Carrabba’s Italian Grill

i really hate when i hv to write bas reviews but when u really hate the service and food u get then it is deserve ti get such reviews.
i went with my friend and we decided to order salmon for her na d mozzarella rustica and zucchini fritter for myself. being a vegetarian, i didnt find many options and some how server was not able to suggest any option.
my friend is a big fan of salmon but it was too salty and my friend really didnt like it.
zucchini fritter was having bitter taste in the end leaving ur mouth with bad taste.
i was expecting mozzarella rustica but i saw it was exactly similar to mozzarella marinara. they hv picture of mozzarella marinara on menu. i checked with my server and she confirmed that both are very similar but menu tells u different story. As a naïve person i trusted her but i was really upset when i saw my check showing mozzarella marinara as dish i ordered and they charged me for same. mozzarella rustica is side dish and it is for $ 6 and marinara is for $ 10. i m not worried abt prices as i hv to pay wat i ate but when i again checked with my server, she again confirmed tht in their system, they cant enter rustica and they hv to put marinara to charge it. it sounds totallt stupid to me but again i didnt argue abt the price or her explanation abt it.
we literally waited for 10 mins to search to ask for check which just added to my frustration.
i didnt even finish half of my order and left everything there. server was friendly but food and mix up in my order made my experience horrible. i m okay if someone makes mistake in taking order but we shud at least admit it. if u correct it that wud the best but if u hide it then it is worst.
again this is my suspicion but it is good enough to rate my experience with 1 star.

So I ealk in on a Saturday night at about 830… the place wasn’t slow, but it really wasn’t swamped. A waiter was leaning against the hostess stand chatting with the hostess… since I was alone, I went to the bar. 6 or 7 open bar seats… but they all had dirty place settings. So I took my coat off, stood there and moved the chair back and forth a number of times to make noise. th e bartender ignored me for 5 minutes… so I left. I can’t comment on the food, but really, it’s a chain, so how good can it be?
I rarely eat at chain restaurants because the food is not worth the price and usually the management sucks… well, obviously this place has zero management. Glad I didn’t stay.

We had a great time the other night celebrating both my wife’s and my birthday with our kids and my parents .
We had a great host (Kaci) who was able to get all 7 of us at one of the long high top tables near a tv so the boys could see the basketball game.
For a chain restaurant, we were surprised by the attention to detail that we received. Our server (Michele) was great, friendly, helpful with the menu and thorough.
We started off with 3 small plates. At $ 4 a plate not a bad price to try a couple items. We got the grilled asparagus with prosciutto with a balsamic glaze. As my mom said it was the best asparagus she ever had.
Next we had the cheese and sausage stuffed mushrooms. It was served with a tomato cream sauce. The sauce was delicious and was perfect to dip bread in. The mushrooms them selves were just about average. The last small plate we got was the mozzarella rustica which are crispy bites of mozzarella and ricotta mixed with Italian herbs and panko bread crumbs served with a dipping sauce. My son really liked these.
My main meal was a grilled sirloin and prosciutto wrapped shrimp. It was served with either a spicy Sicilian butter or Gorgonzola sauce to top the steak. I chose the spicy butter. I love spicy things but next time I would not choose anything to top steak as it took away from the steak too much.
The shrimp were served with a delicious lemon butter that I also used on the steak. The portions here are by no means huge, but they are just big enough, so you have room for deserts.
We ended up splitting a brûlée ricotta cheesecake and a fudge brownie dessert with chocolate mouser and whipped cream. Both were very good.
On this visit we were pleasantly surprised at both the great service and overall quality from a chain .We def will be back

Very impressed by the food. Even though it’s a bit on the pricey side, the food is worth it. Waitress are very polite! Also, I love how you can see what exactly is going on in the kitchen.

Other waitress had no personality and it took forever to get her attention for the check. Also when you order fettuccine alfrado you expect there to alfrado sauce on it. My appetizer was cold in the middle like it wasn’t cooked all the way and sadly that was the best tasting think I had on the table.

