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Carino's Grill Italian

MY REVIEW: This restaurant is 5 minutes from my home. My wife was out of town, and I had a craving for meatballs & spagetti. It was about 7 PM, and the place was less than 10% full. Service was OK, as was the bread and salad, and the price was quite reasonable. However, the sauce was far too tart, and acidic. And, the meatballs were non-desript, i.e., tasteless.

Something I've experienced in the Houston area over the years in Mexican restaurants is the over-use of lime in the dishes...that is what appeared to be the issue with the tomato sauce at this Carino location.

And, in my opinion, there is no excuse for tasteless meatballs...it doesn't get much simpler than meatballs!

NAME: 
SUBMITTED: 7/18/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: July/2012
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Every month, on the last Tuesday of the month is a wine dinner. The price is 29.95 (UNBELIEVABLE)and the past 2 months that I've attended, have been outstanding. I have eaten lunch/dinner several times, yet have not been nearly as impressed as I was after attending the wine dinner. Salad, main course, pasta course, and dessert, all paired with wine. The quality of the food seemed to be much better than previous meals ordered from the menu. Wine flowed freely. I would HIGHLY recommend this monthly wine dinner. I don't think you will be disapointed....

NAME: jlon
SUBMITTED: 7/24/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: We've been here several times simply because it is close to us. Almost every time it is a disappointment. Their dishes are hit or miss, but all of them are seriously lacking any real flavor. It's just bland. Skip the overpriced wine - you'll want to pair your meal here with a box of Boonsfarm. The dishes themselves are uninspired. Far too many are simply a bowl of plain pasta, watery flavorless sauce, and chopped something-or-other on top. For the price, you'll be better off going to a smaller, independent Italian restaurant where the chefs aren't stuck creating meals out of plastic premeasured bags.

NAME: real italian
SUBMITTED: 7/3/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Adequate chain-style food for a town bereft of either variety or quality. Their steak with gorgonzola mushroom sauce is definitely their best entree. The bread can best be described as the saltiest thing you will ever eat. Aside from that, no real complaints. The restaurant was clean and the servers friendly and attentive except for adopting the baffling policy of having the food brought to you by someone other than your waiter/waitress (Ch*li's and O*tback Ste*khouse also do this).

NAME: anonymous attorney
SUBMITTED: 6/30/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: This continues to be one of the best values in our area, and the service has yet to be anything but excellent in the last four years. Visited this past Thursday and were surprised to find they were offering half-price bottles of wine, which is advertised as a Wednesday only thing. Our waiter was excellent, we were fully stocked with bread, and refills of salad and soup came quickly and with a smile. The food was great, especially considering the price. A dinner for four including a bottle of wine and three bags of leftovers for $70.

NAME: Mo City Chef
SUBMITTED: 4/9/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 04-2010
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Great cheap Italian, really happy with our meal. We arrived around 7pm , and had a 5 minute wait, so we went to the bar & ordered drinks. The drinks menu was decent, with lots of wines by the glass. Our table was ready sooner than we expected, so we were seated in less than 5 minutes which was nice for a Friday night.

Our server was really friendly, efficient, and kept us well informed all throughout the meal how the main entres were coming along. We has Bruchetta to start - very tasty, a little oily, but we didn't mind. Main we had pizza & angel hair pasta with chicken. we both enjoyed ours - cooked well: chicken was tender, herbs were nice but not OTT, and pizza was the thin crush and not greasy at all. Desert we had the chocolate cake with ice-cream, which I would recommend, very 'chocolately'! I was also impressed that we weren't rushed through our meals, the starter, main & desert was spaced out nicely, although this could obviously vary by server & busyness of restaurant.

If you're looking for cheap Italian, this is perfect, all 3 courses came to $35 + tip, excluding drinks. Would go again!

