Carrabba’s Italian Grill

1^st visit. Service was wonderful. Meal was cooked perfectly and very tasty. Peach sangria was very refreshing. Will definitely be back!

I struggled with giving Carrabba’s one or two stars. But as I wrote the review, I realized that the food was so bad it had to be one star. To be fair, it would never be my idea to eat here. However, my boyfriend loves their sirloin marsala so I went.
Pretty much everything on the menu is for meat-​eaters. I had extremely limited vegetarian options. I went with the soup and salad combo. I had a cup of minestrone with a caesar. Portion wise, it was fine. Taste was, it was one of the worst things I had in awhile.
The soup had zero flavor. It was like eating vegetables in water. I added some salt and pepper (ok — a lot of salt and pepper) and that made it slightly more edible. The salad was ok but it wasn’t anything special. I’m guessing they just dumped lettuce out a bag and made a salad. I think it’s fair to question how fresh anything is at this place.
Boyfriend was very happy with his sirloin and his marsala sauce. However, he also had a side of fettuccine alfredo. I have never seen a sadder pile of noodles than this. I apologize for not thinking to take a picture. The presentation of the meal just looked like no one gave any thought to it and literally slopped noodles onto the plate. I tried them first. They tasted like something I would eat in a Lean Cuisine. However, Lean Cuisine would be better because you would get more sauce. We both agreed that the noodles were overcooked and under-​sauced (pretty much no sauce).
Service was fine. Food came out in a timely manner. Quality of food is borderline disgusting. If the boyfriend wants to return for more sirloin marsala, I will go with him. I’ll just make sure I eat before I leave the house.

I’ve always had somewhat mediocre feelings about Carrabba’s — it’s a reliable chain and that’s all I can really say about it. We went last night for a friend’s birthday party with a group of 23, for whom I had made a reservation early in the week. The staff was overwhelmed by the large party and service was just OK — not good, but not horrible. The worst part was I had purchased a cake from my favorite baker and dropped it off at Carrabba’s at 6:30 for our 9:00 reservation. When the cake was served it had clearly been dropped — it was broken and un-​even and just not acceptable. Further, they broke the plastic cake dish the cake was brought in and just shoved the pieces inside, without ever mentioning that the cake had been dropped. While the birthday experience was bad, I called this morning and spoke with the owner/​general manager, who really went out of his way to make everything right. Of course, we can’t redo the birthday party, but Jason really did all he could do amend the issues from last night, which is all I can ask for. I’ll certainly be back in the future, though if you have a birthday party I DO NOT advise you leave the cake or let them take it to the back. I’ve left cakes at many restaurants prior to this with no issue, so this was my first experience with the staff ruining the birthday cake. Above all, I was most upset that they had very clearly dropped the cake and never said anything that night. Like I said, Jason, the manager, handled the situation exceptionally well and for that reason I will happily return.

I placed a curbside order for Fettuccine Carrabba & substituted the fettuccine pasta for wheat noodles. However, my order was missing mushrooms and a good portion of sauce. I called the establishment and was asked if i was in the area to bring the meal back. I kindly told the gentleman that I was nowhere near the restaurant. He took down my name & address and stated I should receive something to go towards my next order. Not sure what that means either way $ 16.76 not well spent for mostly dry noodles, chicken & peas with a splash of sauce. I have used their curbside service many times and have always been more than satisfied. Also, I have eaten at this establishment and have always been satisfied with the presentation and quality of the dishes. So, now I will wait to see what Carrabba’s will mail me.

Waited over 10 mins just for the server to come and say he would be back in a few mins to get our drink orders. Needless to say we walked out. It was a Thursday night and not busy. Won’t be back!

Usually very good service. Tonight we had to wait twice as long as surrounding tables. Glasses we never refilled. Had to go to hostess station to request more water as well as the bill. My wife had to send he meal back because it was actually cold. The response was swift, but we all had to wait to eat.

