Melio’s Trattoria

Was wanting some good authentic. Italian food so we decided to drive to tubac and try out this restaurant. Walked in the door, the restraunt was empty, the owner Melinda looked at us like we had just interrupted her then asked if we had made a reservation. I stated no we had not. she just grabbed the menus and started walking away. I was no g sure if I was to follow or not until she got to the t able and turned and looked at us like. ok hurry up people.
We sat down it took a while for anyone to come ask what we wanted to drink. By this time another older couple had come in. Melinda was very pleasant to them, served them bread, had their drinks right away. At this point I was wondering why we didn’t get bread. We never did get served any bread.
Finally, after a long wait she came to take our orders. She was very rude and impatient as we tried to order. I ordered a pizza for my daughter, the four cheese pasta for myself, and my husband had the bolognaise. Finally after a very long wait approximately 45 minutes she returned with a pizza and slapped it down in front of me. It was a four cheese pizza. A couple minutes later she returned with my daughters pizza and flung that in front of my daughter who was six at the time. She came back with my husband’s food. I was waiting for my pasta and wondering why I had two pizzas. I got her attention and called her over and told her I did not order a four cheese pizza I had ordered the four cheese pasta. She was very angry and told me that I had ordered the pizza at this time my husband stepped in and told her no in fact I ordered the pasta he heard me order it and that I did not want the pizza. She went off on me about that was waste and now she has to eat the price of that pizza. I told her fine I will eat the pizza. She can see me look talking to my husband and how displeased I was so in the middle of me taking a bite of the pizza I did not order she came over picked up the pizza and said fine I’ll get you the pasta and then started rambling on about how this is costing her money. We decided that we were not going to be treated like that any longer and just got up left our food and paid the bill. She was the rudest person in the restaurant business that I have ever encountered. I will not return and I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The food was good what I got to eat of it but the owner Melinda ruined it. I cannot stress enough how horrible of an experience that was. Save yourself the time and money and go somewhere else. She has no business being in a public setting.

Hmm. Where to start. The food average at best. I would have expected something out of this world. Or at the very least good. The owner is from Italy. I had the chicken. It was a flat piece of chicken fried topped with cheese and sliced Roma tomatoes. The chicken was way over cooked and dry. The tiramisu was not great at all. Had a weird flavor. The portions were small but actually that was ok. The staff was very inexperienced. I would not recommend.

The owner acted like we were an inconvenience to want to eat there. The food was overcooked and tough and the service was terrible and our server was rude as well.

Melinda & Elios = Melios. Elios & another partner opened a restaurant in Rome, which I visited on my trip to Italy last year. Sometime later he and his wife came to the States and opened Melios. Elios is the chef and Melinda makes the desserts
Only once can I remember getting a tough piece of veal, and it wasn’t even my meal. On the whole the food is outstanding. I’ve had a veal chop that melted in my mouth it was so tender They have made a seafood salad with a vinegarette dressing that was awesome. All the fish in the salad cooked to perfection, especially the calamari. But their eggplant parmigiana is to die for. I love it so much I forget how many other delicious things are on the menu. And, the desserts. Limoncello cake, double chocolates cakes and almost always a homemade ice cream or sorbet to choose from.
There’s always pizza as well. And a full bar. Both indoor and outdoor seating with a beautiful view of the mountains
By the way, the restaurant in Rome, which is still run by Elios former partner, was good but not as good as the one in Tubac. Definitely got to try it. But I’d call for reservations, especially in the season. Tubac is «snow bird» country –heavily populated October thru April.
Tubac AZ is a small town between Amado and Carmen. Since our main post office is in Tumacacori, your GPS will come up with Tumacacori and not Tubac. Just follow the directions and you’ll get to the right place

Sorry. I can’t go back with a group and neither should you.
Note: I rewrote this because my first version seemed mean spirited. Arrived at 7 p.m. on a Sunday night with a reservation made days earlier. Nine of us. Had gotten up early and were to do so again tomorrow. After an hour and twenty minutes we asked the server for a progress report. She said the stove didn’t have many burners and all food was cooked to order. Sort of a good news-​bad news reply. An hour and thirty-​seven minutes after we got there we were served entrees. Food was OK but they must have run out of vegetables (despite there being some on veggie pasta), because people who had ordered a salad were dismayed to find chopped lettuce and tomato on their plates as the side vegetable after being told there were some interesting vegetables coming. In all, we were there two and a quarter hours, which wasn’t the way we expected to spend the evening. The wait-​staff was pleasant enough but that was overshadowed by the wait for the food. Oh yes, one (slim) woman’s chair sort of disintegrated. The restaurant was very noisy.

