Carrabba’s Italian Grill

One waiter here is excellent – his name is Bill, I believe. He always makes sure you’re taken care of and goes above and beyond. Unfortunately, our last experience with a different person was not so good. Didn’t offer refills on bread, only did refills on drinks once, and the food came out relatively lukewarm. Didn’t thank us for coming in (petty, I know, but we still would like to think they are thankful for us visiting their store) and made us hand the bill to them. While I will be back to carrabbas, this experience was definitely sub par.

I was in town for a birthday celebration for one of my mentors. When I heard they chose to have her birthday dinner at Carrabba’s, I was less than excited. The menu had recently undergone a renovation and many of my favorites have been removed along with the prices having been increased. I was a trooper anyway and just went with the flow.
I am pleased to say that after dining at the restaurant, I was not disappointed with the choice. When we arrived, even though it was a little early, the table we reserved had already been set and ready for us. We had a party 8 and our server managed our orders, delivery and payment like a pro. He was very pleasant and took care of the needs of everyone at the table with a smile on his face at all times. He did not make us seem like we were a bother and he accommodated the requests of all of the guests in an expeditious manner.
Mostly everyone at the table ordered something different but everyone enjoyed their meals. Among the favorites at the table were the Chicken Bryan, the Cavatappi Franco, the Salmon Cetriolini and the Mahi Wulfe. I ordered the Mahi Wulfe with mashed potatoes and a side of spinach instead of the salad or soup. This was a perfect choice for me because I didn’t exactly want pasta and wanted to try something new. The fish is grilled and topped with sun dried tomatoes and artichokes in a lemon butter sauce. The topping is a great compliment to the firm white fish and adds a great flavor to the dish. This dish is definitely something I would order again.
Since we were celebrating a birthday, our guest of honor received a complimentary duo of cannolis as a gift from the restaurant. I did not taste them but everyone who did said they were delicious. Instead I had the Brulee Ricotta Cheesecake which was light and delicious. It wasn’t too sweet but a perfect bite to end the meal and satisfy my sweet tooth.
Ultimately for all the reasons I mentioned, Carrabbas ended up being a great pick for our group dinner. We were not rushed and felt well taken care of by Christian during our visit. Although, I wish some of my old favorites were still on the menu but some of the new items are actually pretty delicious.

We didn’t know they had started doing lunch, so we lucked into our visit on a Saturday. Sat at the pizza bar by their wood fired oven. I really enjoyed watching the creative talent constructing dishes.
I opted for a lunch special; bowl of soup, house salad and a small plate. I chose the sausage lentil soup, house dressing (creamy Italian, and a small plate of prosciutto wrapped Asparagus with a balsamic drizzle. The soup had a nice heat, not for kids or sensitive palates. My companion ordered a lunch portion lasagna and a side of tomato and cucumber salad. Every single dish was fresh, flavorful and hearty. We also had the house red wine which was a medium bodied dry wine that pared very well with the food. A very good choice with a nice price point of $ 6.75 per glass.
Our server was friendly, helpful and professional. Though we had a full view of their open prep and pizza area, dishes were prepared and sent out with a decorum and professionalism often missing between front and back of the house. The pizza chef was very engaging and once I asked him, readily offered some great prep tips. His pride in his employment was evident as he relayed how he worked for the company for years and helped suggest and test menus and product improvements.
This working formula is why Carabba’s is a success in the casual dining market. Definitely what I like to see in a corporate restaurant. I left satisfied and making plans to return.

Went there last night with my friend. Service was ok and waiter kept checking on us. Food was kinda terrible. Salad came with no dressing and the portion was tiny, when I asked for dressing it was basically all oil, very bland and tasteless. The bread was good. I ordered pasta Ana Marsala veal which were definitely someone else’s left overs and reheated coz they were very moist and sloppy. I didn’t complain but didn’t eat it either coz I was in no mood to complain. I just took it to go and will prolly throw it away tomorrow. But I’m definitely not going back again.