Love Carrabas drove 30 minutes out of the way to eat here and apparently it’s not open yet???

Last night (Saturday) around 9pm, my date and I waited 10 minutes until someone greeted us at our table (our server took another 10 minutes to come over). We ordered immediately and were promised bread but it never came. The caprese appetizer was so-​so (mozzarella was just mush and watery). Then we were told by the waiter (his first time greeting us) that the bread was warming in the oven and it would be another 7 minutes but because we had waited so long he would wrap some up for us to take home. Our food came. My salad was drenched in dressing and did not come with any nuts on top (like it said it would on the menu). Bread still wasn’t here and I was finishing my nasty salad. Waiter told us they were, in fact, out of bread. Then he found a slightly stale one in the back and brought it as our plates were cleared, still promising to wrap us up one for when we leave. He disappeared for 5 minutes and then brought the check. We payed with a gift card and told him to use what was left as the tip (25% tip!!). We never saw him again and never got the promised bread to-​go. Waiter was incompetent and I left hungry (hangry). Really put a damper on our date.

Let me start off by saying I have worked in the restaurant industry for 2 years, (including being a Host at Carrabba’s.)
As a server it is your job to be personable, polite, and knowledgeable of the menu, and effectively communicate with your table. I read our server’s facial expression the moment he greeted the table it was disappointed and already annoyed that we were a group of young adults.
So we went to Carrabba’s to celebrate my girlfriends 20^th birthday. I spent 80 $ there, and for being 20 years old myself, that is a lot of money. I would like to be treated somewhat decent when I go and spend my hard earned money at an establishment, but I was treated with nothing but disdain.
My girlfriend had left cupcakes that her friend baked her in a tupperware container on a ledge by the host stand. Leaving something behind is a restaurant is something most people have experienced from time to time. When I went back to retrieve them an hour and a half later someone had thrown them away already (or eaten them.) I’m not sure if they would just throw it away if it was a jacket, or a wedding ring, or sun glasses, or just steal them. But when I walked up to the door at 10 p.m. (right as they were closing) the manager came up to the door and I also read his expression and it read, I quote «What the fuck are you doing here» not a very friendly look in his eyes at all. I had explained to him what had happened and pointed DIRECTLY to where I KNOW the cupcakes were left on the ledge by the host stand. All he offered me was «sorry.» and that is when I knew I had completely had it with this place. He didn’t care, the person that threw them away didn’t care. The server was annoyed and wanted us gone since we first walked in.
I have many times, chased after tables that have walked out of my restaurant and brought them their food they left in a to-​go box, why? Simply because I care, and I know how I would feel if I left something somewhere. Well Carrabba’s, I will never be coming back to this place again. It’s unfortunate because the food was very good and I enjoyed it very much. But the lack of empathy and the complete lack of concern for our experience to be enjoyable was extremely disappointing and I will never be going back here again.

The Chicken Parmesan Ciabatta I received should have been in a Where’s the meat commercial.

Went here over a month ago and the food was average. I thought the pasta would be great but it wasn’t what I expected. Service was good and the place was nice and clean wish the food was better.

We had dinner there recently and I was disappointed. Their menu is much smaller than before. I asked for a «portofino» pour of wine (should be close to a glass and a half) which was $ 11 and I got a slightly larger pour than a regular glass… definitely not worth $ 11. I ordered the Tagliarini with asparagus and chicken. It was a giant heap of tagliarini and there were NO asparagus spears, maybe half a dozen little chunks of the stem. The chicken was bland and very difficult to chew. I think it was frozen chicken, not fresh. Our server was kind enough to remove it from our bill but I was disappointed the manager did not come over to at least apologize for my disappointing meal.

