i went to the location in wilbraham, ma with a friend for dinner on a tuesday night and we were both very pleasantly surprised. they have an outdoor patio for warmer weather (which was not an option on this january evening) and ample parking. once inside, it was much smaller than we expected. the food, however, made up for any reservations we had when we first arrived. the portions are huge, sufficient for at least 2-3 meals. i had a broccoli alfredo with blackened chicken and it was sooooo delicious! hot, fresh, mouthwatering! my friend enjoyed her sausage and pasta meal as well. their rolls were warm and soft, and their oil is so fragrant and tasty. i will definitely be going back to try something else. so happy i got exactly what i was looking for!
Review Source:We had reservations for a group of 6. It wasn't a very busy night. While getting ready to order dessert/drinks and in the middle of getting some coffee, we were asked to move so that another party could have our table. It felt really awkward, so we left instead.
As for the food, it was ok but nothing that I'd go back for. And the whole "pasta in the pan" thing - it was definitely one of the worst parts of the experience. If you don't mind eating out of a fairly large, very beat-up metal pan like something you use when you go camping, it's probably a neat novelty. But I got pizza and cringed while hearing forks and knives scrape against everyone else's pans throughout dinner. Just thinking about it is making me get that "nails on a chalkboard" feeling and I think I need to end this review here!
We went to Michael's last night for the first time.
I have to say the servers are outstanding and extremely nice. They serve amazing rolls hot out of the oven with a perfectly-herbed olive oil dipping sauce. We ordered a pizza and chicken parmigan. Both came with a salad, and when I requested a caesar was told there was an "upcharge." I said, "no problem," thinking that an upcharge meant a couple of dollars. In fact, I was charge the $4.95 they normally charge for a side salad. If it were an exceptional Caesar, I might not have minded; however, the dressing was basic and not full of the depth I expect in a Caesar. I would never order it there again.
We had a three-year-old with us and ordered fries for him, which were just amazing. The pizza, a chicken, spinach, tomato combo was also really flavorful. I loved the chicken in the chicken parm but was not impressed with the tomato sauce. It was a little to tart and not flavorful enough for my taste, although not "bad" at all.
I also ordered a non-alcholic beer, and O'Doul's is their only choice. I can't get why restaurants don't offer a better selection as there are many top-quality non-alcoholic beverages on the market like St. Pauli Girl, Becks (my personal favorite) and a wide array of others. Have only one and the lowest end choice doesn't show any consideration for the non-alcoholic customer.
We took our dessert, a chocolate mousse cake and tiramisu, to go. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor to the mousse, so I would call it an adequate dessert. The tiramisu was better, but not the best I've ever had. Many restaurants don't make their own desserts but buy from an outside source, and I would say Michael's is one of them. To their credit, there was a good selection of desserts.
Overall, we enjoyed dining here and would go back again.
I went here with my family a few years ago, and brought my cousin, so there were 5 kids total.
When we walked into the place, the hostess stared at us with a horrific look on her face, and gave us dirty looks as we walked in. She tried to get us to leave with subtle clues, but since we were determined to try the place out, we decided to stay.
After seating our table, she told us that we had to leave by a certain time (even tho we were the only ppl in the entire restaurant)
the ppl were very rude to us, and the food was average
afterwards, the waitress was "shocked" to see how well behaved everyone was, and kicked us out
I've heard of restaurants with all types of gimmicks- ninjas jumping out at you, being served by mad scientists or space aliens, underwater restaurants, and restaurants where you eat in a pitch black dining room. But until I saw this place on YELP, I had never heard of a restaurant where your server brings out your dinner in a frying pan and then you eat out of that pan!
Welcome to Michael's Pasta In the Pan where they do just that.  Not only was this a very fun and relaxing place, but the food was quite delicious and plentiful.  The dining room is very large with a high vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. There was a piano player providing live entertainment during our dinner.  Our waiter Al (somehow the only male server in the place) was very funny and attentive and did a great job. We started with an appetizer special of bruschetta ($9.95) which was prepared on a pizza crust with a delicious tomato/onion/basil topping. It was fabulous. Our other appetizer was  Michael's Spicy Golden Fried Calamari ($12.95) served with a jalapeño mango sauce. There were two calamari appetizers on the menu, the other was served with a marinara sauce. Since our special mentioned the words "spicy" and "jalapeno" I expected the dish to have some punch, but it was sweet -almost like a sweet and sour chicken style sauce. It was good, but not what I expected from the description.
