Had not been to Carrabbas in quite a while. It was my sister's birthday and that's where she wanted to go, so the whole family showed up to help her celebrate. I will state that I worked at Carrabbas for several years and always enjoy going in and seeing my former friends and regulars. Tonight was no exception. Glad to see that so many of them continue to patronize the place. Our dinner overall was excellent. Emery, our sever, was excellent. She made certain glasses were full and made excellent suggestions. The food was up to the standards that I knew Carrabbas always held. We had a variety of everything off the menu and everyone in the party enjoyed their dinner. Anything with marsala was a big hit and my mom has always, and continues to love the lasagna. My favorite thing was my lentil and sausage soup. It was nicely spicy and well seasoned. It was nice to see and taste the Carrabbas that I knew when I worked there. I am glad to see that Carrabbas has continued to succeed and still lives up to its standards of offering excellent food and excellent service.
(4)
K J.
Stopped in here last Wednesday when we found out that Buba's Grub was closed for all you can eat ribs and chicken night, due to a power outage. We went into the El Charro cafe first, but it took 10 minutes to get chips and salsa, and after another 5 minutes we still hadn't seen a waitress yet. Since their prices seemed very high for simple mexican food, we walked out. I'm glad we moved over to Carrabba's! I had the pork chops marsala, which was delicious! My friend had the 3 chicken dish combo, with grilled asparagus that was AMAZING! It had a smoky flavor to it that was great. It's worth the extra $1.50 upcharge! As corporate restaurants go, these guys do a great job of remaining consistently good. The prices were reasonable for the quality of the food you get. The service was great.
(4)
Stacey A.
Had the Mezzaluna and mamas chicken soup! Both were delicious. Also had cannolis and the sonjo chocolate cake for dessert. Waiter Michael was awesome, very attentive to our table.
(5)
Paul B.
We won't return. I know opinions of food and restaurants are subjective. With that in mind, we used to love Carrabba's, but not any more. Portions are small and waaaay over-priced. Service has always been good for us, and the ambience is fine. Yesterday, I ordered spaghetti and sausage. The pasta didn't seem fresh, the sausage was horribly bland, and I didn't care for the marinara sauce. My wife's $16 salad was saturated with dressing, too much for her taste. Our waitress offered to remedy my dissatisfaction, but I didn't think it was Carrabba's fault that I had ordered something I didn't care for. It wasn't until after we had paid and left that my wife reminded me that I hadn't liked what I ordered the last time we had dined there (months ago). There are too many other excellent Italian restaurants in Tucson for us to ever return to Carrabba's, places where you get larger portions and pay less.
(1)
Ginger S.
Food is great for a chain restaurant. My boyfriend ordered a ribeye and received a fillet. Took forever to get the order straight and I was finished eating by the time he received his correct meal. The kids meals are absolutely worth it and the bread is outstanding.
(3)
Mildred Kitty R.
So far service not good. Had to get up and get our silverware The sling provided for the baby was totally unsafe and dirty. Unraveled at both ends!! Our appetizers had been served but we had nothing to eat them with!!! Waitress is extremely busy. Has served us food reaching over my husband sitting next to me. Brought out a wine that tasted like pure alcohol. Served me a glass and asked that I pass the other one to my husband! Very classy!! House salad? Please see picture and let me know what you think! Some iceberg lettuce, a few strand of carrots and two olives!!!! The lentil soup was ok. Everything else was .... just ok. Nothing special about the food and service ..... Well I don't think there is anything about this restaurant that would entice me to come back. Koodos to manager for not charging us for the awful wine!!
(1)
Brie G.
Absolutely loved this place! My husband and I went here for the first time last weekend. We had such an excellent waiter and the food was sooo to die for. The fact that they are a scratch kitchen is pretty cool too :) We are definitely going again.
(5)
Daniel B.
How people give this restaurant less than four stars is beyond me. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, and I've always had very good service. To be fair, though, I never go during the busiest hours. They have great salads, soups, and appetizers too. I recently had the Shrimp Diavalo appetizer, and it was very flavorful without being too spicy. Their wines are good and not overpriced, which is rare. They offer a "cortino", which is an 8-ounce glass rather than the usual 5-ounce, and it's just the right size. Last time I had the Lobster Ravioli and it was outstanding. Next time I'll try the Mezzaluna, which looked equally tempting. I wish they had more than one Tucson location.
(5)
John R.
Italian food options in Tucson can tend to be found all over the quality radar from poor to great - and can be so inconsistent. I waited until my 3rd visit to Carrabba's to write this review for that exact reason. It's safe to say that management and staff take pride at Carrabba's. Carrabba's is ALWAYS busy. But if you call ahead, it will only take you a few minutes to be seated from when you enter. The restaurant is always clean, from the tables and the silverware to the walls and floors. The service is consistently spot on - the moment you need a refill, it's there. The timing is almost perfect between courses. I've had to wait maybe an extra minute or two for my entree after my salad is cleared, but that's really nothing to quibble over for how busy they are. The 3 different servers I had were all genuinely pleasant and modern, and the teamwork there is remarkable. The food is LIGHTYEARS better than Olive Garden (and unfortunately better than Vivace as well). The noodles taste freshly made and the Alfredo sauce is always perfect (not too creamy/thick/runny, just right). The salad dressings also taste homemade and are rich in flavor - I usually get the Parmesan dressing. The mussels appetizer is fantastic - you will want an extra helping of bread to dip in the broth and at happy hour they are 1/2 off! I order the Johnny, which is sirloin marsala with Chricken Bryan (chicken with goat cheese, basil, sun dried tomato and lemon butter) and I add a breast of Chicken Rosa Maria (stuffed with fontina and prosciutto, then topped with mushrooms and lemon butter). This is absolutely awesome - the steak has a great wood flavor and was cooked perfectly and was LEAN! And the chicken is just the right texture and also wood flavor, with those fabulous toppings... THE PRICE: We had Zucchini Sticks and Mussels, 2 cocktails, 2 entrees with an add-on, the most wonderful Dessert Trio, and 2 after dinner drinks for a total, with tax, of $80 - so we ate like royalty and it was reasonably priced. I think you need to give them a try and see for yourself!
(5)
Adriana F.
Carrabba's We love it, we always ordered "chicken marsalla," delicious, and the desert is always chocolate cake so delicious, the service is perfect, our waiter or waitress is always friendly, nice, and treat us like important people, we ordered a sangria , so fresh, and taste delicious.
(4)
Karen F.
This is our favorite restaurant! The food is always excellent and the staff is ready to please!
(5)
Joeann F.
Delightful in every way! We stopped in for lunch and tried the specials with two entrees! Bub LOVED his lentil soup. I got the Sirloin Marsala and Mahi. The marsala sauce was really tasty and the meat was cooked to perfection and yummy! The ahi came with an artichoke heart and peppers and again a wonderful sauce! Bub got the chicken and lasagne and was happy!!! Kiki, our waitress, was attentive and friendly and made sure we had everything we needed! Loved it!!!!
(5)
Larry C.
Always a great meal. Excellent service and delicious food. Good value (use a coupon) with fast service for early dinners.
(5)
Nappy H.
Meh, it's the stereotypical corporate Olive garden. Everthing was mediocre and the price was too much for the food we got. It wasn't bad or good, it just is....
(3)
David C.
I DID NOT want Italian food tonight, but we were both starving having skipped earlier meals, so we decided on here instead of waiting for another hour or longer to eat dinner. Although very busy we were seated immediately. The decor is nice, it is like a cross between an Olive Garden and an Applebee's. Our server (Katie) came to our table a little slowly, but again they were very busy. She immediately took our drink order and since we had extra time, we placed an appetizer order right away for mozzarella sticks. Drinks came quickly and were never more than half empty, this gal was on it! Honestly, probably one of the best services we've experienced in a long time! She was great! The food is good, it's not out of this world amazing by any means, but come on folks it's a chain restaurant making dishes from frozen ingredients. You want to die for food, go pay for it! The mozzarella sticks were a bit overdone, the Sirloin Marsala was delicious, as was the fettuccine Alfredo. Definitely will go back. Great service! Will ask for Katie next time we go! Dinner took a while to get to us, nothing crazy just a little longer than normal, but they still gave us free desserts because of it and we hadn't said a word. Pretty amazing to see companies still utilizing ways to try to proactively keep people happy.
(5)
Elizabeth N.
I absolutely love this restaurant. Their take-out service is just as great as their in-house service. Today my family was served by a wonderful waitress (her name was Katie B.) and she was quite an attentive and kind person. The hostess also was very welcoming and she knew right away who I was. She led us to our table and our waitress took our orders almost immediately. I have to say, the daiquiri that I decided to get was quite delicious and I had a wonderful salad and entree. I highly recommend the Lobster Ravioli or the Lobster Mac-and-Cheese. In addition, we had a to go order and the waitress timed it perfectly so that the to-go order was ready by the time we finished our meals. Overall, 5 stars for the great customer service and great food! :)
(5)
Matthew J.
