Mama Z’s Cafe
357 W Henri De Tonti Blvd, Tontitown, AR, 72770
Mama Z’s Cafe Menu
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Address :
357 W Henri De Tonti Blvd
Tontitown, AR, 72770 - Phone (479) 361-2750
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Tue
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Italian Cuisine
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
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Lea M.
This place has tasty spaghetti sauce. It is meaty tasting and not just tomato-tasting. The pasta is good - homemade. They have good fried chicken and a yummy beans and cornbread plate. I enjoy Mama Z's. They have weird hours of operation, though. Closed in the middle of the day! I can never remember the hours, so I don't visit there much.
(3)Trey C.
Great place... The spaghetti here is my favorite anywhere. Lasagna is also very good. The friend chicken is usually really good but has been a litlte bit bland the last couple times I've had it. They also have a really good breakfast...good omelets. It's definitely a diner, so there's not much of an atmosphere...but definitely worth going for a low key meal!
(4)Lora T.
Friendly people and great home cooked meals. I love the lunch specials. I would highly recommend it! L. Taylor
(5)Patty C.
Onion rings were outstanding. Really loved the salad with house dressing. Lovely garlicky italian dressing.
(4)Tyler R.
Great food! I got the chicken and spaghetti, which was delicious! The salad and rolls were awesome as well. The only thing I would change is to bring out the rolls with the salad instead of waiting until the entrees came out. Great service and friendly staff. Will definitely be returning!
(4)Lisa A.
I'm so jealous; my cousin gets to eat here all the time and he always texts me pictures of the food!!!! This casual, family-run, Italian diner is a must-stop for me every time I visit Northwest Arkansas. Be forewarned however, this isn't anything like the "Italian" food you are probably accustomed to. However, it IS tasty food, home-made by an Italian family who has lived for generations in this small, Italian community and has adapted their cooking to reflect the tastes and availability of their environment. Fried chicken and spaghetti is one of the popular dinner choices and your Italian meal is served with big dinner rolls, honey and homemade jelly. (Not exactly what you find at Johnny Carinos). Chicken plays a pretty prominent role in their menu as poultry farming is quite a big business in this area. (Ever heard of Tyson?). They serve quite a few different menu items and have daily specials, but I always go for the pasta. My favorite thing on the menu is their spaghetti. The noodles are homemade and the the sauce is really good. The fried chicken is cooked perfectly but could use a bit more flavor (curse you KFC, you've spoiled us all). I like their ravioli (which is stuffed with chicken) and my BF thought their meatballs were the bomb. My cousin LOVES their lasagna, but to me it always seems a bit watery. Their homemade desserts are good too. Last time I had the blackberry cobbler with ice cream. Yum. The Italian meals come in two sizes - regular and half portion (I wish more places offered that option). The half portion is plenty, but if you're really hungry or want to ensure you'll have some leftovers then order the full. The Italian meals are also served with a dinner salad and garlic toast. At any other location I'd be appalled to be served a salad of iceberg lettuce, but their garlicky, vinegar/oil dressing is quite good (even better with an extra dash of vinegar). It would be nice if they offered a different type of lettuce and maybe a tomato or red onion slice and real butter with their dinner rolls (the margarine thing just doesn't do it for me). Enjoy the local cuisine, tip well (the waitstaff is delightful and so hard-working), pick up a jar of sauce and a bag of pasta on your way out and stop by the Tontitown Historical museum to learn more about this fascinating little community in the corner of Arkansas.
(4)Paige C.
The dinner is very good anything Italian is great the salad dressing they use is great it's Italian oil base dressing I do have recipe for it if u want it let me no
(4)Dianna T.
Love their homemade pasta and spaghetti sauce. The fried chicken and spaghetti combo is a favorite of mine. I can never ever finish it, so I end up with a second and third meal when I get my left overs to go. I've also started buying their pasta (dried) and preparing it at home myself - it is THAT good! The establishment is casual and easy-going, and the service is pretty quick. I've never had to wait very long to eat or be seated. The waitstaff is very friendly. The reason for four stars instead of five is this - every time I've gone to pay my bill at the front, the person taking my card seems to be annoyed that they even have to be there. I don't know if that behavior is saved just for me, or if everyone else is bothering her equally as much. You know, when I choose to go out and spend money on food instead of cook for myself at home, I don't want to be treated like I'm annoyance.
(4)James D.
Every bit of our food was cold or at best lukewarm. When we asked for hot food we got our old plates back microwaved. The salad is okd wilted lettuce with a house dressing which was ok. Nothing about this place invites us to return.
(1)Shamondo S.
FRIED CHICKEN AND SPAGHETTI! OH WHAT! PUT IN IN MY MOUTH RIGHT NOW! the marinara is the best i have had in life so far. the staff was friendly and the prices are more that reasonable. The Best mom and pop restaurant in all my travels and quite possibly the best restaurant in Tontitown!
(5)Cassie M.
I've ventured to Mama Z's several times over the years and its been awhile so before hitting the Grape festival, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Very busy place and instead of waiting for a table, we chose to sit at the bar in front of the kitchen and hustle and bustle of the waitresses making drinks. While simple, I do love the taste of the house marinated salad (just lettuce) and I enjoy the garlic toast pieces. We shared a lasagna and spaghetti. I love the homemade pasta. The sauce is pretty mild and not bad, yet not great. The lasagna had a little more kick with cheese. Its got that homemade grandma's kitchen feel and taste. I know I will be back from time to time.