I absolutely love Carraba’s, but this particular Carraba’s is just not up to standard. My mom and I went for dinner last night around 7 and it was pretty busy, but also prom night. Our waitresses was nice and held good conversation, but the staff that brought out the food were very dull, borderline rude.
We ordered main dishes, along with salads as the starter. They brought out the bread, but this Carraba’s doesn’t put olive oil on the tables, so we ran out of olive oil for the bread. About 10 minutes later, here come our entrees, not salads. We got through almost half of our entrée before the salad finally came out, but only brought one salad, not both and the waiter acted like he was inconvenienced to have to go back for another salad.
It turned out to be ok, and the food is always wonderful, but I will make the drive to Apex from now on. Much better customer service in Apex.

For a chain restaurant Carrabba’s has a great menu. I have eaten at this restaurant several times on several occasions. They always have a decent draft beer selection great bottles and wine menu. The food is always first rate and I have never had anything but a great meal there. I always have the sirloin Marsala but there are several great dishes to choose from. You really can’t go wrong.

This place is always consistent! You can count on good food and great service.
The last time I was there, I was greeted by a very friendly hostess, and was extremely please with the waiters attentiveness. I got a house salad, and the creamy parmesan dressing was surprisingly good! The manager even stopped by to check on us and was very friendly.

Great service especially for a packed Friday night. Best sangria I have ever had. Highly recommend!

Service was fine overall, except both the waiter and manager had issues understanding my food allergy (soy). Initially the waiter thought I could eat absolutely anything on the menu, but after some investigation and talking with the manager, there were actually pretty limited options. It is always disconcerting when someone assures you something is allergy-​free and then it turns out that person was completely misinformed. I wanted a side salad but there were no soy-​free dressings, which is fairly normal for premade dressings. However, being an Italian restaurant, I figured they’d have olive oil and vinegar I could use, but no olive oil on the whole place! The only oil they had was vegetable (soy) oil. Others in my party (7 other people) said their dishes were fine but nothing special.

«Upscale Olive Garden»
I couldn’t help but think that quote above the entire time we ate here, and I do not mean it as an insult (I really like Olive Garden).
Getting there:
We used the «call ahead seating» option, and that got us a table pretty quick even on a Friday night.
Setting:
A bit dark, and multiple TVs playing near the bar, albeit quietly. Noise level was moderate– certainly didn’t inhibit anything. Everything was clean.
Service:
Very friendly– no complaints there at all. Wait staff were attentive and checked on us regularly, and the manager also came by once.
Food:
–1 for the bread we got in the beginning. Small loaf (that’s OK, especially since they got us more), but I was unhappy with the ¼ tsp of olive oil put in a saucer with some herbs. It took me literally 2 slices of the tiniest parts of the bread to completely eliminate that. They brought us more olive oil when I asked, but without the herbs.
However, the main dishes were great. I got the combination platter of chicken parmigiana and beef lasagna. Delicious and decent portions– I literally did not finish my food, and I’m a big eater. I had a salad beforehand and a side of broccoli– the portion of broccoli was huge. The chicken and lasagna were smaller but still good sized. Quality was very high.
Brownie points for them having a kids’ menu.
Price:
High. Definitely well more than one would pay at Olive Garden or most equivalent Italian chain restaurants (e.g., Macaroni Grill). Probably a small step above in quality, but I did miss the bottomless breadsticks and salad.
Synopsis:
Very good but pricey for chain Italian. A-​OK overall, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a big fan now.

Met our standard for a Carabbas. Food was good. Really just one nit — too much salad dressing — we were previously aware of the possibility and had asked for it on the side, but it was mixed in. Otherwise server was good.

Just had takeout for lunch and it was awesome! The food was delicious and the order was correct! I will definitely eat here again.

We’ve been here many times, sometimes with variable service. Today was a better day. Came with party of 7, including 2 kids. Our server MONTRELL was great – very attentive without being obtrusive and did not disappear for long periods of time, like some have in the past. Chicken bryan and Pollo rosa maria, which are two of their unique dishes, good as expected. Shrimp and scallop linguine was apparently also good. Parmesan chicken and another shrimp dish also rated as good.
Pros: Good service, comfortable atmosphere, some good dishes. Cost $ 140 for 7 people including dessert.
Cons: Dessert was not good (brownie with mousse and cream; they had not made the «dessert rosa» yet and it was 1:30 pm). Need to work on kids’ menu– the mac n cheese equivalent had a strange taste to sauce and broccoli was tasteless.
Overall would eat there again.

