If I still dated, this would be the best place to take a first date. The booths are open but still provide the right amount of privacy. Italian food has always been a romantic weakness of mine however it isn't everyone's. The variety of the menu is a wide selection of chicken, beef, and limited sea food. I love the place, but be prepared to spend some money here. The food is good and worth the money you pay for it.

Went in for my birthday dinner and our server, Yahir was outstanding. He was courteous, professional, knowledgeable about the menu and just made our visit top notch. The food was amazing, delivered timely and the patron lemonade was delicious.

Love this place! Especially love the French bread with dip, calamari, spicy Romano sauce, and chicken Parmesan. So sad that the one closest to me closed.

Went with my family yesterday and had the best meal we’ve had in a while. The planets aligned for this experience! Server was great and the food was amazing from the flavor to the temperature! My family can be pretty loud so when the manager came up I thought we might be getting asked to quiet down, but he was so nice and just came to check to make sure everything was good! I genuinely believe he actually cared that we had a good time! Rarely have we ever felt so at ease while dining in and just wanted to make sure they got the props they deserved 😎

We had an amazing day with family. Shoutout to “Frank “ at the south Austin location for the amazing service, food, fun and genuine hospitality. We drove several miles and we will be back. We left him a great tip and he definitely earned it! Bravo Frank!!!

Kyle, our waiter, was excellent. He made sure all of our needs were taken care of always. The pizza I ordered was delicious and the tiramisu was 🔥🔥🔥.

The Tuesday buy one lunch entree get one free is such a good deal. I was able to try multiple menu items. The flavor was irresistible and the sauces were flowing down my throat. It was an oily mess.

Was sat quickly and promptly served some bread. The Johnny combo that came with a salad was more than enough meal. The eggplant was on point and the tortellini was tasty. No room for dessert

+3

Martin and Roxy were so pleasant and cordial. The food was fantastic. It’s been a while since we’ve patronized Johnny Corino’s and we will definitely be back. We were celebrating my wife’s 50th birthday and they made us feel like family.

Front House Manager Martin @ South Park Meadows location was very kind, accommodating, professional, courteous, and knowledgeable of the menu. I called to place a to go order for a small same day event and he made sure the food was hot, accurate and ready on time! He made food suggestions that helped make the dinner complete! I’m thankful for the extra care he put into assisting me over the phone and ensuring the order was correct! I will definitely be back and look forward to seeing Martin again!

The food is good, service was quick. Place was well maintained. Italian nachos for the first time it was good. Overall a good experience

+4

Once again Carino's & the chef came through with making another delicious pasta dinner for me. We love going to Carino's. Everyone is super friendly & accommodating in every way. Thank you Jeronimo, Martin, Julie & Chris!!

While I wasn't able to experience the entirety of the meal I had ordered through doordash, the manager on duty, Jennifer, was super kind and helpful through the whole process of fixing my order's issues. Customer service here is unparalled, and I would recommend all to visit Johnny Carino's!

Had an amazing experience at Johnny Carino’s! Our waiter Yahir provided was top-notch service!!! He was as friendly, attentive, and fast. The food was absolutely delicious. We had the sampler, and lobster ravioli and shrimp scampi :)

We had such a wonderful experience at this Italian restaurant, and I have to give a special shout-out to our server, Yahil. From the moment we sat down, he made us feel so welcome and taken care of. He even offered me a complimentary drink just in case I didn’t end up enjoying a certain product—which was such a thoughtful touch and really showed how much he cared about the experience. What stood out most was how attentive he was without ever being overbearing. The timing of his check-ins was extraordinary; we never once had to flag him down for anything. On top of that, Yahil went above and beyond by wishing my husband(raphael) a happy birthday, which made the evening feel extra special. The service truly elevated our dining experience, and we left with nothing but great memories. We’ll definitely be back—and will be asking for Yahil again!

We had unexpected events occur that deterred our Thanksgiving plans with family. We are so thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner prepared by the staff at Johnny Carinos this evening. The turkey and gravy were so delicious along with the sides, but again, we are so thankful for the Thanksgiving meal tonight.

