Mama Catena Ristorante

I took my wife and son there for the first and last time. Aside from our server being nice and on top of her game, the food was not what I expected. We started off with the calamari which came to our table with a strong fishy smell. The calamari was saugy and full of old oil from the deep fryer. There were little black burnt pieces of breading and oil on the bottom of our plate. Maybe try changing the oil occassionally. My son ordered a pizza which he enjoyed but I didnt care for either. My wife ordered the stuffed lobster ravioli but they did not have any available so she ordered the stuffed spinich and ricotta ravioli which was ok, nothing special. I had the saltimboca (veal) and it was overcooked and too salty however the pasta was good. Overall experience was negative and we will not be going back.

Truly excellent food and overall experience. The family operators are attentive and personable and personally engaged in your enjoyment of the restaurant. Pasta options are many and uniformly high quality. Pizza is very good, as is the pepperoni bread, as is the cannoli, and the regular table garlic bread. Usually crowded, worth the trip to Euclid, no question. Must check it out!

Quick review as I only had one dish. Went early, so only 3 tables booked. Warm greeting from owner. Bread was warm, crispy on outside, soft and seasoned inside (really good). House salad super basic, homemade Italian dressing was very good.
Marinara sauce was fantastic, great texture, not too sweet. Meatballs very good too. Homemade pasta tasted very «doughy», almost undercooked.
My waitress was just ok. Took forever to bring/​cash check. Actually had to ask other waitress as mine had disappeared for a while. Based on the sauce, menu and other reviews I will go back and try again.

I love a good mom and pop place. This place is true Italian family and they treat you like family there also. The owners run the front and even come to talk to their patrons. Seemed like the pizza is a popular item, saw a lot pies being ordered for take out.
I think great sauce is what defines the success of the restaurant, and their sauce is outstanding. I ordered a second helping of sauce because I wanted a nice mouthful with each bite of my chicken parmigiana. Sauce was perfect texture (not too thin like some places), had perfect chemistry of light sweet and even a little spice. Chicken was moist and tender. Very generous portions made for a nice lunch the following day.
Be sure to check in on Unilocal,you get a free beverage (we each got a glass of wine)
Has its own parking lot. They don’t take American Express though
Will definitely be returning

Been going here for 3 years. Food is excellent. Love the fact it’s family owned and operated. We went last night. Ordered the 4 cheese pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, green peppers and mushrooms. It was fantastic!

Traditional Italian in full definition. Family working in the kitchen and coming around to tables to meet everyone and talk, huge portions of very delicately made food, slow service (but on purpose, traditionally dinner is about relaxing through the meal — no rush) and high-​end price wize. They have their own house wine imported from Italy, unique to them. The bread is fantastic. Everything on the menu is home made: all the sauses and entrees. The food itself is 5 star, like, it was the best thing I ate on this trip, but I docked a star from the review because it was very slow. We were sitting for over a half hour before placing our order. This isn’t a complaint, more of a disclaimer/​warning to others looking for a quick meal. This is the place to go if you have over an hour to dedicate to eating and hanging out. But if you are short on time, I suggest calling in your order to go, and going back when you have more time.

Papa Catena greeted us from his chair by the door as we entered on a quiet summer Monday evening with my 91 year old grandma. «This is Mama and Papa — and that’s for real!,» she said pointing at the photo on the front of the menu as we sat down. My boyfriend said it was great pizza, and I got a delicious cavatelli marinara dinner with a salad. We got regular crust, plain cheese pizza and the meal was just delectable! This place is very tiny and quaint, hidden in the middle of Euclid in a strip mall on Babbitt Rd. Wine was a little pricey so if I lived in the area I might lean toward take out to save some cash but next time I want to go somewhere special out in the burbs I’ll definitely think of Mama Catena’s.

Absolutely fabulous! From the salad to the wine to the entrée of rigatoni and Italian sausage the service was superb! The bread was warm and seasoned to perfection! I love this new haunt!

Great homemade Italian food. The pizza and pasta were delicious! Was very impressed with the quality of the food!

