If you need that bit of "over-the-top" breakfast I highly recommend the Italian breakfast at Maggiano's!! It is THAT GOOD! Get this: Italian sausage; thick-cut bacon; sliced ham; roasted, parmesan potatoes; eggs(how you want them); thinly sliced toast and a brûlée orange garnish! And yes, you must eat the garnish!!! Couple the divine breakfast with superb service and you are in for a wonderful dining experience!!! Maggiano's nailed it! Move over "full English breakfast". read more

Maggiano's - Italian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

The food and service were very good. We felt the dining was a good value. We ordered the multi course menu and enjoyed the experience. Portions were generous. read more

This experience left us soured on this place. Got here to Maggiano's at 4:40pm, empty tables everywhere. We were told We had to wait 45 minutes... restaurant over half empty, I complained to these girls upfront and was then told I could now get a Table in 30 minutes... I hate these games they play.. so we left and went to another restaurant. The food may be ok. But these table games are disgusting, Service staff is arrogant as if it was a privilege to spend our money here. Power play to issue tables by teenage girls! Unbelievably bad service. read more

We used to love this place, until our little boy used the men's restroom and saw the girly pictures. How is this appropriate in a family restaurant? I don't care what "era" the pictures are from, it's degrading to women. They wouldn't dream of putting pictures of men like that in the women's restroom. Very disturbing. read more

Went back after a long time, no reason for not going, it was much better than I remember. Fried Calamari, Maggiano's salad and chicken piccata, all very good. Servers very helpful and friendly. Busy nIght but our server filled our water glasses and took good care of us. Glad we made reservations. read more

Hubby and I attended an office party here on a Friday night. First impression was this place was very large, nicely decorated, but very crowded and loud. The lobby area was packed with people waiting for tables. Once we were seated in the banquet room, the noise level was better, but it was still definitely difficult to have normal conversation, even between those seated next to each other. Our room was nice, with a very large wood oval table. Pleasant decor. Servers were attentive, and our food was served promptly. Our menu was pre-chosen and served family style. Platters were dispersed in several locations around the table, but the platters were so huge and laden with hot food, that they were difficult to pass. Also, the table was giant, so it was hard to even reach the plates in the center of the table without standing up and leaning over the table. The food was definitely plentiful.....actually so plentiful that it was actually on the ridiculously wasteful side. Everyone ate their fill to the point of being stuffed, yet almost everyone took pretty good-sized containers of leftover food home with them. Everything tasted very good to hubby and I, with the exception of the apple walnut salad, which was kind of wilted and room temperature with candied walnuts no longer crunchy, but, rather on the sticky, soft side from sitting too long in the dressed salad. All other dishes tasted good, but everything was definitely heavy on the cheese, butter, cream, and salt. The food didn't necessarily taste too salty, but hubby and I found that we were craving and drinking LOTS of water for the rest of the evening and even into the next day. The tiramisu seemed to be either a hit or miss with most of our group. Personally, I loved its slightly sweet coffee flavor and creaminess. For others, they found that the high cream content left them feeling it was too heavy, almost oily. The huge profiteroles filled with baseball-sized scoops of vanilla ice cream were just okay in my book. Nothing remarkable about vanilla ice cream, and the pastry parts were chewy and difficult to cut/eat due to size and tenacious texture. Definitely not tender or light. My opinion is that Magliano's food tastes good, but in a way that most junk food tastes really good...because it is heavily-laden with fats and salts, fried, and smothered with cheese. The food here seems to be mass-produced in huge quantities, which might, for some people, to make up for lack of true quality of ingredients, fresh/vibrant flavors and attention to detail. It is also is pretty high-priced. To be fair, we did not order off the menu, so we might have been able to find a little healthier fare that would have suited our preferences if we had come in for a dinner for two. Instead, we were in a large party, with pre-selected items: pepperoni risotto bites, shrimp oreganata, caesar and apple walnut salads, rigatoni with meatballs, lasagna, chicken parmesan, beef medallions, grilled asparagus, crispy potatoes, profiteroles, and tiramisu. Hubby and I try to eat pretty healthy, so this was definitely a heavy, guilt-laden meal for us. I gained 4 pounds overnight. I am hoping most of that is water weight from the salt. For the price, I would have much preferred to eat at a little Italian bistro, much smaller portions, lovingly prepared from fresh, healthy ingredients with the kitchen spending more attention to detail, flavor, and quality. For us, our dinner at Maggiano's was a fun experience, but not our style. Our preference is quality over quantity and healthy over heavy. Stars are based on overall experience, not necessarily our personal preference. Took it down a star because of the excess noise, wilted apple salad, tough profiteroles, and overall experience with the family-style service. read more

Amazing bar staff very friendly and attentive one of my favorite places to have lunch when im in the area shopping!

