The Flying Noodle - Italian Pasta House — Restaurant in Traverse City

I'm really not trying to be hyperbolic when I say this was the nicest dining experience I've had in so long - TC or otherwise. We made a reservation for four for 5pm and were promptly seated at a lovely table kitchen side. Our server was so warm and welcoming and parked our stroller near the host stand and brought us a high chair, and provided a little art activity to keep Our 3 year old occupied. The kids menu was reasonably priced, on point for what kids are looking for, plentiful and well balanced - buttered noodles, added a meatball, lovely broccolini and cantaloupe. We shared Brussels sprouts as an appetizer that were crispy and indulgent but balanced with a bright lemon sauce. My husband had the short rib pasta - bursting with flavor - and I will be thinking about the squash agnolotti until I get to eat it again. Incredible flavor, toasted but chewy, honestly impeccable. The side salad was fresh, crisp and flavorful. We ordered the divine apple crisp and limoncello for dessert. This meal left little to be desired from taste to experience. Even as a fine dining establishment, they could not have been kinder or more welcoming to our small children which we so appreciate also. This is truly a gem of...

Dinner for 6 on Saturday December 19th with reservations at 4:00. My party arrived at 4:10 and we immediately ordered two cocktails, three appetizers, and two bottles of wine. This dinner was a 50th wedding anniversary for one of the couples. We then ordered salads and each ordered their entree. Then I was surprised when our waitress brought me the tab. A few of the guests requested coffee and we were told they don’t offer coffee. I asked for a dessert menu and was told we had used up our allotted time of 1-1/2 hours and we needed to give our table to others waiting. One guest was from Northern California and two guests from the east side of the state. It was an embarrassment to receive such bad service. My tab was $385. A few of us ordered the scallop pasta and the scallops were the size of a US Penney. I lived 20 years in Maine and am familiar with good scallops. The scallops in our entry looked and tasted like Meijer frozen scallops. In an attempt to recover the weekend for my guests, I treated them to dinner on Sunday December 20th. We dined at Poppycocks and was amazed at the friendly atmosphere and delicious entrees. I highly suggest you stay away from Flying Noodle and take a short walk over...

When visiting TC, expectations were high for this place after discovering how booked they get after we tried walking in for dinner one evening and were met with over an hour wait for just the bar. We decided to come back on a Tuesday evening with a reservation. First off, the pasta was delicious. You could taste the difference of their homemade noodles and have nothing bad to say about their pasta entrees. We had the mushroom pasta and Alfredo with crispy chicken cutlet. We had the bolo fonduta as an appetizer which was also delicious - would recommend. We shared a Caesar salad and felt the dressing was overpowered by lemon and the croutons tasted burnt. The apple crisp cake was nothing to write home about. The cocktails were also a little lackluster when compared to some other local restaurants we have tried. Service was friendly but a little slow, though it was obvious the staff was just busy. The restaurant as a whole feels a little cramped and it sometimes felt as though we were part of the conversations going on at tables next to us due to the close proximity. Overall the experience was good, but just not sure it met the expectations...