Maggiano's Little Italy — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

being a chef, I'm not a hard person to please. it's the small things and the subtle nuances that make a dining experience worthwhile. Maggianos didn't disappoint at ALL. I had a lot of friends tell me that this place was great. good food, good drinks, good atmosphere. anybody that I talked to didn't have a bad thing to say, and now I know why. I had a 7:30 reservation on a Friday night, I got there about 7:15. Walking up a flight of stairs you get to the main dining area and let me tell you it was packed to the gills! The maitre D's were very nice, and polite even though it was hectic.I let them know that I had a 7:30 reservation they told me that they were a little backed up, and to please be patient. I took a seat in there small seating area, and waited about 20 mins for my named to be called. We were seated at a nice booth in the main section of the dining area, there wasn't an empty seat in the house. That's one of the tell tale signs of a good restaurant. Booming on a Friday night and you're waiting 30 minutes after your reservation to be seated. Assad out waiter was amazing. Upon hearing it was my wife and I's wedding anniversary, he immediately congratulated us and brought out a sample appetizer of fried zucchini. Which literally tasted like mozzarella sticks. Soft and creamy in the middle, deep fried to Golden perfection. We ordered the antipasti charcuterie board for two, I got the linguine di mare, and my wife got their wagyu stuffed shells. She got the blackberry Bourbon sour, and I got the smoked old fashioned for drinks. The timing and the execution of the drops were all spot on ! Again when I tell you it's all the small things, the subtle nuances, the waiter noticing what you need but not bothering you at the table, giving you fresh bread when you're about to run out, refilling your water glasses when you're just low enough. These are all signs of a great restaurant. After presenting amazing fresh baked bread with butter and pecorino Romano cheese, ten minutes later they dropped the free fried zucchini. Our drinks and appetizer came out first. Then about 30 mins after that our entree's came out. Assad then stopped at the table and asked how everything was at this point we were in seventh heaven. He made it even better by asking if we wanted to try some wine samples that would pair well with our meals! 😲😲 Whhhhhaaaattt ! "OF COURSE" We said. Assad gave use several amazing samples (full glasses) including a Chardonnay that tasted like peaches and pears, and then a Riesling that tasted of dry green apple with super acidity. Both went amazing with our entree choices. So much so I'm going to the liquor store tonight to try to find that Chardonnay. I'm not a wine drinker 🤣 it's not like a chain restaurant where they drop everything 5 minutes after each other and they're trying to push you out the door to flip a table to make more money. They want you to relish in each and every item you have, they want you to take your time on your drink, they want you to finish a portion of your meal before you start on the next one. let your food digest, you have a nice conversation, you look around the restaurant, you schmooze with your waiter, you talked to the sommelier about wines, that is what an amazing dining experience SHOULD BE! About an hour into our meal now, we hadn't seen aside for maybe a good 30 minutes. He walked out of the kitchen with to-go plates in his hand and I told my wife " if those are for us, this man is the best way to I've ever had in my life. " Sure nuff they were ! He got a fat tip and we'll definitely be going back again ! 5/5 across the board, not a bad thing...

Let me preface this and say that I really appreciate our server tonight for tending to us and making this experience here more enjoyable despite the night not really living up to what I used to experience from Maggiano's.

We have been coming to Maggiano's off and on for special occasions for several years. It used to be very enjoyable and felt like a upscale Italian family dining restaurant. The prices used to be a little expensive but very manageable and so we treated out outings there as special occasions.

After the recent update to the restaurant it does not even come close to what Maggiano's used to be or at least what I knew and love. Don't get me wrong the update to the restaurant is incredible and makes the vibe feel very upscale and classy. Great changes to the lighting, tables, flooring, pictures and wall paint. It's almost a night and day difference. But this update is part of the problem. It's too classy, and feels way too upscale to what I would feel from a family dining experience. I felt outclassed by a mile. And don't get me started about the food pricing....

The pricing for food here rose exponentially. It's used to be $14 for simple entree and $28+ for more high end items. Now those simple entrees are $25+ with cost going over $55+ for an entree. And this is JUST the entree not even sides. On top of this, many of the beloved menu items have now been cut in favor of a more reduced menu that can be easily overcharged for. Once a fully course meal for their old special pick 2 was about $60 for the 2 of us. Now i spent $109 on a meal I did not really enjoy. And that's not even getting the most expensive items. 2 entrees. 2 overpriced alcoholic drinks.

