Coming to town from Orange County I was skeptical coming to this chain restaurant on a past work dinner. Locally in southern California this restaurant is "Mid" as my kids would say. Meaning is just middle of the pack or average. Place is nice and dark with great pictures of history on every wall. Clean and crisp white clothed tables and impeccably laid out. Insert Chicago's Maggiano's and it's a whole level or two higher from service to food quality it's clear where this place lands in the pantheon of Italian food. Bread first of all is top notch...even ordered a cheese truffle bread that was suggested. Bomb! Fettucini was creamy and perfect texture and flavor from bite one to bite 30. Branzino dish was great as well. Cooked to perfection and seasoned very well. I was craving a steak and ordered a ribeye with grilled asparagus and it did the job very well. Come here and give it a shot and you won't be dissappointed, especially if you've been to a location on the west coast! read more

Like this Maggiano's ... this one located on Clark Street in the bustling River North area off downtown Chicago. You enter into a nice bar area with limited seating, but it is a great location to meet someone or have a drink while waiting for your table. This location of Maggiano's was founded by the Lettuce Entertain You empire in 1991, but is not a part of that group any longer. Even with that, this is a nice stop. The main dining area is a very nice large dining room, and they also have smaller rooms for special events - and a lot of people have showers and business meetings here. It is festive and family style Italian ... and the portions are always too big. So, know what you are in for and be prepared to bring home another meal for the price of one. The food is pretty good although I would only give it 3 stars, but round it up to 4 stars for the ambiance and location. We had stuffed mushrooms (3 star good with a bit too much filler) for appetizers. We followed up with Osso Bucco (4 star nice serving for meat eaters), Cheese Ravioli (4 star good and a huge serving), and Fettucine Alfredo (3 star nice but needed a lot of stirring to get it back to form). We also tried the Crispy Potatoes (2 star ok, but would probably not order that next time). All in all the food was typical good, hearty Italian family fare. Dessert is routine: Tiramisu, Chocolate cake, etc. and the two we shared were 3 star good. Service can be inconsistent at times, but it is usually because of the crowd. Food comes out fast, so don't order until you are ready. They have a full bar for those that imbibe, and a nice selection of wines by the bottle or glass. Parking outside is terrible as you are in the River North area ... use the valet and save yourself the grief. Worth the visit...especially on the weekends for a treat. read more

This was a memorable occasion! It's been awhile since I've been to Maggiano's in the Loop. We started off with Parmesan Stuffed Mushrooms, followed by Fettucine Bolognese, Lasagna, Rigatoni alla Vodka and Chicken Parm. We shared our entrées to sample everyone's dish. We all had delicious salads that were good sized and with a generous amount of dressing. I like the way they present the "Birthday Dessert",it looked like Biscotti cookies covered in Vanilla Chocolate just enough to share. We had coffee and I decided on Espresso. Maggiano's is the perfect spot for birthdays and special occasions. Our service was prompt and courteous. The ambiance is "Old School Italian" Music from the 40s-50s with beautiful woodwork. I can't wait to go back. read more

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Maggianos always hits. The portions and quality of the food for the price will always remind me of what old school Italian comfort food should be. If you're not leaving full and happy, then you're not doing it right. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Scampi, Gnocchi with red sauce - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Freezing day out and I had a promo code for free appetizer that was expiring soon. They were totally empty when I arrived after 12pm. Understandable since the weather is brutal and sidewalks are slick. (By the time I left, one booth had diners and a table of three was next to me.) My server was Rigo or Rico... I'm unsure. He was nice. I got the stuffed mushroom caps, Rigatoni D (subbed in gluten free penne pasta- which I've gotten many many years) and to use up my gift cards I ordered a chicken Francese to bring home for another day. The chef came to my table as food allergies were disclosed. Wanted to know he would keep me safe. Very assuring and kind man. The 6 stuffed mushrooms were as good as I remembered. Big and well-stuffed. The Rigatoni D came and the (rice/corn) pasta was MUSHY! Omg! How embarrassing for them to try to pass that off as a meal. Rico said he'd talk to chef and the chef came to my table to tell me he saw the meal and apologized. They remade it, honestly, it was disappointing. The sauce was "off" or my tastebuds changed since last time I had this. I ate a portion of the remade meal & took leftovers home. I would have given it to a homeless person but it's too cold outside. The Chicken Francese was packaged with 2 pieces of chicken, potato wedges and asparagus. The asparagus had the woody stem still attached. Unacceptable. I cut off the woody ends myself at home. The meal will be eaten later, so I can't say how good it is. I've had it in the past, sure hope it's still good. The check came and Rigo failed to remove my free appetizer so he had to go back and redo the bill. I realize LEYE split ways with Maggiano's and I'll be honest, I'm glad my gift cards are now gone. I do not see myself returning anytime soon. Too bad because I used to enjoy Maggiano's. Clean restaurant and friendly staff, but food left me less than impressed. read more

