11/14/2025
What a find! We finally had time for a date night and went to check out MakMak in Cranston. We had a true Five Star experience!
We started off with two appetizers: Calamari and Crab Tots. The calamari had a perfect balance of sweet and spicy peppers pan fried to get crispy, and a wonderful a la mama sauce to bring out the flavor. The Crab Tots might be my favorite take on crab cakes ever! Instead of a dry breadcrumb they use airy whipped potatoes with a bunch of lump crab then fried off, placed on top of a semi spicy remoulade. Absolutely fantastic. It was freezing out so we both got a cup of soup: Britt had the escarole and beans and I had the tomato bisque. Both delicious and it was clear the tomatoes for the bisque were fresh and quality as you could taste the distinctive “off the vine” flavor.
The main courses were just as good. Being full blooded Italian we eat pasta at only a few places, but it looked great and the waitress vouched for it. All pastas are fresh from Venda. They only have 3 pasta options so you know it’s their stars. And boy were they! Britt had the Marsala done over a fresh gnocchi and the mushrooms in that dish were so good we could have eaten a bowl full of just them. Perfect ex*****on and definitely an elevated take on Marsala. The Pink Vodka tortolloni (think ravioli meets tortellini) were cooked perfectly al dente so they could stand up to cutting and had the perfect chew. The prosciutto crisp on top with a dash of EVOO balanced the dish perfectly. Truly delicious and clearly a flagship dish.
The service was impeccable and the owner gracious. We hadn’t eaten and wanted to try a bunch so we got 2 apps, 2 soups, a mixed whisky drink, glass of wine, 2 sodas, 2 entrees and the desert (all made in house) looked so good we took one home. $156 for all that food easily could have fed an extra person with leftovers. In this pricing climate it’s easy to get sticker shock and we felt NONE. All that food at that level of ex*****on plus drinks and desert was more than reasonable and frankly a deal. We’ve paid much more for much less.
We highly recommend this great addition to the restaurant scene. So get on over and check them out!
