Definitely one of the better chains. I went last night, long wait, but the whole family was pleased with their meal and service. Slightly noisy, but everyone seems well trained.

I'm not huge on Italian food but this place is very delicious. They have exellent Calamari. Love their appitizing bread too.

Another Italian chain restaurant offering mediocre to not-bad Italian food. Like most chains in this category, quality and superb cooking is made up for by offering outlandishly large portions, leading to more fat, listless Americans.

The Macaroni Grill is amazing. Great Italian Food and you definitely get your moneys worth with the large sized portions they offer.

Though one of our company suits said the place was terrible, my family has gone there three times and have been pleased every time. I have had the Penne Rustica (a flavorful bowl of true comfort food), Grilled Pork Chops (Delisiozo), and Tuscan Steak (big tasty hunka meatsa). The panne bread dipped in olive oil, by itself is great. Deserts are also exceptional; in fact, their cheesecake was almost as good as Cheesecake Factory's flavorful offerings. My one gripe: They use this very heavy, stiff paper for tableclothes. My wife and I average about 3 nasty paper cuts per sitting. One waitress (obviously not very knowledgeable on inherited diseases) said to me while blood was oozing out of my finger from a paper cut, I hope you don't have sickle cell. (HUH!!!??? Think she meant hemophilia).

I just went to Macaroni Grill last night, and although the food was OK, the service was terrible. We were at the restaurant for an hour and half, the first 20-30 minutes just waiting for a waiter/waitress. Finally, someone came over after which we had to wait another 20 mins for appetizers, followed by waiting for the main course while our waitress chit chatted with her fellow coworker with our food in her hands. It wasn't even a busy night. I can only imagine the horror of customers when they decide to go there on the weekends. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant to my friends or family, and I also suggest that management of the restaurant I went to (Westbury, LI) re-evaluate their strategy on how to make this restaurant more inviting to its customers.

I heard alot of people rave about this place, but I went to one in Lexington, Ky. and it was not that impressive.

I love macaroni grill! It's fantastic and for all of the people who are commenting that the atmosphere is to loud, I suggest not dining at a family style Italian restaurant. If you knew the anything about Italian restaurants you would have realized this before going there. The atmosphere is loud, energetic and fun! It's a great place for the whole family. And I strongly suggest ordering something other than spaghetti or meatballs, they have wonderful dishes. Go for something out of the ordinary!!!

I've dined in the restaurant twice and ordered take out from there twice and overall, and honestly it was just ok. The service is great, but the food I found kind of bland.

Went with my friend on a Saturday night. Definately not the place to go for a quiet dinner. After crowding into the entryway we were herded to what obviously was the family section. We literally had to scream over yelling kids to get our voices heard. I love kids, but I do not want to dine with them on a Saturday night, it was like being at Chucky Cheese !! The too long monolouge by the waiter and the writing of his name on the tablecloth is way too cheesy. By the way, we never saw him again after he took our order. Best part of the night was the bread, the salad was too sweet. Of course I knew what to expect from the entree, the same glumpy processed pasta you receive at all the franchise places, Olive Garden etc. I would spend a little more to eat at an authentic Italian restaurant, that is if there were any left. The city where I live chain dining establishments have taken over.

The Macaroni Grill is one of the better chain restaurants for Italian food. As some other comments have noted, the bread is excellent, especially with the peppered oil for dipping. The entrees are a step above the Olive Garden (for instance); however, the selection is more limited (if memory serves). The dining experience is a little off. The floor is well lit and cavernous, and the wait staff do this cute thing, writing their name on the table with a crayon. Nevertheless, given the competition, the Macaroni Grill ends up with four stars.

what are you people talking about? mac grill is one of the best restaurants i have been to. the bread is warm and yummy and they give you as much as you want. my fave is the chicken florentine salad. yummy spinach with chicken and ouzo. it is great food for the price!

Great italian food! Nice atmosphere, and great service. For an italian getaway thats not far from home i say you gotta try this place!

Chain food Italian is generally never good and Macaroni Grill is no exception to the rule. Tomato sauce is tasteless, pasta is overdone. Food comes out cold some of the time. Salad isn't really that good. The bread is decent however. Overall, it's a step up from some of the other chain restaurants, but that's not saying much.

Yuck - they have terrible commericals and extremely overpriced food.

What's so impressive about a waiter/waitress who comes out and woo's your table by squirting lousy oil in a pattern on a dish as you enjoy some moldy bread. Warmed over, overpriced pasta.

