Italia Cucina Familiare — Restaurant in Saginaw Charter Township

Please read carefully. We’ve been ordering takeout pizza from this restaurant for a while, and it’s always been absolutely delicious—no complaints. However, when we decided to dine in and try their other meals, we encountered several frustrating issues.

On our first visit, I ordered the lasagna, which was listed at $15.79 on the menu (I even took a photo for reference). Before ordering, we met the owner, who was very friendly and highly recommended it, mentioning that it comes with a meatball on top. That sounded great, so I went for it. The lasagna itself was delicious. However, when I checked the receipt at home (my husband paid so he didn’t pay attention at the restaurant), I noticed I was charged $18.59 plus an extra $2.00 for the meatball—without any prior mention of the price difference by our server, Kiersten W. A $4.80 upcharge without notice is unacceptable.

We decided to give the restaurant another chance. This time, we ordered the Maine Lobster Dinner ($21.95) and Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo ($16.99 on the menu, but $17.99 on the bill)—both of which, according to the menu, included side salads. However, our server, Katie, never brought them. When we asked, she casually informed us that salads are no longer included, but she could "add them to the bill" if we wanted. No apology, just a snarky remark. We asked if the price would be adjusted since the salads were removed. She said no. A few moments later, she returned and said we could have them "for free."

When the salads arrived, they were a complete joke: iceberg lettuce, onions, and olives—nothing else. No extra vegetables, no effort. It felt like an afterthought.

To top it all off, Katie never once asked if we enjoyed our meals but was quick to push their “homemade last night” tiramisu. That was the final straw. What they called tiramisu was a dry, chocolate cupcake (different shape, same flavor) topped with white icing and cocoa powder. No coffee, no mascarpone, no alcohol—nothing remotely resembling real tiramisu. To make matters worse, it was prepackaged with a plastic fork on top, not even stored in the fridge. We were charged $6.59 per piece instead of the $4.99 listed on the menu (see the photos).

Thanks to my husband, I didn’t express my frustration in person, as he didn’t want a confrontation. Honestly, I don’t think Katie deserved a tip, but again, I wasn’t the one paying.

Final thoughts: While most of the food is amazing, the service and pricing issues ruin the experience. The menu needs to be fixed, and servers should be properly trained to communicate pricing changes. The constant overcharging, lack of transparency, and poor service are incredibly disappointing. Until these issues are addressed, I won’t...

My first experience with this place, we ordered pizza and it was very good our visit was before the price hikes. I bragged it up to friends. Several friends and myself went for lunch. My first surprise were the price hikes. We waited an hour for our food but good food is worth the wait right? We were the only patrons. I ordered the Italian salad. It was 10.49, when it came it was a large bowl 90 percent lettuce with a few tiny bits of tomatoes, banana pepper rings and a sprinkle of mozzarella chess’s. Just salad no bread sticks. My friend ordered the meatball sandwich which came nice and hot with plenty of sauce and cheese but no meat balls. When asked where are the meat balls the reply “oh they’re in there they’re just ground up. What???? My friend tore the sandwich apart looking for meat she found what may have been teaspoon full. She did say the bread was good. Price 12.99, another friend as for extra marinaria it came in a tiny paper cup about a tablespoon full. She wasn’t told of the extra two dollar charge until the bill came. We won’t be back needless to say. Sorry I’ve benn to some high quality Italian restaurants where the meal was worth the wait...

Visiting Michigan for the first time and despite being here for only 6 days, from Detroit, to Bay City, and to Mackinac Island, Italia Cucina Familiare was hands down the best restaurant I’ve been to this trip. It was only the chef/owner (whose passion for continuing family recipes I admire) and a young server (who shared her dreams of traveling the world) with two other tables of customers when we went, but they were very welcoming and made the room feel lively. The atmosphere was warm and familiar, and the food had a genuine homemade taste compared to other restaurants. The chef gave his personal recommendations from the menu and options to customize aspects of the dish - I had their portobello mushroom and shrimp ravioli. Even after our food was served, he offered to adjust the flavor of the sauce if needed. He even gave us baked garlic knots on the house (DEFINITELY recommend trying otherwise) after finding out it was our first time in. The price was definitely worth the quality of food. This was the last place I dined in in Michigan and I’m glad I ended the trip on this note. Much love from Kansas. Whenever I’m back up, I will be...