Carrabba's Italian Grill

 

2

37

Jacob S.

Honolulu, HI

I love this place.  It's always good and the prices are totally reasonable.  The food is stellar and the service is great.  

This is not a great place for small children.

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Elite '08

81

169

Jessica K.

Burbank, CA

Why the F doesn't this place have Ranch? Besides that, I love everything else. it is basically an authentic, upscale olive garden. They start off by giving you a fresh, tender loaf of herb bread with herb EVOO (i watch Racheal Ray too much) that is still sticking to my hips. The calamari are fresh not frozen, the crab cakes are mmm, Chicken Marsala baby! The staff is friendly and they are trained well giving you suggestions that are worth a damn, imagine that. The atmosphere is cozy and relaxing. The wait is ridiculous some nights but worth it in the end.

The prices are not so great, every time i come here i spend $50 to a Bill-even at lunch because they don't have a freaking lunch menu! They have bellinis that are good, extensive wine selection and beer but nothing too special behind the bar.

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7

19

Suzanne R.

Houston, TX

I realized I had more negatives than positive reviews going on and I need more positivity, right. And, because I had a positive eat at a local restaurant that I always held in very low esteem, I thought, what the flock?

Thursday night, we had a group of eight meet and eat at Carrabba's on Bay Area. I had eaten there approximately four to five times since it opened in the mid-90's. I never had a horrible meal but never had my sox knocked off either. (I realize that this isn't Da Marcos and never will be...)There are so many very good Italian eateries in Houston and I could never get the Roasted Chicken seasoned with Rosemary like the one on Kirby serves. Typically, I would go eat at Frenchie's before Carrabba's Clear Lake though my husband isn't a big fan of them.

We met at the bar and the bartender was a bit in the weeds. My glass of Banfi Centine was yuck. What I thinking, a Sangiovese-Merlot-Cab blend? Had a glass of Ravenswood Zin after that, it was all good.

We asked for Harry to be our waiter (my daughter's friend from high school, but he had booths that night) Regardless, he came over to the bar and visited with us. He was very friendly and I think set a good tone for the evening to come.

Our waitress was entirely too chatty and I think had she listened more than talked, our orders would have been correct.

We had the Shrimp Scampi and Bruschetta appetizers - all good. Luckily, the shrimp were strong swimmers as they were nearly drowning in their butter, garlic and lemon. The bread for the bruschetta was nicely toasted and the ratio of balsamic vinegar to olive oil was perfect. Both appetizers were plenty to share between my husband and myself. There would have been enough to share at the table had we been inclined to share but we're not that nice.

Leslie shared her scallops with us and our entree was of Roasted Red Pepper Ravioli and Roasted Chicken were nice. No one had dessert since we had filled up long before the dessert menus arrived.

We never waited very long for water, bread or anything else to be brought to our table. Our reservation was for 7:00 pm and we didn't get seated until almost 8:00 due to the diners camping out at the only table for 8 that the restaurant was willing to seat us at.

We all had a fun night and I think I was surprised that I would consider going back to try the pizza and have our buddy, Harry the Greek, serve us.

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0

2

Sean M.

Houston, TX

By far, my favorite Italian restaurant! Great atmosphere and awesome service, but the food is truly amazing. I need to branch out and try different dishes, but I can't resist getting the Pollo Rosa Maria every time I go. Trust me, get it and you won't be disappointed.

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7

128

Bobbi B.

Webster, TX

Love everything here, sit at the bar near the oven and watch the action in the kitchen.  Its great and they even give you free food, sometimes.

Soups are great, all dishes are wonderful, seafood portofino, Ravioli, Meza luna pasta YUM.

They even give you bread and pesto in olive oil to dip.  YUM

Decor is Italian kitchen and the restrooms have italian language tapes to listen to while powdering and washing up.

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