I have been to this place at least four times, and every time there has been a problem with the wait-staff. I want to say the food is good, but Sauces are exceptionally salty. The espresso tastes like it was made with cheap coffee pushed through an espresso machine... and no crema. The biscotti that comes with the espresso is quite good. And, when I was there last night, there was a young man, with a truly gorgeous voice who sang to the diners. However, the restaurant is extremely loud, has lousy acoustics, and I don't think half the diners knew there was anything special going on... so you really had to strain to hear him. I felt awkward for him, and was a little peeved with the establishment, that he would be called to perform, but not give him a light or a mic, or sound insulation, or somehow draw attention to the performer as if he wasn't an afterthought. Our server last night may have been clueless, but he took our orders wrong, called my girlfriend sir, was touching the arms of those sitting with us (after he had offended them... I'm sorry, I'm not a big fan of strangers touching me in the first place). I'd also like to state that we were charged a standard 18% gratuity, when our party consisted of 7 adults and four children. I get it... businesses do it, but our server was awful, and there is no way I felt comfortable tipping him at a higher rate. My bruschetta tasted fine. the garden salad was lovely... but wow, it was really hard to deal with the service. I'd like to say it was just a bad night, but every single time, I've been there, I've experience catastrophic issues, that made me not want to give it another chance.
(2)
Ed M.
I know this is a chain, but that's what we tend to get in Huntsville. Most of the independent restaurants don't last long because they don't have the deep pockets to get a chance to develop a following. That being said, I have always enjoyed my meals at Macaroni Grill. I am partial to the "Build Your Own" pasta dish (you have to ask), that allows you to choose from pasta, sauces, add-ins, meats, etc. House wines are served on the honor system - they leave the bottle at the table and you record how many glasses you have. The loud, boisterous atmosphere is reminiscent of many of the restaurants I've been to in Italy. Not saying it's truly authentic, but I like it.
(4)
D D.
It's a chain. Again, it's the same as Miami, DC, etc. Pretty consistent though. I like the Penne Rustica, it's a good portion.
(3)
Joseph F.
Past visits have been great, but tonight was different. Slow night, excellent service. Food however was dry and not very hot. Probably sat too long before bring served. I think Carrabbas is much better. Hope this not a typical experience as this had been a very good restaurant.
(3)
wilmer d.
i will give you five star when you have good waiters i like to go every sunday seat next to the fireplace but every sunday i got somebody diferent guys take long to bring silver wares, drinks ohhh please can you train your guys better
(3)
Christina E.
My husband and I have been multiple times and we can not get enough! It is delicious! Having had the classic little old Italian lady for a grandma along with plenty of Italian family and friends, I will admit it's not dead on perfect Italian food. But big surprise, we're in America! I've been to PLENTY of different Italian restaurants, from the average to the high end, and none compare to Grandma Toni's food! lol But for an American Italian restaurant they nailed it. The food is always delicious. The wait staff is always friendly and exceedingly helpful. They even try to make my favorite martini for me every time, even though it's not on their menu! I love them! We've never waited for a table for more than 5 minutes. Their prices are extremely fair for their expansive menu of delicious food and wonderful wait staff! The atmosphere has always been perfect. You can always hear Italian music playing just under the din of the other happy patrons. They play Italian language lessons in the bathroom, which I find adorable. Just last night one of the waiters sang Happy Birthday IN ITALIAN to the table next to us and he was great! I mean come on, how much better does it get for a fairly priced restaurant?!?! They've even made it family friendly to the point of having a paper sheet over the table cloth & giving you crayons to keep kids (and those of us young at heart :P)entertained. They've thought of eveything! :P I couldn't gush more about this restaurant. I recommend it to anyone!
(5)
Wan T.
Heavy food, but it's good. I like the fresh bread that they serve first. I usually order the Insalata Bleu salad & share an appetizer because the food here is so freakin' heavy. Last time I actually ordered a dish--got the cappellini with tomato sauce that is listed as "light fare." It was tasty & definitely lighter than the rest of the menu. Service is usually attentive. However, we did have one experience where the server was hopeless. He forgot to bring us bread & got two out of three orders wrong and then acted like he expected us to eat it anyway. He screwed up other things, too, I just can't remember what they were since I'm trying to forget the whole experience. But the food is fresh & if you eat here for lunch, you only need to eat one meal that day.
(3)
Amy B.
Poor. Waited too long to get a table and there were several open. The hostess seemed to be assigned too many other duties. Waited too long for food considering this is a chain restaurant with cookie cutter meals. Waiter appeared to be overloaded. It was not like he was lazy. Food was not good. It was barely warm. Adjacent table overheard describing overlooked, but cold food to the manager. I would guess the kitchen staff was overloaded also based on the dining room experience. The worker bees were working. Just a poorly run business. Last visit was over a year ago and I experienced the same problems. Will not go back.
(1)
Andy M.
Parking lot has some nice shade trees to park under. Not as crowded as it used to be. Bread was cooked perfectly. We ordered our steak well done. It came quickly, but was only cooked medium. For this Sunday lunch, my wife and I split a Calabrese Steak, and had 2 coffees. Total bill was $28.89. This is still a classy place. It probably deserves more business, especially at weekday lunchtime when prices tend to be lower.
(4)
Anthony D.
This place was ok. I wasnt impressed. The place was crowded and took a while to be seated which I'm sure is to be expected at a place like this. The food was just ok. I would rather have went to Olive Garden or a Ma and Pa italian spot to get my food. The sweet tea was on par for the entire city.....Not sweet. I dont know what it is about huntsville and the lack of sugar in their sweet tea. I would not visit this place again, but to each their own.
(3)
Chelley H.
The place was super packed when we were there for dinner last night. We waited 35 minutes for a table, which is a little too long when you're hungry. Our waitress did take a while to come to our table, but she apologized and explained that she was a little behind. The fresh bread was good; it was warm, had a crispy crust, and was so soft on the inside. We had the calamari fritti for appetizer. Loved it, and loved the two dips that came with it. The pasta di mare that I had was very good. Heard one of the servers telling the manager that table no. 2XX said their calamari is bad, and he thinks that it's not bad, just weird. And that they probably just didn't want it. He could have been more discreet. I don't think we should have heard that, especially while we were eating the calamari.
(3)
Kyle E.
Service: My wife and I love(d) Macaroni Grill. The food was always great, service was fantastic, and they always have a great wine selection. We have been numerous times in the past year, I would guess 10-12 times. The last 3-4 times we have been, service has progressively gotten worse. We went on April 26th for my wife's birthday and it was terrible. There wasn't a hostess to be found, there were only 2 waiters working the entire restaurant (although it was rather dead), they both saw us standing there waiting to be seated and didn't even acknowledge us. I had to hunt down the hostess just to be seated. Once seated we didn't get service for a good while, had to ask 3 times for bread (normally I don't care about asking multiple times for something if the restaurant is busy, but there were only 4 tables that were occupied), and our waiter was extremely unprofessional, it was obvious he didn't want to be there. Food: The food was great as it is every time we go. Hats off to the chef. I love the chicken Milanese and the calibre steak. Note to Management: Get your act together at this establishment or you will lose a lot of loyal customers like myself.