The staff this evening seem stressed and not as welcoming as before, besides our server of course. The host tonight seemed to have a forced attitude about him and it felt like us having a reservation for 2 at the time was inconvenient. However I don't know what they were dealing with at the time but it seemed... off. What really start the down hill trend was when I had to send back a wine that was order because of a dirty glass that was given to me. I don't cause a big fuss about these things because stuff happens and I just requested a new glass. What got me was my server and what I presumed to be the manager having a heated discussion with each other with which I can only assume is my wine complaint because the server was on his way back with my wine and the lady stopped him and grilled him about it. I can only assume she was upset about possibly having it sent back? Or topped off? Who knows.

Food experience was mediocre which falls well short of the mark for what a $26 entree would taste like. I order the Chicken Parm and it was... OK. Usually this is served on Spaghetti noodles or something similar but the change to menu has it on rigatoni. Sauce was a bit to sweet for a marinara sauce and it was topped with barely melted mozzarella. Again, not terrible but it was no where near what I had before.

Now the bathrooms.... disgusting. Toilet paper everywhere. One stall had water all over the floor. Smelled like sewage. Just... no.

I'm disheartened to say that I don't think I will be back to a once beloved restaurant. It used to be a very family centered place with great food, cozy vibes, and a classic Italian feel. Now it feels.... corporatized. Like trying to hard to be something in New York or California. Seems the vibe is now more Money...

THINK THREE TIMES, NOT TWICE, BEFORE BOOKING YOUR EVENT HERE!! To say the least, I was extremely disappointed with the setup service and the meal. Although I submitted my meal selection weeks in advance and received no confirmation on receipt, on the day of my dinner celebration, I received a call on my way to Nashville. The phone call was from someone named Natalie (I believe), she informed me that Maggiano’s no longer served Angel Hair Pasta and that I needed to select another pasta. This should have been discussed weeks in advance, for me, to make a more suitable selection (Unacceptable). Once I arrived at the restaurant around 5:35 p.m., I realized that the room that I had chosen was not set up for a dancing area, as I was told that this room would accommodate an area appropriate for dancing. At the time of this request, iced water glasses had already been placed on all the tables. I had to ask the staff to rearrange a table, to square off a small area (Unacceptable). I told the lady, who was acting manager, that my guests would not be arriving until around 6:00-6:30 p.m., so we should plan to place the food for buffet/appetizer service, in the warming trays at that time. This request was ignored. Ice water was already placed on the tables when I arrived (5:35 p.m.). Food was being placed in the warmers before 6:00 P.M. (Salad, Crab Cakes, Calamari and Baked Mozzarella Cheese Squares). I shared my concern that these items would be cold, with the servers, before my guests arrived, but they continued. So, when we started eating at 6:30, guess what? The food was cold (unacceptable). Also asked several times, why the tea is not also, placed on the table and waiter does not respond (Unacceptable). The main course meal arrives, and the Linguini with Alfredo Sauce is swimming in a milky sauce, as it is placed on the table. And by the way, the Linguini was flavorless. Halfway through the meal, the waiter comes in continually shouting “complimentary iced tea” to all the tables and instead of placing tea on tables for everyone, proceeds to ask, “who wants tea” and questioning who said they wanted and who said they did not. The tea was placed on the table alongside the unfilled, uniced, frosted on outside water glasses, that no one cared to refill (Rude and Unacceptable). Now, this one really takes the cake (no pun intended). Dessert arrives on the tables and instead of each guest getting the dessert that they desire; they only get a sampling of each dessert. By this I mean, each guest should have requested the dessert of their choosing, be it the Chocolate Cake or the Cheesecake. I paid for a dessert for each of my (28) guests that attended and they all should have gotten a dessert, but they did not (Unacceptable). Once the meal was finished, I was told (in the contract) that the kitchen would box up the remaining third course items, left on table, for me to carry home. No, No, this did not happen. Instead, they brought out individual containers, for each table, to collect the remaining food, for everyone’s later consumption, to take home...