Mike’s Ristorante

I came here a couple of months ago with my boyfriend. It’s a small place so get a reservation. The starter salad was delicious and so was the complimentary almond tiramisu. Our dishes were pretty average, but overpriced. As one other reviewer mentioned, Nino aggressively pushed the house wine stating that it was a «real good price… Not too expensive» (exact words). We got it. It tasted pretty awful to be honest and then when we got the bill it was an outrageous $ 50. We understood that we probably should have asked for the price but the way we were reassured made us feel silly for questioning further. I felt like we were taken advantage of. The food was good but we won’t be back because of the shady interaction that we had over the wine.

I really wanted to like this place, it seemed quaint and nice and I heard good things about the food. That indeed was accurate the food but thats it… good. The problem lies herein, I was appalled and insulted by the price. The owner told us about two specials, pasta with cherry tomatoes and goat cheese fresh herbs etc. Also Papparadelle with meat sauce. So the prices weren’t given, we ordered and not only wasn’t there any goat cheese in the pasta I actually had to call the chef out and ask for more, so he brings over a grater and grates some cheese over my pasta. Really? What goat cheese comes out of a Mouli grater. Uh… NONE! It was run of the mill provolone or parmesan. The meat sauce dish or should I say meatless sauce dish. That’s all I need to say about that. Both dishes floating in oil. Now the kicker. $ 62, for 2 pasta dishes with hardly any substance in them. No drinks, apps or salad. Just 2 pasta dishes. $ 62. Ahhhhh Nooooooo! I hope they enjoyed my $ 62 because that’s the last money I will ever spend in this place. The host/​chef told me they’ve been in business 45 years. If they continue this pricing, there wont be many more. What an insult!

My recommendation: If you are looking for tasty Italian food, this is not one of them. I had a Gambelli alla Scampi which was bland and tasteless. My son had a Spaghetti alla Vongole which was ok. Overall the dishes are OVER priced and not worth it.

Amazing experience at Mikes! As soon as we got there they brought us a salad and bread. The caprese salad was insane. Nino gave us the menus and told us we wouldn’t even need to open them because of the specials and he was correct. We had the osso bucco and the pappardelle which were delicious, and to finish it off we had the almond tiramisu which was outstanding. We also had a glass of limoncello that was a great way to end the night. Thank you Nino, we will be back!

After calling for weeks to see if they serve lunch I drove up from Bridgeport on Friday. When I walked in at 12.15 the owner stated that there was no room for me. Granted it is Christmas time and they probably have a lot of parties. I asked him if I could come back a little later. He didn, t say anything. Ive eaten at Rao, s in East Harlem, Polpo in Greenwich, DaPietro, s in Westport. Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan, and have never been treated with such disregard. There were a few people eating, mostlt corporate idiots. I, m 100 percent Italian, the owner should remember his roots. It all comes back to you.

This is perfection in an italian restaurant. everything is on point. the food quality is ridiculously good and the experience is excellent end to end. wine is delicious. service great. most of all… overall SO TASTY! I am picky and this place exceeds expectations.

After not having eaten at Mike’s for over 10 years, I was excited to share a great Italian meal with my girlfriend. The atmosphere was warm and inviting as I remembered it. Nino was his usual inviting host greeting us as we came in. But with only 2 other tables occupied that evening, it felt a bit vacant.
The house salad was served, an arugula mix with a lemon vinaigrette topped with shaved parmigiana. The salad was wonderfully presented, well dressed but the parm was sub-​par — something I could have gotten at Stop and Shop.
From there, the experience really took a dive. We shared a portabella mushroom appetizer and although it was hot and visually appealing, the mushrooms were relatively tasteless and under seasoned, floating in olive oil.
As per other reviews, Nino needs to understand that if you alienate a female by not making eye contact or addressing your conversation to them, it can be fatal for a return visit.
Then our entrees came to the table. I ordered the Chicken Marsala and my date had the crab stuffed sole with shrimp. The chicken was properly cooked, nice and moist but I couldn’t detect the Marsala. Again, the dish was dramatically under seasoned, floating in olive oil with no salt or pepper or chopped parsley or wine.
My dates’ sole dish came to the table in a boiling hot oven crock. The parsley and shrimp had been put on the dish before it was cooked under the salamander so I knew immediately the shrimp would be tough and over cooked. Again, the dish was not seasoned and the crab stuffing had no hint of crab, leaving us wondering what it was.
By this point, we skipped the complimentary dessert and left seriously disappointed. It’s a good thing he has another restaurant in Italy that he can go home to. As you can imagine, we won’t be eating there again.

