Mike Larco’s a La Carte

mike larco continues a family tradition of GREAT food-​great service and great memories. the colombo any thing is wonderful and old school. the sciliano with extra garlic is truly a favorite. i have been there for parties of 30 people or just mu wife and i it never ever misses the mark. old school italian flavors and new school twist with ala carte menu offering. a must !

There has to be some Italian restaurant between the latest crazes where you wait an hour for a table, and this sad sad attempt to capitalize on a classic Detroit restaurant name. The food tasted good and the service was very good but the presentation left so much to be desired that it ruined the dining experience. A la carte sounds like an interesting concept but slapping a piece of fish on a white plate doesn’t make for an appealing presentation. We talked to the owner about it and to our surprise he didn’t do what successful restaurateurs do — apologize for displeasing a customer and ask if there were some way to make it up to us. Rather, he defended his concept by saying among other lame excuses that if he changed he would have to get new printed menus! Well, maybe he’d be able to afford them if he made some changes. Worse, the room itself looked tired, the tables almost seemed haphazardly placed, and the few pictures scattered on the walls were mostly of family from the original Larco’s of decades gone by. Plus it was a Saturday night and the place was nearly empty. This location has been the home of several restaurants and alas, I suspect this one won’t be the last.

60 minutes and still waiting for food. Second time here, first was great.

A++++++ great food. I know some of the reviews say how bad it is. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Go try the food and the service was great. And the staff was fab.

If I could give lower than 1 star I would. Though it had speedy service, things came out too quick. The appetizer came out less than 4 minutes after we ordered it, and as I expected it was tomato sauce out of a can with thinly cut pre cooked sausage. The Caesar salad was terrible mostly because the dressing was so watered down, it tasted like water. The main course was great in size but little in flavor. To add to all this, the restaurant smells like a gas station bathroom. Would never come back. These people don’t know what Italian is.

Great food the best Itialian around. Won’t be sorry great veal, spaghetti and salad. We enjoyed our meal. Great waitress ask for Janice. Help a small local business out.

Food was mediocre and expensive and we got a new server who was very slow. It took over 2.5 hours for service.
The interior looks like a retirement home.

I’m really happy to see Larcos got a liquor license finally. A cocktail will be a nice touch to begin a meal. Minestrone soup is just the way I remember it back at the original Larcos on 6 mile in Detroit. The spaghetti with meat sauce is simple and not full of 5 other flavors that you don’t want. The prices are really inexpensive for the quality of the food. Try it-​you can’t go wrong.

Getting full bar soon! Liquor license should be arriving soon! Come for Happy Hour! Great Happy Hour specials!

Swiss onion soup is a must. Breadsticks and rolls were out of this world. Entrées were delicious, we shared and tasted chicken and spaghetti dishes. Everything was awesome. Dinner salad was no big thing but you can’t rate a restaurant just on the salad. Will be back and Bennett is a great server. Don’t be fooled by the à la carte cheap prices, it adds up!

Larco’s has great food. The veal is outstanding as is the filet with zip sauce. I’ve eaten there 8 – 10 times and I’ve never had a bad meal. The owners are really nice people and it’s great to see them there all of the time. They really care about the quality of their restaurant. The waitstaff is top notch too!

We came in here for a birthday dinner. We ordered the shrimp as recommended by our waiter. It was outstanding served in the Larco lemon garlic sauce (same as larcos) for entrees we had a filet, veal Marsala, and a pasta that’s girlfriend made up herself. The filet came out cooked perfectly with zip sauce. This steak looked great and I managed to steal a bite off my grandmothers plate while she was in the restroom. I almost with I would have ordered it myself even though my veal was amazing. 3 big pieces of veal which I think was floured and sautéed served in a dark Marsala sauce with mushrooms. My girlfriend (the picky one) ordered something that I usually make at home. Penne noodles with bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and chicken with garlic and oil. Let’s just say it put mine to shame. Hopefully, now we can go there rather then having to cook at home. We also had to get the minestrone soup which was also outstanding and put Lelis to shame. I had a side of spaghetti bolgonese which had the perfect amount of meat and each noodle was coated in sauce while not being drenched. This restaurant by far is the best bang for the buck in the area. Our service was great, we never had to look for our waiter even though he was busy. We even got to chat with mike the owner who was very friendly and hands on. Don’t trust the other reviews this place was great and we will make this one of our regular spots. I really hope this place does well. Thanks for the wonderful time and treating us like we were VIPs.

