I'm not a fan of chain restaurants period!...but here is the skinny on Maggiano's, I had the opportunity to eat here with a small group and a large group and you would think the experience would be better with a smaller group....think again, the menu is different and you definitely know you are eating at a chain restaurant. Food was heavy loaded with sauces and it's obvious there are lots of can openers in the kitchen. Now believe it or not when you have 15-20 people they serve a family style dinner and the food is a higher quality and the good pasta's, the sausage &pepper appetizer is great! But the most impressive is the deserts...what a presentation! and delicious. There house Chianti is great for the price, I highly recommend it.
The service is also much better with a larger group....go figure.