08/14/09

Absolutely terrible

by MattCucuzza

This was easily the WORST Italian food I have ever eaten in my life. Here is basically how the evening unfolded:

Seated at 5:30. Order some drinks and food. The food took approximately 45 minutes to come out and we had our drinks refilled exactly once the entire time. Keep in mind the glasses here are at most half the size of a normal restaurant.

Already annoyed with the wait, the disgusting food arrives. I ordered a seafood dish with a garlic wine sauce. They apparently think that imitation crab is seafood and that a garlic wine sauce should look like custard. The dish looked like something out of a TV dinner box.

I decided to give them one last attempt to redeem themselves and ordered a cannoli. The pastry shell tasted like cardboard and was mushy. The ricotta inside was not sweet whatsoever, and they decided to dress it up with some liqueur which just made it taste worse.

If you want decent Italian, do not visit this restaurant.

• Pros: Nothing.
• Cons: Everything.

05/08/09

Horrible 1st Anniversary Dinner

by JohnRae

My husband and I went to Caruso’s for dinner for the first time as our 1st Anniversary dinner. We were seated at 7:57 PM and our server brought us our drinks after only a short wait, he took our order and garlic bread quickly followed. We waited about 30 minutes, then started wondering where our dinner was. Our glasses had long run dry, and while the server walked by our table many times, our drinks were never filled and we could not grab his attention.

At 9:00 PM, I asked the hostess what time we were seated, and she informed me that it was at 7:57 PM. I asked her how long it normally takes for meals to arrive, and she stated that it takes approximately 20 minutes unless the kitchen gets backed up, but that it should not take as long as we had waited. She informed someone of the situation, and in about 5 minutes the server was at our table apologizing. He let us know that he had ‘clipped’ our ticket over with a completed order and had not turned it in to the kitchen. He then began to only address my husband as ‘Sir’ and avoided talking to me, and assured my husband that our meals would be out in less than 10 minutes. He then offered us dessert “on him, not on the house” which he made sure to tell us about 3 times that he was paying for it and not Caruso’s.

When our meal arrived, my husband’s small helping was obviously very warm as it was steaming, but my six ravioli’s were only lukewarm. Since we had waited so long for our dinner, I ate half of mine then boxed the rest to take it home. My husband's meal was disappointingly small, compared to the plates on the tables around us. I’m not sure how large the portions at Caruso’s are supposed to be.

We paid full price for two mediocre LATE meals and no manager, supervisor, owner, etc. came to discuss any of this with us. I emailed the owner about this experience two days ago and have yet to receive any response. This entire experience was unacceptable, and we will not be back.

Thank you Caruso's, for ruining our 1st Anniversary dinner.

• Pros: Leaving
• Cons: Everything

03/19/09

sad to hear that

by sarahb408

I worked at this restaurant for many years and loved there food its been since 2005 that i have worked and eaten here and am sad to hear that so many people have had a bad time, I have just spoken to the manger while I was reading these reviews and he too was sad to hear the news but very happy that I am online writting this...

I would ask that you have not given it a second chance already then please due so I am wondering if anyone remembers any of the servers names that served them those night or what they looked like I knew everyone there at one time and know who the best servers are or somewhat good ones if anyone is going to the restarurant soon i would suggest asking for elke, johnny, ryan, kelly, jeff even will if any of these servers are still there tell them Sarah sent you to them lol and that i miss them all I worked there from FEB 2003- Augs 2005 I only left due to a deadly illness and the death of my father..... OTHER than all that I LOVE the Caruso's and Sal Zagona is a great man was a wonderful boss and the family is great also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

01/25/09

Should have never given it a second chance

by Cpattz

The first time I went to Caruso's was a couple of years ago to attend a graduation party. I don't remember exactly what I ordered back then, but I believe it was a red sauce pasta dish of some sort. Having been familiar with great Italian food (from cooking it, spending time in Italy, and eating at other good restaurants around the country) I was disappointed with my first visit. The red sauce tasted like it came out of a Chef-boy-R-D jar. I could not understand the hype that this place generated.

Last night, a friend wanted to try Caruso's out, as she had never been before. I was hesitant at first, remembering my first experience. But I thought, "What the heck I'll give it another shot". I had heard great things about their pizza. I thought maybe that's the reason people come in droves and not so much for their pasta.

After receiving poor service and waiting 40 minutes for our food, my pizza arrived. I looked down at a blackened and burnt crust and an extremely greasy and oily topping. It didn't look appetizing and all of my hopes quickly faded away. I was so hungry however, that I took a bite. I had been craving pizza for hours after all.

I was shocked. After waiting 40 minutes for a pizza, they couldn't even cook the darn thing right. My pizza dough was extremely undercooked...chewy, runny, and doughy. I took my fork and pushed aside the oily cheese topping to reveal a translucent, runny dough.

