Villa Macri Ristorante

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  We've tried several times to give this place another shot, but the food is always mediocre, the service just OK, and the layout of this place is absurd.  The old Macri's Deli was a local staple.  The sports bar area is poorly thought out.  Too bright, quiet, and usually empty.  The menu is nothing special.  I miss the old Macri's Deli days.  The layout of this place is strange.  Like the architect was drunk when it was drawn up.  There's no flow, rhyme, or reason, and seems tacky.  All the money dumped into this place was spent on naked angel statues, pavers, and hallways.  It should have been spent on developing decent food and not a nightmare of a restaurant layout.

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  Posted on 03.04.13 Jason R.

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  I cannot believe that the owners and Manager of Villa Macri don't read the reviews on line and make some changes.  The food is, at best, mediocre.  The service is absolutely hideous!  The only thing they are moderately good at is seating you after that good luck.  Your server eventually shows up and takes your drink order.  You then sit there another 10 minutes waiting for your drinks.  Finally, the waiter returns again and takes your food order which, when your food arrives, is mediocre at best.  After you are done eating, you will sit there with dirty plates in front of you for at least 20 minutes AFTER you have finished.  If you are crazy enough to order dessert, it will be served to you with your dirty main course dishes still on the table.  Now I certainly didn't expect it to be fine dining but I did expect some basic 101 food and service.  It is amazing to me that this place is still open!!!   If you want great service and great food, then eat at Carmella's which is adjacent to the Macri Bakery.  Villa Macri should take a lesson from Carmella's and learn how to manage a restuarant and make great food.  I also ate at the Macri's on the southside of town after my boyfriend ate there and said the food was good.  Imagine my surprise when it was the same mediocre crap that they serve at Villa Macri in Granger.  The service was great but the food is just passable.  Stick with Carmella's and you will be just fine but run as fast as you can from Villa Macri in Granger and Macri's on Ireland.  Pathetic excuses for Italian food.

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  Posted on 08.31.12 Robin G.

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  Not so good. They charged $16 for a chicken marsala that consisted of a tiny unseasoned piece of chicken and tons of potatoes (also unseasoned).  The meal came with a salad that was untossed- all accouterments were on the side as was the dressing.  If I don't want an item in my salad or my dressing on the side, I will tell you; if I'm paying for a salad I want it tossed- I don't have salad tongs to toss it with at the table.  The decor was pretty tacky too. We will not be coming back.

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  Posted on 06.08.12 Mairin W.

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  Overpriced, terrible service, and terrible quality.
  
  The quality of the food was definitely not worth the price. It took almost two hours for them to prepare the meal for our group. They ran out of half of the menu items and the waiter ended up doing more apologizing than providing any service. I had the steak which was overcooked. Several of the people in my group ordered pasta dishes, which were almost cold by the time they came out. Honestly if you want to shell out about $20 to $30 per entree you are better off going elsewhere.

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  Posted on 05.31.12 Daniel C.

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  wow... not had anything this bad in quite a while.
  The sausages in the soup were some pre-made little smokies.  Not at all what I would expect in an Italian restaurant.
  My wife ordered the Sonoma pasta. it was literally swimming in oil. Flat, no flavor. Pushed it to the side of the table - waiter knew exactly what the problem was.  "What's the matter, kind of bland?"  He then stated that 3 out of 4 times he serves that dish, it get returned.
  I got scallops.  Would have been nice to know they were served with rice (menu did not reveal that).  I don't do rice and bread at the same meal, and I already ate the almost stale bread.  I got the 6 most flavorless scallops of my life.  If we had not sent back one meal, mine would have gone next.
  But, nice decor - even a bit "over the top".  Upon entry, the hostess station was empty. After watching folks walk right by us, we ventured down to the bar area, where we called someone out of the kitchen to help us.  That should have clued us to run... and not look back.

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  Posted on 03.05.12 Charlie R.

