11/03/09

Fantasic Italian with romantic atmosphere

by The Restaurant Critic

This is a must for any Jack trying to romance his Jill.

Food is to die for. I have been eating here 20 years and have nothing but praise for the chef's who have been cooking here longer than I have been coming.

My favorite is Jefe de Jefe and Pollo alla Mustarda. Ask for some pesto dip. Some of the best in the world!

Rocky and Michael will take good care of you.

• Pros: Excellent food quality
• Cons: parking

10/06/09

Our Pick for Best Italian Food and Most Romantic Atmosphere

by TiramisuKing

Try the "Rippiene Funghi" (Stuffed Mushrooms) and the Crab Cakes for appetizers. They are both absolutely delicious and signature appetizers here. I love the Scampi Michelanglo for a main course. The Veal Marsala, Pasta Mista, and Canneloni are also beyond compare. We love the romantic atmoshpere of the candle-lit interior within this beautifully decorated house in Monstrose, as well as the two-piece piano and bass live music. This, combined with the personal service, attention to detail, and wonderful food make Michelangelo's one of our all-time favorite restaurants in Houston. Also give their Sunday brunch a try. They have a cozy outdoor patio, which is wonderfully complimented by the wide variety of Sunday Brunch samplings. You can also order bottomless Mimosas for around $7 per person on Sundays. Don't miss the 80 yr-old Oak tree trunk still growing thru the roof of the restaurant.

• Pros: Delicious Italian Dishes; Excellent Service

05/30/09

Romantic, and 100% Italian

by WadeFromBellaire

This is the most romantic little Italian restaurant in all of Houston. The food is most decidedly Italian, with traditional fare like Lasagna; but they also venture into the more sublime and courageious dishes, which include a wide sampling of fresh fish and lobster. These specialties are featured on their nightly "specials" menu. I've been coming here for over 30 years, and love this place.

• Pros: Food taste and presentation
• Cons: Valet Parking only; small parking lot

01/08/09

Bigots or Racism? You Decide.

by kileal

My associate and I visited this restaurant yesterday for lunch. Upon arrival, we had to do valet parking for $3, which was not a big issue. Afterwards we were greeted by the hostess and guided to our seats. The waiter arrived and asked us what we would like to drink and we both decided on water since we were still working. Afterwards the waiter returned promptly with our water and a basket of bread and said that he will be back in a minute to take our order. After my associate and I watched several waiters walk around and make other deliveries and take orders at other tables, as well as stand idlely by talking with the hostess and host for about 15 minutes, we realized that we were not going to be serviced and decided to leave. The hostess asked us if anything was wrong and we informed her that we had not recieved any service at all and felt that we were being ostracized based upon the color of our skin (we are both Black-Americans). Her response was "Oh, okay have a good day". Not one single apology or attempt to resolve the matter was mentioned by her. While outside the restaurant, the manager asked us if everything was fine. We informed him of the same thing we said to the hostess and her response. He seemed concerned about it and reqested we allow them to make up for it, however after having said what was said and seeing what was seen, how could we be sure that our food would be safe, so we declined the offer and left the restaurant. So if you want a good place to eat, ensure that you are of a fair complexion and drive an expensive vehicle before you attempt to dine at the restaurant. By the way, we were not dressed inappropiately or using valgur or ethnic language or terms.

• Pros: Parking
• Cons: See review

12/22/08

Taking Time to get the meal resulted in tasty authentic Italian Cuisine!

by CafeCritique

We were looking for a small Authentic Italian Ristorante, and ended up here spontanaeously without researching it. At first I was a liitle hesitant when we were seated. Looking at the menu I wasn't overly impressed, I guess I was looking for the more unusual. I ended up ordering the Spinach Shrimp Ravioli's and my spouse ordered a Carbonara ( which wasn't even on the menu), it was worth the wait to get our entree's. Both were very fresh and pasta definitely homemade. Just what we were looking for. My only suggestion would be do away with the dessert tray, it never looks appetizing. Offer a dessert menu instead.