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I hadn't had chicken Parmesan in a while and this was a great reintroduction. The Caesar salad was fantastic, and our free tiramisu courtesy of Heather was delicious! Our server was very happy that someone named dropped her finally, and he was supper attentive to our table. The cocktail was also quite sweet. The ambiance in here is cool, and it's quite dark as well. I'd definitely come back here, and they even decorated the place well for Christmas :) read more

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The food is really good. It's kind of like Johnny Carrabba's was in the very beginning except for Ariana Grande scale. But if you don't eat out a lot, you'll be pleasantly surprised read more

I met my family for lunch after my cousin's graduation on a Monday afternoon at this location. We had a reservation, but we probably could've walked in without one because it wasn't crowded. I was the last to arrive, so my family was already seated when I walked in. The hostess took me to the table, and we ordered shortly thereafter. We ordered a variety of food: calamari, ravioli, salad, meatballs, rigatoni, and fettuccine. Everyone enjoyed their meals. I ordered the grilled salmon with asparagus. I don't eat spinach, so I was glad that the waitress didn't give me a hassle about the substitution. The salmon was really good. Our waitress was personable and attentive. Regrettably, I don't recall her name. She was a short, AA young lady with a friendly disposition. She said she's worked at Maggiano's for eight years, so obviously she enjoys her job. I don't care for pasta much, so I doubt I'll return to Maggiano's anytime soon. However, this experience was highly enjoyable. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I attended the Cook County Bar Association Legends dinner honoring former Alderman and now Illinois Appellate Court Justice Freddrenna M. Lyle and Maggiano's did an excellent job. The service was outstanding, the facility inviting and the food delicious! While the banquet room's decor is a bit dated, the food and service more than offset that small shortcoming. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Maggianos is a classic. I love everything about that place. Who doesn't like large portions of delicious pasta and bread. The wine list is great too. I've never had a bad experience as far as service. It's definitely not a Fulton market or Gold Coast experience but it is a tried and true and I love the ambiance for that. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Calamari Fritté - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My boyfriend and I came in on Friday afternoon and we were taken care of by Tracy (I hope this is the correct spelling) , who absolutely made our experience! She was incredibly friendly, with fast service and had actually also made our drinks which were amazing. We have ordered in from Maggianos before, but the comfortable ambiance, and friendly staff will definitely make us regulars coming back. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Pomegranate martini - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Was here last night for a work related event From the valet to the servers what a great crew. The food is fantastic as we had family style salmon, chicken, salad, pasta, and desserts Your plate is always full , glass is never empty and the atmosphere is perfect. One of my favorite places downtown to go to Thanks all you are top notch read more

I hadn't been to Maggiano's in years and glad I game them a visit. My boyfriend had never been, I was praying they didn't disappoint and they didn't! He had Seared salmon, crispy Calabrian shrimp, spinach and garlic mashed potatoes with the lemon butter sauce and pepper relish. We shared the bread and stuffed mushrooms and I had the spaghetti and meatball. Every thing was good and Tracy was a great server. You can seat in open dining or in the booth area for a more intimate experience. I'm so glad that not too much, if at all had changed. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I ordered Maggiano's for pick up. Pasta, salad and bread. The bread was some kind of Hawaian type bread. I hope you are saving a lot of money on the bread because you just lost a customer. read more