(3)Chi W.
This establishment is popular with the locals so I had to visit and try their signature dish. Spaghetti with fried chicken. This hole in the wall has a feel similar to AQ chicken comfortable and simple with friendly service. The salad is an uninspired yellow and flavorless iceberg lettuce with some standard dressing. The banter between the servers and the regulars made me feel like I was visiting a distant cousins house for lunch. The pasta while fresh and home made felt as though the recipe still needed to be tweaked since it was brittle but started to dissolve in the sauce by the end of my meal. The sauce had an industrial chef boyardee flavor with extra meat. The fried chicken was a breadcrumb and pan fried affair that was good but nothing to write home about. Mama Z is what you get after Italian cuisine has adapted and transformed over 2 generations of Arkansas living. Its not terrible but its also not very good.
(2)Danny W.
A local favorite that I hadn't tried, but always heard good things about. I had the lasagna plate with salad for lunch. Salad was just lettuce and homemade italian dressing, which was great! i would like some tomato, carrots or something to accompany it, but the dressing made it sing. The dinner roll was super soft and yummy, almost like a yeast roll (which, lets face it, as addictive as crack) the lasagna was somewhat disappointing. Not bad, but not as good as I hoped. Lacked the rich tomatoey red sauce taste. They had several specials that looked good though, so ill be back to try other dishes because I think there is more to the place than I had today.
(3)Molly D.
The food here is a total Arkansas interpretation of Italian. It reminds me of the church potlucks of my childhood. Obviously it's a taste a lot of people go for, because it's always packed, but when I'm craving Italian I can think of ten other places in NWA that I would choose before mamma z's.
(2)Ginger A.
I was not thrilled by Mama Z's. I thought the prices were pretty high for the overall value (even for the smaller size portion I had and lunchtime visit). It was nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular. I see other high reviews mentioning the salad, but I was not impressed by a bowl of coarsely chopped iceberg lettuce and house dressing that seemed to be, simply, vegetable oil. Yuck. The chicken ravioli was okay and my companion ordered a shrimp salad. Our food was edible, and the atmosphere was passing but not fine dining and not even quirky-cool in a charming way. I struggled to decide between a 2 and 3 star rating, and I chose the latter, but probably wouldn't return.
(3)Ginny Z.
Pasta was indeed fresh but the meat sauce lacks any flavor. The ravioli are just thick and heavy. The salad dressing and meatballs were the highlights of the meal. Nothing to go out of your way for. We are still struggling to find good Italian in the area other than the regular chain restaurant fare.
(1)Fred J.
This stuff is like opening a can, dumping it onto a plate and charging 10 bucks for it. Save your money and go to a chain Italian place. Better yet, go to Mary Maestri's since they are open again.
(1)R H.
For Great casual Old World Southern Italian food with No frills decor or service. Mamma Z's is the spot in NWA. Closed Sunday and Monday, Mamma, cooks up all of the favorite comfort food of Italy. I've been going there since the week they opened in the late 80's, and it hasn't changed a bit in all of those years. House marinated salad comes with every meal, and honestly I love it as much as the rest of the food. But I usually order Mamma's spaghetti and Meat Balls and add a chicken leg and a breast on the side. There are small and large options for each entree offered. Only local wine available, and I don't think they even serve beer. If they do they do not advertise it or display it anywhere in the restaurant.
(4)Brian M.
What can I say. It's very good food. I've eaten there once, but will definitely be going back. This little restaurant has been in Tontitown, the Italian-American area of Northwest Arkansas, for a very long time. They've got nothing to prove. The food was quite good, and portions were generous. Prices were pretty reasonable, too. If you're thinking Olive Garden, then don't. The food is better, but the atmosphere is more akin to a diner. It's very much the home-town restaurant, just with darn good Italian food. Now I have to qualify this review. I'm not Italian or Italian-American. Thus I can't speak to the authenticity of the food. I would wager that this is very much the Americanized ideal of Italian food. Understand this before you set your sights too high. This is the sole reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I'm hoping to find some place even better.
(4)Oz B.
Its just like sitting in your aunt's kitchen, cutesy art on the walls. Adorably plain dining chairs, plastic table cloths, you instantly feel at home. Watch for the crowds during lunch and dinner time, but if you have the patience this place is WELL WORTH IT. Home made pasta. Seriously, the make it in the back. Your dish will probably have noodles made that day! OMG, so delicious, never I had a noodle that delicious. Special Tip: Don't worry about finishing off your meal. Save some to take home, and let it sit over night. The noodles end up soaking up more of the wonderful sauce sending you into an immediate food coma once more.
(5)Josh P.
The food was good..... not great. Alfredo sauce is chalky and there was a strong taste of "CAN" in the red sauce. The pasta itself however was very good. The salad premeal was decent, nothing more than lettuce covered in oil and vinegar but good nonetheless. The bread brought out with the meal was a good roll but nothing italian about it, just a plain white bread roll. The service was terrible but they were really busy. I always prefer a local family owned restaurant over any chain but I would not go out of my way to eat here again.
(2)Jon G.
Love this place. Just a simple, local, small town Italian diner. Daily lunch specials. Fried pork chops lunch special (Tuesday) is killer good. Onion rings are ++. Julie is a great owner and always makes you feel welcome.
(4)Phillip C.
Good, solid Italian food. Enjoyed the lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and ravioli. Pretty much the definition of comfort food. Highly recommended.
(4)