Michael's Trattoria — Restaurant in Wallingford

What went wrong? The food, plain and simple. My dining partner and I kept it basic, starting our meal with a fresh mozzarella appetizer, which was fine. Little can go wrong with mozzarella, basil, sliced roasted peppers (from a jar) and tomatoes (hot house, unfortunately). The big blunders came from our entrees. I ordered the shrimp scampi and my partner, the meat lasagna.

The scampi consisted of several large shrimp, garlic, capers and a lemon garnish in a white wine sauce, served over linguine. I first tasted the sauce on its own and was introduced with the taste of brine. It was fishy, acidic and sour, making the base of this dish brackish and unfriendly to the stomach. The shrimp possibly started off properly cooked but were poached in acid from the sauce, lending them a hard and chewy constancy. The linguine didn't fare much better. Just on the edge of losing its al dente and saturated in the sauce, it lost all of the sweet starchiness any Italian chef knows to preserve in pasta. The capers overpowered the whole dish, making them the centerpiece of the whole recipe.

This is scampi, remind you. Scampi should be quintessentially simple and succulent, with every ingredient there to highlight and strengthen the shrimp. All you really need is garlic, butter, some olive oil, salt and maybe some Parmesan, to make good scampi. However, this review isn't about the recipe, it's about the execution.

Frankly, this dish was made as bad, if not worse, than Olive Garden, which is horrible food. My partner's lasagna was mediocre and neither great nor bad, serving up pizzeria quality lasagna for $19.00, albeit with more acid and less flavor than a pizzeria would take the time to cook into the dish.

Beyond that, my dining partner didn't receive the beverage he ordered, the bread they served was closer to a baked hot dog bun than true Italian bread, and the bathroom was in the kind of condition I'd expect from a pub.

I don't know what kind of drama is happening behind the scenes here, but from what I experienced, their floor is understaffed and they should probably replace the head chef, regardless of how long they've worked there or who he or she is related to. What went wrong here was systemic. Food doesn't go this wrong unless there are other...

Nuthin to write home about. Michael's Trattoria on a slow Monday Night in May 2019 had maybe two other tables with guests. I arrived and was seated immediately and very soon thereafter my server greeted me and told me the specials. My server, though certainly affable was not a very loud speaker and I was straining to hear him in a room with only two other tables filled. I ordered the Caesar Salad and a coke and the 8oz. Filet-Well Done, which my server asked if I wanted "scored" which helps when preparing it. I said yes. I got the mushroom sauce and not the peppercorn sauce. And the filet comes with potatoes and vegetables. My server soon brought lightly toasted bread with olive oil and my Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad was dry, with almost no dressing. Inedible. I waited for my server to return and asked for dressing on the side and butter. The dressing on the side came in a cup that could barely accommodate a shot of a whiskey?? What, Michael's can't afford to give me a little bit more of the dressing???? And the butter came in three individually wrapped squares. Sheesh. The dressing did little or nothing to help that miserable Caesar Salad and awful croutons. It was by far the WORST CAESAR SALAD (with a pittance of dressing) I have ever had the unfortunate business of trying to eat. Blech. The bread, however, lightly toasted was good. The filet came and was smothered in mushroom Sauce. Saturated. The mushrooms and string beans with other assorted veggies were fine. Nothing great and although my Filet was cooked well, between the mushroom Sauce saturating it and the subpar cut of beef, it was a boring meal. The pureed potatoes were just okay. All in all not worth the $47 bucks it cost me, including tip. Annnnnnnnd my waiter not once, came back to check, during my main course, if everything was satisfactory or if I needed anything else. And he had only two other tables, directly next to me. Not going to return to this place. And thankfully I don't have to. I live in NJ. Phew!!! PS - The...

I have been to this restaurant a few times in the past, but never again. My son goes to school in town- and we look forward to a weekly dinner together. This is a restaurant I would have recommended to other families at the same school- but now I must warn- stay away!

Although our server was kind and had the best intentions, she was slow and unorganized- taking too long to greet us and get our order, and forgetting our salads till a moment before the entrees were delivered. I believe the only reason she finally remembered our salads was because I reminded her. When the entrees were delivered my food was cold- but at first I dismissed this to the slow service. Then after a few bites of the food not tasting right, I realized that the chicken was partially raw. The server was apologetic and the owner did reluctantly swing by our table. He told me in a patronizing way- 'the chicken breast had been too thick and not pounded out properly. That when it's thick, it takes longer to cook.' However- most likely- this chicken was previously frozen and not thawed properly before cooking. So yah- it should have been cooked longer. I wanted nothing more from this restaurant, feeling sick to my stomach, and asked for the entree to be removed from our bill- which they did. I did this with a smile. I did not want to ruin the other patrons meal like mine was ruined, by erupting in a scene- but I do feel that a review is necessary. Details like raw chicken and poor service, show poor management both front and back of the house.

Even the food that was cooked completely- was of low quality for the price. There are plenty of other restaurants either in Wallingford, or in near by New Haven- I would definitely choose somewhere else to dine with...