Mamma Zu

So, my daughter, husband and I head out for an early dinner last night. Because of the hour, we settle on Mamma Zu’s as it is a popular spot for late night Saturday dining. We love the food, wait staff and gritty atmosphere, usually. This evening we were «greeted» by the angry host they put out front for what reason I do not know. Trust me, our encounter wasn’t the only bad one I observed that evening. We waited approximately 40 minutes when our lovely host indiscernibly called out a series of three last names while carrying a stack of chairs to set up at a table. I worried that one of those names was ours. My husband approached the «host» to ask if he had said the name Lantz, my daughter moved forward from being wedged between a table and two stacked chairs her coat/​jacket caught on the leg of the upturned chair and she stumbled forward touching his back. BTW, she is underage and doesn’t drink. He then wheeled around and pointing his pen and finger in her little face and screamed if she ever touched him again he was going to kick her ass out of there! Screamed it! Not only was my daughter rattled and embarrassed but it completely ruined our evening. We walked up to the bar, paid for our appetizer that we ordered while waiting and left. The good news is that because of this, we discovered Dinamo around the corner. Same owner/​food as Mamma Zu’s– no frightful host to deal with. I don’t know if this hosts employment is some sort of charity or he is the owners nephew but I would warn the owner that this man is going to explode on the wrong sort of person one day. They need to put him in the back of the restaurant out of public contact.

Don’t understand why there is no menu provided to the customer, except on the wall. It’s so inconvenient to walk up to the middle of the restaurant to look at the wall.
Don’t understand why there is no description of the entrée on the wall. I am the type of person who wants to try new stuff, but I can’t simply becos there is no description of the entrée. For example, I like pasta carbonara, but not the pasta carbonara there. I wouldn’t order it if I knew what cheese they used. I would have tried sth else.
Don’t understand why all the reviews talk about the good food quality. Don’t get me wrong, It’s ok. I tried most of the Italian restaurants in LA, and most Italian restaurants in Richmond, including small shops that make their own pasta. Based on RVA standard, I will give a 3.5, but after adjusting for things such as location and decoration, I need to lower it to a 3. I thought Edo had some weird and smelly stairs, Zu’s place look awful. The food quality can’t make up for that. I think it will be a big mistake to bring your first date there, even for a girl who indicates to u that she loves Italian food. You will definitely lose her after the meal. I’m not saying it’s bad. It’s just ok for me.

The best Italian you’ll find south of Philly. Service is much maligned, and wrongly so. It’s busy so they’re not going to make you feel special just for walking in the door — you want that, go somewhere else. What you will find is knowledgable, smart, fast servers with outstanding food. If you’ve been to Il Latini in Florence, Italy, this is its separated at birth twin.
Fantastic.

Great place, amazing wine but very crowded

Though we have a number of Richmond area «top favorites» depending on our particular foodie desires on a given day, none surpass Mamma Zu. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve been here over the years, and everything is always spectacular. Recommendations? Anything will be terrific — though they do seem to have a little extra special magic with grilled meats. For a real taste treat, try the Scungilli appetizer — out of this world! And both the Tiramisu and the Cannolis are a fantastic way to wrap up your Mamma Zu experience.
Now, I feel obligated to address the naysayers. First, anyone saying the food isn’t up to par — hmmm. I have to wonder about anyone’s rep as a foodie if they don’t find Mamma Zu to be truly top notch. Maybe you got a bad meal; I suppose that could happen… But mostly my thought is that we should be able to mark your Unilocal account with a big «Not a Real Foodie» stamp. Second, as to the waitstaff, I am baffled about the «rudeness» comments. We have never, in a few dozen visits, ever felt anything less then very well taken care of during our meal. I could go on in detail about what that means to us, but who really wants to read that!!! Suffice it to say that my take on this subject is that people tend to get the attention they earn. Be positive & engaging and you’re more likely to see the same in return — wherever you may be…

