Mamma Mia Pizzeria in Oxford

I’m in Oxford for work and, by pure accident (or fate?), I discovered this restaurant. Since I don’t like judging a place based on just one visit, I decided to go twice. Spoiler alert: it was a wild ride. Night 1 - The Case of the Missing Tap Water I walk in. The restaurant is half-empty. The host stand? Abandoned. No one in sight. I stand there awkwardly, slowly creeping closer to the counter, wondering if I’m invisible. Finally, a friendly gentleman (who I assume is the manager) spots me and takes me to my table. He asks, “Still or sparkling?” I confidently reply, “Tap water, please.” He nods, says “OK”… and then vanishes into thin air. Water? Never arrived. Did he forget? Did he go on a quest to find the purest tap water in all of England? We may never know. Luckily, a hardworking and super sweet waitress saved the day by taking my order and -miracle of miracles- bringing me the water I had requested years ago (okay, maybe just minutes, but it felt long). Food-wise? Pizza was fantastic! A little too much chunky pepperoni for my taste, but that’s a personal preference. No complaints otherwise. The bill arrives with the usual service charge included. I paid it- but only for the waitress, because our dear manager? Not exactly a service MVP. Night 2 - Speed Service & Vanishing Objects Friday night. Full house. I brace myself for a long wait, but lo and behold. same manager, different energy. This time, he seats me instantly (growth!) at a not-so-great table near the door. No problem, I’ll take what I can get. Does he ask if I want water? Absolutely not. At this point, I assume I’ve been blacklisted from the tap water club. A new waitress, equally delightful, takes my order. Food arrives in record time. I order salmon rigatoni. The salmon? Great. The rigatoni? Blah. No seasoning, no flavor, just… pasta. I consider asking for parmesan, but putting cheese on fish feels like a sin. Then, something incredible happens. I take my last bite. I wipe my mouth. Before I even lower my napkin..BOOM! My plate disappears. Like magic. Before I even blink, my napkin follows. I half expect my phone and wallet to vanish next. Final Thoughts - Lightning-Fast but a Bit Chaotic This restaurant has a solid foundation: good food (mostly), insanely fast service, and hardworking waitstaff. BUT, the customer care is… inconsistent. It’s like they’re on a speedrun of restaurant service, prioritizing efficiency over making guests feel truly welcome. Oh, and maybe, just maybe, someone could bring the tap water next time? Would I return? Maybe.

I have been coming to MaMa Mia’s with my granny and family for years and years now. From the service to the food to the bubbly amposphoere. It is hands down the best restaurant I have ever been to. We get the garlic bread with mozzarella.. and they even put on extra garlic for us every time! (We are huge garlic fans!). I also highly recommend the goats cheese salad, packed with fresh vegetables and goats cheese is always to die for. I cannot tell you how cheerful and attentive the staff are, making it an incredibly enjoyable experience all round. Thank you Mama Mia’s and we look forward to coming again! (No doubt it’ll be in a week or so)!

Food came out quickly and the waiter was friendly and happy

Noisy restaurant. Food is so so and the wine is overpriced.

A genuinely delicious pizza, quick service, and friendly staff - highly recommend!

I could be a little exaggerated, but they do have the best carbonara I have ever had.

Food was great, fast service and fitted us in at short notice, highly recommend

Service here is as fast as it gets. The food is authentic and affordable, contributing to a great atmosphere. Staff are very nice as well. This one is a must try.

He estado yendo a este maravilloso restaurante desde que abrió hace 40 años, así que soy bastante parcial! Tuvimos un almuerzo encantador en el nuevo lugar renovado y era tan bueno como siempre. Personal absolutamente encantador y deliciosos platos de pasta con su pan de ajo. Nada es demasiado problema aquí y este es nuestro lugar favorito para comer excelente, recién preparado y excelente comida a precios razonables. No puedo recomendar este encantador lugar lo suficientemente alto.

Very friendly and efficient in managing our large international group. The food was excellent and arrived on time. We will definitely return again.

Busy, buzzy pizzeria with a solid menu and excellent service. Food was delicious and arrived quickly despite being full, staff are friendly and attentive.

Lovely service and atmosphere and the most AMAZING garlic bread I’ve ever eaten!

Very cosy, italian with pizza, pasta, salads and the best tiramisù in town!

