Carrabba's Italian Grill — Restaurant in Metairie

Since I missed out on a recent gathering at Carrabbas I decided to check it out with a friend, as we had Italian on the mind. Our server was lovely and very bubbly. She told us about the half price happy hour house wines (yes please!) and the rib and lobster specials, but we were hankering for different seafood pasta. We ordered some wine and the burrata and tomato appetizer. As much as I love anything even resembling caprese, this one missed the mark a bit. The burrata itself was fresh and bouncy like a good fresh cheese should be, and the salt and pepper on top was a nice touch. However, I wanted more basil, and the fact that it was grape tomatoes instead of sliced just made it hard to eat. The burrata was served as one big blob with a spoon, and so you sort of had to spoon or cut off a bit and then scoops some tomatoes on your plate. It was pretty and tasty, just hard to eat.

As we both wanted pasta and seafood, I ordered the linguine positano with shrimp and the Italian salad, and she the shrimp and scallop linguine alla vodka with caesar salad. My salad was fairly plain; the lettuce was a bit watery, like it had been slightly frozen. Her caesar was a basic caesar and she had no complaints. There was a small snafu with my meal coming with chicken instead of shrimp, but it was no biggie. I almost felt bad about it with the number of people who came over to apologize, but it was really an honest mistake and I have to give props to the servers and GM to how well it was handled. The shrimp was nicely cooked, the pasta al dente, and the sauce had that really fresh tomato taste I love in a good pasta. My friend said she was disappointed that her sauce was not as zingy as she'd have liked but we both ate our fill and left with full to go boxes. The pasta was even better on day 2! Overall a great girls night with some great waitstaff and front of house staff for a solid (yet...

Extremely Disappointing Experience

I’ve been a regular customer at Carrabba’s and have always enjoyed the food and service—until this visit, which was by far the worst dining experience I’ve ever had at any restaurant.

From the moment we were seated, the server with red hair seemed upset that we had been placed at her table. Her attitude was negative from the start, making us feel like an inconvenience. We were left waiting for an extended time without being acknowledged. Eventually, I had to stand up and call her over to let her know we were ready to order.

Instead of responding professionally, she gave me a look of frustration and told me—very bluntly—that she couldn’t take our order yet because we had to wait for the drinks first. She repeatedly told me that I didn’t understand “her procedure,” and that another table was waiting for their bill and I was “skipping” them. Her tone was rude, dismissive, and completely uncalled for.

I remained calm and respectfully asked if we could have a different server. She continued with the same attitude and told me she was the only one available. When I asked to speak to a manager, someone (who never introduced themselves) came over, clearly siding with her, and rather than apologize or address the issue, simply defended the server’s behavior and told me she was just “doing her job.”

This is not the way to treat customers—especially not loyal ones. The lack of professionalism, empathy, and basic courtesy from both the server and the manager was incredibly disappointing. I left feeling disrespected and unwelcome.

Carrabba’s needs to seriously address staff training and customer service standards. I hope this feedback is taken seriously, because no guest should be made to feel the way we did...

Supporting local places and people is a value I hold near and dear. While preparing to visit clinic staff in Independence, LA, I wanted a meal that would be filling and delicious. I reached out to Carrabas and was blessed to speak with Madeline (Maddie). Honestly, I was anxious because I was going to ask if the food could be ready for pick-up BEFORE the store opened. Why? I work in public health and giving people food that creates better health outcomes is very important to me.

After speaking to Madeline and she GRACIOUSLY agreed to assist me, I knew I had to meet her in person. Could this be real? Could this level of customer service AND satisfaction exist in 2024? It DOES!! And she DOES!!

Food is a global and universal language that brings people together. That’s what Carrabas does. That is what Madeline aimed to do (bring people together) not because she had to, but she wanted to.

And as a result, the good folks of Independence, LA, some of whom may have only ate that one meal today, smiled wider, and with full tummies (and some leftovers too).

Thank you Madeline for being an exceptional human. For caring for people with purpose and compassion. For honoring my insane request for an early pick up so that I could drive over an hour from NOLA to the community of Independence, LA to give them a Carrabas experience for whom over 90% had never eaten.

Your kindness will never be forgotten.

Wishing you and your colleagues abundance, prosperity, success beyond...