Carrabba’s Italian Grill

I have eaten here many times over the years. Food was always great. Had a retirement party there tonight. Food was so so. Worse yet my server forgot my order. Despite repeated reminders, my dinner never came until everyone else had finished. I am done with this restaurant.

Last evening my wife and I went to Carrabas Italian Grill and enjoyed a meal that was as good as any we have had at that store and they are always exceptional. We have a favorite waiter Gionni and they have a Chef that runs their Brick Oven, Michael, that can prepare foods such as Cheesy Bread, Pizza, Italian or Sicilian style, that no one else compares to in this immediate area. We had Polla Rosa Maria, Pork Tenderloin wrapped with Prosciutto with a couple of samples of some new things that were absolutely fabulous. We would recommend this to anyone. We love this place and as long as we are served the quality of food we continuously get there and receive service that makes you feel welcomed and wanted we will continue to go there on a regular basis.

Probably the best Italian in town. Their garlic bread is too die for and their soups are über delicious. Pasta has that authentic Italian taste at very reasonable prices.

Went with my mom for lunch and with all the food we got including tip, it was only $ 50. The waiter was knowledgeable and friendly. For apps we had a coupon for a free small bite plate and tried the mozzarella & ricotta bites, which were delicious! We also got the shrimp scampi that came with toast, this was probably the best scampi we have ever had, the sauce was amazing and the shrimps were huge! My mom got the Fettuccine Weezie which was a huge portion with tons of shrimp & scallops along with peas and mushrooms. I got my favorite which is the Chicken Bryan which was amazing as always. We will defiantly be back!

Chicken Bryan is a MUST try here.
It’s delicious. Fresh cooked on the grill.
They are opened for lunch now and it’s a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Mike, the pizza guy, was here today and as always does a superb job, always making sure our meal is good, in a great mood and made us some garlic cheesesticks with marinara sauce.
Make sure you tip Mike if you sit at the pizza station, he deserves it. If you get good service make sure you tip the waiters/​waitresses well also, they deserve it too.

Food is a step above the Olive Garden but not exactly what I would call good.
I had the lasagne and a side salad. I’ve had a lot of lasagne and while this was adequate, it didn’t impress me.
Billing was awkward. I selected the combo which came with a small ice cream. The waiter misunderstood and brought a full sized ice cream and charged extra for it.
This place will do if you need some sort of Italian food, but I won’t be seeking it out again.

Pasta was overlooked, beer was cold. Service was good and the olive oil for the bread wasn’t fresh. Over all, decent experience but noting to wow the parents.

Absolutely Awesome… never a bad meal. Terrific Management and Staff! This is a regular restaurant for us!

We have been here a few times now and two of those times we had a waiter named Marcel, who is absolutely amazing!!! The other couple of times we tried requesting him and were disappointed to hear he was not working. Marcel is very personable; he will stay and chat with you and goes out of his way to make it a great experience. He’s also a corporate trainer so he knows the menu like the back of his hand and can help you if you’re having a hard time figuring out what to order. Our last visit was our 7 year anniversary and when Marcel learned this he brought us a free dessert which we thought was so generous of him! Do yourself a favor and see if he’s working so you can request him!

I have mixed feelings about our experience here.
On the one hand, the food was pretty good. Just pretty good. I had a craving for Chicken Parmesan and they served me a pretty good version of the classic dish.
On the other hand, the menu was confusing and I think I could have made the dish just as good at home for a lot less money. They are not super expensive, but I felt a little overcharged for my lunch.
The details:
As I said above, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan. I assumed it came with some sort of pasta with the same red sauce they put on the Chicken, like every other Italian restaurant on planet Earth. When the waiter asked me to choose a side dish, maybe I’m a little slow, but I was confused. I had to ask what he meant and then look at the menu again to choose a side from a strangely limited list. I choose some spirally pasta with a tomato based sauce like I’m used to having with Chicken Parm. In retrospect, I should have tried the pasta Alfredo to get an idea of their range of flavors.
My husband ordered the wood fired pizza with much less confusion and drama…
The portion on my Chicken Parm was good and it was pretty tasty, but a little dry. The pasta side was a little bland but okay. I don’t think it merited the price they charge, however, it did satisfy my craving and I did not leave hungry.
My husband ordered the pizza with fennel Italian sausage and he loved it. The wood fired oven gave the crust that wonderful crispy edge and made our table smell divine. It was a little light on cheese, but he said he would definitely order it again.
The service was okay, and the atmosphere is business casual.
Due to the lack of decent Italian restaurants in east Tennessee, I guess we will probably go here again at some point. But, if they get any competition other than Pizza hut, all bets are off.

Really good food. Not your usual Italian restaurant. Could eat only the bread and salad but wouldn’t want to miss out on the chicken parmigiana. Left definitely feeling full. Wish I left room to try their deserts.

We had a very good experience overall, but it was a rough start! We got a seat on the patio rather quickly for a Friday night and the server was out to greet us with a smile. Good Happy hour special, on a Friday, which is hard to find in Knoxville and the drinks were cold. The bread was very warm and the dip was tasty.
Our appetizer was brought to us but was cooked incorrectly. This was remedied quickly but then the food came. My husbands was dry and way over cooked. Again, quickly remedied and removed from the check, but it was just difficult with a party of four. It’s one of those things where everyone feels like they need to wait to eat and their food gets cold by waiting for the recooked dinner.
We will go again, but maybe on a less busy night so it’s not such a stressful event. The food was very good once it was delivered correctly.