My husband made reservations for dinner (highly recommend you do the same) and we had a wonderful dinning experience at Mike’s Ristorante. Upon entering we were greeted by the owner, Nino. Our table was set up and waiting for us with water, breadsticks, and a bread basket. We were served a tasty and well dressed salad with shaved Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, and thinly sliced prosciutto to share. The menu has many options: about 6 – 8 antipasto options, and main entrees that include pasta, fish, chicken, and veal.
I ordered the pappardelle special (thin broad large pasta noodles smothered in a bolognese sauce with prosciutto and mozzarella). It was delicious. My husband ordered the mezzaluna ravioli special (half moon shaped ravioli stuffed with goat cheese in a tomato based sauce). He ate every last bit of it. Once we were done, our plates were promptly removed and a delicious slice of almond amaretto tiramisu appeared in front of us. It was amazing! We were offered espresso or cappuccino to go along with the tiramisu, but declined, though I can only imagine how perfectly it would have paired with it. Once we finished, I was very grateful and appreciative, that my husband and I were able to just sit and talk. Other places would have given us the check and rushed us out. Like I said, wonderful dinning experience!
Service was excellent and very prompt. Looking around at all of the other dinners – everyone was thoroughly enjoying their meal while Nino and another gentleman were ensuring everyone’s needs were met.

Again, as expected, we lunched here today on the finest Italian food I know of! Nino and his team consistently offer the best!
The initial salad and bread are just superb. I had a new dish made from the finest imported Italian pasta. It had smoked prosciutto in beef bolognese baked in a steaming hot pot with Italian cheeses! I would do this again!

We just went to Mike’s based on the Unilocal reviews and were not disappointed. The service was fast and friendly. The space is lovely and intimate – yet relaxed/​casual.
And the food was wonderful. We shared the homemade pappardelle and the eggplant. Both were amazing. The salad and dessert (which came without us asking for them, well-​timed) were the perfect complements. This was a very nice meal and I would recommend to anyone and everyone!

After four attempts at getting a reservation for a Saturday night, we finally visited Mike’s last month, and all of the kudos I’d read were justly deserved. Without repeating what others have said, I’ll just say that this was probably the finest Italian food I’ve had in a long time… approaching Arthur Avenue quality. Nothing was even close to average; nothing disappointed. Even their olive oils (yes, they use different ones for different purposes) were spectacular.
Shrimp Fra Diavalo was exactly right, served at our request with broccoli rabe rather than pasta. The homemade pasta– in the Cioppino-​like special, loaded with sweet, tender clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari — was outstanding. But the sauce was out of this world… and that’s why we’re going back tonight.
This does bear repeating, however: The almond tiramisu was fantastic, by itself worth a return visit. If there’s a better Italian restaurant in Fairfield, New Haven, or Hartford counties, I haven’t been there yet!
Update 7÷6÷14: We’ve been back to Mike’s four or five times since, and have never been disappointed. The second time we were there, Nino remembered us, where we sat, and what we ordered! But I digress. We’ve had the stuffed sole a few different ways, a couple of simple but outstanding chicken entrees, The Orechiette alla Boscaiola (homemade Orechiette pasta with sautéed portabello mushrooms, mozzarella, and fresh pomodoro sauce) is one of the great pasta dishes I’ve had, and regardless of what I order, I always get a side of it.
And the tiramisu is still fantastic!

