Mamma Lucia of Bethesda

Make sure you get their extra large pizza with pepperoni, onion, sausage, and mushroom. Yes it’s more expensive than alternatives like Domino’s or Pizza Hut but the quality and taste are definitely way better! Fun fact, this restaurant used to be bigger, but I think they split the space with the new restaurant next door on the left.

We ate at Mama Lucia's for the first time last night and it was an incredible experience! Our server, Kelvin, was incredible. We enjoyed the toast and "Jimmy" sauce that was given as we sat down. When Kelvin learned that is was our first time, he went out of his way to share about the food. We had the fired ravioli and it was perfect! We shared the Chicken Florentine and it was so fresh and outstanding. Kelvin even threw in some garlic knots and were superb. We come to Bethesda annually and this will be a must eat place for us from now on.

This was our first experience with this restaurant. On Dec 19th 2025 we order pizza and some other food to be delivered in the evening. We ordered early as we had friends over for a movie and pizza party. The pizza arrived nearly an hour late. It was all cold. We might try to order again, but learned our lesson not to use delivery as it is unreliable.

You call this a DOUBLE pepperoni white pizza??? I wonder how sparsely populated the single pepperoni pizza would have been... Thanks for the AI PR response. Next time I will make sure to order a TRIPLE pepperoni. It's not the money...

I really enjoyed my pizza. The counter girl Molly was great. They were so nice to let me order even though it was close to closing. Overall it was a great experience.

This restaurant has the best Pizza that reminds me of New York! Great dining atmosphere, awesome service and Micah made the experience extra special!

This place has the best Chicken Parmigiana. Also, there Garlic bread was delicious. Jen is a wonderful server. Highly Recommend this restaurant.🙌

They have $10 spaghetti promotion now, except for the ones with seafood. I choose Shrimp linguine with lemon garlic sauce, I thought it too sour, but overall okay.

I dropped by Mamma Lucia's for a quick lunch. It was a famously simple, quick lunch stop. Service was fast, and I got a couple of large slices of pizza. They had quite a few different types, and I opted for two Blanco style pieces. The pizza wasn't anything to write home about, but it was good, and reasonable priced.

Mediocre food. Crap food, crap service. That's all. Nothing special about this place or to write home about.

How this place gets less than 5 stars is beyond me. Everyone there was super nice and the place was very clean. I got a NY style pepperoni slice and they added hot honey, very good. My wife got the cheese slice and loved it. We also got garlic knots and all my wife could say is how much better pizza and garlic knots are better on the East Coast (we are from LA). We were super shocked when we saw the bill and it was $12.11. Wtf?! So cheap and so good. How is this possible. I freaking loved it! Must try.

Great little Italian American restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor seating is pleasant, although it can be busy and noisy depending on time of day. My waitress provided excellent service. On her recommendation I got the chef special gnocchi trio, which was incredibly delicious and one of the best things I've had in a while. Came with a Caesar side salad, and I got a wine to go with. Very filling, and a good value! I look forward to going back. If I could Change one thing, I wish they served some nice Italian espresso or coffee for after the meal.

I'm always getting pizza from here. I usually get the supreme which is my absolute favorite. It's super fresh and I love the fact that they don't overload the sauce. Fresh veggies, meats, and crunchy crust! The service is quick and on point. I've never actually sat down here but it's cute. Cozy little spot in Bethesda. There is street parking. And this street is very congested so watch out lol.

Stopped by here after shopping in the area and was pleasantly surprised! We tried the Calamari, Shrimp Bada Bing (a wonderful specialty sauce), Greek Pizza, Mussels and Linguine, Shrimp and Linguine, and Seafood Asparagus pasta with pink sauce. Everything was flavorful and incredible - the pink sauce was so addicting. The dish sizes are generous and everyone was satisfied after the meal. The servers were nice and attentive and we were checked on by what seems to be the store manager - he was walking around and making friendly conversation with all of the customers. Definitely would return!

Came here for The Ovi. Damn good chicken Parm. Pasta tasted homemade and the marinara was fire

One of my favorite pizza places growing up had the same name so I wondered if there was any affiliation between the two. They have many locations in Maryland but there was no connection between this one and the one I grew up on. The restaurant smelled amazing. I was greeted right away with a smile. There was room for dining in but the restaurant was already full. I ordered a slice of the barbecue chicken pizza and a slice of their white pizza. The flavor on the barbecue chicken was decent but the white pizza didn't taste like anything at all. The price point was on par with other pizza places. You can tell that the restaurant is family owned so that's a nice touch. They have many more offerings than pizza so If I do return, I would try something else.

I wish I had gotten my pizza from Costco! This is a meat lovers pizza. Tasted like garbage.

In town on a Business trip. Was craving Italian. Less than a 10 min walk from my hotel. Decided to check out and so glad I did! Food was fresh, delicious, came out fast, and had big portions! One of the BEST mushroom ravioli I've ever had! Customer service was great! And the outdoor seating was relaxing. Will definitely come here again when I'm back in Bethesda!

Pretty much the definition of standard, generic Italian with convenient location in Bethesda Row. Came for a late lunch on a Saturday and service was fast and friendly. Kids enjoyed the Alfredo pasta and butter pasta. Dine in experience is sparse but efficient. Fairly small location like most downtown.

Generous Pizza Slices! Today I tried Manma Lucia's pizza slices. The restaurant offers several choices: Cheese, Cheese/Pepperoni, "Meat" (sausage, pepperoni, bacon & ham). I ordered a slice of Cheese/Pepperoni & "Meat". Delicious! Fresh ingredients. Wow generous pizza slices! Prompt Courteous Customer Service. See Photo!

Nice, friendly greeting with a big smile. Our server was kind enough to split our garden salad even though we didn't ask her to do it. The salad was zesty and crunchy! Delicious greens, yellow peppers, green bell peppers, pepperoncini, olives, onions and Cherry tomatoes. Love the vinaigrette dressing! The medium Mama's Special looked more like a large pizza. The this crust was loaded with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, ham, mushroom, olives, onions and chopped green peppers. It had just the right balance of cheese and red sauce. Also, the thin crust was evenly baked. It wasn't too doughy. It had just the right blend of crisp and flakiness.

Absolutely delicious. True family pizzeria. Dads making the pizza, son & daughter up front. Outdoor seating & dog friendly. Son even got some water for my doggie dude & the daughter (manager) was awesome & checked on everything. I got 2 cheese slices & a cannoli. The 2 slices were delicious reminding of back home in Boston. Thin, good crisp, quality cheese, sauce had great flavor & crust was flavorful, crunchy outside & soft inside. The cannoli was absolutely delicious cream shell, good mix of sweet & range from filling. Can't wait to be back to try a fresh pie. 1 bite, everybody knows the rules

We're visiting from out of town, and while I know there are lots of great places to eat in Bethesda, I was hungry for Italian. A quick Google search led us to Mamma Lucia, a five minute walk from our hotel. We passed many trendy looking places on our walk, and a quick glance at Mamma Lucia's interior made me think briefly that we should turn back and go for something trendier. We did not, though, and I'm so glad we stayed for our wonderful meal. Our server, Kevin, suggested the chicken rigatoni..."a little heat, but not too spicy " and it was marvelous! Generously portioned, too, so I'll have the leftovers tonight. Served with a side salad and good bread for dipping, we were both very happy with Kevin's recommendation. They serve wine also, though I didn't see it on the menu. Oh, and did I mention that our server, Kevin, was awesome? We'll be back on our next visit to Bethesda!

This was such an exceptional find. The portobello mushroom ravioli was so good that I kept eating even after I was full. And the service was outstanding.

Some back story on this one: I'm a die hard Washington Capitals fan. On my Capitals blog, it's famous among Capital's fans that star player, Alex Ovechkin, has gotten Mama Lucia's chicken parm delivered to every home game for a few years. With that being said (as a chicken parm snob with a 7 year recipe) was it worth it? Hell yeah it was. We probably rode the Metro for 30 minutes from Arlington to get here. Did it live up to the hype? Let's break it down: Pros: - Food is delicious. It's that classic Italian taste you get up North. - It's saucy. I like my chicken parm drowning in sauce, so for me this one gets it. (Personal preference) - Portions. You get an Ovechkin size plate. Yes, I finished it. - it's nothing fancy. Why is this a pro? In my 30's I'm getting tired of fine dining for Italian. Just give me a big portion of good chicken parm and let me eat it. Cons: - just a tad expensive. It doesn't break the bank, but just a tad expensive. - Spaghetti noodles are a little thick for me. Again, totally personal preference, but nothing major of a con. So yeah. I went way out of my way to come here and it was a fun journey. I really enjoyed it. Is it the best chicken parm I've ever had? No. Mine is. Mine takes like 2 1/2 hours to prep and make and I'm extra with it. Is it a really good chicken parm? You bet it is. It's massive, cheesy, saucy, and has that perfect "Northern America" flavor. Mama Lucia's is worth the trek. Go Caps.

Easy, reasonably priced and pretty good pizza. More of a fast casual place in my book. Service can vary depending on an adult serving you or the local teen/college kid trying to fill the bank account. Never had a bad experience and if there's a mix up the manager fixes the problem no questions asked.

Great dinner... always love it- a neighbourhood gem! I always love the linguine white clam, and also the chicken piccata yum! Really piping hot!! Also love the spaghetti squash with pesto and meatballs! Jeff is great! Always personable ! Love the new brick wall- feels really cool Inside! Summer is nice too when you can sit outside!

Picked up dinner to go after shopping in the area. Chicken parm sandwich was not worth the effort. Paid $20 and waited over 20 minutes to get a tiny sandwich that had what seemed to be microwaved chicken tenders -- they were rubbery and flavorless. The food that went past me as I waited looked good, so perhaps I just ordered wrong.

Today i return to MAMA LUCIA and purchase seafood asparagus for about 23.00 prepped by DONNA It was GOOD as usual.ENJOY THE PHOTOS

Food and service was fantastic! Everyone loved their entrees and appetizers. Food came out fast and fresh

The old man/manager is rude! He has moments he yells and has attitudes with customers I've experienced it myself I won't be returning here! The customer service sucks. I literally just got Yelp just to make this review.

Ordered several pizzas from Mamma Lucia for a work meeting. When ordering online, the first delivery available was 12:15pm, but I needed the pizzas earlier. I called the store and they assured me they can deliver my order by 11:45am the following morning (add a note and call to confirm if you need your order by a different time). Other than that slight hiccup, placing an order online was easy. My pizza order arrived on time, with Mamma Lucia texting me when my ordered arrived. This was my first time trying pizza from here, and it was pretty good. My coworkers agreed! We ordered cheese, pepperoni, and combo (choose 3 toppings- I chose pepperoni, meatballs, and mushrooms) pizzas. They were all NY-style pizza- slices were large/wide enough to fold, thin crust, and crispy yet chewy at the same time. My favorite was definitely the combo pizza. I was expecting the meatball to like look an actual meatball, but it was a thin slice of meat that almost looked liked gyro meat. Two sizes are available (14" and 18"). They mentioned an 18" was a large when I asked, but seemed more like an XL. Either way, the pizza was delicious! Great service and good pizza from this Mamma Lucia location. I'd definitely order from them again.

Jonas was our server this evening and he set the tone for a most wonderful homecoming! Mamma Lucia is our favorite Italian restaurant in the nation, when we used to live in Bethesda; and having been all over the USA during my travels as a freelance consultant, now living in the OC for the past 14 years. But this is still home sweet home for us when come to the DMV and we want Fettuccine Bolognese and its awesome sauce! Jonas was so thoughtful to put the serving on 2 plates so it was easy for us to share and split the meal, because the portions are so big. A delight to talk with the owner too, the story of this restaurant's love for its delicious cooking is legendary!

Pizza was bland and flavorless. Shrimp in linguine in a lemon and garlic sauce had little lemon Zero Garlic and a bowl of pasta water. INEDIBLE

The pizza was amazing. I mean so delicious. Get some extra sauce to dip it in. The staff was great. Very friendly.

The food, service, and ambiance of this place is amazing. Love the staff, love the food. I am from Pittsburgh and visit here occasionally. This is a must-go every time we come. Please come here if you want good Italian, some good characters, and a great time. VERY GOOOODDDD!!!!

The food here is perfectly fine. I got the fettuccine bolognese and my partner ordered the tilapia francaise. Both were tasty. The poor overall review is due to two other factors. First, when we walked into the restaurant, all three of the staff members present ignored us, choosing instead to carry on a conversation at the expense of proper customer service. Second, this restaurant charges a "privilege of dining with us" surcharge. That's obnoxious. Even more obnoxious, they do NOT disclose that surcharge until the check arrives. We will NOT be going back despite enjoying the food.

Good Italian food for Good prices (@lunch) when shopping in Bethesda. We have eaten here before and it was a larger store then. I had a review but it must have been lost or deleted when the store downsized. I had the Meat mania $16. A good mix of vegetables and meat with a light tomato flavor. My wife had her favorite Salmon Piccata $16 and ate it all up. My daughter had the chicken Francess that is in a similar lemon sauce as the piccata. All of it was very good as usual and definitely is a great place to get some Italian food when in Bethesda.

Great food, atmosphere and staff! Jeff was awesome and a great conversationalist to make our experience absolutely top notch.

it saddens me to have post this comment because I used to come here so much before my experience today. I enjoy the food here, the problem is I was racially profiled and accused of not paying for a fountain drink by an employee who had no knowledge of what I just paid for. she rudely came over to me thinking I was stealing the drink for whatever reason, then said "that will be $2.50" this is after she was the one who handed me the cup. another worker cashed me out before she even came along. they just forgot my cup. after I told her that I already paid and asked her to relax, she tried to play it off as a joke. saying "I was just playing, I knew you already paid" if that's the case what was all that for? this happened in Bethesda, Md on Elm st. I work in the area but I'm not from the area. I will never return after feeling so belittled.

The food was INCREDIBLE! So delicious and hot! It is 100% real Italian food! The service was wonderful too. Everyone was friendly and pleasant. I would come back here time and time again. Good job Mamma Lucia team!

My daughter and I went there after a movie to grab a slice before heading home, it was empty make sense Superbowl weekend. Order 2 slice beer and a juice, it was ok, what made me write a review was the owner Jeff attitude towards us. We finished our pizza sat there and wanted to talk to my daughter about the movie we just saw, while drinking my beer, and she drank her juice and I hear the owner from far away" you can't take the beer out of here", in a arrogant tone. wasn't planning too, I'm a grown ass man, I know the law about public drinking, he was very arrogant, never apologize when I spoke out just started talking to his employees. Made me annoyed, arrogant owner, don't care about their customers, maybe he was having a bad day, but we weren't Just trying to enjoy our night..Our waitress was great though maybe she can teach him some customer service.

I frequent Mamma Lucia 2 sometimes 3 times a week since last year. The food is delicious. My favorite dishes are chicken parmigiana, lasagna, and chicken francese. The slices of pizza are perfect too always nice and hot. I love the people working there as I have gotten to know them well. Jeff and Jordan are great and always make me laugh. The waitress and waiters are great and always friendly too! There are a lot of Italian restaurants in downtown Bethesda but Mamma Lucia is my go-to spot!!

Mamma Lucia is a great place for dinner. Good-sized portions and excellent service can be found here.

We come here now on a regular especially when we have great weather. We always sit outside and the service is great. We always have the Lasagna because this location serving size is pretty reasonable and tasty. The owner always makes it his business to speak to his customers. This establishment's service and hospitality makes one feel quite at home.

Carbonara was very good. Food came out super hot. Portions were large. Service was fast and ambiance was night, brightly lit. Good value.

DELIVERY REVIEW: Good customer service from Reid, from start to finish over the phone ensuring our staff luncheon was a successful one. He gave me nothing but positive vibes & pleasantries while I requested special accommodations for some of the staff...including me. With ordering six (6) different selections, Reid made it an easy task for me. The delivery person Mike came right on time & asked if anything else was needed before he left. Reid even made a follow up as well. STAFF REVIEWS OF THEIR MEALS: Gamberetti Alfredo aka Shrimp Scampi over Fettuccine - VERY GOOD. Salmon Piccatta over Spinach tossed in a Lemon Caper Sauce & Spaghetti aglio e olio = Garlic, Olive Oil, Parsley & Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese - NEEDS MORE SEASONING OVERALL, SALMON WAS COOKED JUST RIGHT. Two (2) Orders of Salmon Rose with modifications; No Rose Sauce, tossed in Olive Oil, Lemon, Garlic & Vegan Cheese over Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) - DELICIOUS FROM BOTH ME & COUNTERPART. Steak & Cheese Sub - Lettuce, Tomato, Mayonnaise Onions & Cheese - TASTED MORE OF THE CHEESE THEN THE STEAK & SOMEWHAT BLAND...THE FRENCH FRIES MADE UP FOR IT. Fried Risotto Balls - Italian Rice Balls stuffed with Ground Beef, Mozzarella Cheese, coated with Panko Crumbs & side of Marinara Sauce - TASTY CREATION & THE SAUCE WAS MADE JUST RIGHT. TO NOTE SHE'S 8 MONTHS PREGNANT SO HER TASTEBUDS WON'T LIE LOL. Bruschetta with Olive Oil & No Cheese - NEEDED MORE GARLIC SEASONING. Regular Bruschetta - BREAD WAS BASTED & TOASTED WELL, CAN TASTE THE FRESH TOMATOES BUT NEEDS MORE GARLIC SEASONING. Side Nuggets: Each meal was packaged in a plastic container with the description on the lid, plenty of plates & utensils with individuals bags for take home. Overall my team was happy to have Italian food over the per usual ordering of Chinese Food. Thank you Reid for your great customer service via telephone, preparation & delivering to par.

Great service and delicious food. Ordered a catering order there and food was delicious. Pasta penne was great and the cheese ravioli was amazing. A+ highly recommended.

We love their pizza, but the takeout or delivery is always underdone. I understand that most pizza places are slammed on Friday and Saturday nights and pull the pizzas a bit early. Why is my pizzas underdone at 8:15 PM on a Wednesday night?

The worse lunch ever! I mean the fries were blah but the shrimp was so trash and extremely fishy, the kind you need a double mint for. Hoping it doesn't upset my stomach. Yuck!

I had came in earlier this week to buy dinner with my family and the food was excellent and the service was phenomenal ,a kind young lady named Cristal served me and my family with nothing but kindness and respect a great experience indeed.

My family and I either eat at the restaurant or carry out at least once a week from Mamma Lucia Bethesda for years! We love the food and the customer service. We highly recommend!!

I really love the convenience of this location when it comes to quick deliveries. They have a pretty decent menu, pizzas, pastas, salads. The pizza is good- it's pretty big and good value for the amount you get. I have noticed if you get too many toppings, the pizza doesn't seem as cooked as usual. I like their bolognese pasta, and the pesto pasta which are the two I normally get- I just wish there was consistency as there are some days the pasta is amazing, and some days it feels like it is simply drenched in oil with no flavor. I have also had Bolognese that was either extremely plain or seemed really old and dried out when I received it. A solid choice overall in Bethesda for when you need a quick lunch or dinner.

For a restaurant in Bethesda you would expect the food to be decent quality. However, that unfortunately was not the experience my two friends and I had this past week. My friends ordered an 8-sliced pizza, half barbecue chicken and half cheese. After ordering, the question of pizza sauce came up. Why is that even a question, isn't that what makes it pizza? Nonetheless, my friend's answer was yes. When the pizza came out, it was half cheese bread?? This is not what we agreed on...Like I ordered pizza, not cheese bread. The waitress said she told the chef to add sauce, but he didn't for some reason. My friend then politely asked to add sauce because who wouldn't? The waitress then proceeded to take the pizza to the chef and when she came back we were absolutely appalled. The chef simply added the sauce on top of the cheese bread. Reverse pizza? That's a new one. It wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't cold. My friend then asked for more sauce because the pizza was unfortunately dry like cardboard. Another waitress came, and then proceeded to spill the sauce all over my friend's napkin. The waitress didn't acknowledge her mistake and left. At the end of the day, you would think, you get what you paid for. For $30 pizza, I think we got a lot less for the amount we spent. Overall, I wouldn't recommend coming here when you could probably get higher quality food for a better price.

Not sure why there's so many bad reviews on Yelp for this restaurant but I noticed most of those were the takeout orders. However, my review is for the in dining experience! The service and food here was really nice, the food tasted super freshly made and our server checked up on us from time to time which was super helpful. We started off with the the mommas meatball appetizer, and this thing is HUGE for an appetizer, but it was super delicious, the cheese, the meat, and the bread was a wonderful combo. My partner got the chicken francese since we rarely find it in any Italian restaurant which I was able to try and it was AMAZINGLY delicious. The flavor was so vibrant, the chicken was so tender, and the side penne pasta had amazing flavor as well. I got the ground veal spaghetti and it was amazing as well! The sauce was piping hot so you know that it was freshly cooked. The portions at this restaurant are HUGE, they give a good amount for your buck and I will definitely come back to eat here again!

I recently visited Mamma Lucia with my daughter and would totally recommend. the food Is delicious, stuff very nice and owner was very friendly and gave some complimentary pizza with Mac and cheese on top for my daughter who absolutely loved it. Will definitely come back

This is part of the lunch portion of Fettuccine Bolognese with a meatball. The taste is 5 stars. Very fresh. Better than Maggiano's, which used to be my favorite. The bread is also very yummy. Tastes like pizza bread. The chefs/cooks aren't trained in the fine art of draining excess oil. that is the only downside. And there is a lot of oil also in the take out container.