07/21/09

IT'S OLIVE GARDEN WITHOUT THE BREADSTICKS

by ballsep

The food is horrible knockoffs from other americanized restaurants, not one orignal dish. Can I atleast get a canoli thats not bite sized. The restaurant layout is even worse, there's is no defined entrance and no flow. It's like building a restaurant inside a maze.

• Pros: LEAVING THE PLACE
• Cons: BUTTER AND SALT IN A BOWL

06/25/09

great service!

by animalloverx4

our server was awesome! his name was kyle. he even surprised us with free dessert! i will def go back just for him!!

• Pros: attentive servers, unexpected surprises!
• Cons: hmmm....

01/22/09

Over-rated

by TopDomino

Maggiano's was a dissapointment. The atmosphere & locaton are nice. But...I ordered pinot grigio to start with, and was given a pinot nior. That's the server's bad, I suppose. Or the bar-back? I wanted the salad with prosciutto, and was given lettuce with bacon-bits. The pasta side-dish was forgettable, the filet mignon was okay. Okay? Filet mignon should always be outstanding. Maybe it was just the wine that set the tone for the evening, but Maggiano's is not a restaurant I would recommend. I was told by a friend to try Maggiano's: "It's AMAZING. You need to call me or text as soon as you're done." Coming from Erin, it had to be good. We're Taurus', we love food. Plus, it's in the same area as South Coast Plaza, so I figured Maggiano's food would be as good as South Coast Plaza's boutiques. Oh well.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Everything else

01/05/09

Excellent Service and Food

by JJeter

After reading some of the reviews here I was a bit hesitant to try this restaurant but I am happy to say that the wait staff, service and food were more than I expected. Yes, the price is a little on the high side but for this location (South Coast Center and Orange County Performing Arts Center) this prices are not bad at all. There were 4 in our party and 2 people took for home for leftovers. We had reservations and had to wait less than 5 minutes for our table to be set up and for us to be seated. Highly Recommended.

• Pros: Plenty of parking, excellent service, attentive wait staff
• Cons: None

07/31/08

Absolutely the worst food I have ever eaten!

by graffitimom

My husband and I were visiting the area and had heard of how great this restaurant was supposed to be. We decided to give it a try and were extremely disappointed. Though the place was crowded, the food was the worst we have ever had. It was so bad we could not finish it-which is something we have never before done in our 40 years of dining out together. We were not expecting great Italian food, knowing this was a chain, but did expect it to be on the same level as perhaps an Olive Garden. The only good thing about it was the attentive busboy who said he was from Guatemala.

• Pros: busboy from Guatemala
• Cons: terrible food, crowded

Family-friendly restaurant serves up enormous portions of southern Italian favorites in a nostalgic setting.

by Contributor

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.

04/22/07

So good & so full!

by toroishan

Hearty Italian dishes and great staffs. Love their fried calamari and baked ziti and sausage. Maggaino's in Costa Mesa is not as crowded as the one in The Grove which is nice. Seated on time w/ reservation on a busy weekend. Friendly staff except one of the hostess at front. No smiles from her but the smiles from the other hostess made up for that.

• Pros: Parking, price, food, friendly waitress
• Cons: crowded (not as crowded as the one in The grove tho)

03/03/07

Great LARGE martinis, consistent Italian comfort food, and welcoming atmosphere

by insun

My husband and always get the same few things when we come to Maggiano's. Frankly, Maggiano's is a chain Italian restaurant, and its patrons should not be expecting the truly authentic Italian fare. For that, there is always Il Fornaio. But we still love the ambience, the maritnis, and the consistently great service for less fancy, but still hearty & comforting Italian fare. It is a family style restaurant, and it certainly makes us feel like we are a part of that family when we go with their large portions and good service. We always order the chicken rigatoni "D", the lasagna, or chicken parmigiana, with the occasional saltimbocca for my husband. For lunch, try their delicious, albeit a bit bland (ask for marinara sauce on the side) vegetable sandwich, to which you can also add chicken. The fried zuchini in this sandwich makes it light and crispy, and a side of minestrone soup makes this a fulfilling and energizing power lunch before heading back to the office. The salads are fresh and delicious, but sometimes the dressing can be a bit salty and overpowering, as I tend to steer clear of too much bleu cheese in my salads. But, my husband loves bleu cheese in his salads, so to each his own. All in all, a great restaurant for a consisently good meal of hearty Itlaian comfort food- although admittedly, our review of Maggiano's menu is quite limited to the few items listed above. All in all, my husband and I always have a special place in our hearts for a "Maggiano's night." We especially like the fact that they now accept reservations for small parties of two.

• Pros: Great comfort food
• Cons: Sometimes too noisy & cluttered

12/12/06

Gross...

by showcat

Not sure if anyone that has reviewed this as "great Italian food" as ever had truly good Italian food. I'd rather go to Olive Garden than step foot in this place again. We had Chicken Alfredo, which was severely lacking in ANYTHING that resembled alfredo sauce, some mushroom ravioli that tasted more like gravy than sauce. Thinking perhaps we caught them on an odd night, we tried them again with the same results. The gnocchi was do-able...the tiramisu doesn't have a darn bit of liquor in it and tastes like it had been sitting in a freezer all night...garlic bread was stale and tasteless. The take-out guy was obviously in a hurry to get home (we walked in just as the takeout kiosk was closing), was cussing and very short with us. He then told us to go to the bar to pick up our food...then acted very suprised when we were sitting at the bar waiting for it..."You know you're food is sitting over there, right?" Why, no...since you told us to go to the bar...NEVER returning. But be sure to make a stop in the Corner Bakery, that place is great!!

• Pros: It's next to the mall? I don't know of any, to tell you the truth
• Cons: Everything

04/11/06

absolutely satisfied

by ocfoodaddict

I've been to many Italian restaurants and I have to admit this one is quite nice. I had the shell pasta with shrimps. I really couldn't finish it since it was such a nice portion but it was really amazing. I loved the flavor and i loved the atmosphere. Great place to eat! Highly recommended.