(2)
C. M. F.
Still no response from anyone from either Corporate or local location... I am convinced that they do not care to hear the truth... In the future I will eat berries and wild grass from the median of I-65 rather than set foot in this place.
(1)
Bob N.
A lot of other places I'd rather go for Italian but there are not many options that excite me in Huntsville. This location can handle larger groups and they are pretty good for children, they provide crayons and coloring place mats along with reasonable options for kids menu items. On my last visit we had a family meal, 6 adults with two children. The food is not awful, but there is nothing about it that makes me want to return, the Rosemary bread is a sharing loaf unsliced, tough to cut with your butter knife without handling what with be other people's pieces served with olive oil and pepper. Olive oil is fine but how about some balsamic vinegar? I asked for some, and got a dipper of salad dressing, vinaigrette. I created my own pasta dish, so if it is not good my fault, right? Pick a pasta, sauce, toppings, however it turned out spicy red pepper flakes and seeds, nothing I chose was supposed to be hot, which was by design because I don't care for spicy. On top of the spicy food I never received a drink fill which these places are usually really on top of, the staff was friendly, groups of eight are a lot to handle, so it's not a huge deal, but at the end of the day the next time the family gets together in Huntsville I'd rather try some place else.
(2)
Inspector N.
So it's just another day out in the town, so I decided that I would try out the macaroni grill.(Even though it is a chain I'm not going to hold that against them.) So we went on inside and saw the hottest and took our seats. The waiter was the usual acting nice and neutral taking our drinks and our orders in under 10 min. I ordered the Mushroom ravioli while my mother ordered the Alfredo with shrimp in it. My dish was ok but the sauce was somewhat to sweet for my taste but the after flavor was perfect. My mother's dish was VERY salty, almost to the point of adding sugar to combat the effects of its nature. I decided that a cannoli would be pretty nice to have so I ordered some.(6$ mind you for two) they were actually very small for the price I paid for them, but good none the less. Prices were high, my ravioli was very thin, but other than that it was an ok experience. Nothing too special except for what they charge.
(3)
Youa L.
My husband and I came here for Easter dinner. Being Easter, there weren't many families out. This is our first time at a Romano's Macaroni Grill. It was a pleasant experience! Their customer service is to be commended. Kristin was our waitress and Jeremy might have been the Manager. Jeremy came around twice to make sure we were doing good. Kristin had a very friendly personality and recommended some yummy dishes, upon which we ordered and really enjoyed. I had the chicken scaloppine and my husband ordered the penne rustica. I also had a side soup: Tomato Basil. If you like tomato soups, you should try this. The atmosphere is inviting as well as romantic. I tried one of the yummy moscato house wines. Overall, I would say our experience was a good one and we would definitely return!
(4)
Brandon R.
I was there Saturday night and they were out of bread...seriously, how do you not have any bread on a Saturday night? No Bruschetta, no flatbreads, no bread to have with olive oil prior to the meal. The only way this can happen is from piss-poor management and employees who don't care. Save yourself the trouble and skip this poor excuse for a Macaroni Grill. Our first clue should have been when we approached the hostess stand and the host took 3 phone calls prior to acknowledging us. No offer for a free dessert or anything to make up for the lack of any bread in the restaurant. We should have gone to Carrabba's instead like we had originally planned on...
(1)
Bill D.
Good service, but overwhelmed at lunch. We were very quickly seated and not at all pressured to order right away. We were waiting for our customer - who never showed. That happens. I requested a gluten free menu, which the charming server brought quickly. She was very knowledgeable. I did have to coach her on the salad dressings, which is not at all unusual in any restaurant. Coffee? Bleh. A little cold. What's up with that? Still, the gluten free chicken under a brick was quite nice even gluten free and as someone who triggers at trace amounts - they clearly know what they are doing here.
(3)
Keith M.
Worst service ever. Stood at reception area waiting and waiting for a hostess. Waiters would zip by, say nothing... Finally one stopped put down her plates and took me Tina seat. Said my waiter would be right with me.,. Never happened, after 15 minutes with not one person stopping to offer water, drinks or take order... I headed out. Did see the manager on way out and told him that after this long of wait, I'm out of here. Keith
(1)
Helen C.
Awful is the only word I can think of describe our experience. We went for a birthday celebration. We ordered some classic favorites as well as some new dishes. No one enjoyed their meal. My food was cold with way too much sauce on my pasta. The mozzarella sticks tasted like chicken fingers. Our server was horrible. No refills on drinks until we asked. First time I can remember leaving only a 15 percent tip. Will never go back which is sad because this used to be my favorite chain restaurant,
(1)
Liz D.
Great food and service! I didn't like that they put all the customers in one area but I understand the waiters are assigned to sections it just felt a little cramped. There was no one at the host station so we waited a little bit but once seated we got a great server Anthony who was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and food was out pretty quickly.
(4)
Brooke D.
Yes, Macaroni Grill is a chain, but I don't think that should count negatively against a restaurant. I've been to several around the country and the food is always consistently good and I always leave feeling full and happy. I've never had any complaints about the service, although they used to come out and write their names upside down on the table but they don't seem to do that anymore. Not sure why that changed, I thought it was neat. The bread is delicious and the wine list is decent. There is a good selection of each kind of wine so you should certainly be able to find something you like. I've never had something I didn't like, but my favorite menu item is the chicken scallopine. They also do to go orders really well. Call ahead and pick it up quickly.
(4)
Ven B.
Good food and great value. I'd go back again.
(4)
Mike K.
Very average, nothing special......for the same money, I prefer Carraba's...to me, this is one of those places that tries too hard to be hip/trendy.
(2)
L.A. H.
This place used to be pretty good. We would come about once a month and for birthdays, etc. Service the last 3 times has been bad, and our server was the guy training other servers...so that's a problem in itself. The food has gone downhill as well. The best part of our meal was the bread. We tried the margherita pizza, my husband and I both had one piece and opted to take it home and doctor it up the next day for lunch. We would rather have our own fresh Parmesan and basil from our garden than their wilted basil. Sad to see it go downhill. Used to be a favorite. Always loved the 1/2 off wine bottle specials, which at least they are offering all summer. We always liked their house red.
(2)
Bryan H.
I usually love this place...but this time the service wasn't all that great...but I will be back to try another day.
(3)
Gary B.
The food was great with more than adequate portions and all for a reasonable price. I wish there were still some open in CT because Macaroni Grill has sentimental appeal for me. Tonight I had the Pasta Milano with a Caesar salad and a lemon cake desert. Most of it is in the fridge as leftovers because I couldn't finish it all. Everything was excellent. I definitely recommend.
(4)
Steve H.
Good food, pleasant server. Don't go with more than 4 people. There were 7 of us and we had to wait for an hour and 25 minutes. Yes, it was Saturday at 6 pm, but I think they had plenty of opportunities to put 2 tables together.
