Mama Santa's Pizza is one of the classic little Italian restaurants that will quickly become one of your favorites. Located in the heart of Little Italy, Mama Santa's is a local favorite and very popular with the local college students at Case Western Reserve University (my alma "madre").

Every night Mama Santa whips up her best stuff and gives a great selection of home-cooked Italian dishes, ranging from the store's namesake, her outstanding pizza, with any topping you can think of, all the way down to her hearty pasta dishes. Any choice is an excellent one, and with huge portion sizes, you will not walk away hungry. In fact, you will be lucky if you can walk away at all. (The last time I was there someone had to roll me home.)

The restaurant itself is tucked into a quaint little shop that makes you feel like you are really stepping into an Italian restaurant in some little town in Tuscany. There is ample room inside and, expect for Saturday and Sunday nights, the wait is not too long. Mama Santa also offers a takeout, but you will not find a delivery option here. Parking is also challenging. The main brick street is always packed with cars, so your best bet is to park on one of the side streets and walk.

If for some reason you still have room in your stomach when you leave, or you just want to see how much your really capable of eating, head up the street from Mama's and make your way into Presty's Donuts. Presty starts making his donuts in the early evening for the next morning, so this is when you will find the freshest supply. They are without question the best donuts I have had and are a far cry from the too-sweet or too-greasy donuts you'll find at Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts. Get a dozen, have a couple, and save the rest for the morning.

The atmosphere at Mama Santa’s is a good, old-fashioned pizza place. Don’t expect anything fancy when coming here, but you can expect some of the best Italian food around. We came here because it was in the heart of Cleveland’s Little Italy which everyone raves about. When I was researching places for dinner I was looking for places there were affordable, but where I could also experience some culture.

We took the kids and planned on ordering pizza. We didn’t want any of the appetizers on the list, so I asked the waitress to recommend a pasta which we could eat with our pizza. She recommended the cavatelli. She brought it to our table before the pizza and we all tasted some. The pasta is made fresh and is served with a spicy sauce. I wanted to order more pasta and let the others eat my share of the pizza, but we wanted to get back to the hotel, so the kids could swim. We asked the waitress to make our pizza order to go and we got that about 15 minutes later. When we finally ate the pizza, it was a bit cold, but it was still good. They sliced the pizza pieces in large triangles. I prefer my pizza sliced in squares, but that’s the only complaint I had. It was under $24 for one large, three-topping pizza, an order of cavatelli, and a Rolling Rock. I definitely recommend the pasta over the pizza.

Mama Santas is my favorite Italian restraunt. This is my favorite restraunt because you get the best food in the world for very cheap. On the weekends there is a line out of the door. Mama Santas is best know for their pizza. All of the food is homemade and delicious. It is highly recommended.

When Clevelanders think of Little Italy, they invariably think of Mama Santa's Restaurant. You won't find this as an entry in a Mobil Guide or AAA TourBook, but this is clearly the Neighborhood's most popular restaurant. The clientele here ranges from families to college students to pre- and post-Cleveland Orchestra patrons. On weekends, the line to get a table can extend out the door.

Mama Santa's consistently receives high marks in local readers' polls. What makes this place so popular? Good Sicilian-style pizza and pasta at low prices. No attempt is made to be gourmet here. The emphasis is on the basics. The pasta and sauce here are homemade. The thin crust pizza is one of Cleveland's favorites.

We nearly always order the Spaghetti Di Casa (fat fettucini noodles that defintiely do not come from a box) and Ravioli (large pasta squares with meat or cheese filling). Both are served with homemade Marinara sauce. A bottomless basket of Italian Bread accompanies every meal. Everything else is a la carte. But here, one needs little more than an antipasto or salad to round out the meal. Come to Mama Santa's when you need a pizza or pasta fix. You won't be disappointed.