Macaroni Grill

12/12/10 The place was almost empty but service was incredibly slow. Took forever to place orders,. Glasses were often empty. Chicken soup had good flavors but its pasta was overcooked mush. Ordered Beef Tenderloin medium rare and got a small, overcooked, room temperature shish kabob. Won't go again. They were even slow to bring a check or return my card afterwards.

2 stars I'm at the Princeton Macaroni Grill right now and the service is terrible and not at all at par with any resturant within this price range. Do not visit this location unless you want to starve while waiting an hour for the main course and never have your drink refilled. It isn't even busy here. Ugh

I haven't been to a Macaroni Grill in 10 years or so, but I decided to give it a try for my birthday this year. Bad choice. Our service was subpar, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt in that they were training a new hire. When we ordered our drinks we were warned by the servers (trainer and trainee) that several items were out for the evening, including fettuccini noodles, shrimp, chicken masala and several other items that I can't remember. I'm a vegetarian and there weren't many options on the menu for me to begin with so I chose the mushroom ravioli. They came back a few minutes later to tell me they were out of that too. Basically, they should have shut the restaurant down (and was only around 8 on a Friday evening). I finally ordered and received the eggplant parm. It was ok, but the noodles had almost no sauce on them - mostly they were just stained orange. Also, when the meal was placed in front of me the server pointed out that one side had been burnt and sug... Read more

This restaurant doesn't even deserve one star. Here's my story: It was my sister's birthday so we went to Romano's Macaroni grill. It was our third time their. I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimps. When I got my SMALL plate it had 3 shrimps in it. I was so mad because I payed 3.25 extra for 3 shrimps?? Not only that the spaghetti was sticky and gross. It was WAY too salty. I later looked up the calories and it had 950 and 1630 mg. of salt. You're only supposed to have 500 mg a day!!!! The plate was SO small so I don't' know how they fit all that salt in their. I didn't finish my plate. My mom ordered a scallops and spinach salad and my dad a chicken marsala. We were all disappointed but got over it. When we finally got home, I looked in the mirror. Naturally I have a flat stomach. But that day I could blow it out so much that it looked like I was pregnant! When I touched it, it felt so weird! I immediately went to the gym to run 3 miles. Ew. Then when I got home my sister was doin... Read more

My husband and I went to Macaroni Grill for lunch. They were not busy but the service took a while. We both ordered classic Italian dishes. (Chicken Parm and Chickan Marsala) The Chicken Marsala was awful. The chicken was dry, pasta was cold, the garlic was burned, and the mushrooms were whole and still hard. The Chicken Parm was not as good as the Marsala. It tasted like frozen chicken with a can of Chef Boy R D thrown on top. For $30 we expected more. We will never go there again!!

All I have to say is horrible! It was salty the Alfredo was soupy and the steak was burnt the stuffed mushrooms were cold also! Sent from my iPod.

I didn't like Macaroni Grill in the past...but we ate there Saturday, 7/2/10, and it was much better than it used to be. The portions were smaller (in my opinion, that's a GOOD thing), and cheaper (also good). The desserts were sized for an individual, and cost only $1.99 or $2.99 each (for most of them), rather than the huge desserts that can feed six and cost an arm and a leg . The waiter was attentive but didn't hover. He was friendly and helpful. He said they had just re-done the menu...so for those of you who haven't liked it in the past...give it another shot! :)

Inedible! My daughter and I ate at the Northgage Seattle location last night. I was giving this chain a second chance. Never again. You'd better like rosemary, and tons of it! Both dishes we ordered were waaaaaayyyyy overdone with the rosemary. It's all you tasted. It overpowered everything. On top of it the bread was loaded with it too. Sometimes, less is better, as the old saying goes. Well, we returned both dishes and were offered an exchange for another dish but at that point we were running late so just left. I'm all for spices but this was unreal.