3 stars is the appropriate review. I give this place 4 stars for the atmosphere and service 2 stars for the food. When it comes to Italian restaurants I’ve found that if the Bread that your served before your meal is good then the rest of meal should be as well. the bread was mediocre at best.
We shared a Melio’s
salad which was pretty good if not a little too salty.
My wife had the four cheese pasta which was nothing really special. I had the egg plant parmigiana. It did come out hot but I thought it was very bland. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the older crowd. For me being Italian it just didn’t pop. So far I’m not impressed with the Italian restaurants down here in the Tucson area. It’s definitely not Chicago.

We visited from Chandler with some friends. Everyone had a pasta dish and was happy with their choice. We had a nice time and the staff was friendly.
I took pictures and will post.

Just finished out first dinner here… mussels for appetizer wonderful, fish of the day. Sea Bass excellent, chianti ok. i suggest coming later when all the patio lights are lit. Service was very good but only a couple other couples here this time of the yr

This restaurant has character, great service, fine Italian food, a great view, a full bar and the best chocolate and whipped cream cake desert ever. All at reasonable prices. Choose a Moretti La Rossa Italian amber beer or some wine to go with your dinner.

We were very disappointed with our meal. I am allergic to wheat and was told
They had gluten free pasta. Wonderful I was excited to try their food. The pasta was inconsistent some cooked al dente and some hard. The cream sauce was good but the salmon was dry and tough. My husbands meal was worse. First he was told that he wouldn’t be able to have a side of pasta with his flounder shrimp and calamari dish. No pasta sides with anything that was on that side of the menu. I’ve never heard of an Italian restaurant that wouldn’t serve a side of pasta. He ordered it anyway. The calamari was like rubber bands the shrimp looked like it had been smashed and put together with the breading and the flounder though cooked well, had no seasoning. Our server was nice but was not around much. My husbands soda was flat and was served in a child’s size glass and we kept having to ask for refills. The meal was quite expensive and we will not be going back ever again even though our server tried to convince us to come back and give them another try. I cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone.

My husband loves it, not me.

In Tubac for a conference at the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa, my husband and I were searching for an alternative to the TGR restaurants and stumbled onto Melio’s. Wallking in, we were unsure what to expect, as the restaurant is tucked away behind the Tubac General Store and Tubac Chamber of Commerce — yes, Tubac has a CC!
It took a few minutes for anyone to greet us, and when she did, she asked if we had called ahead. I told her we had not — and asked if she could seat us for dinner. She didn’t answer — but led us to a table. Our drink orders were promptly taken and a small bowl of oil and balsamic vinegar placed on the table. Quite a few minutes passed before a tiny basket of very dense bread was flung onto the table. One review on another site compares the bread to hockey pucks. I wouldn’t go that far — but it was anything but light, fluffy, or fresh.
Shortly thereafter, the server came to take our orders. I ordered the penne ai 4 formaggi (penne with four cheeses) and was very grateful to the server for informing me that it typically is served with Gorgonzola, which I asked her to leave out, as I do not care for the taste. My husband ordered the fettuccine funghi salsicce (red sauce with mushrooms and sauce), but was informed by the server that the chef was out of mushrooms. He scanned the menu for another option and the server, seemingly a bit impatient, suggested he order the maltagliati alla bolognese (homemade pasta with meat sauce). So he did.
Then the waiting began. Which gave us time to look around and appreciate the … um … shall we say «interesting»? … ambiance. My mentally ill mother had a creative bent and I am not exaggerating to say the décor was more or less something my mom would have designed. It was so random. A string of empty picture frames, bunches of plastic grapes everywhere, star-​shaped lights, strings of fairy lights everywhere — including lining the ceiling beams in one small corner of the restaurant, strange and eclectic unframed paintings, empty chianti bottles with layer after layer of gaudy and unattractive candle wax serving as candle holders, more chianti bottles wearing garments (shirts, a grass skirt, a kimono), paper flowers, a small American flag, random Christmas ornaments, strand after strand of faux evergreen garland — all apparently part of the permanent décor, as this visit happened in August. I told my husband that it felt like the scene out of a movie. He nodded enthusiastically. «Yes. And it would be run by Catherine Keener, starring as the modern-​day hippie who eventually wins over the hearts of the conservative locals.»
Unfortunately, Melio’s is not the setting of a film and it’s not run by Catherine Keener or a hippie. Just a loud-​mouth owner whose spouse is the chef.
And, did I mention, we waited? And waited. And waited.
Eventually, the gal came around to refill our drinks (an anomaly, if you believe certain other reviews). I asked if she had any idea when our food would emerge from the kitchen. She said she’d check. She came back about five minutes later and told us it would be just two more minutes. She brought the plates out about five minutes after that, commenting as she set them on the table that «they are cooked to order, you know.» Really? My fault that it took nearly 40 minutes to fix two orders of pasta in a relatively empty restaurant?
The good news: my pasta was delicious. Not worth a 40-​minute wait, but delicious. I asked my husband how his was. He said «It’s OK.» I thought he was just grumpy at having had to wait so long, so I asked if I could taste it. He was right — it was OK. Bland, if I had to put one word on it. And ABSOLUTELY UNWORTHY of any kind of wait. We didn’t complain — three different people came by to ask how things were. «Fine,» we said to each of them through increasingly gritted teeth. Must have been that intuition at work — as complainers apparently are not tolerated.
SERVICE ²⁄₅
FOOD 2.5÷5
WEIRD AMBIANCE — ⁵⁄₅
Would not go back and would not recommend — although I think the whole experience will make a great scene in my novel.

