Carrabba’s Italian Grill

Nice atmosphere, very good food and good service. I had the sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes and husband had chicken Marsala. Will definitely return.

I recently had my first experience at a Carraba’s Italian Grill. And maybe (MAYBE) I was already in a mood and bitter about being in Siesta Key, Florida on vacation and the family deciding they wanted to have a mean indoors versus eating outdoors on a patio somewhere, but this restaurant was less than impressive.
We were seated at a table and the table behind us had their chairs pushed out further than needed, so we needed to move our table to accommodate our party. Everything about this visit was slow (maybe it was because I was in the south or maybe because when I was a server, you got your ass chewed out if you weren’t constantly present and available to your table/customers…but, I digress) and it began with waiting almost 15 minutes before a server was available to take our drink order. Then the drinks from the bar took another longer-​than-​I-​would-​have-​taken-​if-​I-​were-​the-​server amount of time.
As a table of 5, the only person who liked their food was my grandmother who ordered the shrimp wrapped in prosciutto. I’m not going to slam the remained of the dishes that were ordered, but they left something to be desired. For an Italian restaurant, expected a lot more robust flavors. I recently saw a meme on some social media platform that said, «You should be able to get a refund for the calories you eat in food that wasn’t worth it.» My shrimp pasta was kind of like that.
On a positive note, my drink (blackberry sangria — when it finally did get to the table) was delicious and our server was very friendly but the poor thing clearly had too many tables.

I especially want to compliment our server «Salina A.» My granddaughter and I had dinner last night and were so impressed with the warmth just exuded by Salina. She made us feel like we were having dinner in a mom and pop restaurant with the presence she manifests. Wonderful experience. (BTW best meatballs I’ve had in a couple of decades.)

WTF happened to this franchise. I ordered the chicken Marsala and it looks moor like sparrow Marsala. Portions have gone to hell. If you weigh 90lbs it might work for you. I will never be back!

Pretty good dinner, the soup is excellent and a large portion. Wife and son loved the spaghetti. Service was good.

We had a very nice waitress (Brie) who suggested that we try something from the wood-​fired grill, so wifey had the chicken marsala and I had another chicken dish. Mine was quite good, but her chicken didn’t have very much marsala flavor. Carrabba’s is probably higher quality than Olive Garden and has more reasonably-​sized portions.

Four of us had miserable meals on a recent Tuesday evening (not a big crowd.). Three of us were served lukewarm, overcooked pasta, tiny and rubbery overcooked shrimp and scallops in very little sauce that was mostly absorbed into the pasta. There was way too large pasta-​to-​seafood ratio. Steak was like a hockey puck that they called «medium». Server forgot the appetizer (but did not charge us to take it home.) The Caesar salad was swimming in salty dressing. This store in the chain has gone downhill, despite the new menu. Will not go back.

I eat here every time I stay at the Best Western. I have never had a bad meal and the service is always great .my server Lauren went above and beyond for me. I have food and alcohol allergies and Lauren made sure I would have no problems.

Fantastic food and service. This Carrabba’s location has been here for years and I’ve dined here multiple times. I’ve never had a bad meal! The house salad is always refreshing with a delicious creamy parmesan dressing.
I usually order the Chicken Bryan or Marsala with both options being delicious. If you want a real treat, go for the Filet Bryan. Whoever operates the grill in the kitchen has some serious skill. I always order the filet mignon medium-​rare and it consistently arrives perfectly cooked.
Service is always super efficient and friendly. I will continue to be a loyal customer. Even though this is a chain eatery, their Italian food is some of the best in town.

The food is awesome, it’s a little cold in here, but the service was good and they do have TVs! There is an open kitchen, too, so you can see big cooking fires sometimes. I loved the Italian sodas and the bread!

Saw Carrabba’s as I was driving off of Siesta Keys. Stopped in for a lunch treat and enjoyed it.

The staff here is amazing! I had just sat down and my waiter was already taking drink orders! So attentive! I got a delicious Caesar salad, a little too much dressing for my taking, but I didn’t care because it was so good. I got mamas chicken soup, and it was just like my moms. My meal, broccoli and Chicken Bryan. It was so delicious I asked for another order to take home!

I had the lobster ravioli and it was absolutely fantastic! Five stars is not enough.

Attempted to use the on-​line ordering feature, due to operator error we discovered at pick-​up that the order had not gone through. The manager rushed the order through the kitchen and provided a discount for the inconvenience. The food is good, restaurant fare, but I have found the service to be exceptional.