Five stars in class. (Corporate, Casual Dining, Italian). I’ve renounced my former ways of withholding four and five stars to the local/​independent business only. While I personally prefer the local/​independent experience, there’s no reason not to commend an establishment (regardless of its economies of scale) for a job well done.
Carraba’s works with a proven business model. Never a disappointment, and the menu has what you’d expect. For lunch, you can get in and out swiftly and on budget. There are some rather imaginative items on the menu (e.g., Chianti Chicken, Cioppino, etc.) as well as a solid list of the usual suspects (Chicken/​Veal Marsala, Pizzas, Pastas, etc.).
My experience with Carraba’s across the country is that there seems to be a good F&B management cadre that promotes a good customer experience.
This Carrabba’s (over the years, I’ve been here a couple dozen times) has consistently presented courteous and professional wait-​staff, and I’ve not once been dissatisfied with the kitchen’s output.
Folks like Carrabba’s because it’s good — and dependable — and not everyone is the adventurer day-​in and day-​out.

Carrabba’s had been a go to place for our family and the quality was always 4 stars good. They have steadily gone downhill the last few visits. Three of us came in for lunch today and the place was not busy. The hostess greeted us and continued to talk to someone else. They sat us in the bar area without asking our preference of a booth or table. My preference would have been a table in the room with the kitchen.
They have a special for lunch that includes soup and salad and a small plate. Good deal for 10 bucks. I was expecting the soup first but the whole meal came out together. My soup was not hot. Hubby got the Carrarbba carbonara that did not have bacon but chicken and peas. It wasn’t «fall in love, worth the carbs» good.
For the restaurant not to be that busy, I wanted better service. I probably would have gotten better service on the other side of the restaurant. (Yeah, I’m still pouting!)
Dinner time, the serving sizes have gone down and the quality just isn’t what I have grown used to. The Chicken Rosa Maria was my all time favorite. Even the flavor of this has changed — along with the quantity– and not for the best.
I am striking this location off my «go to» list even though I’ll visit them in other cities if no local options are available.

We’ve been a regular of this restaurant, which is near our home, but, sadly, never again. We’ve noted that the quality has been going down hill (in our last experience there were no croutons on the Caesar Salad, but the entrees work as expected).
Well, on our latest trip, my wife ordered a side of angel hair and ended up with spaghetti.
But my Tuscan Sirloin Steak was truly deplorable. It was so tough that it was hardly edible. I didn’t mind so much that I ordered it medium rare and it came rare, but it was the worst steak, in my 71 years that I have ever tried to consume.
Afterwards, my wife responded to my disappointment: «Well, you shouldn’t order a steak in an Italian restaurant.» But I’ve had this item before, and it met expectations.
This experience was a major disappointment, and I’m afraid we’ll never return.
(The server was friendly, but on a Wednesday 10 days before Christmas, this Carrabba’s was unable to handle the crowd. I understand that, so my rating relates to the food rather than the service.)

What a welcome experience. First it was a super busy and crowded Saturday night, but you wouldn’t been able to tell. Every aspect of the dinning experience ran super smooth. I had the prosciutto wrapped shrimp which was amazing. The service was on point. Thanks for a great dinning experience!

Great Italian but it’s a little busy on football weekends. Worth the wait but I’m hungry!!!
At this rate I should have gone in. The carside service is very slow to say the least. My older was supposed to be ready 20-​minutes ago and counting.

Dined tonight with friend and we were seated quickly and service was excellent. I had the filet with grilled asparagus and she had the Mahi Wulfe and both were excellent. For an appetizer we had bruschetta caprese and again, it was excellent. This was the best meal I have had Carrabbas and the new interior looks great. Keep up the good work! I definitely will be back soon!

If you like Carrabba’s, then this location is probably just fine. It’s clean, the servers are friendly, and I’m sure it’s usually busy and that people leave with full bellies. However, I feel that the menu items are overpriced and do not correspond to the quality of the food. I ordered the chicken masala with garlic mashed potatoes. The chicken tasted rubbery, like cafeteria quality, and the potatoes were flavorless. We were also served bread before the meal — always a nice touch — with some oil for dipping. However, the dipping oil was just plain olive oil (used for cooking), not the extra virgin olive oil that should be used for dipping because it has more flavor. I probably wouldn’t come back here unless it’s a group situation again (like this previous time), just because it’s overpriced and has that mass-​produced feel to it.

Wow, Carrabba’s sure has changed a lot. Carrabba’s used to be one of my favorite restaurants. I took a hiatus from eating so much at Carrabba’s and recently visited, but the quality of food really has gone down. A lot of the items were taken off of the menu. I am giving it 3 stars though because the waiter I had was really helpful. Service is just as great as I remember, but it’s the quality and selection of food that makes me give them 3 stars.

