IL Calabrese Ristorante and Bar

My fiancé and I really enjoyed this place. It was our first time and our server was excellent. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and the products featured in the dishes we ordered. Good food and you learn a little too! The crab cakes were SO good. I can’t wait to come back!

Two stars, so very disappointing. The waitress was quite good, I wish the food matched. We shared a foccaia flat bread for an appetizer. I had the sea bass, my husband had salmon, and my teenagers had pasta dishes for the main course. By far the most flavorful was the foccaia. My sea bass was somewhat watery, indicating a previously frozen, not fresh fish. My husband said salmon was similar and quite a small piece. I nibbled on my kids pasta, and was shocked at the lack of flavor, the sauce was suppose to be pork and beef in a marinara. We usually get dessert, but passed because we were so underwhelmed with the entrees. The ambience, aside from the peeling wallpaper was nice. Perhaps had we been paying Olive Garden prices my review would have been 4 stars.

This place is wonderful. Having lived in Italy, this place is as authentic as you can get. Their appetizer board «tentazione dell’osteria» with assorted meats is spectacular; took me right back to aperitivo in Florence. Their wine selection is exceptional and the recommended pairings spot on. Entrees were all spectacular, try the taglierini pepati or branzino con spinaci. For dessert, tiramisu al limoncello and of course tasted exactly like Sorrento. Spectacular place, I recommend to every Italian cuisine enthusiast.

Service is first rate! Manager stopped by the table to make sure all was good. Food is fresh and served hot! Highly recommend this place.

Eh… sorry…hate giving bad reviews. but it just wasn’t that good. The food that we saw on Unilocal is no longer on the menu. Completely new and much more expensive menu. FYI the veal osobucco was $ 50, sorry but are you kidding me? Kenny’s Italian in Addison is half that, but I digress. The pizza I had tasted like it was frozen and my husband’s pasta was so greasy it was ridiculous. Sweet personnel though, and great bartenders. It’s a drinks and apps place for us until the menu gets less expensive as it’s just not worth the cost. And last, but not least, I mentioned to the host and the waiter it was my husband’s birthday… no mention of dessert or anything. Very disappointed.

Found this little jewel on the way back home from DFW airport. Easy to spot going west on 114 but harder coming east as it sit on a diagonal. Beautiful restaurant with an excellent staff. My wife and I had the Caesar salad and split a pizza which was just enough food for us. The crust is one I would classify as thin and crispy which is my favorite. As we were leaving a trio started up in the bar so they have live music but I don’t know the schedule. I have no reservations recommending this restaurant and hope to be back in the area soon to try their other items.

Met friends here last night for dinner and drinks. Appetizers and drinks were amazing. The story doesn’t hold true for our main course. I had halibut (the special) and my wife had salmon. My halibut was overcooked and dry dry dry — as was my wife’s. It was also bland with little to no seasoning. I had higher expectations for a meal that cost $ 150 for two people. We’re by no means food snobs, we just want good food. Maybe we just selected the wrong dish but we were disappointed.

We went on St. Patrick’s Day, Thursday at 8:30. We were seated promptly.
They set us up in the back next the brick oven where they fire the pizzas which was cool to watch. They also have live music Wednesday’s and Thursday’s so we got to enjoy that as well.
We didn’t get the best impression of our waiter though, first when we ordered drinks my Mom asked «What type of iced teas do you have» and he pretty much just walked away from her. He brought her an iced tea so I guess he just heard «iced tea». After that he asked about appetizers and didn’t even give us a chance to answer before he walked away again to another table. I don’t know why he was in such a hurry, the place wasn’t crowded. Or maybe we didn’t look like «high quality» customers because we brought our kid and were t dressed fancy?
Whatever the case, the manager stopped by and specifically asked how our waiter was doing. We told her he seemed to be in a hurry and she apologized and asked how our food was.
Food was great! No free bread, so we ordered Bruschetta as an app. 3 hearty pieces of bread piled with delicious tomato topping. Super good. My mom ordered an asparagus pasta, my husband chicken Parmesan and I some sort of black pepper pasta with shrimp. I enjoyed mine and seemed my table mates did as well since we all cleaned out plates. Dessert was Almond Pear cake with salted caramel ice cream. It did seem to take quite a while to make though.
I think the prices were pretty fair, $ 18 for my shrimp pasta seems about the same price for a shrimp pasta at Olive Garden… and I believe this pasta is handmade in the restaurant… portions weren’t huge but not small either. Just right.