Disappointed, Dissatisfied, Mortified would best describe the experience of our group of 12 that drove down from Green Valley for dinner and fireworks on Independence Day. The restaurant was busy, the service slow and not attentive. Had to flag a server down for beverage and bread refills.
We ordered the lasagna which in the past has been good. This time not. It was nothing more that Bolognese with some cheese on top. There was no layering, consistency or flavor. My wife called this to the attention of the server who had the proprietor, Melinda come over and make a public spectacle of herself loudly proclaiming that in their 18 years, no one had ever complained about her husband’s lasagna. If that were not enough, from across the room she told my spouse that the meal would be taken off the bill, but «don’t come back.» Another gentlemen in our party ordered a breaded lamb chop dish. These were the thin chops off the rack. They were very over fried to a crisp. When he commented, Melinda accused him of being rude. Others in our party found the food to be lackluster and bland. Not what one would expect for savory Italian dishes.
So I get the part about the food. Any restaurant/​chef can have an off night. It happens to the best of places. The formula for return customers is service; be gracious and make it right. Melinda seemed to have taken the criticism of the food very personally and deflected her anger back at the patrons. That is inexcusable. Nothing good can happen from that. We live in a small community connected very socially. Word will spread about this unfortunate experience. Melinda will not have to worry about our return. We won’t be coming back.

I don’t know how this place stays in business. Some of the most terrible Italian food I have ever tried. Don’t bother wasting your money. Try some place else.

Food is not good. Service is OK. But Bella Mía in Nogales is better. Just drive to Nogales.

This is a classic example of not judging a book by its cover. We ended up at Melio’s because it was our only option. There were plenty of cars in the lot so it had to be decent. It was awesome. If you’re looking for Olive Garden, don’t bother. You don’t deserve to eat at Melio’s.
After looking at the menu, we clearly needed some help deciphering the authentic Italian nomenclature. The waitstaff gave us the run-​down and explained the specials including what was made that day (most of it). We wanted it all. It all sounded amazing. We didn’t know the story of the restaurant yet, but could tell this was not your average American trying to pump out bowls of spaghetti. The pasta is made in house. The sauces are made with many ingredients and took hours to prepare. We were in for a treat.
They were kind enough to bring out a simple plate of pasta for my son. Naturally, I tasted it and nearly devoured it. I’ve never had spaghetti with butter and Parmesan cheese taste so unbelievable. How could something so simple taste so remarkable? As it turns out, it’s the care taken during preparation.
The chef/​owner is from Rome… Italy. The mother country. He had a restaurant there for 10 years before moving to the States with his wife and opening this place. He knows Italian food and it shows. We had maltagliatti (translated as «badly cut»). On this night, it came with some delicious fish and it was exquisite. The homemade pasta was out of sight. The saltimbocca came with some of the best fresh mozzarella I’ve ever had and the pollo pepperoni (nothing like the pizza topping) showed the effort the chef puts into his cooking. The flavors of all three cannot be adequately described. It must be experienced.
We got a sampler platter of what desserts were available and to say the tasted good is an understatement. Each of the three was unique and the perfect end to the meal. Unlike many Americanized versions of Italian desserts, these had the perfect sweetness to satisfy the palate, but not make you cringe from the rich indulgence. Simply perfect.
I know you don’t think of Italian food when you’re 40 km from the Mexican border. All I want is a margarita and some green chile stew, but this may be the best Italian food you can find for many, many miles.
Go there. Enjoy the stunning view and brilliant food.

