Diane (10 October 2007)

For our first restaurant review as the new Owners of Poole Bay Watch Magazine we were invited to Ma’s Pizza & Pasta in Poole High Street to put the new £9.95 menu to the test!

Having never previously been to Ma’s, we weren’t sure what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised to find light, airy surroundings and a nice ambience. The evening menu offers a starter, main course and drink for only £9.95, with a wide range of options to choose from, including four vegetarian dishes.

For our starters, Martin opted for Mozzarella E Pomodoro - Slices of Buffalo Mozzarella and tomato oven baked on Ciabatta bread. I chose Gamberetti - King Prawns cooked in a tempura batter, served with a sweet chilli dippng sauce. Both starters were colourful and appetising. We were particularly impressed with the prawns, which were huge and piping hot!

For the main course, Martin chose the 10” Ma’s Special Pizza, which was topped with salami, spicy beef, mushrooms, red onion and mixed peppers. He was really impressed, not only with the value, but because the toppings were added in the perfect amounts to create a genuinely tasty pizza!

I opted for Penne Pollo al Forno, which is an oven baked pasta dish, with chicken, bacon, mushroom, peppers and penne cooked in a cheese sauce & topped with cheese.

Although there was barely room for dessert, we decided to put our best foot forward and order some from the main menu anyway! I enjoyed a really fantastic, light vanilla cheesecake, which was accompanied by a delicious raspberry sauce. Martin (with some encouragement from me) decided to try Ma’s Celebration Sundae. At £4.95, it was incredible value for money - quite simply it was an enormous glass of chocolate fudge cake, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and cream - fantastic!

In all, we were really impressed with the range of food available. The main menu had something for everyone and the specials board was equally appealing. The food we chose was also available on the main menu, but the £9.95 special deal meant we saved over £13.00! We felt Ma’s would be great for anyone looking for a nice meal out. It would be particularly good for groups and parties, as at £9.95 per head including a drink it is a real bargain! The restaurant is family friendly and offer free children's meals (with adults eating) on Sundays!

The £9.95 menu is available from Sunday - Thursday from 6p.m. (not available in conjunction with any other offer). Other meal choices of offer include, Spaghetti Meatballs, Mushroom, white wine, garlic, cream and parmesan fusilli pasta and more!

We visited Ma’s on a Monday, which for a ‘quieter night’ was still fairly busy and it’s not hard to see why! It is best to book ahead particularly for Fridays and Saturdays when we are told, the atmosphere is even better!