Visitamos este lugar anoche por primera vez, justo después de las 8 pm en un sábado por la noche muy ocupado. No habíamos reservado una mesa y entramos en el off - casualidad, esperando que nos dieran la vuelta para ser honestos, pero el equipo era increíble, tan amable y servicial. Así que muy refrescante para experimentar un servicio como este hoy en día! El equipo trabajó duro para encontrar una manera de hacernos sentar, reorganizando las cosas y trayendo una mesa desde fuera, preparándola para nosotros y haciéndonos sentar en poco tiempo. El servicio en todo fue impecable y eran tan buenos con mi pequeño niño de 4 años! La comida era excepcionalmente buena, las pizzas eran fantásticas y mi compañero que tenía boloñesa dijo que era fantástico también! Honestamente puedo decir que fue la mejor pizza que he probado en mucho tiempo! Comida italiana apropiada con un verdadero ambiente familiar! Sentimos que el precio era muy razonable también, así que sin duda volveremos de nuevo! Gracias de nuevo a todos y seguir con el buen trabajo!

Este lugar es increíble. Éramos seis y aunque fue un sábado ajetreado por la noche se las arreglaron para apretarnos. La mesa fue limpiada a fondo antes de sentarnos. El agua dulce fue llevada a la mesa. Pedimos una selección de pizzas y platos de pasta. Todo estaba caliente. Las pizzas eran increíbles! La pasta estaba deliciosa. Las comidas fueron sacadas rápidamente. Pensé que nuestra factura total tenía un precio razonable también de 22 libras cada uno, incluyendo una propina. Si estás cerca de Oxford, ¡esto es imprescindible!

Amazing food and service! We hope to return while on holiday!

Food brilliant, service excellent, everything was fresh. Highly recommended

A traditional and cherished place every time I'm in Oxford. Good pizza. Great staff.

I visited Mamma Mia Pizzeria last Saturday without a reservation. Despite the place being packed, the very friendly waiter quickly found us a table and let us know we’d have about an hour—perfectly fine with us! Within that hour, we had plenty of time to enjoy our meal. The service was fantastic; the staff was attentive, and the food arrived quickly. They were also very considerate in keeping our glasses full—every time I finished a beer, the waitress was right there to ask if I wanted another. As for the food, it was good quality, though the pizza style wasn’t quite to my personal taste. I can see how others would really enjoy it, even if it didn’t quite wow me this time. However, I may still come back for the great service, lively atmosphere, and the warm welcome I received. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this place for anyone looking to have a great dining experience. A 12.5% service charge was added to the bill, which I feel is a bit high, but I’m willing to accept it since I didn’t have a reservation and other restaurants had turned me away. Mamma Mia Pizzeria was gracious enough to find us a spot even on a busy night, which made the experience worthwhile.

This place is so nice every time I come here the staff members are very friendly and the food, it never gets old, especially the spaghetti bolognese.

There’s a pizza place here in Oxford, you have to try it~ It has two branches, one of which is in Summertown, where the end of today’s journey is! When I sat down and saw the knife and fork, I knew it was an Italian pizza. This time I ordered the signature "Mamma Mia Pizza" and "Carbon Carbonara" for the main meal. As soon as the dish was served, I saw a special view, and a sunny-side up egg was placed directly on the table. In the middle of the pizza, the first thought that came to my mind was: How to cut this? ! Needless to say, the pizza is delicious. Everyone who has tried it says it is great. But the egg noodles surprised me, they are so delicious! In addition to being salty and flavourful, the thick Parmesan is spread tightly on the noodles. After taking the first bite, people forget that this is what we have to share! For dessert after the meal, I ordered "Ice Cream" and "Tiramisu" this time. The desserts are very serious, and they are the kind of desserts that you can go out of your way to eat! You can choose one, two, or three balls of ice cream. Each additional ball is cheaper. The menu has four flavors (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chocolate)!

The pizza tastes good, but it doesn’t match the advertised size. The website says the large one is 36 cm, and when ordering by phone, I also asked if this 36 cm is the size when raw or cooked. I was assured it was in the cooked state. However, when I received the order, the pizza measured 34 cm in diameter. The area of a circle is calculated using the formula: A = πr², so the area of the cooked pizza should be A = 3.14 * 18² = 1,017 cm². In reality, though, it’s A = 3.14 * 17² = 907 cm². The difference between the advertised and actual sizes is 1,017 - 907 = 110 cm². There are 8 slices in the pizza, which means the area of one slice should be 1,017 ÷ 8 = 127 cm². This means that the difference between the advertised and actual product is almost equivalent to one slice of pizza.

Lovely food, buzzy atmosphere and excellent service. Bit of a Summertown tradition/institution that just keeps delivering.

A very busy place in the evening, food is very good but you might need to wait in a queue. The waiters are very courteous, and the service is quite fast. Allow take away in case you are in a hurry.

Food is fresh, pizza has an amazing thin crust which isn't too hard or too soft. Toppings and ingredients are solid. Prices are good. Can't really complain, can you?

