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Michelangelo's

MY REVIEW: We arrived on a slow Wednesday night expecting a tasty dinner and a good experience. I was so wrong! We were seated and served water. The waiter walked up to the table and said ‘drinks?’ literately just that word. We overheard another waiter telling a table about the specials. Our waiter just returned with the tea and looked at us. We told him our order, shrimp scampi Michelangelo’s and shrimp and spinach ravioli with a side of garlic bread. The entrees were horrible. The scampi had shrimp that had been frozen and were chewy and tough over a tasteless alfredo sauce. The ravioli was stuffed with spinach and little gray canned shrimp. When the ravioli was cut some sort of liquid ran out. We only ate half of our dinner and asked for the check which totaled $42. I noticed an additional $7 on the bill and when I asked, I was informed it was the tip. I asked why was the tip added and the waiter mumbled about he made it less than 18% and I could make it whatever I wanted. I gave him my credit card and when it returned the $7 had been added. I usually tip well, but the nerve! I will never return to this restaurant.

NAME: foodie deluxe
SUBMITTED: 3/3/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/2/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I really don't get the occassional bad review of this restaurant! I've been eating here off and on for over 30 years, and can honestly say I've never had anything but good food and good service. There is seldom a loud or boisterous table nearby, and the atmosphere is as nice and calming as you will find anywhere! I don't have any problem at all with the tip being included - saves me from having to calculate it, and obviously eliminates the problem of poor tippers for waiters who work hard for a living! As to the valet - if you don't want to tip - park across the street, I do! Go here and enjoy a great meal anytime!

NAME: Peter
SUBMITTED: 9/4/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/3/2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I went to Michelangelo's after Mass this morning for brunch at the suggestion of a friend. I had never been there before. I entered the nearly empty parking lot past the unattended valet stand, and as I was about to pull my car into a parking space I was stopped by a man who told me the valet parking was mandatory. I gave him my keys and entered the restaurant. From the ambiance of the building I was expecting excellent service and excellent food. I ordered coffee, which I finished before the appetizer arrived, and which remained empty until the end of the meal, at which point I had to that it be refilled. When the water glasses needed to be refilled, instead of just filling them the service staff interrupted our conversation to ask if we wanted more water. The appetizer, a mixed seafood plate, was really good; the main course not so much. I ordered an omlette listed as 'Funghi' and described as a wild mushroom omlette with spinach. It turned out to be a spinach omlette with no detectable mushrooms. The bill arrived with a 15% tip included, even though I saw no notice of a mandatory service fee. Considering how sloppy the service was I guess charging for a mandatory tip is the only way they can insure the staff will be paid. When we were ready to leave, the valet walked the five steps to my car to drive it to where I was standing. There was no valet charge posted, and since I neither asked for, nor desired, nor needed the service I felt no need to tip him. He informed me that there is a $3 parking fee. I am normally a generous tipper when I have been well served, but I hate being coerced to pay for bad service and services I don't want. Mediocre food. Bad service.

NAME: Randal
SUBMITTED: 8/22/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: August 22, 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I don't get this restaurant. We had a thoroughly disappointing experience. The atmosphere was nice. The dining room was not very full and we had a nice table to one side of the room. Our waiter was maybe one notch above terrible. I felt ignored most of the night. He barely spoke to us. We had to request water and iced tea refills. The food was fair, at best. I had an assorted pasta plate. Besides the fettucini alfredo, the other 3 portions were tiny.

Had we not had our restaurant discount gift certificate, we would have surely felt ripped off. I know Michelangelo's has a good reputation, but I don't get it. We will not be returning.

NAME: RandS_dine_alot
SUBMITTED: 8/8/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I keep being drawn to this restaurant because the food and service is really very good and the atmosphere is nice. But, for the life of me, I don't understand why they insist in shooting themselves in the foot. We had a wonderful lunch, and then the bill arrived, $31.90, 15% tip of $6.00.? Pardon me, 15% of $31.90 is $4.78...not six bucks. And, they show the sales tax to be $ 3.10, which is ten percent! I think the sales tax is around 8.25%. They are playing fast and loose here and perhaps not understand that their accounting is shady. Is it worth it? Maybe, and that is why we keep on going back.Just think that you are in a tourist trap in Turkey and you know you are being conned,but, heck, it is part of the fun.