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  Nothing grinds my gears like over paying for bad food, service & drinks.......tonight I was reminded of that $42 later.......party of 1. Sat in the bar area before being noticed for at least 5 minutes, waited another 5 minutes for glass of wine to come (not crowded either at 9pm on a Wednesday either). Wine list had 1 Sauv Blanc which turned out to be just foul.  Waiter then acknowledged it  has "strong boquet" and that he should have warned me/given me a taste 1st, yet then charged me for the glass anyway (not cool)........so if by "strong boquet" you mean smells horrible and tastes rancid, then fine, good choice. You should probably take that 1 Sauv Blanc off your menu then that doesn't actually even taste like a Sauv Blanc if I'm not the only patron complaining.  So, was charged for glass #1......glass #2 (a pinot grigio) had a live fly in it just swimming around  - charged for that one too.  If food/service was better I probably would have looked past the foul, fly wine, however, it was not.

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  Posted on 08.17.11 Kristen M.

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  Fun decor, great location, excellent food, and good service. A place that will let you sit and talk and not rush you out. Feels like a totally different experience than a typical franchise restaurant or even the trendy place of the moment. A place to enjoy dining and not just be processed per the usual customer formula.

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  Posted on 07.29.11 TimKim K.

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  Clearly, they've invested a lot in this location.  "Toscana Park" looks great, but the food at Villa Macri doesn't measure up.  I've eaten in the dining room, and in the more casual section.  Both times, I was disappointed.  
  
  In the dining room, we ordered an eggplant appetizer.  The server brought it to the table, and as he put it down, one of the three eggplant discs slid off the plate and onto the table.  He just picked it up with his fingers and put it back.  Ick.
  
  Another member of my party had pasta, and it arrived at the table all stuck together in a mass.  There is nothing more basic than an Italian restaurant cooking pasta properly, and VM doesn't have that skill down yet.
  
  This is a fun place for a beer and some snacks, but don't expect authentic or well-prepared cuisine.

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  Posted on 07.26.11 Kristin M.

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  Italian food was amazing , prices are reasonable considering other options in the area (ruths cris / olive garden) and the Laugh Comedy Club upstairs offers a truly unique entertainment experience . Overall a fantastic evening ,I'm sure we'll be returning soon!

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  Posted on 04.30.11 Nicholas R.

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  Mixed reviews about VM.  The bar is beautiful, hip and happening.  Great drink menu with lots of selections.  Appetizers are hit and miss.   First time we ordered calamari it was crisp and delicious. Last time it was chewy and not well cooked.   We enjoy stopping from time to time for cocktails but we recently had dinner here and it was just "so so".   Ordered my usual Dirty Martini and it arrived half full. When I commented to the waitress she was very indifferent and commented "that's the usual pour" and walked away.  Food was marginal and very slow to come out.  Guess that's what we get for ordering steaks from an italian restaurant.  After our meal we went to the bar and I ordered another martini that was as it should be, poured nearly to the rim.   I think in the future we will stick to visiting the bar and dine elsewhere.

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  Posted on 01.16.11 Lisa R.

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  In search of sandwiches and beer, we were disappointed to learn that Macri's Deli no longer existed.  But hope remained, as newish-looking signs in "Toscana Park" said Macri's Deli was, in fact, still living somewhere.  We spent about twenty minutes wandering aimlessly through a hellish sprawl of a lot before defying male stereotypes and asking for directions.  A clerk at a sporting goods store informed us that Macri's Deli lived, just that it was now located within Villa Macri, the upscale looking Italian restaurant we'd driven by a couple times already.  A deli within a ristorante?  Whatever, we're famished and tip-off at ND is in 90 minutes.  
  
  We parked, and running through sleet, we dashed by two closed entrances and finally entered through an exit.  Looking like wet rats, we asked about the deli.  "Well, we don't really have a deli anymore", the hostess noted, "but we do have deli-inspired items on our menu."  Deli-inspired, ok.  I'm not sure what that is, but let's do it.  
  
  Seated in an enormous booth, we took in our surroundings.  A very high ceiling, TVs showing sports, ND memorabilia, neon signs.  But this was just one room.  A more upscale section to the side saw better dressed patrons appearing to be engaged in fine dining, and there was also some kind of martini bar/lounge.  So there are at least three different dining/drinking experiences available here, possibly more.  
  