I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for the amazing food you catered for our recent CPR event. The food was fantastic, and our residents absolutely loved it! What stood out even more, though, was the exceptional customer service. Your team truly won me over, and in our business, that’s crucial. I also appreciated how thoughtful and kind they were, even helping me carry the food to my car. It’s these little touches that make all the difference! Thank you once again for making our event a success. I look forward to working with you again in the future. Warm regards, Mariel Serrano Rivera

The food was delicious and the service was impeccable. Our server was Zoe and she was very courteous and went above and beyond. She asked if it was my birthday because of a few gifts on the seat next to me. Then she brought me an ice cream treat. So thoughtful and very much appreciated.

Ordered the appetizer sampler, shrimp scampi and lobster ravioli, plus the watermelon margarita. The food came out quickly, tasted great, and our server Yahir was amazing! Very kind, went above and beyond 🤩

Zoe was an excellent waitress with an exceptional hospitality service at Lunch time. We will definitely return to this Johnny Carinos at South Park Meadows. The food was great and the price was reasonable. Thank you Zoe for a wonderful lunch. Kori Addamo 9/19/2025 1:49 pmmm.

I had the pleasure of being served by Yahir last night, and I have to say, he made the entire dining experience top-notch! He was incredibly attentive and genuinely caring, making sure everything was perfect throughout the meal. Not only did he offer fantastic food recommendations, but each dish came out absolutely delicious. Yahir’s friendly and sweet demeanor really added to the experience! He’s the kind of waiter who makes you feel like a valued guest. The highlight of the meal was definitely the tiramisu, it was phenomenal, the perfect way to end a perfect meal! I highly recommend Yahir if you’re dining here. 10/10, you won’t be disappointed!

Yahir was attentive and very hospitable. His service complimented the food. Accommodating and made our visit feel special.

Everything was amazing, our waitress was very attentiveness. She did not show any rudeness, I say this cause we took our 1½ year grandkid and he was putting on a show. The waitress brought colors and paper and was able to calm this little Tazmania down.

We have always loved the Johnny Carino’s at Southpark Meadows, but then stopped going because it got really dirty, dingy and the service was just bad. We went back recently because we had a coupon and it’s nice, clean and beautiful once again. We had the nicest, sweetest server, named Jonathan, who was very attentive and helpful. Kyle boxed up our food at the end. He was kind and provided us with excellent service. We left really happy and satisfied with the food, cleanliness of the restaurant and the excellent service we received. We will definitely keep going back again. It’s in good hands again, with excellent servers and excellent service. Thank you so much to Kyle and Jonathan at the Southpark Meadows location! We really enjoyed our dinner and visit.

Me and my family of 4 had the best experience ever at this restaurant! Our server was Frank and he was incredibly funny. He checked in with us very frequently and gave us a steady flow of bread. He even offered us tiramisu at the end, but we were really full. Even with our hesitance to get it he gave us one on the house. Never had a better experience. The place was beautiful too, they played frank sinatra often. 10/10, such a nice addition to south park!

I came with my fiance to celebrate my birthday, and yair was our server and he was the best out of the best, it was our first time and he took the time to explain us the difference between every plate, food was great too!!, we are coming back and asking for Yair!!

Ms Alma is the best hostess ever!!! She is amazing. We will come here every time long as she is our hostess. Amazing woman!!

I had a very strong dining experience at Carino’s Italian Grill. The food quality, service, and pricing were all impressive. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan, and it was excellent. The chicken was perfectly crispy, with dry, well-executed breading that wasn’t soggy at all. The Parmesan sauce had great balance and flavor — rich but not overpowering. I’ve tried Chicken Parmesan at many well-known Italian restaurants where the breading was wet or the sauce lacked depth, but this one was executed properly. The salad was also very fresh — crisp lettuce and high-quality ingredients. You can tell they care about freshness and consistency. The overall cooking felt professional and precise. Service was attentive, polite, and welcoming. The staff made the experience comfortable without being intrusive. The pricing was another big plus. For this level of quality, many Italian restaurants would easily charge $40 per entrée. Here it was around $21–22, which makes the value outstanding. Great food, great service, fair pricing. I highly recommend this place and would definitely return

