Macaroni’s Restaurant

As most say, beautiful spot and awesome vibe/​ambiance. The food however is average overall. I have had a couple of good dishes here but the prices and strange portions always take away so much. The last time I went I had the chicken masala and it was terrible. And $ 24. If they got a great chef and concentrated on quality and the right portions it would be so great here. For the prices charged, you are much better off trudging into center city and seeing what a $ 36 entrée really should be. I hope it improves, I’d love it.

I came here with my dad on a Tuesday night.
It was a pretty good meal. we got small plates. We got lamb chops, mussels, seared tuna, and clams casino.
This is a pretty expensive place and would say quite over priced.
We ate outside. I would say it’s a great atmosphere. Would say the food was about 3.5 stars. For 1 alcohol drink, 4 small plates, and cappuccino, and tip, it was a 100 buck meal. Not worth it.
I am saying 3 stars because the food was a little better than average. The outside bar is awesome! I highly recommend the outside bar to socialize! But so not worth a $ 100 buck meal.
My dad stated that the clams casino was average. It had everything chopped up and prefers the whole clam.
The lamb chops were good but for 16 bucks we got 2 small lamb chops.
I loved the mussels! They were big and tasty and had a great sauce.
The tuna was average. Nothing special.

This place is really beautiful inside and out. It looks like it belongs in center city but it’s a beautiful gem in the far northeast. It’s lovely for a date or a party — even for a quick bite at the bar after work or for a meeting.
The menu is nice and offers variety. The fare is the usual Italian with your brick oven pizzas, pasta dishes and grilled meats and seafood.
We started with the grilled ahi tuna, 2 pieces of tuna just lightly grilled on the outside with a raw fleshy interior. Served with a pepper and mango relish and a cool sauce.
Wood oven pizza with prosciutto and mozzarella. Very chewy, crisp on the edges and just salty enough from the meat.
Our waitress was kind and attentive and the ambience warm and inviting. We dined outside — late around 11pm. It was really nice, again a gem in the northeast

The food was delicious. Definitely left satisfied. However, charging $ 2.50 for a drink ‘on the rocks’ without specifying on the menu or making us aware is not cool in my opinion. We were also charged 12 dollars for a martini that was clearly stated as 10 dollars on the drink list. Would recommend the Quattro Formaggiai pizza and paying close attention to your check for incorrect charges…

Best Italian food. Creative, delicious, fresh, inventive, best service! And being from NY good Italian food is hard to find outside of NY– the p_​square lounge style eating in the back is amazing — #5Star

I went to Macaroni’s for a girl’s night. The aesthetics of the place was beautiful. I loved the colors they used to paint the walls and the outside kitchen looked cute whenever the weather gets nicer, it will be a hit. But I was not really satisfied with the food.
The bread served with the roasted green peppers and the fried calamari was the best part of my meal. My dish (pasta with crab meat) wasn’t as flavorful. There was too much oil on the bottom of the dish, making it a little bit more greasy than usual for a pasta dish. When saying specials, the waiter should told us some of the prices. Two of my friends ordered specials which ended up being almost 50 $ each plate, which was overpriced due to the fact the meat was mostly fat.
I enjoyed the atmosphere, the girl bartender was really nice, and overall consistency with being Italian food but the meal was okay. I’d like to go there again for the outside kitchen to try their pizza.

This was okay, i think it was a little too pricey for the food. Like it wasnt anything so breathtakingly amazing. I guess it’s as fancy as it gets in the Northeast but even then– I think you’d benefit from another place like even Olive Garden would probably serve you better in terms of quantity and taste. Maybe it is just me but this food was nothing distinguishing from another basic Italian place thats really noisy. Three stars for service; swiftness; and romantic atmosphere though!