We used to love Carraba’s but over the years the quality of the food has progressively deteriorated. We were a party of 6 and everyone said their meal was just poor to marginal. We won’t be going back.

I used the online ordering for curbside pick up while I was doing errands around town. Staff saw me immediately after I put the car in park. I was 10min early of the pick up time and the waitress offered me a complementary drink and my food came soon after. The food was amazing and the service was even better!

Ate here last night. Was seated right away with excellent service and good food. Very clean and well managed. The staff is above average for a national chain.

Once again, we were NOT disappointed! I just finished having dinner with four family members and our meals were superb. We were greeted and seated promptly. Our server came to our table to begin taking our orders right away. From the appetizers to dessert, everything tasted delicious. We will definitely visit this location again.

This time at bar. Bartender seems to be a bit of a jerk or maybe he is about to get off soon. Either way he is rude. Asked for a drink menu and he says they dont have one then proceeds to ask if we want the food menu and on the back is miraculously a drink menu. He seemed annoyed we were even there. We drank our drinks, paid and left. And because we believe in tipping, we left one anyway. But he sure didn’t deserve it.

Just don’t order the Filet. I’m not sure what they’ve done because I remember them having a very good state. I can’t blame it on a bad night either. The steak itself was inferior, then again, I shouldn’t expect to much more for $ 26 9oz Filet.

This is a great place for a date, nice atmosphere… looooove the warm bread with olive oil and herbs… the chicken noodle soup is great and the chicken parmigiana is great as well. Our server Bill was great.

Tonight while we were sitting at the counter where they make the pizzas we saw the pizza guy drop the paddle they use to move the pizzas and flatbread in and out of the oven onto the nasty floor. He picked it up and hung it back on the wall and then used it to move pizzas and flatbreads again. Eeeew!
I have been going to this Carraba’s for years but will not go back. We called the manager and he apologized. But… Just gross! Trash was also overflowing right where they prepare the food.

Great restaurant with lots of variety. Great Italian food at very good prices and excellent service. They also have non-​Italian options for those who do not prefer Italian food. And the drink menu is unbelievable, their martinis have to be some of the best in town. You can not go wrong here! Cheers!

We ordered a pasta carrabas which had green peas and chicken. It appears they threw in there a frozen bag of peas along with a frozen chicken. The pasta was overcooked and sloppy. It was an alfredo type cream, but there was little of it. Tap beers were almost 4 bucks. Like someone said’ «a step above olive garden», I think this is our last trip there. Now to find a locally owned restaurant…

Nice little traditional (that’s not really traditional) Italian restaurant. I love going here Sunday afternoon or even on game days. Grab a great meal and enjoy a good drink and watch on one of the many tvs posted near the bar.
This is ideal for initiate gatherings at the wait can get pretty long and they make it a custom to serve the whole table at once. But the food is worth the wait. Nice dim dining room. Almost anywhere you are seated you can view the hard ovens cooking up pizza. The food is so good you almost forget it’s actually part of a chain.
Appetizer: Calamari & Minestrone (A+)
Side: Caesar (the traditional way with olives and peppers) (A+)
Main: Lobster Ravioli (not much lobster but well cooked) B
Dessert: Chocolate Dream cake/​brownie thing … could have given me shock — lots of chocolate (A)
Only down side not much red meat on the menu.

This is one of their original locations. On the outside there are trees and greenery on the roof of the building, very pretty. The dining area is clean and very dim lighting, which I like especially on a very hot day.
Stopped in for a late lunch today, the hostess and server were very friendly. We ordered Manicotti with chicken, spinach, in a pomodoro sauce baked with mozzarella cheese on top. Hubby ordered a linguini with basil, garlic, fresh tomatoes. All of our entrees came with a salad or soup. I choose the ceaser salad which I did not care for. The dressing was very bland and light. Daughter ordered a chicken soup that was delish and hubby had a lentil and spicy sausage, very good.
The waitress was so sweet, constantly checking on our drinks and making sure we did not need anything. She was excellent. All of our entrée’s were good, nothing to special but edible.
This restaurant chain is o.k. when your looking for decent Italian food at a reasonable price. This is about as good as it gets in Tallahassee, other than Macaroni Grille.
I noticed they have specials on wine on Wednesdays, take $ 10 off a bottle… To bad it was Sunday!