This Carrabba’s has always been a safe choice. Good service and good food.

Something changed at Carrabba’s. Eaten many times in the past, but this was our first time in over 6 months. Our dinner was terrible. The calamari was cool and tasteless. The veal parmesan was tough, unsavory. Even the presentation was unappealing. Long gaps too between visits by our server. The prices I thought were higher, our dinner for two, couple of drinks and tip, was almost $ 100.
Thinking the management might have changed, I asked about Michael, and got a response of «who»?
I won’t risk another $ 100 by going back. So sad the place has fallen so fast.

The food, as always, was really good. Big points for adjusting the marinara for my girlfriend who is a vegetarian. The Mahi I had was excellent also. There’s a reason Carraba’s is always voted as the best chain in the US.
Here is why I gave them 5 stars though –something I rarely do. We ordered take out and headed back home. After eating dinner I noticed a voicemail on my phone. It was the hostess at Carraba’s informing me my wallet had been found in the parking lot and they had it. At this time I had no idea it was missing. She considerately looked for a contact number in my wallet. Thank God I had a dry cleaning receipt in there with my phone number on it! Twice they went the extra mile in one night.

This was an excellent choice after a day of work! Kevin killed it!!!
I had the calamari and it was absolutely perfect.
–Jamie

I had the misfortune of going to Carraba’s last Friday night. I use the term misfortune because it was an utter disaster all the way around. The first thing that we noticed was that there was a wait as soon as we walked in despite several tables being open and cleaned (with rolled silverware and everything). The host staff was so completely inept and unorganized that they had to have the manager come from the kitchen in his plastic apron to help sort things out. The bar area was mostly empty and they refused to sit us there even though we offered and they gave us no explaination as to why we couldn’t sit there. They were completely slammed and had absolutely no idea what to do.
Then once we were sat at out table is when the night really went south. We waited 20 minures before we were greeted by our waiter. He claimed he had just been informed that he was given our table despite having most of his tables «outside». In fairness our waiter was the best part of the meal. He is the sole reason I have marked them a two star review. He got our orders right (there were 5 of us) and kept drinks filled. He was however, sweating perfusly because the air conditioning was «on the fritz» as he put it.
At one point we smelled burnt plastic coming from the kitchen and we weren’t that close to the kitchen. Our food arrived 50 minutes after we ordered it. By the time we got our food we were so ladened down with the 6 baskets of free bread that our waiter brought us we took most of it home in doggie bags. Carraba’s is to Italian food what Taco Bell is to Mexican food. Always has been, and apparently always will be. The night cost over $ 100 and it was so not worth it.

I went here because I was given a gift card, but unsure what my table of vegans could eat. Our waiter was incredibly helpful finding out what was vegan (the manager also stopped by to make sure our food was okay), and we had a great salad and pizza. I hope Carrabas (on a national level– where these decisions are made) decides to label their menu with what’s vegan and have more veg options, but I came away with a great experience because of the hospitality at this location.
I do wish they would abolish tipping though, just read this paragraph:
Studies have shown that tipping is not an effective incentive for performance in servers. It also creates an environment in which people of color, young people, old people, women, and foreigners tend to get worse service than white males. In a tip-​based system, nonwhite servers make less than their white peers for equal work. Consider also the power imbalance between tippers, who are typically male, and servers, 70 percent of whom are female, and consider that the restaurant industry generates five times the average number of sexual harassment claims per worker. And that in many instances employers have allegedly misused tip credits, which let owners pay servers less than minimum wage if tipping makes up the difference.
Citations for those claims can be found here: