Maggiano's Little Italy - South Coast Plaza

Grade: A+

For my husband's going-away party, I had Maggiano's cater some Italian food. For about 40 adults and 10 kids, I ordered 1 1/2 trays of bruschetta, 1 1/2 trays of spaghetti (meatball and marinara), 2 trays of chicken linguini pesto, 2 trays of rigatoni d....plus we made spinach and cheese ravioli, caesar salad and broccoli.

Way too much food, but I probably would have ordered the same amount for this size party. Per Maggianos, one large tray feeds about 20. Wow, our guests looooved the food. The two favorites were the chicken linguini pesto and the rigatoni d (yum!). They kept asking who the caterer was, and one couple went online the following weekend to search for a nearby Maggianos where they lived because they loved the pasta that much.

Maggiano's were prompt and their customer service was spectacular. They were very generous to us (awesome discount), and I can't thank them enough for adding delicious food to our event. I added the delivery charge as well (includes set up, utensils, napkins, chaffing trays (sternos) to keep the food warm!). So glad to have had them add those sternos. Made a huge difference with the food quality.

The only entree I didn't love was the spaghetti (the pasta was a bit too hard), but everything else was great. They even brought complimentary bread, olive oil and vinegar.

Would I have them cater another event? You betcha.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grade: C+

We held our rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy for approximately 40 people, so this review is for their banquets catering and not the main restaurant. Kim, the banquets/catering manager, was professional and quick to return calls. We booked the outside cafe because our dinner was held on a summer evening. The ambiance was fun and just as we wanted for a rehearsal dinner. The servers were friendly. We ordered from their banquets/catering menu, which includes 2 salads, 2 appetizers, 2 pastas, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. LOTS of food for the cost per person (~$30 not including tax, tip or drinks). So for your money's worth, it is a great place to hold a big party because you get a lot of food, especially if you like family-style dinners. We liked the rigatoni d chicken pesto, stuffed mushrooms, the DESSERTS (tiramisu and creme brulee).

Just OK, nothing special: the caesar and maggiano's salads, calamari

My gripes were: 1/ the food was a bit on the salty side (lasagna, salmon, chicken parmesan) 2/the food came out very slowly (cooking for large parties on a busy thursday night)

But it was a fun night, and had the food come out more quickly and been less salty, we would have been even happier campers.