The NEW Murder Mystery actors are just BAD, really BAD! For many years we have always enjoyed coming to the Murder Mystery Dinner and have always brought a large group (8-12 people) with us. As a group, we have attended our last Murder Mystery dinner at Maggiano's. I'm not sure why or who made the decision to switch actors but no one at our table enjoyed the Circus (Not joking, the lead actor did an indoor juggling act). The Murder Mystery part was a throw together, the new actors even have Circus in their name. They don't have a clue! Someone, please let us know where the OLD Actors are performing so we can attend another Comedy Murder Mystery Dinner like we use to enjoy at Maggiano's. All the best, JERRY read more

**This review is based on my take-out experience.** Yes, I've eaten in-house before and the food was fine, good service but nothing special. I've ordered take-out from here twice and there's no need to do it again. The first time I ordered the Chicken & Spinach Manicotti. I expected some decent pieces of chicken- that didn't happen. Other than being chintzy on the chicken & too much cream sauce, it tasted ok. The second time I ordered Braised Beef Pappardelle. I would rather see this described as 'kinda beef stew thrown on some noodles'. No real flavor and disappointing. Also, for take out you might get some bread... or you might not. To be clear: I don't hate this restaurant and might go in-house again; but my take-out experience is over, it's canceled, I'm done. read more

Asking if we would like to sit indoors or out, the hostess was kind and helpful. We chose outside and it was so peaceful and quiet. The space was really charming and the lights dangling from the trees were a cute touch. The bread is soft and tasty, I recommend pouring a small small amount of oil and cracking salt and pepper over it and dipping the bread in. The appetizer was spinach and artichoke fondu and it was amazing! I got the carbonara and it comes with an egg on top, which is fun to open yourself and use the yolk as an additional creamy sauce to the dish. I wanted to try dessert but was too full from bread, appetizer and a meal. Because it was our first time there the general manager came out and gave us lemon cookies to take home and his card. The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because our waitress was a little too chatty. I love having involved service but we kind of had to shoo her away towards the end like, yes we need to eat now. read more

Let me start off by saying that I love carbs. Pasta is the key to my heart, and regardless if it's Olive Garden or Via Vite, I'm going to enjoy it. But my most recent visit to Maggiano's has left me questioning my undying love for pasta. A friend of mine treated me to lunch here for my birthday (the week of Christmas), but I almost feel bad that he had to pay so much for such an awful experience. To start, he made a reservation for 12:15. We arrived a few minutes early, but sat at our table right on schedule. Because I know the exact time I sat down, I can honestly say that it took 19 minutes before our server approached us. (I work in the industry, so I didn't want to complain as I know they can get busy sometimes.) When our server (who's name has since been forgotten) finally did greet us, she walked past, then quickly turned around and said "Oh my god, I didn't even know you two were here! How long has it been? Well, I promise from this point forward you're going to get great service!" Sadly, I believed this lie she was telling us. After ordering drinks, appetizers, and entrees all at once, she took nearly 10 more minutes to bring us water before our adult beverages came out - and in fact, our appetizer came out before the bread and water! She never checked back or pre-bussed any plates, and our bar drinks finally arrived once our entrees did, so we went ahead and ordered our second round of drinks in anticipation of them taking another 30 minutes. The food was just okay. I don't know if they were understaffed, or just staffed incompetent employees, but all of our pasta had crust on it from sitting under a heat lamp for an extended period of time. It was pretty unappetizing, but I was hungry and it was free for me, so I ate almost all of it. We had gone with the cool option of getting an additional pasta to take home, and it included a dessert for dine in. A random busses or server had cleared off our entire table at the end of our meal, which I appreciated, but then our server must have completely forgotten about us. After sitting at a completely empty table for quite some time, she quickly dropped off the check and whisked away. We paid out, and finally decided to ask about our dessert and Togo pastas. She admitted that she had forgotten again. We finally received both of those things, and when she dropped them off, I pointed out to her that the martini glass my cocktail was served in had broken, and I had a glass shard stuck in my thumb. She didn't seem too concerned, but I asked her to throw it away, as I no longer felt comfortable drinking from it. From start to finish, everything was a disaster. I wish management was more present so they could be aware of awful experiences like this. I had contacted corporate about this, and they promised me that the general manager would contact me within two business days, but it's now the end of January and I still have not heard a word from them. I strongly do not recommend this place. Get your management some proper training. read more

