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Maggiano's Little Italy
Tips for Maggiano's Little Italy
great food, unbelievable service!. I went to Maggiano's for the first time because I found out they served gluten-free pasta. At first it took a bit for someone to approach our table and give us our menus but once we did the service was excellent from there on. The manager came over and spoke to me about the menu and assured me that there would be no cross-contamination on my food. All of their sauces were also gluten-free which was wonderful! I would DEFINETLY recommend this resturant to anyone and will for sure be returning for some more yummy food! Thanks Maggiano's!!
Family-friendly restaurant serves up enormous portions of southern Italian favorites in a nostalgic setting..
In Short
Family-style portions and red-checkered tablecloths create a casual, congenial vibe, drawing families and large groups to this feast of Italian-American nostalgia set to a Sinatra soundtrack. The made-from-scratch menu is brimming with traditional dishes, from starters like fried calamari, Parmesan garlic bread and Tuscan-style mussels to spaghetti with meatballs and manicotti with chicken and spinach. For those with room to spare, a piece of sweet tiramisu and a strong cappuccino help finish the meal.
COME HERE for a good time. My friends and I experienced the best the city has to offer at Maggianos Little Italy. Our server was very attentive and incredibly helpful with choosing some of the finest food on the menu. The portions were huge. The bread was tender. We never lacked for water. Our favorite part was when a baker emerged from the kitchen and offered us free carrot cake, fresh out of the oven. The bill was surprisingly low. And we took home enough leftovers to feed an army. Not for lack of flavor, our tummies were just too full. Six thumbs up (there were three of us). Thanks Maggianos, for bringing culture and taste into our lives. Oh yeah, the lighting really set the mood.
A white table cloth experience without the price of downtown dining. Loved it! We had the crab cake appetizer, which rivaled some of the best in the city (Oceanaire), at half the price. Our past portions were delicious and substantial (cheese ravioli and the sausage/ziti entree). Our server, Megan, was attentive and gracious. We will definitely visit Maggiano's again!
Horrible Service by both Server and Management!!. What was supposed to be an enjoyed birthday dinner for my husband with our entire family turned out to be a huge disappointment. I have been a server for years, always tip well, NEVER complain nor do I write horrible reviews but this one needed to be done. The service was S-L-O-W and absolutely horrible. The bus boys by far are the best staff they have. We were treated like cheap idiots when half of our table wanted family style the other half wanted individual meals. The server needed to "get permission" from the management for us to order individual meals and was once again treated like trash. It took a whole half an hour to take our drink orders and when I finally stopped the server in his tracks to take our drink order I myself had to go around the table and ask what everyone wanted to drink while he stood there writing down our orders. For as trashy as we were treated when I ordered a Chopin Martini the server had no idea what Chopin was. To top things off the tip was wrote in for us on the receipt. Can you believe that??? In the servers own writing and with his pen he wrote in the tip on my receipt. Unreal. I will NEVER go back again, it's a shame the place was busy. All they are out to do is make money...
Great Italian Atmosphere. I've been to Maggiano's many times and I must say I have not been disappointed once. This joint is always packed and I can see why. The food is great and the atmosphere is great. There's a cozy, nostalgic feel to this restaurant; it makes you feel like you're having dinner in an Italian family's dining room. The music, the portraits on the wall and the heaping plates of food just create that certain ambience that keeps me coming back for more. The service is great. I have no complaints about this place! I highly recommend the chicken parmesean with a side of fettucine alfredo ..it's my fave :)
Allergies. When you walk in to Maggianos you can't help but feel that a great meal is coming your way. The service was execellent, not only because thay were on top of everything, but they had such insight on how everything was prepared. I have a Gluten allergy, so instead of treating me like an outsider, they treated me like a Queen.They had the Chef come out and describe what he can do for me to ensure I would be safe to eat what he made. They have gluten free pasta that is not on the menu for people like me. The server told me that the chef visits every table that has an allergy. Even though it was extremely busy, the restaurant seem to run like a fine tuned machine. I could go on about my experience, but the bottome line is. Somebody finally got it right in Edina.
Fantasy world..
As Lynne Rossetto Kasper said, it is easy to get away with poor Italian food just because tomato and pasta, no matter how poorly done can still be ok. By all means, it beats a lot of other culinary experiences that can be had in town and it can also be enjoyable especially with a crowd. When you accept that it is a fairly inexpensive fantasy world, then it is ok.
Yet let's not kid ourselves that it is good italian food. It is average to mediocre bland food with too much sauce and too many unblended flavors (especially garlic, as sadly so common for many so called Italian restaurants). As far being Italian... well it is as close to Italian as John Wayne's movies are good descriptions of Native American culture and customs.
Enjoyable Dining Experience.
Our birthday club found Maggiano's to be excellent. The food was good, our waiter
a star, the bus people remove dirty dishes quickly. Our glasses of were always full. The food was excellent, portions extremely large, we all needed a take out box, they remove your plate and put it in a nice container. I found the prices to be comparable.
All the servers were pleasant and we had a good time and we didn't feel rushed.
The pictures of family on the walls are entertaining. The wood work was fabulous. It is designed to be more like a family dining experience, however there seems to
be enough space between tables so you don't feel like your part of the next table.
We have found it wise to dine early on weekends, around 5:30 pm and make a reservation for large groups.
Highly Not Recommended. We didn't wait too long for a table, but when we got there, we felt like we were on display for the whole restaurant. It seemed more like cafeteria style seating. The food wasn't very good - kind of bland, especially for the price! The service was mediocre at best and the bus boys were everywhere waiting to pick up our plates the second we were done.
Maggiano's Little Italy
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