Miceli's

I visited this restaurant with a $25.00 certificate that was given to me. When we received the bill, I thought that I had left plenty of $$$$ for the bill and tip. However, I was wrong!! I was hunted down in the parking lot and asked for an additional $5.00 for tip. I was embarassed and humiliated!! A wonderful dining experience turned into a nightmere.

Pros: Great Food, Nice Singing!!

Cons: Do not bring any kind of coupon!!!!!

Posted 10/19/09

sorry but had to write a review... yes everyone is right. The food is awlful.. This is a restaurant! One of the number one priority must be the food! Pizza was crusty and didn't taste good. The marinara sauce wasnt good. The fried plater was tasteless....please please managment.. this is a restaurant! Not an italian cafe. Get some fresh mozzerall bruchetta, caprese, fresh product ingrediants! Make your pasta homemade! Make homemade FRESH food!! Your stuff is cafeteria quality. Please management fix this!!!!!

Pros: service

Cons: food

Posted 09/02/09

Miceli's is one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles. The Italian food is great, the servers grab the mic and sing a song in between taking your order and delivering your food, and as long as you have a reservation...you won't wait too long for a table (just make sure that your entire party is there on time - or you won't get a seat). Miceli's is a fun place to take friends who might be visiting from out of town, or simply to grab a great meal whenever you'd like. Mangia!

Pros: Singing servers

Cons: Long wait without a reservation

Posted 01/04/09

When you walk into a place like Miceli's which has live music from the servers, you would expect a great authentic Italian meal. The atmosphere says this, but the food and the service do not. The calamari was dull and bready, marsala sauce was thick and the linguine with clams was good, but looked like it was a soup with the amount of oil and butter in it. Our server was basically a bus boy and didn't suggest anything and seemed to be more interested in singing her broadway musicals( That was the type of music all the servers sang that night) than taking care for her tables. I would recommend Tony's on Lankershim and actually Macaroni Grill over Miceli's anyday for the food. Micelli's has one thing going for it and that is the ability for large parties.

Pros: Good atmospehre, ability for large parties

Cons: Food, Service

Posted 01/02/09

Last night, my friend and the evening's celebrated birthday girl gushed, "I love this place." My jaw dropped. I'm not sure on which level I was most saddened by last night- as a foodie, an Italian, or a singer.
The decor was full of bad Italian stereotypes: the obnoxious Christmas lights, plastic checked tablecloths, and the God-awful murals complete with an angel that looks like Joey Fatone. We Italians pride ourselves on our art and design aesthetic which the world seeks to emulate. Zero of that here.
Fried calamari is a pretty good barometer for the quality of food at an Italian restaurant. Good calamari is fresh, crisp, firm without being rubbery, and delicately flavored. Miceli's Calamari was a frozen pile of greasy cr@p indistinguishable from something you might see at Long John Silver's.
My fillet of sole was like a sad old man wrapped in a garish cape. The flesh was mushy and flavorless. The zucchini were overcooked, and the whole thing was drowned in lemon and garlic.
My boyfriend's entree was even worse. $14 for a reheated frozen pizza. Yes, the kind you can buy in the freezer aisle for $3. He wants his $11 back.
And the singers... Lord bless them they were trying. The selections were a least-common-denominator group of show tunes and arias that most people would recognize from TV or pasta sauce commercials. There was a sadness to the way they ran about collecting orders, then stopping to belt out two songs with the same gusto as they say "would anybody care for dessert?". The sopranos were mercifully accurate, and there was one good baritone. But the whole thing had a rushed karaoke feel about it. I've been to the Starlite Diner in NYC where the singing waiters really entertain and you hang on their every note.
Our bill came out to $63. What a waste of money - we could have had some real Italian food and cabaret tickets.
For real Italian, try Fratelli's in Montrose.
For pizza, Brownstone Pizza, Nicky D's, or Hard Times.

Pros: accomodates groups

Cons: decor, food, ambiance, parking, price

Posted 11/08/08

What a shame it is that a restaurant by the name of "Miceli's" would advertise its self as "authentic italian food from Old Chicago" When in reality it makes Pizza Hut sound like a true roman restaurant from the glory days of Julius Ceasar Augustus. This place is as bland as they come. Magic Mountain Pizza and Pasta put it to shame. I saw a rodent scurry from a disregarded slice in the alley. This place is a classic example of all that is wrong with America today. The shinny vineer looks spectacular, but on the inside its disintigrating to the core. My gastro-intestinal system will need at least a full month to recouperate from the penny flour and sugary sauced mess that Miceli's assaulted it with. If you are looking for the real thing go elsewhere!!!! For this place is a repulsive example of a false advertising.

