Carrabba’s Italian Grill

This is one of the very few restaurants that I’ve been to in the last several years where you do not have to add salt and pepper to your food! We have been coming to this place for many years and have always enjoyed it.

Dear Carrabas,
Why do you have call ahead seating, if when you call ahead the list means nothing. Isn’t that the point of call ahead seating… To call ahead and have your name placed on the seating list. Needless to say I am not to thrilled that your hostess tells me that your wait time doesn’t start until you get here! Clearly the people who made this genius program were Rhodes Scholars, and you have the brightest minds in the service industry at the helm of your ship. With that being said no matter how smart you are, at your corporate offices common sense, clearly isn’t very common!
Signed,
Pissed off hungry waiting guest!

This was my first time back at Carrabbas since they released their new menu and, I must say, I was impressed!
For my entrée I got their Chicken Bryan with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and their Sicilian Chicken Soup.
The soup had a mildly spicy aftertaste, not that strong at all, but was every bit as delicious as a typical chicken soup would be. Full of flavor! I would highly recommend it.
As for they entrée, the chicken wasn’t dry in the least and paired perfectly with the lemon butter sauce, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and basil. It was a wonderful combination of flavors, both savory and a bit tart from the cheese. I wish I could have had more! It could definitely be broken down into two portions if you’re not too hungry, but it’s going to be so good it’ll be hard to resist leaving anything behind.
And finally, what really pushed this into the 5 star range was the service! I lucked out and had a free entrée courtesy of Carrabas when their new menu was published. Knowing that, my server still provided some of the best service I’ve ever had! He kept my water topped off, was highly communicative, and provided the utmost care. I will definitely be returning.

Service was great (idk whether it’s due to very few customers or not, I went there on a Monday around 1pm). Complementary bread with olive oil dressing was perfect to set my mood and appetite for the woodgrill chicken (starter) and lettuce wrapped grilled chicken (lunch trio). Recently their website gave one free appetizer each to 1 million people and yes I could use that promotion here.
TLDR; been there, got free appetizer and loved their lunch trio.

Food was standard for a chain. The caprese salad was pretty delicious. The lentil and sausage soup was ok.
Our waiter was ok but not super attentive. Had to hunt him down for the check. Staff seemed more interested in their own drama than the customers.

Really disappointing. The waiter hovered around trying to take our order before our party was fully seated. After his third swirl by we blindly ordered the calamari appetizer to get rid of him and asked for a few minutes to look over the menu before ordering our dinners. The salads seemed like they’d been sitting around warm for a while as the lettuce was wilted and slightly tan. Nothing special in any of them. The calamari was nicely breaded but rubbery as if it was frozen a little too long before cooking. It was served with ordinary Italian red sauce. Not worth ordering. Our son had the grilled pork, 3 pieces each the size of a hacky sack ball or smaller with grilled asparagus. Not very filling but very salty. I had the veal Marsala and grilled asparagus. Greasy. I’ve made better at home. My husband had «some chicken and broccoli dish» which he didn’t finish. Not very good, lacked flavor but had plenty of salt. Portions were small (which was a blessing) and not that good. Seemed a little too ‘reheated’ to be tasty. This place you can skip.

This is your typical Italian cabin restaurant. I like eating the calamari and veal. I would not recommend the lamb (new item) they don’t know how to cook it at all. the desserts are desserts are descent, but nothing stands out. I enjoy having an Italian soda with my meal lol

Nice waiter; hard, uncushioned chairs, and way too much pepper in the soups! Our entrées were good and the cheesecake was divine. Giving three stars… if they want four, they must provide comfortable chairs and fix the soup. Also, they need some sound baffles. I like to hear what my companions are saying.

Way overpriced for mediocre food. The best thing was the tomato basil soup. I ordered chicken Marsala but got veal instead (which is fine since I like veal but didn’t want to pat $ 20). When the food came my entrée was barely warm, the pasta was gummy & there was no Marsala flavor to be found. The waiter offered fresh pasta which came quick but it was pretty bland. My husbands lasagna & son’s seafood were apparently good. Still the meal wasn’t worth the money & the waiter didn’t offer anything to compensate for the cold/​wrong dish. Won’t be going back there again. Better Italian for much less money elsewhere.