Hospital stay at Euclid CCF. My wonderful wife made the run and brought back fantastic, flavorful pizza. Not to be missed

Make a reservation. Mama Catena’s is popular — and for a reason. Delicious dishes — homemade pastas, family recipe sauces and recipes — family-​operated — at reasonable prices.
On a busy night, I did take-​out to ensure I could savor the flavors. Homemade calvetini pasta in marinara sauce with meatballs and a dinner salad. There is nothing like fresh and homemade pasta — tender, melts in your mouth goodness on a fork. The sauce was tasty –next time I’m getting on pepper flakes for that kick. Hit the stop and oh so delicious.
Will be back for the pizza and other homemade pasta selections.

My first meal here will not be my last. The amount of flavor in each dish is unbelievable. The pizza was among the best I’ve ever had. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The staff is very nice and friendly. The atmosphere is lovely. The escargot was delicious and the involtini was a treat. I can’t wait to come back!

My family has been coming to Mama Catena’s for over 20 years, even though they live across town in Parma. I can’t believe this place isn’t better known. Run by a Sicilian immigrant and his family, the food is homemade, fresh and flavorful.
The involtini is my new favorite, but ask the staff for recommendations. They’ve never steered me wrong. As it’s such a small place, you may well be talking to one of the cooks or to the grandfather who originally opened this place. You can see the love that goes into the food.
I am addicted with the lemon torte, which rivals the tortes I had when living in Europe. The cannoli have the right texture outside, creaminess inside, without being overly sweet. Heaven.

After a couple of hard weeks, my husband decided we needed a dinner date. While heading to Little Italy… always a fabulous meal, I suggested we try something new based on a sweet friend’s recommendation. Mama Catena’s is quite small with seating for less than 50 but provides an atmosphere of warmth, love and family. The entrees are fantastic… fresh selections and generous portions. The owner ventured over to our table towards the end of our meal and shared a «blind tasting» dinner option that we plan to experience with a group of family members. This place is a gem. Highly recommend!

Pros: I didn’t get sick or anything like that.
Cons: very small… not in an positive intimate kinda way though, rather in a way where you can smell the neighboring tables deodorant choices kinda way. The food was barely ok and very expensive. The chicken was not real chicken but mechanically processed bloop like at McDonald’s…that in itself should be enough to make any foody irate…
I think their bread is fantastic and their pizza most likely echoes that, but otherwise, the food was overpriced and lazy.

I’ve never seen more charm and character packed into a small space without it becoming overdone and cheesy but, this has been pulled off expertly at Mama Catena. In spite of the dark, romantic, and attractive atmosphere there’s an instant feeling of warmth and family once your greeted.
Our server Hope was warm, knowledgeable, helpful, and perfectly attentive. The feeling of family comes from the fact that the majority of the staff is indeed family and they make you feel like you belong in theirs. This is evident in several of them either saying hello or making sure you have everything you need (and not because your server is slacking mind you). This is done with genuine concern for your experience and without being intrusive.
Now… Last but, certainly not least the food. Well, we started with the calamari appetizer and it comes lightly breaded and fried perfectly crisp along with the excellent house marinara for dipping. It had to be best calamari I’ve had. Next we got our salads. The salads while not anything original were fresh and crisp with an excellent house Italian dressing. The bread was rather unique. It appeared to be wedges of pizza dough drizzled with butter, olive oil, and of course seasoned with garlic. It was just ever so slightly crunchy and very tasty. Our entrees were fabulous. I had the Saltimbocca a la cesca, a veal dish that was lightly breaded and pan fried. Two pieces of such were layered with soprezzata which seemed to me to be another kind of Italian ham. On the side was a ribbon-​esque pasta in a sauce that was a combo of the marinara and alfredo. It was topped with what appeared to be a grated toasted cheese that was awesome. The whole dish was incredible. My wife had the involtini which was a blend of Italian cheese rolled in sheets of pasta then sliced into pin-​wheels. The «pin-​wheels» were served over the marinara. This dish although simple in execution was excellent as well.
We’re not wine drinkers so, we did not partake in the selections. We did however have dessert. One was a house special parfait type thing. It has fresh berries, pieces of cake, cream, and berry sauce. Wow! The second is the lemon torte which is also fantastic.
In closing all I can say is I cannot wait to get back there and try more of the impressive menu..