SMART men know that when a woman says, "it's ok", it really isn't. "It's ok" is code for "something is horribly wrong and you need to find out what happened (something usually you did) so you can fix it." This was the case with my bill tonight at Maggiano's.... I visited Maggiano's tonight for a friend's birthday. It was only my second visit, and the first time was quite a while ago. I ordered a drink from the bar while we were waiting for our large party. I opted for an Italian pink lemonade- it was tasty and was a great summer drink! We were seated upstairs quickly, and while walking towards our table, I realized how big the place actually is! It is a chain, and seems like a lot of people go there for celebrations. They have a huge room for banquets. It looked very nice! While scrolling through the menu, I was having a difficult time deciding what to get. I absolutely love pasta, but was feeling like something a bit smaller that evening. The neat thing I noticed- if you order one of the classic pastas, you get another order to take one home! It does not have to be the same pasta you ordered for dinner either. For example, you could have the spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, but choose to take home the fettuccine alfredo. This sounded like a good deal to me, but again, I was not starving. I opted for a side house salad and the crab cakes off of the appetizer menu. My salad wasn't bad- a typical salad, but a little overdressed for my taste. When my crab cakes came out, I thought it was odd there were four, but it is a chain restaurant, and their portion sizes are usually huge. I didn't think much of it until I got my bill for 33 dollars!! When I examined it further, I noticed it looked like I was charged twice for the crab cakes, as the price was twice what I was expecting to pay. When I asked the waiter, he said he charged me for the entree portion of crab cakes. I must have looked very confused because he said, "Didn't I ask you if you wanted the entree portion?". To this I replied, "No. I purposely ordered a side salad and an appetizer because I wasn't that hungry." He did apologize, but made no effort to adjust my bill, or bring a manager over to the table. While the crab cakes were tasty, I never would have ordered four of them. I was more than a little miffed when I left with a bill that was almost double what I was expecting to pay. In summary: a place that is good to go with larger groups or while you are shopping. The food is decent, but in my opinion, there are far better Italian restaurants to visit in the Cincinnati area! And lesson learned...I apparently need to stop speaking in cryptic woman terms and be direct. That or the waiter was too young to have learned the art of dealing with us yet! Ha! read more

I love this place. I like the atmosphere of it as well. Food is amazing for you like Italian.

A chain restaurant that seems to have hit it big in Cincinnati since it has opened. If you have read any of my past reviews you know that I tend to like to stay away from writing about chain restaurants because, you can find them everywhere. I however am so pleased with Maggianos that I want to write about it and convince you, the loyal future customer that you should totally eat here. This is the only one in Cinci, located in the bustling Kenwood Town Center off of Montgomery it is ALWAYS busy, I've been during the week at lunch and on the weekend and there are always people waiting to get some food. Lucky though it takes reservations and you should do that because it is free, and means that you get to walk right in to enjoy some truly delicious food. The restaurant is large and spacious but the tables are placed in some parts uncomfortably close together, I know that business is important and that the space is at a premium but I don't need to be sitting so close to the other dinners that I pump in to them when I cut my food. I have been here a couple times during both Lunch and Dinner and there isn't a real difference between the lunch and dinner, prices are almost exactly the same, a couple of different choices and portion sizes are a bit smaller. The portion sizes here are more then adequate if you are looking for a cheaper meal you can easily get an entrée to share with a friend and still have some left over. If you order from the "Pasta Classics" section which includes the very tasty, Baked Ziti, and absolutely amazing Gnoochi with Vodka sauce, as well as favorites such as Lasagna and Fettuccine Alfredo, cheese ravioli amongst others you get a free portion to take home. Yes you read that correctly. There are not many free things in life but here you can eat a big portion, and then get another full size ( almost) to take home to eat for lunch or dinner the next day. The pasta tastes just as good if not BETTER the next day. The service here is fantastic, they are more then capable of taking care of every request that you have with out being a hassle or to involved in your conversation. Salad and other Anti-pasta choices are standard fair that you would find other places, but taste good. The wine menu is quite extensive, and provides a good range in both price and depth. Draft beer is laking, but a full service bar with a good staff can make pretty much every type of cocktail you can imagine. Spread those tables a bit a part and the experience is just perfect. I love coming here either with friends, for a special moment with my lady friend or with family. If you come with a large group family style is the way to go. with huge four course meals you can't beat it Do yourself and your tastebuds a favor place a reservation at and head on down and get some great food. read more

Today I found a hidden gem of the gluten free foodie world. My best friend and blogger - Sara Wyen of Words To Run By went with me to the Celiac Awareness Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio today. We were excited to see all the fun, new gluten free goodies with all the vendors. Another blog post coming soon on that... While we were there, Maggiano's Little Italy chef Karl Lenz was there speaking and doing a gluten free demo. Well, I knew exactly where the Maggiano's Kenwood was located and we zipped on over there for lunch. I am so glad we did. Upon entering the restaurant, I asked for the gluten free menu. They explained rather than having a gluten free menu, the Assistant Manager would come out and explain the gluten free options and ensure my meal was allergy safe. Matthew Powell, the Assistant General Manager came over to the table after our waiter quickly brought us drinks and very thoroughly explained how 90% of their menu items can be made into gluten free dishes. He walked me through the menu and made sure I was clear on food preparation, ingredients and options for celiac disease. This was the most gluten friendly and celiac aware place I've been to yet. 90% of their menu items could be made gluten free - surely it wasn't so. This place isn't on any of the safe lists or gluten free places to eat. Oh boy, did they knock my socks off. I decided to try their corn pasta. It. Was. Amazing. Gluten Free Corn Pasta Maggiano's Sara and I ended up sharing a meal because it was really big. You know what the best part was? They have several menu items that you can get a to go item FREE if you order from the list. Yup - I got 2 meals for the price of one. 1 being a gluten free specialty menu item - without paying extra. Our entire lunch with the meal, Cesar salad for Sara and 2 iced teas was $24. Can you tell we didn't like it? Just kidding. Matthew even came out after the meal and ensured everything was ok and up to my gluten free liking! Of course I explained. The chef that was doing the demo at the Celiac Awareness Tour, Karl Lenz - was back before we finished lunch and he even came out to welcome us and explain their cooking methods and showed me their pastas! Maggiano's Corn Pasta I felt completely safe eating here, had no stomach ailments after my meal and will certainly make this a go to spot when we are in Cincinnati. The manager, chef and waiter all made me feel comfortable and took care of me the way a restaurant should with people suffering from food allergies. We already have a big enough burden of having this food allergy, we shouldn't have to feel like one while eating out. Rebecca Maggiano's Little Italy Cincinnati Kenwood Mall 7875 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 513.794.0670 read more

