Everything seemed right: location, reputation, aromas, price and food presentation but unfortunately Spagnuolo's fell short on taste and texture. We opted for the margarita pizza, pasta carbonara, and chicken parmesan. Our entrees each came with a piece of focaccia and a side salad. (Super great value but I guess in this instance, you get what you pay for) The salad was fresh and the bread was fluffy and warm. The margarita pizza is served with tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, and a sprinkle of basil; certainly not the margarita pizza neither of us or our tastebuds are accustomed. The chicken parmesan was beautiful when brought to the table. However, disappointment set in after the first few bites. The chicken was not breaded in the least nor was it seemingly seasoned. After doctoring with black pepper, red pepper flakes, and extra parmesan it was tolerable as the tomato sauce had decent flavor. The carbonara would have been better with half of the pasta or twice the sauce, it just was uneventful. Our beverages were decent and also fairly priced. The service was also a highlight of the experience. The team members we encountered were friendly although I'm not sure I trust their judgement on which dishes to select. The restaurant itself was a casual setting with scattered diners throughout. There were some regulars, which was evident through interactions with team members, and a mixture of young and mature families. We really wanted to love Spagnuolo's as it is close to our new home and when you're in the mood for saucy pasta goodness or having a shove pizza in my face moment, you don't want to have to go far. It seems our search will continue. read more

See all

Well, first things first, I found out from the waitress. The restaurant was closing in two weeks. And now I know why: Service was very slow. I think it took at least 15 minutes to get our drinks ordered and of course the food order after that took probably close to 20 minutes. What I find surprising is that ordering an appetizer and salads took a long time to get. Aren't those easy things? I guess I resented ordering breadsticks when the meal came with foccia bread anyway so now we were stuck with all this bread on our table. I had the chicken Parmesan and it was covered with so much cheese! I couldn't tell if there was any chicken on the plate. The side of pasta was not more than a cup serving and the sauce unremarkable. The waitress was also the bartender which made service extra slow. Place decent and dated but nothing to write home about. I'm glad I can't go back! read more

Classic Italian setting with a number of amazing dishes from which to choose. We just had 16 people sit for a graduation meal and couldn't have been more pleased with the evening. Our waitress was attentive to our needs as a group and each person. Providing knowledge of the menu and quick with the refills. I noticed we all ordered a variety of starters and main dishes. All of the food came out hot and tasty. Many compliments were given about the food and service. read more

Old World Italian. Really good food, but cozy booths or open dining. My favorite is their Pizza--thin crust; it's amazingly delicious. A really great, slightly sweet Pizza Sauce, along with their Sausage, is what makes the 'Za stand out, imo. Reasonable prices according to portions as well. Check them out! read more

Amazing Italian food at a reasonable price. The homemade noodles were perfect and the meatballs were just right. We will be back. read more

Spagnuolo's - Seafood Scampi Amazing - Italian Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

Great pizza and friendly service, I live about 15 miles away but travel to Spagnuolo's periodically as I feel it's one of the better Italian and pizza options in the area. read more

It takes a lot for me to write a bad review. We were taking our daughter from college to eat, she said she prefers her down food. Awful. All around. Bad service. Slow. Bad food. First few in the restaurant and somehow there were no menus AT ALL in the restaurant we all had to share one after 20 minutes waiting. You can tell our waitress had no idea what she was doing. There's so much to say about how absolutely terrible this experience was. Chicken Parm was a boiled piece of chicken with cheese on top, not breaded. Pasta Spadini...tasteless. Sauce...tasteless. This all after our apps were forgotten about and we waited 1.5 hrs to get our food. Not sure what's happened here but there seems to be no one running the front or the back of the house. Look around and everyone was sending food back and sitting for almost an hour before their orders were taken. Don't do it! read more

This cute, Kitchy family restaurant has some of the best authentic Italian food with the original owners still making the pizza dough and sauces! Amy, one of the owners, is always present and so welcoming! You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. We love the meatballs, pizza and chicken marsala! The only thing I could suggest is a larger or brighter roadside sign. read more

Great find by MSU! Food is great! Servers were very nice. Don't let the outside discourage you! read more

We had takeout. Food was good and a little above average. Service was average. Ambiance was ok for takeout. Nothing exceptional but not bad. read more

A local family owned restaurant that just keeps going and succeeds in putting out consistently good food. Good service , casual comfortable environment. Give them your business. read more

See all

Spagnuolo's is a favorite for great pasta in a relaxed atmosphere! Both their pizzas and their pasta dishes are unique and delicious.

