Carrabba's Italian Grill — Restaurant in Port Charlotte

Last Friday my wife and I went to Carrabba's Italian Grill at 1811 Tamiami Trl, Port Charlotte, which is in the Village Marketplace in the same shopping area as Books-a-Million.  It was early so there were not a lot of people there.  Spacious parking lot and easy in and easy out access.  We were promptly greeted and situated at our table  and the hostess said that our server would be Tia and that she would be with us promptly. When she came we ordered our drinks and looked at the menu, which was extensive.We decided on the Classic Combination for our appetizer and my wife ordered The Caesar Salad with grilled chicken and I just ordered a side Italian salad since the appetizer was more than enough.  The food arrived and it was all delicious.  Although, TBH, the appetizer lacked definition of flavors.  It all kind of tasted the same and it should not have.  After  we finished our meal and were talking, I started looking around.  The vents in the ceiling could really use a good cleaning, and although the floor was spectacular and clean, the ceiling area, once you noticed it, really detracted from the overall feel of the place. Carrabba's is looking a little worn and dated.  The owners need to do a deep clean and spruce up the place a little more.  The menu is a little dated as well and should reflect some of the newer, lighter options.  It's good food, don't get me wrong, but it could use some updating.  Other than that, we did enjoy our time there with good food and excellent service provided by Tia.  We will be back and you should check it out if you haven't.  It is a good option for eating at a reasonable price.

Update 8/23/2024 Today we went back to Carrabba's Italian Grill in the Village Marketplace in Port Charlotte. They are re-paving the parking lot so they basically have Carrabba's roped off. I entered from south-bound Tamiami to get in. Despite the construction there was a decent crowd there. We were seated right away and Todd introduced himself as our server. We both knew what we wanted to try so we each ordered the Johnny Rocco Salad with wood grilled Scallops and Shrimp. I ordered mine with gorgonzola cheese and a cup of their sausage and lentil soup which was more like a stew. The salad was delicious. In fact both my wife and I thought it was one of the best salads we ever had. The shrimp and scallops were done perfectly and seasoned so well! The only ding I could possibly make was that there might have been a tad too many kalamata olives which made it slightly salty. But in no way did it detract from the dish itself. I would give the whole meal a solid 9/10. And Todd's service definitely rated a 10. We will absolutely go back there soon. If you were on the fence about trying this place out, be like Nike's slogan and Just Do it! You will not be...

Our very first visit at Carrabbas, we decided to try the carside pickup (due to COVID). We ordered our food prior to our arrival, and once we arrived we called the store to let them know that we were there for pickup.

We ordered 3 meals, 2 appetizers, salads, and sides. If you have ever been to Carrabas before, you would know that this isn't a cheap dining experience. A nice shy young man brought our order out to the car, in only one bag. Luckily we checked the order and realized that half of the order was missing (1 meal, and both appetizers). We called and informed the staff of the missing food. The carside staff came out to see what was in the bag that was delivered and acknowledged that the bag was short 1 meal and 2 appetizers. Alyssa, the carside pick employee, informed us that the order would be put in and the remainder of our food would be made shortly. We asked if the food that we were already given would get cold and she replied "uh, yes!". We asked for the order to be remade so that all of the food would come out at the same temperature, and she said "haha no, that's not gonna happen" and walked away.

We go inside to discuss this with the manager. He reassured me that the order would be ready within a few minutes, in which it was, and he personally delivered it to us himself. As the manager is exiting the carside section of the building, Alyssa the rude carside employee is angrily yelling at the manager as he is walking the food out to our car.

On the ride home, and after assessing the situation, we decided to contact the store to request the employees name and the corporate number. We were transferred to the manager (the same one who brought  the rest of our food to our car) and we explained how it was not his fault, however we wanted the corporate number. After stumbling over his words multiple times, he provided us with 3 phone numbers in which he stated "I can't think of the correct number, you caught me off guard"

We contacted another Carrabas location to confirm the corporate number, in which we were provided with a completely different number (which ended up being correct).

Quality of the food: For the most part all of the food was pretty good. However for our first experience at Carrabas, this will definately be our last. Clearly they were never educated on the fact that a first impression is a lasting impression. And word of mouth is a great way to advertise but an even greater way to criticize and tell the truth...

We happened to be driving by Carabba's and decided to drop in for a bite to eat and check things out. We were glad we did. The place was very busy, but we found a table near the bar. Since it was our first visit to Carabba's we didn't know quite what to order. Our server, Ashleym was very helpful and patient with our questions and answered them all.

Ashley also noted that they use fresh ingredients and cook all their soups, desserts and menu selection in house. We were told that if we wanted to have eggplant parm that it is wise to showup a little early to ensure that they have not sold out.

We ordered drinks during the happy hour special which were served quickly. We ordered the stuffed pork chops and pumpkin ravioli. The chop was cooked as expected and tasted great. The mushroom sauce was a nice addition. The pumpkin ravioli were cooked properly and stuffed with pumpkin. The pumpkin was light and not too sweet (see photo below). Both dishes came with sides, along with ample, fresh Italian bread with an oil and spiced dip. The salad and soup sides were more than expected. While the soup was called minestrone, it wasn't the traditional style of pasta and beans. This was a thicker soup with cabbage, three different beans and assorted vegetables. A very tasty blend. The salad was filled with tomatoes, assorted lettuces and cucumbers. It was a very nice, fresh salad. We were quite pleased with the selections.

Ashley had recommended we save some room for dessert. We did just that. As Ashley described the desserts, we stopped hr at the cannoli cake. We both enjoy cannolis and never had that flavor in a cake. We decided to split a slice and were surprised at the size of the portion (see photo below). The cake was topped and filled with cannoli filling, along with chocolate chips on the back, outside of the cake. It was a decadent dessert which was savored slowly. It was large enough that we took some of it home.

The service by Ashley was great, the atmosphere was comfortable, the meals were ample and tasty, and the dessert was fantastic. For a chain restaurant we were quite happy with the results of our visit.

We returned the following week with friends and we were again thrilled with the results. Tony was our server and made sure all our needs were met. We...