Great food and wait staff. Cannot understand why a hostess would sit you next to the door when so many tables an booths were available …

Worst HH ever! Unfortunately, a local favorite was closed until 5pm so we came here for lobster mac and cheese on the recommendation of a friend. After receiving our food (at 17.59) we failed to note many pieces of lobster embedded in a plate of greasy Mac and cheese with ham scattered about. After apologizing profusely for the inconvenience and sending back, the cook came out to say there is only 2 oz of actual lobster and the rest is simply noodles and shredded cheese with ham. They made a «special accommodation» for my second choice of eggplant parmigiana which apparently you have to call ahead for in normal circumstances — however, it came out cold, without the customary pasta, and priced as a lasagna at 15.49. Edible, but needless to say we won’t be back… Ever! And that friend who recommended the lobster mac… She will certainly hear it! If you want Actual lobster mac in Gainesville go to Spark — just wait until 5pm — no leaving work early on an impromptu HH!

Ugh. The only reason I was eating at a Carrabba’s was because my friends wanted to. Mediocre over priced food that isn’t even cooked well.

Dinner at Carraba’s was the usual great meal and ambiance. This is always a favorite restaurant.
The servers are always polite and attentive.
However, on this visit I was taken aback after witnessing a food preparer fixing salads and other foods without any hair net. This person looked like jerimah johnson for those of you who have seen Robert Resford in that movie long ago. For others unfamiliar, just think of facial and head hair that has not been cut for several months.
I talked to the manager who said Carraba’s does not have a policy and the state of Florida does not have a policy or regulation so this goes unchecked.
Other states probably mandate using a net or having shorter cut hair when handling public food. In those states, with a Carraba’s restaurant they have to abide by the rules.
Carraba’s should still have their own regulation and policy without being told to.
Carraba’s should be doing due diligence instead of being told they need to and be self aware.
This poor rating is for the lack of attention the establishment has for not enforcing a higher food safety practice.

I’m tempted to believe I may have just gone on a bad night, but last time I went to this location, Carabba’s disappointed me with a waiter who didn’t write down orders and took a while in fixing the situation. Perhaps if I went in a smaller party, the service would not have lagged.
On ther plus side, the free bread with olive oil, food quality in general, and water refills were on point. The host and waiter both were friendly, even when we told told them about our mixups.
Overall, this is a good choice for chain-​quality Italian food when going in smaller parties. The amore Monday special is worth the money!

Me and my wife ordered the lobster ravioli, it consists of 8 – 10 stuffed raviolis in a super rich cream sauce. Very rich and easy to share. Our waitress was very attentive and helpful. There bread (although made from frozen dough) was still very good also.

Always nice, friendly, clean. Food is solid, and if they mess something up, they fix it immediately.
Bread is phenomenal, and I come here for the Sausage and Lentil Soup — in fact I’ll call ahead to make sure they have it that night.
The bartenders are friendly, the servers are efficient.
Truly solid food and service for a chain restaurant, and this location is great!

Went to Carrabba’s on Friday night. Our party called two days ahead because they don’t take reservations. We got there ~15 minutes before our call-​ahead time and watched as 5 parties (in varying sizes) all got seated before us. They finally brought us to our table, which had not yet been cleaned off before they tried to seat us. Okay, not such a big deal — just irksome.
The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is really overwhelming. The seating is basically a maze, and to get to the restrooms (a whole other story), one has to dodge waiters/​waitresses and chairs. Oh, and the lighting is dim.
The women’s restroom was a MESS. There were paper towels allll over the floor (the patrons uncleanliness, I’m sure) but you’d expect that there would be someone making sure it doesn’t look like a huge mess. And that creepy/​cheesy picture of the woman’s face on the door doesn’t help either.
Our waiter alerted us that they were out of meatballs… on a Friday… at an Italian restaurant. Okay. Interesting. How are you out of meatballs? Can’t you just go buy some more beef somewhere? Seemed strange. PS it was only about 8 PM.
Tomato basil soup was eh, I’ve had much better. Had to add pepper to it to give it some kick. I ordered the Fettuccine Weesie as my entrée. It was good, but there was so much garlic that it was overwhelming and basically the only thing I could taste. Honestly, best part of the meal was the sangria.
TLDR; service isn’t great, atmosphere is wacky, food could be improved. After all, it is a chain restaurant.

I usually like Carrabas but this location seems sloppy. I ordered to go salmon. I was in a hotel in Gainesville. I asked for silverware, but was not given it.
The bigger problem was that I almost choked to death on bones left in the salmon. See pictures. I didn’t finish the meal and my throat still seems messed up. Not checking for these little bones will eventually kill someone.

The food was delicious, with a menu soo full of authentic Italian foods. I enjoyed the Chicken Marsalis with an order of crab cakes & calamari.

Expensive, service was slow. Food was pretty good. Bruschetta and chicken pasta were good.