REVIEW: Mama Mia, Hartley Wintney (From Basingstoke Gazette)

REVIEW: Mama Mia, Hartley Wintney

12:30am Monday 29th August 2011 in Taste and Tell By John Boyman

Mama Mia

London Road, Phoenix Green, Hartley Wintney RG27 8RT

01252 842107

mamamiarestaurant.co.uk

MAMA Mia in Hartley Wintney is undoubtedly one of the hottest restaurants in north Hampshire at the moment.

To get a table at the weekend you have to book two weeks in advance, while stories of excellent dining at a reasonable price have spread like wildfire across the area, further strengthening its already excellent reputation.

It is certainly very welcoming, with an unfussy but warm décor, while the head waiter was an absolute star on the night I visited, happily giving advice on the menu and even suggesting that we should share chips as the portions were fairly big.

The restaurant was fairly busy. Even though I was one of a party of 10 celebrating my wife’s birthday, food generally came out quickly, though sometimes a little in dribs and drabs which left one person waiting after everyone else had been served.

For my starter, I selected penne al funghi e pollo (pasta with mushrooms and chicken in a creamy tomato sauce).

Everything was cooked perfectly, with the mushrooms and chicken melting in the mouth, but the sauce left me a little disappointed. It was tasty enough but just lacked that something extra to lift the dish.

My main course was the Mama Mia pizza, which featured, amongst other things, mushrooms, ham, pepperoni and, my favourite, an egg.

Sadly the egg was a little overcooked, robbing me of the chance to dip much of my crust into it, and I found the pizza a little heavy. It was lovely in the middle, where the egg and all of the other ingredients mixed to make a very tasty cocktail of flavours, but elsewhere it could have done with a bit more tomato and cheese and a bit less pepperoni, which tended to overpower everything else.

I could have no complaints about my pudding, a gorgeous and moist chocolate fondant cake, and it has to be said that the rest of my party went away very happy.

Did Mama Mia live up to the hype? Maybe not quite – but I would certainly give the charming staff and varied menu a chance to change my mind.