NAME: LoveGoodFood
SUBMITTED: 11/7/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My friend and I decided to stop here for a meal before the Astros game. I ordered the Chicken Balsamico on a bed of angel hair pasta. This was quite a disappointment. The angel hair pasta was bland and did not have any sauce, salt, or seasoning. Basically, the dish contained boiled pasta with some diced tomatoes with a dark-colored piece of chicken on top (due to the balsamic rub). My friend ordered chicken alfredo. Needless to say, another disappointment. Carino's alfredo sauce was more like a butter and lemon sauce, lacking the creaminess of most alfredo sauces. The only positive from the dining experience is the roasted garlic and olive oil dip for the bread. Overall, I would recommend everyone to steer clear of this restaurant unless you have a desire for a plate of underseasoned boiled pasta.

NAME: chi_c_
SUBMITTED: 8/10/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: My dinner companion and I wanted to have some spaghetti @ R*osas on Mason Rd ..I had forgottent they were closed on Sunday..it is far better and cheaper.

Anyway we stopped at Carinos on Mason and ordered spaghetti and meat balls..with salad. We were not half way through the salad when the spaghetti arrived. By the way some of the reviews on this site almost certainly are written by staff members of the restaurant...really!!! anyhoo...the spaghetti had no salt in it..and the sauce was mostly missing...so thin was the sauce that we ordered additional which came in little containers that held exactly two tablespoons of sauce. No matter it was bland and the "extra" sauce stingily given did not help. I too have "been to Italy" big deal..doesn't make me an expert on Italian food..I can tell if it is bad and stingy no matter how many times I have or have not been to Italy. This tomato sauce as the waitress called it was skimpy and very bland. We simply agreed to NEVER return to that restaurant. Save your time and Money and go somewhere else..as I said R*osas behind the Whataburger on Mason is far better than this overrated fancy place...and Hey folks for the snobs out there...yeah..I have been all over Italy..Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples...as well as France, Germany, Prague, Spain...blah blah blah....this Carinos is just bad food..really bad. So take your "I have been to Italy" and shove it up your pasta. Oh sorry I checked that I have been here only once...actually I made two trips as they say..my first and last.

NAME: Robert H.
SUBMITTED: 6/30/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: This location is a good place to get an above average meal at a very reasonable price. The waitstaff is adequate, many of them are former I*h0p waiters.

We have eaten almost everything on their menus and have not had a bad meal yet. The bread will keep coming as long as you want it and it is better than the usual breadstick offerings at their competitors. The entrees include all you can eat soups or salads which can be alternated. They do not discourage you from receiving refills.

The atmosphere is pleasant and I would recommend Carinos over any other Italian food restaurant in and around Baytown, Texas, Others will just over charge and disappoint you.

NAME: Not Stupid
SUBMITTED: 6/15/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: May 2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I have eaten world wide and found this restaurant to have some of the best food I have eaten. I forget the name of the plate but tomballo (spagetti and saugage)is close.

My wife is from Europe and her taste buds are sensitive, she doesn't like her plate too hot nor not too spicey. The appearance of the plate was Italian - reds, yellows, greens, and plenty of cheese, if I could have done as well at home, the event would have been a visual success, however, my ability to make an attractive plate allows me to eat out and be critical. My plate was served on a cast iron skillet and was hot to warm thru out the meal, never got cold. From first bite to last the meal tasted of preparation.

I had anticipated a stronger taste from the italian sauage but after asking the host he informed me it was not super spicey but very favorable to the taste. He was right on. The onions and tomatoes were superb. Both need different temp to prepare properly and combined with the green pepper the additions to the spagetti was wonderful. The spagetti was cooked to perfection and added greatly to the dish.

As is the case into todays society there was too much food for a single seating and took home a 1/4 of what was prepared. During the night I awoke and went to the refrigerator to get some milk to drink. While there I tasted some of the extra and found it to be even more enticing than when at the restaurant.

Other features which enticed us was the partitions were not too tall and allowed us to be seen and to see. The facility was for family entertainment, not to a particular age group. The parking could have been greater but parking at 6:30 in the evening on a Saturday should have been something I should have anticipated.

The place was clean, staff was well rehearsed, and knowledgeable. If I could rate the overall feeling I would rate it at either 1 or 2 of the restaurants I have visited.

