Maggiano's Little Italy — Restaurant in Short Pump

So Maggiano's is one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The closest one to me is 1.5hrs away so it's always a treat when I get it. I made the drive today to get it and took a first timer with me. Unfortunately the food was mediocre at best today. Highly unlike them because I've never had a bad experience but everyone can have a bad day. Our server, Shinika, was AMAZING though!! She was very friendly and attentive to us.

HOWEVER, I CANNOT say the same for Shannon Elder who identified himself as the AGM. We were sat at a table close to the door and I sat facing the direction of the front door. While eating looking around, I watched two different people slip in the same spot. One was an elderly gentleman and thankfully the younger man with him was able to catch him before he actually fell. Then comes the third person, a lady, who was not so lucky as I watched her slip in the same spot and FALL!! There was a male customer with his daughter close by and he helped her up. The Hostess was not at the stand but she came just as the lady got up and the lady told her she had fell.

Cutting the story, eventually the lady comes to my table and asked if I happened to see her fall and I told her I did. She asked me if I wouldn't mind being a witness for her because the manager accused her of LYING. I said sure I would but honestly as I'm walking back to the Hostess stand I'm thinking she must have misunderstood something cause no way a manager told her that. So after waiting for the manager to come back with the incident report form the hostess said he was gone to get, this dude comes back with a blank piece of computer printer paper!

THIS DUDE WAS THE RUDEST MANAGER EVER!!! He absolutely treated us like we were an inconvenience to him. And as the lady is calmly and politely talking about where she fell and the pads she slipped on he says "there was caution pads on the floor from another incident we had cleaned up so you should have watched where you were going." Then he says "the floor wasn't wet, none of the staff saw you fall, and we have cameras so YOU LYING!!" I said so if you have cameras did you go back and see that she indeed fell and I SAW her fall?! He says he hadn't done it yet and then turns back to the lady and said you can include her in your statement if you want. I told him to the be manager you are absolutely rude and disrespectful!!! I then turn to her and tell her you should call corporate and file a complaint. She asks for his business card and he claimed he didn't have any but wrote his name and number on another piece of computer paper.

Maggiano's we work hard for our money and choose who we patronize. HOWEVER if Shannon Elder is a representation of your company and how you treat your customers, I will NOT be back. And I'm making this public post to encourage others NOT to attend if service and respect matters to them!! This customer was not only hurt at your establishment but she was trying to do a courtesy letting the manager know of the hazard. She said her original intent was just to notify him but after being disrespected and treated so poorly, I hope she pursue...

Updated Review – July 19 Visit

I initially gave Maggiano’s 3 stars back in January due to a frustrating seating process. Hoping for improvement, my wife and I returned on July 19…but sadly, things had not gotten better.

We started at the bar before our reservation, and it was a rough beginning. The A/C was dripping condensation directly onto our seats and heads, the bar was disorganized and sticky, and the bartender was completely overwhelmed trying to keep up. It was chaotic enough that I was eager to just pay and move on.

Once seated, our server was pleasant and the food tasted good—but that’s about where the positives ended. The experience continued to fall short:

• No beer on tap.

• The women’s bathroom had no working toilets.

• Visible staff tension…you could feel the stress and friction among the team, which made for an uncomfortable atmosphere.

• Portion sizes were smaller than our last visit, even though I ordered the exact same entrée. I left dinner still hungry, which is not ideal at this price point. Not saying Olive Garden has better food but at least I am not leaving hungry.

• The restaurant needs a deep clean. Everything felt grimy and coated in a layer of dust.

• Low attention to detail—in the men’s bathroom, the wall art was literally still the stock image that comes with the frame. No one even replaced it. It may seem minor, but details like that stand out when you’re paying for a premium dining experience.

If you’re spending close to $200 on a night out, you have endless options and this location hasn’t given me a single reason to return. Disappointing, again.

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I recently visited Maggiano’s for an informal company gathering with a group of about 20 people. The restaurant itself was clean and easily accessible, which was a great first impression. However, the seating strategy left much to be desired. Despite the dining room being only about 70% full, our group was split up, with 12 people seated at one table and another 5 placed across the other side of the dining room. This made it difficult to enjoy the gathering as a cohesive group.

On a positive note, Jada, was incredibly friendly and attentive, which was the highlight of the evening. Stuphon, working the bar, was also kind and welcoming. The food was good, with portions that were decent but not exceptional.

While there were some bright spots, the overall experience was disappointing due to the separation of our group and highly visible attempts to maximize efficiency and profits over guest comfort. I wouldn’t return to...

Unfortunately, we’ll likely not be going back again. The food is good, if/when you get it.

We made reservations for two family dinners this year, Mother’s Day and my birthday. The first time we had reservations at 8pm. Later than I would have liked, but that’s what was available, so my husband took it. We got there and were told they were an hour behind on seating and probably another hour behind on food being served. Stunned that they could be so behind and not make courtesy calls, we waited knowing it would be difficult to find somewhere else so late on a Sunday evening. We tried to stick it out, hoping they were over estimating the wait. Unfortunately they weren’t; we were seated around 9 and still didn’t have food at 10pm. People were literally beginning to look as though they might fall asleep at the table. So we left. After TWO HOURS AND NO FOOD. There was nowhere else I really wanted to go for a nice sit down meal, so we ended up getting take out from the Chinese food restaurant around the corner from home… horrible experience.

Avoided the restaurant all year, but tried again last night. Essentially the same exact thing, but by the time the food came nearly THREE hours after our 7pm reservation, we were too full of bread and salad, and tired of waiting, to even eat it. We packed up our dinner without touching any of it and left.

The hostess and wait staff tried their best to make up for the HORRIBLE wait. They’ve always been amazing, but this service is not acceptable. Unfortunately, they explained corporate has known that the system is overbooking and refuses to do anything about it. I wonder why??? 🙄 The staff has to just deal with it and their customers do too.

It’s really a shame because Maggiano’s has always been one of our favorite restaurants. But not being able to honor reservations, not having the decency to offer courtesy calls, and not even having SEATING FOR ANYBODY to wait that long is utterly ridiculous. You probably need to place an order for pick up around 1pm and just serve it at home if you really want dinner because it is good, but it’s not...