Outstanding Experience at Johnny Carino’s South Austin! My husband and I had such a wonderful dinner at Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurant in South Austin. We came in with one of their special invitation bags—the kind you can put a loaf of bread in—that offered a complimentary meal. The offer included an individual nacho appetizer, a ribeye steak with fettuccine, and lasagna. Everything was absolutely delicious, and the portions were generous. All we had to do was spend five dollars, so my husband ordered a Heineken Zero and I had a Caesar salad. The food was flavorful, fresh, and truly exceeded our expectations. They also brought out a warm loaf of bread, and it was out of this world. It came with a little plate of crushed garlic, butter, and oil, and the combination was so delicious we could have made a meal out of just that. It was the perfect start to an already wonderful dinner. What made the evening even better was our server, Julie. She was phenomenal from start to finish. Warm, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable, she explained exactly how the promotion worked and made sure we felt completely taken care of. I mentioned that I’m allergic to onions, and she went above and beyond to ensure that nothing I ordered contained any. Her attention to detail and genuine kindness made the entire experience feel special. Between the delicious food, the generous offer, the amazing bread, and Julie’s top‑notch service, our visit was outstanding. We left happy, full, and grateful. Johnny Carino’s has definitely earned our praise, and Julie deserves every bit of recognition for her excellent service.

Giancarlo was amazing! He had a great attitude, super friendly and always had a smile on his face.We really enjoyed having him as a server. Will definitely come back and ask for him directly!

Martin was a great server! Excellent service, very attentive, great attitude. Strongly suggest requesting for him if you come in. You'll be taken care of VERY well.

Rachel M

We had the best dining experience with Jair as our server. The service he provided was above the standard of even a fine dining restaurant. Johnny Carino’s is lucky to have him!!

Amanda Munoz

We came in here for Friday night date night and dined in the booths by the bar top. Our food was amazing, absolutely delicious 10/10! Cooked to perfection. Our server Martin was better than the food could be described. He was so so attentive, warm, welcoming, and took care of us from the second we walked in until we walked out. If you ever come here, ask for MARTIN!!!! Just truly blown away!

Salou Waithaka

My family and I just left Johnny Carino’s, and I have to say — our server Jair gave us the best service we’ve had in a very long time. From the moment we sat down, he was incredibly respectful, attentive, warm, and welcoming. We threw a LOT at him, and he handled every single request perfectly without missing a beat. He made us feel genuinely cared for, and his attitude brought such a positive energy to our table. It’s been a while since we’ve had an experience that left us smiling as we walked out, but tonight was exactly that. The food was amazing, but Jair truly made the entire experience special. Thank you, Jair, for making our night — you are a wonderful example of what great service looks like. We will definitely be coming back because of you.

lez boo

had a great time! Came on my lunch to enjoy dome me time. I believe i was greeted and served by the manager he was very polite and on point. Enjoyed my meal and his customer service.

Elena L

This is a really great place. Everything we ordered was tasty. The pasta with steak was especially delicious, and the steak itself was perfectly cooked. The salad was fresh and flavorful, and the bread they brought was warm and soft, served with seasoned oil that was perfect for dipping. The only dish we didn’t enjoy as much was the lasagna—it had too much tomato sauce, so it didn’t quite hit the mark. The staff were attentive and polite, and our server was excellent, making the experience very pleasant. The interior feels a bit dated and worn, but everything was spotlessly clean. Service was quick, and all the food was fresh. The atmosphere is calm and welcoming, with nice lighting, and there’s a bar as well. The menu is extensive, offering a wide variety of dishes. Overall, aside from the lasagna, everything we tried was very enjoyable, and we’d happily come back.