Having eaten a couple of tasty business lunches here in the past, my SO and I finally enjoyed a Friday night dinner here recently.
Note that you should try to secure a reservation. If you don’t have one, it’s a good idea to at least call ahead, as it’s not a very large room. Most – if not all – of the tables were reserved, and they mentioned that the entire restaurant was booked for a wedding party the following day.
We were greeted by our server (timely, attentive, and charming) and Nino. Bread and water was promptly brought to the table. Echoing everyone else, some cheese, prosciutto and a small salad came out next. I wish more places did that!
The other diners (all couples) were staggered, both in terms of meal stages and seating arrangements. I assume this was by design, allowing a single server to efficiently handle the entire room as well as achieving some privacy in an otherwise wide-​open space due to temporarily vacant tables in between filled ones.
They didn’t have a wine list; instead, our server suggested the «house wine» (his words) that was out on the tables. He let us try a sample before committing. However, what bothered us is that the price was a complete mystery. You don’t want to embarrass yourselves by asking and seeming like total cheapskates (which we aren’t; we have no problem spending extra money on a bottle, it’s just the principle of the thing). And then what if you aren’t happy with the answer? Then you have to dance around whether they offer less expensive alternatives, potentially creating an even more awkward situation.
In the end, we thought, hey – it’s the house wine, which is generally a good value (see
). Our samples were pleasing, so we accepted the bottle. I quietly joked to my SO about it being a surprise $ 60 expense.
For dinner, he got the lobster ravioli on special and I ordered the Cavatelli alla Campagnola. Both dishes came out piping hot (a positive). His ravioli was delicious and warrants a return visit. My dish had a generous amount of chicken, but unfortunately was fairly bland. Perhaps I am ignorant of how it should taste, but I wouldn’t order it again.
During dinner, a few disruptions took away from the otherwise intimate atmosphere. I’d be more understanding if we’d popped in during prep time for a 5pm dinner, but it was around 8pm. These were fairly noisy activities such as the staff pushing tables together, clean silverware clanking as it was slung into holders, various bangs and clangs in the bar and kitchen, etc. Not deal breakers, but enough of an atmospheric distraction to note.
After dinner, the complimentary almond tiramisu was absolutely amazing: texturally spot-​on, perfectly moist, excellent flavor. Our cappuccinos accompanied it well.
Then came the check. My joke ended up being accurate; we were charged $ 65 for the bottle (just over half of our total bill). Not a horrific amount by any means, but again, it’s the principle of the thing – it’s not fair nor acceptable to put the customer in that situation and it comes across as underhanded not to have the prices readily displayed.
I harped on the flaws in this review, but overall we really did have a pleasant dinner here and we will return. With a few tweaks, Mike’s Ristorante would deserve a 5-​star rating.

We are regular fans of Mike’s. The reason we love the place is because the intimate nature of the restaurant, the exceptional food and overall positive experience you get when you eat there. The fresh pasta is excellent and the «specials» are always great.
My personal favorite is the homemade pasta’s and some of the fresh seafood dishes combined with pasta. Also, the house wine is excellent!
Remember, you need to make sure you make reservations on the weekends in particular because it has a limited number of tables that are very popular.

Mike’s Ristorante is a very authentic Italian restaurant. The owners are super friendly and engage you in conversation. The service at this restaurant is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. The food, however, speaks for itself. I had a mushroom appetizer dish that was very flavorful as well as a plate of proscuitto to start.
Their pasta is also very authentic and home-​made. I ended the meal with a cappuccino and tiramisu which was also very good.
I have been meaning to come back to this restaurant because of the food.