Just celebrated our anniversary dinner here and truly enjoyed every moment. From the moment we parked, the valet parking attendant graciously opened the door and welcomed us in. The hostess was friendly and quickly sat us (we had a 6:30 reservation). Our waiter was prompt, friendly, informative and made excellent recommendations. The ambiance was modern, vibe was cool, and live music was really great. The girl was like a mix of Amy Winehouse funk with Colbie Caillet & Corinne Bailey Rae. The musician was equally talented. Dim enough to feel like a date night, but light enough to enjoy great conversation and still be hip and casual.
I had the bistecca (steak) and my husband enjoyed the pork shank (both recommended by the waiter). We shared the crab cakes as an appetizer and the double flourless cake as dessert. Met my gluten free accomodations, said to have no soy, and just a bit of dairy (I went for it since I’m good all year long:). Everything delicious. Happy to say we will be returning in the near future. Local great experience!

Stop by and had lunch here not too long ago and everything was amazing. The service was amazing as well. We were immediately greeted and welcomed. The décor was modern and very beautiful. The ambiance was pleasant. I had the chicken lasagna and the Gouda cheese sauce was amazing! The chef came out and spoke briefly to our table and he seemed very passionate about his dishes. This would be such a great place to just have a few cocktails and have a date night!

The décor and environment is 5 star.
The food is 4 star. My sea bass was fantastic. But a few people in our party were not quite satisfied with their entres. I wish I could remember what they ordered.
We had the private room which I thought would mean that we would get better service, but the service was slow and disorganized with some people having food and others not. (We were a party of 12).
I want to give 5 stars, but the food needs a tweak and they need to hire some more experienced high scale servers.

We drove by this restaurant one evening the day before we decided to stop by. Immediately I was intrigued: the staircase is visible to outsiders as it is encased in glass. Very beautiful.
The next day, we visited for lunch on Valentine’s day weekend. Being so, I thought they would be slammed but it was actually a good flow– just right. We were seated quickly.
The menu reflects something of a restaurant just getting on their feet (or maybe under new management) somewhat scattered, not quite 4 or 5 star. Regardless, they had a few impressive options.
Husband went with a pasta dish featuring shrimp and I had the salad with seared steak. We both loved our entrees and portion sizes were great. Also, the prices definitely fit the quality.
I would suggest this place for a nice lunch or dinner without breaking the bank. Great date night as the aesthetic is gorgeous: modern, sleek, clean.

A most tastefully fashionable décor enhances the dining experience at this Italian restaurant located in upscale Southlake. The attentive and friendly wait staff also made the good food even better. The dishes that we had were: Amatriciana — pasta sauce based on guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino cheese, and tomato, Massimo sandwich served with the best waffle fries, and Petto Di Pollo– chicken breast dish. All dishes were good as were the complimentary cup of espresso and an extra serving of their extraordinary waffle fries to go.

We celebrated a family member’s birthday here and overall had a great experience.
Restaurant is lovely with a beautiful staircase upon entrance. We had the private room for our large party on a Sunday, so I can’t say much about the noise.
Drinks: Great wine list. You can’t eat fine Italian food without a fine Italian wine. Chianti Riserva was wonderful.
Food: Oh my, it was delicious. Our large party started with the focaccia calabrese, calamari fritti, and crispy goat cheese as appetizers. The foccaccia was pretty much a flatbread pizza. Calamari was crispy with good seasoning, and the goat cheese comes in 2 breaded balls with greens and sundried tomatoes (wouldn’t recommend getting it if want to sample with a large party).
Entrée: We had the option of a caprese, Caesar, or house salad if you order one of the main courses. The pesto that came with the caprese salad helped to enhance the somewhat bland mozzarella. I ordered the branzino con spinach e grantee. Fish was cooked perfectly and the capers sauce was a great addition. My sister’s lasagna di pollo e funghi was very heavy and very delicious. Mom enjoyed her crispy eggplant parmigiana. in my opinion, the winner was my cousin’s Cernia in Crosta di Agrumi. Lightly breaded, perfectly cooked sea bass topped with a delectable orange sauce with the best possible way to eat cauliflower. mashed potato style.
Dessert: Tiramisu was fluffy and not overly sweet. Had to order espresso to finish an Italian meal! We ordered the medaglia d’oro for 3 people like the menu suggested, but we counted 7 espresso shots total in the pot that they left us.
Staff was very attentive, knowledgable, and kind.