I quickly sent the pizza back. Server was unapologetic and wanted to replace my pizza with "something that was quick and easy. Yeah? Well what if I didn't want quick and easy? I decided on the Carbonera. If you are familiar with Carbonera than you know it's a white sauce dish with bacon and sometimes eggs. White sauce was extremely bland. I kept shaking parmesan cheese over it, hoping it would taste better and mask the blandness. The bacon did not taste like bacon but more like Baconbits!

What more can I say about this place? First time was blah, second time was even worse. Will never go back.

• Pros: the part where we left
• Cons: just about everything

01/25/09

Little Water Glasses, Little Pizzas, BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.

by NHam88

The Wait:

The wait for Caruso's was about 25 minutes....something at the time I was expecting to be "worth the wait" since there were plenty others waiting too. When we got called to be seated, we went up to the hostess stand, where they looked at me and my friend like we weren't suppose to be there. The woman who took us to our table just started walking, did not inform us that we should follow her and had a snooty look on her face when we weren't there when she turned around to put the menus on the table.

The Service:

Our waiter took about 10 minutes to even acknowledge us, and when he finally made it around to our table after walking past us about a thousand times, he acted rushed and almost inconvenienced that we were there, getting in the way of his 10 top table behind us. The best part of the service was actually a woman, I assume she was the busser, who was very attentive to all the tables all over the restaurant...she should have been our server. Our server basically ignored us all night, there was no "the food will be out soon" or anything like that.

The Food:

Aside from the fact that the drink glasses were the smallest I have ever seen in my entire life, the food was another big disappointment. Firstly, it took about 30 minutes for our food to come out...you think that would have been ample time for them not to mess it up...mm nope. When our food came out, the pizza my friend ordered was severely undercooked, completely inedible. You would think for a pizza joint they would know at least how long to cook something. The server, in his usual manner act less than apologetic and she ended up getting something else. No manager came over, no food was comped...nothing.

ALL In ALL, I would never go back there. Obviously the front of the house is dismal, and so is the back of the house. Either there is no organization, they were having a bad night or they don't kind keeping expectations low. Either way, I won't be going back to find out.

• Pros: The lady who refilled my mini iced tea glass.
• Cons: Everything else.

10/19/08

WE always have a great time @ Caruso's and love to sit outside, great service, great food, love it!

by sklfcats

We always have a great time @ Caruso's and love to sit outside, great service, great food, love it!

Last time, we sat outside and it was the perfect weather. The waitress was so sweet and the best yet.

The food was as fantastic as the first time I went. Love their wine too!

• Pros: Everything was great
• Cons: We had to leave after we ate!

05/13/08

Excellent Pizza!! Other Entrees are Lame.

by tmunson2

Been there about 6 times, but strictly for the pizza. Tried the lasagna once which was a mistake. I only go there for the pizza. Atmosphere in my opinion is average. Service is lacking , but the price is right.

• Pros: Pizza
• Cons: Other entrees

08/08/07

Avoid at all costs!!!

by brakeman44

Me being Italian [and from the east coast] have had my share of great Italian fare. Carusos had the "feel" of an italian restaurant, but thats where it ended. my wife and I had a simple pasta dish [red sauce] which was brown [burned] and loaded with garlic powder! instead of fresh garlic!!, which caused us both indigestion for the rest of the day. the waiter was

"stoned" or strange and indifferent. and I believe Im done with carusos, and will not recomend it to anyone I know. even a chain like the "macaroni grill" can do better!!!.

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: food and service stink

08/27/06

not impressed

by olizo

We went with a group of 11 for a birthday and had a so-so experience. The service was horrible, but we were a large group, so I was ready to forgive that until I got my meal. The Shrimp Mediterranean was in a runny, over salted, generally disgusting white sauce and the shrimp, although they were a nice size, were overcooked. The homemade salad dressing was delicious although they only offer a side salad portion. The garlic toast was alright, too, but it would be pretty hard to mess that up. The dishes served with red sauce, especially the baked dishes (for example the Chicken Parmesan and Stuffed Shells) were pretty tasty, but nothing so great that you couldn't do just as well on your own at home or from a frozen meal. Over all, I'd say not worth it.

• Pros: Salad Dressing
• Cons: Everything else

Family-style Italian-American food has attracted diners to this homey setting near the university since the 1930s.

by Contributor

The Scene
Indoors, red-checkered tablecloths and wall murals of the Italian countryside decorate a series of small, low-lit rooms of an old house turned restaurant. Outside, strings of colored lights dangle from the white porch roof and a border of towering cypress trees circles the huge backyard. This is a place to relax, sip a glass of vino and chat with family.

The Food
No surprises, just straightforward, home-cooked lasagna, pizza, spaghetti and eggplant Parmesan. The shrimp Mediterranean is in a white garlic sauce, or choose between the marinara and Caruso's special sauce. The only appetizer, a saladlike antipasto, comes in sizes for two, four, six or eight. Other choices are also simple: one salad, one soup--minestrone--and four desserts, all homemade. The nutty crunch of almond and coconut in the tortoni makes it a favorite.