Came to Maggiano's because a friend recommended- he had his wedding here. We had good service, food came out SO quick. Calamari was good and everything was hot. read more

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This place is really nice! Feels like a super fancy upscale restaurant without the ridiculous prices. It is a little pricer than some places, but the portions are big so it doesn't feel like it's overpriced. We got Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Francese and both were great. The marinara is the perfect flavor. The francese had a good subtle flavor that was made even better by fresh lemon juice from the lemon slice served with it. Asparagus was cooked well and the potatoes were flavorful. They also brought out fried ravioli which was perfectly crisp and had the perfect amount of stringy cheese. We got the 5 desert mini plate. It would easily be enough for 4-6 people. There were only 2 of us and we took half home. All were great. The service was above and beyond. We were welcomed and seated quickly and had many people visit our table. We felt welcome but not overwhelmed. read more

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We cannot recommend Maggiano's event services enough! Communication was very prompt and all details were confirmed prior to the day so we could relax and enjoy everything with our guests. We had our rehearsal dinner on the second floor and all of our guests were raving about the food (delicious with tons of leftovers) and service (extremely kind and courteous and made sure no one had an empty glass). read more

Go if you must but do yourself a favor and don't order the bolognese. What a joke. My wife and I both ordered it because nothing else sounded interesting and how could you screw up bolognese. Well, this is how: there was virtually no meat and to make matters worse there was enough pasta for four people so good luck finding what meat was there. I mean there was literally more carrots than meat. No exaggeration. We took it all home and the next day I made a batch of my meat sauce and we were able to get three meals out of it. But the smoky old fashion was fun. It came to the table in a smoke-filled, glass casket. That was worth an extra star. read more

Great staff very friendly and attentive, they seemed short staff but not their fault. Made great recommendations in the bar for apps and entrees. Brought fresh bread and oil with parm cheese. The stuffed mushrooms were delicious and a large appetizer then moved onto the ravioli for entree. Plenty of food the portions were of good size and value. Overall good experience the staff made it better while the food took a moment. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here for lunch to celebrate our friend's birthday. Jose was our waiter and he was awesome! Answered all of our questions and gave recommendations. Two of us ordered the Branzino Crab Imperial; two others ordered the Blackened Salmon with Crispy Calabrian Shrimp and another ordered the Salmon Lemon & Herb. We all enjoyed our entrees. Afterward, Jose came out with Vera's Lemon Cookies with birthday candles and started us off singing "Happy Birthday." The cookies are lemony and delicious! They also have a special. If you order any of the classic pasta entrees they are $6, so we ordered ours to go. We had a wonderful time! read more

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5 of us has dinner together. We ordered lasagna and shrimp scampi, which was very much enjoyed. We also ordered chicken parmigiana. The chicken was hard and rubbery, we could not cut it with our knives. Like it was microwaved into an inedible blob. 3 of us had to put it in our napkins after trying to chew. Our intention was for everyone to try each other's meal. Sadly some of us left hungry. Because of this, we will not be returning. Our server was great. read more

Quality of the food was extremely disappointing. Wilted brown lettuce in Cesar Salad. Alfredo sauce was very soupy, salmon was dry and overcooked (giving the appearance that it was not freshly cooked), soft drinks were watery - just to name a few. I have visted Maggiano's in multiple states over many years and I must say this was the worst experience I have ever had at Maggiano's. Not to mention the insult of the inflated prices, previous entree sides moved to a-la-carte style which ballloons your meal by $10-20 just to have sides with your entree (salmon, for example). AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID-AVOID read more

My friends and I were in town for a college buddies wedding so we all decided to come to Maggiano's the night before. I'm glad we did. On short notice we were able to get a table of 6+ and the staff was super friendly. Our table ordered a bunch of starters : garlic bread, bruschetta, fried calamari. All were terrific. For my entree I got the chicken parm and it was delicious. The chicken was great and the sauce was fantastic. Definitely recommend stopping into Maggianos if your in the River North area! read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went to this one a couple months ago and was told you couldn't split checks. I was at a different one last night and that location had several homecoming kids and was able to make several checks out for everyone at the tables. Please make this an option at this restaurant you might have more happier customers. read more

