Ma Raffa's - New Bedford, MA

We were on our way to see Your Theatre, Inc.’s production of The Brighton Beach Memories by Neil Simon and wanted to find a restaurant that was close to the theater.  A local restaurant search on my Android phone showed a few places in the area, including Ma Raffa’s on Rockdale Ave.  Having never been here (I have been to the one in Somerset), I thought we should give it a try.  Unfortunately if I had time to do a little research I would have found a coupon to use (there was a coupon for “Buy One Meal Get One Absolutely Free” – up to $6.99 in my mailbox the day before but I hadn’t glanced through the flyer to cut it out yet – I found it the next morning). Based on my experience at Ma Raffa’s, I did not cut out the coupon for use during another visit but did cut out a few others to use at some other restaurants.

We arrived just after 6:30 p.m. and I immediately noticed how loud it was inside and all of the waitresses appeared to be rushing around. Although the dining area was full, we did not have to wait for a table so I knew we would have no trouble making it to the theater in time for the 8:00 show.  Not the best ambiance, but we would make do.

The waitress asked us if she could take our drink order.  They didn’t have a full bar but rather a   “limited bar” as she called it.  The “limited bar” didn’t have coconut rum.  That’s a problem!  Just a Diet Pepsi ($1.99) for me, then!  My husband ordered a Sam’s Seasonal draft ($3.95).

The beverages arrived rather quickly and the waitress asked if she could take our order. I barely had a chance to look at the menu and was feeling very rushed.  I asked for a few more minutes to look over the menu. After looking at all of the choices, I thought that the Chicken Marsala ($10.49) sounded pretty good and settled on that.  My husband ordered the Chicken Parmigiana ($9.99) which came with a side of spaghetti, ziti or French fries.  He chose the fries.

While waiting for our meals, I decided I should have ordered a dinner salad to eat before my meal arrived. It took me a few minutes to get the waitresses attention, but when I did, I ordered the salad.  Instead of the typical Italian dressing, I opted for Blue Cheese.  The salad was a basic salad with iceburg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, black olives, and loads of onions on top.  I had barely eaten half of the salad when the meals arrived.

Chicken Marsala

My Chicken Marsala did not look like Chicken Marsala at all.  It was basically three breaded chicken fingers and a whole lot of button mushrooms on top of a bowl of ziti drenched in a pool of garlic and olive oil. There was maybe a small hint of Marsala wine, but not enough to call this dish Chicken Marsala. The garlic wasn’t even fresh but rather minced garlic that comes in a jar.

Pool of
Garlic and Olive Oil

The Chicken Parmigiana that my husband ordered was made with the same breaded chicken fingers but in a dish with tomato sauce and melted cheese. He didn’t complain about his meal but I had a taste and the sauce was not very flavorful. This wasn’t a dish that I would have been happy about.  The frozen French fries that he got on the side didn’t compliment this meal, either.

 

This was definitely not a great meal experience but we paid our bill (total was $32.33 plus tip) and were out by 7:30 – in plenty of time to get to the play!