"Her Way!
"Mama" Italian Cafe is popular in Pearland.
Houston Chronicle, by RENIE KIENTZ
4/16/99
"Mama," from Croatia, has arrived in Houston. I prepare Italian cuisine with a Croatian and French i…
The Chicken Marsala was superb. It's my favorite menu item! The sauce is delicious, the mushroom, the chicken is huge! I love the dressing that comes with the house salad and the seasoned croutons are crunchy and fresh. Their garlic bread is hot and soft. Their portions are large and I always have enough for dinner. Give this place a try, every dessert is to die for!!
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Erika R
Emerging Expert • 17 contributions
2/28/25
• DoorDash order
I CANNOT BELIEVE or even begin to communicate THE AMAZING QUALITY OF THE FOOD Here.The ATTENTION TO DETAIL on a to-go order floored me.The Presentation came in second only to the PHENOMENAL FLAVOR PROFILE OF EACH DISH and the AMOUNT of DELICIOUS FOOD given is SECOND TO NONE! They give you enough for 2 to 3 SERVINGS so 1 meal most Definitely feeds a minimal of 2 ADULTS OR 3 CHILDREN. they deserve every STAR given and more. they are my new FAVORITE ITALIAN place even over Maggiano's which I thought could never happen. thanks for the experience, SANTA BARBARA ITALIAN CAFE. I most definitely will be ordering from here frequently.
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Adrienne B
3 contributions
10/23/23
• DoorDash order
This was so much more than I expected!!!! Seafood Risotto W Grilled Shrimp A plethora of really good mixed vegetables, the risotto was cooked just right. The dish was full of seafood and it came with garlic bread and salad. Enough for two meals. My first order from Santa Barbara & impressive!
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Tiffany T
Emerging Expert • 36 contributions
10/22/24
• DoorDash order
I saw a comment mention the Seafood Risotto W Grilled Shrimp so I got it and IT WAS SO GOOD!!? Never had scallops before but it was yummyyy and I was surprised by how much food there was. Lots of seafood and lots of veggies too! It came with garlic? Bread and a salad. Worth every penny and will be ordering from here againnn
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Michael/Seana R
Local Expert • 61 contributions
5/31/25
• DoorDash order
Finally some authentic amazing Italian food! Reminds me of being back home in the Northeast.
Everything we tried was incredible from the seafood pasta to the chicken Verona and even the cannolis.
The chicken Verona was a favorite, the chicken cutlet was made perfectly the raviolis were excellent and the sauce was incredible, took me right back home with each bite. The seafood pasta was fantastic the shrimp and scallops were made exactly right not overcooked and lots of delicious cream sauce and fettuccine. The cannolis were on point, so hard to find places that know how to make a proper cannoli, absolutely superb highly recommended.
I don't know where the people are from that own this place but they must be from Jersey, NY, or Philly area because you can't find Italian food this good in other states, especially down here in the south.
We were a little hesitant to order because their rating on yelp is not so good but the rating on Dash was high so I'm so glad we gave this place a chance because it is now our favorite place to get authentic Italian food. First time ordering just hope they are consistent because thats a big problem with restaurants in the Houston area, one day you get amazing food then the next time you get the complete opposite but hopefully that won't be the case with Santa Barbara.
Highly recommended if you want excellent Italian food, they are a little pricey but they give you big portions and top quality so it's worth it.
