Macaroni Grill

05/15/2008 Posted by summerall

I am a frequent flier to this area and have ate at this resturant previously. This chain is popular in our home town. We have had dinner here before and were not impressed. Last night we deciced to try again as it was close to our hotel and we are familiar with the menu. My boyfriend was in the bathroom for an hour last night, and his stomach was still upset this morning. I am kinda glad i just had salad. I gave 2 stars for the SERVICE only. 1st dinner= food was bland and over cooked, 2nd = got sick.. dont think there will be a third.

Pros: service

Cons: food

03/10/2008 Posted by ajohnsen1

Mac Grill, is mediocre at best. I give it a lower score cause it's a chain. I was forced to go here for lunch one day by my boss and it wasn't very good. We had the calamari app and it was still cold from being frozen and over seasoned to try and cover the freezer burn. I then had a pasta dish with a white sauce, capers, chicken, sun dried tomatoes and something else and it wasn't very good. The chicken was way over done and the sauce needed a good amount of salt and pepper to actually taste, which surprised me compared to their calamari. GET OUT there people, try something different, try something local at least then you know it's going into a hard working neighbor's pocket rather than some huge company or rich local guy.

Pros: Paper on the tables with crayons to distract you from their food!

Cons: Mediocre food and way to big for it's own good.

12/01/2007 Posted by jonathono2000

I did the build your own pasta dish thing, cool right? Wrong! My pasta came with a one inch puddle of olive oil in the bottom of it and few flecks of basil floating around somewhere in there (I couldn't taste it). It was basically an olive oil soup. I would rather have done shots of motor oil. And to top it off they have some douche with a Donny Osmond-esque coif pretending to sing opera. Goofy haircut plus a musical theater stint in high school does not a tenor make. You would be better off with a can of Chef Boyardee.

Pros: You could trick a typical suburban white girl into thinking this was a fancy place.

Cons: I have smelled better dog doo-doo,

09/15/2007 Posted by drlsubaru

I am a server at this particular Macaroni Grill. First of all, to the genius that compared us to Maggiano's: We are owned by the same company, use the same ingredients, and have roughly the same menu. Maggiano's has more ambiance. That's the only real difference. the lowdown on the Mac Shack is this: If you like decent Americanized Italian food and don't want to pay a ton, this is a good place to go. It can get a little noisy what with the kids running around, and us having an open kitchen so if you're looking for something quiet, you might want to go elsewhere. And on a personal note... For those of you who don't know, ESPECIALLY those of you from out of the country, waitstaff make roughly $3.30 an hour and depend almost completely on your tips as a living wage.

Pros: Affordable, kid friendly

Cons: A little tacky

07/11/2006 Posted by LLC273

Took a friend for her birthday and a waiter sang happy birthday in Itialian in an operetic voice. Wonderful!

02/06/2003 Posted by jayhawker108

very good food, well worth the money and drive, I would reccomend this to anyone looking for a good meal for not too much money.

01/26/2003 Posted by Invertigo

It was my first time there, and I was very pleased with it... Our waiter was kind of interesting, but overall, it was a very good experience!

11/17/2002 Posted by bjennings77

Doesn't hold a ligtht to places like Maggiano's or Pataleoni's. Prices are good but the food sometimes is only so-so.

Pros: usually quick service

Cons: food is so-so

09/18/2002 Posted by munchkun1369

WE LOVE MACARONI GRILL. FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY OR JUST THE 2 OF US. no, IT MAY NOT BE ROMANTIC, BUT WE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO WRITE LITTLE LOVE NOTES OR DRAW HARTS ON THE TABLECLOTHS, WITH THE CRAYONS THEY PROVIDE. WONDERFUL FOOD AND SERVICE. HAVE NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED.

07/02/2002 Posted by chalicewell

Even though this is a chain, it has some of the best food around! There is a huge choice, seafood, pasta, chicken and veal. I've had veal picatta all over the country and Mac Grill has the best. Their salmon dishes are excellent and the bread is wonderful. The only downside is the seating--there are no booths, and the stone floor makes it quite noisy. You also have to watch where you are seated. If you are under a ventilator, you will freeze and food cools off quickly. Still, the food is worth it and moderately priced. A winner!

Pros: great food, good service

Cons: noisy environment