WOOT! we found one! This is the best italian place in tucson! my family loves it! Best ever! Great servers wonderful atmosphere and even better food! Good for kids too! awesome and not even that expensive!
(5)
Hugo M.
Its a chain so I wont get to wordy on it. The service was very good and the kitchen puts out a good product that is tasty and visually pleasing.
(4)
Andrew S.
It's fantastic for a chain Italian joint, but not the best Italian in Tucson (try Vivace, Campbell and River). Food is better than Olive Garden in my view - their fresh baked bread and herb olive oil blend is a lot easier to hold down than a couple breadsticks, but their salad doesn't seem quite as "Italian" as Olive Garden. Their house marsala is delicious, and overall, a great place to go for a casual, tasty, and little classier than Olive Garden, Italian meal.
(4)
Leslie E.
This was our third and final trip to this restaurant. The first trip when it was new as unexciting, but not horrible. The second trip was again mediocre, but with the extra added attraction of having no desserts available (we were celebrating a birthday, of course). None. Not a dessert in the restaurant. There are at least 2 grocery stores nearby, so you'd think they would go buy some ice cream to sell at the very least. This third trip had three of us in our party, and we all had something that was challenging with the meal. Two of the three soups were cold. They were sent back and came back overly hot of course. My meal consisted of three separate items. Two of the three were cold. I didn't bother sending them back this time as they were both over-salted to begin with, and additional heat wouldn't have helped. One of our party had a very tough chicken dish, and the other had a very fishy tasting seafood dish. For the capper, one of us got a napkin with huge holes in it! Really...they don't look at these things?! I would not recommend this to anyone. Chain restaurants at mall food courts do better than this.
(1)
Emily S.
I don't know what happened. This place used to be good but I tried 2 more times and the food was totally gross. I know a lot of people have said this... but this place just isn't good anymore.
(1)
Mary M.
We were hungry trying to decide where to go, one of the kids said Italian so we decided Carrabba's. It was a Fri night ( i know every place is busy) but it was early..like 6 pm. We called ahead, they said 20 min wait, ok put us on the list. When we got there, they didn't have us on the list, there was a different girl answering the phone and then relaying info to the hostess so i get it, mistake, ok. We will wait as every place will be a wait. Long story short 45-50 min later after seeing several smaller parties seated before our group of 5 we were seated. I wasn't happy but trying to be a good sport not crying about it. The food was good, the server was attentive, fine, we are almost finished and the Mgr. comes over apologizes for the long wait and takes $25.00 off of our bill. Hey, we had said nothing negative to anyone about the wait..I guess they were on top of it. Humm that wait didn't seem near as bad after the unsolicited discount. Very Impressed, will go back for more, maybe next time a Wed night.
(4)
Eileen C.
I loved Carrabbas. It has a very nice and comfortable interior. I like the ambiance. They had great menu choices but my husband and I both ended up getting the Chicken Parmesan and Baked Ravioli. It was excellent! We also tried their Lentil Soup and it was delicious. But be careful because it has a major "kick!" They also serve a complimentary seasoning blend with extra virgin olive oil with house bread that is to die for. That is some good stuff. We had JP as our server and he was fantastic. He really took care of us and educated us on quite a bit. This was a great visit and we will definitely be back.
(5)
Philip S.
Yes, there are a bunch of Carrabba's Italian Grills, Franchises! I like all the ones I've eaten in. BUT this one feels like a home town, neighborhood restaurant. The staff is uniformly friendly and helpful. The place is clean and popular. The popularity is based on good food and service. I suggest that you get a reservation between 5-7PM. The menu is divided between the traditional i.e. Minestrone, Mama Mandola's Sicilian Chicken Soup, Lasagna, Chicken Bryan, Veal Piccata etc. and seasonal specials which change every 3-4 months. The wine list is nice with some very acceptable and reasonably priced wines. We go a few times a month. This place is fun, warm, a spot that I and my friends like to get together and bond over good food.
(5)
Sarah G.
Wonderful! This is my favorite Italian place, I love it enough that we had them cater our wedding! Service is always good, and the food is just yummy! The flavored olive oil is my favorite part. It hurts my heart when people say they enjoy Olive Garden.... please, please, try Carrabba's!
(5)
Joe G.
We went here for my mother in laws 60th bday. It was already late for us for dinner so we were all very hungry. They sat us immediately and I thought perfect. Waitress took our drink order and that took 10 minutes. For a few waters, 3 beers and 2 sodas. Wtf?! So we finally order and wait an hour for food, then its not all brought together and my wifes salmon was raw! Seriously if we wanted sushi wr would have gone for sushi. Waitress was good and kept apologizing for the slow kitchen. She comped us dessert, but I was so angry I almost yelled at the manager.
(2)
J D.
One of the best eats in town !!! me and my wife go there whenever we get a chance and they ALWAYS deliver. Food is fantastic and staff is wonderful. Go there with family and friends and you will have a great time.
(5)
Mayo A.
This place was really nice. My sister and I just came back from the restaurant a few hours ago. We were seated quickly and our waiter Adam was very kind and quick. Once we ordered our food, it only took 5-10 minutes for our food to come. I had the Italian Classic and it was delicious but I got so full quickly that I had to save the rest for later. I love the bread and olive oil mix they provided. Overall service was great. I would say this place is a tad expensive but its a great place to have dinner.
(5)
Montgomery B.
Love this place!! Every time we go,we get great service and awesome food! The Chicken Bryan and Pollo Rosa Maria are deelish! We also really both love the Sirloin Marsala and it's cooked the perfect medium rare we request every time. The bread and olive oil are a treat and the Cesar salad in the chilled plates is probably the best I've ever had! Keep up the great work Carraba's!!
(4)
Brian S.
Good food, hearty portions (we always have leftovers to take home), and attentive staff. Some other reviewers complained about bad experiences with staff, but I've never had any problems. This is the only Italian restaurant that I will order a steak from. They have a wood fire grill, which makes for some really tasty steaks. I wish they'd upgrade their beer selection, though, as all they have are nasty macro-brews.
(5)
Karen K.
Where to begin...the service was impossibly bad. Couldn't get the server to come back to the table throughout the meal without tackling her or another employee. She did not bring our change from the $50 card we had from our bank rewards and we finally gave up getting the $6.79 back because, as we told the manager, we wouldn't be returning anyway. The meal was average but extremely expensive for a cafeteria experience. The main course was served before we had finished the soup/salad course. The wine is so marked up as to prohibit ordering a glass with dinner. I had just bought an identical wine at the grocery store for $11 and they wanted $48 for their bottle. That's not a "mark up" that's taking advantage. All in all there are just too many great restaurants in Tucson to waste time at this one.
(1)
Vinnie F.
Had dinner there with friends. Lasagna was good. Finally got my lentil soup. Not bad. Service was very good.
(3)
P. S.
I love this place, I do. Like another reviewer said, it's like Macaroni Grill except they fixed all the problems with that place and then took it up a few notches. I've eaten there many, many times (it happens to be close to me) and I've never once gotten a bad meal. Sometimes the wait can be rough if it's prime time, but... it's a great restaurant; if a place is empty on a Friday night, then it probably isn't someplace you want to be eating. This most recent trip was me and my mother. The waitress was prompt without being overeager or rushed. The complimentary half-loaf of crusty bread was soft and delicious, served with olive oil liberally mixed with spices (some places can be pretty stingy with the spices, but not here!) We both ordered the orecchiette pasta with wood-grilled chicken and mushrooms, with an added salad ($14 for the entree, another couple bucks for the salad). The salad was served promptly on a chilled plate. The salad dressing (I had the house) was very generous with the parmesan cheese and the carrot shreds were crisp and not limp bits of rubber-band as they so often can be. The salad was crisp and fresh with no limp bits. The entree was also very generously sized with plenty of chicken and mushrooms and lots and lots of more fresh-grated parmesan (and/or romano). The chicken was rubbed with spices and wood-grilled before being introduced to the pasta (which was then baked) so it was very moist and flavorful and fell to savory shreds rather than being lumps of dry, tasteless white stuff (which is something I find in chicken pasta all too often at other restaurants.) The port wine and cream sauce was also delicious, although very very rich... I barely managed to get halfway through it before giving up and asking for a box. The waitress stopped by periodically (but not too much) to make sure we were okay, or see if we needed anything like drink refills. The head cook (I think) came out to make sure everything was all right too, which was nice. All in all, another delicious meal at Carrabba's. I'm glad such a great restaurant is so convenient and near to hand!
(5)
Andrea G.