First and last experience with this location. We were seated for dinner on a Saturday night at 6:30pm. There were many empty tables, yet everyone that came in was told there was at least a 25 minute wait. Once we were seated we waited about 10 minutes for our server, Amanda, to greet us. She took our drink order, and said she would be back in a few minutes. The first half of our drink order arrived around 6:50pm, she left them and said she’d be right back with the rest. Those drinks didn’t arrive until 7:00pm. At this point we’ve been sitting for 30 minutes and still haven’t given our food orders. After she took our food order she said she’d bring some bread, the bread arrived around 7:15pm, followed by the appetizers at 7:30pm. Dinner did not arrive until 8:05pm. By this time we’d been sitting there for 90 minutes. The food was mediocre, my medium/​rare steak was practically well done, and the other dinners weren’t very impressed with their food either. After waiting over 90 minutes, I just wanted to get out of there so I didn’t send back my food.
While we were sitting there I had plenty of time to look around. Everyone in the restaurant was having the same experience. Service was slow/​terrible and everyone was complaining about no food and no drinks.
Towards the end of our ordeal I asked if I could have more water. Amanda said she’d be right back with it. When she returned with the check I asked about my water, she acted like it was the first time I asked, and said she’d return. I never saw her again.
Goodbye Carraba’s. You’ll never see me again.

Went to Carrabbas after a movie, had minimal wait for a Friday night. We were seated with menus, but there was a wait as the maitre’ never told our waiter we were there. Everyone was very pleasant and apologetic for keeping us waiting. After our order was taken, the manager also came to apologize and told us that there would be no charge for our meal. When we mentioned that we were there for my birthday, she told us to make sure we also had dessert on the house. As to the food, our waiter made excellent recommendations and we had a wonderful dinner. I recommend the Tiramisu for dessert as it is a delight. We will certainly be back.

Worst restaurant ever! They were understaff, terrible service. Food absolutely below one star! Terrible quality! I Don’t recommend this restaurant to anyone!

This restaurant sucks! Smells bad, worst service ever! Food was cold, which you can tell that is not prepared at the moment, when they heated it up, you can tell the put in the microwave and it came with the plate all dirty. I don’t recommend this restaurant in Manchester, Connecticut. Pick any restaurant, but not this one

Excellent lunch today, we had the chicken ceaser and chopped Italian salad both were delicious. The atmosphere was very comfy and clean with great music playing. We will be back!

I’ve been to this particular Carrabbs’s a few times — it is sort of hit or miss for me… sometimes the food is cooked perfectly sometimes it is way too salty and overcooked. I gave it a 3 because of that. I need consistency when I eat out. The service too is inconsistent. This time I was with 3 other people. two of us had the same thing and it was good but not a very creative plate. Throw some provolone on the top of that chicken with some pizzazz for goodness sake. Don’t just throw the slice of cheese on there like a Frisbee! Someone I was with had the steak (Sirloin) and they forgot all his sides and his sauce. The restaurant wasn’t busy at all so we couldn’t figure out why our service was slow or his order was so messed up. I still like it and the sauces are freshly made and they have good bread and two sizes of wine. I would go back but I wouldn’t be dying to get back there. It’s clean and has an open kitchen.

Carrabba’s, which I believe is pronounced Ker-​rAB-​behs, is a fantastic Italian establishment unfortunately tucked away in the backdrop of the movie theater plaza and behind the roaring meat frenzy that is Texas Roadhouse… ROADHOUSE! Carrabba’s offers a menu of varying delicacies. Whether you’re looking for good olé Italian cuisine, a meal of steak, basic chicken dishes, to a very impressive spread of appetizers, they have it. The bar is great as well, a full bar, cool beer glasses that make you want to drink more, and a friendly staff to round it out. I recently went here after a showing of Star Wars: The First Avenger with a group of eight. The bar wasn’t busy at all and so we nestled up against the bar and proceeded to have a few drinks and discuss the movie. Our bartender, Ally, threatened to throw us out if we spoiled anything for her so we quickly put that discussion to bed. However, Ally, was great! I have a habit of ordering a somewhat signature drink and not easy to make and she was very receptive to making it and I will say was one of the best I’ve ever had. After this I enjoyed the Tuscan Chicken, the chicken was most moist and succulent, the broccoli was pretty basic but I will say tied the dish together very nicely. I opted for the salad but immediately regretted my decision once I asked what the soup choices were. But alas it was too late, my salad destiny was already put in to motion and there was no turning back. With that I recommend opting for soup, the salad although crisp and fresh was just that, a salad and I think if you’re a super souper you should dig your heels in to some chicken noodle or New Ennnngland Clam Chowwdderr. i will also tell you that the prices are decent although I’m unsure if when you order you get just a meat choice and ARE required to order a side for an additional price or… Does something basic like broccoli come with everything?
Anyway, if you are reading this and are contemplating between the hectic Texas Roadhouse… ROADHOUSE!, and Carrabba’s, I suggest the later. But hey! that’s just my review… A foooood review!

