Address: 82 Darwen Street, Blackburn, BB2 2AJ.

Phone number: 01254 697237.

Lancashire Telegraph review by Caroline Dutton from December 1, 2008

WHERE do you go when you find yourself hungry in Blackburn town centre on a Thursday evening?

Not the easiest question to answer, but the pair of us settled on an Italian and headed for La Mama, Darwen Street.

I'll start with the positives. Luckily they include the food, which was delicious and came in generous portions.

The spicy meat pizza was just spicy enough and came bubbling on a home-made stone-baked base.

My companion's lasagne was declared a success.

It didn't have much pasta in it, but that was how she liked it.

And it was presented well in a traditional ceramic dish.

It's easy for Italian restaurants to be mediocre — perhaps because Italian is a style of cooking most of us have mastered to some degree at home.

But La Mama's food was above average.

The house white wine was also surprisingly smooth.

Now for the not-so-positive bits.

Most notably the decor, which was a bit jaded to say the least.

The carpet looked like it could have done with a Hoover and the place in general looked like it needed a good spring clean.

But with a prime location and charismatic manager, La Mama has all the factors needed to be a great restaurant — it just needs a lick of paint.

At £22.10 for two main courses, two large glasses of wine and a lemonade, it was reasonable value.

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