(4)
Chelley H.
The place was super packed when we were there for dinner last night. We waited 35 minutes for a table, which is a little too long when you're hungry. Our waitress did take a while to come to our table, but she apologized and explained that she was a little behind. The fresh bread was good; it was warm, had a crispy crust, and was so soft on the inside. We had the calamari fritti for appetizer. Loved it, and loved the two dips that came with it. The pasta di mare that I had was very good. Heard one of the servers telling the manager that table no. 2XX said their calamari is bad, and he thinks that it's not bad, just weird. And that they probably just didn't want it. He could have been more discreet. I don't think we should have heard that, especially while we were eating the calamari.
(3)
Kyle E.
Service: My wife and I love(d) Macaroni Grill. The food was always great, service was fantastic, and they always have a great wine selection. We have been numerous times in the past year, I would guess 10-12 times. The last 3-4 times we have been, service has progressively gotten worse. We went on April 26th for my wife's birthday and it was terrible. There wasn't a hostess to be found, there were only 2 waiters working the entire restaurant (although it was rather dead), they both saw us standing there waiting to be seated and didn't even acknowledge us. I had to hunt down the hostess just to be seated. Once seated we didn't get service for a good while, had to ask 3 times for bread (normally I don't care about asking multiple times for something if the restaurant is busy, but there were only 4 tables that were occupied), and our waiter was extremely unprofessional, it was obvious he didn't want to be there. Food: The food was great as it is every time we go. Hats off to the chef. I love the chicken Milanese and the calibre steak. Note to Management: Get your act together at this establishment or you will lose a lot of loyal customers like myself.
(2)
C. M. F.
Still no response from anyone from either Corporate or local location... I am convinced that they do not care to hear the truth... In the future I will eat berries and wild grass from the median of I-65 rather than set foot in this place.
(1)
Bob N.
A lot of other places I'd rather go for Italian but there are not many options that excite me in Huntsville. This location can handle larger groups and they are pretty good for children, they provide crayons and coloring place mats along with reasonable options for kids menu items. On my last visit we had a family meal, 6 adults with two children. The food is not awful, but there is nothing about it that makes me want to return, the Rosemary bread is a sharing loaf unsliced, tough to cut with your butter knife without handling what with be other people's pieces served with olive oil and pepper. Olive oil is fine but how about some balsamic vinegar? I asked for some, and got a dipper of salad dressing, vinaigrette. I created my own pasta dish, so if it is not good my fault, right? Pick a pasta, sauce, toppings, however it turned out spicy red pepper flakes and seeds, nothing I chose was supposed to be hot, which was by design because I don't care for spicy. On top of the spicy food I never received a drink fill which these places are usually really on top of, the staff was friendly, groups of eight are a lot to handle, so it's not a huge deal, but at the end of the day the next time the family gets together in Huntsville I'd rather try some place else.
(2)
Ven B.
Good food and great value. I'd go back again.
(4)
Mike K.
Very average, nothing special......for the same money, I prefer Carraba's...to me, this is one of those places that tries too hard to be hip/trendy.
(2)
Andy M.
Parking lot has some nice shade trees to park under. Not as crowded as it used to be. Bread was cooked perfectly. We ordered our steak well done. It came quickly, but was only cooked medium. For this Sunday lunch, my wife and I split a Calabrese Steak, and had 2 coffees. Total bill was $28.89. This is still a classy place. It probably deserves more business, especially at weekday lunchtime when prices tend to be lower.
(4)
Inspector N.
So it's just another day out in the town, so I decided that I would try out the macaroni grill.(Even though it is a chain I'm not going to hold that against them.) So we went on inside and saw the hottest and took our seats. The waiter was the usual acting nice and neutral taking our drinks and our orders in under 10 min. I ordered the Mushroom ravioli while my mother ordered the Alfredo with shrimp in it. My dish was ok but the sauce was somewhat to sweet for my taste but the after flavor was perfect. My mother's dish was VERY salty, almost to the point of adding sugar to combat the effects of its nature. I decided that a cannoli would be pretty nice to have so I ordered some.(6$ mind you for two) they were actually very small for the price I paid for them, but good none the less. Prices were high, my ravioli was very thin, but other than that it was an ok experience. Nothing too special except for what they charge.
(3)
Youa L.
My husband and I came here for Easter dinner. Being Easter, there weren't many families out. This is our first time at a Romano's Macaroni Grill. It was a pleasant experience! Their customer service is to be commended. Kristin was our waitress and Jeremy might have been the Manager. Jeremy came around twice to make sure we were doing good. Kristin had a very friendly personality and recommended some yummy dishes, upon which we ordered and really enjoyed. I had the chicken scaloppine and my husband ordered the penne rustica. I also had a side soup: Tomato Basil. If you like tomato soups, you should try this. The atmosphere is inviting as well as romantic. I tried one of the yummy moscato house wines. Overall, I would say our experience was a good one and we would definitely return!
(4)
Brandon R.
I was there Saturday night and they were out of bread...seriously, how do you not have any bread on a Saturday night? No Bruschetta, no flatbreads, no bread to have with olive oil prior to the meal. The only way this can happen is from piss-poor management and employees who don't care. Save yourself the trouble and skip this poor excuse for a Macaroni Grill. Our first clue should have been when we approached the hostess stand and the host took 3 phone calls prior to acknowledging us. No offer for a free dessert or anything to make up for the lack of any bread in the restaurant. We should have gone to Carrabba's instead like we had originally planned on...
(1)
Bill D.
Good service, but overwhelmed at lunch. We were very quickly seated and not at all pressured to order right away. We were waiting for our customer - who never showed. That happens. I requested a gluten free menu, which the charming server brought quickly. She was very knowledgeable. I did have to coach her on the salad dressings, which is not at all unusual in any restaurant. Coffee? Bleh. A little cold. What's up with that? Still, the gluten free chicken under a brick was quite nice even gluten free and as someone who triggers at trace amounts - they clearly know what they are doing here.
(3)
Anthony D.
This place was ok. I wasnt impressed. The place was crowded and took a while to be seated which I'm sure is to be expected at a place like this. The food was just ok. I would rather have went to Olive Garden or a Ma and Pa italian spot to get my food. The sweet tea was on par for the entire city.....Not sweet. I dont know what it is about huntsville and the lack of sugar in their sweet tea. I would not visit this place again, but to each their own.
(3)
Keith M.
Worst service ever. Stood at reception area waiting and waiting for a hostess. Waiters would zip by, say nothing... Finally one stopped put down her plates and took me Tina seat. Said my waiter would be right with me.,. Never happened, after 15 minutes with not one person stopping to offer water, drinks or take order... I headed out. Did see the manager on way out and told him that after this long of wait, I'm out of here. Keith
(1)
Helen C.
Awful is the only word I can think of describe our experience. We went for a birthday celebration. We ordered some classic favorites as well as some new dishes. No one enjoyed their meal. My food was cold with way too much sauce on my pasta. The mozzarella sticks tasted like chicken fingers. Our server was horrible. No refills on drinks until we asked. First time I can remember leaving only a 15 percent tip. Will never go back which is sad because this used to be my favorite chain restaurant,
(1)
Liz D.
