Cane Rosso Arlington — Restaurant in Arlington

A month ago, this place was a 5 star. Anytime I had friends or family come into town and we wanted to eat out, I would recommend Cane Rosso. Then, for absolutely no good reason, they changed the menu.

I always got the fusilli alla vodka, a pasta with a vodka sauce, sautéed onions, and sausage. It was phenomenal. I’d tried a few others but that dish always ended up being better than anything else I tried.

Last week, my friend and I went there for dinner. When we sat down, we both immediately commented on how unusually vacant it was. This location has historically been very busy in the evenings, usually with a wait ranging from 15-45 minutes depending on the day. This time there was no wait at all and about half the tables inside were empty, most outside tables were empty as well and this was on a Saturday night. Devastated at the menu change, we remained optimistic and figured it couldn’t hurt to try something new. Surely if they could make one great dish, they’d be able to replace it with something about as tasty, right? No. Not even close. I forgot what I ordered instead but it looked like soup with thick noodles in it. It was very poorly seasoned and practically flavorless. My friend ordered the pasta that was advertised on the menu as spicy (it had large leaves of basil, a red sauce, and long noodles that were so thick you had the chew through them). Most things that are made to be spicy are too spicy for me, but neither of us could even taste pepper. The waitress was shocked we thought it wasn’t spicy so either they brought us the wrong dish or she’d never tried that one.

I sent mine back because I’m not paying $17 for a runny pasta when I can cook better at home. Got the caesar salad instead, and that had infinitely more flavor than either of the pastas we ordered in the bread crumbs alone. Even when trying to find something to swap my order for, the waitress mentioned the top option had “an even lighter flavor,” at which point I decided their actual food was hopeless and salad was my best bet. I get that the menu changed less than a month before, and cooks are “still figuring it out” as the server said, but nothing on a menu should ever be described as a lighter flavor than what the customer complained had no flavor.

We also ordered dessert, there were some giant cookies that also just really didn’t taste like much of anything. The cookie-dough balls that came with them were slightly better than that but really not worth ordering.

Service was also poorer than I’ve ever had it this time around. We did sit outside, but I’ve done that before and it never seemed to make a difference. The waitress came by our table 3 times while my drink was empty before I could get a refill, and when we asked for a to-go box for my friend, who ordered pasta, she brought us a pizza box. We just assumed they might be out of the other kind they usually give for pasta, which wouldn’t be a big deal, but then when the waitress saw my friend putting the pasta in the pizza box, she apologized for getting the wrong one and brought the right kind. It was just awkward and everything sort of felt like we were an afterthought.

I mean it when I say I used to come here about once every other month, and I loved it every time. I found it almost 2 years ago. Food is all reasonably priced, the service was great, and it had a nice vibe, until last time. Honestly, unless they either add that one dish back or just revert to the old menu, I see no reason to eat there again. Really am sad to have to find a new spot that’s convenient for when people travel in, but I just can’t justify spending $20+ per person for food they can...

I've eaten at other Cane Rosso locations before, and the customer service was always awesome. However at this location, had hosted a 10th Anniversary Pizza day. I drove to this location from Coppell where I work, because this location was closer to home. I called an hour prior (because it was take out) and was told the wait would be an hour so it seemed like it would work out perfectly. Once I got to the location there was a line and lots of people of course because of the promotion. After waiting in line to pay for over an hour, I noticed the girl working the counter was multi-tasking to a point that the line wasn't moving. She would ask a name, then run inside, come out and ask the same person their name again, then run inside and come out announcing a list of pizzas that were ready for other people. People were cutting in line to cancel orders after waiting in the cold for almost 2 hours and coming places as far as Mansfield. Some of the servers at the desk couldn't even process orders because they did not have access to the POS and a girl kept shouting "USE MY NUMBER 8894" in the middle of conversations to customers. When I got to the counter the girl that had been giving her POS number 8894 to other servers asked me my name and when she found my order and repeated it back, it had been taken incorrectly over the phone. She advised that the restaurant would have to remake my my order and I would be placed at the end of the line. After I let her know that it wasn't fair she shrugged and just stared at the computer screen. I had ordered two pizzas and asked her to cancel the incorrect pizza and I would that the pizza that sent to the kitchen correctly in order to avoid going to the end of the line (this was also unfair, but I wanted to avoid the dramatics that seem to building). She advised she could not cancel without a manager. While waiting on the manager, I asked the ETA of the one pizza, as other customers were doing so prior and the blond manager was more than helpful to take a look and provide a time frame or number stating their place in line in the kitchen. Server 8894 said she could not do this and when I mentioned the manager had just done so for the previous customer, the server huffed really loudly, rolled her eyes, then stomped away like a child. She came back seconds later, leaned on the computer and with an attitude claimed "You know, honestly I don't even see your ticket hanging in the kitchen so......" At this point I asked how my ticket was lost, when she just read the order, and why she would lie about the inability to remake a pizza that was never in the kitchen. She asked "Do you want us to just cancel the entire order?" and kept staring at me. Obviously she had not intention on helping. I left and other customers apologized to me for her behavior, after waiting 2 hours, for 2 pizzas that didn't exist. This was embarrassing as I was paying to be belittle for a mistake that wasn't even mine and attempting to work with the server.

I would highly recommend the Carrolton, Deep Ellum, and Fort Worth locations first before ever dealing with the to go server at the...

Gotta be honest, I sometimes have mental problems going to more upscale pizza joints when I can order 2 take-out large pizzas from a chain store for the same price as their single medium.....but this place has convinced me I need to get over that hang-up because I am missing out on some damn delicious , unique pizzas (brisket on my pizza? why yes I will!). This place has a fun modern rustic country vibe with indoor and outdoor seating. TVs that are on but not the center of attention, same with the music which is a nice background volume. We arrived on time for our reservation (slightly surprised they didn't have our table prepared since the place was mostly empty, but they made quick work of it). Staff were efficient and quick, if not particularly friendly, and they quickly took drink orders and got them out. They have happy hour specials and while the beer is a reasonable deal (ex. $3 Miller), we were all very unimpressed with the cocktails, even at the $10 happy hour price. Our margaritas were (granted, fun unique flavors) TINY (if they took out the ice, maybe two shot glasses of liquid) and not mixed very strong. Definitely wouldn't recommend cocktails here. All that is in the past though once those pizzas arrived, hot and fresh right out of the oven. The dough was perfectly crisp, great moderate thickness, and NYC style chewy. The pizza options here are very unique and combinations that you won't find anywhere else.....and honestly, every piece I tried from everyone's selections on the table was better than the previous one (Honey Bastard was the table favorite). The size of the pizza is similar to a regular frozen from the grocery store or a take-out medium at other places - probably one piece too many for a solo, but not enough for two hungry people to share one (unless you get a starter/ appetizer, which we did not). So, while not the cheapest pizza in town, I would dare say it is the most creative and best tasting you may find anywhere. They say you get what you pay for, and at this place, the pizza...