Our 50 th anniversary was wonderful! The Christmas decorations were gorgeous. Every private room was festive. Our room was on the 2nd. Floor , corner. The largest room upstairs, we brought our own table decorations, ribbons & balloons.. The menu we chose was exactly as we had at the tasting with the chef. All of our guest raved about the food. Several relatives mentioned that the servers were exceptionally nice. Additional food was brought in a timely manner. I was so pleased that they offered their congratulations on our anniversary. What a grand afternoon. I highly recommend the Magiano's in Shamburg. Mrs. BJ F read more

Great food and service! It was quite empty on the day we went so I can't say how it is for a busier day but the service was great and so were the staff! Good food and good drinks! Highly recommended! read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Classy old Italian vibe dimly lit vibes. Authentic home-made pastas and sauce, fresh bread so soft and EVOO. The calamari was just right now too chewy but nice crisp too. Pastas were so rich and creamy every bite was like heaven!!! Large portions for sure but it's so good you want to stuff it all. Family style dining options to share entrees also. Server was so friendly and helpful explaining the menu, water stayed full and ice cold. Save room for dessert I wish I did. Made reservations arriving around 6pm it was just starting to pick up but within 30min it was a full house. I would suggest reservations for sure. Lovely place for celebrating a special occasion. When in Chicago stop by for some traditional Italiano! read more

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Great location and great food. We had a big party at the party room next door. It was really nice to have a separate quiet place so we could carry conversations. It was a preset menu The first course 4*Stuffed Mushrooms: good 4*Calamari Fritte: the usual. 3*Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta: ordinary We also had 3*Caesar Salad & Cabatta Rolls: per normal We had four different options of entrees 5*Filet Mignon: tender and nice, served with roasted garlic jus which was flavorful. Everything was perfect, it was the best filet mignon I have ever had! Highly recommend. 3*Atlantic Grilled Salmon: a bit overcooked but the lemon butter sauce was tasty. 0*Eggplant Parmesan: nobody ordered this dish 5*Mom's Lasagna: not warm enough, but still delicious! Desserts we had 5*Mini New York Style Cheesecake: very good. 5*Vera's Lemon Cookies: we all loved it read more

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At this location, I have only attended large banquets here. Several times over the years. From that perspective, I can say the food is quite good, the layout works great, service is excellent and I've always had a nice time. read more

Delicious food and ambience! I came with a group of 8 people for a celebration. We did the family style of dining, which is a lot of food. I'd loved the four cheese ravioli,house salad,and mozzarella sticks. The salmon was tasty but a little dry. The staff was excellent, knowledgeable and helpful. They also were letting us bring our own cake for our celebration. That meant so much to us. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came in with a whole college basketball team and they accommodated us perfectly. 20 plus table with great service. Cups never below half and everything handed to on silver platter. Ambiance great food great. read more

Ordered chicken fettuccine Alfredo and Italian sausage flatbread delivered to our nearby hotel. Well packaged and delicious. The Alfredo portion was large. And they offer a second flatbread for eight bucks. I threw that and the leftover Alfredo in the freezer overnight and they were about refrigerator temp after a seven hour train home. Just as good 24 hours later. read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Arrived neatly packaged - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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For chain type Italian place - this one is so good! Love a place with bread service and big portions. The location is really big so plenty of seating and the server we had was so nice. The chicken parmesan has two pretty big pieces of chicken and plenty of spaghetti. Flavors in the pasta are really good and the old fashioned was so reasonably priced for River North. Would love to try more of their dishes next time read more