10/04/08

Atmosphere lacking, not worth the price

by hawkerrosa

I took a date here on a Friday evening. There was live piano/jazz music, which was very nice and was the highlight of the night. However, the service was not so spectacular, with only about half the waitstaff speaking english, and the food taking 45min-1 hour to be served. The wine list was comprehensive, but only if you were looking to buy a bottle, and the wine prices were marked up significantly. The food tasted good, but was nothing out of the ordinary for an Italian place.

Word of advice: The valet looks free (theres no cost sign outside), but it is not, so bring cash.

• Pros: Hearty portions, homestyle Italian food
• Cons: Poor A/C (hot in there), lacking service, food took an hour

03/06/08

Decent Atmosphere, Decent Food...so so

by aggiez

Dined at Michelangelo's last Saturday evening. The atmosphere is nice with the bass and piano music but the decor could be alot nicer. One complaint I have is with the tables closer to the street. Several times throughout the meal I was blinded by the oncoming car headlights on the busy Westheimer street. The owners seriously need to consider installing blinds on these windows so that the headlights don't negatively effect the dining experience of their patrons. It took about 10 minutes for a waitress to sit us and the host passed by us without a word twice. She was obviously busy but a simple "I'll be right with you" would have sufficed. The service was average at best. I really dislike having waiters that don't know how to consolidate their table requests instead of taking care of one request at a time. As for the food, it was average as well. My wife had a spinach stuff chicken dish and I had the Lobster Raviolli. Both were extremely underwhelming and were of the same quality you could get at dozens of other Italian restaurants in the Houston area. The desert was just plain bad. If it were not for the piano\bass music, which was a nice touch, I would not recommend this restaurant at all.

• Pros: Live piano music
• Cons: Service, food, don't sit close to the street

01/27/08

Super Romantic Date

by lhastings

So, yes this isn't THE BEST food in Houston. But sometimes going out is more than just having perfectly cooked pasta. They are so accommodating and the waiters give great service. There is a little 2 piece band that plays in the main dining room, and you feel like they're playing just for you. It's just a perfect setting for any kind of romantic date. I ordered spinach ravioli (very rich, which made it very romantic) and my fiance ordered porkchops. They were good. If you're eating here, you're not going as a food critic... you're going b/c you're in love with the person you're with, or you're bringing your family to have a great conversation. But don't get me wrong about the food... I did crave the ravioli the next day I'm going for brunch today for the first time... I'll let you know how it is! I highly recommend this place for people in love!

• Pros: Makes a perfect dae... no matter what day it is.
• Cons: okay, okay it's not the BEST Italian food, but it's really good.

12/17/06

Always Divine

by ma6613

Again, MichelAngelo's presents the absolute best in casual, fine dining. We arrived on time for our reservation on a busy, holiday season, Saturday evening and were seated immediately in the main dining room. The service was impeccable - there when you needed it, unobtrusive when not. The lobster ravioli was absolutely decadent, as always. The stuffed veal chop was beautifully presented with rosemary potatoes. It was aromatic and succulent. The desserts were fabulous as always.

Yes, the 15% gratuity is automatically included. For those of us who traditionally tip MORE, you can feel compelled to just leave it at that. However, the whole evening was so perfect, we added a little extra.

My only complaint? The ambience is slightly degraded by the lack of enforcement of a better dress code.

• Pros: The whole package
• Cons: If you are offended by the automatic inclusion of a tip, go elsewhere

10/28/06

AWEFUL!!!!!!

by Silly_Mongoose

I brought my wife here on a Friday evening. We were seated quickly with no waiting, which was good. It all went down hill from there. They ran out artichoke hearts so we could not have the appetizer we wanted (this was at 5:30pm - and they already "ran out"????) This is the second time I received the "run out" excuse there. After that it took about 30 minutes to get our trout dishes. I didn't want fast food service but 30 minutes is a bit excessive. We received the food and it was bland. We had to send back our potatoes because they were undercooked. After dinner we got our suprise check with gratuity included (only 2 dined). We were not happy with the food and our experience but we felt compelled to pay for a gruity we didn't believe belonged to the restaurant - that is an aweful way to make a customer feel. We spoke to the manager there and he simply says "that is the way it has always been" - but it wasn't like that when I went there for desert a few months ago.

All in all, I will never go back. There are too many other better restaurants in town that know what they are doing to put up Michelangelo's.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Bad food and bad value