Melini Italian Restaurant

My wife was craving chicken parmesan and we were hours from anywhere familiar. We read reviews on Melini and it seemed more like a pizza joint but we decided to take a chance. When you walk the first thing you notice is the beautiful decorative ceiling and woodwork around the windows which feels welcoming and warm. You wait to be seated and luckily they weren't too busy so we were seated right away by the friendly host. The menu is a complete Italian restaurant menu and had a lot to choose from. Our waitress arrived promptly and was training another so she informed us which was nice. She took our drink order and brought back bread that was fresh and included marinara. We both ordered sweet tea and it was amazing and they have the good nugget style ice. My wife ordered her chicken parmesan and I asked our waitress what she would suggest since we had never been there. She made a couple of suggestions and I chose the pollo Rosa. While waiting for our food to come out we overheard another customer order chicken parmesan and the waitress offered other options to her for noodles which my wife prefers angel hair and didn't realize it was an option. Our food arrived promptly and was a decent portion and seemed presented well. The pollo Rosa was very good. The sauce was kind of mild but was tasty and thick. The chicken in it was excellent and was grilled just right. The chicken parmesan was another story all together. While it does have the thick spaghetti noodles that wasn't the deal breaker because that was a simple issue that we could have avoided by paying more attention to the menu the worst part was the chicken that was used in it. The fillet was clearly a frozen breaded piece of emulsified chicken and it had a low quality off putting flavor and a hotdog like consistency. I couldn't stomach more than one bite of it myself. After some time the waitress came back to check on us and asked how everything was so I explained that my dish was top notch but my wife's was horrible and didn't eat any of it. The waitress offered to bring her something else but we had been there for a while and I was nearly done with my meal. The waitress stated that she would let her manager know about the chicken and did not offer anything other than an apology. We skipped desert and paid the full bill. I would eat there again but would have to be very cautious about what I get and question the menu. I travel the country and eat at a lot of places and my reviews are as fair to the buofferedsiness as possible. I do not change reviews because the business has reached out to me or me anything as compensation because the end game is to honestly inform the other customers of what to expect. Thank you for taking the time to read my review and happy dining.

Excellent! ????The Lamb chops over pasta were deliciously perfect. The salad was fresh and cold. The bread sticks and marinara sauce are complimentary. The mozzarella cheese sticks are very good. The dessert of lemoncello mascarpone cheese cake was excellent. My server was very attentive and prompt. Loved the atmosphere too. Highly recommend this restaurant. A full bar is also available.

The food is pretty good, and the serving sizes are great for the price. I plan on trying a few more dishes in the future. So far, I have tried their grouper salad, and it was excellent.5 stars. I have also had their pizza. It's not my favorite but pretty solid 4 stars. I most recently tried the Italian sausage and peppers. It was quite tasty at 4.5 stars.

Currently sitting here waiting for my check. I really like the place. It’s a small cozy establishment and the music really gave it a calm old school Italian vibe which I appreciated. Amy was great and I hope to have her again. She recommended the Italian wedding soup with the bruschetta bread and it was fantastic. My chicken parm entree on the other hand was cold but they took care of it immediately. I probably won’t order it again but I expect to be back with my team to try something else. Thank you!

Absolutely fantastic experience. Best restaurant experience I've had since living in this area. The atmosphere inside is not too casual nor too upscale. The food is excellent. I mean absolutely excellent. The sauces are all freshly made, and the flavor is proof enough of this. Everything was cooked to perfection. Our waiter, Roger, made the experience even more enjoyable with the knowledge of the menu. My wife was unsure of what to order. After explaining what she was looking for, the suggestion given absolutely hsit the spot. Cannot think of anything that would have made the experience better. Would give 10 stars if I could.