The service was good. Tim was very nice. Food was good but not a lot of it! My 14 year old was still hungry and after spending $ 20 on his chicken Parmesan and lasagna combo I would hope he would be full. We went because we saw the 15% off your bill if you had gone to a movie that day. Overall we might go backwith15% off but need to figure out what makes you full.

Our favorite restaurant! We have never had a bad meal or bad service! Love it here.

I love this location! As an Italian I can truly say Carrabas has awesome food. I always order a pasta of some sort. I have been here many times, on some occasions with my family– party of 10+. They have always been accommodating.

Had to give it one star just review. Ordered pick up for dinner. Hubby got the shrimp and scallop linguini in vodka sauce. I have never seen such a sad looking pasta. The order looked more like a side dish than entrée. For some it came with a choice of mashed potatoes, veggies or more pasta. I had the shrimp and scallop spendido which came mostly burnt also came with side veggies. All the food was very salty and drowned in butter. The only decent thing was the bread. Will not be going back.

After being served raw chicken from this place a few years ago, I swore off ever going to Carrabba’s again. But like all restaurants, I thought they deserved one more chance and so my boyfriend and I decided to catch an early dinner here on a Friday night.
We walked in, no wait at about 5 on Friday. Our waitress Heather came right over. She was very nice and friendly, very professional. She did make it a point to tell us everything is cooked to order. I thought it funny that she mention it. At a place like Ted’s, you know it will be fresh when they tell you that. At a place like this, I immediately thought there was an undercurrent of apology for the food being a) not completely cooked and b) taking wayyyy too long.
I went for the Chicken Rosa Maria (fingers crossed no raw chicken this time) and my boyfriend got the Chicken Parm. He got a side salad with his and I got a Caesar side with mine. His salad was a little pitiful, just shredded carrots and 2 olives. Weird. My salad was delicious and I ate all of it. The bread was good but it’s hard to mess that up.
Our meals came pretty quickly. I immediately cut into the chicken. Yes, it was cooked! But, I was still leary. It was almost too juicy if you catch my drift. Like, barely cooked. The cheese was barely melted. The best part about my chicken was the mushrooms they put on top. Seriously. The mashed potatoes that I chose to go with my entrée? Barely warm. Barely.
My boyfriend said he liked his parm, though it was a little odd looking. Barely any sauce, barely any cheese. He ordered it with the seasonal veggies which was broccoli apparently. The broccoli was barely edible. Almost raw and I didnt even eat any. You could tell.
What I don’t understand is the asparagus thing: why are you charging an extra $ 1.50 for asparagus? Why are you charging an extra $ 1.50 for alfredo sauce? And I was curious as to the difference between a «small» portion and a «large» portion on some of the dishes on the menu. It’s one piece versus two when it comes to the meat which is fine but why wouldn’t you just order the regular size when there is literally a $ 1 difference between the two? This isn’t tapas. Either make the plate charge a significant difference so it’s worth it or don’t. Simple as that.
My boyfriend and I decided that this place probably can’t do any better than a 3. Not bad food, but not good either. It’s gone downhill in the last few years. There are serious issues with how they cook food here. Overdone or underdone, there is no in between it seems.
But, I highly doubt we will be coming back anytime soon. Just not a great experience food-​wise. So many better choices.

It started off good… the salad plates were chilled… but everything was way over priced. $ 6.05 draft beers? Our waitress was great and never missed an opportunity to «refill» my kids sodas… at $ 2.95 each! My wife ordered the chicken Parm/​lasagna combo and the portions was laughable. The rest was mediocre at best. I’ve never left an Italian restaurant without taking home leftovers until now. Don’t bother.