For our mother’s birthday celebration last night we needed a place whose menu could accommodate two out of four people on very restricted diets. We’ve had good meals at Carrabba’s before and thought it would be a safe bet.
Our meal was flat out bad. The side salads were wilted and tasteless. There was barely any creamy parmesan garlic dressing on them. They looked bad and should never have been served in the first place. We sent them back and received the same poor quality again. The waitress did give us extra salad dressing on the side, which was a nice gesture, but the lettuce was really inedible. Nobody ate their salads.
The entrees weren’t any better. Several us of had garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. The vegetables had no seasoning, so we had to use lots of salt and pepper to make them edible. My mother’s filet was cooked way below the done-​ness she had requested (it looked raw) and was full of gristle, as had been her same steak the previous time she ate here. I had the shrimp and scallop entrée with crumb topping and lemon cream sauce. Same story. Totally lacking in taste. The presentation was as bland and uninspired as the flavor.
The only saving graces of this meal were the Prosecco that two of our party had and the ice cream and chocolate desserts. Total check for 4 people, including tip, was $ 134. I don’t see us returning. This was the second disappointing meal in a row there for three of us. We used to be able to rely on Carrabba’s for a good meal, but not anymore.

I have to say, this last visit I made to this Carrabba’s location on 8÷14÷2015 was probably the most memorable meal I ever had at a chain restaurant. The food was out of this world. I had Pollo Rosa Maria. It was amazing. My friend had Chicken Bryan pizza (?) That was probably the best pizza I ever tasted. I had some kind of pasta for a side dish, that I am embarrassed to say, I cannot pronounce. It was fantastic. The service was as good as the food. I will definitely be back.

Wonderful. .they used to have an off the menu, 3 style chicken that is lovely, not sure if they still offer. .staff always friendly and knowledgeable. Be aware they are packed on University home game weekends. Worth the wait but younger kids may not do well,. Great advice on pairings.

This is the best italian chain restaurant in Knoxville. Everything a notch above and flavorful, starting with the olive tepanade dip and warm crusty bread.
BUT I DON’T GO THERE ANYMORE. WHY?
Before remodeling, they have community table surrounded by dark wood booths, very classy and intimate yet still open to the action. Love the ambience. Then corporate sent in some brain dead 20 something designers and they decided to «Open her up», by dismantling the classy dark wood panels, and redo the walls to make it open and bright. What I now got is prosaic diner experience. They duplicatd the exact feel and look of SHONEY !
To be honest theres nothing wrong with Shoney. I go there too but with a different mindset when I want grids and ham and pancake or country fry speak. I do not expect this when we go to an upscale italian dinner restaurant. The remodelling destroyed it utterly.
I WANT TO CRY whenever I think about the injustice. So I don’t go — why would I want to upset myself? Write to corporate management if you feel the same way. Feel free to copy my lines.

Great.
I enjoyed the low-​lit setting, and the pasta I ordered was delicious.
It isn’t that pricy but it’s not cheap either.

We went to carraba’s for our anniversary and it was a very good experience. Our server Emerald was good very good. The combo I ordered has steak with pepper butter and chicken Bryan. i substituted the steak for the marsala and it was excellent. The pepper butter had just the right amount of heat and the steak was excellently cooked the chicken was very tasty and my wife said the shrimp and scallops she ordered were great. The only thing that kept this review from being a five is that I tried ordering lasagna first but they were out of it.

This place never fails me… its always delicious.
Mike at the pizza station has the best 4 way, as he calls it, cheeses and dried tomatoes… very good.
Every dish I have had in here have been delicious…

I can not express the bad experience we had. From the moment we walked in the staff was joking around and made us wait until they were done talking. Then we finally get seated and the waiter is ok at best. He gets the drink order all wrong. Then stands literally 3 feet behind the table talking about what his weekend was gonna bring. Finally we order and it comes out in about 13 minutes which just blew our minds until we bit into it. Both of our orders tasted like cardboard. After struggling through it and not having a salad brought over as part of the order he immeditaely brought the check. We were in and out in 45 minutes at most and agreed as we walked out to never come back. And we were no where near close, so no reason to be pushed. Sorry guys… may have just been a weak night.

Our Sunday after church standby for years. Best bread anywhere and always outstanding service. We have gone through a series of favorites as the menu has changed, but the pastas, fish, salads and soups are consistently good. The Chocolate Dream is absolutely one of the best desserts anywhere.

The service wasn’t add I thought it should be, the waiter seemed like he was trying to Rush us thru our meal. The salad I had really didn’t taste add good as I had how for $ 13 this is the second time that I thought the service want up to par, so I will Not be returning.

If you are trying to decide between somewhere like Olive Garden or Carraba’s… always pick Carraba’s. This is the best chain Italian food there is.
At the beginning of the meal you are presented with a fresh loaf of bread and olive oil with spices. It’s addictive. The caesar salad or the sicilian chicken soup make great starters. I usually order the Pasta Carraba or the wood grilled chicken with asparagus. Z says ordering a pizza is the way to go, He got sausage and it looked amazing. Even my picky parents love this place which is saying something. :)

Big fan. Great food and ambiance, as usual.
Server– McKenzie. Very efficient, VERY abrupt. Good Grief!

The best Italian that you will find outside of a mom and pop which just don’t exist around here. Great professional service all around, wide selection of great food to please everyone. I have tried three quarters of the menu and nothing disappoints

By far the best Italian food in Knoxville for many reasons. The food is great but the service is beyond 5 star. If your coming to this location ask for Evan, Marcel, Allie, or Temptis. Great people, always smiling and very attentive. You won’t be displeased.