This is a review of the Macaroni Grill in the shops right off of Hwy 36 on Church Ranch Rd. We went there because we have not been to this location ever and thought it would be a decent place to go with the kids on a Friday night. The food is mediocre -- certainly rivals Olive Garden in both price and quality but comes NO WHERE close to the quality and taste of food from Carrabba's which is a fabulous place no matter when or where you go. In any case, the service was so-so and on this evening when it was not that busy yet since it was the "early bird" crowd, encompassing elderly and kiddos, you would think the service would be faster. It was okay.
The food was good - but like I said, my eggplant did not exceed or even meet my expectation - it was chewy and very tough to eat. The Carabba's Eggplant is amazing!!!! The kid's plate was okay but the penne pasta was a little hard for my toddler to chew on. Overall, my impressions on this visit were: FOOD- between 1 to 10, perhaps a 6; SERVICE- same scale, I would rate it a 5; and TIMELINESS- maybe a 4to 5; VALUE- overall of 5. If you can pick better Italian in this area, you should.
