Carrabba’s Italian Grill

I have noted before that there are few places open for lunch on Saturdays. Apparently few people realize that Carabas is.
I love their soups. Today I got sicilian chicken soup and salad and hubby got a pizza. Not anything to normally write home about, ít is always good. The server was what our who I wished to compliment. Brice was charming without being irritating, checked back and refilled tea just the right amount. I find when restaurants are not busy you can lose your server. Brice took time to take my house salad and make it special for me by using strawberries and pine nuts and vinaigrette from an other salad. Kudos to Brice. totally outstanding service.

Food was great! They accidentally shorted us on an order, but then the manager stepped up to the plate and went above and beyond to make it right. So yes for food and yes for service?

We frequent Carrabba’s later at night because they are one of very few that stay open later. The staff is okay, seems different every time. The food is good, but they seem to change the menu so often that my favorite disappears! Our one MAJOR gripe is that they are always out of tiramisu. This is an Italian restaurant, how could they run out of tiramisu? Hate to say it, but it effects the tip :(

Just had a few appetizers at 5:30 or so. Place was relatively empty.
Mushrooms were ice cold, Mozzarella bites were almost warm. Both appeared to be made off premise
Mozzarella Salad was at least cold.
Felt dirty being here, half price beers were still $ 3 for a Peroni
Avoid at all costs!

Haven’t gone to a Carrabbas in a long time. The service was very good and food was yummy, but it was pricer than expected.

Horrible service!!! The staff has been trained to not serve the hot bread twice!!! Upon asking for a second serving, you either get a long wait during which the Waiter will avoid coming back to your table!!! They are hoping you just give up!!! And if you are lucky, you get one after a long ass wait, with a rude service!
«Sorry, the bread is in the oven» is a typical response as they want to avoid giving you a second serving on the hot bread!!! Horrible place!

Food as always was good but the service has continued to decline. Over the last 6 months we have been here 4 times. Twice we had to ask who our server was because we sat there for at least 10 minutes with no one coming over to our table. When I asked they did not know so they had to ask the manager. There’s something really wrong with the organization of this place when servers don’t know their tables.
The other 2 times we got out entrée before we finished half of our salad. It’s like they just push the food out with no concept of how the customer would want it
We’ve been in many Carrabbas but this one is the worst regarding service

It was our go to place at least once a week. Last night the service and quality was awful. First dirty glasses and the assistant manager wanted to argue about the dishes. Good all over inside and outside of glasses. When replaced and said they checked them. The same thing. Needless to say no beverages were consumed. 20 minutes after being seated the waiter came to the table after we ask the hostess to get us a server. If you run specials on certain nights. Staff up… will not return. To many Options to eat in the area for better service. Sorry Carrabbas…

When we got the there was probably 7 groups of people to be seated and a bunch of empty tables. Looked like they have a staffing issue. Once seated… It was obvious there were understaffed. Service was slow. Twenty minutes for our bar order. Refills on water was very slow. Menu has had many menu changes. Many favorites gone. Portions are a lot smaller. Prices are higher. There are many local places where you can get local seafood and prices are comparible. Sorry Carrabas… You lost a customer that used to love you.

I’m usually very pleased with Carrabba’s, but I was disappointed tonight. We walked right in and were immediately seated. Our waiter came fairly quickly. When our drinks arrived, the sweet teas were all unsweet. We ordered appetizers and our waiter disappeared. He eventually came back for our order. Later, he came back to let us know our order had been lost. We reordered our entrees 45 minutes after we sat down. Our waiter then turned into the bartender and didn’t come back. We had a replacement waiter who also brought unsweetened tea. Food arrived after an hour and a half, slightly cold. I will definitely eat at Carrabba’s again, but not this one:

«Just like Mama used to make.»
No, in fact, this is nothing like Mama used to make. Merely mentioning our mothers in your pedestrian and half-​assed menu is something I register as a personal assault.
I have a bad taste in my mouth. Literally. I still taste manufactured garlic in my gums. Factory generated pseudo Garlic is ubiquitous at this establishment. I think I tasted some in my triple-​sec margarita (a drink in which the waiter asked if he could garnish with a sprinkle of tobacco sauce to make it spicy.). To be fair, what the hell was I doing ordering a spicy margarita at a chain Italian restaurant?
The chefs here have taken great liberty with the supposed-​generic recipes. Chef Garlique (as I’ll call him) went to the East Jersey culinary academy for improvised seafood and pasta creations orbiting around the all powerful and gravitational behemoth ingredient: garlic.
Does the Chef have a Vampire phobia? Is he trying to warn off evil spirits with this pungent and potent ingredient?
Perhaps, but whatever Chef Garlique is doing in the kitchen, it’s nothing like Mama used to make. So keep our mothers out of it.