Great food and service! I didn't like that they put all the customers in one area but I understand the waiters are assigned to sections it just felt a little cramped. There was no one at the host station so we waited a little bit but once seated we got a great server Anthony who was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and food was out pretty quickly.
(4)
Brooke D.
Yes, Macaroni Grill is a chain, but I don't think that should count negatively against a restaurant. I've been to several around the country and the food is always consistently good and I always leave feeling full and happy. I've never had any complaints about the service, although they used to come out and write their names upside down on the table but they don't seem to do that anymore. Not sure why that changed, I thought it was neat. The bread is delicious and the wine list is decent. There is a good selection of each kind of wine so you should certainly be able to find something you like. I've never had something I didn't like, but my favorite menu item is the chicken scallopine. They also do to go orders really well. Call ahead and pick it up quickly.
(4)
L.A. H.
This place used to be pretty good. We would come about once a month and for birthdays, etc. Service the last 3 times has been bad, and our server was the guy training other servers...so that's a problem in itself. The food has gone downhill as well. The best part of our meal was the bread. We tried the margherita pizza, my husband and I both had one piece and opted to take it home and doctor it up the next day for lunch. We would rather have our own fresh Parmesan and basil from our garden than their wilted basil. Sad to see it go downhill. Used to be a favorite. Always loved the 1/2 off wine bottle specials, which at least they are offering all summer. We always liked their house red.
(2)
Bryan H.
I usually love this place...but this time the service wasn't all that great...but I will be back to try another day.
(3)
Gary B.
The food was great with more than adequate portions and all for a reasonable price. I wish there were still some open in CT because Macaroni Grill has sentimental appeal for me. Tonight I had the Pasta Milano with a Caesar salad and a lemon cake desert. Most of it is in the fridge as leftovers because I couldn't finish it all. Everything was excellent. I definitely recommend.
(4)
Steve H.
Good food, pleasant server. Don't go with more than 4 people. There were 7 of us and we had to wait for an hour and 25 minutes. Yes, it was Saturday at 6 pm, but I think they had plenty of opportunities to put 2 tables together.
(4)
Wan T.
Heavy food, but it's good. I like the fresh bread that they serve first. I usually order the Insalata Bleu salad & share an appetizer because the food here is so freakin' heavy. Last time I actually ordered a dish--got the cappellini with tomato sauce that is listed as "light fare." It was tasty & definitely lighter than the rest of the menu. Service is usually attentive. However, we did have one experience where the server was hopeless. He forgot to bring us bread & got two out of three orders wrong and then acted like he expected us to eat it anyway. He screwed up other things, too, I just can't remember what they were since I'm trying to forget the whole experience. But the food is fresh & if you eat here for lunch, you only need to eat one meal that day.
(3)
Amy B.
Poor. Waited too long to get a table and there were several open. The hostess seemed to be assigned too many other duties. Waited too long for food considering this is a chain restaurant with cookie cutter meals. Waiter appeared to be overloaded. It was not like he was lazy. Food was not good. It was barely warm. Adjacent table overheard describing overlooked, but cold food to the manager. I would guess the kitchen staff was overloaded also based on the dining room experience. The worker bees were working. Just a poorly run business. Last visit was over a year ago and I experienced the same problems. Will not go back.
(1)
Robin-Elise C.
I have been to this place at least four times, and every time there has been a problem with the wait-staff. I want to say the food is good, but Sauces are exceptionally salty. The espresso tastes like it was made with cheap coffee pushed through an espresso machine... and no crema. The biscotti that comes with the espresso is quite good. And, when I was there last night, there was a young man, with a truly gorgeous voice who sang to the diners. However, the restaurant is extremely loud, has lousy acoustics, and I don't think half the diners knew there was anything special going on... so you really had to strain to hear him. I felt awkward for him, and was a little peeved with the establishment, that he would be called to perform, but not give him a light or a mic, or sound insulation, or somehow draw attention to the performer as if he wasn't an afterthought. Our server last night may have been clueless, but he took our orders wrong, called my girlfriend sir, was touching the arms of those sitting with us (after he had offended them... I'm sorry, I'm not a big fan of strangers touching me in the first place). I'd also like to state that we were charged a standard 18% gratuity, when our party consisted of 7 adults and four children. I get it... businesses do it, but our server was awful, and there is no way I felt comfortable tipping him at a higher rate. My bruschetta tasted fine. the garden salad was lovely... but wow, it was really hard to deal with the service. I'd like to say it was just a bad night, but every single time, I've been there, I've experience catastrophic issues, that made me not want to give it another chance.
(2)
Ed M.
I know this is a chain, but that's what we tend to get in Huntsville. Most of the independent restaurants don't last long because they don't have the deep pockets to get a chance to develop a following. That being said, I have always enjoyed my meals at Macaroni Grill. I am partial to the "Build Your Own" pasta dish (you have to ask), that allows you to choose from pasta, sauces, add-ins, meats, etc. House wines are served on the honor system - they leave the bottle at the table and you record how many glasses you have. The loud, boisterous atmosphere is reminiscent of many of the restaurants I've been to in Italy. Not saying it's truly authentic, but I like it.
(4)
D D.
It's a chain. Again, it's the same as Miami, DC, etc. Pretty consistent though. I like the Penne Rustica, it's a good portion.
(3)
Joseph F.
Past visits have been great, but tonight was different. Slow night, excellent service. Food however was dry and not very hot. Probably sat too long before bring served. I think Carrabbas is much better. Hope this not a typical experience as this had been a very good restaurant.
(3)
wilmer d.
i will give you five star when you have good waiters i like to go every sunday seat next to the fireplace but every sunday i got somebody diferent guys take long to bring silver wares, drinks ohhh please can you train your guys better
(3)
Christina E.
My husband and I have been multiple times and we can not get enough! It is delicious! Having had the classic little old Italian lady for a grandma along with plenty of Italian family and friends, I will admit it's not dead on perfect Italian food. But big surprise, we're in America! I've been to PLENTY of different Italian restaurants, from the average to the high end, and none compare to Grandma Toni's food! lol But for an American Italian restaurant they nailed it. The food is always delicious. The wait staff is always friendly and exceedingly helpful. They even try to make my favorite martini for me every time, even though it's not on their menu! I love them! We've never waited for a table for more than 5 minutes. Their prices are extremely fair for their expansive menu of delicious food and wonderful wait staff! The atmosphere has always been perfect. You can always hear Italian music playing just under the din of the other happy patrons. They play Italian language lessons in the bathroom, which I find adorable. Just last night one of the waiters sang Happy Birthday IN ITALIAN to the table next to us and he was great! I mean come on, how much better does it get for a fairly priced restaurant?!?! They've even made it family friendly to the point of having a paper sheet over the table cloth & giving you crayons to keep kids (and those of us young at heart :P)entertained. They've thought of eveything! :P I couldn't gush more about this restaurant. I recommend it to anyone!
