Mariah's Steakhouse & Pasta — Restaurant in Springfield

Our first visit since the end of the pandemic and the restaurant has changed, all for the good. The menu has been updated and the non-vegetarian and vegetarian selections offer something for everyone. The atmosphere is improved with cool jazz music and slightly lowered lighting. I had the crab stuffed shrimp which was delicious, the salad was fresh and cold with a nice mix of greens, onions, and tomatoes; the addition of salty Kalamata olives would be a good addition. A warm rolls were a nice touch and something not many restaurants offer anymore. The lamb osso bucco was excellent. My wife had the roasted pepper bisque which was really good, and her mushroom ravioli in mushroom and cream sauce was luscious. The portions were substantial, and we wanted but had no room for desert. Our server, Mitch, and the other dining room staff were pleasant and efficient, making for a dinner experience we could linger over (1.5 hours). We'll return for Valentine's Day dinner. All-in-all, an excellent visit.

2/14/2024: We made a reservation for Valentine's Day. The restaurant was crowded when we arrived, but we were shown to our table at our reservation time of 7:30. My wife ordered the house salad followed by baked cheese filled manicotti and finally bread pudding which was delicious. Her portions were large and some came home with us. I had the Caesar salad. It was unusual but the best I've eaten. It contained artichoke hearts which I love, black olives, and thick slices of parmesan cheese. It was a large salad and very filling. The warm homemade rolls came with our entrees. I had the 14 oz. prime ribeye, medium rare (perfectly cooked) and mashed potatoes with brown gravy. I took some of the ribeye home. Mitch is an excellent server (ask for one of his tables), and dinner was leisurely, lasting almost two hours of wonderful food and pleasant conversation. We left well fed and relaxed. We enjoy dressing for dinner, and my wife looked lovely. I had an occasion to wear my Buchanan Ancient tartan kilt. my green heather Crail jacket and waistcoat, with all the proper accessories, and received several compliments. It contributed to a fun evening. We'll be back.

7/12/2024: Went for dinner. The atmosphere is relaxing with good quiet jazz in the background. Excellent servers. My wife had the roasted red pepper soup, the grilled asparagus, and a baked potato (she's vegetarian). I had a house salad and chicken marsala. Chicken marsala is one of my favorite dishes, and I've had many times including in Florence and Rome. Mariah's version is the best I've eaten. There's only one thing I'd change, and I suggested it: take out the button mushrooms and substitute cremini mushrooms. I think the improvement would be noteworthy.

1/31/2024: We had a very good meal with food we've previously enjoyed. This review is about a few pet peeves tonight, but they occur regularly, not just here but also at other restaurants. First, I had chicken marsala and pronounced it correctly. I didn't appreciate having the server correct my pronounciation, especially because his was pronunciation was incorrect. I also didn't appreciate being told what was in the dish and how it is assembled on the plate. The menu describes it, and he seemed condescending, especially when he asked after his description whether the dish seemed OK with me. When we turned down the question of whether we'd like to start with alcohol drinks, questioning why was rude and intrusive. Lastly, I'm 81 and my wife is 76. We don't appreciate being welcomed as "guys." Further, this is New Year's Eve, and the restaurant is one of the nicer ones in Springfield. A baggy T-shirt, grubby jeans, and a baseball cap worn at a nearby table seemed wholly inappropriate. Yes, I'm snobbish this way. Nice rerstaurant; dress appropriately, and the management might maintain some sort of dress code and ask men to remove their hats while eating. Thanks...

I went to Mariah's Steakhouse and Pasta last night for the first time because it was recommended to me by coworkers. The food was delicious albeit some aspects overpriced, however the customer service was not what you would expect from a fine dining establishment where one pays nearly $100 per person for a meal.

First of all, one of the members of my party ordered a "14 oz Ribeye". When his food came, he was surprised it seemed a bit small. When asking our waiter if it was the 14 oz ribeye he said it was the 12oz. Instead of apologizing for the mistake he blamed the guest saying it was because he didn't order it like most guests and omitted the word "prime". There is no option on the menu for a non-prime14oz Ribeye so you would assume saying the size of steak you want would suffice to get the steak you want. We all were a bit surprised that the waiter was accusatory and put the blame on the guest and how he ordered for not receiving the correct order as if the waiter is unable to clarify if there is any confusion.

During our meal, no one came to check on us if our food was good. We all ordered drinks from the bar and we were not asked during our meal if we would like to order more, which we would have as most of our drinks were empty before we were done eating. There were only 3 maybe 4 other parties in the restaurant so it is not like they were terribly occupied. During our dinner, there was a table of guests who started playing loud music from their personal phone. To our surprise, no one from the restaurant approached those guests and asked them to stop. When I go to a nice restaurant, it is surprising to see guests behaving in this manner but I was completely shocked to see that the restaurant staff did not ask them to stop being disruptive to the other guests.

The final issue with our service was when we received the check. We noticed we were all charged for the soup/ salad we ordered which when we were ordered our entree's the waiter told us that our entrees come with soup or salad and we were told the options. When we asked our waiter about it, he told us that we all ordered the premium option and that you have to pay more for that. The issue is we were not told that these were premium and would cost more. We were told that they were included in our meal. He told us we were wrong and that he said they were premium and offered to get us a menu to show us for ourselves! How could 5 people miss that and all be confused? Honestly, we did not care about paying an extra $5 on meals that were $50+/person, we told him we are happy to pay for food we ordered and enjoyed, but we wanted him to know that we were confused so he is aware he needs to communicate clearer so guests to come do not make this mistake as well. The miscommunication is not the issue here, the waiter's response of getting argumentative is. You don't tell your guest that you will get a menu to show them that they are wrong. You offer your apologies for the miscommunication.

The food was delicious. My filet was cooked exactly how I ordered it, medium-rare with good flavor. I ordered the asparagus which was a bit overpriced at $6 extra charge for 5 stalks, however they were cooked perfectly with good seasoning. The dinner rolls were served warm and buttery. My glass of wine was priced fairly and they had a good selection, however I would have liked to have another glass during diner.

Overall, go to Mariah's for tasty food but do not expect a fine dining experience while you are there. Had we had an average experience one would get at a restaurant, I would have given 5 stars. I will not be going back because I have the expectation of a fine dining experience when I go to...

Very disappointed with the Buffet today for Father's Day. Had reservations for 2:00 we weren't told we could not order from the menu when we called. We weren't informed we could not order from menu until 4pm. While we were there at 2:35 a table of 8 came in and sat down and were given menus so I questioned our waitress she said they had changed their mind they could now order from a menu. The brunch/buffet had been there since 10am there wasn't a very good choice of food and the prime rib was so tuff you couldn't even chew it. We informed the waitress and she said she was sorry she went back to the kitchen and said they had a fresh one so she brought us four pieces of that and it was just as bad as the one being served in the brunch area. My parents are 88 years old they had never eaten at this restaurant before and it was very disappointing because I've always had good food served there in the past. One of the other girls cleaning the table said she had heard earlier that's the prime rib was very tough but she would take it home and give it to her dog which I didn't think was an appropriate thing to say to your customers. When my sister who had originally made the reservations called to speak to a manager someone called her back and said that she believed the waitress over what we had said. Just very dissatisfied and it ruined our Fathers Day lunch for my family. Will never go back and will be sure to tell everyone about the bad food and service provided to my family. Very...