Carmelo's Italian Ristorante — Restaurant in Punta Gorda

We have dined at Carmelo's for almost 10 years. The food used to be top notch as well as the service. Things have definitely gone steadily downhill over the years. We had 5:15 pm reservations last night for 7 of us as we were celebrating my dad's 82nd birthday. We were seated promptly but that's where the positives end. We were asked if we wanted water by our waitress, Donna. We said yes and asked for lemons. Water was served cool with no ice. We asked for ice and once again lemon for our water. We received ice but still no lemons. Service continued on a significant downhill spiral. It took forever to order our appetizers. It is delivered by a "runner". We didn't see our server again foe some time. Finally, we ordered our dinners. After about 2 hours and 15 minutes, we received dinner. They were warm at best as they must have been waiting for an available "runner" to bring it out. No steam came from any of the dishes. My son in law's fettuccine Alfredo was dry on top and not creamy, I had veal marsala. In 5 bites I was done. It was literally about a 2 oz portion (for $33). It wasn't hot either. Two other dinners were mediocre because they were just warm. My husband's dinner was supposed to ve chicken parm with eggplant on top and a side of penne. The runner placed chicken parm with spaghetti in front of him. When we stated it was supposed to be penne, the runner removed his meal. We asked if he could just get him the proper side so we could eat together, he said "no because this must belong to someone else". This dinner was already on the table and even just for sanitary reasons, it shouldn't have been taken back. My husband sat for 30 MINUTES WITH NO DINNER while we had ours. I asked our server and she said "it will be right out" and did her disappearing act again. I got up, went inside, and asked for a manager. When I began telling him how unacceptable this special dinner was going, he cut me off and said "let me check on your husband's dinner and then we will address the rest of your issues". In the meantime, the waitress said to my husband, "your dinner is sitting back there, should I pack it up". What!!!! Well, finally the manager brought the wrong dinner to my husband and said "I'll take it off the bill". He NEVER returned to me where I was waiting for him inside to discuss our disappointing evening. On the way out, I saw the useless manager and said, "thanks for coming back to discuss the evening". His response was "i took his meal off the bill". Carmelo's used to care about their customer's experiences but now they have just gotten too big for their britches. We are full timers, we eat out all year when they don't have the benefit of snowbirds dining. I'm sure the owner wouldn't be happy to hear about how uninterested his manager is in listening to the restaurant's shortcomings. That was our last time. There other delicious Italian restaurants around that we will give our business to. Their management staff has actually come to our tables to see how our dinners were. They will be happy to have us...

Long review incoming, but 100% worth the read and make sure you look at the pictures!!

Yesterday, my family and I went to Carmelo's for the first time for my dad's birthday. After multiple raving recommendations from friends, my mom made a reservation back in November to make sure we were able to celebrate at the restaurant. The restaurant is right of off 41 after you cross the bridge from Port Charlotte to Punta Gorda, easy to find, and parking across the street is ample, so no issues there! When we arrived, we were greeted by the hostess and immediately taken to our table. They even gave my dad a little birthday card to put on the table/take home.

Richard was our waiter for the evening and he was the perfect example of going above and beyond. He was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, very friendly, and checked on us the perfect amount of time!

We started with the calamari fritti (my dad gave this a 5/5 and usually is a harsh critic when it comes to calamari) and mamma's polpette (my mom and I shared this, it was 4 meatballs with fresh ricotta scooped on top, we also gave this a 5/5 and would order it again and again).

All of the pasta is freshly made in house, so of course, we decided on pasta dishes (my mom and I) for our main course. My mom ordered the "secret" menu Bada-Bing, which is prepared table side. I've included pictures below, it was amazing to watch and learn about the cheese wheel! It can be done as an appetizer that you share or an entree (with added protein of your choice), just so you know! I ordered the gnocchi tartufo and added chicken; it was heavenly. The gnocchi were so pillowy, soft, and melted in my mouth! My dad ordered the surf and turf and the steak was perfectly cooked, so soft, and extremely tasty; he also had the truffle mashed potatoes as a side, which we all took a bite of because they were so flavorful!

After eating ALL of that food, Richard brought us the dessert tray (yes, an entire tray to display the desserts, amazing) and also told us about the regular options on the menu, which included freshly made cannoli, profiteroles (which are cream puffs), and a few other things, but my mom and I decided on the chocolate lava cake. It was truly one of the best desserts I have ever eaten, even on a COMPLETELY full stomach.

All in all, this restaurant did not disappoint, especially for our first time, and will definitely remain in rotation for special occasions. I am so excited to go back and try a different set of menu items next time, because if what I ordered was AS GOOD as it was, I cannot imagine what the rest of the menu tastes like!

We also are going to request to be at Richard's table each time we go back, he truly made the experience pleasurable and you can tell he truly loves the restaurant and its guests!

Thank you Carmelo's for an amazing first experience; it definitely will not...

Beautiful outdoor dining. We were there for a small dining event (roughly 20-25 guests) & were excited to try it out. However, for us (& a few others in the group) nothing went right. I’d like to preface this review by mentioning we had only 1 server for the group—there was another server “assisting” but she only gave service to one of our 3 tables. And, our server had other tables. He seemed completely overwhelmed. There is not outside bar for these outside servers to get ANY drinks & that would alleviate many issues, I think. To start, it took about 20, 25 minutes to place a drink order. It took an 1 hour 15 minutes after we arrived to get our first drink. That is 100% not exaggerated. When the server finally brought my first cocktail, it was incorrect & he tried to tell me it (an old fashioned) was my rum drink (I think I ordered ‘The Norman’s. I walked in, ordered a drink at the bar, came out & drank half before I got the right drink from the server. I’d like to mention here that I ordered a Rossini (Fresh Squeezed Lemons and Muddled Strawberries topped with Prosecco and garnished with a Strawberry) & watched the bartender pour strawberry syrup in the bottom of my glass. Apparently that’s the same as muddled strawberries. Also, no lemon anything. Just strawberry syrup & Prosecco. My spouse ordered lentil soup. He never got it. We ordered from a limited menu. It’s been awhile so I can’t recall our entrees but nothing stands out to me, which says enough. The sad thing is, when we first got there, we were so looking forward to it and couldn’t believe we had never been before. We were already planning to come back. It was just such a disaster for us and the others seated at our particular table that we are not sure if we want to try again. We want to like it! I definitely would never have a dining event here (over 8 guests). Ever. And I’ll think twice before ordering anything that is supposed to be muddled. If we return, just the two of us, and have a better experience, I’ll definitely...