Osteria Mamma

There’s nothing better than having a meal made by mamma after a shitty day. I just wanted to drown myself in good food after spending an entire day with whiny colleagues. My friend, her husband and sister, and I headed to Osteria Mamma because that’s where mamma is now. It was disheartening to hear that Mamma and her family were forced out of Osteria La Buca, which I will no longer step foot in. I guess that’s why I don’t really want to know too much of the owners or the chefs because if there’s bad news, I will lose my appetite. Ignorance is bliss but then again if Hitler opened a restaurant everyone should know not to eat there. Mean people suck.

Enough of my rant, Osteria Mamma is right next to Larchmont Grill. There’s valet but I found parking on the side streets. It’s spacious and simple.

It's not as nice as Osteria La Buca but you don’t really care because the food is good and better. Mamma makes her own pasta. I wished I can make my own pasta. I bought a pasta roller once, but got paranoid that I didn’t wipe off all the grease, and returned it. The hippo can’t cook or clean, but she can it eat and drink! Unfortunately there’s no alcohol, and it’s not BYOB because someone complained about it. They’re in the process of getting their liquor license. Mean people suck.

We started off with the Quattro Stagioni pizza (“tomato sauce/black olives/artichokes/ham
mushrooms/mozzarella cheese”). I really should ask the waiter what the items are when it’s in another language…I had thought the pizza had all ingredients throughout the pie…clearly I was wrong.

I love Mamma’s pizza! The crust is thin, crispy, and not greasy.
Our next appetizer was the Crostini di Burrata (“Burrata crostini with black truffle and prosciutto”). This dish was on the pricy side; it’s $17.25 but so worth it! The burrata was fresh and just melts in your mouth.





I advised my friends that I was allergic to crustacean and octopus, so that’s what they ordered…argh. Note to self, only eat at restaurants with them if they don’t serve crustacean.

The sister ordered the Polipolata (“grilled Octopus, fresh celery, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes”).

She also ordered the special side dish: white asparagus. It was ok.

My friend had the Gemelli alla Vodka (“pink sauce, shrimp, vodka and peperoncino”). The shrimps are hidden under the pasta.

Her husband had the Trenette Nere alla Bottarga (“black squid ink trenette, organic cherry tomatoes, shrimp and bottarga”).

They loved their dishes. I had the Gnocchi del Boscaiolo (“cream sauce, baby green peas, ham andwhite mushrooms”). Oh. My. Gosh. Mamma’s gnocchi is AMAZING. The best and softest gnocchi I have had.

We managed to make room for the tiramisu. Delicious. Mamma gave us an extra tiramisu on the house. The cocoa is not dark chocolate. It was perfect.



I’ll definitely have to go back and try the Linguine alla Carbonara, Pappardelle al Fumo.

Thanks to Mamma for the wonderful meal and to Black Board Eats for saving me some buckaroos!

Address: 5732 Melrose Ave, LA, CA 90004
Phone#: (323) 284-7060
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