Always amazing. Truly a hidden gem. Their food and service is truly exceptional. The old school cool ambiance is exactly what we were looking for. read more

Food is delicious! Service was great and it's a great place to have dinner and be able to hear the people you're eating with.

Stopped in for the first time yesterday. We've lived in the area for 13 years, but we heard mixed reviews about Spagnuolo's so we never tried it. We ordered the meatball appetizer and fried zucchini, both really good. Both of us had pasta entrees, very good and generous portions. Salads were great. We also had a pizza margarita, I am looking forward to trying the other pizzas because the margarita was really good even though it had tomato sauce instead of tomato slices, who cares, it was good. Service was excellent even though there was a large party on the other side of the restaurant. We will be back again regularly. Good Italian American comfort food in a relaxed setting. read more

Food, at least what we ordered, was so-so. Place looked like it was on on the verge of shutting down. We arrived at 7 PM and there were only two other couples in the entire place. read more

We've driven by this place for more than 30 years but had never tried it. So, on my Wife's 70th Birthday, we stopped in to have dinner. The interior is very, very dated and definitely is in need of a remodel. The server even agreed with us on that. My Wife cannot eat anything with Gluten (Wheat) but the server said that they don't offer GF pasta. We were very surprised. So, we find that the Chicken Marsala was probably the best choice so she ordered that and I chose the Veal Marsala. The salad was lacking greens, mostly a bed of Iceberg lettuce with a few small tomato slices and onions. A basket of bread that was cold, no butter and very tough. My Wife rarely complains about anything but I could see that she was struggling with the chicken. She said it was very dry and tough. My veal was much the same and the pasta that accompanied the veal was spaghetti, nothing special, minimal sauce and no "real" Parmesan cheese, just that grainy stuff in a shaker. The server came over and asked how everything was, when the server got our "ho-hum" vibes, the server seemed to understand and immediately offered to ask the manager to comp my Wife's meal. I said that wasn't necessary. A few minutes later, the server returned and told us that the manager agreed to delete my Wife's meal from the bill. I noticed that most of the diners were eating pizza. That made me think that this joint is actually a pizza/bar eatery with some psuedo-Italian offerings. We won't return. Even the drinking vessels were plastic. Mario has left the room! read more

If you like terrible customer service, then this is the place to be! It sucks that we had a group of 8 and had to tip %18 gratuity cause there is no way on earth she deserved that high of a tip. She was snobby, rude and acted like she didn't want to be here. Also, food was cold, late (45 min wait), burnt (chicken), and Alfredo pasta was waaaayyyy to oil. I then went to the bathroom to come back and find out that my food was gone. I wanted to have a to go box & told another waitress only for our waitress to come back and give me someone else's plate!!! Spend your money somewhere else! read more

many on MSU Parent pages recommended this place but it was meh.. not that great!! (Guess they don't know what good Italian food is). Service was ok.. we should have been tipped off when other restaurant lots were full and theirs wasn't.. won't go back.. read more

So disappointed! Showed up at 5:45 group of 4. 6:00 received our drinks. 6:30 received our appetizers and at 7:20 we had to leave. Asked waitress how much longer and she said 20 minutes. Absolutely crazy. No manager to speak with. Don't waste your precious time. read more

Came here for pickup twice The pizza is fantastic here! I love the thin crust Spags Special which has everything on it (mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and sausage) The cheese sticks are huge and delicious as well! read more

We enjoyed delicious take out lasagne for NYE! A half a tray fed 10of us. 24 hour advance notice required. My compliments to the chef.