This review concerns Maggiano's carryout service. It is excellent. Five Stars for sure. On a Friday night, during restaurant "rush hour", we ordered several appetizers, a salad and entree to share, and the apple crostada for dessert. Ordering by phone was very quick, and the employee was quick, clear and friendly. She even confirmed the salad was the correct one when I slightly mis-named it when ordering. Picking up is simple and quick - there is a side door to bypass the bar and restaurant traffic. The server who gave us our food showed us each item, offered extras such as cheese/peppers/plasticware, and she separated out the hot items from the cold items in separate bags, so food items would not get warm or cold too quickly. When we got home and ate, our food was hot and/or cold as it was supposed to be, and everything was delicious. Some places treat carryout as a necessary evil. However, Maggiano's went above and beyond for carryout. This might sound silly, but I found the service impeccable for carryout. read more

This was only my second time at Maggianos. I don't frequent chain restaurants, but I think I'm going to have to make an exception. We ended up getting the dinner for two deal where you get an appetizer or two salads, two entrees, dessert, and two entrees to take home. This is an incredibly good deal! I had the mushroom ravioli al forno and it was rich and cheesy. Our piece of Tiramisu was giant and tasted fantastic. Maggianos is truly doing something right! read more

Maggiano's - Bruschetta tour - Italian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Allergies? Special diet? No problem! Over-the-top service and accommodation at this tastefully decorated dining place. Because I am gluten-free and vegan we asked to see a menu. The host asked if we had food concerns and began to share how they could accommodate them. We decided to try. Our waiter knew what my limitations were and just verified that information then made recommendations based on those concerns. Ample time was provided for our decision: attentive without feeling rushed. When the bread was delivered, the chef sent out a complimentary gluten-free appetizer for me. The chef visited our table to make sure my needs were met. I noticed the staff preparing a table for a larger group. They moved other tables creating more space between the larger group and other tables for patrons. What a nice idea. The food was delicious and with their classic pasta dishes you get another classic pasta dish to take home. It makes the cost of these entrees ($14) a great value. We felt like our patronage was valued and the staff was there to serve. So, skip the Cheesecake Factory and walk into Maggiano's Little Italy for personalized service and excellent, made-to-order food. read more

The serving sizes, the serving sizes! They're massive. At my old company we had maggiano's catered for several holiday events so I knew what appetizer I wanted. The stuffed mushrooms. They are hands down the best. So delicious. My fiancé got the fries mozzarella which was also equally epic. We did the meal for 2 for $42.95 which included a meal to take home, 1 appetizer or flat bread to share, and a dessert. Probably the best value there and it's $5 more if you want chicken in your meal I ordered the chicken parm and couldn't finish it. My take home meal was spaghetti and meat sauce and it came with a giant meatball. The service was excellent and I did not realize how big maggiano's actually was until we walked in. They have a 2nd floor and a few large banquet rooms. Since this is in the mall I'd highly recommend making reservations since Kenwood mall a hopping place. Since it was my fiancé's birthday when we were seated we told our hostess that and she came back with a little thing for our table to let the waiter know we were celebrating something and she came back with a card for $10 off our meal. No complaints except from my waistline. If you're going here make sure you come hungry and expect to take something home because the portions are big and the food is delicious. read more

Had a hard time deciding between 4 and 5 stars for this, but I'm a glass half full kind of person, so I went with 5. We went here for my sister's birthday recently and weren't disappointed. They had a long wait time but we made a reservation so we got seated right away when we got there. The bread, however, did take a little while compared to other places I've been to. It was good, but because of the thick crust my jaws felt pretty tired after a couple pieces. The menu kind of confused me but it turned out to be better than I thought. In their classic pasta section you can get traditional dishes or a lighter version of them which has less food, maybe a couple different ingredients, etc. I got the lighter fettuccine Alfredo which had bigger noodles than you'd normally expect to try to make up for the smaller portion, chicken, asparagus, and a slightly different kind of sauce than the normal version. Although it was a smaller portion than the normal version, I thought it was plenty of food for me and it was pretty good. I think I would've liked smaller noodles more. Maybe peas or broccoli instead of asparagus. What was confusing was the section heading said it came with some kind of gift. I basically ignored it when ordering and the server asked what I wanted as my gift. She had to explain to me was that the section was buy one get one free and you get the second option in a to go container at the end of your meal. So that was nice and I had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch the next day. Our server was really friendly and talked with us, got us a discount (unrelated to my sister's birthday), and brought my sister some cookies. Her manager came over and talked to us too which is how we found out he and my dad have a mutual friend who used to come in a lot. Bathrooms were very clean but could've been easier to find. They're upstairs. read more

