Your favorite and least favorite CHAIN restaurant for Italian?

[Disneycrazymom]

I like Fazzoli's for quick eat out Italian. Here in StL we can always go to a local place with great Italian so we don't do any real chain Italian.

Not a big fan of Olive Garden. The food is just ok and I think the prices are high.

 

[Angelhalo]

Spinoff of the Olive Garden thread.

What is your favorite / least favorite chain restaurant for Italian? Mine is Maggiano's.... and my least favorite - actually I don't like it at all - is Buca Di Peppo....

LOL! Buca Di Beppo is my all time favorite Italian chain followed by Carabbas, then Maggiano's, then Olive Garden.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Carabba's

Least favorite--I don't tend to hit the "chain" places too much--have never been to a Buca--what's it's before. So I'll go with fake Italian and my least favorite is Pizza Hut.

Olive Garden I can take it or leave it. They aren't as good as Carabba's, but I don't think they are terrible either.

 

[jen0610]

I agree that local places are usually better. For example, we have an awesome family run Mexican restaurant we go to instead of On the Border. Although we still hit up Taco Bell for the occasional quick fix.

Talking Mexican, I can't think of one major chain that we have here. None, that I would consider to be a place to go and dine at. Fast food, quick in and out, yea we have those but a major chain, nada.

 

[dislaney]

I'm not a huge fan of Italian restaurants but I'll drive way across town for Chicken Brian at Carabbas.

That is one of my favorite entrees there!

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Someone is eating at Olive Garden, they just opened one in my town and there has been a line out the door all day every day. Yuck. Gets my vote for worst chain.

Buca di Beppo - eh. Ours closed, no great loss there, but not the worst i've had.

Macaroni Grill - decent the few times we've been, but they are always making the "worst entree for you" type lists and have some scary scary nutritional info.

Carrabba's - we don't have one here but have eaten at one once. It was decent and I would go back - with a picky eater in the family Italian is easy to do when traveling.

All the other chains mentioned I've never heard of.

We have a lot of local places and they are always my first choice. Even when traveling, I like to ask for locally owned recommendations.

 

[Angelhalo]

Our Buca Di Beppo is wonderful and always always always packed. If you want to eat there you MUST make reservations or you won't get in. We must have a really good one here or something. I drive all the way to the other side of town to eat there when we're not low-carbing. Everyone at the table always raves about everything we get. It's my Italian best friend's favorite restaurant. It's strange to hear that people don't love it as much as we do. I wonder if ours is a lot better than some of the other locations....

 

[theycallmered]

Buca di Beppo and Maggiano's are tied in my book for my favorite Italian chain restaurant.

Olive Garden is my least favorite. I have had some HORRIBLE GI incidents thanks to Olive Garden.

 

[Music City Mama]

I'm not a huge fan of Italian restaurants but I'll drive way across town for Chicken Brian at Carabbas.

That is one of my favorite entrees there!

Mmmmm, love me some Chicken Bryan . . . their bread/dip, an Italian salad and Chicken Bryan and I'm in heaven.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Another STL DISer. We have Italian all over.... chains to mom and pop. If I am eating Italian we go local since we have so many.

LEAST favorite is Pasta House.

I have never been to Maggiano's. I want to go. I might love it. So I will give it an honorable mention as a possibility of a favorite. I don't have a favorite chain yet.

 

[Squirlz]

Carraba's and Macaroni Grill are pretty good. Olive Garden had it's last chance and we won't go back unless somebody else is paying!

I really don't go out for Italian with my new Bride as she can make Italian better than any restaurant. We go out for other stuff.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

LOL! Buca Di Beppo is my all time favorite Italian chain followed by Carabbas, then Maggiano's, then Olive Garden.

Regarding Buca,

The 2 near me have closed... I don't know if it was the food or just a bad economy, but we have a brand new OG, so they must feel it is a good time to be in business.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

favorites: Spaghetti Warehouse(the best sourdough bread I've ever had!!) and Macaroni Grill
least favorites: Olive Garden and Carrabas.

WE don't go out for Italian much, (it's so expensive and I can make it cheaper/better at home), but we LOVE our two favorites when I'm just not in the mood to cook it.

 

[Robinrs]

The only chain Italian we have around here is Olive Garden. And it's not on our list of place to eat at. It's been 6 years since we've gone there. We have a local place - 5 of them actual that are way better than OG.

I think that's why the OP said CHAIN in all caps. I would rather go to a Mom and Pop restaurant of any kind over a chain. I'm a lover of ALL things Italian and would eat it before I eat any other kind of food!

 

[Bay Hill]

Favorite...Carrabba's,

Runner Up...Bertuccis, have good pizza and Chicken Parm

Honorable Mention...Spaghetti Warehouse, the one's in Hartford and Springfield closed years ago. We went to the one in Tampa (Ybor City) last year.

Worst...Olive Garden

 

[MulanUSAF]

Favorite: Maggiano's Little Italy

Least Favorite: Johnny Carino (I actually got food poisoning from eating there once)

Also love Old Spaghetti Factory's mizithra cheese and browned butter pasta, I always get that every time I go back to California.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Favourite: Il Fornaio its so good! (www.ilfornaio.com) as far as cheaper chain Old Spaghetti Factory SOOO good brown butter mizithra pasta and all there meals include a drink, soup or salad, dessert and your entree for like 10 bucks its soo good! Whats nice is all the locations have old train cars in them you can eat in , neat for a party(www.oldspaghettifactory.com)
Least Favourite: Macaroni Grill (food poisning twice and ive only been there twice!)

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

Wow... I LOVE Olive Garden.

I didn't realize Buca was a chain. Ours closed several years ago, and I thought it was a local joint.

I also really like Bravo!

 

[Diznygrl]

My favorite is Strings Italian Cafe, but they only have locations in California so I doubt many people here have heard of it.

Honorable mention to Old Spaghetti Factory and Macaroni Grill. I've only been to Olive Garden a couple of times and I agree, it's not the greatest. I don't hate it, but I think it's way overpriced for food that's basically boil-in-a-bag. I often wonder about the so-called "Cooking school in Italy" that you used to see in their commercials...

 

[Kathi OD]

I don't think I've ever had what I would call good Italian in any restaurant, chain or otherwise. Guess I was spoiled by my Irish grandmother.

Although I have to say that Olive Garden is by far the worst of them all.