Macaroni Grill in Alleso Viejo, California, was disgusting this evening.....salty terrible food....doesn't deserve even one star! The simplest of things, lemon pound cake for dessert, came straight from the refrigerator/freezer ..was wet and cold...difficult to screw that up! Oh well. It was consistent with the store in Lake Mary, Florida...several years ago!

After reading some of these reviews it makes me very sad. Every time I have eaten at Macaroni Grill, the service has been excellent. The server is always attentive, keeps drinks full, offers good suggestions ect. Maybe its just the one I eat at, Macaroni Grill in Henderson, NV. The food is awesome 99% of the time, although some of the dishes are a little bland, I.E. Carmela Chicken Rigatoni, and if you don't like something, send it back! I just hope people do not read some of these negative nay sayers and decide not eat there because it would be a shame to miss out on excellent food, service and atmosphere.

Total horse shit. Please pardon my french, but some things need to be told like it is, and there's just no other way of describing Macaroni Grill. Let me start off by saying that I was a fan of the chain for about 12 years - it stood out above many other chains because it used to deliver some semblance of service, and had decent food. I craved it for years after leaving Minneapolis until they finally expanded to Seattle. No longer. The last three visits have been awful. Portion size has been cut in half. Staff training is apparently non-existant. Bring us bread Edurado, please, bring us bread!! Please?! But Eduardo is not the problem. The problem is that the dishes have been changed to such an extent as to be virtually unrecognizable. Unrecognizable and nasty. Examples? Sure: The pasta milano no longer has sun dried tomatoes, but instead some kind of dehydrated diced tomatoes sprinkled on top as an after-thought. They are gross - like little pieces of tomatoe-felt that ... Read more

We went to the Macaroni Grill in Henderson, NV on Sept. 9, 09. I took my 2 sons out to dinner for my younger sons birthday and the service was horrible. First off we traveled 28 miles just to eat at this place, which would not had been a big deal if there had been good service and better food. We waited for at least 20 minutes before "anyone" came over! After 20 minutes a waitress came and asked did anyone come over yet and I quote "we were deciding who was going to come over here". Now, what kind of a comment is that? At that point I should had just taken my family and left. Although, we decided to stay after the long drive and the service never got better. The waitress smurked about everything that I asked for and even acted like she did not know what paper napkins were. The service was bad and the food was dull and bland. I choose The Macaroni Grill over the Olive Garden, but it seems to have been the wrong choice. I would never recommend this location to "anyone"!!

From the sounds of these "reviews", most of you negative rating participants must not work in the restaurant industry, or with people for that matter. Most people tend to give restaurants a bad rap and hey most of the "gossip" you hear is probably right. But for some reason you poor attitude consumers keep coming back even though the entire way to the table you bitch and whine about what a bad experience you had before. Why keep wasting your money? Go elsewhere! I've worked in restaurants long enough to realize most people just don't have a life and need to create drama where ever they can. Yes Romano's is noisy, yes it's dark, yes it can get crowded. But did you ever stop to think why is it so crowded? The food's decently priced for dinner occasions, the portions are great for sharing, and you can bring as many as you want (literally, ive seen walk in parties of 25-tops and MG always accommodated). And if its too noisy don't go to a "family Italian-styled" restaurant then.... Read more

Based on my experiences I have a hard time believing some of these people aren't exaggerating. (Mabye it's because I've only been to the one in Nashville,TN , of all the places I've lived these people are the friendliest therefore you generally get great service) The food taste great, always served hot and the prices are very resonable. I can't say it's as good as a high-end authentic Italian resturant but then again why would compare it to that? It's a great family resturant and I highly recommend it to anyone who isn't too snoody to have a good time in that type of atmosphere.

