'd rank it #2, behind HBD. Then 50s P/T is #3.

 

[Cookie Princess]

We don't hate it, but it is just ok.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

we only ate there once but have never wanted to go back and try it again. the service was really bad and i ended up getting really sick because they gave me food with dairy of some sort in it even though i had been very clear that i could not have any kind of dairy whatsoever. (i am extremely lactose intolerant.) i ended up spending most of fantasmic sick in the restroom followed by a torturous bus ride back to our resort and a miserable night in total.

We had a similar issue, DD has a peanut allergy and this was the ONLY place @ WDW that the chef did not come out and explain what was safe/unsafe on the menu. THAT bothered me, I had to use my own judgment and she didn't even eat anything that night anyway she actually dragged my sister into Muppets for the 3rd time....also I could find WAAAAAY better Italian food here in Jersey...or go to my mom's
I don't even remember what I got, but I remember my mom's soup just being so greasy, ilk. I think my desert was OK.

 

[pavil]

Just that my expectations for the place were much higher than the actual experience. The food and service were average at best and I was hoping for more I guess. It's good food and service, just not memorable food and service IMO. For me at Disney, that falls short of the mark.

 

[KatMark]

We go to Mama Melrose every year for the Fantasmic package (you couldn't pay us to eat at H&V and we were not impressed with Brown Derby at all). We've always had good food and very good service at MM!

 

[2BOYMOM]

Have dined there 4 times and never had a problem. In fact, going back again in August. It's not out-of-this-world Italian food but to me the sit down choices in DS aren't great and this is the best.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've eaten there twice. The first time, last Dec, was good. So, I was eager for my dd to try it out last month. It was just plain bad. The food was badly overcooked. The service wasn't great..but our server did keep our soda glasses filled.
Won't be going back I'm afraid.

 

[Kelblum]

We have eaten there twice and liked it both times. No problems with food or service at all!

 

[stace1214]

We ate there on our last trip with the Fantasmic package. Our service was fantastic. My meal was just okay, but my husband loved his. If we decided to do the Fantasmic package on our next trip, I would definitely go there again.

 

[Lynne M]

You're going to see good and bad...and great and horrible....reviews for every single restaurant on Disney property. If you avoid every restaurant at WDW that's gotten a bad review.....well, you won't be eating at all. And you'll miss some truly terrific meals.

Just because someone on the DISboards, or any other site, didn't care for a particular restaurant doesn't mean that your family won't love it. There are no truly 'bad' - as in, consistently awful food and service - restaurants at WDW. I find that quality of ingredients and preparation is generally high at WDW restaurants. Just look through the menus, and pick out places that you think your family will enjoy.

And for the record, I had an absolutely delicious lunch at Mama Melrose's. Best minestrone I've ever had.

 

[Tiffany]

So, a lot of folks say not to go to Mama Melrose. What is "bad" about it? We wanted to try something different at HS and this was one of our choices. I know everyone can have a bad / good experience any time but is there something really bad here?

We love Mama Melrose's and consider it to be the best Italian food offered in any of the parks. Go and make your own decision.

 

[Gotta Love Eeyore]

Thanks for the input everyone! It is easy for all of us to review the "bad" experience, but sometimes I forget to mention the good ones. I'm glad to see some good reviews since they were hard to come by elsewhere.

We have tried the 50's diner and Sci-fi. Have no interest in the character lunch buffet at H&V, so we will probably try MM for lunch!

Thanks everyone!

 

[ROEDISNEY]

We ate here plenty of times and like it.

 

[frannn]

we only ate there once but have never wanted to go back and try it again. the service was really bad and i ended up getting really sick because they gave me food with dairy of some sort in it even though i had been very clear that i could not have any kind t the of dairy whatsoever. (i am extremely lactose intolerant.) i ended up spending most of fantasmic sick in the restroom followed by a torturous bus ride back to our resort and a miserable night in total.

I can sympathize- I have nasty IBS and am lactose intolerant. I ordered the seafood fra diavolo. I am not always as careful as I should be, and after years of stomach problems (with the Drs not quite sure what the problem is) I can't really put all the blame on MM. The thing is that the sauce was really dark in color and had a strange taste/texture. I didn't complain, just figured that's how they cook it & I must be too used to Prego in the jar. Next evening, right before our Park Faire Cinderella dinner, I started feeling sick to my stomach. Ended up running to the bathroom every few minutes, and didn't get to enjoy the yummy dinner everybody else had that night. Maybe it wasn't something I ate at MM, but I'm leaning towards it being that sauce...

 

[twanner]

I've eaten there twice, specifically for Fantasmic. I probably wouldn't pick it otherwise, but like others have said, it personal opinion. Last year, the Chef did come out to speak to my Dad about his dietary requirements (we were nicely surprised). I think the food is basically just okay. Not something that I would really look forward to. We're foregoing the Fantasmic dinner package this year because we don't want another meal at Mama's and the other choices don't suit us either. If you've never gone, and you want the package, I'd say try it and see for yourself.

 

[jcemom]

We thought it was okay, but the service was really really really s...l...o...w. The place was not crowded yet we waited 20+ minutes to be seated. Then our food came out so slowly and the courses so far apart that I ended up taking DD and leaving before we even got dessert. My sister stayed behind to eat dessert and take care of the check.

We prefer Sci-Fi. If we want Italian we'll go back to Tutto Italia. The food was better (though Mama M's wasn't bad), and the service was much better.

We would consider doing MM's again for a Fantasmic package, just not for a 'regular' meal.