It was very busy but delightful service and food.

Fading a little from its past glories. Possibly due to meeting the needs of the food delivery services and takeaway trade. The atmosphere is less friendly than previous visits. Food took a little longer to arrive than expected, but still tasted good. Still getting good food, but the pressure on the wallet is harder to bear.

Fairly decent pizza, nothing special. I had the parma, I'd expect a drizzle of olive oil and fresh parmesan sprinkled on the pizza but nothing, very bland, just rocket and ham ontop a slightly cheesy pizza base. For the money and reputation I'd expect more

Vivo a Firenze e ero in vacanza nel sud dell’Inghilterra. Mi sono trovato ad Oxford e ho scelto questo locale italiano, consapevole di non avere grosse speranze di mangiare bene. Mi sono ricreduto!! Ho mangiato un’ottima pizza e la sera successiva linguine al pesto con zucchine che non hanno nulla da invidiare a primi italiani in ristoranti italiani. Servizio eccellente assistito da personale qualificato e da una sigra di nome Mara educata, gentile e paziente. Una piacevole sorpresa da consigliare agli utenti di trip advisor.

Lovely lunch, very polite and attentive staff

Fantástico servicio en un martes por la noche muy ocupado! No reservamos, pero nos encontraron un lugar bastante rápido. La comida era genial (todos los 3 de nosotros tuvimos pizza) , pizzas frescas grandes en solitario. Encajoné algunos para llevar a casa también. ¡40 libras raras, no pueden salir mal aquí!

The staff were genuinely lovely. The food was great. 2 different appetizers, 2 different pizzas, a pasta dish, and two different desserts, all fantastic.

Comida sencilla, sencilla y de buena calidad. Precio razonable y bien dirigido. Tuve un problema con algo que le pedí a un miembro del personal. Como gesto de buena voluntad no nos cobraron por las bebidas. No lo esperaba, pero muestra que quieren hacerlo bien para los clientes. Recomiendo. Volverá.

It was a very lovely lunch! The carbonara was really good.

Superb pizza restaurant with some great veggie options, delicious ice cream and wonderful staff. We've been visiting as a family since moving down here back in the 90s and always enjoy the food and the atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Always a great experience with great service, but we would like to focus on the food - it is delicious, authentic, and plenty of variety. The tomato sauce for the pizzas is exceptional, pasta dishes very tasty too, and the wine specials good fun. We'll be back!

🤌🏼 Belissima! I actually ordered something not on the menu - I asked for the pollo e funghi with gnocchi instead of linguine and oh my godddddddd. If they let me I'll be ordering this every time 🥰 Followed by a Baileys and chocolate fudge cake (which I didn't need as already very full!), it was soft and light, a perfect sweet finish to the meal

Delicious food and amazing atmosphere

Love going to Mamma Mia with kids pizza is so delicious recommend it.

Delicious pizza, white bait and calamari

Went ad-hoc with my wife as we were staying nearby for 1 night. Excellent food, service was friendly and fast, really enjoyed our visit

This is a lovely, family friendly restaurant that offers tasty pizzas and pasta. The food is very nice and comes very quickly. Best of all is the service. My daughter is neurodivergent and struggles with some foods. Even though the margarita pizza was delicious, she couldn’t eat it as it was “too different”. The manager spotted this from across the restaurant, popped over and offered to get her a bolognese pasta for free! She was thrilled and ate half of it there and polished off the rest when we got home. In short, excellent and compassionate service and quick and delicious food. What’s not to like? Highly recommended.

Food is amazing here and the service is very friendly and welcoming. Definitely recommend.

Very nice, with excellent selection of pasta dishes as well as pizzas. Staff are pleasant and attentive.

A master class in service, I've worked in the restaurant business for over 20 years and quite simply was amazed from start to finish. The waiters and waitresses picked up on the little things, we sat next to where they make pizzas and the chef went out of his way to make my little 7 seven year old girl a heart shaped pizza, I could not fault the service, food or location! Bravo, bravo.. I'm jealous and would love to run a place as well as you all do, take a bow xxx

Fabulous place! Whitebait and baked goats cheese starters were particularly good.

- White bait starter, cooked to crispy perfection - Funghi pizza, the goats cheese on these is a gorgeous addition to a classic mushroom pizza - Tiramisu, the mug was a slightly odd presentation but it tastes lovely Not a huge menu selection, check beforehand to avoid disappointment but the dishes that we did have all hit the spot If you're in the area definitely give this place a try, my granddad visits weekly as he only lives round the corner so they must be doing something right!