Pros: none

Cons: food bad

Posted 07/18/08

I ordered Fettuccini Carbonara what a bad experience! The sauce was so saucey. It's suppose to be thick and none garlic taste. Well NOT Garlic-y!!! Seems like they used a entire onion. To me it seemed like there was more onion rather than noodles. The service SUCKED!! They took a long time to serve us. They sat us in a emergency seating area. Were they think your with a table but not with the table. It's so complicated to explain. But 3 waiters came up asked if we have been helped. So we ended up with 3 waiters. The only thing they are good for was offering us free appetz. wooo peeeee.. I was just very disappointed with the pasta.

Pros: great singers (but they need to serve faster!!

Cons: bad service, pasta not good, seating not good, waiting forever

Posted 12/05/07

I went down there on a Friday night. Excellent pizza, ellegant entertainment, and the Bar tender was extreamly nice and made me the best damn drink that had in years!!!!

Pros: The singing staff, house piano player, Excellent authentic food, and a great bartender

Cons: you can't gamble

Posted 09/15/07

I live within walking distance and come several times. The pasta is below average - tasteless tomato sauce and overcooked ziti. The ambiance is fun and silly but I don't know why people would drive out of their way to come here. When I first moved in I heard people tell me "OH you are so lucky to live by Miceli's!" The wait on a weekend is way too long to walk-in. The drinks are very inconsistent at the bar, the food isn't good (the cheeze pizza is yummy but overpriced). Once I came with a large group, we were seated in a booth way too small for us and then ignored for 15 minutes. I had to stop 2 busboys and 1 waiter to even get water. After nobody acknowledged us after all the requesting we all walked out. In the lobby we were stopped by a man behind the host booth who told me to enjoy my evening and I politely told him how we hadn't been served. He said he was the manager and immediately asked us to please stay and eat dinner on him. The whole bill was comped (there was 6 of us who ate full meals). Of course we tipped very well and had a great time but overall I would not recommend this place. Especially reading other users experiences complaining!

Pros: reasonably priced, silly fun atmosphere

Cons: very unpredictable service, unpredictable cocktail making, long wait on weekends

Posted 07/23/07

Unbelievabale! My husband and I went for a nice romantic dinner. We waitied through almost 2 bread baskets before our waiter took our order. He then played the drums 3 times before he rushed to get our food. He returned with cold pasta and a 1/2 cooked pizza. He then dumped the pizza upsidedown on our table, it went everywhere even in the expensive bottled water we purchased. I ordered a side order of meatballs I got 1 meatballs instead of 2. We tried to get more water and the missing meatball, but we never saw our waiter again. He played the drums again, he sang, he went and greeted his friends at another table. When he did come back we told him about everything, he did nothing. He sent the bus boy to package up our food. We tried to speak to the owner/manager he started yelling at us in the lobby area. He said "this is not a tasting room and your not going to get a free meal from us". I could not beleive that he was accusing us of trying to get a free meal. We had just been there 2 weeks prior and spent $250 on wine and food! We tried to tell him that we only wanted the missing meatball and the water, he just kept yelling. He then agreed to take the meatball and the water off our bill, we said that is all we are asking and gave him our credit card. Big mistake! He came back still yelling, causing a scene "Plan number 2 , this is the way it is going to go your paying for the water and that is that!" he screamed. The waiter told him that the water was fine, I asked the waiter why he lied, he started yelling also that we were just after a free meal. We never asked for a free meal, it was crazy! Apparently you are not allowed to complain or you will be accused of freeloading and embarassed in front of a lobby full of people. I can't beleive he charged us for something we didn't get even though he agreed to take it off, I guess he lied to get our credit card. We told them to keep our to go boxes, we are not freeloaders, we just want what we are paying for.

Posted 07/15/07

We went for dinner on a Tuesday. We were seated promptly, the service was adequate. It wasn't particularly quick but it wasn't ridiculously slow either. We hadn't been there in a while and I was sorely disappointed by the food. I remember it being much better.

We had the sampler appetizer platter. It was the best part of the meal. It was just fried zucchini, chicken strips, calamari, and mozzarella sticks. But it was decent. I had the Chicken Cacciatore - it was blah. My husband had the Chicken Marsala, it was also very bland and unimpressive.

I wouldn't call it bad, but for $15 an entree, it should be better.

Pros: Great ambiance, entertaining floor show.

Cons: Mediocre overpriced food.

Posted 04/26/07

I love this restaurant. I'm from the east coast and this place has fantastic italian american food (like hoboken) with a great dimly lit atmosphere, booths and tables have comfortable seating that's great for groups. Everytime I've gone there has been a wait, but it's well worth it (and you can hang out at the bar while you wait)! The waiters sing and sometimes dance, and every waiter i've had has been warm and accomodating. I've never hear anything bad about this place until I read a few reviews on here, perhaps they were expecting something different? I can't say a bad thing about it!