A small step above Olive Garden, very small step. Not outstanding though it's a coin toss between the two

This place use to be one of my favorite until yesterday's experience. I went there with my husband, the one in Silver Spring MD, and we got our table fast and we got the waiter fast but we did not get drinks til like 20 min after that, we ordered salads and were waiting on the bread they give but neither came til after the main course was on the table. My husband went through 2 drinks and when he asked for the 3rd one the waiter made his point about that would be the last round! what the hell?!!!! I thought the drinks were unlimited refills! so anyways we ended up not eating the salad because by the time we would have been finishing the salads the main course would get ice cold, so we wasted around 50 bucks with tip and left VERY disappointed , I may never go back to that place again!

What else should you expect from a chain? The food is alright, but you better eat most of your dinner while you’re there because it doesn’t taste good leftover.

So much potential, but they seem to use low quality ingredients. I like the recipe, but I couldn't eat the chicken. Why was my chicken gray? And please use more effort in actually serving me only one type of noodle instead of giving me leftovers from another batch. Haven't you heard, presentation is key. NJ location

If you ask me for this Brinker Co.-controlled restaurant, I would say it was a warm place. From the date I wrote this, I was there one or two hours ago. I did enjoy the warm hospitality and food there. I did enjoy the service- they served me in less than ten minutes for the main meal (If you want to know, it's the artichoke cakes.) The waiters were knowlegeable on what's on their menu and the food tasted great. When I left the waiters and manager did say their goodbyes to me. I got what I paid for, and most of the prices are fair. I don't know about the other places, but Romano's will compete well with Olive Garden. I will go again, but I will be more self conscious of what I eat since a magazine gave a low grade for how healthy their food is. Exceptionally unbeatable!

Why would anyone eat there? Is there a need for chain Italian restaurants? Just go to a real Italian restaurant!

I think Macaroni Grill is a realy good restaurant! My favorite dish is their Fettucini Alfredo! YUMM!

Every single time I go there, I get the macaroni and cheese. It's good, but that's all I ever eat. It's always dark and loud in there, though. And cramped >_< But, if you want mac and cheese, get it :D The only other thing I like is the bread and olive oil. And the crayons :D It would be good for little kiddies :D

It is a politically correct chain restaurant that contributes to other social problems.

My food was actually burned and they tried to cover it up with lots of bland sauce and gobs of cheese. I ordered the eggplant parmesean, but frankly there could have been anything under all that sauce and cheese- all I could taste was cheese and sauce.. No real imagnination for any of the dishes...they have about 10 ingredients for evrything and have never heard of spices. Waste of money.

macaroni? grill? youve got to be kidding me, right? god please tell me that is someones idea of a joke. please.

I <3 The Macaroni Grill! It's muy delicious! Everyone should go there as much as they can!

I have eaten there twice. Both times our food was served to us cold. Had to ask to send it back. It is so loud there also. I don't like it I will never go back.

Ok, if you live in the Midwest or something and your choices are Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill, this is your best choice. If you live in an area with other italian places and still choose to go here, you need your head examined.

Excellent preparation on create your own pasta dishes every time. Can't go wrong when you tell them exactly how you like your pasta, etc.

I had the spaghetti with tomato basil and it was the most delicious spaghetti I have ever had, and trust me, I have been to many many restaurants in which I ordered spagetti, and none can compare. Also, the bread has hints of rosmary in it which is very delicious.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! We went there a few weeks ago when we were out of town. Me and my husband's favorite is the Tomato, Basil and Mozzerella appetizers - they are SO good! Also love the Cheese Bread they give you with the Olive Oil to dip it in...so good! I DO NOT recommend the stuffed Lobster Ravioli though. I love Lobster (which is why I ordered it to begin with) - but I should of known better. She was some weird herb/seasoning in it and it tasted AWFUL! Wasn't cheap either. What a waste this particular dish was!

This place is the best. Way more high class than Olive Garden. The food is a lot better too!

