Michael’s Italian Kitchen

The food was delicious, the spicy pink sauce had just the right amount of kick, and not one meal has disappointed. I loved it! Best Italian in the Las Colinas area!

The overall presentation and taste are so-​so. The Chicken Prosciutto was over cooked, my peers were served canned lobster ravioli and that was half warm and half cold. Tells me the food is not fresh and kept in the refrigerator.
The service is non-​existent while the owner sits at the cash register huffing when you log a complaint.
Cold food and chipped dishes are not only a health issue but also tells me the ownership is just getting by and not trying to keep customers.
Service has been a complaint by other Unilocal contributors.

Great food… always fresh… fantastic pizza too! Love the stuffed mushrooms, chicken marsala, chicken picatta… it is all so good!
This place is authentic. Family owned and operated.

I don’t know how to rate this one. They served me the best Chicken Picatta I’ve ever had and served my husband the worst Chicken Alfredo we’ve ever had. Not sure how the same chef managed to get such a depth of flavor in the Picatta and managed to serve the Alfredo without any seasoning at all. I was disappointed to learn that they didn’t serve wine, which is fine but rather annoying when EVERYONE around you is drinking wine. We didn’t know this was BYOB in advance. Will probably give it another try to find out which dish was the fluke… the Picatta or the Alfredo.

So affordable and classy for a reasonable price for lunch! So much food for less than $ 10 for lunch! Small and quaint atmosphere! I feel like a fancy Italian at a hole in the wall place like this! I would come back! Food is decent and yummy! This could be a romantic dinner out or lunch or just a good place to try for fun! Located next to «our place» indian buffet which is a good place too! So many good food choices in this area! I would come back!

Came here with Hubby for my birthday. I think I need to stop watching Gordon Ramsey, I’m becoming a crazy food critic, because I’ve had issues with almost everything I’ve had in these restaurants. Like, here is had the chicken tortellini, it needed 2 tsp more butter, a sprinkle more of salt and pepper, neither of which I ever add to my food when I’m out. Anyway, do they boil their chicken instead of cooking it over high heat in a pan. The bruschetta was great, and so were the rolls. Hubby enjoyed his meal. He says he’s not a food snob (LOL). Will I come back? Yes. Oh, service, well, it was ok, waitress quiet, nothing to really speak about there. I’m just sayin!

Authentic Italian and NOT a chain. Bonus! Make certain you get the cream cheese & tomato garlic bread! BYOB, great, authentic local place.

I’ve always gone to this restaurant and probably always will, but the prices are a little steep for me, for just simple Italian dishes.
The ambiance is quite romantic, very good for groups of people, parties, and just a date night spot. The tables and environment are clean, and the lighting is dim, which is a plus in my opinion.
I usually just get the tilapia frances or the kids’ size spaghetti and meatballs. Also, I recently tried the chicken alfredo with linguini pasta and loved it. The kids’ sizes are actually quite filling for me, because I split them into 2 meals.
If you live by this restaurant like I do, then check it out. But otherwise, it is pretty alright for Italian. It is in my constant realm of takeout, though, which is a good idea when I’m not thinking Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, or Indian.

Everything that we have gotten from this place has been amazing! The first time my boyfriend and I went I ordered the ‘Lobster Ravioli’ and it was so good! It had just the right amount of flavor and creaminess to the sauce (you can definitely taste the lobster). We also ordered calamari, which was also very good. I am very picky when it comes to my calamari their’s had the perfect amount of crunchiness.
This is a small space, so I would not recommend this place if you are wanting a more intimate dinner.
Staff was super friendly and very attentive.
It’s BYOB! :)

Probably a little better than average, but it depends on what you order or your standards. It’s a friendly small place. Their BYOB policy helps their clientele. The food is decent, sauce is pretty basic, and that’s what you have here… basic. Basic chicken dishes repeated but with veal. Pizza is okay but not great. Actually that sums up the whole place.