We love the calzones and pizza here, especially the stuffed pizza. It our favorite! Though we recently tried their pizza Salvatore, and that is a close 2nd. Their breadsticks are also fantastic. Basically, anything with bread, you cannot go wrong. Their pastas are also very good, but the best part I think about this place is the service. Always so friendly and attentive. Thank you! read more

I would just like to profess my firm belief that this is the HIGHEST QUALITY RESTAURANT IN THE GREATER LANSING AREA!!!! I ordered the vegetable pizza with olives, however, I seem to have forgot its name as this order was processed in 2008. The very fact that I ordered this ten years ago and am still raving about it should tell you something . So do yourself a favor and enjoy Spagnoulo's today!!! :):):):) Luca L. Food expert read more

we ate here for lunch after the MSU graduation in May, 2017, the service was terrible. The food was marginal. I wont go back to this location. read more

This dinner outing turned into one of my worst experiences I have ever had. Our servers name was Jennifer. We had a total of 7 people in our group. One couple and my family of 3 adults and 2 children. When we ordered our friends told her they were on a desperate bill. She took our order. We were seated promptly at 7:05. Took about 10 minutes to get our initial drink order. We all waited a long time before our soup & salads came. Finally part of our dinners arrived.my grand daughter's chicken fingers & fries did not come. My grandson & most of us were done when her chicken & fries came and the fries had som much seasoning were not edible. My daughters pizza came all wrong. She took it back and it did not come till we were all done. Bill arrived everyone in same ticket. She said she could not split it up for that size if Party. We were there about 3 weeks ago and had 8 people and asked for 2 separate bill & no problem. It also had 18% gratuity which for this service was not right. She took bill and came back and charged our friends for their meal and it was off $7. I pointed this out and she had left the full gratuity on it and it was added wrong. I pointed this out and said the gratuity was out of line for the poor service. It had bee 2 hours and they weren't that busy. I told her I would not give her $18 tip for my bill as that was off as my food & drink was a total of $71.54. She ripped the bill out of my hand and said I obviously needed the money more than her. NOTE - this waitress never once refilled a water glass or either of the 2 coke glasses we had in 2 hrs. Gave us the above service and then brought my bill back threw it down and said she hopes we never come back. I should if asked for a manager but dit not. My fault there. No problem I will not come back and will not hesitate to let all my friends about this treatment. Too bad cause the food was good. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE read more

Admittedly - it has been a long time since I have been here (I no longer live in the Lansing area). So there might be something I'm unaware.......yet I'm surprised at such harsh reviews. If not simply outliers - something must have drastically changed to elicit such a response. This was one of the best places in town for pizza. The SPAG special was a family favorite and way more than we could eat. Truly appetizing and loaded with toppings. I had also tried some of their specialty pizza's which were good as well. I give it a 3 star simply because it was quite a while ago and I don't want to over-review if there has been a decline. But, I would hesitate to write this place completely off or simply follow the more negative outlooks on yelp. I think you have to give it a try and go from there. If simply for pizza - I can't imagine you going wrong. I also recall Spags often being busy - so sometimes a wait was apart of the deal. read more

I'm so conflicted about this place. I will tell anyone that will listen that the Spag's Special pizza is by far the best pizza I've ever had. That being said.....I only ever pick up the pizza to go because dining in is miiiiserable. It didn't used to be as bad as it is now but it's been on a steady decline for years now. About once a year we go back to try to give it a chance but it's always the same. No one seems to be organized, the food takes forever, and no one seems to like working there. The last time we went there, we were told by our waitress that the kitchen had ran out of plates and knives, so she could only bring out half of our tables food. Uh....What? When we complained to the manager (Amy I think?) we just got the "sorry/not sorry we're busy" excuse. If you can, just go to Spag's Bar and Grille. They obviously have a lot of the same food and the customer service is exponentially better. read more

This is bland, Midwestern food. Sauces were very watery/runny. The pizza is nothing special...not sure what all the hype is about. The prices are reasonable, but you could probably cook most of this at home...why pay someone else? read more

Very average food. Decent service. Nice atmosphere. Great bargain. I love Italian food and tend to have a large threshold of taste variety and quality within Italian cousine. With that said, "Spag's" has their moments, but they are far too inconsistent to be trusted. The red sauce is pretty good but there are times it is too salty, or burnt. The meatballs are hit or miss. When they hit, they are wonderful. Some of the best I've had and i had two Italian grandmothers. But when they are bad, they are awful. Alas, Spag's is far too inconsistent to know what to expect. When ordering the lasagna or baked pasta's they destroy the dish and drown out the taste by putting WAY too much cheese. If overkill of cheap mozzarella is your thing, this is the place for you. What saves Spag's from receiving less star's in my review is their pizza (they do a decent job on their calzones and pizza) and the atmosphere (nice, cozy place - not a bland, corporate chain feel). The service is average, not bad, but not good either. Overall, decent place to have dinner (prices are very good), but the food quality leaves a LOT to be desired. read more