Beautiful view from the patio! Just wished they served food out there. They might normally but the night we were there they were apparently shorthanded.
The food was ok. We don’t normally eat Italian but we were with a large group that wanted to go. I had the pasta with shrimp and zucchini. It might have been better with a white sauce — not a fan of the red. The bread before dinner was excellent, as was the wine. I wouldn’t recommend the ports they had available for after dinner though. The bartender was kind enough to give us a sample first though.
The service was excellent and very friendly. If they group wants to go again, we would not be opposed. I would definitely like to try some other things on the menu.

Best Italian food I’ve had since I moved to Arizona 20 years ago!
Fresh baked bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar started us off. We shared an arugula salad topped with fresh grilled peaches. It was plenty big enough for two. I had their homemade pasta with meat sauce, and my dining companion had the fettuccine with sausage. A nice half carafe of wine complimented dinner!
The atmosphere is fun with a view of the Santa Rita mountains out the windows.
I can’t wait to go back and try some of their other specialties!

This restaurant deserves way more credit than it gets on Unilocal!
Its got character, class, and a little bit of eccentricity.
The décor is eclectic, with a touch of fancy here and there. Candles, pictures, various styles of paintings covering the walls, shelves with knick knacks, pottery, white holiday lights, flowers scattered, and so much more.
We went here on a Saturday night and it was kind of hectic, but we were served and catered to attentively. Also we had reservations which were helpful, because all four of us were sat right away.
The restaurant had a somewhat limited wine selection, but from what there was available, we decided to go with a carafe of the Merlot. I can’t remember the name, but it was the only Merlot they had at a week or so ago.
There are a lot of seafood dishes available, but unfortunately I can’t go there, so I opted for their vegetarian special: Eggplant Parmesan. I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve ever had, but it sure came close. Very Cheesy, very parmesan-​y.
Others at my table ordered the NY Skirt Steak Special, and the Seafood Linguine. Our table was quiet once the food came out. Heads nodding from satisfaction and thumbs up around the table for the chef’s creations. The food does take a little bit of time to make, because each dish is made as ordered. I’m happy waiting as long as what comes out is good; which is definitely the case here!
All of the desserts are homemade by the owner’s wife and I hear they change according to the seasons, whats available and pretty much what she feels like making, I suppose. :)
To sum it up, Melio’s is a quaint, little escape from the standard Green Valley restaurants. Its only a 15 minute drive away from town, and it is well worth the visit.

The absolute worst experience I’ve ever had in any restaurant in my life and I’ve been eating out for 35 years!
Not only was the food really bad, but when I pushed my soggy, greasy eggplant parmigiana aside and the owner’s wife asked what was wrong — she claimed people came from far and wide to have that dish and even people that didn’t like eggplant liked it. It was bland — it had very little red sauce — the cheese was rubbery and the parmigiana was clearly powdered and must have been ¼ inch thick over the top. I had to scrape most of it off as it was dry and horrible. Anyway — all I said was that it was greasy and I love eggplant and that I was very dissapointed. Also pointed out my husband’s bowtie pasta was not cooked in the center. She said she’d bring a menu… never did. When I called her back to remind her I needed a menu she said -«Oh we’re closed» (5 min after 9pm), but I can bring you something cold. I said no thanks. Her husband came out and asked me what was wrong with the food. I said — and I quote «I was just very dissapointed, it was greasy and Randy’s pasta was underdone — BUT — I DO want to come back because I want to try your pizza as a neighbor has said good things about it»… He said — and I quote «I don’t care if you come back or not». WOW. As I was leaving I gently (truth) said — «Do you not care about word of mouth here?» «I live in Tubac, you know». He said loudly «We Don’t Care». I’ve heard since on the net and in our community that this kind of treatment is very common. I truly don’t know how he stays in business. They have a very older following that comes down from Green Valley but the local Tubac community pretty much stays away. If you are one that likes Applebees, Chili’s, Fridays and chains such as that — you may think the food is «not bad». But if you truly love food — you will be dissapointed — and more importantly — if you value service — good service — you would be in the wrong place here.