HARD TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BAD AND TERRIBLE WHEN THE FOOD WAS COLD EVEN THOUGH IT HAD BEEN RETURNED TO THE MICROWAVE ONCE TO MANY TIMES. SAUCE WAS NON EXISTENT. WE HAVE EATEN AT THIS MACARONI'S ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND THIS WAS TERRIBLE. THE REATAURANT IS ON HARBISON BLVD, IRMO, SC. WILL THINK A LONG TIME BEFORE WE EAT THERE AGAIN.

They've a good selection of tasty Italian dishes at a modest price. A good value.

The place is a little expensive and loud. But the Penne Rustica alone is a reason to go there.

My mouth is watering just thinking of Macaroni Grill. If you love Italian, (& not the fake Fazoli's & Olive Garden crap) then this is the place for you!

Very good restaurant. The food is good, and I love the atmosphere. The waiters and waitresses are always really friendly and helpful.

I had an unfortunate experience. I ordered veal raviolis (I felt bad enough for ordering veal, and never have again) and in many of the raviolis there was a large amount of cartalige. Pretty gross. I haven't been back since. Although this is just one experience, the other times I visited Macaroni Grill, I have not been impressed by thier prices.

The food is pretty good - atmosphere is lively and the House Chianti is excellent. Go for the Chianti and have a pasta dish on the side.

Considering the quality of the dinners, prices are quite reasonable. Can get noisy, but still one of my favorite places to treat my family and friends.

One of the best Italian chains out there. The food is supreb, and the prices are less than the Olive Garden (by a lot). THere's no free salad though (however, it's very cheap $1.99 for any), but the bread is great (especially when you dip it in the olive oil). Service has always been great at any Macaroni Grill I've been too.

I just tried this restaraunt and I really like it! I thought the prices were decent. I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni - it was the best !

Over-priced macaroni. I'd rather have the Blue Box. The bread was good though.

Very good choice for Italian. Would have given it a "5", but it seems like the overall food quality has gone downhill slightly in the last couple of years. Hope this doesn't have anything to do with the chain's rapid expansion in the recent past.

Good Italian food. Nice looking.

I enjoy the decor and the crayons and paper table cloths, but not much else stands out in my mind about this place. The food was just OK and I didnt really like my waiter either of the 2 times I went. I think it is more authentic than the Olive Garden, but that isnt saying much.

I think the food is great (WEll atleast at the restaurant I went to). Besides, there was this really nice, cute guy helping us. I was stuffed after eating half of my meal, but couldn't stop because it was so delicious.

The one in Boise, Idaho was great.

Macaroni Grill is one of the worst restaurants I have ever set foot in, in my whole entire life. The bread is hard and they don't have butter??? They don't serve butter with their bread??? Their pizza has this horrible gravy on it, and their spagetti has no spices whatsoever, and it's really hard and straight.

While I appreciate someone taking Italian chain restaurants a step above Olive Garden, this still is a pretty mediocre place. My meal started out okay - the bread was quite good - but it went downhill from there. And the peppy waiter writing his name on my table - do they think I can't remember his name, or do they think I found it cute? Either way, they were wrong.

I just don't get it. When Macaroni Grill opened in Denver, people waited up to two hours for a table- at lunchtime! I was pretty curious about it, so I joined the throngs of people carrying "pagers." What a disappointment! It could have been my crayon-wielding waiter or the loud, cavernous dining room reminiscent of my high school cafeteria that turned me off. In any case, I just didn't like it. The food was fine, but nothing to write home about. The worst part was feeling like I was part of a cattle herd as they shepherded people in and out. This is not the kind of experience I like when I go out to eat, and I do not plan to go back!

not much variety, too loud

Inconsistent, but can be good. Opera gimmic wears thin. Bread used to be better, they switched to a more americanized smaller softer loaf.

Whoever thought this idea up must not have taken a marketing class--Why would anyone stick the words macaroni and grill together in the same phrase.

The service is great and the atmosphere is good.

Too loud. Mediocre food.

IMHO, this concept is missing a vital ingredient - quality in the kitchen. We've eaten an three different MacGrills in the Denver Metro area and my wife has been sick every time. Is MacGrill's idea of a chef a high school kid who is taught to follow a corporate recipie. Please, you're better off at home, with a good Italian cookbook.

Corporate dining without the consistency.

I love drawing on the tables and the bread before the meal

Macaroni Grill is probably the best Italian restaurant ever. Get the Farfalle al Sugo Bianco! A place (Italian) in Rockville called Timpano's is better than ecxellent! I don't know if it's a chain though, but definitely worth going to, no doubt!

This is the best restaurant on earth! I love it! I'm a regular!

It's a shame that such a classy, great restaurant should be misleadingly and deceptively named. Its reputation, service, and food deserves so much more than a restaurant that's named after pasta and a cooking method.