Macaluso's Italian Restaurant

Terrible reservations service....made it a month ago...got here and they had wrong number and shoved a chair at a 4 top for a tight dining experience. Pesto pasta too salty. Then no coffee with dessert until we asked again...but ready to bill us for it!!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

Delicious food. There are too many two-seater tables all in the center of the room, such that servers had to maneuver around the tables. Pleasing inside decor, but the cramped feeling affects the ambiance. There's also weirdly a quality of it not feeling quite like a restaurant - like the servers aren't united around a common cohesive bond? Just unusual - but the food is good.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

Not sure why this place seems so beloved, it's mediocre at best and way overpriced. People must be used to Olive Garden, and are impressed because this is slightly better. I did hear that it used to be better when it first opened, but definitely did not impress now.

Had the "House Made" Focaccia, Brussel Sprouts, Pappardelle "Beaulognese" (their spelling), and the Tagliatelle Pesto. Everything was just okay, but way too expensive for what it is.

Focaccia was alright but seemed like it was premade dough and reminded me of greasy Pizza Hut crust. Brussel Sprouts were tasty, but again, very greasy, and also had too much balsamic glaze and cheese. Bolognese was fine, a little too salty and on the boring side. Pesto was also fine, just a little boring and greasy. None of the pasta seemed to be made in house. I will say that everything did have large portions.

I'd pay these prices for 5 star Italian, but this ain't it. Again, this place is a small step above Olive Garden, just way more expensive.

Also, the owner or manager was schmoozing with some tables, as they sometimes do. I overheard him talking some trash about Asado's Italian menu pop up they tried in January, which was way better than anything I tried at Macaluso's. He said Macaluso's had been "killing it in the Italian food game," especially he mentioned, since Joeseppi's up the street closed (mediocre Italian as well), and that Asado was "trying to get in on that action." Yeah man, I bet you're "killing it" when you're charging ~$30 for a plate of rehydrated pasta and sauce. Hilarious, but just seemed very odd to be loudly talking smack about another local restaurant that is actually really good.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 3

The atmosphere of this place is great, albeit a little too fancy for their own good, it is Tacoma after all, even if you're playing into the Ruston vibe. They won't let you order food to go over the phone 😅. So I went in, sat at their bar and ordered the "The Meaty" pizza and the octopus carpaccio.

Cue the wait.

After about 40 minutes go by and still no pizza, I asked where it was and was told it was busy so there was a wait, but coming. Thank God for the beer 😅. 15 minutes later I got it! I was excited as I'd heard nothing but good things about this place and their pizza!

The pizza when I got it home (5 minutes up the road), left a little bit to be desired. It was terribly dry and the meat was essentially sacrificed to the fire Gods and didn't taste like anything but salt. I'm all for a crispy pizza, but for $30, I could have spent less at Round Table for something larger with more sauce and cheese. Lol and while we're on that topic, it's supposed to have red sauce, only various slices had any sauce at all. Overall, this pizza was dry, burnt, depression.

The octopus was awesome however. But you can't make a meal off of carpaccio. That being said, their pasta looked amazing. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Dined there the first time last evening and everything was fantastic from our server to our meal. Would highly recommend this place to all. Thanks Matt, we had a great evening

After we were seated ar our table, waited 10 to 15 min for water, and another 10 for a server, even though both employees greeted and served the couple next to us who arrived 10.min after we did. Appears the staff knew the couple. Finally caught the eye of a guy who came over, apologized for the mistake. They were not very busy, and had plenty of staff.
Food was overall good, just a little too salty.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 3

Very overrated. Service was pretty good but the pasta is bland and overpriced. My chicken Parm came with like 3 bites of pasta with it. Everyone at my table was like "that's all the pasta it came with?" ...I genuinely thought maybe the kitchen was mad because I asked for pasta with Alfredo? It was such a small portion...for $6 extra... Lasagna boats my friends got were filled with oil and they didn't even want to take the rest home. Chicken was much too pink for my taste

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

We arrived right on time for our 4pm reservation and had to stand outside and wait for seven minutes. There were only two customers ahead of us, so I don't know what caused the delay.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 3

The service all around was above average and all staff very professional, our waitress apologized for being mia for a bit while we waited to have our food boxed etc.
Wife ate the chicken marsala that she said was rather bland, the vegetables were great. I had the chicken Alfredo, which was the opposite far to salty. $35 for the pasta dish seemed a bit steep for what you get.
Brussell sprouts were cooked well.
Atmosphere was great, a little tight between spaces and tables behind you but over all good ambiance!
Would return for lunch perhaps!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

Beautiful restaurant and the service is amazing. Cocktails were alright, great wine selection. Was not impressed with the food. Everything we had was under seasoned and bland. I had the Arancini and Risotto, both tasted pretty bland. Aside from the food, ambience and service were great. I would go back to try other things on the menu that sounded really good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5

Nice experience with friends 🧡

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Amazing food, excellent staff and fantastic atmosphere. 5 star all the way, thank you for making our Christmas Eve so memorable!

First time at Macaluso’s for dinner. We ordered the focaccia bread (YUMmmmm), carbonara, caesar salad, and lasagna, glass of wine and the special Old Fashion (the mix is made in-house and I enjoyed the taste/sip offered by my hubs). The lasagna was HUGE and hot! The Caesar needed a tad more dressing which was perfect once that was added. The carbonara was smokey with a bite from the black pepper. It was superb. Our waiter suggested a white wine to go with it and the pairing was perfect. We each ate about half of our entree so we get another round tomorrow at home (😊). The table behind the check in area is where we sat; it was cold there so be aware of that. The restaurant was lively and a bit loud at times so I wouldn’t think of macaluso’s as a romantic date spot, however, we enjoyed our meal and will return. I recommend you give it a try.

I was so excited to go to this restaurant (I'm a pasta lover through and through), and have rarely been so disappointed. The appetizers were good (our table split arancini balls and the prosciutto with burrata and this is the only reason I gave a second star) but the pasta was awful. It was so salty it was nearly inedible and it wasn't even cooked al dente (my shock at that was probably palpable from all the way in the kitchen). I got the pesto sauce, which itself wasn't that good, and a couple of friends who ordered the carbonara had the severely oversalted experience I also had. I don't know if this is a standard experience but I'll certainly never be eating here again (I may not have anyway with the extortionate prices and a restaurant so loud we could barely hear each other!)

Vegetarian options: A few vegetarian options, probably no vegan. All wildly overpriced.

Dietary restrictions: They have gluten free pasta options, which is very nice!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 5

We did not have a reservation so we dined in the bar. A small intimate setting with a few tables. Bartender was friendly but seemed a little overwhelmed and in need of an extra set of hands. The mushroom ravioli special was delightful and I highly recommend the burrata set. For a last minute dinner decision not a bad choice for a good meal.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4