Our entrees were baked ziti with meat sauce and melted mozzarella ($14.95), Broccoli Corleone - marinated chicken breast, broccoli, penne, sautéed with butter, garlic and parmesan cheese  ($15.95). and Seafood fra Diablo calamari, clams, shrimp, scallops and scrod in a spicy marinara -or- scampi style sauce sautéed with your choice of pasta ($19.95 for a half portion and $29.95 for a full portion. I had a half portion and it was a gargantuan portion. All dinners came with a salad and fabulous rolls baked in their pizza oven.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, Al comes marching out holding huge frying pans full of Italian goodness. Check out the photos. My Fra Diablo was terrific - chock full of clams and shrimp and scallops and calamari.
The only thing that bothered us involved one of the salads. My son wanted a Caesar instead of a Garden salad. That is not an uncommon event, and many restaurants will either give you an equal swap or charge a few extra bucks for the Caesar. Our waiter didn't say anything so we sure didn't expect to be charged $4.95 (full cost) for the Caesar. When I asked him if this was a mistake he said its their policy to charge full cost for a Caesar if substituted for a dinner salad. We would have been OK with a surcharge, but not a full charge. We asked for his garden salad to go, since it was included with the cost of his dinner, and we didn't get it.
Anyway, the goods far outnumbered this only misstep. The food was great, the food was plentiful (look at the photos to see how much we took home), the service was good, the frying pan serving dishes were a hoot - everything about this place was fun. It was a very nice unstuffy atmosphere without some of the high falutin' attitudes we seem to run into more and more.
Our three huge entrees, two appetizers, two beers and that caesar cost $92, and we took home an obscene amount of food.
Go give it a try- they have some midweek specials that makes this place a downright steal.
Let me begin by saying that there are two locations for Michael's and I have only been to the Agawam restaurant. Â The food here is good. Â Not great, fantastic, outstanding or any of the other superlatives I could have used. Â It's just good food like eating home without the stove time or clean-up after dinner. Â They use fresh produce and create tastes that satisfy. Â And the desserts...........fresh daily from a local Italian Pastry Shop. Â All of this might not get you to try Michael's Pasta-in-a-Pan......but check this out. Â I have eaten here maybe six times and every time the waitstaff is outstanding. Â Friendly, efficient, attentive and appear to care whether their customers are enjoying their stay. Â The owners should be very happy with the staff they have at this Agawam location
Review Source:3 of us ate dinner at Michael's Pasta in the Pan. Â Pros: Â the baked ziti with mozarella was absolutely delicious. Â Very garlicky which I love! Â Another dish my daughter got was also very good--can't remember the name but basically it was pasta with a "white sauce", artichoke hearts and some other vegetables. Â She thoroughly enjoyed it. Â Cons: Â Right off the bat when we walked in a very somber young man looked at us and said only "3"? Â We were happy that he could count but it seems a simple hello would have gone a long way. Â The somber young man led us to the very last booth which is RIGHT NEXT TO THE BATHROOM!!!! Â In fact the sign on the wall says "bathroom". Â This is an extremely poor design for the restaurant. Â We could smell the strong bathroom cleaner throughout most of our meal (the alternative to that odor, of course, would have been much worse). Â It smells as if you are eating in the bathroom! Â The restaurant should either get rid of that booth completely or add an extra door to the entrance of the hallway that houses the bathroom and the back entrance of the kitchen. Â If the meal were not so delicious we would have had a horrible night. Â Next time we will know better than to sit in that particular booth.
Review Source:Come in on the weekend, and enjoy a little old school style. Â Sit at the bar, have a cocktail and listen to some live piano before dinner. Â Nice place and nice way to unwind a bit. Â
Dinner - as you might have guessed, comes right in the pan, and if you are really smart - it's some variety/variation of pasta. Â How people are shocked by this actually stuns me a bit. Â But then again, I have seen people order fries at a Chinese restaurant before. Â Go figure.
Thumbs up for originality, service, and not being a "boil your food in a plastic pouch" chain.
Any place that I've been to multiple times, and every time brings a smile to my face gets 5 stars. The food, ambiance, and prices are all above average and certainly worthwhile, but the fact that your pasta comes in the pan, as the name suggests, gets my nod!
Michael's has never failed us for date night, I hope others enjoy it.
My wife and I had a very enjoyable "date night" out at Michael's. I've seen other reviews where service was slow, but our waiter was right on top of things.