(5)
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Address :5901 University Drive NW
Huntsville, AL, 35806
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Loud Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Robin-Elise C.
I have been to this place at least four times, and every time there has been a problem with the wait-staff. I want to say the food is good, but Sauces are exceptionally salty. The espresso tastes like it was made with cheap coffee pushed through an espresso machine... and no crema. The biscotti that comes with the espresso is quite good. And, when I was there last night, there was a young man, with a truly gorgeous voice who sang to the diners. However, the restaurant is extremely loud, has lousy acoustics, and I don't think half the diners knew there was anything special going on... so you really had to strain to hear him. I felt awkward for him, and was a little peeved with the establishment, that he would be called to perform, but not give him a light or a mic, or sound insulation, or somehow draw attention to the performer as if he wasn't an afterthought. Our server last night may have been clueless, but he took our orders wrong, called my girlfriend sir, was touching the arms of those sitting with us (after he had offended them... I'm sorry, I'm not a big fan of strangers touching me in the first place). I'd also like to state that we were charged a standard 18% gratuity, when our party consisted of 7 adults and four children. I get it... businesses do it, but our server was awful, and there is no way I felt comfortable tipping him at a higher rate. My bruschetta tasted fine. the garden salad was lovely... but wow, it was really hard to deal with the service. I'd like to say it was just a bad night, but every single time, I've been there, I've experience catastrophic issues, that made me not want to give it another chance.
(2)Ed M.
I know this is a chain, but that's what we tend to get in Huntsville. Most of the independent restaurants don't last long because they don't have the deep pockets to get a chance to develop a following. That being said, I have always enjoyed my meals at Macaroni Grill. I am partial to the "Build Your Own" pasta dish (you have to ask), that allows you to choose from pasta, sauces, add-ins, meats, etc. House wines are served on the honor system - they leave the bottle at the table and you record how many glasses you have. The loud, boisterous atmosphere is reminiscent of many of the restaurants I've been to in Italy. Not saying it's truly authentic, but I like it.
(4)D D.
It's a chain. Again, it's the same as Miami, DC, etc. Pretty consistent though. I like the Penne Rustica, it's a good portion.
(3)Joseph F.
Past visits have been great, but tonight was different. Slow night, excellent service. Food however was dry and not very hot. Probably sat too long before bring served. I think Carrabbas is much better. Hope this not a typical experience as this had been a very good restaurant.
(3)wilmer d.
i will give you five star when you have good waiters i like to go every sunday seat next to the fireplace but every sunday i got somebody diferent guys take long to bring silver wares, drinks ohhh please can you train your guys better
(3)Christina E.
My husband and I have been multiple times and we can not get enough! It is delicious! Having had the classic little old Italian lady for a grandma along with plenty of Italian family and friends, I will admit it's not dead on perfect Italian food. But big surprise, we're in America! I've been to PLENTY of different Italian restaurants, from the average to the high end, and none compare to Grandma Toni's food! lol But for an American Italian restaurant they nailed it. The food is always delicious. The wait staff is always friendly and exceedingly helpful. They even try to make my favorite martini for me every time, even though it's not on their menu! I love them! We've never waited for a table for more than 5 minutes. Their prices are extremely fair for their expansive menu of delicious food and wonderful wait staff! The atmosphere has always been perfect. You can always hear Italian music playing just under the din of the other happy patrons. They play Italian language lessons in the bathroom, which I find adorable. Just last night one of the waiters sang Happy Birthday IN ITALIAN to the table next to us and he was great! I mean come on, how much better does it get for a fairly priced restaurant?!?! They've even made it family friendly to the point of having a paper sheet over the table cloth & giving you crayons to keep kids (and those of us young at heart :P)entertained. They've thought of eveything! :P I couldn't gush more about this restaurant. I recommend it to anyone!
(5)Wan T.
Heavy food, but it's good. I like the fresh bread that they serve first. I usually order the Insalata Bleu salad & share an appetizer because the food here is so freakin' heavy. Last time I actually ordered a dish--got the cappellini with tomato sauce that is listed as "light fare." It was tasty & definitely lighter than the rest of the menu. Service is usually attentive. However, we did have one experience where the server was hopeless. He forgot to bring us bread & got two out of three orders wrong and then acted like he expected us to eat it anyway. He screwed up other things, too, I just can't remember what they were since I'm trying to forget the whole experience. But the food is fresh & if you eat here for lunch, you only need to eat one meal that day.
(3)Amy B.
Poor. Waited too long to get a table and there were several open. The hostess seemed to be assigned too many other duties. Waited too long for food considering this is a chain restaurant with cookie cutter meals. Waiter appeared to be overloaded. It was not like he was lazy. Food was not good. It was barely warm. Adjacent table overheard describing overlooked, but cold food to the manager. I would guess the kitchen staff was overloaded also based on the dining room experience. The worker bees were working. Just a poorly run business. Last visit was over a year ago and I experienced the same problems. Will not go back.
(1)Andy M.
Parking lot has some nice shade trees to park under. Not as crowded as it used to be. Bread was cooked perfectly. We ordered our steak well done. It came quickly, but was only cooked medium. For this Sunday lunch, my wife and I split a Calabrese Steak, and had 2 coffees. Total bill was $28.89. This is still a classy place. It probably deserves more business, especially at weekday lunchtime when prices tend to be lower.
(4)Anthony D.
This place was ok. I wasnt impressed. The place was crowded and took a while to be seated which I'm sure is to be expected at a place like this. The food was just ok. I would rather have went to Olive Garden or a Ma and Pa italian spot to get my food. The sweet tea was on par for the entire city.....Not sweet. I dont know what it is about huntsville and the lack of sugar in their sweet tea. I would not visit this place again, but to each their own.
(3)Chelley H.
The place was super packed when we were there for dinner last night. We waited 35 minutes for a table, which is a little too long when you're hungry. Our waitress did take a while to come to our table, but she apologized and explained that she was a little behind. The fresh bread was good; it was warm, had a crispy crust, and was so soft on the inside. We had the calamari fritti for appetizer. Loved it, and loved the two dips that came with it. The pasta di mare that I had was very good. Heard one of the servers telling the manager that table no. 2XX said their calamari is bad, and he thinks that it's not bad, just weird. And that they probably just didn't want it. He could have been more discreet. I don't think we should have heard that, especially while we were eating the calamari.
(3)Kyle E.
Service: My wife and I love(d) Macaroni Grill. The food was always great, service was fantastic, and they always have a great wine selection. We have been numerous times in the past year, I would guess 10-12 times. The last 3-4 times we have been, service has progressively gotten worse. We went on April 26th for my wife's birthday and it was terrible. There wasn't a hostess to be found, there were only 2 waiters working the entire restaurant (although it was rather dead), they both saw us standing there waiting to be seated and didn't even acknowledge us. I had to hunt down the hostess just to be seated. Once seated we didn't get service for a good while, had to ask 3 times for bread (normally I don't care about asking multiple times for something if the restaurant is busy, but there were only 4 tables that were occupied), and our waiter was extremely unprofessional, it was obvious he didn't want to be there. Food: The food was great as it is every time we go. Hats off to the chef. I love the chicken Milanese and the calibre steak. Note to Management: Get your act together at this establishment or you will lose a lot of loyal customers like myself.
(2)C. M. F.
Still no response from anyone from either Corporate or local location... I am convinced that they do not care to hear the truth... In the future I will eat berries and wild grass from the median of I-65 rather than set foot in this place.
(1)Bob N.
A lot of other places I'd rather go for Italian but there are not many options that excite me in Huntsville. This location can handle larger groups and they are pretty good for children, they provide crayons and coloring place mats along with reasonable options for kids menu items. On my last visit we had a family meal, 6 adults with two children. The food is not awful, but there is nothing about it that makes me want to return, the Rosemary bread is a sharing loaf unsliced, tough to cut with your butter knife without handling what with be other people's pieces served with olive oil and pepper. Olive oil is fine but how about some balsamic vinegar? I asked for some, and got a dipper of salad dressing, vinaigrette. I created my own pasta dish, so if it is not good my fault, right? Pick a pasta, sauce, toppings, however it turned out spicy red pepper flakes and seeds, nothing I chose was supposed to be hot, which was by design because I don't care for spicy. On top of the spicy food I never received a drink fill which these places are usually really on top of, the staff was friendly, groups of eight are a lot to handle, so it's not a huge deal, but at the end of the day the next time the family gets together in Huntsville I'd rather try some place else.
(2)Inspector N.
So it's just another day out in the town, so I decided that I would try out the macaroni grill.(Even though it is a chain I'm not going to hold that against them.) So we went on inside and saw the hottest and took our seats. The waiter was the usual acting nice and neutral taking our drinks and our orders in under 10 min. I ordered the Mushroom ravioli while my mother ordered the Alfredo with shrimp in it. My dish was ok but the sauce was somewhat to sweet for my taste but the after flavor was perfect. My mother's dish was VERY salty, almost to the point of adding sugar to combat the effects of its nature. I decided that a cannoli would be pretty nice to have so I ordered some.(6$ mind you for two) they were actually very small for the price I paid for them, but good none the less. Prices were high, my ravioli was very thin, but other than that it was an ok experience. Nothing too special except for what they charge.
(3)Youa L.
My husband and I came here for Easter dinner. Being Easter, there weren't many families out. This is our first time at a Romano's Macaroni Grill. It was a pleasant experience! Their customer service is to be commended. Kristin was our waitress and Jeremy might have been the Manager. Jeremy came around twice to make sure we were doing good. Kristin had a very friendly personality and recommended some yummy dishes, upon which we ordered and really enjoyed. I had the chicken scaloppine and my husband ordered the penne rustica. I also had a side soup: Tomato Basil. If you like tomato soups, you should try this. The atmosphere is inviting as well as romantic. I tried one of the yummy moscato house wines. Overall, I would say our experience was a good one and we would definitely return!
(4)Brandon R.
I was there Saturday night and they were out of bread...seriously, how do you not have any bread on a Saturday night? No Bruschetta, no flatbreads, no bread to have with olive oil prior to the meal. The only way this can happen is from piss-poor management and employees who don't care. Save yourself the trouble and skip this poor excuse for a Macaroni Grill. Our first clue should have been when we approached the hostess stand and the host took 3 phone calls prior to acknowledging us. No offer for a free dessert or anything to make up for the lack of any bread in the restaurant. We should have gone to Carrabba's instead like we had originally planned on...
(1)Bill D.
Good service, but overwhelmed at lunch. We were very quickly seated and not at all pressured to order right away. We were waiting for our customer - who never showed. That happens. I requested a gluten free menu, which the charming server brought quickly. She was very knowledgeable. I did have to coach her on the salad dressings, which is not at all unusual in any restaurant. Coffee? Bleh. A little cold. What's up with that? Still, the gluten free chicken under a brick was quite nice even gluten free and as someone who triggers at trace amounts - they clearly know what they are doing here.
(3)Keith M.
Worst service ever. Stood at reception area waiting and waiting for a hostess. Waiters would zip by, say nothing... Finally one stopped put down her plates and took me Tina seat. Said my waiter would be right with me.,. Never happened, after 15 minutes with not one person stopping to offer water, drinks or take order... I headed out. Did see the manager on way out and told him that after this long of wait, I'm out of here. Keith
(1)Helen C.
Awful is the only word I can think of describe our experience. We went for a birthday celebration. We ordered some classic favorites as well as some new dishes. No one enjoyed their meal. My food was cold with way too much sauce on my pasta. The mozzarella sticks tasted like chicken fingers. Our server was horrible. No refills on drinks until we asked. First time I can remember leaving only a 15 percent tip. Will never go back which is sad because this used to be my favorite chain restaurant,
(1)Liz D.
Great food and service! I didn't like that they put all the customers in one area but I understand the waiters are assigned to sections it just felt a little cramped. There was no one at the host station so we waited a little bit but once seated we got a great server Anthony who was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and food was out pretty quickly.
(4)Brooke D.
Yes, Macaroni Grill is a chain, but I don't think that should count negatively against a restaurant. I've been to several around the country and the food is always consistently good and I always leave feeling full and happy. I've never had any complaints about the service, although they used to come out and write their names upside down on the table but they don't seem to do that anymore. Not sure why that changed, I thought it was neat. The bread is delicious and the wine list is decent. There is a good selection of each kind of wine so you should certainly be able to find something you like. I've never had something I didn't like, but my favorite menu item is the chicken scallopine. They also do to go orders really well. Call ahead and pick it up quickly.
(4)Ven B.
Good food and great value. I'd go back again.
(4)Mike K.
Very average, nothing special......for the same money, I prefer Carraba's...to me, this is one of those places that tries too hard to be hip/trendy.
(2)L.A. H.
This place used to be pretty good. We would come about once a month and for birthdays, etc. Service the last 3 times has been bad, and our server was the guy training other servers...so that's a problem in itself. The food has gone downhill as well. The best part of our meal was the bread. We tried the margherita pizza, my husband and I both had one piece and opted to take it home and doctor it up the next day for lunch. We would rather have our own fresh Parmesan and basil from our garden than their wilted basil. Sad to see it go downhill. Used to be a favorite. Always loved the 1/2 off wine bottle specials, which at least they are offering all summer. We always liked their house red.
(2)Bryan H.
I usually love this place...but this time the service wasn't all that great...but I will be back to try another day.
(3)Gary B.
The food was great with more than adequate portions and all for a reasonable price. I wish there were still some open in CT because Macaroni Grill has sentimental appeal for me. Tonight I had the Pasta Milano with a Caesar salad and a lemon cake desert. Most of it is in the fridge as leftovers because I couldn't finish it all. Everything was excellent. I definitely recommend.
(4)Steve H.
Good food, pleasant server. Don't go with more than 4 people. There were 7 of us and we had to wait for an hour and 25 minutes. Yes, it was Saturday at 6 pm, but I think they had plenty of opportunities to put 2 tables together.