+3

Tamika Chavez

I had been to this restaurant before and didn't have the best experience, but after shopping near by, we decided to stop in and try it again. We were very happy with our meal tonight. For one, our server was awesome. He was quick and attentive. The bread and salad were super fresh, so I was almost full by time my meal came. The lasagna was awesome and they have a deal to take one home for $5.99. We left full and with another meal for later. The prices for the meals are a little steep, but that's just where the economy is right now.

Lacie K

The restaurant is located in a shopping strip. There were plenty of parking options. Everyone was very pleasant. The restaurant had dim lighting which set a calming atmosphere. The food tasted wonderful! The wait staff was very attentive as well.

James Salazar

Food Was Amazing! Big show out to Annaliese for serving us. Wait time wasn't as bad. Just big heads up, it's cold outside as of today so recommend, do not sit by the doors the cold breeze will get y'all. But other then that, great job y'all! Will come back again soon!

+1

I love Johnny Carino's...especially when using the app and signing up for texts.\n\nThey offered a free thin crust pepperoni pizza. They sent me this text:\n"WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY\nThank you for sign…

Always a treat here with great service with Martin and Julie. \nGood food and good times. \nThe wait staff are extra here !\nI love this place !

Always a treat here with great service with Martin and Julie. \nGood food and good times. \nThe wait staff are extra here !\nI love this place !

Zoe was great and brought everything out quickly. We got appetizers and dinner. She was so friendly and made us want to come back. Thanks Zoe!

We have always loved the Johnny Carino's at Southpark Meadows, but then stopped going because it got really dirty, dingy and the service was just bad. We went back recently because we had a coupon …

I placed an order to pick up and Chris was so accommodating. He took my order and I asked if there was any senior discount he said no but there is a military discount. My husband qualified for it…

Food was amazing!!\nBest service ever - thanks Martin. Price was just right. Calms my place to eat. Can't wait until next time

Food was amazing!!\nBest service ever - thanks Martin. price was just right. Calms my place to eat. Can't wait until next time

Food was amazing!!\nBest service ever - thanks Martin. Price was just right. Calms my place to eat. Can't wait until next time

Our server, Chloe, did a great job. The Shrimp Scampi is to die for. Chloe was really cool when I spilled my water all over the table and myself and got me a towel. My bad!

Good service and good food clean environment. The restaurant was clean and family oriented \nJohnny the server was cordial

Great atmosphere and amazing service. Our server Jahir is stupendous. He is Polite and friendly.

Super good service by Andrea. Super good food. Short wait time. cheap but good quality margaritas.

Restaurant was not busy late afternoon. Service was scatter brained but very friendly and attentive. The appetizer sampler of calamari, mozzarella sticks and Italian nachos were all good. Bread was n…

Restaurant was not busy late afternoon. Service was scatter brained but very friendly and attentive. The appetizer sampler of calamari, mozzarella sticks and Italian nachos were all good. bread…

Restaurant was not busy late afternoon. service was scatter brained but very friendly and attentive. The appetizer sampler of calamari, mozzarella sticks and Italian nachos were all good. Bread was…

Great experience! Spicy chicken and shrimp is my favorite. Very kind customer service from Zoe. :)

We had Calamari Fritta to start, then the Skilletini Cacciatore with sausage and chicken and Five Meat Rigatoni. Calamari was ok, some pieces were breaded better than others. The sausage in both dishes was delicious. Skillet was a bit greasy at the bottom and the spaghetti soaked up all the sauce. The rigatoni was very flavorful and the sun dried tomatoes gave the dish a nice pop. Try one of their flavored teas! We had blackberry and raspberry. Good amount of sweetness, but it depends on who makes it. Love their bread, we got two loaves to go! Tiramisu for dessert. Overall, decent Friday night dinner date. Will definitely be back

I was needing a good fixing of spaghetti and I got just that, a nice hefty portion of spaghetti with meatballs and sausage. The bread is enough to come back for alone. Zoe was the waitress, and she was running around keeping up with multiple tables as well as bartending for other tables. Props to her for making my Sunday dinner a nice one.