I belong to the Carrabbas' email program, and used my birthday certificate for this visit. Gary (husband) and I picked a busy Sat. night but we got there early enough that we waited only 15 or so minutes. They sport a bunch of benches outside, & give you handheld pagers, so you can wander outside and not clutter up the foyer. That is one busy restaurant--but they sure know how to move the food and the people efficiently (without seeming pushy). It was a tough choice, as they have a delicious menu. We chose the same Chicken trio, that comes with a side salad and a side (green beans-fresh!), potatoes or cavetappi. We chose the green beans-yum! The trio included Chicken Bryan (goat cheese & other goodies on it), a rosa chicken (I didn't write down its name) and a chicken Marsala. The chicken rosa entree was a little salty but excellent, and the Marsala was excellent as well. The chicken was moist and tasted wood-fired. Really good choice meal--good for left-over possibilities, too. Pricing for our trio was on the higher side (nearly $20 each) but they have meals ranging generally from just under $10.00 to $17.50. While waiting for our meal, we very much enjoyed the soft, warm and chewy bread served with virgin olive oil and some herbs. Everything was served perfectly, in a timely fashion and was tasty. Besides our server, I think we had a few others help with table clean up and serving, plus the manager even swooped in once or twice to make sure our water glasses were fresh and full. I was amazed at the efficiency of this restaurant, processing probably a few hundred at a time, with multiple courses per person. I spotted some head waiter or head chef person standing around the food coming out of the kitchen. I suspect he kept things flowing fast and accurately. Whatever the case, they did a great job, the ambiance was cozy (even with a "family" of a few hundred dining at one time) and we felt welcome by all of the friendly staff. Good job! We'll be baaaaack!
(4)
Corrine S.
Last night I dined here for the first time. My husband really liked his panini and our friends enjoyed their dishes. I, on the other hand, was very disappointed with my meal. I ordered the seafood cannelloni and when it arrived it looked ok. But when I started eating it I found it to be mushy with little taste. My frozen dinner lean cuisines taste better than this pricy dish. I could not tell if there was lobster shrimp or scallops in it because it was so mushy. Never again. This did not seem like a freshly prepared dish but rather a frozen meal made ahead of time. Yuk.
(1)
Rachel M.
We had an 8pm call ahead on Valentine's Day. The wait was long (it was Valentine's Day after all), but we killed time at the bar. Drinks were overpriced but good. Shortly after our drinks were done our buzzer went off and we were seated. I haven't been to a Carraba's in about 2 years and I was impressed with the variety of the menu. Our server was polite, fast and attentive despite the packed restaurant and stress she must have been under. My husband enjoyed his appetizer. Soup and salad were somewhat lacking. My soup was not like any minestrone I've had before. It was more of a vegetable medley soup. It was good even though I'm not sure it was what I ordered. Our entrees were delicious. The prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloins were so flavorful and a great price. My husband ordered something that looked like a pot roast, which he enjoyed, but after a bite of my dish he agreed I "won dinner". We will definitely go back to test out the rest of the menu. All in all the food and drinks were good, the service exceptional (including the bartenders and hostesses), and it was a great way to spend a romantic evening out.
(4)
Rene C.
Aye Carrabba! Carrabba's is total ripoff of Macaroni Grill, but I have no problem with this. In fact what they have done is taken the best elements of their competition and improved on each of them. Lets begin with the most important of these. The bar, The bartenders here are top notch and the waitstaff don't make funny faces when you order your cocktail and request it be done a specific way. My wife's Tanqueray martini was shaken table side and included a sidecar. My sister in laws boyfriend bought me a shot of Patron which I never NEVER ever drink any kind of tequila (straight anyway) but the mood was a festive one and slung that thing into mah belly like a champion. The wine list is exactly what you would expect. It offers many selections at lower price points, but for those with a sophisticated palate there were a few bottles that I would consider higher end. I found a nice Malbec by the glass ($9.00) which I enjoyed. I was in a pizza mood but a little weary of ordering one here. The menu is extensive and most restaurants with large offerings that include pizza usually miss when it comes to making a good pie. I asked our waiter for his "honest" opinion and without hesitation said their pizzas were "very good and some of the best in Tucson". I went with his word and ordered the margherita and asked that it be topped with sausage. The crust was nicely cooked and thin Italian style. Plenty of fresh basil and the sausage was a home run and completely exceeded my expectations. My wife ordered some seafood pasta dish (blech!!), but I did take a few bites of my sister in laws penne which I thought was pretty tasty. I also was able to sneak bites of my wife's ceasar (shhhhhhh) and again I loved this as well. BTW, I do realize there are anchovies in ceasar dressing, but I can't see them so I tolerate it. If you are looking for an inexpensive crowd pleasing casual night out this may what you are looking for.
(3)
Mark S.
Took my wife and two teenage daughters there for my wife's birthday. I will just say that when two teenagers recognize their pasta as "mushy" and bland this does not speak well for an Italian restaurant. Service was not bad but slightly rushed. We were only about halfway though our salads when the entrees arrived. This is one of my pet peeves when it comes to restaurants. My entree was recommended by the waiter, so my expectations were high, It consisted of Sirloin Marsala and one of their "specialties", Chicken Bryan. On the side was an order of Cavatappi Amatriciana. Sirloin... cooked medium as ordered. The mushrooms and Marsala sauce did little for the flavor. Chicken Bryan... chicken breast was nicely cooked but the whole thing was overpowered by the golf ball sized goat cheese coin that sat atop the chicken. If there was sauce, it was barely there. Speaking of no sauce.... the Cavatappi Amatriciana seemed as though they had taken the sauce ladle and waved it over the pasta. It was dry and pretty much tasteless. As I mentioned above my daughters did not enjoy their pasta, but they did say the grilled chicken (added as an extra) tasted good. Actually, all the grilled items were good. I would say they need to have whoever manned the grill station that night, give the rest of the line a lesson in cooking pasta and saucing dishes. My wife enjoyed her dish, a grilled item. It was her birthday so the evening was not a total loss.
(2)
Gretchen W.
My husband and I are not typically huge fans of chain restaurants. But we received a Carrabba's gift certificate for Christmas. We decided to use it New Year's eve and were told it'd be 20-25 minute wait. It ended up being more like 10 minutes, so we were thrilled! The drinks came quickly followed by the basket of warm bread. Let me tell you, this. was. HEAVENLY. It was warm, perfectly baked and coupled with the herbs & olive oil, it was perfection. My husband had the house salad, and I the Ceasar. They were the perfect size and came out on a cold plate, which I always appreciate. My husband ordered the 13oz Ribeye with mashed potatoes, and I had the Seafood Speidini di Mare. Let me just say that my husband is quite the conniesour of grilled meat and he thought it was cooked perfectly (medium) and meltedin your mouth. My seafood dish was pretty good. But I was disappointed with the portion size. 4 small scallops. 4 small shrimp for $18? I probably wouldn't order it again, but since someone else was paying, I had it. The seafood was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The sauteed spinach on the side was good, but had WAY too much oil. It was dripping with it. As a whole, I would say this place is a solid choice for good moderately priced Italian fare. It's head and shoulders above Olive Garden (which I"ll never go to again).
(3)
Christopher D.
First of all, the service here was very friendly and professional. Most of the food we ordered had good flavor, but the Italian Skewers (sirloin) were as tough as shoe leather! For a $15 entree I would think they could serve their guests better quality meat. Other than that everything was fine. The place is kind of like an upscale Appleby's.
(2)
Evonne J.
I had dinner here with my boyfriend's family. We were seated quickly, I think we beat the dinner rushed. Arrived at 5 PM and was out the door by 6:15 PM. It was my first time at Cabbarra's. I had a side salad for starters. The salad was crisp and cold. Delicious with their yummy House dressing, lite creamy parmesan. Our plates were cleared quickly and our entrees arrived. I ordered their small Chicken Parmesan with the vegetable of day which was broccoli. The chicken was OK, a little over seasoned and over cooked. The broccoli was steamed perfectly. I like how they serve local beers on draft. I had a Nimbus Blonde. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner the service was good. Staff was friendly and smiling.
(3)
Ainokea B.
Other than the long wait for the table, our overall experience was good. We had a party of 10 (including two children). The food was good--I especially love the warm bread with herbs/olive oil...we had appetizers (recommend the calamari, which is tasty)--and our entrees were all delicious. Recommended entrees: pasta rambo, spiedini de mare, and lobster mac and cheese. I've never had a bad meal at Carrabba's. The service was very friendly and the food was served within an appropriate timeframe.
(4)
Will K.
Chicken parmesan is crap. It is not made fresh and for $17.20 it's a rip off.
(1)
Liz W.
Stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey! :)
(4)
Tom D.