Amazing pizza.. forget any other pizza place you might have tried and come here

Excellent, a memorable meal outside. I am a fairly regular local customer. However, today deserves special comment, my chicken and mushroom was delicious. My guest thoroughly enjoy his pineapple pizza. It was homely, relaxed and civilised sitting outside. As ever staff were gracious and attentive

used TA to find somewhere to meet an old colleague and was well impressed with the Service and the food. We had a pizza and lasagne, both of which were above average. Its in a busy area so I was panicking on parking so had to use google to find the car parks but there are plenty, you just need to find them Recommended

Found this pizzeria by chance at 5.30 pm on a Tuesday, after a day out in Oxford. Just 2 tables available, the rest were reserved. Staff attentive, welcoming and smiling, with a small but varied menu. Our delicious food (an order of gnocchi and one of pasta with salmon) was reasonably priced, well cooked, and attractively presented. By the time we left, the pizzeria was full, with customers waiting for a table.

Very tasty Italian food and lovely servers. We were all in all very happy. Everyone was very friendly.

Great Food. Lovely attentative staff and nice welcoming environment. Dogs allowed outside which is great. Great for families or singles.

Partner wanted to visit together after attending an event here a few weeks earlier. He couldnt wait to visit again. It was a lovely lunch, both ordered the Mamma Mia Pizza and yes I dropped olives down me but stains come out and it was worth it. Really delicious, lovely staff and restaurant. Look forward to the next time and hopefully get round to trying a dessert too!

A lovely restaurant, great menu and food, lovely wines and the way they look after kiddies, with colouring and sticker books is simply wonderful.

Fantastic service and the best pizza in the UK, and the lemon sorbet was to die for 😊

Super service, friendly staff and good food.

Possibly the best cheese pizza I have ever had across number of different countries. And pasta was also exceptionally good. Heck, everything was exceptional including service. It is located away from the campus and tourists but it is absolutely worth a visit. It was a pizza I’ll never forget.

Amazingly friendly staff. We sat by kitchen so great view of my pizza being made. AMAZING FOOD OMG. highly recommend

Favorite restaurant in Oxford. Just the best.

Absolutely delicious food with reasonable price. Insanely fast service, I was surprised to get our food within 12 minutes of ordering even with a busy restaurant and delivery’s constantly being picked up.

Amazing pizzeria - staff very welcoming and friendly, prices great, food delicious!

Mamma Mia always has great pizza. Especially the cheese garlic bread.

That guy doesn’t let people take more than one chupa chups I’m extremely offended . Customer service zero. ( it’s actually not bad I just wanted my chupa chups)

Delicious Italian food. The lemon sorbet was amazing

Ordered a takeaway four cheeses and was given a pizza with so little cheese and so thin in the middle that it ripped and was covered in salad like leaves it looked like for £15 and I felt I’ll afterwards eating it. I was so hungers at the time and going to get a treat but was disappointed.

This is a restaurant that childhoods are built on. It never fails to make the kids happy and the atmosphere and service are tailored to them - warm hearted and quick, whilst the food has never failed even our picky palates.

Regrettably, we were unavoidably delayed for our booked time of 1730hrs. Received a snarky message from manager saying "thanks so much for letting us know you were cancelling". We hadn't, and were minutes from arriving. Restaurant had about ten empty tables. Manager made a performance of agreeing we could eat there - providing the table was freed up by 1930hrs. At 1920 - we were asked to leave. Offending and patronizing conversation then ensued between manager and one of our female party. She was caused to take away her pudding order in a carry-out. Food fine. Courtesy negligible. Suffice to say, sorry we booked. Sorry we stayed. Will never go here again.

Just ordered pasta and the garlic bread - absolutely loving it 🤩 The staff was also absolutely friendly. Do recommend!

With my family, including grandchildren. Everyone found something they enjoyed. Service was good.

We were treated so well from the moment we walked through the door - a group of seven with three kids and we were looked after beautifully. The food was amazing, we had a mix of pizza and pasta, veggie and meat and everything was fresh, home-made and delicious. Thank you for looking after us and providing an excellent finale to our holiday!!

Really enjoyed my pizza, done yo perfection. Very pleasant and professional staff, warm atmosphere. Would return next time in town!

The food and the service are always excellent here - as always, we had a very enjoyable evening

Great relaxing evening in a friendly family restaurant. Good choice of very tasty Italian food and fresh pizza. Flexible if you want a different pasta with sauce etc. I changed my pasta to linguine to have with the smoked salmon cream sauce. Delicious. Popular with young families and others wanting a good value for money meal out. Service is quick and efficient. It can be a little difficult to hear your friends talking but we could have asked to be seated in a quieter area and it is nice to be in a lively atmosphere.