Post holiday dinner with a few friends I haven't seen in a while and yes this was my first visit to Maggiano's for dinner, I'm very picky about my Italian food & this place is always packed thats why I've never enjoyed their food before. A friend has celiac's disease, which she can only eat gluten free and have to be careful food doesn't come in contact with other food, we notified our waiter and their policy is to notify the chef. The chef came out and talked to my friend about the menu and what she could have, the chef was very impressive and thorough making my friend at ease about her dinner selection. Our server even brought her out a cup of fruit while we waited for our dinner to arrive, which felt was impressive and very accommodating to her needs. The restaurant was very busy on a Wednesday night as this location is at Kenwood mall so a mixture of families, friends enjoying a night out. All of us selected the pick 2 on the menu for $12.95, where you pick one dish and they prepare another dish for you to take home, which is great deal. I selected the lasagna for the restaurant and eggplant parmesan to take home. The lasagna was okay, I've had better, I set the bar very high for lasagna. My take home eggplant parmesan I warmed up the next day was better. Another friend selected the four cheese ravioli, which looked amazing when it was placed on our table and also eggplant parmesan to take home. They had two special pasta selections made with corn making it gluten free for friend and the servings were huge. We had a great evening catching up and now can see why Maggiano's is so popular chain Italian restaurant. read more

I had food from Maggiano's before, and I thought it was good. It was catered into something at work. I'd never been to the restaurant before, and doing so made a good impression even better. Say what you will about national chain restaurants. Maggiano's is doing it right. I was here with a rather large party, as we were celebrating during a friend's bachelorette weekend. With such a large party, they made us order everything "family style" and I can see why now, because this made things go so much smoother. Because we'd made reservations and pre-ordered the food, we didn't have to wait long after being seated to start getting our food. And the food.... Absolutely. Delicious. The one thing that stands out to me most are the stuffed mushrooms and the baked salmon. I'm a huge fan of salmon, and it was cooked perfectly. Everything else I had was tasty as well, but the food earned five stars based on the salmon alone. I highly recommend it. Now, Maggiano's isn't your typical national chain Italian restaurant. Be prepared to spend. They do have a deal, though, that if you order from a specific menu, you get your entree to eat there and another one from that same menu to take home. That's a very good deal, because the portions are generous and delicious. But is it worth the price? Heck yeah! My one complaint would be the parking situation. You all know how Kenwood is. But there's nothing you can really do about that except circle the parking lot and hope for the best. I won't count that against them, though. read more

I have never been one to turn my nose up at a solid Italian chain restaurant. I usually like them very much (Johnny Carino's, Carraba's, Brio, Bravo, even the OG). I'm not looking for 'authenticity', I just want free bread, and enough cheesy-saucy-noodley goodness for leftovers. We went to Maggiano's for the first time for a couple's date. Reservations were easy to make (nice touch, especially for the stampede frenzy that is Kenwood Mall). The restaurant is huge, homogenous and comfortable. I read a lot of criticism about the service, but we didn't have any issue: our server was very efficient in that polite, young college way (much preferred to that entitled, rude young college way - which I have definitely experienced), who warmed up to us quickly because my friend's husband simply won't be a stranger to anyone. We got the free standard chewy, baguette-type bread with olive oil (it's free - who cares if it's not amazing). We shared the zucchini appetizer: huge lengthwise slices of zucchini breaded and deep fried and served with some lemony sauce. It was crunchy and satisfying - if I were a vegetarian, I think it'd be a great meat substitute. We ordered dishes ranging from chicken Parmesan, chicken piccata, lobster carbonara and the "classic" lasagna (note: for an entree ordered from the "classic" selection, you get a whole entree boxed up to go, gratis - now THAT'S amazing). I liked my Parmesan very much, and the portion could easily be two meals. I sampled my friend's piccata (lemony chicken with spinach and angel hair on the side), and my husband's carbonara (creamy and massive and very tasty). For dessert we split the apple crostata a la mode and the tiramisu. Both of these were great. The crostata was flaky and buttery and can serve 2-3, and the tiramisu was thick and rich, with the perfect balance of sweetness and bitter from the coffee and cocoa dusting. Prices are fair, about the same as Olive Garden or Carraba's. Flavor-wise, not as good as Brio or Bravo, but I wouldn't hesitate to come back. read more

Resturant is very nice. The staff was nice but for money it all felt really rushed like we barely had time to finish salad before they put down main courses and had our take home sitting there before we were half way done with meal. The food is good not not great but good. If your in Kenwood and craving pasta it's a good choice read more

We hadn't gone there in over a year, somehow forgetting why. After a few bites of our entree, we remembered why. Later that night, we REALLY remembered why. First of all, everything was over-salted and has been every time we've gone. Once, we even had to fix left-over stew by watering it down because it was sooooo salty. This has been the case on numerous occasions spread out over a very long spread of time. In addition, my partner and I both got sick the night we last went. The waitress also forgot half of our very plentiful leftovers, which was perhaps for the better. read more

