I miss this place. Mama Melrose shut down earlier this year (on May 10, 2025, to be exact) to make way for the Monsters, Inc.–themed reimagining of this area of the park. And while it might not have been the most consistent meal on property, when it was good it was excellent—with steaks that were better than they had any right to be and pasta that could do battle with the best of them.
The unofficial backstory was fun, too. Mama Melrose had made her way from Sicily to California to chase dreams of stardom, but her cooking ended up being more of a draw than her acting chops, and, in the end, she turned to her real talent—cooking—serving meals to her showbiz friends that were a mashup of her Italian roots and her California location. All with a background soundtrack that appropriately ran the gamut from California Dreamin’ to Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.
It was a hidden gem for sure. Over time, I’m sure I’ll forget any mediocre meals I had there and remember only the fun cast members and the times when the menu shocked me with how genuinely great the food could be.
I took this on the very last day of Muppet*Vision 3D. Settings were simple enough: 105mm, 1/60 second, f/2.8, and ISO 1600.