Carrabba's Italian Grill

It had been many years since my last visit to Carrabba's Italian Grill (this time in Surprise, AZ), but I've always remembered it as a solid dining choice.
Not spectacular, but reliably good.
I appreciated the convenience of being able to place my name on a wait-list via their website, which is a real plus during busy times.
Despite it being a bustling Friday night this time of year, I was pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant only half full. Upon arrival, the service was quick to impress.
Our server greeted us immediately, efficiently taking our drink orders and soon after, our meal choices.
Her friendliness and attentive nature made for a welcoming atmosphere.
Throughout the dining experience, we were frequently checked on by what appeared to be managers, asking about our meal.
While the intention was appreciated, it felt slightly excessive after a while. The complimentary bread served with signature herbs and olive oil was pretty disappointing.
The herbs and oil were good, but the bread was really low quality.
Our meals arrived in a timely manner - I opted for the Mahi Wulfe and my guest chose the Chicken Bryan.
Both dishes were adequately prepared, yet they didn't leave a memorable impact.
Specifically, the garlic rosemary fries alongside my dish lacked the expected rosemary flavor, presenting an overpowering raw garlic taste which I personally do not favor. In reflection, our visit to Carrabba's was just average.
Despite the commendable service and the ease of avoiding wait times, the food did not stand out amidst a sea of dining options.
Given the variety available, it's unlikely I'll prioritize a return visit.
Carrabba's remains a decent choice for those seeking a straightforward meal, but for those in search of culinary excitement, it may be wise to explore elsewhere.

Owner response

Gavin, did well as our server.
Carol the manager was on top of the fast turnover of tables.
All the servers worked well to cover the full house.
The calimari was excellent.
It was our first time at this restaurant and we definitely will go back.

Owner response

Tales from the vineyard a four-course meal with accompanied wine.
The first course was a crab salad with a fig vinaigrette the crab meat was in a mixture with herbs and bread crumbs.
It laid a top of a bed of romaine and spinach with roasted carrots, grape tomatoes, red onion, tossed lightly in a fig vinaigrette sprinkled with toasted pistachios.
The rosé that accompanied the salad didn't need to be sweet because the fig vinaigrette was.
The flavor combination of this went very well together.
Course 2 was a lemon ricotta rigatoni with chicken.
The lemon rigatoni was tossed lightly in a thin Alfredo sauce that had sun-dried tomatoes peas and asparagus.
Everything was topped with a fresh whipped ricotta that was sprinkled with wood grilled chicken chunks.
The smokiness from the chicken was very appetizing and the Alfredo had a very strong asparagus taste to it.
Course 3 was a wood grilled sirloin cooked medium topped with a gorgonzola herb crown.
The sirloin melted in your mouth, it was cooked perfectly.
The Gorgonzola cheese sauce that accompanied this dish was very light and went well with the sirloin.
You could kind of taste a little bit of dry mustard, grated Parmesan in with the Gorgonzola cheese.
The wine that accompanied this course was my favorite it had a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, that went very well with the sirloin.
It had such a rich bold flavor to it just what you're looking for with the perfect sirloin.
Course four, chocolate budino with pistachio.
I really like how this dessert was not overly sweet.
Didn't use a dark chocolate for the base, it was more like an unsweetened milk chocolate.
The cocoa powder that was used was a very high quality.
Not sure if it didn't have time to set up but the ones we had at our table were still the consistency of milk.
It was very flavorful and the ingredients did mix very well.
Our information said it was supposed to be topped with a pistachio brittle but it was just crushed pistachios, which was very tasty.
The Merlot at acompanied this dessert matched very well.
The reason I gave them a four-star on the food instead of five were the Rosemary carrots were not edible, had too much of the rosemary herb on it, as I looked around everybody else's plate look like the same thing with the carrots a full serving left on the plate.
My sirloin I could only eat half of it the first half texture was spot on but the other half had too much gristle in it to eat it.
It was season well it was cooked well and not really Carrabba's fault about the gristle.

Owner response