Why am I killing all the suspense and letting you know in the first paragraph that I'm a fan of this joint? Because I find that every time I'm talking about it it sounds like I'm calling it boring. When I try to describe the restaurant the phrases that come to mind are "fine," "not bad," "pretty good." While this sounds bad, the fact is Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano has well-executed, but very standard Italian food.

Mangia! Mama Melrose is all ready to treat you to the finest Italian dishes with California charm! Confused? Me, too. See, the story is that Mama Melrose traveled to California to become an actor, but her Italian cooking was the real draw. The restaurant is now a combination of her two “heritages,” Italian and Californian!