Michael's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Elkhart

I don't feel that we will be returning. Had a date night with my boyfriend planned and decided to try out Michael's - I wish we tried elsewhere. The menu I was handed was dirty (Mac and cheese crusted). It took about 15 minutes for a waitress to say "hello", another 10 for drinks, another 30 for the appetizer, (glasses empty) and finally our order was taken, not delivered to our table, but taken back to the kitchen. Well, kind of. We were informed that their Friday special, wasn't on special and shouldn't have been on the menu. He ordered something else and I orded the Pasta Combo to which the waitress groaned about how the back "loves how popular it is tonight". Kind of off setting and felt off-put... Drinks ran dry again, but noticed that other tables surrounding us (three seated after) ordered the same things, if not more, that were shot out of the kitchen in record time. We waited an additional 50 minutes for our main meals from finishing our apps, while the other tables were finished and left. When we finally received our meals, the plates were hot, but mine was room temperature in the middle and the quality didn't win me over. It was hot lamped for too long to where you could see dry penne. We ordered dessert but our waitress never brought it over nor put it on the check. At the end, we had to flag her down and then she was quick to give us a check without any apology.

The ONLY reason I'm giving two stars was because my boyfriend said his main course was good, hot, and flavorful. I, however, felt sick afterwords.

I understand that weekends are busy, but I felt completely ignored and embarrassed that this was our suggestion for our date...

Whoops! I forgot to take pictures. The evening was Excellent. Yes, it was crowded. However, that is a statement to how good this restaurant is and that people want to be there. We were celebrating a birthday and enjoyed a variety of dishes. I had the Veal Parmesan which comes on a serving of spaghetti with marinara sauce. Another of us had the Fat Tony - a pasta dish with pesto (along with vegetables). We had a small salad to accompany the main dishes. The Hot (warmed) Bacon dressing is Great. Hey! It's on a salad. The others shared a pizza and fried mushrooms appetizer. Everyone was very happy with their meals and definitely full. It is a split, but open (half wall) area that the dining area and bar share. Busy, but the wait Staff is very attentive to the customers and the turn over of customers leaving to clean tables for new customers...

We were passing through and found this gem! We live an hour and a half away. We were on our way home from Goshen and decided to check out some place to eat. My favorite is Italian food so we stopped here. OMG, the food was outstanding! Everything tasted homemade. My husband had pizza, I had a pasta combo and my son had the veal parm. We also got pepperoni cheese bread. I literally have not a single bad thing to say about the food and the service! We decided that we will eventually come back if we are wanting a little road trip. The only negative, is that the place was so full, everyone was talking so loudly, we we couldn't have a conversation because of the noise factor..but the food made up for it! We have to go back to Goshen on Monday so guess what we get!! MORE...