Cons: Went Saturday night for my mom’s birthday. Made reservations, still had to wait half an hour before being seated. Seems like a lot of people were waiting to be seated when we got there, it was a busy Saturday night, but we should have been warned about the wait when making the reservations. Once seating, we had to wait another half an hour for out food order to be taken.
Pros: Friendly staff. The food was pretty good. I had the chicken parm with paste. Huge servings! The ambiance was great. Had a nice and relaxed dinner with the family.
Aside from the wait, we had a good time. I would in the future.

One of the best restaurants in northeast Philly! It’s so classy! The service is amazing, the food is delicious (although some entrees are a bit pricey. But they’re worth the money). The bar menu is very good too! Love the complimentary roasted peppers! Yum! the bar outside is a gem of its own as well, we always go to after dinner! It feels like you’re going to a different place! It’s a gem hidden in the Northeast!
P.S you must try the crème brûlée cheesecake*

Very nice upscale restaurant in Northeast Philadelphia. The stacked eggplant appetizer was very tasty and it’s big enough for two people to share. The chestnut gnocchi was amazing! For dessert I had the soufflé with a salted caramel gelato, it was very good. Overall, I was impressed, the service was great!

The Northeast has long been barren of any quality restaurants. Unfortunately, it still lacks a truly classy spot.
After checking in for our reservation, my first impression was that the place was loud. I mean sports bar loud. We were served promptly by the bartender and I asked to see the cocktail menu. I was pleasantly surprised by the drink offerings. I had the New Fashioned, which was delicious. The bar area was extremely loud and was showing sports on the TV. To me, there should not be sports on TV at a nice restaurant. This wasn’t some chain, but by many reviews, the pinnacle of NE dining. I continued to be hopeful while we were seated.
The waiter was pleasant and well informed of the specials. I ordered the Gin and Sin drink next and two appetizers: Brussel Sprouts and Mozzarella e Carpazzo. The Mozzarella came out first and my girlfriend made the observation that it looked like «Fancy Grilled Cheese». This is where I had to do a double take and make sure this wasn’t Olive Garden. The dish was decent, but lacked the flavor that one would expect. The Brussel Sprouts were just bad and burnt. Tasteless minus the overly charred with a little balsamic. We were also given bread, but no butter or oil. Weird…
I will take the full blame for allowing us to be seated in literally the worst table in the joint. It was right near the kitchen door, which opened and closed about 100 times. I think that if they put up some type of screen or curtain that would make the table and honestly the entire room more pleasant. The volume in the dining area was actually louder than the bar area. Literally could not hear each other from across the table. Lip reading would be a good quality to have if you dine here. I looked up at the lights and noticed that there were either bugs or large pieces of debris that could be seen in them. Gross, but that wasn’t the last gross thing we encountered.
For dinner we ordered the Cioppino and the Filet. The place was busy, but we waited an inordinate amount of time for the main course. The filet was decent. The Ciopinno had alot of Mussels and clams, but only two shrimp and barely any «colossal crab meat». Now the main course wasnt terrible… it just was, well pedestrian. Both entrees lacked the layers of flavor that one would expect at a finer restaurant at above average pricing.
Of note, we did not see our waiter again until he asked if we wanted dessert. I would expect more attentive service at an upper echelon restaurant.
We declined dessert, coffee, and espresso.
Once we both got up to leave is the point when I was really disgusted. The chairs were absolutely filthy and stained. I was ashamed I did not notice it before I sat down. As you can see in the picture, the chair looked like what I would think a mattress does at the Hub Motel (not that I would know lol).
I only gave this two stars because the two drinks I had were very good. The ambiance, cleanliness, and subpar food offerings would not bring me back here. I did not expect Vetri folks, but I also didnt expect Olive Garden Plus. My advice is to take the drive downtown and go somewhere good… Or clean. Clean would have been nice too.

I have yet to be disappointed. This spot is a hidden gem. It’s like going in town without the drive and terrible parking.
For a special occasion or meeting this is the spot.

We waited in front of this restaurant for 10 minutes to be seated. The waiter was nowhere to be found despite only one couple sitting in the place. Once we found him by walking around he told us he was busy and allowed us to wait 5 more minutes.
I cannot review the food because I did not wait 20 minutes to be seated in an empty restaurant.