Maggiano's Little Italy - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went to Chicago over the weekend with my fiancé and our kids, and he always talked about this restaurant. I LOVE Italian food! Everything was AMAZING! For an appetizer we had, the Italian meatballs were delicious! The crab cakes were delicious and tasted incredibly fresh and very well seasoned. My fiancé had bruschetta, and he said it was his best. I ordered shrimp scampi for my entree, and my fiancé had shrimp, Alfredo. Everything was delicious! I had a chocolate martini. It wasn't too strong. It was perfect. I cannot wait to go back. I recommend this restaurant if you're visiting Chicago. The service was excellent. Our waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu. I liked how it felt family-oriented. I will be back soon! read more

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The service wasn't great and the food was terrible. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that branzino was very fishy and the crab cake topping was pasty because they are known for meatballs and pasta. read more

Recently went on a Monday night for dinner. 1. Spaghetti and Meatball - $24.50 - This used to be generous serving of pasta at a much more reasonable price but has now more than doubled in price. And they don't offer take-home pastas anymore, so the value has further diminished. The good thing about this dish was that it reminded me of my fond childhood memories of eating Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti that I would heat up in the microwave or on the stove. The bad thing was that it tasted like Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti with overcooked mushy pasta--unlike the yesteryears of Maggiano's where the pasta was cooked al dente. According to the server, it is normal for the pasta to be soft like this, but you can ask for it to be al dente. Just a heads up if you like al dente pasta, be sure to ask for it upfront! 2. Chicken Picatta - $25.99 - This dish came with two pieces of chicken breast well seasoned and flavorful. It also included pasta cooked al dente--unlike the spaghetti pasta. There was also a bed of spinach under the chicken breast. Overall this dish was great and I would consider ordering again. Compared to the spaghetti marinara with meatball dish, this dish was a much better value and better prepared. 3. Kids Mac and Cheese - $9.50 - Still a good value, this meal comes with a beverage and choice of lemon cookie or vanilla ice cream. 4. Kids Cheese Ravioli - $9.50 - Also a good value. I ordered this to go for take home. When presented with the check, I had to remind the server to bring the take home Kids Cheese Ravioli. I also had to remind the server to bring the lemon cookies dessert for the two kids meals--one for here and one to go. Overall the food preparation and value for the spaghetti marinara and meatball was not as good as previously, and the service required reminders to bring the ordered food and what is supposed to be included with my meals. read more

Our waiter, Ron, was amazing! He needs a raise asap. The vibes were great and it wasn't super crowded which was nice. Food was also great! read more

Holy fkn sht when I TELL YOU that I cannot wait to go back.... The portions are ginormous!! The food is SALTY and CREAMY and HEAVY and DELICIOUS!!! I know this is fake Italian food and a chain but this style of Italian is one of my FAVORITE cuisines PLEASE forgive me but I was born to eat like this!!! I housed the 16 oz steak like a true God-fearing American and the pasta was absolutely CLEARED by me and my partner. I'm sorry but American chimeras of Italian cuisine are outrageously good, a few echos of original dishes are oversimplified and overamplified and I LOVE it. The staff is awesome and our server joked with us about the movie we were watching during our meal, she was so sweet and awesome!! My partner and I were at Emporium the day before killing time by playing pool and Cocaine Bear was playing on the screen and the way we could not tear our eyes from the screen... I was truly slack-jawed and entranced!! We decided to watch it during our dinner and the vibes were just right that night :) Plus, I ordered spaghetti to-go for my friend Erm who's flight was cancelled and was crashing with me that night, she finished the entire thing!! I will spread the Maggiano's gospel!! The only thing I won't get again is the bruschetta but everything else was a hit!!! read more

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Came tonight for Christmas Eve with my family. For such a holiday it was quite busy. Mostly families or people meeting up with friends tonight. We ordered the chopped salad, chicken parmigiana, cod and the filet. The restaurant was all decked out for the holidays and music was playing which added to the ambiance of the day. Even the waitstaff were decked out in sweaters or Christmas lights. It's definitely a go to for us. read more

The service was amazing, the waiter was friendly and attentive. Nice vibe and ambiance but we were there for an event so we were in the banquet hall. The Ceasars salad and calamari were to die for, it was so delicious!!!!! Overall it was a nice experience but idk if I would return for a "date night". read more