I have been to the Oracle Carrabbas for 6 years now (Fri/Sat only) for a total of perhaps 50 times. Service is sporadic. It is usually very good, but when huge groups come in, they can struggle to keep up. The free warmup appetizer of Bread with a dish of olive oil is very nice with cocktails. I always ask for balsamic vinegar to balance the oil. The salad is very good with the house creamy parmesean dressing. I personally have only had three dishes - and one(Bryan) comes with a very nice dollop of goat cheese on top. The goat cheese is to die for. For me, it is all about the extremely rich buttery seasoning of the chicken/beef while squeezing my tongue against my upper pallate to extract every bit of yummieness from the goat cheese. The chicken is always juicy with noticeable wood-smoked flavor. The garlic mashed potatoes are plentiful, but for me too filling. I like the side of pomodora pasta in a light tomato sauce instead. Be sure to order another loaf of bread to soak up every drop of the lemon/butter sauce! The cheese laden pollo dishes come in three flavors 1. Chicken Bryan* (Goat cheese/sundried tomatoes/lemon butter sauce) 2. Pollo rosa maria (stuffed fonteine/prosciuto) w/lemon butter sauce) 3. marsala (mushrooms, prosciutto in marsala wine sauce) *HEAVILY RECOMMEND! Try "The Trio" They give you one of each so that you can find your favorite. They also have "The Johnny" which adds a sirloin marsala to the chicken Bryan. This helps attenuate the extreme richness of the lemon/butter Bryan sauce. I can see why Christina C. might liken this to Macaroni Grill, but Carrabbas is far superior. I stopped going to Macaroni when portion sizes were cut back drastically. If you are a party of two, consider requesting seating on the bar-side. It can get a little noisy in the main dining area when busy. As far as reservations, I don't think they take them. Having said that, they WILL put you on the waiting list if you are en-route or will arrive within 15minutes. This is why you might see someone seated before you though they arrived later.
(4)
Frank N.
It's a chain, but it's always been great for me. Went there last night 3-9-13, The brain-trust at the hostess stand required four of them to be completely consumed in whatever issue was distracting them on their computer screen all the while ignoring us standing there waiting to check in with them and get a table. That's pretty annoying, but typical for today's dumbass teenager(s). No quality consciousness whatsoever. But, once past that hurdle, the food and service was spot-on as it's always been, every time I've ever gone there. This would be five stars all the way if the hostess situation wasn't so dumb and ignorant of their customers.
(4)
Courtney O.
I totally agree with Clem and Jason's reviews. My salad tasted terrible, the food was cold, service slow, just generally not good. Server didn't know about ingredients (I'm a strict vegetarian and was dining with a pregnant friend, so there were certain things like raw eggs that she can't have) in menu items, which shows that this restaurant provides poor training for employees (gotta wonder if the cook had the same training....). I have been burned by Carrabba's in two states a couple of times now, and I am finally done. They get no more chances.
(1)
Claudia B.
Wait was 15 minutes, not bad for a Saturday night. My experience was great, and had fast service. Our waiter was amazing and his recommendations were great. I had the lentil soup and salmon with mashed potatoes, amazing!
(4)
Thomas W.
This Carrabba's is the worst one I've ate at and I've eaten at a lot of them across the country. Hit is pretty hit and miss here for sure. A 10 minute wait before we saw our server started the evening off on a bad note as they were not very busy at all. We ordered our drinks and waited about 10 more minutes, when she came back she only had 3 drinks and there where 5 of us. The waitress informed my wife and me that their blender is broke and they don't have a backup so we couldn't have the frozen drinks we had ordered. We ordered our dinners and apps when she returned with our drinks. The hit and miss continued, the Calamari was a hit and the Bruchetta was a miss that no one at the table would eat.next came the soup or salad course and lets just say 2 liked what they got 3 of us did not. We move on to the dinner now and my mom and I had the chix parm neither of us cared very much for it as the chix was not fresh and the pasta sauce looked and tasted like Ketchup. My wife had the Seafood Cannelloni with she thought was very good my aunty also enjoyed her Pasta Carrabba. The last dinner guest with us had the basic pasta with meatballs, he said the sauce was again like Ketchup. I give this place two stars because only 2 out of 5 enjoyed most of their meal. We are not likely to return to THIS Carrabba's but will continue to visit other ones.
(2)
Giovanna D.
Just had dinner there on Monday and I can tell you their Amore Monday is out of this world. For less than 15.00 you get one appetizer ,entree and salad per person. I had the mussels for an appetizer and it was outstanding. There was so much food food we took some home. Our server was very nice and efficient.
(5)
Yogi B.
Carrabba's Italian Grill would have gotten 3 stars if not for my most recent experience. I will not be going back. The food is decent, ambiance is a bit hectic and loud but the staff really blew it this last visit. Not only were we (and some other parties) perturbed at having "reservations" and then being ignored for 45 minutes after the reservation time. When someone in our party complained they stated, "We do NOT take reservations". However, they had our name on the list when we arrived... Strange. The bad part was that they basically sat other parties of our size BEFORE us even though we had "reservations" & were on the list before those people arrived. (I guess some people DO get reservations.) The UGLY part was when we asked to see the manager who told us we were wrong, that they don't take reservations and that, even tough a mistake was made on the list delaying us further, we would just have to continue to wait. Nothing like "I'm sorry for the mix up" nor " My apologies for your inconvenience" nor "Can we get you a drink while you wait"... The manager actually said "You're wrong. We do not take reservations." So much for customer service. So much for even a little courtesy or kindness. (We were very kind and calm in describing the situation to the manager-didn't get heated until the manager kept telling us we were wrong & not even giving us an "I'm sorry for the mix up".)
(1)
Ken C.
We have had excellent service and food for all three of our visits. A real pleasure to have dinner there where the quality of service and food is reliable.
(4)
Christina C.
I agree with Rene C. when he says Carrabba's is a "ripoff of Macaroni Grill", but I like Carrabba's more. I took my boyfriend and grandmother there for the first time. We were seated right way and the hostess was friendly, held the door for us when we arrived and left, and let us know the name of our server, whom I don't remember because he spoke so low. Server was average, we had to ask for water twice and our meal took a little while, but we got dessert on the house. The Fat tire that was on tap tasted a little flat. As an appetizer we had the Mozzarella Marinara (cheese sticks), they were your average size with lots of cheese. The Marinara sauce had a spice to it and didn't taste like just tomatoes. :) that went well with the fried part of the cheese sticks. The caesar salad and house salad with vinaigrette was very good. The lettuce was very fresh and crisp, I think the house salad could have used some tomato. The minestrone soup was very good as well and having their fresh loaf bread to eat with olive oil and ground pepper was pleasant. I like the bread here rather then macaroni grill because it is pre-cut and seen very fluffy and light as to macaroni grill's bread seems a bit heavy (thicker). For dinner entrees we had the spaghetti and meatballs with meat sauce. I am famous for ordering that in every restaurant I go to, but my grandma beat me to it. The serving was very good amount with 3 meatballs and some parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. The sauce used tasted simple, but not bland. The flavors were mixed well and not spicy at all. I would order that on my next visit. The Chicken Bryan was cooked well enough for you to taste the juices, not dry at all and you could tell that it was cooked from a wood-burning grill. It came with 2 big spoon full of mashed potatoes. They were not pasty at all (which I hate) and had some chucks of actual potato (which I love) also with very little skin from the potatoes. The basil lemon butter sauce tasted great on the chicken as well as on the mashed potatoes (dipping your bread in it is not a bad idea either). Seafood Cannelloni is heavy on the cheese. Cannelloni noodle was burnt on some edges and very hard to cut through. Not the best dish on the menu. And for the best part of the meal: DESSERT!!!! The John Cole dish was very delicious and hit the spot. Roasted cinnamon rum pecans with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. If you like butter pecan you will like this. The ice cream was not too frozen and the caramel was not too warm to melt the ice cream. On my next visit I would order this again. Key words: NEXT VISIT! :)
(4)
Eliot E.
One word sums it up: Meh. Not bad, just kinda plain. Two stars for serving things I'm too lazy to make myself.
(2)
Priscila B.
First time I went I really liked. It was over a year ago. Just went there today to celebrate early Mother's Day and I was disappointed. It was not even that crowded (like tomorrow will be) and you could see they were not handling in the kitchen. The manager stepped in the kitchen without gloves or hats to help out: big health code violation. My caneloni would have been better if it was not cold inside. But the Seabass and some Dish di Mare was ok, except that the Seabass was fried instead of grilled. I would rather go to Olive Garden.
(2)
Rosanna H.
I have to say my experience at Carrabba's was very pleasant. We arrived after the dinner rush and did not have to wait at all for a table. The host was very nice and friendly as well as our server, Leah. Although I did not think the salad was very tasty, a bit bitter if you ask me, the food was quick, hot and very good. My favorite part was the mashed potatoes! They were very delicious. I also enjoyed the rustic bread with olive oil which our server was more than happy to bring more to our table.
(4)
Lisa D.
It is hit and miss with the service. I always enjoy the lasagna and I love the salad and bread. Not unique; but yummy.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Steve M.
