Maggiano's Little Italy — Restaurant in Dunwoody

It saddens me to write this review of Maggiano's. I've eaten at this chain many times and it's my youngest child's favorite restaurant (well, one of them at least...)

Over the years my dining experiences here have diminished considerably. Sometimes it's little things like slow service even though the restaurant wasn't crowded. Or, an overcooked salmon on a salad.

The menu has expanded over the years and it's latest iteration had me a little excited to try a couple of dishes. This is where things go a little bit wrong.

I'm a New Yorker and lifelong fan of Italian cuisine. I'll even make my own fresh pasta from time to time. When I see a classic dish like Cacio e Pepe I get excited. Because of a shellfish allergy I had to substitute with chicken, though the classic dish has no added protein. I really wanted to taste it as advertised with the combination of the Applewood bacon and Arugula.

Cacio e Pepe is spicy with pepper and salty from the pecorino Romano. The dish I got had neither of these ingredients. It was quite shockingly bland, which Cacio e Pepe should NEVER be. I sent the dish back to the kitchen letting my server know what was missing. The dish that came back was resting in a pool of some kind of gravy 🤢 I was also expecting the bacon to be more like a lardon with a little more chew but it was a chopped slice of bacon. One final point, however small, was how clumsily the chicken was added to the plate. There were a few large pieces that made eating the dish a bit awkward. But, it was meant to be a dish with shrimp so I'm guessing that pivot was a bridge too far. Oh well...

At this point my server was done with me and sent over the manager who proceeded to tell me that's how Maggiano's makes the dish. It's clear that neither he nor the chef have ever tasted the real thing.

What's interesting is how many servers around our table who were hard-selling that dish. My replacement dish was their grilled salmon with lemon over sautéed spinach. I'm sorry to say my salmon was overcooked... Again...

In the end, Maggiano's IS a chain. Perhaps they're just too big for...

Made reservations for our 38th wedding anniversary which just happens to be on the very busy Valentine's Day celebration, we were greeted by the hostess at 6:05 pm for our reservation time of 6:30 she assured us we would be seated on time, since there was a very large crown we slid over to the bar for a cocktail while we waited. Before we even received our drink our table was ready. I waited for our cocktails while they seated my wife, the bar staff were very busy with lots of patrons, however both were still smiling and greeting everyone that came in, the drinks were excellent so I paid the tab and went to our table. When I arrived my wife told me that our server was Ethan and he would be right back. When Ethan arrived and engaged us in conversation I felt like he was a friend and we were just catching up, pleasant, professional & fun. We went over options, however I already knew which dish my wife was ordering. Ethan had the bread with olive oil already to go and we chose the Calamari Fritte with a little twist! Ethan suggested the Lemon Aioli to go with the marinara. Let me tell you that was so delicious our new go to sauce! The whole night Ethan had these little suggestions that made it better with every bite. As expected my wife ordered the Linguine Di Mare it was fantastic, I went with my go to Mom's Lasagna with another Ethan suggestion of some added spice! It was awesome and so much food. During our meal the Manager stopped in to check on us J was making sure we were happy and had everything we needed. The restaurant was so busy yet everyone moved with ease and a smile. We were enjoying the experience and discussing with surrounding tables about the service and Ethan and J, we were all impressed. The final act was the fresh strawberry new york style cheesecake, so light and tasty! The brought an order of vera's lemon cookies, folks do NOT miss these delicious little morsels! Be sure to get Ethan so the fun never ends! Thank you to all, you made our special celebration so...

For our family dinner this year, we chose a favorite. It was a favorite because of the location, the food variety, and the atmosphere. I will say that this year I was a little disappointed. I wasn't pleased with the fact that we were jammed packed inside like sardines. Understanding that this is a holiday, and as an establishment, you want to get as many in as possible; however, reaching over your customers to pass food to them versus being able to walk down the isle was not professional, nor was it COVID FRIENDLY! I wasn't favorable of others at the table touching my plate or glass. I didn't appreciate that at all. There was no room for servers to get down isles. 2. Kids were being allowed to stand up in chairs and push chairs in and out, disturbing our table, which was already tight. Maybe next time, seating for families with kids can be designated to one side of the room to make it comfortable. The food was just ok this time. I had the DINNER FOR 2. The Mushroom Ravioli is normally much better, creamy, and very saucy. It was dry. My bill was $112. It was said to be a $58 meal. I had a beer, my son had 2 beers, and my granddaughter had a kids' spaghetti meal. The spaghetti was ok, but the meat ball was just a hunk, and it realky wa not a good flavor. Maybe serve it as smaller meatballs, not just that hunk. It was dry as well. I think instead of choosing between an appetizer and salads, we should have been able to get both the salads and the appetizer for the DINNER FOR TWO. Would have made me feel better about paying that $112. The best part of the visit was with our very kind and cordial server "TROY"! He handled our large party of 11 with grace and professionalism. I visited the PERIMETER, ASHFORD DUNWOODY location. The food and atmosphere may be better at another, I will visit CUMBERLAND next time! Normally, the score would be...