My boyfriend and I made reservations here for our 1 year anniversary. We made reservations for a Saturday at 7:30pm, 5 days in advance. I have been here before and absolutely loved it. We were seated 15 mins late, ok they were busy. We got seated and ordered. Our food didn’t arrive til an hour later. The food was hot and delicious but I noticed we waited around for someone to come to our table after that. My boyfriend even said, «where’s our waiter? At Least it’s nice he’s not bothering us during our romantic dinner.» Turns out, we got a different waiter. We ended up waiting to get our check and that point I was fuming! Why do I have to wait 30 mins for you to pick up the check to get out of here? On the way out we asked to see the manager. Turns out there was none and we talked to two waiters about our displeasure. We received NO apology or compensation. We are never going back! Oh and our check was $ 120.00 for two people.

This restaurant is EXCELLENT ! A hidden gem in the northeast that I was so glad I found. They have a fully stocked bar and a cute bar area & all of our food was delicious. The one thing that I was disappointed about was that they have an outside area and I forgot to ask about it but we weren’t given the option to sit outside (the hostess was not as hospitable as the rest of the staff). I thought it was going to be super pricey but the prices were normal for good Italian food. My boyfriend and I went for our anniversary and we got an appetizer, two entrees, three glasses of wine & desert for just under $ 100! Our waiter (forget his name) was great and very knowledgeable and professional. The runners were also very friendly and polite. 5 stars for the amazing place. We will most definitely be back!

This is by far my favorite restaurant in northeast Philadelphia and one of my favorite restaurants of all time. My wife and I go out to eat on a regular basis and this is the one of the only restaurants in the northeast that could not only succeed but thrive in downtown Philadelphia.
The inside of the venue itself is sleek and modern. The bar area is also great and the new outside area is simply fantastic.
Now, the drinks. The martinis at this place are absolutely phenomenal. I typically get a dirty martini (which is really difficult to screw up but at the same time is also very difficult to say is amazing, but it is amazing here). My wife typically orders a pomegranate martini which she simply loves.
The food itself is excellent. I have never had a meal here that I was not extremely pleased with. The pasta is homemade and I would highly recommend the lobster ravioli. The seafood is great and the filet is the best I have had outside of going to one of the premier steakhouses in center city (Barclay Prime, Butcher and Singer, Del Friscos etc.).
The only negative about this place is that the service can be slow at times when it gets really crowded and it can get somewhat pricey compared to other places in the northeast, however the quality of food is WELL worth the price and the slow service can be overlooked given all of the other positives (or just ask for Dave as your server and you are good to go).
Can’t recommend this place enough for any special occasion or even on a very regular basis if you can afford it.

Recently had dinner here with my bf. Very nice inside — clean and great décor! Although we sat in the bar area, I appreciated how separate the dining room was to avoid too loud of an atmosphere during a nice dinner. Our server was very very good at his job. He described the specials so well I wanted them all! Attentive but not overly so. We enjoyed him.
Nice list of cocktails — I had the pomegranate martini because I love pama liqueur and it was delicious! Very nicely made drink. Complimentary bread with olive oil roasted peppers. Our appetizers came shortly after finishing our bread which is always nice. Panko breaded soft shell crab was a special and the crab was cooked very well, we enjoyed it. The arugula that came with it was much too lemony but it definitely was not a deal breaker. Mostly because we also got the shrimp and crab cocktail — delicious! Nice crab chunks and huge colossal shrimp.
We ordered another round of drinks after we finished our apps and this was probably the biggest buzz kill of the night — we were almost finished our food before we got them. A huge party came into the bar at the same time so I understand a slight delay… But that was pretty long. I didn’t mind too much but we probably would have each had a third drink if it wasn’t such a long ticket time. Could use another hand behind the bar.
The reason we weren’t SO bothered about it… The food was incredible. And just large enough portion sizes. We weren’t wishing we had more nor were we overly stuffed. I got the special filet. It was cooked perfectly medium rare and was so tender with great flavor. Some yummy creamy sauce with other yummy stuff. Side of mashed potatoes actually blew me away I was pleasantly surprised. So many upscale places get away with jipping you on a delicious side and it’s ludicrous.
Bf had the veal primo and it was an impressive portion. Two large pieces of veal with 3 large shrimp and lots of crabmeat. He was very pleased with it. tried the veal and it was out of this world! We didn’t let a bit of our dinner go to waste :)
We split a cannoli to basically keep us busy while drinking the drinks we got At the end of our meal… All of a sudden I was a little glad we had to stick around because it was heaven! Nice size with delicious filling and a great shell I can’t explain it you just gotta trust me and try it. Chocolate chips and fresh strawberries to top it off!
Overall, definitely worth checking out at least once. I know we will be back for more! Great gem in the area for the high quality :) well done.

