Maggiano’s Little Italy

Delicious Italian food, I would say it’s a tad pricy for dinner time. Entrees are around $ 20-​$ 30 dollars depending on what you get. As a cheap college student, I go for their buy one get one meal, it’s 13 bucks and you get a smaller portion meal of rigatoni, lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, and etc. You choose two when ordering and get to take the second one home! Their breads are yummy, you get balsamic vinegar and oil and dip the bread into it! I like to add some Parmesan to my concoction of balsamic and oil. Happy hour has great pricing. I think it’s half off all appetizers and 4 dollar flatbreads of your choosing! Quite surprisingly, they don’t skimp on the size either there during happy hour. They have an assortment or beers and wines for you choose from that has great deals! Definitely coming back for happy hour and probably my favorite happy hour on the Eastside.

Had great dinner with family today.
Menu is great with lots of choices.
Kids menu had down thing for everyone.
Pizza chicken and all sorts of noodles.
Comes with vanilla ice cream.
We even got a classic pasta to go for free.
Good food good value and cost is reasonable.
General manager came by our table to make sure we were happy with our meal. Good service.

So I went here a week or two after the Noro virus outbreak (without knowing — no i don’t live in a cave, I just don’t like the news because it’s depressing). But 12 hours later I’m feeling okay and I was happy with my visit there.
We sat at the bar and was assisted by Joanne. Fast friendly service, perhaps the limited number of patrons helped with that speed, but I have no quarrels with how we were taken care of. She was very nice, joked around with us and answered so oddball questions. Our waters and drinks were always full as was our bread basket without having to ask ourselves.
The food prices here are pretty fair and the portions are always overwhelming. I had the lobster carbonara and was pleased with the lightness of the sauce but still full of flavor. A healthy serving of lobster topped it.
I didn’t get a chance to sample my friend’s plates but everyone seemed to have thoroughly enjoy their meal as there wasn’t much left to take home. We topped off the night with the dessert sampler for $ 12.95 which consisted of Tiramisu, Apple Tart ala mode, cheesecake, crème burlee and some chocolate covered brownie balls. They were all very light, not overly sweet and highly delectable.
I’ll definitely be back again!

What the heck happened?
Maggiano’s was a reliable Italian style restaurant. Now it is 3-​time disappointment with last night being our last visit. There are too many other options to spend my restaurant dollars, even in this price range.
The good:
We’ve always like the theme and atmosphere, our waiter last night was more than adequate, our booth was comfortable, the front desk welcoming and swift to seat us, the restaurant appeared to be clean, bright and ready, the chop salad was delish as always and a generous portion.
The not so good:
Our entrées sat far too long before being served. Had we not been famished I would have sent them back. The Chef Mann’s Country-​Style Pasta and the Chicken Saltimbocca had cooled but were still warm, not hot.
The Chef Mann’s meatballs were overcooked and dry, the pasta cool and sticky. The Chicken Saltimbocca sauce had started to set, the chicken was over cooked, leather tuff.
The by the glass wine selection was good, but the 9 oz pour cost was more than a bottle at a wine shop.
We really want Maggiano’s to be OK for its convenience, price point, atmosphere etc. and have enjoyed many good experiences there but it has become the eastside spaghetti factory. Sadly we are forced to dine elsewhere. Hopefully the Lincoln Center expansion will provide new opportunities and just maybe force Maggiano’s to right the ship.

Maggianos lives up to its name and brand.
AMBIENCE: They have country music or blues playing in the background. Good music to keep you entertained yet not too harsh to make you raise your voice just to converse. Their music compliments their décor. Tables with checked table covers, wooden chairs, low hanging small chandeliers, black booths, friendly servers, old aged black and white pictures hanging in wooden frames… this place has a good vintage feel to it.
SERVICE: They serve with a smile almost always. But then there are long waiting lines at the prime time but since they are open until 10 pm everyday except Fri and Sat when they close at 11 pm, you can go in a little late to skip the long waiting lines. They also have open bar seating so you can try your luck there too.
FOOD: Their food is really good. Is it authentic? Well not so much but I really do love their bruschetta. Their pastas are good and they always have great specials for classic pastas and meals for 2 etc. What I miss is risotto. Not a single rice dish on the menu :(
Almost everyone keeps coming back here. So do I.