I Tried the Spaghetti & Meatballs at 4 Major Italian Chains and One Tasted Homemade

There's no lack of food diversity here in the United States. From Chinese to Mediterranean to Mexican, cuisines of all kinds and from every corner of the globe are represented. However, one of the most agreed upon and comforting things has to be Italian food. The entire category of fare just has a way of bringing people together, and even though many popular dishes are Americanized takes on Italian cooking, they're beloved all the same.

One such Italian-American dish—and debatably the most iconic—is spaghetti and meatballs. History shows that the meal started rolling onto plates in the late 1800s to early 1900s. This is when Italian immigrants in New York City decided to blend their classic spaghetti and marinara sauce recipes with America's more affordable meat, and thus, a legend was born. Now, the dish has turned into an outright classic that's baked right into our culture and even our entertainment. Who could forget the iconic spaghetti and meatballs moment from Disney's "Lady and the Tramp?"

You can find the pasta and meat combo at most major Italian chains you visit, pizzerias aside, and I recently set out on a hunt for the finest of renditions. Here are my final results after slurping down four different plates, ranked in descending order from my least favorite to the best overall. Buon appetito and may the best meatball win.

Buca di Beppo

Heading to Buca di Beppo, I prepared myself to eat big. If you haven't visited one of the chain's 40-plus locations, I'll clue you in that the entrées are all served family-style in large enough servings to feed three to five people. This means everything is bigger at Buca, and this mindset trickles down to the chain's appetizer section as well. That's where you'll find its world-famous meatballs measuring in at a whopping half-pound each.

When you order a spaghetti and meatballs dinner, these monstrous globes are what come plopped on top of your bed of pasta and homemade marinara sauce–a menacing yet mouthwatering sight. A "small" order—which still feeds three guests, mind you—costs $34.99. This is the size my husband and I decided to tackle. But, for meatier or hungrier groups, you can also make it a large for $48.99 to feed up to five.

The look: Don't let the photo fool you, this bowl of noodles was enormous. The spaghetti itself could hardly be spotted under the weight of a chunky, bright red tomato sauce and two massive meatballs. I'm not sure why I thought there would be three included in the dish, but there were in fact just two.

The taste: For such a boisterous and vibrant place–where checkered covers line the tables and nonsensical decor takes up every square inch of the walls–Buca di Beppo sure serves up a very humdrum plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I kept waiting for the flavor, any flavor at all, to kick in. But it never did.

The sauce can be boiled down to just a heap of stewed tomatoes with no extra seasonings added in–thank goodness parmesan cheese and salt were available at the table. The pasta was only a small step up from that which you can prepare at home from a box, and the renowned meatballs were perhaps my least favorite part of the entire bowl. The texture of the beef was tolerable, but again, it lacked taste with the exception of a strange, almost sour tang at the back of the tongue.

As a whole, the giant masses reminded me of something that would come from a can. For this reason alone, I knew Buca would fall to my last-place slot.

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Olive Garden

The country's largest Italian chain has a surplus of buono entrées just waiting to be devoured. That is, if you can make it over the hefty hump that is never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks, and you're still hungry for more. Chicken Parmigiana, Fettucine Alfredo, and Lasagna Classico all make the Tuscan-style trattoria's list of bona fide classics and the bill of fare certainly wouldn't be complete without a cozy plate of simple spaghetti and meatballs.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

At Olive Garden, the dish is offered in either a lunch portion for $11.49 or a full-sized dinner for $16.78. I opted for the larger meal and also chose marinara over meat sauce–I thought double meat seemed a bit over the top. An amaretto-topped Italian Margarita also made its way onto my bill–what ended up as the perfect choice to whet my palate and ease me into the carb-crammed course.

The look: Let me first share a small disclaimer that for this dish–and each one following–what is shown is just half the spaghetti and meatball meal, as it was split between my husband and I. In total, Olive Garden's offering included three generously sized meatballs (though they were still nowhere near the size of Buca's). The spaghetti noodles weighed in at a standard thickness and the top was ladled with a maroon-colored sauce. The entire thing was also sprinkled with basil and, of course, some freshly grated parmesan.

