Recommends

pianoguy34

Joined 4 years ago

Attentive, Friendly Service Stands Out. My lady friend and I frequent the Macaroni Grill in Edina at least once monthly, often two or three times per month. We both love the friendly, efficient service, the fun atmosphere and, most importantly, the food. She is a fan of the seafood linguini (they were happy to bring us cappelini, instead of linguini). I like that dish too, which we sometimes share. Also, various pasta dishes.....penne with chicken, cappelini tre pomodoro, etc. are fine. My one personal negative is that the food, like almost all restaurants, tastes somewhat too salty, and often too buttery-rich as well. But I (we) are happy there. The waiters (mostly young, enthusiastic and friendly young men) are eager to make the meal a good experience. And....they succeed!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Performing chefs cook up rustic, home-style Italian entrees at this buzzing family restaurant.. In Short
A boisterous, all-ages crowd of pasta lovers pack this energetic Italian spot, where chefs clad in white hats and red scarves keep diners wide-eyed by showing their moves in the busy open kitchen. The menu boasts family-sized portions of hearty traditional fare, from antipasti, chicken and pasta dishes to seafood, steak and wood-fired pizzas. Signature plates include grilled pork chops, lobster ravioli, and penne rustica with shrimp, grilled chicken and smoked prosciutto in cream sauce.

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gte081h

Joined 7 years ago

best pasta dishes!. i am a vegetarian and found this place to have lots of yummy pasta combinations and salads. my penne was made with arabbiata sauce [good spicy] caramelized onion, asparagus, pine nuts, and fresh mozarella. yumm..mmm comfort food with class. serving was good for 2. didnt get to try dessert, too full. will definitely go back..

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jesusofnazareth

Joined 7 years ago

Surprising. Our regular group of six gathered here on Friday 3 November. I call this review "surprising" - for me at least - because the first three times I had eaten at Macaroni Grill (not this one), the pasta preparations were, let's say, passable. This time the provender was quite good. Surprise!

None of my previous visits, including this one, was my choice. I had the impression that this might be a place for people who like unadventurous Italian food but whose principal purpose was getting stuffed. I now must modify this probably snobbish view.

My memory has already faded about other people's choices, even my own wife's, so I'll address only mine. The fried calamari appetizer was fine, on a par with other such omnipresent squid preparations, but having had a number of these offerings in and around the Twin Cities, I've now concluded that restaurants in and around Seattle where I lived for some time do it better. There's a tendency around here for the batter to overwhelm the squid. I ask: Which is the main ingredient? The squid or the fried stuff?

I selected a bleu cheese, walnut, red onion salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Very nice and very nice size.

The entree was excellent: Lobster ravioli with shrimp and a sauce which complemented both wonderfully. If I had this dish at any of the area's most highly reputed Italian restaurants, I would've been just as pleased. Well, not quite, because it would've run around $25; here is was, I believe, $17.

The tiramisu was very good, but a bite I had of someone else's chocolate cake was ambrosial, although I should admit to being a chocoholic, which may have biased my judgment.

The only slight disappointment of the evening was the house Chardonnay. We didn't expect much for the price ($4.25 per glass), but we did expect it to have just a bit of body. Alas, it was watery, although we still had no difficulty sloshing it down.

Our waitress was friendly and very competent.

Doesn't Recommend

mauler73

Joined 11 years ago

AVOID!!!!. We ordered takeout from this dump back in January and for the $$, were given small portions and bland food. the only good thing was the bread! AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! If there was a HELL NO! in recommendations, I would select that option!

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p3st38

Joined 11 years ago

Excellent Service!. The service at this place was excellent, even though it took a while for the food to arrive I had the lobster ravioli which was delicious. My girlfriend ordered a steak medium well and when it came out bloody the server was right there offering to fix it. Seconds later the manager was at our table apologizing and paying for both of our meals. The server returned with a complimentary ceaser salad for her while she waited for another steak. When the right steak came it too was very delicious. We will definitely come back.