NAME: eatoutalot
SUBMITTED: 6/29/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 6 /29/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Average food, old stlye atmosphere.

I'm offended that they add the tip.

At that point it's not a gratuity it's a service fee and the waitstaff has NO REASON to give you good service because they know they are going to get your money.

I'd just rather go someplace better anyway.

NAME: houstonman
SUBMITTED: 5/30/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 3-10
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Ambiance was perfect. Great pianist and cello player. Wait staff was extremely professional, attentive, courteous, and helpful. I asked for recommendation for a wine that is sweet and goes well with seafood. My waiter picked the perfect wine, Pinot Grigio Villa Frattina.

Carpaccio was pretty good. Pomodoro salad was excellent. I ordered the Capellini al Pesto di Mare. I'm NOT exaggerating when I say that it was perfect! The shrimp and scallops were jumbo size and cooked to perfection. The tomato basil pesto sauce was to die for! Afterwards, I ordered an espresso to accompany my tiramisu. Surprisingly, the espresso was authentic and aromatic! The tiramisu was perfect. I don't like whipped cream, but to my surprise the tiramisu was made with a delicious layer of mascarpone!

I will definitely return to this restaurant many times over!

NAME: Petite Viet Foodie
SUBMITTED: 4/11/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: April 10, 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The food was very good. The ambiance was okay. The server was a nice-enough guy, but looked pretty sloppy.

On the negative side - though the restaurant wasn't crowded, and though it was early evening (5:00) we were asked 4 or 5 times if we were done with our meals (we weren't). This was asked not only by our waiter, but every service person that walked by our table.

Secondly, though there were two people in our party, and the bill wasn't expensive, a 15% tip was added to the bill when it was presented to me.

Lastly, when I picked up my car from the required valet parking, I was told that there was a minimum valet parking tip required.

I'm not a cheap guy, and tip well for good service, but I take offense when it is assumed that I will not tip, so the restaurant decides to avoid that by making me pay their tip.

I won't eat there again.

NAME: Moravian Jade
SUBMITTED: 3/22/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: March/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We hadn't been to this restaurant in a long time, but remembered the great ambiance and always delicious food. We used to go there quite regularly. We took some friends there last night who had never been there before. The ambiance was as remembered, nice and dark with piano man playing in the background.

Bruschetta appetizer was very good. We had some Chianti Classico wine, which was decent. Entrees were OK, not great. 2 of us had the pollo mostardo (or some derivation close to that spelling; we both remembered it being better in previous visits. The other 2 had pasta dishes, which no one commented on, so I'm assuming they were less than stellar. The waiter spilled a drink all over the table and on me. For the money, you get much better food (and service) at F*ratelli's or D*amian's. I doubt we will go back anytime soon.

NAME: Lizardia
SUBMITTED: 2/18/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: February 17, 2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: It is my favorite Italian restaurant in town. The servers need to work on their performance, but the managers are very hospitible. My recomendation is to go out an have a drink or two before dining since the cheapist wine runs close to 40 a bottle. The food is amazing and I have never had a problem. I took my two husbands there for our 5 year anniversary and we were not dissapointed at all. The duck portion was a bit small, but the jefe de jefe was to die for and so was the es cargo. Definately my favorite small town hot spot!!!

NAME: montrose boy
SUBMITTED: 2/17/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/18/2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: It was our turn to host a dinner for some friends who get together every few months. It had been several years since I had last dined at Michaelangelo's, but each time had been a pleasant experience, so I chose to ignore the negative reviews at this site and book my reservation anyway for a Friday 7 PM dinner, party of six.

What a great experience that turned out to be! We started with an appetizer platter for six, featuring calamari, crab cakes, prosiutto and melon, and smoked salmon -- a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Our entrees, nearly all of them seafood, were as advertised, and we finished with tiramisu and cappucino.

What we enjoyed most was the service and the ambience. The piano man was superb, and service was attentive.

All in all, it was a delightful experience worth repeating.