Had not been to Carrabbas in quite a while. It was my sister's birthday and that's where she wanted to go, so the whole family showed up to help her celebrate. I will state that I worked at Carrabbas for several years and always enjoy going in and seeing my former friends and regulars. Tonight was no exception. Glad to see that so many of them continue to patronize the place. Our dinner overall was excellent. Emery, our sever, was excellent. She made certain glasses were full and made excellent suggestions. The food was up to the standards that I knew Carrabbas always held. We had a variety of everything off the menu and everyone in the party enjoyed their dinner. Anything with marsala was a big hit and my mom has always, and continues to love the lasagna. My favorite thing was my lentil and sausage soup. It was nicely spicy and well seasoned. It was nice to see and taste the Carrabbas that I knew when I worked there. I am glad to see that Carrabbas has continued to succeed and still lives up to its standards of offering excellent food and excellent service.
(4)K J.
Stopped in here last Wednesday when we found out that Buba's Grub was closed for all you can eat ribs and chicken night, due to a power outage. We went into the El Charro cafe first, but it took 10 minutes to get chips and salsa, and after another 5 minutes we still hadn't seen a waitress yet. Since their prices seemed very high for simple mexican food, we walked out. I'm glad we moved over to Carrabba's! I had the pork chops marsala, which was delicious! My friend had the 3 chicken dish combo, with grilled asparagus that was AMAZING! It had a smoky flavor to it that was great. It's worth the extra $1.50 upcharge! As corporate restaurants go, these guys do a great job of remaining consistently good. The prices were reasonable for the quality of the food you get. The service was great.
(4)Stacey A.
Had the Mezzaluna and mamas chicken soup! Both were delicious. Also had cannolis and the sonjo chocolate cake for dessert. Waiter Michael was awesome, very attentive to our table.
(5)Paul B.
We won't return. I know opinions of food and restaurants are subjective. With that in mind, we used to love Carrabba's, but not any more. Portions are small and waaaay over-priced. Service has always been good for us, and the ambience is fine. Yesterday, I ordered spaghetti and sausage. The pasta didn't seem fresh, the sausage was horribly bland, and I didn't care for the marinara sauce. My wife's $16 salad was saturated with dressing, too much for her taste. Our waitress offered to remedy my dissatisfaction, but I didn't think it was Carrabba's fault that I had ordered something I didn't care for. It wasn't until after we had paid and left that my wife reminded me that I hadn't liked what I ordered the last time we had dined there (months ago). There are too many other excellent Italian restaurants in Tucson for us to ever return to Carrabba's, places where you get larger portions and pay less.
(1)Ginger S.
Food is great for a chain restaurant. My boyfriend ordered a ribeye and received a fillet. Took forever to get the order straight and I was finished eating by the time he received his correct meal. The kids meals are absolutely worth it and the bread is outstanding.
(3)Mildred Kitty R.
So far service not good. Had to get up and get our silverware The sling provided for the baby was totally unsafe and dirty. Unraveled at both ends!! Our appetizers had been served but we had nothing to eat them with!!! Waitress is extremely busy. Has served us food reaching over my husband sitting next to me. Brought out a wine that tasted like pure alcohol. Served me a glass and asked that I pass the other one to my husband! Very classy!! House salad? Please see picture and let me know what you think! Some iceberg lettuce, a few strand of carrots and two olives!!!! The lentil soup was ok. Everything else was .... just ok. Nothing special about the food and service ..... Well I don't think there is anything about this restaurant that would entice me to come back. Koodos to manager for not charging us for the awful wine!!
(1)Brie G.
Absolutely loved this place! My husband and I went here for the first time last weekend. We had such an excellent waiter and the food was sooo to die for. The fact that they are a scratch kitchen is pretty cool too :) We are definitely going again.
(5)Daniel B.
How people give this restaurant less than four stars is beyond me. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, and I've always had very good service. To be fair, though, I never go during the busiest hours. They have great salads, soups, and appetizers too. I recently had the Shrimp Diavalo appetizer, and it was very flavorful without being too spicy. Their wines are good and not overpriced, which is rare. They offer a "cortino", which is an 8-ounce glass rather than the usual 5-ounce, and it's just the right size. Last time I had the Lobster Ravioli and it was outstanding. Next time I'll try the Mezzaluna, which looked equally tempting. I wish they had more than one Tucson location.
(5)John R.
Italian food options in Tucson can tend to be found all over the quality radar from poor to great - and can be so inconsistent. I waited until my 3rd visit to Carrabba's to write this review for that exact reason. It's safe to say that management and staff take pride at Carrabba's. Carrabba's is ALWAYS busy. But if you call ahead, it will only take you a few minutes to be seated from when you enter. The restaurant is always clean, from the tables and the silverware to the walls and floors. The service is consistently spot on - the moment you need a refill, it's there. The timing is almost perfect between courses. I've had to wait maybe an extra minute or two for my entree after my salad is cleared, but that's really nothing to quibble over for how busy they are. The 3 different servers I had were all genuinely pleasant and modern, and the teamwork there is remarkable. The food is LIGHTYEARS better than Olive Garden (and unfortunately better than Vivace as well). The noodles taste freshly made and the Alfredo sauce is always perfect (not too creamy/thick/runny, just right). The salad dressings also taste homemade and are rich in flavor - I usually get the Parmesan dressing. The mussels appetizer is fantastic - you will want an extra helping of bread to dip in the broth and at happy hour they are 1/2 off! I order the Johnny, which is sirloin marsala with Chricken Bryan (chicken with goat cheese, basil, sun dried tomato and lemon butter) and I add a breast of Chicken Rosa Maria (stuffed with fontina and prosciutto, then topped with mushrooms and lemon butter). This is absolutely awesome - the steak has a great wood flavor and was cooked perfectly and was LEAN! And the chicken is just the right texture and also wood flavor, with those fabulous toppings... THE PRICE: We had Zucchini Sticks and Mussels, 2 cocktails, 2 entrees with an add-on, the most wonderful Dessert Trio, and 2 after dinner drinks for a total, with tax, of $80 - so we ate like royalty and it was reasonably priced. I think you need to give them a try and see for yourself!
(5)Adriana F.
Carrabba's We love it, we always ordered "chicken marsalla," delicious, and the desert is always chocolate cake so delicious, the service is perfect, our waiter or waitress is always friendly, nice, and treat us like important people, we ordered a sangria , so fresh, and taste delicious.
(4)Karen F.
This is our favorite restaurant! The food is always excellent and the staff is ready to please!
(5)Joeann F.
Delightful in every way! We stopped in for lunch and tried the specials with two entrees! Bub LOVED his lentil soup. I got the Sirloin Marsala and Mahi. The marsala sauce was really tasty and the meat was cooked to perfection and yummy! The ahi came with an artichoke heart and peppers and again a wonderful sauce! Bub got the chicken and lasagne and was happy!!! Kiki, our waitress, was attentive and friendly and made sure we had everything we needed! Loved it!!!!
(5)Larry C.
Always a great meal. Excellent service and delicious food. Good value (use a coupon) with fast service for early dinners.
(5)Nappy H.
Meh, it's the stereotypical corporate Olive garden. Everthing was mediocre and the price was too much for the food we got. It wasn't bad or good, it just is....
(3)David C.
I DID NOT want Italian food tonight, but we were both starving having skipped earlier meals, so we decided on here instead of waiting for another hour or longer to eat dinner. Although very busy we were seated immediately. The decor is nice, it is like a cross between an Olive Garden and an Applebee's. Our server (Katie) came to our table a little slowly, but again they were very busy. She immediately took our drink order and since we had extra time, we placed an appetizer order right away for mozzarella sticks. Drinks came quickly and were never more than half empty, this gal was on it! Honestly, probably one of the best services we've experienced in a long time! She was great! The food is good, it's not out of this world amazing by any means, but come on folks it's a chain restaurant making dishes from frozen ingredients. You want to die for food, go pay for it! The mozzarella sticks were a bit overdone, the Sirloin Marsala was delicious, as was the fettuccine Alfredo. Definitely will go back. Great service! Will ask for Katie next time we go! Dinner took a while to get to us, nothing crazy just a little longer than normal, but they still gave us free desserts because of it and we hadn't said a word. Pretty amazing to see companies still utilizing ways to try to proactively keep people happy.
(5)Elizabeth N.
I absolutely love this restaurant. Their take-out service is just as great as their in-house service. Today my family was served by a wonderful waitress (her name was Katie B.) and she was quite an attentive and kind person. The hostess also was very welcoming and she knew right away who I was. She led us to our table and our waitress took our orders almost immediately. I have to say, the daiquiri that I decided to get was quite delicious and I had a wonderful salad and entree. I highly recommend the Lobster Ravioli or the Lobster Mac-and-Cheese. In addition, we had a to go order and the waitress timed it perfectly so that the to-go order was ready by the time we finished our meals. Overall, 5 stars for the great customer service and great food! :)
(5)Matthew J.
