mama carolla's old italian

disappointing. salad was boring and bland, and my carbonara had very obviously been sitting under a heat lamp for quite some time. it was absolutely flavorless. the rest of my dinner companions were split: half really enjoyed their meals and half were very disappointed. we'll give it another try, but will remain wary.

food great enough to make up for crappy staff!. myself and a few friends enjoyed wonderful dinner here a few nights ago... the food was great, every single dish was wonderful and delicious.

if you can stand crappy staff, it's ell worth your time to eat here!

about the staff... it's not that they can't do their job, it's that they're so ;caking basic manners and professionalism, the atmosphere is actually uncomfortable. we witnessed a lady serving as hostess chastise employees in a scathing voice right in the middle of the greeting area. all she wanted them to do was go faster, yet she had to act like an ass, as if she were putting on an act for the many people wanting to be seated. (advice: take the underperforms off the floor for their counseling!)

the waitress was equally bad... one of my guests was a delightful older man who was telling us a story and had (yes this is hard to admit) forgotten to place his napkin on his lap)... no, the food had not arrived yet, but the waitress did feel the need to pick up his napkin and unceremoniously drop it on his lap with just a hint of contempt. i felt horrible for my guest, none of us could believe this lady was such a &^#%$.

ah-well, like i said... the food is marvelous... maybe just get it to go?

great atmosphere and food!. this place is so romantic and cute! we sat outside on a warm fall evening and had dinner by candlelight. the food tasted home cooked and the service was not too fast and too slow. we will definitely be going back!

wowza mama. i had been to mama carolla several years ago and remembered it was good but needed to be reminded why...
first it was the ambiance. it is beautiful. its a great place for romantic dates, catch up meet ups or informal dinner meetings for small business groups. the grounds takes you back to old italy.
the first thing that caught the groups eye was the cheesy bread...wonderful...loaf of bread with garlic butter sliced then topped with lots of cheese!!! the cheesy garlic bread was follwed by fried raviloi (which was okay), calamari...very good, not the best but good and amazing crab cakes! i ordered the miguels "pasta too good" which was very good. it states that it is spicey, but its not overbearing spicey, just a nice kick. my coworker got the salmon...and she was in love. she not a big seafood person and was pleasantly suprised. the salmon flaked easily under her fork and was full of flavor. another co-worker ordered the rosemary chicken lasagna. one word cheese!!! no complaints from him!
overall mama carollas was a hit and has put me as official food planner for my group...yes! thanks mama

impressed!. not usually a huge fan of italian food, but this was fabulous. ordered the crab cake appetizer which was amazing. the orange roughy special was incredible right down to the side of vegetables. the wine list was great. atmosphere was slightly loud and crowded, but the food made up for it. my husband ordered the blue cheese stuffed steak which i tasted. the steak was tender and cooked to perfection, but the blue cheese tasted like they poured kraft blue cheese dressing in the middle-not so great. the staff was perfect. i went early and was seated immediately, but by the time i left, the place was swamped. go early or make a reservation! highly recommend.

fair. had dinner there last night and found the food mediocre. ordered italian wedding soup that was too cheesy and lacked the traditional pebble pasta, instead had a mushy cellophane type noodle. then ordered spaghetti with a meat ball and an italian sausage; the little amount of spaghetti was drowned in way too much sauce, meatball was very bland but sausage was excellent. not worth the trip.

big waste of time. we went with a friend i ordered lasagne and it was really watered down. i sent it back and got calamari. they were like rubber and way to crunchy. i`m sorry, but olive garden has much more enjoyable food. i

over-rated. i like the food, but didn't live up to the hype. 3 stars

i'm neutral.. i took a rather large group to mama carolla's on a busy night, yet our waiter was excellent, attentive and professional.
despite initial positives, i am reluctant to recommend mama carolla's to any serious foodie. i was expecting fresh, made-in-house pasta and was sourly disappointed. also, there was a significant disparity in portion size. these two reasons should not stop the curious from trying it out, but you should be aware before you go.
we had a rather large party so i was fortunate enough to sample a variety of the fare; my veal medallions, my husband's chicken involtine, my friend's chicken picatta, my mom's beef lasgna, my dad's pork chop.
the waiter warned me that the creamy gorgonzola sauce for my medallions would be very heavy, and he was not kidding. the dish was very large and i was able to eat only half of it, and at $19 it was what i was expecting. i wasn't terribly impressed with the medallions themselves, and unfortunately the sauce was slightly bland. i was left regretting my choice but was glad i was able to sample from everyone else.
the chicken picatta was very good and was the right portion size for $15. the sauteed herbs and capers were a perfect mix with the light, lemony sauce. my husband's chicken involtine, also for $15 was excellent. however, it was very very small, we couldn't get enough of it. there were 3 minuscule pieces of yummy prosciutto, spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breasts and a tiny nest of angel hair pasta as an afterthought on the plate. the herbed champagne tomato cream sauce was amazing, and it was regrettable that the portion itself was so small.
the lasagna was very good, as was the amusingly named "wow, whata pork chop" ordered by my dad. it seemed an odd choice but he was very enthusiastic about it. i very much enjoyed the slightly spicy sauce that had a slow, sweet start and a fiery finish.
after the meal we were anxious to try the tiramisu. it was a great size and a good finish but didn't quite have enough zest to it for my personal taste. the recipe could stand to be tweaked a tad, but it was lovely otherwise.
one serious high point was the bread. we could have eaten several loaves of it, and we happily used it to soak up the remainder of that excellent creamy herbed tomato sauce from the involtine.
we enjoyed our time at mama carolla's, as the atmosphere was very nice and we were in good company. however, i doubt i will be back. with the offerings of restaurants in indianapolis that serve real, quality fresh pasta and authentic fare, it is just too hard to compete.

after having middle eastern food the first week and spanish-style dining the second, sarah and i decided to go for an italian restaurant for week number 3. after deciding our genre, we both came to the decision that mama corolla's was the place for us. ma

great italian!. mama carolla's is cute and authentic! i loved the chicken and parmesan, speghetti and meatballs, and for dessert the tiramisu is a must!!!! i also recommend the red sangria!

in one sentence .... totally delicious everytime !

my favorite italian place!. i love mama carolla's! the atmosphere is too wonderful & cozy since it's really an old house. you never know where they're going to seat you; every room is unique. they have great pinot noir wine, and the chicken lasagne is amazing--i get it every time!

mama carolla should be proud of the establishments food and service.

mama carolla's. i'm so glad i finally tried this place. the decor is very pretty and romantic, and it's definitely a great date spot. we started with the bruschetta, which was topped with huge chunks of tomato and piles of fresh shredded mozzarella, but i was even more impressed with the shrimp cocktail. it was really spicy... not quite st. elmo's level, but almost. i had the chicken rigatoni, and i can still taste that crispy pancetta and spicy white wine sauce - highly recommended. of course, i couldn't leave an italian restaurant without ordering the tiramisu, and i'm glad i did. it wasn't the best i've had in indy, but it was still quite good. all of the portions were large and came with soup or salad, and the super crunchy bread was hot and yummy. i was shocked to see the bill - it was extremely affordable, even including several glasses of wine. i will definitely return and am pleased to support a local restaurant instead of the dreaded olive garden.