The taste: There are good things happening here, but much of it gets lost in a mediocre sauce. Cooked more al dente than mushy, the noodles were a good start. Even though the meatballs do taste like they could have come from a frozen bag, they offer juiciness, saltiness, and no signs of gristle. However, the marinara was thin and lackluster overall–better suited for breadstick dipping than anything else. Regrettably, it was also unavoidable since it was poured on a little too plentifully. I grappled with whether or not the meat sauce would have been the better, more palatable choice. But, I'm unsure if even that swap would have made a strong difference.

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Carrabba's

I consider Carrabba's to be the fanciest of this Italian eatery bunch, which admittedly isn't saying a whole lot. Its dim lighting, snug seating, and wood-fired grill burning somewhere in the back simulate the romance vibes of Italy, and its menu follows suit, presenting a curated lineup of (mostly) authentic fare.

Scanning this list for the first time, I worried when I did not immediately see a spaghetti and meatballs option nestled among the other saucy pastas. However, it is in fact there, hiding within a standard spaghetti meal. The plate comes with pomodoro sauce and a choice to leave it plain or top it with either meat sauce or meatballs. The latter added $3 to the entrée for a total of $17.29. I couldn't resist pairing it with a dry glass of red and also enjoyed a complimentary starter salad and bread served alongside the chain's famed seasoned dipping oil.

The look: I'm not sure what it was–perhaps the dark red ceramic platter or the mood lighting–but something about this dish looked more authentic to me than the rest. Three smaller herb and spice-spotted meatballs were the stars of the plate. They rested on top of a snaking serving of pasta with splatters of red sauce incorporated throughout. And, we can't forget about the parmesan curl garnishes that finished it off.

The taste: Undeniably similar to Olive Garden's plate. It's a good thing I noshed through the two back-to-back to better distinguish them from one another (and yes, before you ask, I did enjoy a spaghetti dinner double feature one night). Many attributes are comparable between the chains from the thickness and firmness of the noodles to the taste and consistency of the sauce.

Carrabbas, however, has its competitor beat in two main areas. First, it delivers a wildly better balance of savory sauce to pasta which saves the spaghetti from being smothered and allows it to show off its own fresh, almost buttery flair. Second, and most importantly, these meatballs are a work of art. Cooked well and compactly with obvious hints of garlic and onion, they are like rounded drops of heaven, and if I was basing this taste test on meatballs alone, Carrabba's would have taken home gold.

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Bravo!

The first-ever Bravo! opened up in my home city of Columbus, Ohio, in 1992. This also happens to be the same time and place that the chain's sister restaurant Brio started whipping up Italian cuisine. If you're wondering why Brio is left off this list, however, it's because you won't find any mentions of meatballs on its northern Italy-inspired menu. Spaghetti pomodoro or spaghetti bolognese? Yes. But, those fan-favorite ground meat medallions are nowhere to be found.

Luckily, Bravo's 25 locations stick to a more Americanized Roman menu that does include a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs themselves are made up of both beef and pork, and the entire dish is covered in marinara plus Grana Padano Zanetti, the hard Italian cheese. I paid $18.99 for the meal, which of course came with Bravo's customary rosemary focaccia and spice-infused dipping oil.

The look: The first thing I noticed was the abnormally skewed ratio of metaballs to spaghetti. I once again received three in total between the split plates, and these things nearly covered the entire blanket of underlying noodles–not a complaint by any means, just an observation. The sauce was on the lighter side and chunky, almost giving off the appearance of pico de gallo. My waitress shaved larger shards of cheese on top and basil wasn't forgotten either.

The taste: A plate straight out of Nonna's kitchen. Typically I would save the best for last, but I have to jump right into the surprise star of the meal: the sauce. It's sweet yet well-seasoned and modestly applied yet robust, adhering well to the thicker-set noodles and announcing its presence in every bite. It just has that unspoken zip of authenticity and was the perfect match for the hearty meatballs.

The meaty orbs were another success all by themselves–not quite as good as Carrabba's but a notable contender. They are succulent with a more diverse flavor compared to most other options, possibly the result of mixing both pork and beef in the recipe. Overall, it's simply a well-rounded, slurpable, and satisfying dish. And, for that, I say bravo!