  But your menu lists everything.  You can sit in the sports bar area and order lobster tail, or get a meatball sandwich in the fine dining room.  This was not a good omen.  Places that try to do everything tend not to do anything very well.  
  
  And unfortunately the bad omen became a reality.  I figured a BLT would be difficult to bungle, but it happened anyway.  The bacon was limp and not plentiful enough, the lettuce limp.  It wasn't really a bad sandwich, but it tasted like it'd been sitting out on the counter for ten minutes.  Maybe this was the case; service was a bit spotty, and the wait for a BLT and a few burgers was much longer than it should have been.  
  
  I think families will enjoy a place like this, and I'm sure there are some tasty items on their vast menu.  But there's way too much happening here for anything to stand out, and the result is a strange, mixed atmosphere that's pure Velveeta.

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  Posted on 12.12.10 John H.

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  Since this place has opened, the quality of the food and the wait service has gone downhill considerably. What a shame too! Way too much money for the poor dinning experience. Our last visit will be, well, our last visit.  Take a lesson from Jonathan Lutz and learn how to run a good restaurant - service, quality, and value are 3 gotta haves. You can sometimes skimp on one, but never all three!

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  Posted on 08.26.10 Dewitt L.

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  Since the Bloomington Macri's has closed, I think this is one of the last pantheons to serve unbeatable mozzarella sticks and breadsticks with neon spicy cheese in the state.
  
  Villa Macri has turned the original "Macri's Deli" idea into an entire crazy empire.  This ornate building has four or five differently themed dining areas, but I always choose the "Martini Bar" for its high-backed booths and sports-channeled TVs.  Whenever I see the menu, I immediately flip to the back for the original deli specialties.  If I want decent Italian, there are other places to go (this is probably ok too).  But when it comes to Macri's, I want the breadsticks, the Reuben, the Godfather, the Old Chicago or the BRT with some damn pretzels in a plastic basket, ok???
  
  This past visit, my friend and I got the reubens with a "fruit coleslaw".  I am normally not a coleslaw person at all, but this was hella amazing!  Pineapple, slaw, mandarins, a sweet and spicy vinegar marinade and no creamy grossness!  The reubens were piled high with corned beef, sauerkraut (LOVE), melty cheese and not too much Thousand Island between expertly toasty and buttery slices of rye.  PERFECTION.
  
  Macri's, don't try to be more than you are, or at least keep the deli menu if you decide to keep changing.  You're good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like you!

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  Posted on 01.04.10 Laura B.

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  I am a fan of the place in terms of food and beer selection.  The menu ranks among the better Italian menus in the South Bend area.  All is well prepared and presented.  On the negative side, it is a little pricey for the modest amount of food on the plate.
  
  The bottled beer selection is remarkable.  So remarkable in fact that I fear that the inventory doesn't turn fast enough to keep fresh beer on the shelves.  Much of the beer comes from micro breweries and, although good (when fresh) is not popular enough to sell well.
  
  The grandiosity of the beer selection is representative of the grandiosity of the building and, I fear, of the owner's vision.  The building is huge and its architecture somewhat flamboyant with vaulted ceilings and magnificent wood and marble (like) trim.  I personally can't imaging being able to turn enough diners and drinkers to pay for all that square footage.
  
  Enjoy the vision.  It may not last.

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  Posted on 08.22.09 Patrick C.

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  What people don't seem to understand about Villa Macri is that this is a place that you can actually hang out for a while, make conversation, savor your meal. It's very old Europe, embrace the feeling while you are there. It ain't Olive Garden people, adjust.

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  Posted on 06.26.09 Rebecca M.

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  This was a very pretty restaurant.  Pretty looks, which were very deceiving.
  