Decent Italian food at a decent price. That’s the best thing I can say. The restaurant recently changed their layout to accommodate for better seating. The service is also decent. I would rather eat more authentic Italian cuisine from a more authentic Italian restaurant. But not a bad place to have a drink and a quick bite.

Dinner for two at 5:30 PM, and we were immediately seated in a nice booth for 2. I know this will change when all the snowbirds arrive in January. This is our second visit in a month, for two reasons — the happy hour drinks — where can you get a martini for $ 0.20 more than a diet coke? Here before 7PM! Second reason is the new specials — we shared a chicken dish that was fabulous — ordered the large portion and split it, we each got our own salad and bill before tip was $ 30.00 for two (a good deal we think).
I also have to give accolades to Angie our server who was very solicitous, a Sarasota native and she was very willing to let us enjoy our cocktails with the free bread before rushing to put in our salad order. I’d say its worth asking for her section if there isn’t a wait and she’s working.
We’ve also used the carryout and with the large serving size, have found 2 dinners serve 3 people very easily. Worth a stop on your way off the Key!

Very busy and the waitress had trouble hearing my orders. Food was pretty good though

Great new dishes. Really great server, Tony fro las Vegas. Really a great server, it was a very pleasurable experience…

Never disappoints, if you need a can’t miss dinner this is the ticket. Everything was great and great service. We will definitely back!

Really outstanding Carrabba’s location. The staff handles the crowd pretty well. Staff is friendly and relatively quick with service and helpful with recommendations.
We had the shrimp and scallops with vodka sauce, the Ttilapia Nicciola Lightly breaded with hazelnuts, topped with roma tomatoes and housemade basil lemon butter sauce), and the Spiedino di Mare (Shrimp and sea scallops coated with Italian breadcrumbs, wood-​grilled and topped with housemade lemon butter sauce) Everything was delicious.
The fresh bread was hot and tasty served with olive oil and dipping spices. Always outstanding.
The Blackberry Sangria was outstanding, even more so during happy hour, where you get a serving and a half for the same price as a regular portion.
Desserts were the mini cannoli’s (did not like — did not taste fresh), Sogno di Cioccolata (fudge brownie with chocolate mousse, whipped cream and chocolate sauce — delicious).
Overall a very good meal.

Many people here. Smells great when you walk in…
Always a favorite place of mine to dine! Never had a bad meal in any of their locations!
Traditionally I start with some New England Style Mussels with some red vino and then a salad with balsamic vinegar followed by any of their signature entrees!
If I’m lucky — I will have room for some of their special deserts…

Why 2 Stars? Lacking Great Service, Very Chaotic
This was my second time back to Carrabba’s. To start we didn’t have to wait long but while we were waiting, people kept going up to the seating station to complain about their service. The one couple completely walked out with the manager trying to convince them that their food was cooking and would soon be out. They never came back. The hostess told one waiter «you guys need to speed things up, people are walking out of the restaurant.»
We sat down and received slow service as well. The waiter told us about Amore Mondays special but never gave us the menu. 5 – 10 minutes he came back and brought us the menus after we asked. Another 10 minutes later we finally ordered something to drink. Things were very chaotic in there but a lot of tables were empty. Our food was great but the service was lacking, waiter had no personality and rushed through everything. Quick Quick Quick.
Finally, we got the bill and there was something added that I thought came with the meal, was never explained to us correctly when we ordered.
In conclusion, if you like drama, go here. I’m 2 for 2, see my previous review. We probably won’t be back again unless we have guests who want to go, I’d rather try another restaurant or simply just go to Mozzarella Fella.

We had a chance to dine here at Carabba’s last evening and I was surprised at how much I liked it. We were a party of 6 and we were seated in 7 minutes, the restaurant was busy, but not crazy busy.
We started with calamari which was very good for a chain. The squid was tender and the batter was very light and crispy, the marinara was good as well. We also ordered the Fried Mozzerella which everyone seemed to enjoy.
It was wine night so $ 10 off a bottle was a great incentive.
My entrée was the Pollo Rosa Maria, the chicken was fresh not pre-​cooked and was accompanied sliced mushrooms and a lemon butter sauce. The side was the cavatappi (my favorite pasta shape) with a spicy red sauce.
My wife had the grilled shrimp with lemon butter sauce over pasta. She enjoyed it as well.
The finale was the ridiculously delicious chocolate dream cake. It was very fluffy and the perfect finish to a pasta meal, just light enough.
On the way out the door we were introduced to the new owner, Brian, he was very nice and seemed very engaged in his new restaurant. I love to see an owner working the business. Perhaps previous lesser reviewers will be happy with the change in management and a better experience.