Maggiano's

Today after the stupid midterm, I went with my friend S to this relatively new restaurant, Maggiano's.

I heard such great reviews about it. One even said it is the best food in Jeddah. But I must say its name gave me such a hard time. Everyone pronounce it very differently. It was seriously confusing. So I decided when I go, I'll ask the waiters how do they pronounce it? But I forgot. :/

The place was deserted. Only one couple when we arrived. I didn't like that. But hey it is the middle of the week, which means Jeddah is almost a ghost town. I liked the decor. Red and black. Cosy and romantic.

Now the food, I ordered the Maggiano's salad, meat balls sandwich, some kind of a kiwi mojito and for desert tiramisu. The food for me was not so good. There was this weird, brown, very hard thing in the salad that made me choke a couple of times. The sandwich wasn't even close to yummy but the bread was heaven. The mojito was just OK. But on the other hand -thank God- the tiramisu was perfect.

The bitten tiramisu

Stupid thing happened when we asked for the bill. A Saudi waiter who wasn't our waiter, came up to us and asked "since you are doctors do you have panadol?". Cuz apparently doctors are moving pharmacies?

The thing about its location is, it is very lovely and strategic on AL Tahlia street but kinda of cursed. Yup doomed to fail. As far as I remember, first it was Pizza Express. Which was a nice place that served decent pizza, that even at some days you could make your own. The place was always basically dead so it closed. And Nandoos opened instead. I like Nandoos. it serves chicken. What's not to like? But somehow no one went there and the place closed soon after. Now Maggiano's. Will it break the spell and live happily ever after? Or will it be turned to a pharmacy that sells panadol extra?

I think it is safe to say that Maggiano's is no where near being the best place in Jeddah. I totally recommend Ill Gusto for a better Italian dining experience. Smaller, far less elegant but the food is Yum!