What a great, great surprise! For the first time in years, the ENTIRE family loved their meal. This place is a hidden gem!
Try the incredible crust on the focaccia appetizer or the pizza, you won’t be sorry. And for dessert, don’t miss the banana cheesecake in deep-​fried crepes… AMAZING!
We’ll definitely be back to support this place, and they can use the support. We’re here on a Saturday night at prime time and it’s only about half full right now (6:40pm). Don’t let that keep you away though, you’ll definitely enjoy this place.
No complaints whatsoever, from the service, to the meal, to the wine, and dessert, it was all top-​notch!

Best egg plant Parmesan in dfw metroplex. One of the best fine dining Italian restaurant. Service rating in my opinion is 4.0 but food quality excellent.

The location, atmosphere, aesthetics were lovely and I just knew we’d have a lovely experience. A few things, unfortunately, did not live up to expectations. First, the $ 12 dollar signature cocktail, the Moscow Mule was not chilled, little ice, and no limes but rather lemons.
The appetizers and salads were fine and thank goodness, as we simply ordered calamari, bruschetta and a Caesar salad.
The entrees, however, were unacceptable. I ordered the Orecchiette Alla Calabrese, which was plated nicely (I’ll give them that) but the amount of salt used masked any flavor a that were intended for the dish as described in the menu. The chefs really need to inspect these plates as they leave the kitchen.
The chicken parm my brother ordered, same thing… just too salty. Tonight, this place did not hit the mark.

This had to be one of the better Italian restaurants in DFW. we had the calamari, fried goat cheese, squid ink pasta, and pork osso buco.
The calamari was tender and crispy. The marinara sauce was good but a little too chunky.
The fried goat cheese had a crispy exterior and oozes with rich creamy cheese when cut. The accompanying salad was good but a tad heavy on the balsamic.
The pork osso buco had a delicious polenta side. The pork was well cooked and the sauce was fantastic. They should give a straw or a small spoon to get the marrow.
The squid ink pasta was my favorite. The lobster in it was perfectly cooked. The pasta was lightly seasoned allowing the squid ink to shine.
The desserts were great. We had tiramisu and lemoncello. Both were perfect but the lemoncello was my favorite.
Definitely will RTE.

This place is so much better under new management. While the dish names have not changed much, the recipes have and they are loads better. Pricey!!!

Officially one of my favorite Italian restaurants. Me and my cousin have always wanted to try this place. Every night we pass by and see the grand staircase from Hwy 114. The inside is beautiful and very elegant.
The food: we started off with some drinks. My cousin had the Moscow mule and I had the gin and tonic. We liked both our drinks. My gin and tonic had a hint of lavender which had an amazing after taste.
For appetizer we had the minestrone soup, and they brought out some bread or sour dough with olive oil and what looked like red and green pesto? Both good.
I ordered the lasagna (I think they have 2). It had spinach, mushroom, and chicken and a smoked cheese sauce. It was so delicious, I finished it all. I don’t usually finish an entrée by myself either. I even dipped the bread in the cheese sauce:-)
My cousin had the canelloni di pollo. It was fantastic as well. The pasta was stuffed with some sort of sausage and came with a nice Alfredo sauce. Also dipped the bread in the sauce:-)
For dessert we had a pear almond cake with the sea salt caramel ice cream. The ice cream was really good. Cousin liked the cake better.
Service and ambience were really nice. No complaints. The restrooms were clean and nice too. Will come back for sure.

When I arrived, I was concerned that the restaurant wasn’t ready for the dinner crowd; although there were a few other tables with customers. Once I was seated, I was informed the meeting my waiter was attending was almost over. The 10-​minute wait did not seem that long because another waiter promptly took my wine order and provided bread for the table.
Once my waiter arrived at my table, everything went smoothly afterwards. As I was about to order the lamb, I noticed the words «black pepper» in the description of the Taglierini Pepati Con Gamberi. I’m glad that I ended up ordering the pasta. Not only was the entrée full of flavor, I still had room for dessert.
When choosing a dessert at an Italian restaurant, I usually pick tiramisu. When it comes to tiramisu, I’ve had the good, the bad, the ugly. What I never had was lemon-​flavored tiramisu. So, I would classify Tiramisu al Limoncello as beyond good.