So we've eaten here a few times, each time I kept forgetting to check in on Yelp. For those who don't know, Maggiano's is one of the best chain Italian-American restaurants in the US. Their food is very flavorful in general. Although pricey, their entrees feature very generous portions as well. Of the pastas I've ordered, only once did my dish taste ever-so-slightly overcooked. For the most part, they cook their pastas al dente. If you want a signature dish there, then go for the Rigatoni "D". It's not pricey at all ($15.95) at this location, and the portion is enough to be a meal and a half. Their salads are also very nicely dressed. Their Italian salad dressing is a bit on the sweet side. Their flatbread is more appropriate as an appetizer for two rather than a main course for one. Most definitely have their tiramisu. It's sweet, creamy, coffee-y, and is topped with a thick layer of cocoa dust and has a few pieces of dark chocolate, finished off with a milk chocolate drizzle. We made it a point to not finish our entrees to save room for their tiramisu. Definitely a fan. read more

DELICIOUS! Hubby & I went to cincinnati on our babymoon & we wanted to try new restaurants. We happened to run into this one w/o looking up any reviews or anything & we were not disappointed. The wait was like 1 hour & 45 minutes but luckily the host suggested since it was just the two of us that we could sit @ the bar (self-seating). Luckily, we only waited MAYBE 10 minutes, if that & a table was available. Service was great! Our server (forgot her name) was so nice! Both our meals were delicious. I happened to order a pasta that came w a free pasta to take home. Which was a huge plus bc we def devoured when we got the midnight munchies. Overall, place was cute, service was great, & food was delicious! read more

I will introduce Maggianos as an aesthetically fancy Italian chain restaurant whose focus on intimate ambiance is appreciated but yet most disproportionately exceeds the attention to consistency they put into their mass produced "traditional" Italian cuisine. Before I tear into them, which sadly I intend to do (who ever really wants to give a negative review to a business with such nice servers!?) let me share what I think this place is fantastic for: dessert and drinks! I think they have a lovely atmosphere for an intimate satisfying dessert and coffee/wine date via their generous wine and drink list, with many options for non-alcoholic cold and hot beverages as well. I'll compliment them and offer their Tiramisu is the closest I've had in the USA to date to the dessert whose namesake I have had the privilege of having personally prepared for me by an actual Italian Pastry Chef friend of mine from Italy while I was overseas on my birthday. I highly recommend Maggianos Tiramisu, just don't take it "to-go" or it will melt like mine did. I have not had their coffee, shockingly, but I promise to update once I have to complete my recommendation. Both visits, among other things, we ordered the same entrée, the four cheese ravioli, totaling three examples of the same dish. Consistency is a huge determining factor of if we'll frequent a place in this price range. They failed miserably. We ordered it the first time as part of their "Dinner For Two" for $39.99, where we would both be served the same thing on different plates. For what you get, if prepared properly, it is a great deal! As many others have stated, if you order one of their "Classic Pastas" with this meal or on their own, you get another from that section of the menu to take home gratis. It doesn't have to be the same dish you had, so it offers you a chance to try something new. That is all well and good if you value quantity over quality! We are not that type though, and appreciate anything done well over much done poorly. When our meals arrived, we noticed how different our two plates were, being that they were supposed to be the same thing. Second, we were shocked they had no problem serving them to the same table for two where they would obviously be compared! Of course even the best chef will have slight variations in presentation, but to serve two identical menu items to the same table and have them come out so ridiculously different and nobody caught it, was laughable. One of our plates was beautiful, ideal! The raviolis were spread out on the plate in a sea of green colored "pesto-alfredo sauce" (per the menu description) with a thin accent stripe of bright red marinara down the middle that gave it a beautiful pop of color. The entire plate was submerged in sauce. The other plate was it's pathetic opposite. The pasta was dry on top, not even enough sauce to coat all the raviolis nor cover any part of the plate except under the pasta itself. There seemed to be a dominance of red marinara (not even in the description) than the beautiful pesto Alfredo that was apparently now the accent. We were so shocked we took a photo for what we knew would become this review. Then, we ordered a side of the pesto-alfredo, and fixed it ourselves to avoid making a fuss too early on in the game. See our photo for yourselves, in the photo section. The third time we ordered this dish, it was even worse than the first visit. It came out with dry browning pasta from being under a lamp without any sauce to keep it moist, it was smothered in the red marinara sauce with almost none of the main sauce. Being that this was the third time we encountered consistency issues with this simple dual-component dish we vowed it foolish to expect them to get any of their more complicated dishes right on any consistent basis. Just for the sake of argument, we had also ordered the "Chicken Tortellini". That was the final nail in the coffin. The Chicken Tortellini, not surprisingly, had the same issues as the other dishes. They do not follow their own menu. The menu listed chicken, smoked ham, cheese and white truffle cream sauce. It came out chicken cheese tortellini smothered in wilted spinach (which I hate!) floating in watery white sauce that wouldn't stick to the pasta. The ham was not stuffed in the pasta but cubed bits on top of the wilted spinach water. Absolutely gross. Picking up a tortellini with a fork made all the sauce complete drain off, and we were not served spoons (despite asking for them and never receiving them, at all) so as you might imagine, we sent it back. At that moment, my Husband and I looked at each other and decided mutually we would never dine there again except for desserts and drinks. The service staff was overall very helpful and easy to reason with, making the issues we had predictable to resolve. I still stick to my recommendation of this place as a "dessert only" place if you're playing it safe, unless you aren't fussy about your food. read more