I’ve been here a few times and have enjoyed it. This location is BYOB which is a plus. We all started off with a salad. I ordered the Cesar Salad with the dressing on the side. The salad was really good and it came with plenty of croutons. The dressing was good but slightly tangy. The bread they bring out before your meal is quite tasty when they are fresh and warm. My friend and I ended up splitting the Chicken Alfredo. The fettuccine and alfredo sauce was really good. The chicken had no flavor though. I had to add salt and pepper for some flavor. I also added crushed red pepper for a kick! Our waitress was attentive which was a plus. The food here is pretty decent.

The place is okay in my opinion. I came here, but I can barely remember anything that I ate. If you want to eat some Italian food and not remember what you ate or have any lasting memories about it, come here. The service was prompt and the wait staff was nice, but the restaurant felt crowded overall when I was there. I didn’t like the ambience so much I rushed out of there as quickly as I could. I don’t think I would come back, but this isn’t the worst palace you could go.

Don’t be in a rush to end the night… We got there about 1015 to 1020. Places closes at 11. First thing we were greeted with «kitchen closes in a couple min so we gotta hurry». I’m pretty sure there were only 2 sets of customers in there. And I’m pretty sure this kinda attitude is the reason the place was dead. If I owned the place. Or even worked there, I would be excited to see a family show up for dinner when it was DEAD. The food was fair. I feel like there are a lot of things on the menu I could still try.

Not sure how this place has 4 stars average, but no way is it a 4 star place. I would says at best it’s 2 stars but that’s only because it’s BYOB. If your on the fence about going to this place honestly find somewhere and save yourself the trouble.
The price is reasonable for an Italian restaurant. It’s in a very very busy shopping strip so you’ll be lucky to find a parking spot close to there location. Expect to walk a little ways to the restaurant or drive around in circles to find a parking spot.
The food is very lack luster. It reminded me of what I use to eat when I was back in public school as a lad. I had the Chicken Marsala and its was very tasteless. There wasn’t much chicken and the spaghetti served with it was bland. Plus it was served on a plastic plate that made me remember those lunch periods when I was a lad in public school.
My girlfriend ordered the sampler and she said it was disappointing as well. The food again was tasteless. You couldn’t tell what part of the dish was what cause they just threw all three items in a bowl and topped it off with cheese.
Service was spotty at times. It wasn’t the worst service, but for as small as the place is you would think it would be a lot better. We saw 2 other tables complain about how slow the kitchen was taking to make their orders. Plus one table got their food and they were seated 15 mins after us.
Yes, this place is BYOB. If you dare eat her take advantage of this cause it’s the best feature of this restaurant. I will worn they charge you a $ 1 per person to use their glasses. I did see one couple bring their own wine glasses as well as the bottle of wine.
Again I wouldn’t patron this place since it not that good. If you do go take you some alcohol and maybe you’ll think it’s a 4 star place like the others that say it is.

I came here on a Friday night with my parents, sister, and my fiancé. It was our first visit to this restaurant. We started off with calamari and steamed mussels. I wasn’t a huge fan of the calamari and wouldn’t recommend it. The breading tasted stale to me. The mussels were good, but not fresh. The sauce that the mussels were cooked in was delicious, though. All of us were dipping our bread into it. I ordered the rigatoni, which was alright. It came with a good amount of sausage and had a few green bell peppers scattered throughout the dish, but the taste was just average to me. My parents shared the frutti mare, my sister ordered the chicken murphy, and my fiancé ordered the linguine with mussels. Sadly, everything just tasted average. We weren’t overly impressed with any of the dishes.
Service was a little lacking. I only remember seeing our waiter whenever we got drinks and when she came back to serve us our food. She didn’t come back to check up on us or to give us refills.
I honestly don’t see myself coming back to visit this place unless I’m desperate for some Italian food that’s close by.