I eat at Carabba’s quite often in other cities. I know that the experience we had at the one in Mt. Pleasant is not the norm. We went to Carabba’s based on our experience. It was very clear that the restaurant was not ready to open for guest. They only had two chef’s and the food service was extremely… slooooooooow! What would normally have been an hour meal turned into 2 hours. Totally unacceptable for soup, salad and entrée, especially what we ordered. Our waiter was a pleasant young man, very apologetic. And… it was freezing in the restaurant. WAKE… up or they are going to lose business, in today’s economic environment, you need to be on your toes to keep customers happy.

I can’t rate the food on this visit unfortunately. We went there (4 adults & 1 child) at 6:15pm. We were given a buzzer, waited at the bar told it would be 10 minutes, we waited FOR 90 MINUTES for a table. We checked with the staff a few times and we’re always told 10 minutes or that we were next. We left at 8:00pm. For what’s it is worth, I like the place. The bartender was great and tried to help…

Mediocrity has a name, and its name is Carabbas. The one located on every street in every state that a Carabbas is located on.
Like everyone, I have been to this chain numerous times, (let me insert here that not by choice 99.9% of the time.), and sadly have consistently been disappointed. Not just in the food, but the service as well. I always get the waiter whose MIA, and when they do come, they just pop up out of nowhere. I turn left after after looking for them for 10 minutes, and BAM they’re in my face on the right.
However you define authentic, its not here at Carabbas, but like other reviewers have mentioned, maybe sticking with the usual’s is your best bet. The ones listed on the far right of the menu in a single column. Veering of to the middle of the menu or the specials will leave you in danger of even pricier mediocrity. On the other hand, I find the usual’s to still be overpriced, so if going there, just get the half price sangria and fried zucchini and call it a day.

Not bad for a chain. Huge Space, very very busy with older clientele. Must be some sort of Special happening. Great Parking at this spot. Staff great, diner feel to the place. It was fine. I had 2 appetizers. Tomatoes Basil Soup & Mussels. The mussels appetizer was huge & more than enough for a main course.

You know it’s not authentic Italian but you can still get some great food there.
Stick with the recommendations and you will not be disappointed. spacious place so you will not be waiting for a table for long.
Great deal on the wine at happy hour so take advantage.

Love Carrabbas! Dine in — nice atmosphere. Take out service is great. Love the food, especially from the wood fired grill.

This is definitely one of the better chain restaurants: 3-​star worthy food and a 4^th for quality service. Our server, Tom, was very friendly and offered good menu advice. His recommendations for the shrimp diavolo, goat cheese bruschetta, and meatball flatbread made for a very nice series of appetizers.
We took advantage of the Wine Wednesday special on a bottle of Rodney Strong Cabernet and enjoyed sharing the dessert trio to finish the meal.

Unexpectedly good for a chain restaurant. I highly recommend the Mahi Wulf with mashed potatoes. Much better than average casual chain dining with excellent service. This location has been consistent. It is a little pricey and with all of the the options in Charleston, a reasonably priced menu for a cookie cutter restaurant would be in line with dining expectations for this city. However, if you want a decent meal that is not going to be a trial and error situation, Carrabbas has it.
If you are a vegetarian or only eat fish, do be on the look out. They use meat stock in some of the soups and sauces that you would not expect, such as the tomato basil soup.

Can an Italian born in Italy find good food at a chain restaurant? You bet. I was surprised at the quality of the food, great. Service was just like in any high-​end restaurant. The chicken marsala is fantastic, I should have ordered the large portion. Soup is out of this world. Price may be a little high than expected, but I think you won’t mind too much. I suggest that you try it. I think you will be surprised.
Frank G

First time in a Carrabba’s in years. For a chain the food was decent, but the portions were small and lacked the «authentic» flare that used to separate Carrabba’s from other Italian places.
The bread was generic and dull. The Caesar and house salads were better than boxed, but not by much. My friend ordered spaghetti and meatballs and asked for garlic bread. He was informed that the item didn’t exist at Carrabba’s. An ITIALIAN place with no GARLIC BREAD on the menu! I got the current special, which was a hunk of lasagna and chicken parmesan. The flavors were good, but nothing to write home about.
Service and atmosphere was good. Solid 3 star performance.