Mama Melrose's has been a family staple for years. I still have Christmas card photos from the 90's of my sister and I posing with the fake snowman by the Christmas store next door, so we have seen A LOT of menu changes come in and out of this Italian Kitchen.
This review is going to be on my last two visits both being excellent. (If only for the bread. This seems to be a theme with me).
Let us actually start out with the bread. The bread is Dairy-Free/Vegan as is and is a standard dinner roll but it's the Olive Oil that makes it. Your server will bring you out a small dish COVERED in dry Italian herbs and seasonings and then pour Olive Oil into the plate and then it's just up to you to mop up as much as you can before the other people at the table do. It's truly a race for time.
For my appetizer I was offered the Insalata di Mercato ($11) minus the cheese, however on my previous visit the salad was amazing, with Butternut Squash, a whole bunch of vegetables and this Lemon Tarragon dressing which was to die for but unfortunately on my most recent visit, no such thing was available. It was just a standard garden salad this time around with tomato and cucumber so I opted to skip out. But do remember to ask 'cause you never know what it could be.
They also have flatbreads on the menu and vegan cheese so ask your server if the pie you are interested in can be modified to be 100% Dairy-Free with the change of cheese. I know the Mushroom Flatbread ($15) definitely can and that comes with Roasted Cremini and Button Mushrooms, a Roasted Vidalia Onion Spread and is finished with Balsamic Reduction and Fresh Herbs. The Fontina and Asiago will need to be subbed with Vegan Cheese but other then that, you're good.
The Plant-Based Arancini ($13) is also a safe bet as it's a vegan dish served with Gazpacho Salad with Fennel Gastrique, Coconut-Cucumber Cream, and Sriracha Emulsion. I ,however, was feeling a bit under the weather so I opted to go with the Vegetarian Minestrone ($8). This is not listed as safe on the Allergy-Friendly Menu but after consulting with a Chef he explained that the tomato broth they use to use contained whey but they recently started making their own broth in house and it is now Dairy-Free! Yay Mama Melrose! And it was delicious.
For dinner, on my previous visit, I was dying to try the Plant-Based Polenta Cake ($19) which is served over a Herb Cauliflower with Sautéed Mushrooms, Spinach, and Red Peppers with a Cashew-Cheese Sauce. And yes, it's as delicious as it looks and sounds. The only thing is it's still a heavy dish with the amount of sauce they give you but it's just so good and vegan and dairy-free as is.
On my most recent visit, I wanted a pasta dish more than anything and anyone who knows me knows my weakness is seafood pasta. Especially if they are in a spicy tomato sauce. The
Seafood Fra Diavolo ($25) is served with a very healthy portion of Shrimp, Mussels, Calamari and White Fish over Spaghetti tossed in a Fra Diavolo sauce. This was also not on the Allergy-Friendly Menu but Chef assured us once again, it was A-okay. But REMEMBER to always double-check and alert your server to any allergies before ordering as things are subject to change.
For dessert you COULD get the Lemon Sorbet ($6) but why, when there's a vegan Cappuccino Affogato ($9) on the menu?
*Note the presentation was not the best on this particular day but don't judge a book by it's a cappuccino cup. This is served with Layers of Chocolate Espresso and Cashew Custard, Almond Brittle & Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans. Tiny, but powerful. Probably my favorite dessert after the cake from Coral Reef.
Other restaurants really need to step it up with the desserts or I'm just going to keep going to the same two.