Johnny Carino's — Restaurant in Lexington

We really very rarely write any “negative” reviews, but this time we had to.

We used to love this place and came fairly often. The last three trips sealed the deal for us and we won’t be back.

Of the times mentioned, the first time, we waited for over an hour and a half for our food, to the point it was so late that we just decided to get it to go.

The second time, despite having a nearly empty restaurant and being told it would be just a minute, we waited for 30 minutes with two toddlers and then service was extremely slow once we finally got to the table.

The final time, we were told it would be about 5 minutes (also a pretty empty restaurant but figured they may be short staffed). We waited. And waited. It took over 45 minutes to be seated. We tried to be patient and at that point we were frustrated with restless toddlers (yes, we should have left, but we thought it would only be a couple of minutes and we do try to model patience). Once we were seated, we ordered drinks and were sitting without anything for about 20 minutes when our server told us (unprompted, we didn’t even ask, again-trying to be patient), “they aren’t my responsibility because they all come from the bar including the milk”. We also asked for a couple of waters for our kids but also hadn’t received those. Just a quick, unapologetic blame game. After we finally go those, we ordered our food, which also took forever and our appetizer, salad, and entrees all came out at the same time, making it quite literally impossible to eat or have any room on the small table to move. Our server was not friendly, just dropped the check off on the table as soon as we had our food and didn’t say a word when she did so. Then, we noticed that we were double charged for an item and we could not find her anywhere. My husband finally got another server to help us after about 10 minutes of waiting.

As said, we really are patient people and we try to not display any kind of frustration and be understanding. What we do expect, though, is acknowledgement (“hey, I’ll be right with you” etc.) and even an apology for the waits etc. We didn’t receive either and instead had rude, painfully slow service and if they were honest from the get go, we wouldn’t...

I've been to Johnny Carino's multiple time, but not since Covid started. It was always excellent. However, on Oct 30th was completely different. The staff was super nice but the food was not. The appetizer arrived cold. The burger was not made ask requested and the toasted bun was burnt. The salad thatvwas spinach with grilled chicken was awful. At least 1/3 of the spinach was already so old it was dark wilted green with that slimmy coating. The chicken was over cooked to the point it was sobdry it was hard to chew and cold. The 2 for $10 ribs and cheese sticks, when asked if they cold me served without the BBQ sauce poured over them, the answer was it's prepared with the sauce one them. When they arriveed, it was very clear the sauce was poured over them and tje person at my table scrappit off only to find the ribs were cold as well. We asked for extra napkins and they never arrived. We were there as two families, two separate checks. We picked Carino's because we both had coupons for different things. Before ordering, we asked if we could use both since we were two separate couples and two separate checks and were told yes by the waitress, I do think the waitress was probably newer. After we got our checks, and sent her off with payment, she arrived back saying her manager said it was 1 coupon per table or check. We were 1 table but 2 checks. After speaking with the manager, we were told they use to allow more than one coupper table with separate checks but have changed their policy. So, groups that go together but pay as separate couples, only 1 couple gets to use a coupon. I understand help is difficult this time, but when I pay that price for a salad, I expect my spinach to be eatable and my chicken not cold, tough and dry. I expect my server to know answers to simple questions and if not, ask so there are no surprises. I will not go back...

When we go to this type of restaurant is to enjoy of a descent dinner and relax after a day of work with family and friends. Yesterday, as well as our previous visit, was not the case. The yelling, screaming, slamming, "food throwing at waiters" from the people at the kitchen was awful. We could not carry out a conversation without been interrupted by one of the previously described actions coming from the people at the kitchen. We were close to the kitchen but It was so bad that other people away from us were turning around amazed by the actions of the people at the kitchen. It was totally uncalled for and unprofessional. We felt like we were in cheap bar surrounded by drunks. That was the behavior observed by the kitchen personnel. At one point one of the female servers was sweeping the floor and immediately after someone from the kitchen started throwing food at her and onto the floor. That was disgusting to say the least. What kind of service is that. That was the same food served to us as customers for God sake. I asked to speak to the manager and so happen to have it in front of me. I mentioned all this and he promised "to coach this guys". He was standing there when all that happened and did nothing about it. I thought that he was another person from the kitchen since he was wearing an apron. I will not return to this place due to this issues. Those are the people preparing out food. Due to the way they behave I don't want to even think on how our food was prepared. I am aware that some of the people in the kitchen are Hispanics and my complaint is not based on that since I am Hispanic as well. They were also mocking some one that was saying "No mas", Spanish for no more. They have no respect for no one.This is about customer service and professionalism not about racism or nothing like that. It is a shame to see how low this...