When it comes to Pizza... Spagnuolo's has it perfected. The Spag special may very well be the best pizza in North America. We drive from Toronto, Canada to have Spag's pizza. Excellent atmosphere, but this place is all about eating Italiano, and eating very well. Once you've eaten here you've sampled the best. read more

I am very sad to report this about this restaurant.....I have been sending people here and bringing my family here for probably 2 decades. We had a big party there last night and the food was absolutely gross. It's unfortunate to say that they have slipped BIG TIME. While the pizza was still alright (although an item that the menu says is on the pizza, we were informed is not-after we received the pizza. And that some menu's say it's there, some don't.....get your act together!) the rest of our meals were (dare I say) gross. Chicken piccata that was made with chicken thighs, and not very well at that. Stuffed chicken that was basically a pile of slop, baked ziti that was watery/runny that they tried to cover up with extra cheese....we were so very sad that this happened and hope that this is not the beginning of the end for Spagnuolo's restaurant in Okemos. read more

I travel all of the country, and this is some of the best Italian Food I have had in a long time. I am from NOLA so that is saying something. If you are anywhere in the Lancing MI area this is a most stop. read more

It's good. That is to say, it's not the best Italian food ever, but I don't think that's what they're trying for. I think they are trying to make their food the way their customers like it and keep everyone happy. I think they have a good thing going. I had veal parmesan and it was pretty good. But I love the way the place feels and how nice everyone is and it's just a really good place to eat and spend time. read more

After looking for a restaurant to take a dinner date to, decided to try Spagnuolo's out. Setting a reservation over the phone was easy earlier in the day. There wasn't a need to since it wasn't overly crowded. The online reservation system did not really work and I was worried at the last minute. My date and I observed the menu and the wait staff was great while bringing drinks in the meantime. The atmosphere is very casual and has an Italian vibe. My date had the Chicken Sandwich and I had the Chicken Marsala. Since he finished his sandwich no problem and I had enjoyed mine to the end, I would say the food was great.. Flavorful and quantity was enough for one person. It's easy to load a lot on a plate when it comes to pasta. Only thing I would've changed was the presentation of the Chicken Marsala. The sauce was great, but did not need to be smothered all over the plate - would have gave more attention to the chicken which was cooked beautifully. I wouldn't have any issue recommending this place and visiting again. read more

Best pizza ever! Have been going here for years and their pizza is better than the top rated pizza in NYC. I always get only pepperoni or sometimes with mushrooms too. I also recommend their antipasto salad which is great. read more

The food and service are not even "ok" here. I was expecting some better Italian food quality, but I was disappointed. The pesto didn't even have pine nuts, and the flavor was mediocre at best. I grew up with a Sicilian grandmother, and she could cook Italian food circles around this place. As such, I was disappointed. The service wasn't very good, either. We went for lunch when day when the place was empty, and our waitress seemed to keep forgetting we were there. Never a good sign. Also, the leftovers didn't keep very well. We had to throw them out of our refrigerator; they went bad overnight, it seemed. Yuck. read more

Absolutely love the food! I've been coming to this restaurant for two decades. Make sure to try the Chicken Marsala, best dish on the menu. read more

Spagnuolo's - Veal special, garlic, shallots, cooked in a burgundy sauce, served with pesto pasta - Italian Near Me - Okemos, Michigan

Authentic, unique, Italian dishes obviously created by a first-generation family from Italy. Comfort food in a warm, pleasant atmosphere that is not stuffy or overpriced. Prosciutto-stuffed chicken, Gorgonzola mostaccioli, and pizza are my top-three favorites...but the ziti is very tempting, too. Secret: lasagna is not on the menu but you can ask for it and it will be custom made. Cannolis are made from scratch, so be sure to ask for them up front because they are very popular! Local, small, warm and just what a cold day ordered!!! read more

Best spot in the okemos area. Authentic feel, phenomenal wine selection, and absolutely delicious food. The stuffed Sicilian stuffed pizza is my personal favorite! read more