Each semester, students in HM 430 collaborate and gain hands-on hospitality experience by hosting a series of themed dinners.

The course is a senior-level capstone class required for all hospitality management majors. This fall semester includes eight dinner themes, each held twice.

Two of our staffers secured reservations for “Mamma Mia! Sailing Through Santorini: You can Dance, You can Dine!” Here’s what they thought.

Reservations

Ella: I was so excited when Tia and I secured reservations to Cafe Laura, and the restaurant definitely met my high expectations. From the moment we arrived, the service was great. They kindly sat us, even though we were 30 minutes early. None of the food took too long, and it was all delicious.

Tia: I was so excited we got reservations; most were booked, so next time we will have to be faster! The dining room was decorated super cute and beachy. Every person working was very kind.

Appetizers

Ella: To start, we got both appetizers available: Three Dad’s Trio and Super Trooper Spanakopita. Both were really good. The dipper trio was out of my comfort zone but still delicious, and I was absolutely in love with the Spanakopita.

Tia: It was my first time having Spanakopita and I thought it was really good. But, honestly, it was a very small portion for the price. Both appetizers were really good, and we finished them very fast.

Salads

Ella: After we finished appetizers, our waitresses took our plates and brought each of us a bread roll and a mini salad. I loved the roll, of course, who doesn’t love bread and butter? But the salad wasn’t my cup of tea, so I didn’t finish it to save room for the rest of my food.

Tia: I didn’t know they were giving us a salad, so I was happy, and I loved it. It had a really nice oil dressing, and there wasn’t too much. Perfect ratio.

Entree

Ella: For my main course, I got the “Sail Away Salmon.”

I’m always worried when ordering fish, but honestly this was delicious. In my humble opinion, it was really well seasoned and perfectly cooked. It also came with roasted potatoes and a mixture of greens and squash. I’m not a huge squash person, so I didn’t try those, but the roasted potatoes were okay.

For me, they were a little too soft and not cut as small as I’d like, but still okay. I got a funny look when I asked for ketchup.

Tia: For my main course, I ordered the “Feta Takes It All.” I really wanted the “Gimme Gimme Gyros” from their online menu, but they didn’t have it on their in-person menu.

“Feta Takes It All” was pasta tossed in a creamy spinach sauce with cherry tomatoes, red onions, and crumbled feta. I don’t think the sauce was creamy. It was actually very lemony, but I did really like it.

It was a very good portion, and the red onions were great, not too overpowering.

Dessert

Ella: There were two dessert options, and even as someone who LOVES dessert, neither really caught my eye. We ended up getting the Baklava to share, and although it was tasty, I was already full enough that I didn’t eat much of it.

Tia: Neither of the desserts were calling my name. I felt like there was not much creativity going on at the end of the menu. The woman next to me ordered the lemon pound cake, and it looked exactly like the one you order from Starbucks.

So I didn’t want us to buy something we could get from Starbucks for cheaper. I talked Ella into the Baklava; it was weirdly cold and wet but really good. I ended up finishing all the Baklava.

Overall

Ella: Everything was really good, and the fact that the entire night was put on by students was really impressive. Anyone who hasn’t tried the themed dinners at Cafe Laura yet should definitely try to snag a reservation before they graduate.

Tia: It was really good! Not many students know about the Cafe Laura themed dinners, but I think more people should know about them! It was really yummy. Ella and I will be back for another review!