(4)Chelley H.
The place was super packed when we were there for dinner last night. We waited 35 minutes for a table, which is a little too long when you're hungry. Our waitress did take a while to come to our table, but she apologized and explained that she was a little behind. The fresh bread was good; it was warm, had a crispy crust, and was so soft on the inside. We had the calamari fritti for appetizer. Loved it, and loved the two dips that came with it. The pasta di mare that I had was very good. Heard one of the servers telling the manager that table no. 2XX said their calamari is bad, and he thinks that it's not bad, just weird. And that they probably just didn't want it. He could have been more discreet. I don't think we should have heard that, especially while we were eating the calamari.
(3)Kyle E.
Service: My wife and I love(d) Macaroni Grill. The food was always great, service was fantastic, and they always have a great wine selection. We have been numerous times in the past year, I would guess 10-12 times. The last 3-4 times we have been, service has progressively gotten worse. We went on April 26th for my wife's birthday and it was terrible. There wasn't a hostess to be found, there were only 2 waiters working the entire restaurant (although it was rather dead), they both saw us standing there waiting to be seated and didn't even acknowledge us. I had to hunt down the hostess just to be seated. Once seated we didn't get service for a good while, had to ask 3 times for bread (normally I don't care about asking multiple times for something if the restaurant is busy, but there were only 4 tables that were occupied), and our waiter was extremely unprofessional, it was obvious he didn't want to be there. Food: The food was great as it is every time we go. Hats off to the chef. I love the chicken Milanese and the calibre steak. Note to Management: Get your act together at this establishment or you will lose a lot of loyal customers like myself.
(2)C. M. F.
Still no response from anyone from either Corporate or local location... I am convinced that they do not care to hear the truth... In the future I will eat berries and wild grass from the median of I-65 rather than set foot in this place.
(1)Bob N.
A lot of other places I'd rather go for Italian but there are not many options that excite me in Huntsville. This location can handle larger groups and they are pretty good for children, they provide crayons and coloring place mats along with reasonable options for kids menu items. On my last visit we had a family meal, 6 adults with two children. The food is not awful, but there is nothing about it that makes me want to return, the Rosemary bread is a sharing loaf unsliced, tough to cut with your butter knife without handling what with be other people's pieces served with olive oil and pepper. Olive oil is fine but how about some balsamic vinegar? I asked for some, and got a dipper of salad dressing, vinaigrette. I created my own pasta dish, so if it is not good my fault, right? Pick a pasta, sauce, toppings, however it turned out spicy red pepper flakes and seeds, nothing I chose was supposed to be hot, which was by design because I don't care for spicy. On top of the spicy food I never received a drink fill which these places are usually really on top of, the staff was friendly, groups of eight are a lot to handle, so it's not a huge deal, but at the end of the day the next time the family gets together in Huntsville I'd rather try some place else.
(2)Ven B.
Good food and great value. I'd go back again.
(4)Mike K.
Very average, nothing special......for the same money, I prefer Carraba's...to me, this is one of those places that tries too hard to be hip/trendy.
(2)Andy M.
Parking lot has some nice shade trees to park under. Not as crowded as it used to be. Bread was cooked perfectly. We ordered our steak well done. It came quickly, but was only cooked medium. For this Sunday lunch, my wife and I split a Calabrese Steak, and had 2 coffees. Total bill was $28.89. This is still a classy place. It probably deserves more business, especially at weekday lunchtime when prices tend to be lower.
(4)Inspector N.
So it's just another day out in the town, so I decided that I would try out the macaroni grill.(Even though it is a chain I'm not going to hold that against them.) So we went on inside and saw the hottest and took our seats. The waiter was the usual acting nice and neutral taking our drinks and our orders in under 10 min. I ordered the Mushroom ravioli while my mother ordered the Alfredo with shrimp in it. My dish was ok but the sauce was somewhat to sweet for my taste but the after flavor was perfect. My mother's dish was VERY salty, almost to the point of adding sugar to combat the effects of its nature. I decided that a cannoli would be pretty nice to have so I ordered some.(6$ mind you for two) they were actually very small for the price I paid for them, but good none the less. Prices were high, my ravioli was very thin, but other than that it was an ok experience. Nothing too special except for what they charge.
(3)Youa L.
My husband and I came here for Easter dinner. Being Easter, there weren't many families out. This is our first time at a Romano's Macaroni Grill. It was a pleasant experience! Their customer service is to be commended. Kristin was our waitress and Jeremy might have been the Manager. Jeremy came around twice to make sure we were doing good. Kristin had a very friendly personality and recommended some yummy dishes, upon which we ordered and really enjoyed. I had the chicken scaloppine and my husband ordered the penne rustica. I also had a side soup: Tomato Basil. If you like tomato soups, you should try this. The atmosphere is inviting as well as romantic. I tried one of the yummy moscato house wines. Overall, I would say our experience was a good one and we would definitely return!
(4)Brandon R.
I was there Saturday night and they were out of bread...seriously, how do you not have any bread on a Saturday night? No Bruschetta, no flatbreads, no bread to have with olive oil prior to the meal. The only way this can happen is from piss-poor management and employees who don't care. Save yourself the trouble and skip this poor excuse for a Macaroni Grill. Our first clue should have been when we approached the hostess stand and the host took 3 phone calls prior to acknowledging us. No offer for a free dessert or anything to make up for the lack of any bread in the restaurant. We should have gone to Carrabba's instead like we had originally planned on...
(1)Bill D.
Good service, but overwhelmed at lunch. We were very quickly seated and not at all pressured to order right away. We were waiting for our customer - who never showed. That happens. I requested a gluten free menu, which the charming server brought quickly. She was very knowledgeable. I did have to coach her on the salad dressings, which is not at all unusual in any restaurant. Coffee? Bleh. A little cold. What's up with that? Still, the gluten free chicken under a brick was quite nice even gluten free and as someone who triggers at trace amounts - they clearly know what they are doing here.
(3)Anthony D.
This place was ok. I wasnt impressed. The place was crowded and took a while to be seated which I'm sure is to be expected at a place like this. The food was just ok. I would rather have went to Olive Garden or a Ma and Pa italian spot to get my food. The sweet tea was on par for the entire city.....Not sweet. I dont know what it is about huntsville and the lack of sugar in their sweet tea. I would not visit this place again, but to each their own.
(3)Keith M.
Worst service ever. Stood at reception area waiting and waiting for a hostess. Waiters would zip by, say nothing... Finally one stopped put down her plates and took me Tina seat. Said my waiter would be right with me.,. Never happened, after 15 minutes with not one person stopping to offer water, drinks or take order... I headed out. Did see the manager on way out and told him that after this long of wait, I'm out of here. Keith
(1)Helen C.
Awful is the only word I can think of describe our experience. We went for a birthday celebration. We ordered some classic favorites as well as some new dishes. No one enjoyed their meal. My food was cold with way too much sauce on my pasta. The mozzarella sticks tasted like chicken fingers. Our server was horrible. No refills on drinks until we asked. First time I can remember leaving only a 15 percent tip. Will never go back which is sad because this used to be my favorite chain restaurant,
(1)Liz D.