Maggiano's - Inconsistent Entrée Example: Four Cheese Ravioli $39.99 "table for two". One dry, one flooded? Marinara not in the description. - Italian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Rented a private room. Service sucked. Great food. Phone stolen, grandma slipped on a wet floor and fell. Never again will I go here read more

We had reservations for 8:30 on a Saturday night. We were told that they were running behind about 30 minutes. We waited in an overly crowded bar area for 45 minutes before we were sat. My complaint about this was other customers and staff were overheard complaining about others in the area. When we were sat the hostess was young and kind. Our waitress, who's name I believe is Stevenson was amazing!! She made our night spectacular!! Although she probably had about 5 tables she genuinely cared about giving us the best experience. Unfortunately, a table next to us did not have this experience. Apparently there server had been extremely less attentive to them. Their poor mood seemed to travel around other tables. Nonetheless I recommend this place! The bread was fresh and soft. The baked ziti was super good a little more cheese would have made it the best for me personally. We also had the lasagna as a take home. If you are looking for a classy well dressed place to eat I suggest here. Make a reservation!! They were turning away people for walk Ins. read more

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We have always had a wonderful experience at this restaurant. Tonight however, was the worst experience we have ever had. The waitress, Jessica, who was working the outdoor patio was extremely inattentive. We only got the initial glass of water and the bread came after the salad. Both entrées were incorrect. A second waitress who was checking us out said that both entrées would come off the ticket since one of them had to be remade and the other was wrong as well. Jessica came back out and said that because The one entrée leftovers were boxed she would not take that off and she put the total back on. Tables around us were being served and checked on throughout our meal but we did not experience the same service even though it was 10 PM and they weren't that busy. read more

Made an exception to my avoidance of CHAIN restaurants for Maggiano's due to having received a gift card plus a $10 coupon. The one other time we ate here was also due to a special coupon deal. The food is very very good. The interior decor is pleasant, and the front bar area looks to be nice and relaxing, an intimate hangout completely separated from the dining area. Probably great just to have drinks and/or coffee and dessert at the bar. While I have not had dessert here, I've read enough reviews to be confident that the desserts are in fact excellent. However due to the substantial savings we had with gift card and coupon, we came for dinner. Service is really only so-so. It's all well and good that servers are "friendly," but with fine dining prices such as charged here, you want top-notch professional service. And that's lacking. The atmosphere is just too corporate chain. We had uncleared dirty appetizer dishes all over the table when a worker (not our server) showed up with the entrée. He was actually attempting to put the plates down with literally no room on the table. I had to speak up and say "these dirty dishes need to be removed first - but I realize that's not your fault." And it wasn't - in this type of assembly-line service, a light probably goes off in the back, and the poor guy is just told to pick up these dishes and take them to table 14. Being aware of their huge portions, we had opted to share an entrée. After the gentleman swept our dirty dishes onto a nearby empty table he placed the platter with the entrée down - and left! But he didn't provide individual sharing plates. I got up and retrieved two appetizer plates from the nearby empty table, and we managed with those. Our waitress showed up to ask how everything was, and we told her we were not happy with the food arriving with dirty dishes not removed, as well as the absence of sharing plates. She said she was very sorry and she does apologize, then explained "when I press 'share' they are supposed to bring plates." How pathetically funny is that... THEY are supposed to do it when she "presses share." Behold, the undeniable chain mentality. So unless you've got a gift card, a Groupon deal, or your boss is paying, I would not recommend this place for your pricey Italian sit-down meal. Germano's nearby is in the same price range and it is truly excellent dining experience. (And, it's not a chain: more than coincidence?) read more

My hubby and I like to go here during the week when we're not inclined to cook. We don't wait for a table, but we eat at a table near the bar. They have two T.V.s to watch the Reds game. The food is consistent. Sometimes we'll get a classic pasta and we get to take one home for free. That night he had the eggplant parmagiana. Very good. I had the chicken marsala. Good. Always huge servings - so large you can take half home for lunch the next day. I think the wines by the glass are a bit high - but good. Service is good - not great. The servers seem a bit stressed out - maybe too many tables to wait on? read more

If you are in the Kenwood area, you should definitely stop by Maggiano's! On a number of occasions I haven't had a reservation, but I've always been able to find a seat in the bar (full service). Personally, I enjoy ordering from the classic pasta (2 for 1) menu and getting a second meal to take home (this is especially great if you're a starving college student!). I love the old school atmosphere of the restaurant. Take a moment to enjoy the vintage photos on the wall and the classic Sinatra recordings played through the sound system. Whether you're on a romantic date, out with a friend, or having a fun gathering with your favorite group, Maggiano's is the place to be! read more