WOOT! we found one! This is the best italian place in tucson! my family loves it! Best ever! Great servers wonderful atmosphere and even better food! Good for kids too! awesome and not even that expensive!
(5)Hugo M.
Its a chain so I wont get to wordy on it. The service was very good and the kitchen puts out a good product that is tasty and visually pleasing.
(4)Andrew S.
It's fantastic for a chain Italian joint, but not the best Italian in Tucson (try Vivace, Campbell and River). Food is better than Olive Garden in my view - their fresh baked bread and herb olive oil blend is a lot easier to hold down than a couple breadsticks, but their salad doesn't seem quite as "Italian" as Olive Garden. Their house marsala is delicious, and overall, a great place to go for a casual, tasty, and little classier than Olive Garden, Italian meal.
(4)Leslie E.
This was our third and final trip to this restaurant. The first trip when it was new as unexciting, but not horrible. The second trip was again mediocre, but with the extra added attraction of having no desserts available (we were celebrating a birthday, of course). None. Not a dessert in the restaurant. There are at least 2 grocery stores nearby, so you'd think they would go buy some ice cream to sell at the very least. This third trip had three of us in our party, and we all had something that was challenging with the meal. Two of the three soups were cold. They were sent back and came back overly hot of course. My meal consisted of three separate items. Two of the three were cold. I didn't bother sending them back this time as they were both over-salted to begin with, and additional heat wouldn't have helped. One of our party had a very tough chicken dish, and the other had a very fishy tasting seafood dish. For the capper, one of us got a napkin with huge holes in it! Really...they don't look at these things?! I would not recommend this to anyone. Chain restaurants at mall food courts do better than this.
(1)Emily S.
I don't know what happened. This place used to be good but I tried 2 more times and the food was totally gross. I know a lot of people have said this... but this place just isn't good anymore.
(1)Mary M.
We were hungry trying to decide where to go, one of the kids said Italian so we decided Carrabba's. It was a Fri night ( i know every place is busy) but it was early..like 6 pm. We called ahead, they said 20 min wait, ok put us on the list. When we got there, they didn't have us on the list, there was a different girl answering the phone and then relaying info to the hostess so i get it, mistake, ok. We will wait as every place will be a wait. Long story short 45-50 min later after seeing several smaller parties seated before our group of 5 we were seated. I wasn't happy but trying to be a good sport not crying about it. The food was good, the server was attentive, fine, we are almost finished and the Mgr. comes over apologizes for the long wait and takes $25.00 off of our bill. Hey, we had said nothing negative to anyone about the wait..I guess they were on top of it. Humm that wait didn't seem near as bad after the unsolicited discount. Very Impressed, will go back for more, maybe next time a Wed night.
(4)Eileen C.
I loved Carrabbas. It has a very nice and comfortable interior. I like the ambiance. They had great menu choices but my husband and I both ended up getting the Chicken Parmesan and Baked Ravioli. It was excellent! We also tried their Lentil Soup and it was delicious. But be careful because it has a major "kick!" They also serve a complimentary seasoning blend with extra virgin olive oil with house bread that is to die for. That is some good stuff. We had JP as our server and he was fantastic. He really took care of us and educated us on quite a bit. This was a great visit and we will definitely be back.
(5)Philip S.
Yes, there are a bunch of Carrabba's Italian Grills, Franchises! I like all the ones I've eaten in. BUT this one feels like a home town, neighborhood restaurant. The staff is uniformly friendly and helpful. The place is clean and popular. The popularity is based on good food and service. I suggest that you get a reservation between 5-7PM. The menu is divided between the traditional i.e. Minestrone, Mama Mandola's Sicilian Chicken Soup, Lasagna, Chicken Bryan, Veal Piccata etc. and seasonal specials which change every 3-4 months. The wine list is nice with some very acceptable and reasonably priced wines. We go a few times a month. This place is fun, warm, a spot that I and my friends like to get together and bond over good food.
(5)Sarah G.
Wonderful! This is my favorite Italian place, I love it enough that we had them cater our wedding! Service is always good, and the food is just yummy! The flavored olive oil is my favorite part. It hurts my heart when people say they enjoy Olive Garden.... please, please, try Carrabba's!
(5)Joe G.
We went here for my mother in laws 60th bday. It was already late for us for dinner so we were all very hungry. They sat us immediately and I thought perfect. Waitress took our drink order and that took 10 minutes. For a few waters, 3 beers and 2 sodas. Wtf?! So we finally order and wait an hour for food, then its not all brought together and my wifes salmon was raw! Seriously if we wanted sushi wr would have gone for sushi. Waitress was good and kept apologizing for the slow kitchen. She comped us dessert, but I was so angry I almost yelled at the manager.
(2)J D.
One of the best eats in town !!! me and my wife go there whenever we get a chance and they ALWAYS deliver. Food is fantastic and staff is wonderful. Go there with family and friends and you will have a great time.
(5)Mayo A.
This place was really nice. My sister and I just came back from the restaurant a few hours ago. We were seated quickly and our waiter Adam was very kind and quick. Once we ordered our food, it only took 5-10 minutes for our food to come. I had the Italian Classic and it was delicious but I got so full quickly that I had to save the rest for later. I love the bread and olive oil mix they provided. Overall service was great. I would say this place is a tad expensive but its a great place to have dinner.
(5)Montgomery B.
Love this place!! Every time we go,we get great service and awesome food! The Chicken Bryan and Pollo Rosa Maria are deelish! We also really both love the Sirloin Marsala and it's cooked the perfect medium rare we request every time. The bread and olive oil are a treat and the Cesar salad in the chilled plates is probably the best I've ever had! Keep up the great work Carraba's!!
(4)Brian S.
Good food, hearty portions (we always have leftovers to take home), and attentive staff. Some other reviewers complained about bad experiences with staff, but I've never had any problems. This is the only Italian restaurant that I will order a steak from. They have a wood fire grill, which makes for some really tasty steaks. I wish they'd upgrade their beer selection, though, as all they have are nasty macro-brews.
(5)Karen K.
Where to begin...the service was impossibly bad. Couldn't get the server to come back to the table throughout the meal without tackling her or another employee. She did not bring our change from the $50 card we had from our bank rewards and we finally gave up getting the $6.79 back because, as we told the manager, we wouldn't be returning anyway. The meal was average but extremely expensive for a cafeteria experience. The main course was served before we had finished the soup/salad course. The wine is so marked up as to prohibit ordering a glass with dinner. I had just bought an identical wine at the grocery store for $11 and they wanted $48 for their bottle. That's not a "mark up" that's taking advantage. All in all there are just too many great restaurants in Tucson to waste time at this one.
(1)Vinnie F.
Had dinner there with friends. Lasagna was good. Finally got my lentil soup. Not bad. Service was very good.
(3)P. S.
I love this place, I do. Like another reviewer said, it's like Macaroni Grill except they fixed all the problems with that place and then took it up a few notches. I've eaten there many, many times (it happens to be close to me) and I've never once gotten a bad meal. Sometimes the wait can be rough if it's prime time, but... it's a great restaurant; if a place is empty on a Friday night, then it probably isn't someplace you want to be eating. This most recent trip was me and my mother. The waitress was prompt without being overeager or rushed. The complimentary half-loaf of crusty bread was soft and delicious, served with olive oil liberally mixed with spices (some places can be pretty stingy with the spices, but not here!) We both ordered the orecchiette pasta with wood-grilled chicken and mushrooms, with an added salad ($14 for the entree, another couple bucks for the salad). The salad was served promptly on a chilled plate. The salad dressing (I had the house) was very generous with the parmesan cheese and the carrot shreds were crisp and not limp bits of rubber-band as they so often can be. The salad was crisp and fresh with no limp bits. The entree was also very generously sized with plenty of chicken and mushrooms and lots and lots of more fresh-grated parmesan (and/or romano). The chicken was rubbed with spices and wood-grilled before being introduced to the pasta (which was then baked) so it was very moist and flavorful and fell to savory shreds rather than being lumps of dry, tasteless white stuff (which is something I find in chicken pasta all too often at other restaurants.) The port wine and cream sauce was also delicious, although very very rich... I barely managed to get halfway through it before giving up and asking for a box. The waitress stopped by periodically (but not too much) to make sure we were okay, or see if we needed anything like drink refills. The head cook (I think) came out to make sure everything was all right too, which was nice. All in all, another delicious meal at Carrabba's. I'm glad such a great restaurant is so convenient and near to hand!
(5)Andrea G.
