Restaurant Review - Mamma Mia
Wednesday 15 October 2014
Mamma Mia is a small, very authentic, Italian cafe-cum-trattoria-and-pizzeria on a side road off Bray's Main Street. Primarily residential, it is not a street you'd necessarily think of wandering down if you were looking for a bite to eat. Mamma Mia itself is not exactly run-of-the-mill either; there aren't many eateries where the decor includes the pulled-down shutters of both a clothing and a flower shop within the restaurant. Both of these shops are open for business during daytime hours and must certainly add a certain amount of coming and going to the place.The room itself is irregular, with a tiled kitchen section handling the pizza-takeaway business; there are a couple of high stools and tables here. Another section is tucked away at the back, while a curtain beside a piano leads to a private area. There are no frills here, save the charming service and the food.
Italian food seems to be well-liked in Bray, with a number of such eateries on the seafront, but Mamma Mia has been proving very popular with daytime visitors and business folk in the town itself for its excellent pastas.
We were told the chef had recently changed, but that the new female chef "was also from Naples". Apart from its daytime business, it opens for dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. I had been meaning to visit for some time but, I must confess, what lured me was their posting on Facebook of a fresh lobster risotto special for that particular weekend.
A pizza and pasta menu had pizzas (€7.50-€13) comprising regular favourites, while pastas (€10.50-€16) had me wanting them all. Spaghetti came with Dublin Bay prawns in a cherry tomato sauce; fettuccine was served with red chicory in a Gorgonzola sauce; and orecchiette had mushrooms and Italian sausage in a white wine sauce.
Another menu had starters (€4.80-€9.50) including funghi ripieni - baked mushroom filled with cheese sauce; polenta con salsiccia - Italian sausage in tomato sauce over soft polenta; and a zuppa di pesce was typical of Amalfi.
Brendan's melanzane alla parmigiana (€6.50) was a delicious tranche of layered fresh aubergine, tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, finished with Parmesan ribbons. I had the starter special, which really looked a picture - a large, home-made raviolo filled with a melange of fresh cod, black olive and capers (€8.50) resting, like a lid, on a colourful bed of cherry tomato and baby squid sauce. This was then embellished with baby squid tendrils standing a point on the 'lid'.
Mains (€14-€21) included a chicken and spinach dish; whole sea bass wrapped in foil; a breaded cod dish; and a grilled rib-eye steak. Brendan had costolette d'agnello (€18) which was a good-sized rack of four lamb cutlets, pan-seared and then baked in red wine in the oven until pink and juicy, and served on mashed potato with broccoli florets. The much-awaited lobster risotto (€19) was a bit disappointing. The risotto had been 'formed' into a rondelle by a shaping ring and had an empty claw standing proud. That was a disappointment in itself; there was nothing in the claw to scoop out. The risotto did have tiny bits of the crustacean in it, but not many that I could discern, and while it was a nice colour, the flavour lacked depth.
Bearing in mind that you can have a half-lobster in many places for around €16, or a whole one for €28, neither was it good value. If I were to pass any comment on the food in general, it would be that it needs stronger flavouring and to retain more traditional presentations.
We passed on puds and with a bottle of Sicilian Nicosia Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2010 DOCG (€22), a powerful blend of Frappato and Nero d'Avola grape varieties, and two coffees (€4), our bill with optional service came to €86.
Mamma Mia,
Aubrey Court, Parnell Road, Bray, Co Wicklow.
Tel: (01) 286-5462
facebook.com/ Mamma-Mia-Cafe
lucindaosullivan.com
First published in Life Mag Sunday Independent