NAME: rly
SUBMITTED: 1/18/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: Jan 2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I've eaten at Carino's only 3-4 times, but this location has always had good food and decent service. We went with a group of high school kids for a late lunch, and had a good experience. Everyone (12 of us) thought the food was good, and the waitstaff was decent about separate checks, etc. We waited a little long for refills on soup, tea, etc., but the management should have given our waitress some help, as the other waitstaff weren't terribly busy in other areas of the restaurant. One pleasant surprise was the "Italian Chili"--didn't quite know what to expect, but it was good and we even had 2nd helpings of it! Will be back, for lunch, at least, as the prices are better at lunch.

NAME: good cook
SUBMITTED: 12/17/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: Dec. 16, 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I have visited other locations but this location was the worst experience. My family took my aunt who was visiting from out of town as a good bye dinner. I have had pretty decent visits at other locations so I assumed this would be the same. First of all, we went on a Sunday around 5 and while there were customers in the dining area, about half the tables were empty. There was 7 of us so we were told they would put a table together. Five minutes later, out of curiosity, I politely asked the waiter how long it would be. She replied "15 minutes" I was shocked because 15 minutes to clear a table is just ridiculous because there were a group of waiters just standing there talking.

About 15 minutes later, we were all frustrated because there were plenty of other tables we could have been seated at. Dad went to complain to the hostess who told me "15 mins". This apparently made her angry. She finally came over to where we were sitting and just stood there. So I go "are you ready for us?" and she just nods. She leads us into one of the small party rooms and just stands there, not even leading us to the table. Just stands at the doorway. By this time, I am extremely upset, it was rude and horrible customer service. I had to ask her which table she wanted us to sit at. Finally get seated, we got paper menus when other tables got the real ones. Waiter was nice. But there was no silverware or plates set out on the table. I am already fed up with the service but still politely had to ask the waiter for bread and plates. His response was "I can not find the plates". I was shocked. My dad owned a restaurant for over 20 years and I worked there for about 8 years. We always treated our customers with respect, politeness, and with great customer service.

When we get our food, it is not hot. not even warm. I am extremely disappointed in the staff at this restaurant. I do realize that they are just high schoolers working for some pocket cash. But the manager should make sure they are doing their jobs. Because of this experience, I may never eat at this restaurant, at any other location, ever. I am so upset I am planning to have a chat with the manager.

NAME: upsetcustomer
SUBMITTED: 12/16/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: i am unsure what the problem is with the other locations, but carino's in katy is always a great experience. the service is excellent and the food is awesome.

our favorite is the chicken bowtie festival. the potato soup and italian wedge salad are great. there is a good selection on the menu. everything we have had was wonderful. the tirimisu is the best around and my wife loves the italian chocolate cake.

the atmosphere is great. its not a romantic dinner atmosphere but more of a family place. our 10 month old loves it and everyone enjoys her being there. these people that write the bad reviews must not have anything else better to do. its a country italian restaurant. its not a 5 star restaurant... get a life people!!!

NAME: steelers21
SUBMITTED: 12/11/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: The wait staff was friendly. The food was reasonably priced but mediocre. Their pasta looked like it was from a microwave meal. Probably prepared elsewhere and reheated at the restaurant; typical chain stuff. Won't be back.

NAME: Chris
SUBMITTED: 7/9/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: A big thumbs down. I have never been crazy about Johnny Carino's, but I received a coupon in my e-mail for a family platter at the price of a dinner entree. I thought, "Why not? That's a pretty good deal." Well, I ordered the family platter of lasagna. It comes in a giant aluminum pan. I got home, opened it, and low and behold... Two anti-climatic pieces of lasagna. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I was under the impression that "family" usually implies around four people. I seriously thought that there had been a mistake. I called Curbside to ask about the portions we received, and apparently, there was no mistake. The family platter is just double the entree portion. Well, then why call it a "family platter" at all? Why not call it "dinner for two"? It's just very misleading. I don't remember family platter portions being so miniscule in the past, and this certainly isn't the first time we've ordered one. The only redeeming part was that we got it at the price of a single entree. Still, it wasn't worth it, and I seriously doubt I will ever go back. I seem to recall salads also coming with the family platters, but we received nothing of the sort. I don't know if the joke was on me or if this is how it really is, but regardless, I was extremely disappointed.

NAME: unsatisfied_customer
SUBMITTED: 7/4/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

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