When you’re eating and drinking and basically having a great time, don’t you wish you can spend the whole day just like that?
Mamma Mia is the newest Italian restaurant in town that promises just that: a delicious dining experience with authentic Italian dishes, and loads of fun drinking moments from morning until the wee hours.
A typical practice in Italy, it is Mamma Mia’s mission to introduce this Italian dining culture to Filipinos whose idea of fun moments with loved ones, center primarily on having good food and drinks.
“Not your ordinary Italian-themed restaurant, Mamma Mia welcomes diners who stay as long as they want, while enjoying good food and drinks all day and all night.
“We want our clients not only to savor our well-loved Italian dishes, but also to experience the typical dining practice in Italy, in which eating and drinking can extend to very long hours,” enthuses Giulius Iapino, president of Rigatoni Corporation, the company behind Mamma Mia.
“Since I was a kid, I have always been fond of such scenes in Italy, wherein patrons practically stay in a restaurant from morning until nighttime. For breakfast, they would sip their espresso for hours, then for lunch, they would have fresh pasta, and then come nighttime, they would have drinks while listening to some music. That is something I have not seen yet in the country; the Italian restaurants here offer either food or drinks only. We want to introduce that kind of Italian dining culture to the Filipinos; that kind of set up where you can stay, eat and drink for a long time and that is perfectly okay,” adds Iapino.
‘Coz mother loves a party’
To get Filipinos acquainted with the Italian way of eating and drinking, Mamma Mia delivers the concept with motherly warmth and hospitality.
“Mamma Mia will take care of her clients just like a cool mom, holding a spatula on one hand and a bottle of wine on the other. She’s the mom who is the life of the party, while providing good food and good company. Mamma Mia warmly welcomes diners, especially families, and those in big groups, who are out looking for great food to eat, share a few drinks, and generally, have a great time under a mother’s care and service.
When you enter our premises, it’s as if you have stepped inside an Italian home with a mother figure ready to welcome you in her house and serve you and your loved ones with her specialties and provide you good company and wholesome fun any time of the day. That is exactly the scene and feels we want to recreate in Mamma Mia, something I know Filipino diners would love, and can get used to, easily,” shares Iapino.
Mamma Mia embraces the all day and all night service concept by combining the restaurant and bar in a single venue seamlessly. And true to its word, Mamma Mia carries a wide range of menu items for lunch and dinner (pasta, pizza, anti-pasti, bar chow, fish and meat dishes), complemented with a long list of Italian wines, liquors, Italian beers and special cocktails. And for that added enjoyment of patrons, Mamma Mia offers these dishes in family sizes that are perfect for sharing with friends and family members.
Chill, be cool and enjoy your time
With its first branch at the Uptown Mall in BGC, Mamma Mia opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 1 a.m., but operations will be extended as long as diners are still around.
“Just like the restaurants in Italy, Mamma Mia will transform its service as the day progresses, offering light to heavy meals and drinks to keep patrons to their tables. We would like to cater and get different kinds of people together; those who may love coffee, but not necessarily into wines or beers, those who chill out with friends, and those who are bonding with family members while having some drinks, all in the name of fun and having a good time,” says Cyrus Cruz, Mamma Mia’s marketing head.
“As for our menu, we will be offering those well-loved Italian coffee, mouth-watering dishes and alcoholic drinks just enough to tickle your senses the whole day, but as the day ends, some items will be shortlisted to match the changing ambiance while the busy dining area slips into a more sober mode for chilling, talking and relaxing,” adds Cruz.
With the activation of a listening station, complete with a deejay, and a series of in-house events, Mamma Mia hopes to be the coolest Italian restaurant, happening in BGC.
“We’re very accessible in this part of BGC, where the Uptown Mall is located. Mamma Mia is the only Italian restaurant in the area that has al fresco dining that segue into the dining room seamlessly, and vibrant interiors that combine traditional arches and tile mosaic with a touch of modern accents. We can accommodate around 70 people in the dining area and another 30 people at the tables just outside the restaurant. Even parking is not a problem here. The mall provides 24-hour parking while the Uptown Parade also has parking spaces available for diners.”