Great food and service! I didn't like that they put all the customers in one area but I understand the waiters are assigned to sections it just felt a little cramped. There was no one at the host station so we waited a little bit but once seated we got a great server Anthony who was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and food was out pretty quickly.
(4)Brooke D.
Yes, Macaroni Grill is a chain, but I don't think that should count negatively against a restaurant. I've been to several around the country and the food is always consistently good and I always leave feeling full and happy. I've never had any complaints about the service, although they used to come out and write their names upside down on the table but they don't seem to do that anymore. Not sure why that changed, I thought it was neat. The bread is delicious and the wine list is decent. There is a good selection of each kind of wine so you should certainly be able to find something you like. I've never had something I didn't like, but my favorite menu item is the chicken scallopine. They also do to go orders really well. Call ahead and pick it up quickly.
(4)L.A. H.
This place used to be pretty good. We would come about once a month and for birthdays, etc. Service the last 3 times has been bad, and our server was the guy training other servers...so that's a problem in itself. The food has gone downhill as well. The best part of our meal was the bread. We tried the margherita pizza, my husband and I both had one piece and opted to take it home and doctor it up the next day for lunch. We would rather have our own fresh Parmesan and basil from our garden than their wilted basil. Sad to see it go downhill. Used to be a favorite. Always loved the 1/2 off wine bottle specials, which at least they are offering all summer. We always liked their house red.
(2)Bryan H.
I usually love this place...but this time the service wasn't all that great...but I will be back to try another day.
(3)Gary B.
The food was great with more than adequate portions and all for a reasonable price. I wish there were still some open in CT because Macaroni Grill has sentimental appeal for me. Tonight I had the Pasta Milano with a Caesar salad and a lemon cake desert. Most of it is in the fridge as leftovers because I couldn't finish it all. Everything was excellent. I definitely recommend.
(4)Steve H.
Good food, pleasant server. Don't go with more than 4 people. There were 7 of us and we had to wait for an hour and 25 minutes. Yes, it was Saturday at 6 pm, but I think they had plenty of opportunities to put 2 tables together.
(4)Wan T.
Heavy food, but it's good. I like the fresh bread that they serve first. I usually order the Insalata Bleu salad & share an appetizer because the food here is so freakin' heavy. Last time I actually ordered a dish--got the cappellini with tomato sauce that is listed as "light fare." It was tasty & definitely lighter than the rest of the menu. Service is usually attentive. However, we did have one experience where the server was hopeless. He forgot to bring us bread & got two out of three orders wrong and then acted like he expected us to eat it anyway. He screwed up other things, too, I just can't remember what they were since I'm trying to forget the whole experience. But the food is fresh & if you eat here for lunch, you only need to eat one meal that day.
(3)Amy B.
Poor. Waited too long to get a table and there were several open. The hostess seemed to be assigned too many other duties. Waited too long for food considering this is a chain restaurant with cookie cutter meals. Waiter appeared to be overloaded. It was not like he was lazy. Food was not good. It was barely warm. Adjacent table overheard describing overlooked, but cold food to the manager. I would guess the kitchen staff was overloaded also based on the dining room experience. The worker bees were working. Just a poorly run business. Last visit was over a year ago and I experienced the same problems. Will not go back.
(1)Robin-Elise C.
I have been to this place at least four times, and every time there has been a problem with the wait-staff. I want to say the food is good, but Sauces are exceptionally salty. The espresso tastes like it was made with cheap coffee pushed through an espresso machine... and no crema. The biscotti that comes with the espresso is quite good. And, when I was there last night, there was a young man, with a truly gorgeous voice who sang to the diners. However, the restaurant is extremely loud, has lousy acoustics, and I don't think half the diners knew there was anything special going on... so you really had to strain to hear him. I felt awkward for him, and was a little peeved with the establishment, that he would be called to perform, but not give him a light or a mic, or sound insulation, or somehow draw attention to the performer as if he wasn't an afterthought. Our server last night may have been clueless, but he took our orders wrong, called my girlfriend sir, was touching the arms of those sitting with us (after he had offended them... I'm sorry, I'm not a big fan of strangers touching me in the first place). I'd also like to state that we were charged a standard 18% gratuity, when our party consisted of 7 adults and four children. I get it... businesses do it, but our server was awful, and there is no way I felt comfortable tipping him at a higher rate. My bruschetta tasted fine. the garden salad was lovely... but wow, it was really hard to deal with the service. I'd like to say it was just a bad night, but every single time, I've been there, I've experience catastrophic issues, that made me not want to give it another chance.
(2)Ed M.
I know this is a chain, but that's what we tend to get in Huntsville. Most of the independent restaurants don't last long because they don't have the deep pockets to get a chance to develop a following. That being said, I have always enjoyed my meals at Macaroni Grill. I am partial to the "Build Your Own" pasta dish (you have to ask), that allows you to choose from pasta, sauces, add-ins, meats, etc. House wines are served on the honor system - they leave the bottle at the table and you record how many glasses you have. The loud, boisterous atmosphere is reminiscent of many of the restaurants I've been to in Italy. Not saying it's truly authentic, but I like it.
(4)D D.
It's a chain. Again, it's the same as Miami, DC, etc. Pretty consistent though. I like the Penne Rustica, it's a good portion.
(3)Joseph F.
Past visits have been great, but tonight was different. Slow night, excellent service. Food however was dry and not very hot. Probably sat too long before bring served. I think Carrabbas is much better. Hope this not a typical experience as this had been a very good restaurant.
(3)wilmer d.
i will give you five star when you have good waiters i like to go every sunday seat next to the fireplace but every sunday i got somebody diferent guys take long to bring silver wares, drinks ohhh please can you train your guys better
(3)Christina E.
My husband and I have been multiple times and we can not get enough! It is delicious! Having had the classic little old Italian lady for a grandma along with plenty of Italian family and friends, I will admit it's not dead on perfect Italian food. But big surprise, we're in America! I've been to PLENTY of different Italian restaurants, from the average to the high end, and none compare to Grandma Toni's food! lol But for an American Italian restaurant they nailed it. The food is always delicious. The wait staff is always friendly and exceedingly helpful. They even try to make my favorite martini for me every time, even though it's not on their menu! I love them! We've never waited for a table for more than 5 minutes. Their prices are extremely fair for their expansive menu of delicious food and wonderful wait staff! The atmosphere has always been perfect. You can always hear Italian music playing just under the din of the other happy patrons. They play Italian language lessons in the bathroom, which I find adorable. Just last night one of the waiters sang Happy Birthday IN ITALIAN to the table next to us and he was great! I mean come on, how much better does it get for a fairly priced restaurant?!?! They've even made it family friendly to the point of having a paper sheet over the table cloth & giving you crayons to keep kids (and those of us young at heart :P)entertained. They've thought of eveything! :P I couldn't gush more about this restaurant. I recommend it to anyone!
(5)