This Italian Restaurant Chain Boasts A World-Renowned Chef

When you have a hankering for Italian cuisine, there is certainly no shortage of options. The Cheesecake Factory, Noodles & Company, and Bonefish Grill are among the restaurant chains that serve the best pasta in Daily Meal's opinion. Only a few of those on that list also made Daily Meal's ranking of popular Italian restaurant chains in America. With a world-renowned chef elevating its menu, Maggiano's Little Italy is one of those chains.

Chef Anthony Amoroso has had a stunning career. Starting as a sous chef at Oceana in New York City, he has worked at the MGM Grand's Fiamma Trattoria & Bar and the Bellagio's Michael Mina restaurant in Las Vegas, the latter of which earned two Michelin stars. He even competed against Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto on "Iron Chef America." Fast forward to September 2024, Maggiano's appointed the star chef as its vice president of innovation and growth.

This leadership role is a first for the restaurant and puts the acclaimed chef in charge of designing the menu of Italian-American classics. In the press release announcement (per PR Newswire), Maggiano's president Dominique Bertolone said, "Chef Amoroso's Michelin distinction is more than just an accolade — it embodies his extraordinary creativity, meticulous precision, and unwavering passion for culinary excellence. With his leadership, we're poised to push the boundaries of flavor and innovation, delivering a dining experience unlike any other that will delight and inspire our guests."

Bringing Chef Anthony Amoroso onto its leadership team isn't the first move that Maggiano's Little Italy has made in the last few years. Although the chain of more than 50 locations hasn't necessarily been doing as badly as some others, traffic has been on the decline since 2023. That's when Maggiano's and parent company Brinker International, which also owns Chili's Grill & Bar, started taking steps toward a turnaround.

The first step was appointing President Dominique Bertolone, a veteran in the fine-dining space at MGM Resorts, whose plan involved upgrading the dishes, glassware, and menu with higher-quality ingredients, including the cocktails. Taking cues from sister chain Chili's, which has made a major turnaround, Maggiano's has also eliminated 17 prep steps for the staff (such as pre-portioning pasta and pounding chicken) and removed several items from the menu, according to an earnings call with Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman in January 2025 (per Restaurant Business). These changes reduced the amount of kitchen work required by 80 hours per week, allowing the staff to focus more on the new, elevated menu put in place by Bertolone and Amoroso.

With the exit of Bertolone in August 2025 and only a 1.5% increase in same-store sales over 2024 (per Restaurant Business), though, the company has switched directions from an upscale experience to something closer to the fast-casual concept at Chili's. Hochman didn't provide details of the new plan, but noted that some of the previous changes took things too far, such as a less noisy table-bussing process that took too long. Now, it's expected that Maggiano's will be one of the once-failing Italian restaurant chains that are on the way back, with Amoroso continuing to design the menu.