Very friendly service, but it took a long time for my food to come out despite the restaurant not being busy at the time. The scampi was really good and plentiful, but the pizza was slightly burnt. My server, Hayden K, was very pleasant & attentive. Price was reasonable. A bit of an odor when I dined in; not sure what that was. Otherwise dining in was just fine.

Had the chicken parmesan. Large serving and cooked well. The service was perfect and they will accommodate for food allergies.

Late lunch at 3 pm. Good service and our food was very good. Appetizers and entrees. Had lemon rosemary chicken. Found it tender and flavorful. My only complaint would be a wet carpet smell as we sat in the dining room. I would still recommend and go back.

+2

Food and service were top tier. The decor is a bit outdated or worn but other than that, had a good experience.

We ordered to go and the food and service were great however the only thing I didn't like was when I looked at my receipt - they had changed us almost $6 for I believe it said a packaging fee. Then it still asked for a tip so I ended up giving them another $5 so I'm not too happy about shelling out an extra $11 for a to go order.

We came in on a week day and it was pretty busy. We had to wait about 30 mins. Kitchen was slow, but Alma, our server, made our visit very joyful and made the wait not seem long. We were the last customers, and we had like a 3 min conversation with her which made our visit very pleasant! Thank you, Alma :)

Deon Lerew

Build your own pasta was good. Fettuccine Alfredo was below average. On the plus side, our server was outstanding.

It has been well over 10 years since I last went, but I remember their Ceasars salad was scrumptious.

It has been well over 10 years since I last went, but I remember their Ceasars salad was scrumptious.

Food was good, service was near excellent. Zebrah, the bartender, was who helped me with my order as well as drinks. I enjoyed the experience as well as conversation with zebrah. She seemed to be s…

The food was good, but service was abysmal.\nThe place was less than half full on a Friday night, which is unusual for any restaurant at Southpark. We soon found out why.\nWe waited about 10 minute…

Ribs were under cooked and the pasta sauce tasted like chili sauce. We will not go back. The house salad was ordered with Ranch, but I am not sure what it was.

ribs were under cooked and the pasta sauce tasted like chili sauce. We will not go back. The house salad was ordered with Ranch, but I am not sure what it was.

Our disappointment began before we ordered. One factor in our choice of Carino's was an ad they've been running for a 5 for $15 menu. When we asked the server, she said, "That's not available tonig…

It was okay. The food was really good but too overpriced. The lasagna was $15! For that little piece and the alfredo pasta was $12. They should lower the prices to make it more enjoyable. Other than that , customer service was excellent.

We were staying at a hotel near this location, and after reading serval negative reviews, I decided to try it anyhow. My hope was that people were being too picky. We ordered appetizers in the bar area, including mozzarella sticks, pepperoni pizza in thin crust, spicy Hawaiian pizza, ceasar salad, and a spaghetti plate. The bread and olive oil were delicious. Milk was sour, spaghetti had meat sauce instead of marinara, spicy pizza was supposed to be on thick crust but was on flat bread. The ceasar salad was good. Most disappointing was the spicy pizza. For an Italian restaurant, the crust and sauce are a good indicator of how good the food was. Let's just say the pizza reminded me of the pizza I make my kids when I'm in a hurry. Grab store bought flat breads, spread store bought sauce, pepperoni, and some cheese and cook breify to melt the cheese. Seriously, it's so disappointing. I don't recommend this place and I won't be back. Should have listened to all the negative reviews.

It was my mistake to order a steak in Italian restaurant. Or I shouldn't expect too much.The medium steak tasted like well-done, for twice! The service was good though.

Are server Jesus Diaz was really nice very kind apologized when there was a problem at other table. Other than that service was good. The atmosphere was not the best there was a roach at another persons table. A ROACH crawl from UNDER THEIR PIZZA!!which was not very sanitary. Our food was not the best the spaghetti sauce was sour and the Alfredo had that taste that doesn’t sit right after eating. I would say it’s not a bad place but I would not be returning.

