Carrabba's Italian Grill — Restaurant in Lady Lake

We go to Carrabbas about once a month for dinner. I make excellent Italian food at home but do enjoy going out occasionally to eat at Carrabbas. This review will cover the last 4 visits we have made. The good, bad, and the ugly so to speak.

Service has been really up and down for us the last several visits. Twice we had excellent service by a very attentive wait staff. The person dropped by the table occasionally to refill water glasses, provided more bread, and checked to see if the dinner was good. Each wait person asked we needed anything additional and was extremely friendly.

However the other 2 visits, we had terrible service to the point of talking to the manager at the end of the meal. In one case our server was nowhere to be found. In her defense it was busy but we felt ignored. In the other case, the woman was flat out rude and practically threw our food on the table after I returned an appetizer that was not right. After talking calmly to the manager our entire dinner was comped along with an apology.

As far as the food generally it is very good. While it is a bit pricey compared to other restaurants in The Villages, sometimes you get what you pay for. As a change of pace we tried Francisco's up the road in Summerfield and saw how lousy they were compared to Carrabbas. While Francisco's was a few dollars cheaper per item, it was no where near as good in quality of ingredients and taste. No comparison.

We usually order the veal marsala or the salmon when we go to Carrabbas. Both dishes are well prepared and taste delicious. However, I had noticed the portion size of the veal marsala has been getting smaller and smaller. Originally you received 3 nice but small pieces of veal smothered in mushrooms and gravy for $21.99 .

On our last visit, I received what looked like one larger piece of veal that was cut in half. The veal had hardly any mushrooms on top and very little gravy. I called over the person waiting on us and pointed out how small this was. Immediately she acknowledged that it looked kinda small. She said she would go talk to the manager. As I waited wondering what was up, a second veal marsala was served and was told to enjoy both plates. When we got the bill we were only charged for 2 dinners which was great.

One thing I will say about Carrabbas is that they always try to make things right. There is never an argument and the customer is always right. So if there is ever an issue please don't hesitate to speak to a manager. I have found them to be very professional. I'm not one to complain about a meal very often but when I have had to the management at Carrabbas was very receptive. I highly recommend The Villages location...

My husband and I both still work, you'll understand why I started with this. On 9/29/25 @12:40 pm, we walked in to a restaurant that had one couple seated at the bar (with to go boxes, so they were leaving!)and four other booths, with 2 people each. The best we could tell, there was a hostess and 3 servers....seems like you could get service, but that's your first mistake!!! The hostess (long dark hair, brown skin)walks up says "2?" and grabbed menus and told us to follow her. We explained we were on a lunch break, not retired, and had heard about the express lunch. She wanders off and doesn't chat with amyone.....mistake 2. After about 6 minutes, an older woman with glasses shows up and asks me to lower the window blind because there's a glare from outside. My husband reiterates to our server that we are NOT RETIRED and on a lunch break, that we don't have hours! We order 2 waters with lemons and she toddler off. Waitress then stops at next table, to take their order!!!! After she enters their order (we aren't blind, we can see everything!) she goes over to chat up the bartender. Meanwhile, I'm thirsty and it's been 10 minutes.....so much for an express lunch!!!! That was my mistake (number 3), thinking anywhere in the Villages can do anything express!!!! We walked out, told the hostess that it was a shame that an empty restaurant at lunch doesn't seem to want to take care of customers. She let us keep walking, no offer of a manager, nothing.....that's mistake 4! As we left, going back to work hungry, I called and asked for a manager and got someone named Jeremy. He did apologize and said that we definitely didn't get any "express" anything and that he would address it with his staff. He also said that if we'd like to give them a second chance, I could ask for him and he would assure that we were properly taken care of. I told him.that his staff should all know their jobs well enough, that he shouldn't have to stand over them, to do the job they get paid for!!!! You only get one chance to make a first impression!!!! Today's chance...

Everything that could go wrong, did. I'll start from the beginning. I ordered a Sangria and my wife ordered a mango margarita. Waiter said they did have a mango margarita. 15 minutes go by, still no bread.....only to be told they do not have mango margaritas. Okay, no problem. Wife gets hot tea, instead and we order food. Then we get bread after we ordered. Soup and salad comes out and before we can take one bite, here comes the entrees. We get an apology for that. Okay, no problem. Then after taking a second bite of my pollo rosa maria, I see that it is cold, wet and pink. That was on the edge. I can imagine what it was like if I had cut it down the center. I mean, not even close to being cooked. So, now I am aggravated. That gets sent back. Manager comes and confirms it was not cooked and it was "rushed". Why was it rushed? We had just been served soup and salads less than minute before it was served. At this point I want nothing more to eat, after some raw chicken in my stomach. So, the bill comes. I am charged around $48 for a simple chicken entree and one Sangria and a cup of hot tea. Why, you ask? Because the mango margarita that the waiter says they have but they don't, was on my bill. Before we left the manager said she knew we had a bad experience and said if we came back to ask for someone (don't remember name)and they would give us a free meal.Why not make it right, right there and then? Raw chicken? Really? At minimum, my wife's meal should have been free. I can look past some mistakes, but the raw chicken and a looong wait time for drinks and bread, with only half capacity, was a deal breaker for me. I've been to 5 different locations and this one was...