I wouldn’t call it cheap and it does kind of have a hokey décor. However I thought the food was outstanding! My son and I both had pasta and it was very, very good.

I knew the takeout service was just too quick to be decent food. Went in for late dinner takeout food was ready before I could sit down and peruse the cocktail menu.
Sauces were waaaay to heavy to be taken seriously as an italian anything, sloppped on top of your choice of fettucini, mostaccoli or angel hair. Sauce so thick it just sits atop the pasta and doesnt mingle.
I asked to order what they are know for, Palamina sauce. The car (Palomino) is 100% less dense than this sauce. Steak tips OK– the zip sauce is good. Wish she wouldve spared me and said they were known for that. But then you shouldnt be known for an appetizer, now should you? The lobster mac had 5lbs and 25inches of stretchy cheese and absolutely no lobster. One star for at least one edible thing and being open at 11pm.
If you drive a pinch up the road there is a mcdonalds, kfc and taco bell. Go the distance.
2 stars for speed in order completion.

Love the a la carte concept! $ 5.95 for a great lamb chop! Delish! My wife loved the bolognese & piccata, daughter loved her parmigiana. Ben was a delightful server. Will definitely go back.

Worst meal ever had. NOTHING like Larco’s locations that closed.
Food is cheap — but lacks flavor. Bowl of angel hair with BLAND marinara sauce — told server was bland so they put more sauce on it! Was like soup! No fresh parmesan — out of a jar. Bread was grocery store French. Caprese sald came undressed with dollop of what tasted like jar pesto. Again no flavor. Was excited about Larco’s coming to the neighborhood, but food just terrible.

It was good. Waitress was very kind and prompt. I had my 2 year old with me and they were very sweet to him. Food was good. Price was right though. Only issue was they did not have a liquor license yet but they say it us coming.

I use to eat at Larcos before they moved and tore down the building. We went to this place with about 10 – 12 people for a family get together.
Easily the best part about this was the fact that «Water available upon request» was on the menu. No water when you walk in. However if you want a nice glass of «Cola» (not Coke or Pepsi), you can get that. Or if you’re adventurous, the luke warm iced tea with no ice was pretty accurate for this place.
The décor was almost non-​existent, the food was mediocre at the absolute best. I ordered a salad with the house dressing. I tasted it and it seemed like it was all oil. I then mixed it up assuming that it wasn’t stirred. Still tasted like oil.
The bread in the baskets was hard and the bread sticks are the kind you can get in the clear plastic at the grocery store for $.99.
I decided to order the spaghetti with meat sauce, how could a Italian restaurant screw this up? Well lets say the ratios were off. I had to ask for more sauce twice. The sauce that I did get was once again room temperature.
For the money, go to olive garden, the food is consistently average and this place is obviously below.

My wait was 30 minutes for a freakin salad, people all around me left in disgust. They need to get there stuff in gear

Mike Larco’s recently reopened this restaurant in a strip mall in Sylvan Lake (if you know the area it is where the Lodge used to be). The food is the same at the former Larco’s in West Bloomfield. Great steaks with zip sauce, pasta, anna potatoes, etc. The big difference is everything is a la carte (hence the name) so the sides, while they do not come with the entrée, are very reasonably priced. The other difference is the atmosphere is not as elegant as the former Larco’s. It is a very casual restaurant. During my visit they did not have their liquor license yet but it is coming soon.
If you want a great casual meal Mike Larco’s is an excellent choice. I look forward to going back again.