Michael J's Italian-American Restaurant

24 dollars for spaghetti bolognese that olive garden wouldnt serve.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

All good great service and the place is really nice but the food wasn’t an Italian experience as expected. The staff was great they received us almost at the closure time and was really kind.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

One of the best Italian places I've had. And iv had alot of italian. Brian the chef and owner is also super nice and loves what he does.

Great place, great staff and food!

Had a great dinner tonight. Food was outstanding, portion size was perfect and the service was awesome. Special thanks to our server, Ray, and the front end manager Nicole for a great meal.

Our place for Italian in Ruidoso.

My niece paid for us to pickup to small individual cakes for our birthdays. Got it to go.

Tucked side of the mountain,in Ruidoso,NM is a truly spectacular Italian restaurant!!! (My husband is Italian so we know a little about true Italian dishes) Anyway,we were delighted by this find!!! There wasn’t anything we tried that wasn’t absolutely on point!!! This chef knows his stuff!!! Don’t miss an opportunity to find this diamond-oh!! And the staff is amazing also!!!

Pleasantly surprised!!!

Wendi Pene

What a find in the mountains. Some of the best Italian food we've ever eaten. Fresh and amazing..

This has been our special place for my wife's birthday the past 4 years and has never disappointed us in any way. We even have our favorite place to sit. I have yet to go beyond the Cioppino. It is the best. My wife generally orders the salmon and the service is always at the top. Our last visit was just a week ago with perfect weather - what are a few raindrops? Thank you, Brian, for the great food and you Autumn for the awesome service. We will be back to dine with you and to Ruidoso Cabins for our stay. Blessings, to all!!!

Our first time and just as good as we hoped. Being from NY I love good Italian and this was great. All the staff were very professional and Ray did a great job taking care of us. We will be back for sure!

Made reservations the day before for 7:15 pm. Arrived on time. Sat 3 other parties before us and said we were designated for a table that was part of a 16-top table and couldn’t/wouldn’t move us to a different table.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

Such a UNIQUE restaurant. I like the exclusive feel that it offers. Very very VERY good food and the service is also not too bad. I will always consider this one of my favorite “ultimate date night” restaurants

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Minestrone Soup, Garlic Bread, Spaghetti Bolognese, Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp, Tiramisu Cake, Fettuccini Carmella, House Salad

I am beyond disappointed with the treatment we received at Michael J’s Italian Restaurant. As a group visiting from out of town to assist with the wildfire efforts and supporting local workers, we were shocked by the behavior of the owner, Nicole. Despite understanding there may have been a staffing shortage, her rude and disrespectful demeanor was absolutely uncalled for. When we inquired about seating, she went as far as to tell us to “get the hell out.” It’s one thing to experience a delay or inconvenience, but being treated so poorly by an owner of an establishment was incredibly disheartening. We expected better hospitality, especially given the circumstances of our visit. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for even the most basic level of respect.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

The warm crusty bread was very good to sop up the sauces, which were seasoned well and flavorful. The pasta (noodles) unfortunately are suspiciously commercial, precooked and reheated; the texture was gummy and too soft. The olive oil on the table smelled stale/plastic. The caprese was basic/fine but overpriced, and entrees were fairly priced. The outdoor patio seating would be very nice in fair weather. Staff were very attentive, despite our table being “ready” with no tableware on arrival

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 5