Not For Nothing! — This place honestly is one of the best Italian restaurants I have eaten at between both coasts. On a visit from SoCal to Richmond; a trip full of top notch cuisine (RVA is coming up!) I am thankful for a great Saturday night @ Mamma Zu’s!
Food
–Black Sea Bass (Fa Getta About it!) flavors on point especially with whatever the rub is on the fish. The fish itself was like the M&M’s tag line «Melts in your mouth» & cooked to perfection. Worth the $ for sure.
–Pasta Gorgonzola on point especially for your non Gorgonzola lovers. The creaminess of the sauce with the subtle gorg back end was more than I could have ever expected. Pretty much set a new standard on anything cooked with my favorite funky cheese!
–White Pizza was a great compliment to the tables entrees. As generic as it may be to order pizza at a top notch Italian restaurant this one is more than worth it.
Wine
Did two red’s at the recommendation of a killer server named Jen (If my recollection serves me correct). Bottles were totally affordable and a great friend to hold onto while you wait. The glasses make the wine drinking fit the bill; the wine policy of selecting them on your own and bringing your selection to your table honestly adds some character and trust on behalf of this restaurant to their classy diners!
Service /​Location
The Manager runs a tight ship; I have read comments on servers being rude but for the means & success of a well oiled machine, one server cannot ruin the experience. The manners among the whole staff were more than welcomed especially coming from a place like SoCal. The kitchen staff & service staff alike complimented one another. (Muchas Gracias a los hombres de DF, MX in the back!)
BIG shout out to their head chef as he and his team make it look easy. Trust me you can watch them at work (like the Food Channel in person) by peeping in through a window near the rear of the restaurant.
At the end of the night it was great to personally thank him and his team with a handshake & words of real appreciation in the great flavors and food produced in this gem.
Location is pretty easy to find and the environment inside will fulfill your Italian restaurants dreams; its just like the movies in this place.
Good luck in 2016 Mamma Zu’s; you most definitely have the RECIPE!

This is not the place to go if you don’t have time. It’s small, packed, and the wait is a while. It’s the type of place you go to really enjoy each other’s company over bottle (s) of wine and good food. It’s not high maintenance at all. Seems they only sell wine by the bottle, as it should be! The menu is similar to Edo’s Squid. Mozzarella and red peppers app was good, baked cabbage was unique and flavorful. Eggplant parm was divine-​not too heavy, but the right about of cheesy comfort. The crabmeat with spaghetti and orecchiette pasta were also good. Portions are large-​great place to go with a group so you can try many dishes.

Two things to remember! Don’t judge a book by its cover and get there early!!! Its rough exterior just hides the atmosphere and incredible taste that await you.
For starters, the lamb meatballs will be a great introduction to your tastebuds! The light ricotta cheese helps to cleanse your pallet giving balance to the perfectly seasoned meatballs.
For entrees, highly recommend the jumbo shrimp and rockfish! Both meals were light, elegant, and had a bevy of flavors that would rival any seafood specialty restaurant! The capers and sultry lemon butter sauce really brings everything together along with the Godzilla sized shrimp!
Don’t be detered by not being able to make reservations, not having menus outside to view, and staff being a bit sharp (don’t take it personal)…but who likes to dwell on negatives? This place IS an icon in Richmond dining.

I’ll start by saying the food is good. It’s restaurant Italian food (pasta + salt). The real magic hear is they’ve convinced Richmond that this is the pretentious foodie experience they’ve been looking for, when it’s really nothing special. Crap service and decent food doesn’t make a cutting edge restaurant. If they moved locations and turned the lights up, I have to image they would be out of business in a year. It’s a decent place for the food, but not being from here, it’s «meh» at best, and only in a town this small could they get away with it.

Still a line at 5pm wrapping around the place for a 5:30 opening. Subdued cheers when Dave finally opens the front door at 5:35. Food is as always world class. Been to Italy. This is better.