Hi I recently had such a bad experience @ macaroni grill it was in junction with the 10 east and the 30 freeways in san Bernardino well at the beginning it was so nice to be there because the environment is so great!!! They gave girlfriend and me seats close to the front almost by were the manager was. After 15 min I erased my hand because no one was taking any of our orders nobody give us a drink or the bread that they usually give before they bring the food. Finally a guy called jack brought us plates and nothing else apparently he was going to bring us the bread... they apparently forgot about giving us food, another lady passed by and I said to her can you please bring us drinks she walked right by us and say ok and never came back or passed by. My girlfriend told me to be patient so I was. A nice guy took our order after 25 min and another guy came with our food apparently no one brought us more drinks or asked us how’s everything, I got very disappointed of this place and I would... Read more

I'm not exactly sure of why rude customers and long waits evaluate the overall successful interpretation of a restaurant review, but I would say that at most chain restaurants the goal is to give consistancy from location to location. I feel that I have experienced so many emotions from working for RMG over nine years (both good and bad) I am glad its finally all over with! Thanks RMG for the memories

Their is food is definitely way overrated, kind of in the same category as an Olive Garden. It is pricey and just not worth it. If there is a macaroni grill their is usually some other sort of pseudotrendy foodplace nearby like Woodranch. Go there.

Tasty food and ample portions for a reasonable price.  Waitress was very attentive, came back every five minutes, guess she had only a couple tables to serve.  I have been five times and love it, especially the fresh oven bread which they bring out at first with olive oil.

I wanted to enjoy a meal with my little sister and brother since we rarely enjoy meals together. We all decided on the Macaroni Grill in Bakersfield, CA. Although it did not take long to seat us service was horrible. Our server, Judy, barely took any notice of us. All our utensils were filthy; we had to ask for our bread; it took her 20 minutes to come take our order; she forgot our straws, and I had to painstakingly ask her twice in 7 minutes; she completely forgot to bring us new knives, which we requested for twice; she never ONCE gave us a refill; we finished our meal within 15 minutes and sat for another 20-30 minutes trying to catch her attention as she walked by several times so we could TELL her to give us our bill; and to top off the ruined night, she took another 10 minutes to take the bill off our table and another 5-7 minutes to return with our change. We did not even bother with dessert because we did not want to get stuck there for another 30 minutes and went to Cold... Read more

went to Lewisville, TX location. when we arrived, waitress didn't come over for 10min or so because "the entire staff was in a meeting" (it was 6pm). following the meal (which was average) had a dispute regarding whether we could use 2 gift cards we had been given. waitress said it is a common problem then referred us to the manager who also said it was common problem then referred me to the general manager. he was unwilling to accept both cards so i asked for a contact at Brinker to complain to later. he then stormed off and got into a heated discussion with our waitress, she came back and literally through the check folder at me across the table. I noticed they had also removed the recepit copy that had the code to submit a survey, i trioed to get the waitress, but she just glared and walked away. most pathetic management and customer service I have seen in a while.

A favorite here in Memphis for me. Good food, very good wine, excellent service, a good price. If anything negative, it can be a bit noisy on the weekend and usually a wait.

I should say at the outset that I am most emphatically NOT a fan of chain restaurants. In fact, I generally detest even the idea of chain restaurants...they represent everything abhorent to me about America's bland consumerist culture. However, if I was starving and absolutely had to pick one (as I did recently), it would probably be Macaroni Grill. The prices are reasonable and the food, for what it is, actually is not half bad, and I speak as someone who used to enjoy dining regularly on Mulberry Street in NY's Little Italy (back in the glory days before it became a generic tourist trap). I do wish they'd dispense with the practice of your waitress writing her name on the tablecloth in crayon, but I guess you can't have everything. Still, if I have my druthers (and enough money in my pocket) I always prefer going to an organic restaurant run by actual people as opposed to these corporate concoctions that proliferate at every strip mall across the country (Ruby Tuesday's, Applebee's, ... Read more

I had a very bad experience last night at Macaroni Grill in South Tampa, FL. I was there with my husband, mother-in-law and 2 month old baby girl. The waitress (named Kathy) gushed about how good my baby was being, then proceded to say to me, "Honey, no offense, but you baby looks nothing like you. She looks like her daddy and grandma." I was shocked that this middle aged "bitter-I'm-a waitress at 50" woman would have the nerve to insult me!