The food was excellent - really. But I have a complaint about prices. I've never before commented on this topic, even when reviewing very high-priced places. I always felt that restaurants generally charge what they feel people will pay, regardless of the food's actual value. And I don't begrudge them that.
At Michael's, I had the Seafood fra Diablo (sic? Diavolo?). At $26.95 this was the topper on the menu, but it was date night, and I love fra Diavolo. This should have been a $13 dish half its size. It came in a TWELVE INCH SKILLET, two inches deep. It could have easily fed a family of four, and for a single person was just ridiculous. I have never felt more exposed to and a part of "American gluttony" than that night. (Check the photos, I took a pic of this.)
Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our food, and the service was great. But something like this can ruin your night.
Also, "the wine list is amazing?" You can't call a list with only three whites "amazing", even if they're pretty good choices. "View of the river?" It's across the street, past some trees, and only a few tables are even near the windows.
I would eat here again. But I would be a lot more realistic about my expectations when I did.
Just went here Thursday night. We got seated almost immediately and it was just kind of busy. Our section seemed to be pretty quiet, while the other section of the restaurant seemed a lot more packed.
Our waitress was very good and the food was really good. First, the bread and dip came. The dip is AMAZING! and the rolls were hot. I am a huge huge fan of garlic and it was packed with garlic, peppers, and olive oil.
We ordered our meals and all of ours came with a salad. They came pretty quickly. I got balsamic vinaigrette, which was pretty yummy. However, it was really garlicky, which I personally love but figured I would warn those who aren't since that usually isn't normal for a balsamic vinaigrette.
I ordered a white pizza with chicken, spinach, garlic, and tomato. It was $9 I think...and very good size. I did have 2 rolls and a salad...and I ate only half of my pizza (personal size). I tried my fiance's scallop alfredo which was good. Not too salty or cheesy (some might call this not flavorful) but I am not a huge fan of the overpowered alfredo taste. I think there were like 5 scallops in there. Not a huge amount but my fiance seemed satisfied. His grandmother got the Michael's special which she loved. I tried some too and it was delicious.
Great portions, good waitress, and fair prices.
Not perfect 5 because I thought the pasta dishes could be more fairly priced and not as prompt as I would have liked with refilling the drinks or dealing with the check.
Update 11/12/11
Have eaten here an additional 2 or 3 times now and I haven't enjoyed it as much. The lovely balsamic vinaigrette I loved wasn't as good. Also, one of the pasta dishes I got seemed to be burnt in the pan and gave the alfredo and unpleasant flavor. Another time, I got the Spicy Mississippi Chicken and it was not spicy at all! I'm not sure what happened. On another note, I have gone to the Wilbraham location at least 2 other times as well in between, and it was MUCH better there - service and food.
So my friends and I were looking for a nice sit down restaurant after our trip to Six Flags so we just randomly selected a place on our GPS and found a needle in a haystack. If you ever had Bertucci's warmed baked bread with olive oil...this place DOES IT BETTER! The olive oil dip is drowned with garlic and other seasonings. We had the regular fried calamari with marinara sauce for our appetizer and it was delicious! Then to our surprise our entrees actually CAME IN A PAN! It was interesting! I gave this place 5 stars because of the bread, dip, and appetizer. The actual entrees were 2/5. I definitely make better pasta and even though our waitress was extremely nice and funny...she could have paid attention to us more when there were only 5 other tables in the restaurant. Other than that the ambiance of the restaurant is very warm and inviting. The restaurant closes at 9pm so I would suggest getting there by 7pm!
Review Source:I have heard mixed reivews on the Michael's experience but I have yet to order a bad meal here... well to be fair, I ordered the seafood fra diavolo all three times I went! Love that dish!!!
The interior is a little drab but it's a good local place to take a date... they have a pretty decent wine list and usually have live piano music on the weekends.
I love Michael's! This is a stop on my list every time I come home to visit West-side mass.
I think I've had every dish on the entire menu. My old roomate used to work here, and brought home lots of leftovers.
For apps - The Artichoke Franchaise and Sauteed Spinach are both amazing. This with the great bread and parmesean, garlic, hot pepper and oil dip!
My dad's favorite is the Chicken Marsala, it's nice and sweet, if that's how you like your Marsala...which i do.
The Spinach Luciano and Broccoli Coreleone are my favorite dishes. The buttery garlic white wine sauce is creamy and delish!
My sister loves the Chicken Parm, cause she loves the red sauce.
I think the only dish i've ever been kinda, MEH about was the pasta gorgonzola.
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