So… I used to love Carrabba’s before this location opened. I have been here numerous times but the last three times have been notably decreasing in quality of food and service. I don’t know if it’s this location, or if I just don’t like Carrabba’s that much anymore.
Our first bad experience was a few years ago on Valentine’s day. They accepted reservations for Valentine’s day and we wanted something relatively low key, so we went there. Low key, it was not. «Reservation» turned out not to mean an actual reservation and we ended up waiting an hour and a half for a table. It was insanity. I couldn’t even enjoy my meal at that point because I was so annoyed.
On another trip to Carrabba’s for dinner, I decided to order on of the specials. I can’t remember exactly what it was, other than it was some sort of baked pasta dish. It was awful — it was bone dry inside and definitely in need of some sort of sauce. Unfortunately for me, our server disappeared for 20 minutes, during which time, my husband finished his meal while I stewed in silence. I gave the server an earful when she finally came back. The manager ended up coming over and took the meal off and gave us a gift card to use on our next visit.
We decide to give Carrabba’s a last try, for dinner after a show at the Funny Bone. I couldn’t find that gift card the manager gave me, but we had a Carrabba’s/Flemings/some other restaurants gift card to use and figured why not. I ordered another special (maybe this is my problem?) Shrimp and scallop linguine a la vodka. I have ordered a similar dish at other Italian restaurants and have always loved it. Now… in my snobbery I mistakenly assumed that the scallops would be sea scallops and not bay scallops. Wrong! They were small and fishy and disgusting, and the a la vodka sauce was watery and flavorless. I told my server and she did offer to have the dish remade with only shrimp, but honestly, it’s not a good solution. That would mean my husband would eat his meal and then I would get mine 25 minutes later, so we would essentially watch each other eat. No thanks. I just sulked and played with my food like a child. The manager didn’t come over this time. I didn’t eat the meal at all but was luckily somewhat full from the salad and bread. The waitress didn’t say anything else and didn’t even ask if we wanted coffee, dessert or anything else. She seemed eager to be rid of us. I’m not sure Carrabba’s will get another chance from me — at least not this particular location.

My daughter wanted to try a different restaurant, so we ended up here on a Saturday evening. My wife and I my father our son and daughter and her husband and their young child. I told the girl that welcomed us that we were expecting our daughter to be arriving soon and would need a highchair for our grand daughter. They seated us, though the place was empty, in the back near an exit. An exit that turned out was for drive up orders or something because it was opened every ten minutes and every time it did the freezing cold passed over our table like we were out side up on the mountain. The first thing that we ordered was a flat bread like pizza tasting appetizer. It was pretty good, made me think I would forget about being in a wind tunnel.
Four of us ordered a steak of some sort, and most of the meals came with green beans, I guess the vegetable of the day; every portion being undercooked.
Afterwords when we talked walking out we realized that none of us really enjoyed our meal. The chief if they had one that evening, had no idea how to cook a steak. Medium well done meant extra well done, all gray throughout. Medium meant rare. If you are going to charge a customer an addition $ 2.00 to get Alfredo noodles with a meal you should at least have the decency to give the customer more than a scoop of noodles.
Our dog did like the steak we brought her, that’s a good thing. I knew we should have gone to the Texas Road House right across the lot, we have been to one of their places many time before they left Hartford.
They might make a nice commercial, to bad their restaurant in Buckland Hills is so horrible, never again.

I’ve only been here twice, but a couple of things have stood out to me both times.
1.) The first thing your waiter or waitress tells you is that everything is cooked to order. Therefore, you can make any personalized changes to your dish that you desire without feeling like you’re being a pain.
2.) The service is exemplary. Incredibly friendly and attentive.
Came here for the second time Monday night after searching for bridesmaid dresses at David’s Bridal. We were famished. We all ordered off their Amore Mondays menu, which offers a three course meal with selections for $ 12.99, $ 15.99, and $ 18.99 (with 3 – 4 entrée selections in each price range, available after 3pm). The deal comes with soup or salad, a choice between a small selection of appetizers and desserts (one or the other), and your entrée.
We all chose the same entrée in the $ 15.99 price range, the Shrimp and Scallop Linguine Alla Vodka. I actually meant to order it with penne but forgot because I was so hungry– oh well! I’m pretty picky about my vodka sauce and feel like I haven’t had one that I’ve enjoyed at a restaurant in years. This one was pretty good. I’ll admit I don’t bother ordering pasta at restaurants very much anymore, especially vodka sauce since it so often disappoints me, so I’m sure there are some out of this world vodka sauces out there that would blow me away, but this one did at least have some flavor to it. The side salad was good, nothing special, but tasted fresh. The loaf of bread was nice and warm from the oven and was served with olive oil.
I chose the Panna Cotta as my dessert over an appetizer (difficult, because the Tomato Caprese was calling my name). It was served in a cute jar with fruit on top. It was a little more watery than I’m used to but still really delicious.
They also have a $ 5 glass of wine on Mondays, one wine that changes week to week. This week was a Chianti. Your typical Chianti.
I tend to take issue with pricier chain restaurants (which I do feel this one is outside of Monday’s deal), and chain restaurants in general, but I can’t shake off appreciation for the wonderful service and their commitment to making sure you enjoy your food and have it prepared the way you want it.