I belong to the Carrabbas' email program, and used my birthday certificate for this visit. Gary (husband) and I picked a busy Sat. night but we got there early enough that we waited only 15 or so minutes. They sport a bunch of benches outside, & give you handheld pagers, so you can wander outside and not clutter up the foyer. That is one busy restaurant--but they sure know how to move the food and the people efficiently (without seeming pushy). It was a tough choice, as they have a delicious menu. We chose the same Chicken trio, that comes with a side salad and a side (green beans-fresh!), potatoes or cavetappi. We chose the green beans-yum! The trio included Chicken Bryan (goat cheese & other goodies on it), a rosa chicken (I didn't write down its name) and a chicken Marsala. The chicken rosa entree was a little salty but excellent, and the Marsala was excellent as well. The chicken was moist and tasted wood-fired. Really good choice meal--good for left-over possibilities, too. Pricing for our trio was on the higher side (nearly $20 each) but they have meals ranging generally from just under $10.00 to $17.50. While waiting for our meal, we very much enjoyed the soft, warm and chewy bread served with virgin olive oil and some herbs. Everything was served perfectly, in a timely fashion and was tasty. Besides our server, I think we had a few others help with table clean up and serving, plus the manager even swooped in once or twice to make sure our water glasses were fresh and full. I was amazed at the efficiency of this restaurant, processing probably a few hundred at a time, with multiple courses per person. I spotted some head waiter or head chef person standing around the food coming out of the kitchen. I suspect he kept things flowing fast and accurately. Whatever the case, they did a great job, the ambiance was cozy (even with a "family" of a few hundred dining at one time) and we felt welcome by all of the friendly staff. Good job! We'll be baaaaack!
(4)Corrine S.
Last night I dined here for the first time. My husband really liked his panini and our friends enjoyed their dishes. I, on the other hand, was very disappointed with my meal. I ordered the seafood cannelloni and when it arrived it looked ok. But when I started eating it I found it to be mushy with little taste. My frozen dinner lean cuisines taste better than this pricy dish. I could not tell if there was lobster shrimp or scallops in it because it was so mushy. Never again. This did not seem like a freshly prepared dish but rather a frozen meal made ahead of time. Yuk.
(1)Rachel M.
We had an 8pm call ahead on Valentine's Day. The wait was long (it was Valentine's Day after all), but we killed time at the bar. Drinks were overpriced but good. Shortly after our drinks were done our buzzer went off and we were seated. I haven't been to a Carraba's in about 2 years and I was impressed with the variety of the menu. Our server was polite, fast and attentive despite the packed restaurant and stress she must have been under. My husband enjoyed his appetizer. Soup and salad were somewhat lacking. My soup was not like any minestrone I've had before. It was more of a vegetable medley soup. It was good even though I'm not sure it was what I ordered. Our entrees were delicious. The prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloins were so flavorful and a great price. My husband ordered something that looked like a pot roast, which he enjoyed, but after a bite of my dish he agreed I "won dinner". We will definitely go back to test out the rest of the menu. All in all the food and drinks were good, the service exceptional (including the bartenders and hostesses), and it was a great way to spend a romantic evening out.
(4)Rene C.
Aye Carrabba! Carrabba's is total ripoff of Macaroni Grill, but I have no problem with this. In fact what they have done is taken the best elements of their competition and improved on each of them. Lets begin with the most important of these. The bar, The bartenders here are top notch and the waitstaff don't make funny faces when you order your cocktail and request it be done a specific way. My wife's Tanqueray martini was shaken table side and included a sidecar. My sister in laws boyfriend bought me a shot of Patron which I never NEVER ever drink any kind of tequila (straight anyway) but the mood was a festive one and slung that thing into mah belly like a champion. The wine list is exactly what you would expect. It offers many selections at lower price points, but for those with a sophisticated palate there were a few bottles that I would consider higher end. I found a nice Malbec by the glass ($9.00) which I enjoyed. I was in a pizza mood but a little weary of ordering one here. The menu is extensive and most restaurants with large offerings that include pizza usually miss when it comes to making a good pie. I asked our waiter for his "honest" opinion and without hesitation said their pizzas were "very good and some of the best in Tucson". I went with his word and ordered the margherita and asked that it be topped with sausage. The crust was nicely cooked and thin Italian style. Plenty of fresh basil and the sausage was a home run and completely exceeded my expectations. My wife ordered some seafood pasta dish (blech!!), but I did take a few bites of my sister in laws penne which I thought was pretty tasty. I also was able to sneak bites of my wife's ceasar (shhhhhhh) and again I loved this as well. BTW, I do realize there are anchovies in ceasar dressing, but I can't see them so I tolerate it. If you are looking for an inexpensive crowd pleasing casual night out this may what you are looking for.
(3)Mark S.
Took my wife and two teenage daughters there for my wife's birthday. I will just say that when two teenagers recognize their pasta as "mushy" and bland this does not speak well for an Italian restaurant. Service was not bad but slightly rushed. We were only about halfway though our salads when the entrees arrived. This is one of my pet peeves when it comes to restaurants. My entree was recommended by the waiter, so my expectations were high, It consisted of Sirloin Marsala and one of their "specialties", Chicken Bryan. On the side was an order of Cavatappi Amatriciana. Sirloin... cooked medium as ordered. The mushrooms and Marsala sauce did little for the flavor. Chicken Bryan... chicken breast was nicely cooked but the whole thing was overpowered by the golf ball sized goat cheese coin that sat atop the chicken. If there was sauce, it was barely there. Speaking of no sauce.... the Cavatappi Amatriciana seemed as though they had taken the sauce ladle and waved it over the pasta. It was dry and pretty much tasteless. As I mentioned above my daughters did not enjoy their pasta, but they did say the grilled chicken (added as an extra) tasted good. Actually, all the grilled items were good. I would say they need to have whoever manned the grill station that night, give the rest of the line a lesson in cooking pasta and saucing dishes. My wife enjoyed her dish, a grilled item. It was her birthday so the evening was not a total loss.
(2)Gretchen W.
My husband and I are not typically huge fans of chain restaurants. But we received a Carrabba's gift certificate for Christmas. We decided to use it New Year's eve and were told it'd be 20-25 minute wait. It ended up being more like 10 minutes, so we were thrilled! The drinks came quickly followed by the basket of warm bread. Let me tell you, this. was. HEAVENLY. It was warm, perfectly baked and coupled with the herbs & olive oil, it was perfection. My husband had the house salad, and I the Ceasar. They were the perfect size and came out on a cold plate, which I always appreciate. My husband ordered the 13oz Ribeye with mashed potatoes, and I had the Seafood Speidini di Mare. Let me just say that my husband is quite the conniesour of grilled meat and he thought it was cooked perfectly (medium) and meltedin your mouth. My seafood dish was pretty good. But I was disappointed with the portion size. 4 small scallops. 4 small shrimp for $18? I probably wouldn't order it again, but since someone else was paying, I had it. The seafood was perfectly cooked and very tasty. The sauteed spinach on the side was good, but had WAY too much oil. It was dripping with it. As a whole, I would say this place is a solid choice for good moderately priced Italian fare. It's head and shoulders above Olive Garden (which I"ll never go to again).
(3)Christopher D.
First of all, the service here was very friendly and professional. Most of the food we ordered had good flavor, but the Italian Skewers (sirloin) were as tough as shoe leather! For a $15 entree I would think they could serve their guests better quality meat. Other than that everything was fine. The place is kind of like an upscale Appleby's.
(2)Evonne J.
I had dinner here with my boyfriend's family. We were seated quickly, I think we beat the dinner rushed. Arrived at 5 PM and was out the door by 6:15 PM. It was my first time at Cabbarra's. I had a side salad for starters. The salad was crisp and cold. Delicious with their yummy House dressing, lite creamy parmesan. Our plates were cleared quickly and our entrees arrived. I ordered their small Chicken Parmesan with the vegetable of day which was broccoli. The chicken was OK, a little over seasoned and over cooked. The broccoli was steamed perfectly. I like how they serve local beers on draft. I had a Nimbus Blonde. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner the service was good. Staff was friendly and smiling.
(3)Ainokea B.
Other than the long wait for the table, our overall experience was good. We had a party of 10 (including two children). The food was good--I especially love the warm bread with herbs/olive oil...we had appetizers (recommend the calamari, which is tasty)--and our entrees were all delicious. Recommended entrees: pasta rambo, spiedini de mare, and lobster mac and cheese. I've never had a bad meal at Carrabba's. The service was very friendly and the food was served within an appropriate timeframe.
(4)Will K.
Chicken parmesan is crap. It is not made fresh and for $17.20 it's a rip off.
(1)Liz W.
Stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey! :)
(4)Tom D.