Mama Catena’s is the definition of a hidden gem. It is in a small strip mall and not something that would catch your eye driving by. A colleague brought me here one day for lunch and I loved everything about it! I liked that it’s a family run restaurant and I’m pretty sure the whole family is always there when I visit for lunch. It’s an awesome place with a lot of character. To me, the best dish here by far is the involtini (check out Steve R’s picture of the involtini). I recommend getting it half & half with chicken parm, but you may have to ask nicely for it. haha I also recommend the caprese salad. They do a classic stacked caprese salad and add a slice of cucumber and drizzle balsamic vinegar on top. Very tasty! Overall this place is definitely worth 5 stars.

Welp Unilocal,this place is legit. When you park at the strip mall, it appears unimpressive from the outside. But wait — there’s a treasure trove of taste awaiting through those doors.
We were greeted and seated immediately. Our waitress Rina (ask for her — she’s always there) ran through our questions that we had about the menu, which is largely in Italian words none of us really understood. Of course everything was proclaimed to be delicious, in typical Italian fashion.
After ordering, we were brought a delicious basket of bread. And this is the kind of bread that you remember and go back to a place to get again. I could literally see my friends eyes roll into the back of their heads from tasty bliss. It was a kind of bread I can’t pronounce, drizzled in olive oil with slight hints of garlic. Rina then brought us a mini-​cup of lasagna soup to sample. It too was delicious. I wish I would have had some more of that bread to soak up the soup that my spoon couldn’t reach, but alas, I inhaled the bread too soon.
The salad that came with my sandwich was nothing too spectacular, but it was good enough that the plate was cleared. I guess that says something in itself.
The sandwich — the Focaccia — was delicious. This pesto aioli that came with it was awesome. It was a little on the small side, but when I finished it I wasn’t too full… and that’s a good thing when you have to return to work.
One thing about the atmosphere that I found kind of odd. They had a TV with a screen-​saver like floating fish, and it played elevator music on repeat the whole time. That was their background music there — by the end of the meal, I was a slightly annoyed with that tune.
The prices were on the high side, but the food is worth it. The floorplan is small and intimate which makes Mama Catena’s very date-​night-​worthy.

This is not just an amazing culinary experience, but also a trip to rich Italian culture and an invitation into an amazing family!
Mama Catena’s stands as some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had — without question. I ordered the eggplant rollatini — which came with homemade pasta and a delicious red sauce. The eggplant was amazing — perfectly breaded, seasoned and cooked to perfection. Crispy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. Also, it was enough to feed a small family of four — great to have leftovers! The meal comes with a salad, and I highly recommend their homemade Italian dressing.
The family who owns this spot is truly an amazing bunch. We started chatting with them, and they were more than happy to entertain us with the history of the restaurant, their lives and travels, their family history in Sicily, as well as what inspires them to cook the amazing dishes they create each day.
In the corner booth, you’ll see the matriarch sitting below a photo of her as a young girl in Sicily, enjoying the atmosphere and popping up every one and a while to help in the kitchen or visit with customers. Next to her is her husband, who she met as a child. They lived in the same village in Sicily and have been together ever since. Two of the daughters run the spot, and could not be friendlier. We shared some stories and gabbed with them over delicious dessert and coffee (the homemade cannoli’s are HEAVEN!) Two hours later, we had made new friends who I’m am very happy to go and visit again. Hugs and emails were exchanged, and I’ll be contacting them soon to set up a wine and food evening for friends!
Great food, new friends, and delicious wine — that’s a trifecta in my book!
**Make a reservation — this place only seats 30, but the intimate atmosphere is what makes it feel like you’re in their house, enjoying dinner with friends.

It’s called Mama Catena’s
All I can say is WOW. But I will say just a little more.
I’m from SF Bay area where there is no shortage of fantastic Sicilian/​Italian food. This place was a step or two above anything I’ve had from out west. This quaint little unassuming spot will knock your shoes and socks off. Family run with all the love in the world put into the food. I could taste it in every single bite. I started with a hearty risotto soup, fantastic. Calzone that was so soft and tender, stuffed with pep, sausage and mushroom and a beautiful dish I’d never seen nor heard of called invertelli (I’m probably off on how you say it)? It was ridicules. A rolled pasta with a multitude of different cheeses baked with a velvety red gravy.
I had the pleasure of meeting the family that owns and operates MC’s. They are all wonderful people. Sweet as can be — all of them! Thanks Mama