  We had a reservation last Saturday night.  They made us wait anyway, and when they finally sat us we walked through a mostly empty restaurant to be seated in a section chock full of teeny-boopers out to eat before prom.  It took 25 minutes of waiting for us to loose out tempers slightly before flagging down a waitress and asking to be seen.  She sent out waiter over about 5-10 minutes after that, at which time we put in drinks, appetizers and dinner orders.
  20 more minutes rolls by, without having been checked on again, and we waive down another waitress (our waiter hadn't been back since bringing drinks).  She goes after our order, to find that our dinner was on the way out shortyl.  No appetizers had been put in by our waiter.
  When confronted by my in-laws about this he asked who we 'had had that conversation with' becuase we didn't place appetizer orders with him.  That was when we just asked for a manager.
  The manager arrived shortly after our meals, and amidst a really poor apology he offered us--nothing.  Not a comped meal for the porr service, not 10-20% off, not a thing.  Later the waiter braved the table and the wither looks of my sister and mother in law to ask if we would like a free dessert.
  We declined.
  We'll also decline to ever go to this restaurant again.

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  Posted on 05.19.09 John H.

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  UGH!  I went back to ND for a football game in search of my old stomping grounds, Macri's, and I was saddened to find out the owner moved the location from University Drive.  I called 411 and learned that the owner had only moved Macri's.  Well, when we arrived at Villa Macri about the only thing that was the same was the mozzarella sticks, breadsticks, and Godfather sandwich.  Don't get me wrong--I would drive 100 miles to eat those mozzarella sticks but Macri's had officially gone upscale on me and I didn't like it.  What happened to the deli menu, wooden booths, and 32 oz. frosty mug beers?  Yes, they still have that room in the front of the restaurant but I am officially sad because they did away with so many menu items.  Like I always say, don't mess with a good thing.  I guess I have to go back to Bloomington to go to Macri's.  sigh.

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  Posted on 10.07.08 Jen M.

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  I wish there was a way to assign 3.5 stars.  But given that there is not, I opted to round down.
  
  This restaurant is very new and is housed in a brand new building.  The architecture/space is quite nice, with soaring ceilings and a wonderful feeling of space.  There appeared to be plenty of booth seating, and they looked comfortable, but I was with a large group of nine so we sat at tables.
  
  Which is how the 3.5 rating began.  They tried to seat us in the sports bar, which seemed out of place in this restaurant.  Not only that, but we were a group of older, professional looking (I hope) people, so I thought it may have been more obvious that we were looking for a quieter place to dine.  Be that as it may, they quickly set us up at a table.
  
  Here is a personal beef of mine, and I realize it is my own value, but if I'm in a "ristorante" I want not only to have a table cloth on my table, but I want to see table cloths on every table.  Unfortunately, there were none to be seen.  Anywhere.  Just leaves me with a "meal at a picnic table" kind of feeling.
  
  Appetizers.  We ordered a variety, and, with the exception of the chicken tacos (? what Italian ristorante would put this on their menu...and what patron of an Italian ristorante would order them...) they were all very delicious.
  
  Salads and soups.  Nothing to shout "Mama mia" over (okay, okay, I'm being unduly influenced by the upcoming movie with Meryl Streep...).  Okay.
  
  Entrees.  Here is where this review becomes mixed.  Oddly enough, for an Italian ristorante, those who ordered pasta in our group seemed less enchanted with their food than those who did not.  My meal was the crab stuff shrimp, which did not actually sound appealing to me.  I defaulted to that selection, however, because when I asked about two separate pasta dishes to see if they could make some modifications (add grilled chicken in one case, not put on the cream sauce in another) the wait person made a face first, then, unconvincingly, said, maybe they could.  So, I went with a selection that didn't require modification.  And,  I was delightfully surprised. It was very good.  The side of green beans and spinach were okay.
  
  The entire experience for our group was pretty fun.  You don't always know how the dynamics of a group will fit into a particular restaurant.  This was not a bad fit.  
  
  One other comment.  The wait person seemed unable to get around to the other side of the table, so there was a lot of reaching over people and people having to either take their plate or give back their plate.  Yet the kitchen runner had no trouble getting around to serve.  I think we would have preferred not to have to help the wait person with the serving process.  Not because we were particularly lazy, but I think for those folks seated on that side of the table it was extremely disruptive.
  
  Would we go back?  Well, the appetizers and half the entrees were good.  The building was very nice.  It is still on our list of places we would visit.  One more time.  I'm hoping they get some of the kinks worked out before our next visit.

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  Posted on 07.15.08 Joanne E.

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