Ate here last nite… Overpriced, the entrées came out before the salads and soups, and it took way too long for the volume of people in the restaurant. I was wondering why Texas Roadhouse was so full, and this restaurant right next door was so empty. I got my answer. Save yourself the mental anguish.

Friendly atmosphere and our waiter was very attentive and accommodated our every request! Food portions very filling and delicious this visit. Raspberry Sangria was refreshing.
Some of the foods we sampled were: Tag Pic Pac– Tagliarini pasta w Picchi Pacchiu sauce of crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil.
Chicken Caesar Salad, Ravioli, Mezzaluna, Fettuccini Carrabbas to name a few. Service was fast and efficient.
No delivery but there is an order for pick up road side service.
Carrabbas in Manchester CT perfect for a night out conveniently located right off I84 East next to Rave motion pictures. Great idea for a dinner and a movie date!

Had a particularly bad experience with the food, but staff was lovely so I gave an extra star for that. The soup arrived cool, overly peppered. As it was a freezing snowy night, the hubby & I asked to have it taken back & served hot. Beautiful waitress was very apologetic, and cheerfully took it back for fresh hot soup. It arrived shortly, just tepid warm, Not hot. Hubby’s meal arrived and was also cold when he cut into it. He asked for manager who was very helpful & kind & recooked the meal himself! It was not the best quality food & again overly peppered. He said he would take care of the check & offered us a free dessert. (Nice!) however, when bill arrived the dessert only was comped. Will not return here, but go to nearby Olive Garden when in the mood for Italian before the movies.

Carraba’s is about as good as one can imagine for a chain Italian restaurant, and quite frankly it is excellent even compared to ordinary italian restaurants. The food was phenomenal, the wait staff was quick, speedy, and friendly, and the bill was quite reasonable. The value proposition at Carraba’s is extraordinary.
I had the shrimp & scallop linguine, while my date had caesar salad, with a «tag pic pac», (tagliarini pic chi pacchiu). The shrimp and scallops were absolutely amazing, the scallops, albeit small, were so full of taste that it was remarkable. My date’s chicken caesar salad was excellent, easily some of the best dressing either of us had ever had, and the waiter was so friendly that she even discussed the ingredients of the caesar dressing with my date who was quite curious about it. The waiter was friendly for the entire night, and everything arrived in a very quick manner, they really are good at getting things out quickly for those seeing movies at the next door theatre.
The interior is nice, but nothing special. The walls are pleasantly adorned, and the booths are comfortable, but in essence it’s just one huge square room that does get a little loud when everything is crowded. If you want to have intimate italian dining, it would probably not be wise to have the atmosphere feel like an airplane hanger.
The value proposition is where Carraba’s really shines, though. The value for what you’re getting as a meal was great and this makes it a perfect date for people of all age groups and economic levels. This was really surprising, in light of how great the food was, and it was quite welcome.
Carraba’s is one of the best chain restaurants in all of Manchester and the italian food there is excellent. To any seafood lover, you absolutely can not go wrong with the shrimp and scallop linguine, do your tastebuds a favor, give them some flavor, and order it.

Wow… Was never so impressed with a Carabba’s as I was tonight. Started with the host, who I believe was the Manager. Very organized along with the women helping him. It’s New Year’s Eve and the place was packed. So glad we did call ahead seating, it cut our wait from 30 minutes to 15.
Then our waitress, Michelle was super friendly. Actually what I noticed was everyone, including the cooks seemed happy.
Everyone’s food was delicious. My son had the Chicken Parm & Lasagna dish, my wife had the Pasta Alfredo with Chicken and I had Sirloin Marsala. Again, delicious! My only issue is the sizes. The portions on each dish was simply too small for the price.
I’m going back though because of the friendly atmosphere and delicious food.