Ristorante Mamma Gina

Reviews

• Miki S.

  star star star star star 7 June 2026

  What a lovely restaurant!!!
  I am here for the company Christmas party!
  The  selection of the foods for this event were amazing!
  I hoped I could eat more!! Or I lived  in New York and took foods home lol
  I have a limited stomach storage...
  Anyway I will come back for my personal experience next time.
  I love their thin crust pizza, beef scwers
  White sauce Pasta was amazing!

• Steph C.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 5 June 2026

  My husband Matt B. and I went to Ristorante Mamma Gina for dinner based on its strong Yelp presence. We were just barely able to get a last-minute dinner reservation for 5:45 on a Sunday--the place is clearly popular. It was packed the whole time we were there, and I got the sense that most of the customers were local and probably regulars. I think I was the only non-white diner, and Matt and I, in our mid-thirties, were among the youngest people in the restaurant.
  
  The place had a sort of cheesy old school American Italian restaurant charm to it, with lion statuary at the entrance, lots of hanging lights in the dining room, and a roving cart to display the dessert menu. Service was decent, and there was plenty of wine on the menu, though I had a glass of weird, sweaty-tasting lemonade.
  
  The food started off fine, with a solid bread basket--focaccia and white bread with olive oil and balsamic. Matt got the prosciutto and melon to start, while I had the caprese Mamma Gina. Not a fantastic caprese--none of the ingredients were especially great--but fine enough, with burrata, tomato, basil, and balsamic.
  
  My pasta, though, was genuinely terrible in a way I rarely encounter at a restaurant. I got the pasta matta con gamberi, a daily special of imperfectly shaped black pasta with large shrimp in a black squid ink sauce. The pasta was wet but not well sauced, just slick clumps of it sticking together, with a pool of ink-tinged pasta water at the bottom of the bowl. The shrimp were okay, a bit overcooked and bland but not inedible. I forced myself to eat them, anyway, as this was a $30 pasta dish and I didn't eat most of the pasta. Matt's mezzelune alla Mantovana was a little better, homemade half-moon ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and cheese, served in a butter and sage sauce. It was very sweet, though, and also not cooked quite right.
  
  I was still hungry after I ate what I could of my pasta, so I got the panna cotta for dessert, thinking it would be safe. It might have been the worst panna cotta I've ever had, grainy and gross. I had the few bites with berries in syrup on top and left the rest. Matt's affogato was good, at least. Hard to mess up espresso and vanilla ice cream.
  
  I don't write a lot of negative reviews on here, but I was honestly taken aback by the food quality at this restaurant--and anyway, it seems like the place is doing fine, what with the high prices and the strong customer base. I'm sure the regulars love Mamma Gina's, but if you're a tourist looking for good Italian food in the desert, I might suggest you try elsewhere.

• Lingfeng G.

  star star star star star 2 June 2026

  Went on Black Friday evening, got in with no wait around 5:30pm. My girlfriend and me ordered the 16 oz bone in veal, fried calamari, and half order of the linguine mare. All the food come out amazing! Veal is cooked to perfection and the calamari is very crispy.
  
  After the main course, the waiter strolled out a cart full of deserts! Who can say no to that! We ordered the napoleon cake and it is probably hands down the best Napoleon cake we've had in a long time (at least since we last visited Italy !)
  
  All in all, nice and authentic food and environment, a bit pricey but acceptable give that it is located at such a center location in palm desert. And definitely get that Napoleon cake!

• Marcella N.

  star star star star star_border 26 May 2026

  Very fresh pasta with delicious and housemade sauce. It was hard to make a selection, because so many entrees sounded wonderful. My husband and I shared the tomato basil pasta. It was the perfect amount of food to share with their complimentary bread. The bread is served with an olive paste, or you can use their oil and balsamic vinegar on the table. Both were tasty options. Their crunchier bread was good, but the focaccia was over-salted.
  
  Our server was very prompt and knowledgeable. Our pasta came out very quickly as well. They have a beautiful dessert cart to tempt you, and the three of us shared the flaky Italian cake. It was yummy! Restaurant is also beautiful and romantic. We would go back if we are in the area again.

• Tiffany C.

  star star star star star_border 25 May 2026

  I have to say, ambience here is 5 stars for being in palm desert and not being at a hotel. It's a really great place to have a nice, quiet romantic date. Lighting is nice, restaurant is relatively quiet, and there is one service waiter that was pretty helpful and polite. They gave really good recommendations on wine pairing and dishes to order. The other two or three waiters we had were not so great and kind of rushed us in trying to get us to quickly order.
  
  Food wise I'd rate it maybe a 3.5. It was solid Italian food but nothing amazing or mouth watering. Would probably visit again if it were close to me simply for their large wine selection and date night vibe!