Check your bill! Server tried to run a gift card for $30 more than the value of the gift card after they were told the value. The marinara sauce had tons and tons of oregano. Many complaints about that. You must leave after a short...period of time or you will be asked to leave by the hostess. Manager backs up the hostess and tells you if you don’t like it don’t come back. Called owner owner told me the same thing. We are too busy and we do not care if you come back and patronize us. Food is not worth the money or the hype. Do not spend your hard earned money at this restaurant. They do not care about you or anybody else but themselves.More

Over the years when visiting Ruidoso Michael J's has become one of our go-to places , so it pains me to write this review. During our most recent visit we made reservations a week in advance and invited guests to experience the eventing with us....We arrived a few miniutes before, and immediately noticed that the parking lot was empty. At the entrance we discovered a hand written sign that due to staffing shortages the were unable to open. I understand that the labor shortage has affected many retailers, and am sypmpathetic to the owneers - BUT - they had my phone number and had to know an hour or so before our 7PM reservations that they wrere not going to be able to open, They could have called me and let me know! A simple courtesy would have avoided the last meinute scramble I had to go thorugh with our guests and demonstrated concern for their customers, Very poor customer relations. Despite several earlier good expereinces I doubt we'll ever returnMore

My husband and I went here to celebrate his birthday. The food was really good, we had as an appetizer a cup of minestrone soup, and for our dinner he ordered chicken piccata and I ordered the linguini Vongole it was delicious. The service was...ok, but I think they are understaffed so I felt bad for the waitress she really was trying her best to accommodate us. Cons: they don’t have outdoor music and heaters for the cool nights in Ruidoso.More

We had reservations for7 pm and arrived at 6:45. By 7:30 I asked the lady at the front desk why it was taking so long and was told it would be soon. 15 minutes later I asked again and was told very rudely told if...I didnr sit down and shut up I would’ be asked to leave. I never fuss about service. but this was over the top. They were very rude and obviously forgot the old adage that the customer is always right. I have eaten there before and the food is adequate but after this I will never ga again. They think because they have a lot of tourist business they can treat you any they want. Well not for me and I hope for you.More

We have eaten here for years. Went this past weekend to celebrate our anniversary. The restaurant in all aspects is a shell of its former self. We had reservations and had to wait thirty minutes to be seated. They had a large sign outside stating...that they were reservation only for the night and many people were outside waiting. The doors to the bar and restaurant were open and the flies were thick inside. When we were finally seated the ac was working somewhat in our area but other parts of the restaurant were extremely hot. The service was horrible with our waiter never refilling our glasses and literally throwing the bread on our table. In the past service has been top notch. The food was inedible. I ordered fettuccine and it was too salty and too garlicky to eat. My husbands chicken Marsala was rubbery. We saw several tables with no one at them and when they finally seated the party it was the same one they had been waiting outside with us. They had a reservation and waited for an empty table for Almost an hour. Completely unacceptable. We ordered lobster cakes as an appetizer. It used to come as two. This time it was one small one for 18.00. So sad to see what once a great restaurant has become. We will not be back.More

We have gone for many years as it was one of our favorites. Even in the middle of covid the staff and food was great. We went this last weekend. waited fifteen minutes for the hostess to arrive to greet us. Waited for 30 minutes...for bread on the table. vinegar but no Olive Oil. Staff was rude " we are working as hard as we can " Spaghetti Bolognese tasteless. veal marsala was waterer and had no depth .They need help or it will be a goner.More

My wife and I heard great things about this place. Second home in Alto for many years and have not dined in before. I ordered veal parmigiana and my wife ordered lasagna. Veal was soggy and the noodles were semi-hard. Flavor was on spot. Lasagna...is a large portion and is tasty. Wine list is good, atmosphere is good as well. Dinner for 2, bottle of wine less than $100. Parking is no good. I think all the workers park in the parking lot and the patrons have to park down a side street.More

We had veal parmesan, prawns and a shirmp dish with gluten pasta (penne only). All was excellent. I tasted the marinara sauce ahead of time and it was very good. Not sweet with garlic rustic. Wine selection was good. Highly recommend.

The entire dinner was delicious, but eggplant parmigiana was fabulous! Dessert was so good we were trying to figure out how it was made. Highly recommend.

My mother and I had dinner here on a trip to Ruidoso. Loved the ambience! We didn't have a reservation so we are lucky we got in- especially since they close at 9 pm. Next time, call ahead and get a table by the fireplace....The salmon crostini was so good! Our waitress recommended the fettucini alfredo. It was excellent. Mom had the minestrone soup. She thought it was a little too thick but she took half home and enjoyed it the following day anyway. We took half the peach buttercake home too and had it with coffee the next morning. Delicious! We will be back when we visit again!More

Great food but make a reservation or you won’t be seated! We had the mussels for appetizer. It was ok but really small mussels, chinchy amount & thin sauce. We had 4 different dishes. Chicken Marsala, Veal Piccata, Chicken Alfredo & Shrimp Scampi. Everything was...wonderful but the shrimp! Overcooked shrimp is the worst We had a great view of a herd of elk! Overall would definitely go again!More

My wife and I went hear for Valentine's Day which is also our anniversary, I had made reservations on 1/28. The place was busy and when we made it up to the hostess, she took us to a table for 4 with 2 people (strangers)...already seated. Of course, I was shocked and asked what was happening? She said they were doing community seating, during a pandemic? and without informing us ahead of time. We went ahead and sat down. While waiting for a waitress I looked around and could see an empty table for 2 and 2 other tables for 4 with only 2 people seated. Apparently, it was only us and the other unfortunate couple who were being given community seating. When the waitress came to take our drink orders she started with the other couple and then turned to us. We explained that we weren't together which seemed to shock her. She immediately excused herself then came back and moved us to another area of the restaurant and sat us at a table for 2. Thank you to that waitress for finding us private table. Unfortunately, the area we were seated in was the patio which they had enclosed with some tarps. Being February, it was uncomfortably cold with drafts coming in between the tarps. This was not the romantic dinner we planned for our anniversary. The food was excellent, but I would say overpriced for the portions you receive. We ordered the crab cakes which should be on the menu as crab cake since there was 1 on the plate. The dinner salad was very small and the entree's seemed a bit skimpy on the protein portion for the price they are charging, there was plenty of pasta though. If money is not a concern, I would say try it the food is gourmet.More