An unpleasant experience on my third visit at the El Cerrito site. We were given a dinner menu with dinner prices, understandable if the bill presented with their lunch price. That did not happen. The Carmela's Chicken Rigatoni came in a huge soup bowl filled with pasta and a gummy sauce with bits of onions, but try as I could, even after eating this overcooked pasta and mediocre sauce, I could not find the chicken. I wanted to make a missing chicken report. LOL A previous nasty incident in this particular restaurant occured on my second trip when I ordered a Boursin Filet and was served a bloody raw steak that was sent back, and returned extremely well done and rubberized. LOL My host insisted in giving the wait person at least a 12 percent tip, saying that usually it is the supervisor or assistant manager that is responsible for implementing a national policy down at the local level. She explained that the front line staff usually have no authority to fix any problem. So I... Read more

As with any chain, the quality tends to vary from one location to another depending on the employees. Overall, this is actually a good italian chain. Yes, you can wait a long time when it's crowded or understaffed and yes, the food quality varies with the chefs, but if you can find a decent one, it's really a good restaurant. Try going at off peak times or try to get to know the manager and a few of the waiters. MG has one of the better Alfredo sauces. In anycase, this is a better restaurant chain than the Olive Garden.

Haven't eaten there in a couple of years so, I'm not sure if they are still as good as they used to be.

We went to Macaroni Grill in Milpitas,Ca on Sunday at around 04:00pm and were seated, that's just it, seated for more than 20 minutes. The couple next to us, got their meal, finished, leave, their table got cleaned and the next customer were seated, order their drink, served their drink and yet, we're sitting there drawing with crayon provided, no water, no bread, nobody say hi, no nothing, was promised that someone will help us, and nobody showed up, we decided to leave. very bad service, bad attitude, never will ever visit Macaroni Grill and its affiliates. A perception that Oriental folks are usually not a good tipper according to my 18 years old son, that's why we're just ignored. we're definitely will spread the story from now on.

Poor Service/Quality fair/Almost cold food - My husband and I dined at the Macaroni Grill in Torrance, CA last night. After a 25 minute wait on a Sunday at about 6PM, we were seated and then greeted by a waitress who acted like she did not want to be at work. We ordered the Mushroom Ravioli appetizer and soft drinks to start. Then, the waitress returned to take our order. Our Caesar salads (very average dressing), drinks and bread were served and no sign of the appetizer. The waitress had disappeared, so we could not even inquire about what happened. When she finally arrived with the appetizer (probably 20 to 25 mins. later) and a "thanks for being patient and waiting.."no sorry for the delay, the sauce was barely warm. I wanted to send the dish back, but again, she was not in sight. We did not complain. Our main dishes were brought over by another server. Again, not very warm and food was fair. We had to ask for seconds on our drinks. The original server did bring over the dessert tra... Read more

I was one of a party of 16 (yes, we had reservations) last night at the RMG in Monrovia, CA, on Jan. 19, 2006. It being a chain Italian restaurant, I honestly wasn't expecting much. Given that we were such a large party, I expected we would have to wait a long time for our food. Appetizers came fairly quickly, and our meals were served a long time later. My child was the only child in the group, and she was served next to last. Her food was cold. My meal was served last- a full 25 minutes *after* everyone else at the table had been served their main meals. Unacceptable. I had ordered the pork chop special, which was so incredibly salty I honestly could not taste the meat, nor its sauce. The well-cooked broccoli was also too salty. The garlic mashed potatoes were very good. When we complained about my meal being late (while we were still waiting for it), the manager (we had complained to our waiter, who then sent the manager over)apologized, and offered to comp the desserts (it was a bi... Read more

Very average. Not bad... not that great either.

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The one in Indianapolis that I've been to has been quite decent, actually by far the best Italian food I've had here. Perhaps they vary greatly in quality from city to city?