I have been to the Oracle Carrabbas for 6 years now (Fri/Sat only) for a total of perhaps 50 times. Service is sporadic. It is usually very good, but when huge groups come in, they can struggle to keep up. The free warmup appetizer of Bread with a dish of olive oil is very nice with cocktails. I always ask for balsamic vinegar to balance the oil. The salad is very good with the house creamy parmesean dressing. I personally have only had three dishes - and one(Bryan) comes with a very nice dollop of goat cheese on top. The goat cheese is to die for. For me, it is all about the extremely rich buttery seasoning of the chicken/beef while squeezing my tongue against my upper pallate to extract every bit of yummieness from the goat cheese. The chicken is always juicy with noticeable wood-smoked flavor. The garlic mashed potatoes are plentiful, but for me too filling. I like the side of pomodora pasta in a light tomato sauce instead. Be sure to order another loaf of bread to soak up every drop of the lemon/butter sauce! The cheese laden pollo dishes come in three flavors 1. Chicken Bryan* (Goat cheese/sundried tomatoes/lemon butter sauce) 2. Pollo rosa maria (stuffed fonteine/prosciuto) w/lemon butter sauce) 3. marsala (mushrooms, prosciutto in marsala wine sauce) *HEAVILY RECOMMEND! Try "The Trio" They give you one of each so that you can find your favorite. They also have "The Johnny" which adds a sirloin marsala to the chicken Bryan. This helps attenuate the extreme richness of the lemon/butter Bryan sauce. I can see why Christina C. might liken this to Macaroni Grill, but Carrabbas is far superior. I stopped going to Macaroni when portion sizes were cut back drastically. If you are a party of two, consider requesting seating on the bar-side. It can get a little noisy in the main dining area when busy. As far as reservations, I don't think they take them. Having said that, they WILL put you on the waiting list if you are en-route or will arrive within 15minutes. This is why you might see someone seated before you though they arrived later.
(4)Frank N.
It's a chain, but it's always been great for me. Went there last night 3-9-13, The brain-trust at the hostess stand required four of them to be completely consumed in whatever issue was distracting them on their computer screen all the while ignoring us standing there waiting to check in with them and get a table. That's pretty annoying, but typical for today's dumbass teenager(s). No quality consciousness whatsoever. But, once past that hurdle, the food and service was spot-on as it's always been, every time I've ever gone there. This would be five stars all the way if the hostess situation wasn't so dumb and ignorant of their customers.
(4)Courtney O.
I totally agree with Clem and Jason's reviews. My salad tasted terrible, the food was cold, service slow, just generally not good. Server didn't know about ingredients (I'm a strict vegetarian and was dining with a pregnant friend, so there were certain things like raw eggs that she can't have) in menu items, which shows that this restaurant provides poor training for employees (gotta wonder if the cook had the same training....). I have been burned by Carrabba's in two states a couple of times now, and I am finally done. They get no more chances.
(1)Claudia B.
Wait was 15 minutes, not bad for a Saturday night. My experience was great, and had fast service. Our waiter was amazing and his recommendations were great. I had the lentil soup and salmon with mashed potatoes, amazing!
(4)Thomas W.
This Carrabba's is the worst one I've ate at and I've eaten at a lot of them across the country. Hit is pretty hit and miss here for sure. A 10 minute wait before we saw our server started the evening off on a bad note as they were not very busy at all. We ordered our drinks and waited about 10 more minutes, when she came back she only had 3 drinks and there where 5 of us. The waitress informed my wife and me that their blender is broke and they don't have a backup so we couldn't have the frozen drinks we had ordered. We ordered our dinners and apps when she returned with our drinks. The hit and miss continued, the Calamari was a hit and the Bruchetta was a miss that no one at the table would eat.next came the soup or salad course and lets just say 2 liked what they got 3 of us did not. We move on to the dinner now and my mom and I had the chix parm neither of us cared very much for it as the chix was not fresh and the pasta sauce looked and tasted like Ketchup. My wife had the Seafood Cannelloni with she thought was very good my aunty also enjoyed her Pasta Carrabba. The last dinner guest with us had the basic pasta with meatballs, he said the sauce was again like Ketchup. I give this place two stars because only 2 out of 5 enjoyed most of their meal. We are not likely to return to THIS Carrabba's but will continue to visit other ones.
(2)Giovanna D.
Just had dinner there on Monday and I can tell you their Amore Monday is out of this world. For less than 15.00 you get one appetizer ,entree and salad per person. I had the mussels for an appetizer and it was outstanding. There was so much food food we took some home. Our server was very nice and efficient.
(5)Yogi B.
Carrabba's Italian Grill would have gotten 3 stars if not for my most recent experience. I will not be going back. The food is decent, ambiance is a bit hectic and loud but the staff really blew it this last visit. Not only were we (and some other parties) perturbed at having "reservations" and then being ignored for 45 minutes after the reservation time. When someone in our party complained they stated, "We do NOT take reservations". However, they had our name on the list when we arrived... Strange. The bad part was that they basically sat other parties of our size BEFORE us even though we had "reservations" & were on the list before those people arrived. (I guess some people DO get reservations.) The UGLY part was when we asked to see the manager who told us we were wrong, that they don't take reservations and that, even tough a mistake was made on the list delaying us further, we would just have to continue to wait. Nothing like "I'm sorry for the mix up" nor " My apologies for your inconvenience" nor "Can we get you a drink while you wait"... The manager actually said "You're wrong. We do not take reservations." So much for customer service. So much for even a little courtesy or kindness. (We were very kind and calm in describing the situation to the manager-didn't get heated until the manager kept telling us we were wrong & not even giving us an "I'm sorry for the mix up".)
(1)Ken C.
We have had excellent service and food for all three of our visits. A real pleasure to have dinner there where the quality of service and food is reliable.
(4)Christina C.
I agree with Rene C. when he says Carrabba's is a "ripoff of Macaroni Grill", but I like Carrabba's more. I took my boyfriend and grandmother there for the first time. We were seated right way and the hostess was friendly, held the door for us when we arrived and left, and let us know the name of our server, whom I don't remember because he spoke so low. Server was average, we had to ask for water twice and our meal took a little while, but we got dessert on the house. The Fat tire that was on tap tasted a little flat. As an appetizer we had the Mozzarella Marinara (cheese sticks), they were your average size with lots of cheese. The Marinara sauce had a spice to it and didn't taste like just tomatoes. :) that went well with the fried part of the cheese sticks. The caesar salad and house salad with vinaigrette was very good. The lettuce was very fresh and crisp, I think the house salad could have used some tomato. The minestrone soup was very good as well and having their fresh loaf bread to eat with olive oil and ground pepper was pleasant. I like the bread here rather then macaroni grill because it is pre-cut and seen very fluffy and light as to macaroni grill's bread seems a bit heavy (thicker). For dinner entrees we had the spaghetti and meatballs with meat sauce. I am famous for ordering that in every restaurant I go to, but my grandma beat me to it. The serving was very good amount with 3 meatballs and some parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. The sauce used tasted simple, but not bland. The flavors were mixed well and not spicy at all. I would order that on my next visit. The Chicken Bryan was cooked well enough for you to taste the juices, not dry at all and you could tell that it was cooked from a wood-burning grill. It came with 2 big spoon full of mashed potatoes. They were not pasty at all (which I hate) and had some chucks of actual potato (which I love) also with very little skin from the potatoes. The basil lemon butter sauce tasted great on the chicken as well as on the mashed potatoes (dipping your bread in it is not a bad idea either). Seafood Cannelloni is heavy on the cheese. Cannelloni noodle was burnt on some edges and very hard to cut through. Not the best dish on the menu. And for the best part of the meal: DESSERT!!!! The John Cole dish was very delicious and hit the spot. Roasted cinnamon rum pecans with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. If you like butter pecan you will like this. The ice cream was not too frozen and the caramel was not too warm to melt the ice cream. On my next visit I would order this again. Key words: NEXT VISIT! :)
(4)Eliot E.
One word sums it up: Meh. Not bad, just kinda plain. Two stars for serving things I'm too lazy to make myself.
(2)Priscila B.
First time I went I really liked. It was over a year ago. Just went there today to celebrate early Mother's Day and I was disappointed. It was not even that crowded (like tomorrow will be) and you could see they were not handling in the kitchen. The manager stepped in the kitchen without gloves or hats to help out: big health code violation. My caneloni would have been better if it was not cold inside. But the Seabass and some Dish di Mare was ok, except that the Seabass was fried instead of grilled. I would rather go to Olive Garden.
(2)Rosanna H.
I have to say my experience at Carrabba's was very pleasant. We arrived after the dinner rush and did not have to wait at all for a table. The host was very nice and friendly as well as our server, Leah. Although I did not think the salad was very tasty, a bit bitter if you ask me, the food was quick, hot and very good. My favorite part was the mashed potatoes! They were very delicious. I also enjoyed the rustic bread with olive oil which our server was more than happy to bring more to our table.
(4)Lisa D.
It is hit and miss with the service. I always enjoy the lasagna and I love the salad and bread. Not unique; but yummy.
(3)