Reality Check-Carrabba's didn't meet my high expectations
Written: Apr 10 '03 (Updated Apr 10 '03)
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Pros: Nice atmosphere
Cons: Service was lacking
The Bottom Line: If you think this is great Italian food you haven't had great Italian food.
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| gregpack's Full Review: Carrabba's Italian Grill |
Hi Folks,
I ran across the website before choosing restaurants and a local Carrabba's Italian Grill (Birmingham, Alabama) has recently opened. After reading the glowing reviews of the place online at this site I decided to give it a try. I was dissapointed.......
The bread was fresh baked and excellent, the olive oil and herbs great. Looking back, I think that was the best part of the meal. I can't remember the dramatic names on the menu. I ordered the Rigatoni with Italian sausage. My wife ordered the manicotti. My daughter ordered the Shrimp Scampi. With my entree I got the Italian sausage and lentil soup which was also quite good. The salads were good with a creamy dressing, but had WAY too much celery for my taste. Don't get me wrong, I like celery, but I don't like a bite of celery in every forkful, which is what was in this salad.
The entrees arrived and were hot. My rigatoni and my daughter's scampi looked plentiful, but both were a little light on the meat. It's easy to fill a bowl with .50 worth of pasta and some sauce, but I felt I should have gotten more than about a 1/4 pound of meat with my order. Com'on - it's my arteries- If I want to clog it with a huge portion of italian sausage I should be able to- right? :) The pomodoro sauce on the rigatoni was unremarkable. My wife's manicotti was in a small platter and wasn't a very impressive portion. She did enjoy it though.
The service was mediocre at best on our visit. My family had beaten me to the restaurant by at least 15 minutes and they hadn't served the bread yet. My glass of tea ran out twice before being refilled. The salads and soup were slow to come out, but the entrees seemed to be timely. Earlier I mentioned how good the bread was. It was so good we ran out I and I asked for some more when they brought our soup and salad. I asked again when our entrees arrived, and again when the server refilled my glass. It finally arrived along with my check at the end of the meal. The happy birthday song sang by the servers was cute, but I guess the servers waited to get all of the birthday songs out of the way at once. So they went from table to table and sang it four times in a row. To me, it lost any sort of festive meaning by the third time. If you are a restaurant manager and stumble across my review, I have a suggestion. Please make the servers wait at least ten minutes between singing happy birthday to different customers.
Don't get me wrong- I didn't hate the restuarant. I would eat there again. But I wouldn't wait long in line or drive very far out of the way to go there. From the reviews I read I really expected much better. Also, I understand the company that owns Carrabba's also owns Outback steakhouse. They have done a much better job at Outback.
I realize all places can have an "off" night and this may have been their's. But if I had to pick from any local Italian restaurant Carrabba's would be behind them ALL and the Olive garden. It does however beat the pants off Pizza Hut! :)
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
gregpack
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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