Pros: food, service, entertainment

Cons: Sometimes long wait on weekends, valet parking

Posted 11/04/06

I sign up for an account on citysearch JUST to write this review !! I tried this restaurant 3 times ! Only one name to describe it, "horrible". 1.The food is disgusting, it's not italian at all I tried pizza ( the worst I had ) I tried pastas (couldn't even eat them and went to In and Out across the street to eat a burger after diner, and I tried veal...Well the veal was just worst meat than any cheap fast food. 2 The waiters 'have" to sing... It is as bad as the food !!! OMG the 3 times I went there I couldn't even hear my date or friends it was embarassing. 3. It is so expensive and it is the worst food I ever had in my life in Los Angeles. Ps : I gave them 3 chances and I'm really stupid for that. Never go there !!

Pros: NO

Cons: Too many to list !!!

Posted 08/18/06

I was invited to this place for a Christmas party and unfortunately I couldn't refrain from going. This place is NOT Italian and the food is below average. People come here for the atmosphere very Italian-American. I can see how you could feel like in an old Hollywood movie with the waiters singing and the chianti bottles as candle holders. Truth is that no place in Italy looks, sounds and tastes like this one.
For a true Italian-American experience, this place is definitely for you. For an authentic Italian fine-dining experience don't bother coming.

Posted 08/17/06

I absolutely love Miceli's, one of the landmark restaurants in LA I can go to and always walk away satisfied.

Pros: Music, Good Food, Atmosphere

Cons: n/a

Posted 05/16/06

I have eaten here a few times in the last several months and find the food to be just mediocre. I like the singing entertainment by the staff who wait on you, but that just isn't enough to compensate for the food quality. I'm going to look elsewhere for better Italian food.

Pros: singing

Cons: parking

Posted 05/09/06

This restaurant is amazing!!! I can't name one bad thing about it..... great place to go for your birthday! The food is great... the service is great... the singers are great! And it's very kid friendly!!!

Pros: Food, Service, Everything!

Cons: Very little parking.

Posted 04/19/06

After being disappointed because a favorite spot was not open for lunch we drove around and found Miceli's. This was my first time here and there was nothing much impressive about this place. The place is ancient and the art work on the walls was entertaining. The waiter was quiet and never did greet us warmly. I shared a pizza with my sister and we were disappointed to find out the put on the toppings AFTER the pizza comes out of the oven! YUCK! It was bad enough the place set their A/C full blast. If you enjoy thin-crust cooked crispy pizza I suggest you keep driving. I will never go back to this spot.

Pros: Old place

Cons: Service , Pizza Undercooked, Cold Interior

Posted 04/04/06

the place is really loud, thye've got the waiters taking turns singing and playing on the piano. the food is very average, service is slow. not a place i'd go often.

Posted 08/11/05

I've been to Miceli's with family, friends, and on dates. The atmosphere is fun and versatile. The food usually comes fairly quick, and while you wait you will be entertained by an engaging group of entertainers/waiters. As if being a waiter isn't hard enough already! Great service, good food, excellent choice for a night out.

Pros: service, food

Cons: parking

Posted 03/24/05

Miceli's is the word for Italian food in Hollywood.
I have eaten there since the 60's and continue to this day. As a regular the owners and staff are terrific, to the newcomer they are just as warm.
I can not say enough good about this place.
I have never eaten at the Universal City location.

Pros: Super bar, Pizza, Ambience

Posted 11/13/04

food is standard italian fare. the main attraction would have to be the waiters and waitresses who provide vocal entertainment while you are waiting for your food. service is not spectacular, but decent enough. family birthdays and casual dates would be the best scenarios to visit miceli's.

Pros: entertainment

Posted 05/08/03

Step into Miceli's and you're instantly transported back to 1957. The chianti bottles hanging from every place possible is just part of the atmosphere. As far as the food, no one makes a spagetti Caruso any better. The baked pastas are good and cheesy and the pizza is like an old time dinner spot. Miceli's won't win any gourmet awards but no one seems to care. It's just good old Italian comfort food.

Pros: Atmosphere, Service, Just Plain Food

Posted 03/15/03

LALALALALALALA, Yes you will here alot of lungs belting it out here. Bottom line the food has left an imprint on my palate. So so good. The atmosphere has such a warm ambiance. The manager is very attentive to us the clientale. The entertainment is nice, but if you want to chat with the next person I suggest mind reading since the staff belts out the tunes, I realize why they have beams holding up the ceiling. Overall you will like. Chow

Pros: Food, Food, Food

Posted 08/23/02

If you want to fill up and feel good - this is your place. Is it the best Italian food I've ever had? No. Is the food great - yes, and the atmosphere is fantastic. You've got to go to the one in Hollywood to fully appreciate it - the singing, the laughing, the eating the drinking...and don't forget the canoli!

Posted 07/29/02

this place always reminds me of home. very italian food with a homey atmosphere--waiters singing and such. lots of fun.

Posted 07/24/02