I’m very surprised by all the rave reviews for this restaurant. The atmosphere is appealing, however, the food, wine and service was a major disappointment. I went there with my girlfriend for Valentine’s Day, and was ready for an incredible meal based on all the love Mike’s has gotten from Unilocal and the friendliness of the owner on the phone when making our reservation. Unfortunately, things kind of went downhill from there. Nino, the owner, was very friendly however he came across more like a used car salesman than restaurant host. He was very aggressive pushing the table wine selling it as a great bottle for a great price, which ended up being $ 60 and pretty bad (we didn’t even finish it) He then went on to push the specials pretty hard, which we didn’t try but ordered off the regular menu instead. We ordered the table red and the caprese salad to start as well as our meals. After the salad, which was great with excellent mozzarella, we asked our server for the wine menu and were in turn told they didn’t have one. He asked if we wanted a red or white, and after saying white he suggested the sauvignon blanc which tasted like a cheap behringer white zin. It was extremely sweet and dry. Both wines were disappointing, totaled $ 100 and we left both bottles unfinished on the table.
I think it is also worth noting that this whole time he hadn’t looked or really acknowledged my girlfriend’s presence and presented everything to me, like she wasn’t even there. That was pretty off-​putting.
Despite the poor initial experience, we were both still really looking forward to the food. Again, this was another disappointment. I ordered the calamari fradiavolo and my girlfriend ordered the shrimp scampi. Both were poorly cooked, with the shrimp and calamari overcooked and very tough, and the fradiavolo sauce was missing that kick that sets it apart. The meal left us feeling like we could have done better at home.
Overall the experience was extremely disappointing on all fronts. The only positives I could take away from Mike’s was the intimate atmosphere and the buffalo mozzarella…

I’ve lived in this area for over 25 years and really annoyed at myself that I never heard of this place. What a phenomenal little restaurant. My wife and I went on a Friday night. MAKE RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME! There aren’t many tables and, judging by the atmosphere while we were there (and the sign on the front door saying they were booked for the night), you’ll have a hard time getting in.
The light salad and bread are perfect starters. For dinner, I had the angel hair w/​pesto. My wife has a penne dish with meat sauce, I believe. I downed mine. Absolutely delicious. It was a very simple dish that I had never even thought of but was perfect.
The highlight of the night, however, is the dessert. I’m a dessert JUNKIE. I’m very picky and I’ve eaten just about everything you can imagine. One bite into the almond tiramisu had me swooning. I’m being dead honest when I say it’s one of THE best desserts I’ve ever tasted. I could live on it.
One other thing that happened to solidify how great a place this is, I jokingly said to the waiter I would like 15 more desserts when he asked if there was anything else we’d like. How surprised was I when he handed me one in a to-​go container with the check… ON THE HOUSE! SOLD!
Michael’s is a no-​brainer for a nice date night out or a dinner with friends. No way you’re leaving disappointed. They made two more loyal customers in us last Friday.

Wow. We returned last week and were as underwhelmed as the first time we visited. I am particularly disturbed to see that there are NO NEGATIVE REVIEWS LISTED of this restaurant. Something fishy going on here in the Land of Unilocal.Vastly undeserving of 5 stars: same mediocre food and ambience.

Lovely, lovely, lovely! Great food and wine, and even more amazing hosts.
Thank you for the special service :)
Personal favorite: tiramisu! It’s just heavenly. #musttry

I was looking for a special dining experience as this was for a birthday dinner. Mike’s Restaurant was perfect. Nino greeted us at the door and led is to our table. Before we got our wine there was bread, small plate of provolone and imported prosciutto, small salad. And then we heard the specials. Each special sounded wonderful. What to chose?
Reminded that this will not be our only visit, it made the choosing easier. Shrimp Scampi. Shrimp Fra Diavolo. Both excellent choices. Nino topped off our glasses (at no extra charge) and then presented us with a slice of heaven for dessert. The owners certainly know how to treat their customers. I love this place. Reservations are a must. But a little planning will be rewarded ten fold.

I’m adding another 5 star review to the pile because they deserve it.
From start to finish this place is amazing. Great food great atmosphere. Honestly whatever you order you can’t go wrong. I got a parpadelle dish with italian ham, cheese and red sauce and my boyfriend got a farfalle with clams, shrimp and calamari. Both were amazing. I’m spoiled with Italian food, I grew up with it, I lived around New Haven most of my life and I lived across the street from Arthur Ave. for 4 years. This is better than all of that. Seriously.