Classic Italian feel. Try the garlic bread!

There is a 1 male waiter and he is really really rude to young people(I don’t know maybe he is rude to all). But pizzas and other staff members are really good you need to try this place. But i request managers to take care of this rude middle aged waiter. By the way they are taking only card for paying and that’s very weird 🤔. (I went there at least 6-7 times and that guy was always rude.)

How about we don’t wink at women on international women’s day 🤷🏼‍♀️ especially when you’re the manager. Just a thought 🫢

This used to be one of the places loads of people went to take their kids out, or after work. Good food and ok wine. Busy and fun. Recent experience is less good. Staff not well trained, orders wrong and poor wine. Hope it gets better again

I love coming here! Been my favourite restaurant ever since I was a boy. Came in for a quick meal with my girlfriend. We were served my Lucy who was very friendly and attentive. Food was great as usual and prices were good. Cant recommend enough! Thanks

Amazing pizza restaurant food is amazing service is great and the Italian atmosphere is amazing. Hope this helped xx

Food is delicious and the staff wonderful

Rude on the phone, poor service

It was a really good meal as always but it could have been a bit better if it was a bit faster at serving your food it also was very busy.it is really good value.

Having read some of the other reviews, I feel we have been to a different restaurant. The service here was excellent as was the food. Here's my review: Mamma Mia is an institution in Oxford, with two extremely popular restaurants. This is because they serve very freshly made, tasty food, consistently and served really well. It’s always a pleasure to eat at their restaurants. The Summertown Mamma Mia recently moved from the premises next door. The new restaurant is excellent - slightly bigger, different shape but still the same efficient service and excellent food. On this visit we shared some starters and I had one of their excellent pizzas: - Crispy Fried Calamari with lemon & caper mayonnaise - Fried Zucchini Sticks with fresh tomato & roast pepper dip - Stagioni Pizza with olives, smoked ham, mushrooms & artichoke, with added anchovies Really good meal.

Mamma Mia is an institution in Oxford, with two extremely popular restaurants. This is because they serve very freshly made, tasty food, consistently and served really well. It’s always a pleasure to eat at their restaurants. The Summertown Mamma Mia recently moved from the premises next door. The new restaurant is excellent - slightly bigger, different shape but still the same efficient service and excellent food. On this visit we shared some starters and I had one of their excellent pizzas: - Crispy Fried Calamari with lemon & caper mayonnaise - Fried Zucchini Sticks with fresh tomato & roast pepper dip - Stagioni Pizza with olives, smoked ham, mushrooms & artichoke, with added anchovies Really good meal.

Love this place Pizza was so delicious.

Exactly what a local restaurant should be. High quality fresh food, friendly service and reasonable prices.

Thanks for sending me a burnt pizza.

非常好吃，薄饼；沙拉也不错；Pasta也 好吃，哎今天是不是我太饿了，感觉这家啥都好吃 非常棒，地点位置也不错，很方便，晚上很多人来聊天吃饭

Wonderful pizza, excellent service and lovely atmosphere. Great to sit outside in the summer and watch then world go by. It has been refurbished in recent years to make it bigger, but still churning out the same delicious pizza!

Great food and service exemplary

Food excellent. Staff really friendly. Lovely family restaurant.

Ottima esperienza cucina italiana di livello in Inghilterra buone le lasagne e ottimo il sevizio ci tornerò alla prossima vacanza

He was great at finding just the right lights that were both pretty and good for saving energy. They put in these lovely fixtures that really made the place feel warm and welcoming.

Simply outstanding, the calamari, the pizzas and the carbonara are simply fabulous. Please, treat yourselves and book a table. You will not be disappointed.

A very good pizzeria in Oxford It’s a chain as there are a couple in town But very good pizzas and very family friendly atmosphere and gets busy over weekends and school holidays More of a local pizza place rather than than something for special occasions Verdict 4.5/5 Budget - meal for 2 people easily 100’with wines

We are celebrating a child's birthday, we ordered a table in advance, the food is delicious, the atmosphere is chic, the service is excellent, it is recommended to visit!!!

We went to Mamma Mia Pizzeria as a group of 7. The place was full, but this did not dilute the service we received. All the start are friendly, attentive and great with children. We all had pizza and all plates were empty at the end! You can get a gluten free base or vegan cheese. Everyone is accounted for! A real local diamond!

I think you should go here, everyone is very kind, friendly and the foods is very tasty Thank you🥰

Called in Christmas eve to see if they could fit us in as we hadn't booked. They sorted a table for us straight away and we're really helpful. The Pizzas were great, staff were really helpful, a great place to eat.