Came for dinner on a Tuesday night. We were sat down and ordered a beer. For a table of 2, we waited for 25 mins and he wasn’t even able to bring over the one beer. The server walked past our table 8 – 9 times without saying anything to us. I should have read these previous reviews on the staff being rude. We ended up just walking out without any food or drink and when I told the waiter we were leaving, he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Never coming back. Thanks Mamma Zu!

Best Italian restaurant in Richmond, hands down! The service is pretty bad, but thats what they pride their restaurant off of as hard as that sounds. The food makes up for it and you will understand why once you try it! They have their menu on a chalkboard and their wait is pretty long. So get there when they first open if you are trying to dodge the wait. This is literally a dive restaurant, so give it a try. You will not be disappointed (well maybe at the service).

DO NOT EAT AT MAMA ZU!
— Disrespectful and rude staff
— Average food that skimps on meat and doubles down on cheap pasta
The staff is horrible! They are absolutely disrespectful of their customers. Had I not been with a group of people (some of whom were completely committed to eating here), I would have walked out. I will never go there again.
The food was good, but no better than many other Italian restaurants that treat their customers in a reasonable manner. Seriously, what is all the fuss about?
— 1 shrimp and 4 mussels in a $ 20 plate Zupa di Pesce.
— 5 meatballs in a $ 17 order of lamb meatballs
— Bland pasta with too much salt
Also, there are some unwritten rules that you can avoid by NOT GOING TO THIS PLACE:
— Parties of 6 or more are only allowed to order 4 dishes for the table
— The staff will not split the check
— But, the restaurant will not accept more than three cards per table (and they better be the right cards)
BTW. I don’t usually leave reviews, but I disliked this place (and the miserable souls that run it) so much that I joined Unilocal just to give my feedback.

If the food at Mamma Zu wasn’t so good, I would never put up with the way they treat their customers.
They are an idiosyncratic restaurant with lots of rules that aren’t immediately apparent, and instead of being helpful, they treat customers with disdain when they don’t know them. I know several Richmond natives who will not go to Mamma Zu’s because they are fed up with this treatment.
On our most recent visit, a middle-​aged man who appeared to be the floor manager was rude to us from the minute we stepped in the door, to the point where some in our party wanted to leave.
That said, the food is incredible. It’s a shame that they don’t treat their customers with more respect.

Wow. This is seriously one of the best meals I have ever had.
The broccoli rabe, the skate, the calamari starters were so flavorful.
We split the duck, the eggplant parm and the pasta Gorgonzola as entrees and each one was unbelievable.
So much flavor– so fresh not over seasoned– just right. You feel like an Italian mamma is cooking this for you at home.

I went here with a group of co-​workers and we tried a variety of things off the menu. We tried The lamb meatballs, garlic pasta, eggplant parmigiana, branzino, spaghetti w/​crabmeat, spaghetti with meatballs, squid, beans and arugula and sugar toads.
The lamb meatballs were pretty good, everyone seemed to enjoy these. Garlic pasta was just that, garlic, butter sauce and pasta– pretty strong and flavorful. The best meal of the night by far was the eggplant parmigiana! This was SO DELICIOUS we couldn’t get enough.
The spaghetti with crabmeat had a lot of shell in it and was a GIGANTIC portion! Sad that the spaghetti with meatballs came in a tiny bowl and didn’t have enough to pass around.
The Branzino and sugar toads were also very good! So flavorful and delicious!
I stayed away from the squid, beans and arugula– but those who were eating it said it was very tasty.
The reason I’m knocking two stars off is because of the shells in the crabmeat spaghetti– it wasn’t just a little. Also, the staff could have been more accommodating and friendly.