We had reservations and were seated right away. There were 7 of us dining last night and everyone was happy with their meal. I had the grilled romaine salad to start. It came with several croutons and sliced cherry tomatoes and a Caesar dressing. Very tasty. I took another reviewer’s tip and had the cavatelli and crab, which came with huge hunks of delicious crab in a spicy tomato sauce. Had to take half home. Others ordered the rack of lamb, salmon, penne vodka, chicken Marsala. I had one if the lamb chops, very tender and well seasoned.
The waiter started us off with roasted peppers and sliced hearty Italian bread. We asked for garlic bread and were told it wasn’t on the menu, but they would make it for us. It was excellent, grilled bread with just the right amount of garlic rubbed in.
They have a nice bar with friendly bartenders.

Ate here with family for a graduation party — about 12 guests. Our table was supposedly ready but we were not sat until close to one hour after our reservation time (naturally everyone flocked to the bar and you know how hard it is getting people away from one, but still). We were given bread, with these delicious peppers, but no oil, butter, or anything else that is normally served with bread. When we noticed, we asked 3 times, and never received it. Our appetizers came out, albeit slowly — got some sort of sausage dish, shrimp, and calamari — the sausage dish was good, but not special, the shrimp were tasty, and the calamari were cold, rubbery, and bland. The main courses came out almost an hour later (yes, that long) and some were cold. I ordered the fish special, which was cooked well (crispy skin!!!) but just slightly above room temperature at best.
While the food was okay (2 stars), the service was deplorable. Slow, unresponsive, and didn’t receive anything without asking 3 or 4 times, if we were lucky. For a party of 12, we were there for almost 4 hours from entering to receiving the (inflated) check.
The servers were nonexistent, never offered one wine list nor dessert menu, and literally nobody was around if we needed something. The worst part of it was, at the end, the guy I’m guessing was the owner (short monkey looking guy) apologized not to the payers of the check, but rather to a regular who happened to be in the party. This was very off-​putting. I used to hold this place in high esteem as one of the last decent restaurants in Northeast Philadelphia — the owners definitely put a lot of work into it, but now if I want Italian, I’ll stay in South Philadelphia or Center City.

If you go here be sure to make a reservation– my boyfriend and I didn’t on our first attempt and we weren’t able to get a seat when we wanted to eat.
The atmosphere is comfortable and inviting. (Although a bit warm– had the heat on a bit too much for my taste)
We had a 630 reservation and got there early but they sat us anyway.
The waiter came over right away and was very informative on the menu and answered any questions that we had.
For an appetizer we got the Eggplant/​Mozz stack. It was delicious, I thought the batter could have had a little more seasoning but over all great.
I decided to order the Chicken Marsala for dinner as well as a peach martini (which was also delicious).
I’ve never had chicken marsala before and I’m glad I waited. It was done really well. Chicken was moist and well cooked. Sauce complimented the chicken.
We are definitely coming back, there are more things I’d love to try on the menu.