So we walked into here around 12:30 pm, and it was dead. It was just me and my husband for about a half hour. We walked in and the hostess looked bored and sat us quickly. We sat down and she asked us «What do you want to drink?» Again looking bored.
Shortly after she drops off our drinks and says «What do you want?”. Again it seemed forced and unpleasant. We ignored that and ordered. Based on the reviews we were underwhelmed by the experience. The fettuccini Alfredo was good, tasted fresh but could of used more garlic for my taste. And my husband got the baked Cannelloni which according to him was better then mine. Our pre-​meal salads were delivered a minute before our entrees and it made us feel rushed to eat the salad so it would be cold and the pasta hot. At the end of the meal we got my food to go and we requested the check. It took some time to get the check and when I opened it up, they had overcharged me on the pasta, Already frustrated we decided to just pay the ticket and leave.
We most likely won’t be going back.

Visited this place with a few friends on a Wednesday night and the place was absolutely empty (granted, it was rather late… a little after 8:45). Nothing wrong with that. The staff was friendly as they greeted me and help me find my friends.
Food was okay, but didn’t taste outer worldly. I had the bowtie pasta with chicken. This comes in a creamy pesto sauce. Pesto was light in flavor, but I’m not the biggest fan of cream sauces generally. It was seasoned well, but for me, add the table chili flakes and it adds that bang.
Overall, a nice place to gather and meet up over comfort food.

Michael’s Italian Kitchen is a small Italian restaurant in Irving that serves up true Italian dishes. It’s a great option for people who live & work in the Valley Ranch\Las Colinas area who want Italian cuisine that doesn’t come from a chain restaurant.
My Overall Rating — 4 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — Located in a strip mall, unless you knew where Michael’s Italian Kitchen is located you would probably miss it. Inside you’ll find lots of dark wooden shelves and your usually Italian decoration. It’s not too large, but they do manage to fit in a small bar, although there wasn’t anyone manning it. It’s casual but I think it tries to be upscale. ½ Star.
Service — On our weeknight visit our service was slow. There was only one server for the restaurant (again, it’s not that big), but the result was our meal took a long time. Nothing wrong with the friendly/​helpfulness, this was purely a function of staffing. No other complaints though, just took forever between all activities (ordering, appetizer, meal, & bill). We even skipped dessert knowing we would probably be delayed further. ½ Star.
Food — Order the chicken prosciutto. I did, and it was quite possibly one of the best Italian dishes I ever ate. It’s a tender chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto in a cream sauce served with pasta and mixed vegetables. Good lord May I have another. Normally I like to start my reviews with the food in the order that it was ordered, but this topped my list. But we did order a caprese salad — good but heavy on the balsamic. I’m going to rate Michael’s on a curve because: 1) They’re an original and not a chain. 2) The chicken prosciutto dish was great. 3) Irving doesn’t have many true Italian offerings. 2 Stars.
Will I Return? — Yes, when I can remember them. Like Bruno’s down the street, sometimes I forget Irving (Valley Ranch) has some great options. Too often we stick to chains, but if you want a more original experience, Michael’s has you covered. I’ll be back. 1 Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.

My company catered from here, so I was able to try a little bit of a variety. The fried cheese was pretty standard, but the marinara sauce was pretty good. We ordered garlic bread also, and I’ve had better garlic bread. These were decent. The shrimp scampi however was pretty good and was gone quick. My favorite dish however was the chicken pesto with bowtie pasta. The chicken was really good, and the pesto sauce was a nice touch. If you are in the mood for a pasta dish, I recommend the chicken pesto. The dinner salad was also pretty good, but I wasn’t fan of iceberg lettuce. Overall, this place was decent, so if you’re in the area, check them out.

Ordered to-​go from this place, and they had the food ready really fast. My boyfriend and I ordered the fried calamari appetizer, the chicken pesto bowtie pasta, spaghetti and meatballs, and a caesar salad for each of us.
The fried calamari was… ok. It was too heavily breaded and the calamari itself was really hard for some reason. The caesar salads were also just okay – the dressing didn’t have as much flavor as I would have liked. The pasta, however, was surprisingly good! My chicken pesto pasta was really tasty, and wasn’t too heavy. My boyfriend’s spaghetti and meatballs was pretty good too. Both dishes had pasta that was obviously from a box, but the sauces were great.
Overall, Michael’s is a great place for a quick Italian fix that’s affordable at the same time!