My most recent visit to Maggiano's Little Italy came with the obligatory trip to the Kenwood Towne Centre which is, as many malls are, a frustrating endeavor of parking spot hunting. The wait at Maggiano's without a reservation was gracefully short. We were told 15 minutes, but in reality waited less than ten before we were seated. On this visit they offered a two meal deal for $39.95 which also included two additional take-home meals an appetizer and a dessert. It's printed in the menu, so I'm sure it's now a standard offering. The appetizer chosen was the Tomato Caprese which has large thick slices of fresh mozzarella laid atop thick fresh slices of tomato seasoned with a balsamic drizzle. I really enjoyed this dish, but my date indicated she could take it or leave it. My date chose the Spaghetti and Meatball for dinner with the Fettucini Al Fredo for her take-home meal. I chose the Mushroom Ravioli al Forno for my meal, with the Four Cheese Ravioli for my take-home meal. I was conflicted because there were main entrees which interested me, but which would have negated the the special deal, and between the two of us we ordered everything I'd liked to try in the classic pasta collection. I paired my Mushroom Ravioli with the "Elderflower Collins" handcrafted cocktail which offered a distinct and interesting contrast. Not only because the cocktail was a bit puckery, but the rhubarb in the drink really shone through as oddly complimentary to the mushroom and the alfredo sauce. Not bad, but I imagine it'd take some getting used to for most. The dessert selected was the Tirimisu which came out fluffy, moist and delightfully easy to eat. For as "common" as Tirimisu is places seem to get it wrong way too often and produce a dry cakey mess which lacks the joy producing textures and tastes expected. read more

Maggianos is a good nicer end Italian option. The restaurant is always pretty busy. The past few times I've sat in the bar area. With that being said my service has always been really good. Waiters still attentive, very quick with drink and food orders, as well as checking in on you. I love their "Choose one Classic Pasta for today and another for tomorrow". It's a great deal at a good price. Portion sizes are big. My favorite is the lasagna (though the pesto ravioli is also really really good)! I can usually only eat half of my first dish so I end up getting multiple meals out of my take home dishes! I also usually always pair my pasta with wine. Their pour size is generous, which I appreciate. So if you're looking for some delicious, moderately price, nicer Italian food this is your place! read more

Went here for my 25th birthday dinner w/ my boyfriend - had a WONDERFUL time! It was quite busy when we walked in - and I honestly can't remember if we had reservations or not - but we waited about an hour to be seated. At first, I was second guessing our decision to have dinner there, but the waitresses in the bar area soon put me at ease. We were able to snag a cocktail table near the bar and had our first round of drinks - which were delicious! The waitresses were so sweet - recommended drinks, appetizers, etc. An older lady and her girlfriend came in for a quick bite and ended up sitting w/ us - had hilarious conversation with them - to the point that I was actually a little disappointed when it was time to be seated in the dining room. The decor and ambiance is so great here - candles everywhere, big comfortable booth - linen tablecloths - it was great! I ordered the pasta with a white sauce and mushrooms - MOST DELICIOUS THING EVER!!! Huuuuuge portion - definitely took most of it home. I know this may sound weird, but I like sauces with a soupy consistency and this was perfect! It re-heated amazingly well the next day - perfectly saucy! Boyfriend had chicken parm and loved it - chicken was crispy, plenty of cheese! The waiter was funny and down to earth. Brought me out a plate of their lemon cookies with a candle for my birthday :) Great memories of Maggiano's - if you're looking for a place to celebrate a special day or occassion without going downtown - this is it! They also have a dinner special where you can get an appetizer to share, two classic pastas (they give you an extra portion to take home!), and a dessert to share for $39.95! Wonderful deal for the quality of food and attentive service! read more

Great service, food and atmosphere! One of my favorite Italian places in the city...I know I'm usually pretty critical of chain places, but this one is actually really great! The customer service is awesome and the decor and atmosphere are top notch...The outside patio is very relaxing and romantic. I always love eating at Maggiano's...Keep up the great work!! read more

I was really surprised at how much I liked this place. Giant italian menu, super friendly service, downtown Chicago ambiance, and of course delicious food. the ciabatta bread with olive oil and balsamic on the side was crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on it inside. it was fantastic. 3 more baskets, please. All the food is family style so a half order is good for 2-3 people. The mrs and I split a caesar salad, fried mozzarella and the chicken & spinach manicotti. It all tasted great, though the chicken was obviously not freshly prepared. for some reason there were (faux) grill marks on it. Im not an italian grandma, but if i were making manicotti, i'd probably be baking the chicken. i dunno. Chain schmain, this place is great (aside from the questionable chicken). I'm looking forward to going back. read more

This review is for brunch at Maggiano's. If I were to review dinner, I would give them a better rating. As much as they promote their brunch, I would expect better. There were only 3 or 4 other tables occupied and service was slow - our waitress wasn't attentive and we had to ask for several things, including coffee. They were out of lemon ricotta pancakes, the main reason I wanted to eat there. When our food did arrive the egg dishes - frittata and over easy eggs - were overcooked and rubbery. Maybe an off-day but still disappointing. read more