Maggiano's Little Italy

06/25/2008 Posted by Nashvillean

For anyone who said Maggiano's doesn't take reservations, yes it does, online no less, Open Table. That said, we've wanted to try Maggiano's since it was built. The atmosphere is great. The staff was nice. The appetizer was superb. The mixed cocktails were fabulous. That's it. I picked veal marsala and it was very salty. I make better marsala all the time, saute some mushrooms, saute the meat, and then simmer it in marsala (add a smattering of cream if you're feeling special). Not hard. But marsala is my benchmark for Italian. If this easy dish is that bad, how bad is the rest of it? The special menu had mac-n-cheese on it. It's made with cheese, ziti pasta, and bacon. It wasn't creamy at all; it was more of a cheese "sauce". Pancetta would've been better. The pasta was al dente, but to me, that's not mac-n-cheese. Call it something else. You would be better armed to understand if it was at least called "Italian style" mac-n-cheese. He had something with incredibly tender beef on it that he loved, disliked the sauce and pasta it was on. When he was done he said "Ok, we've tried it and we never have to come back". Yep, I agree. We have decided we'll use the bar and come in for before dinner drinks or after dinner desserts, those were hands-down great.

Pros: ambience, service, cocktails, appetizers

Cons: over salted food, improperly cooked food

06/25/2008 Posted by CryForMe

This is one of my favorite restuarants to eat at with a group, admittedly a small group, but the portions are so large you have to share. The resturant itself is lovely, the service is always great, and I've yet to try anything from the menu that I didn't like. Prices are quite reasonable for the amount of food you receive.

Pros: Service and food are wonderful

Cons: Those steps

06/14/2008 Posted by Lea21

This restaurant has the BEST chicken parmeasean in te he Nashville area! I love going for the atmosphere; they have live music most nights, but knowing that all of the food is good, I still always stick with the chicken parmeasean! I tried it once at another well known restaurant (for the way they cook in the guests view), but I was not impressed. NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO MAGIANO'S CHICKEN PARMESEAN!!!!!

Pros: Even though they don't take reservations, it is WELL WORTH THE WAIT!

Cons: It does take a while to get seated, and since they don't take reservations, it's a little bit of a drag.

04/21/2008 Posted by hdhicks

My husband and I went for a date night there. I got lasagna and my husband got shrimp pasta. Both dishes were huge so we had leftovers. We also got the spinach salad which was huge! And it was really good. We had bread and dipping oil to start with and we finished with the tiramisu and I had a cocktail. It was definitely a feast. The service was excellent and it had a relaxed feel, even though it's a big place. I think next time we go, we will bring a group for the family style because it would be nice to have a little bit of everything. You pay $25 a person and get a lot of food to share.

04/16/2008 Posted by TJU

Don't show up hungry! For some reason no one seems to be able to get Italian right down south, even in chain restaurants. I was invited to a company dinner with high hopes for Maggiano's after hearing it was decent, but ended the evening sorely disappointed. I ordered a steak medium rare, which to me means it should be red in the middle and warm. What I got was the dark side of medium, COLD and tasteless, as if it had been unseasoned, unattended on the grill, and then sat on some back table waiting to be picked up for 15 minutes. My dish was the last of 9 to arrive to the table so everyone was already eating by the time mine showed up. I would've just eaten it had it been warm but it was borderline boot-leather, so I asked for it to be redone. TWENTY MINUTES later my new dish arrived... cooked MID WELL and barely warm- AGAIN. Keep in mind this was on a Tuesday evening, not exactly a bustling shift. I tried to catch the waiter after 15 minutes of waiting for the second attempt and ask for the order to be cancelled. It was brought to the table by dessert time anyhow but he volunteered to take it off the bill without hesitation. I understand that steak is not a "traditional Italian" meal, but if you fail at steak, why would a customer come back to try anything else? Thus my evening at Maggiano's consisted of sipping a tiny pour of Riesling while nibbling on appetizer salad watching everyone else eat. I will not be back unless another business function forces me to try an encore. Here are the HIGHLIGHTS: attentive waiter, stuffed mushrooms, tiramisu, ambiance. LOW POINTS: flavorless steak, uninteresting menu, lengthy wait times for food, small pours. I'm being generous with 3 stars only because my husband & other dinner companions said their dishes were decent and did not have any issues with their order. According to others, the crabcakes were "okay" and the lasagna was "good".

Pros: Wait staff, stuffed mushrooms, tiramisu

Cons: Flavorless/overcooked steak, wait times for food

04/05/2008 Posted by tnstudent98

Do not go early for dinner unless you want stale bread from lunch served before your meal. Do not order a glass of wine unless you want a laughable pour. Do not go if you prefer quality over quantity. Do not go if you like good service and knowledgable servers. Do not go unless you had been planning on a subpar Italian buffet style meal anyway. Valentino's is great, Caesars is good, Amerigo's is alright, Maggiano's is a huge crummy chain. Avoid it unless you want to loosen your belt and shovel in the slop.

Pros: Nice silverware

Cons: Many

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

01/27/2008 Posted by cookmaster

The food is okay the portions are very large, my issue was the waitress would not come back to the table and take our drink orders, when she finally brought the bill she spilled a full glass of water on me, so I got to ride home soaking wet! I think Betty Ford is running the bar!

Pros: Portions, wine portions and value, valet

Cons: service is slow and getting a drink is an act of congress, also no reservations after 5:00 pm

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

01/13/2008 Posted by furrynurse

I absolutely love this restaurant. From the wonderful selection of food to the atmosphere of the restaurant itself you cannot go wrong with Maggianos. It is pretty much a guarantee that you will leave here with a full stomach and a doggie bag. This restaurant is great to bring a group of people to split the family special. Only drawback is the wait time to get in if you don't have a reservation- so definitely make one. Maggianos is always at the top of my list for special occasions.

Pros: Great food and ambiance

Cons: Sometimes have to wait a little bit, even with reservations

11/20/2007 Posted by bmacysu

Bad experience…the food was second-rate; several dishes were bland & tasteless, so the large portions were worthless. The service was just fair, wait staff was not friendly and the tables were so close together they could not “serve” us. Waiters had to reach across people to pour water and we had to pass the entrees we ordered to each other. Guess they expect everyone to do family style. This is very poor quality Italian food certainly not . My Italian mother-in-law can doctor-up Ragu sauces to taste better than this food. We will not go back and could never recommend this to others.

Pros: Big Portions

Cons: Bad Food

11/02/2007 Posted by melba55

Worst Italian I ever ate, won't ever go back. So sad, beautiful building, fairly nice wait staff, but the food is awful. Save yourself the time and trouble - go to Amerigo's instead.

Pros: Not enough to mention

Cons: The food is awful, too heavy, way over rated.