NAME: Ray In Sugar Land
SUBMITTED: 10/26/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: October/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Last night was the first time I had been to Michelangelo's in two years. Thankfully, not much had changed. The service was subtle and quiet but efficient. We started with a nice full-bodied Chianti. The calamari fritti were crisp, and the marinara sauce was delicious. The caesar salads were nice and flavorful. My partner ordered the cannelloni pavarotti, stuffed with ground veal, spinach, and cheese. It arrived piping hot, fresh out of the oven. I had the veal scalloppini. It wasn't quite as good as D*amian's, but it definitely did the trick. The spaghetti on the side was quite nice.

The restaurant is quite dark with a lot of the light coming from passing cars on Westheimer. The tree growing through the middle of the restaurant gives it a natural touch. Even on a weekday, the pianist came in at 7 pm.

Overall, we had a lovely dining experience. We were never rushed or pressured into anything we didn't want. The prices reflect the quality of the food, and the ambiance is elegant and romantic. The food and decor isn't edgy or new-wave, but it is classic and enjoyable.

Just so you know: 15% gratuity is automatically added on to every bill.

NAME: kleverkira
SUBMITTED: 1/24/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: January 23, 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I used to love Michelangelo's - would go there for New Year's, Mother's Day brunch, and romantic nights out. I brought my friend from Baltimore back for brunch when she came back to visit and I was embarrassed at what happened.

We are in our late 20's/early 30's but look fairly young. Although we had reservations and arrived first, the hostess passed over us in favor of an older/elderly party without reservations. Luckily we were seated immediately. The restaurant was packed that day. We had literally just finished our meal, with our plates still in front of us - we may have been picking at it a bit - and the hostess comes over and asks us when we were going to leave because she needed the table. She stood near our table after that, giving us the evil eye. I noticed of course that the older party was never approached, just us. The manager on duty was uninterested and when I called back later to complain, that manager basically hung up on me.

The food is good there, but not that good. Too bad...

NAME: o's fan
SUBMITTED: 10/25/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/07
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Went to Michelangelo's on a Saturday night for a romantic dinner date,Was seated quickly and orders were taken by waiter.

I should have realized to not expect much service since the waiter did not even introduce himself after we declined any wine service. We ordered 2 appetizers and 2 entrees for a party of two.

The food came quickly and was not up to par with the past. For a 'nice' restaraunt, service was horrible. Waiter never came back throughout our meal to check on us, or refill water, or give us knifes for our meal, light the candle on the table etc.

He managed to check on the next table about 3-4 times and ask how they were doing each time. (They must have been frequent customers so he took care of them). I would have understood the inattentive service if the place was packed, but it was not like they were full that evening.

Waiter never asked if the food was ok ( despite my girlfriend left her entree 90% uneaten due to the chicken being overcooked and dry) and managed to add 15% service charge to the bill. I disputed this charge since there literally was no service from our waiter and I would have liked to tip my own amount (usually over 15 -20%) anyway. The waiter returned to argue that he has worked for 20 years and this is standard practice even party of 2, but eventually took it off the bill. Left with a bad taste in my mouth and put a damper on our evening out. It used to be my girlfriend's favorite italian restaraunt (site of our first date), but we won't be going back anytime soon due to this disappointing experience.

Ambience :nice with a piano player

service: Bad

Food: Inconsistent (Food was better at previous visits)

I will not want to return with so many good restaraunts in Houston unless my girlfriend chooses to. Michealangelo's really needs to retrain their wait staff to treat everyone equally and to provide more attentive service for a "romantic" restaraunt.

NAME: dcf
SUBMITTED: 9/1/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: August /2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I visited last night. I ordered the "Linguini Nuovo" and my friend ordered the special for the night "Ravioli stuffed with lobster topped with lump crab meat."

There was plenty of crawfish in my linguini but it was chewy and rubbery. The dish contained very little linguini. The ravioli plate had 4 raviolis sized at about 2x3. Very very very very small portions. For $22.95 they could have put more ravioli on the plate! The lump crabmeat smelled very fishy and there was so little topped on the plate that you barely saw it.

I ordered a glass of chianti and the glass was filled less than 1/3 of the way!

I don't mind paying money for good food, but this was NOT good food. I've had better Italian food at restaurant chains. With so many great choices of restaurants, I will NOT be choosing Michaelangelos again.

NAME: Jaclyn
SUBMITTED: 4/20/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

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