We came in for an early lunch so all the comments about the wait I can’t really speak to. I can say, when we pulled up, I thought, «This can’t be the right place!» The exterior leaves something to be desired. You can’t even read the sign and the building looks like it hasn’t been painted in 15 – 20 years. Don’t expect too much more once you sit down. The seat I sat on was cracked. And not just a little cracked! (I included a photo so no one thought I was a drama queen!)
That being said, I understand why they don’t need to update these things. The server was super helpful. We told her we’d never been there before and she made several recommendations. We ordered the broccoli rabe per other Unilocalers’ recommendations to start. It was a great way to start the meal. We also got the eggplant pasta and calamari genovese. Even though it was lunch, the portions were huge. I really liked the eggplant in the red sauce. The flavors were on point. The calamari dish was a little bland for my taste, but my friend loved it. To be fair, the description said that it was in a white wine sauce but I guess I was expecting more of a cream sauce. It wasn’t bad; just average. In both dishes the pasta was cooked perfectly.
Definitely worth checking out and to reinforce other reviews, get the broccoli rabe!

I cannot believe I’ve lived in RVA area since 1998 and always strayed away based on the, what I now know to be, exaggerated claims of poor service. I now believe that these folks deserved ill-​treatment if it ever occurred. Our service was SPOT ON. To call the incredible food anything but incredible would be unfair.
I am normally critical of Italian food places, having grown up in Newark, NJ’s North Ward where there are an abundance of great choices, in addition to Newark’s close proximity to NYC, as well as enjoying some real «Mama-​Italiana» food at friends’ houses growing up.
Our group of 8 Unilocalers attending this Unilocal International Supper Club event, shared graciously and we tried many amazing dishes to include Buffalo Mozzarella app, Garlicky delicious Broccoli Rabe, Caprese, etc. But when the Jedi’s in the kitchen have perfectly executed Scungilli, you KNOW everything after that will be at least equally sublime. Awesome Osso Bucco with flavor profiles that are enhanced by the amazing house red, (Mascaerelli?), that we enjoyed, very nice Tuna with a pepper crust and REAL «awesome sauce.» But for me, their Eggplant Parmesan stole the show. It was perfect if an eggplant can ever be made perfect. There are very few times in my 47 years that someone can make this carnivore say «I don’t miss the meat.» This was such the occasion. Finally, the Tiramisu MUST be shared. Do not drink inumerable glasses of wine then attempt alone their «best in my life» Tiramisu. The buzz begins after bite 2. :-)
The fellow Unilocalers made the evening even more special. Special thank you Tony and Shannon.
The space may not look like much on the outside, but what awaits you inside this great spot is magic for your palate that will cause you to reject the notion of ever settling for anything less than Mama Zu’s, when you are hankering for someone else to do Italian food the way God intended.

I’ve lived in Richmond for 8 years and 8 month at the time of this review. You’d think in all those years I would have tried Mamma Zu by now. Well, the day finally came when the Unilocal International Supper Club: Mamma Zu came around.
If this was one of my standard reviews it would contain a diatribe about the neighborhood, but I’m skipping all that because the food here is flawless. Anything good you’ve heard about this place is 100% true. Did you hear the eggplant parm is the bomb? It is.
We tried a lot of stuff that night. We had the Buffalo mozzarella with marinated red peppers, scungilli (conch salad), Ossobuco, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti & meatballs, and this tuna dish. Everything was delicious and there was nothing left over.
A fellow Unilocal Elite and I dusted off two bottles of their house red. I hate wine, I never drink wine, but this stuff was ridiculous. I won’t ever be able to drink a California red or pretty much anything else now because of this. I know it was just an $ 9 bottle of 2013 Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy but you aren’t going to find that at Food Lion.
It paired perfectly with the heavy southern Italian food. For desert it was tiramisu with enough liqueur in it to sink a ship. My God I’m already prepared to drop another $ 100 bucks in this joint. I’d tell you to stay away but this place is no secret. People were showing up in DROVES to eat promptly at 5:30pm. I was thinking to myself «Oh come on, it can’t be THAT good»
Yeah dude. It’s the $hit. A+ ¹⁰⁄₁₀

Authentic. Italian. Food.
Eat here whenever you can.
Tip: bring a party of 6 or more and get a reservation. The line is crazy.
Tip: get a bottle of the table red. It’s cheap and goes with everything you’re going to eat that night.