Did not like my soup so I didn’t eat it my waitress still charged me for it…my pasta was dry ask for more sauce also got charged ….. I don’t plan on returning

This place had ok food. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because the server/waitress told us that a special was available than later the manager had to tell us it was not available. Then,later the manager came back and said they ran out of steak for the special she offered us. So,she said we could have the first special that was not available. So,we ended up waiting to get answers and food for too long. At least we had our appetizers.

Not a bad place, went at noon for lunch on Sunday and had a seat immediately. Wasnt too noisy and they did have the football games on at the bar seating. The food was good and had plenty of flavor. The tortellini was really cheesy and the Seafood Alfredo was great. I like the bread they serve its crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, plus the little bits of meat and olive oil that goes with it makes it better. For two just over $35

Well, it isn't my pick for Italian- the lasagna was pretty good, the Alfredo was blane, the shrimp at 5.49$ in addition too the Alfredo being 18$ not impressed- but it was a first time, so thought I'd give my honest opinion 🤔 now, the warm chocolate cake and serving of ice cream was good- the nachos not the best, but its Italian. Tea was strong, so I enjoyed that- wont return, but Thank you for the effort. The zucchini fried with marinara nice..

Aglae Martinez

I ordered the jalapeño garlic tilapia, but the sauce was not creamy. It was pretty watered down so the sauce did not stick to the noodles. We also ordered the chicken alfredo, but it had strands of pasta stuck together because they didn't stir it and there was very little sauce. The pasta was undercooked. The chicken was cut width wise instead of length wise which just doesn't look right. I understand prices for everything has gone up but that should not affect the quality of the food. The chicken parm on Johnny's trio was overcooked. On a positive note, the bread was fresh out of the oven and the calamari was great.

Kayli DePeña

It was just okay. Our server didn't want to be there and it showed. We waited a long time to be seated and then to just get our drinks. Another server went out of his way to make sure we were checked on and served while he was taking care of his own tables before ours ever showed. He didn't have to do that but he did and that is the only thing that kept this review a 3 star instead of a 2. The lasagna was so salty I couldn't finish it. The spinach and artichoke dip was great.

when I arrived at Johnnys it took 10 mins for a hostess to show up and and seat us, and when she finally sat us she didn't inform anyone we were there so i sat for 20 mins waiting for a waiter to e…

I should have known better — I ordered brisket at an Italian food restaurant. Hey, it is Texas. This was easily in the top 5 of the worst brisket I have ever had. And I’m a Texan who has been eati…

I should have known better — I ordered brisket at an italian food restaurant. Hey, it is Texas. This was easily in the top 5 of the worst brisket I have ever had. And I’m a Texan who has been …

We dined in pre pandemic and everything was a delight. BUT, we’ve ordered through DoorDash and Uber Eats several times, $100 + each time, and they never get the entire order correct. Pictures is dry Alfredo which is how they always serve it, and they leave no place to order extra. I tried calling the last time and asking them to add extra, didn’t mind paying (even though Alfredo should come with sauce), and they fussed at me and acted like it was a huge ordeal and like they were doing me a favor. An entire bag of food was missing this time and when I called The driver he didn’t answer, so I thought I’ll call the restaurant to see if they have the bag to the driver, the person answered the phone “Hello” I had to ask if I called Johnny Carinos. Then they placed me on hold to see if a bag was left, then came back to ask what was missing and then said I’ll go tell my Manager and come back and then they hung up on me. Now, I’m stuck waiting for Johnny Carinos and Uber Eats to find time to do the right thing. We won’t be giving Johnny another chance. ETA Immediately upon submitting this the restaurant called me and has offered a solution. I do suggest to still be wary of takeout. Again, dining in was a delight.

First timers came for dinner. Service was poor. We asked how good their calamari, and shrimp carbonara are but the server have no idea since she’s allergic to seafood. Bummer. It took forever for our server to take our order, had to flag down another server. Foods were okay. I had shrimp carbonara, husband had combo skilletini. The sausage in skilletini was too salty. I also had minestrone soup that was too salty for me. It comes in a petite bowl. While waiting for check, another staff was sweeping the floor and she just didn’t care sweeping the dust towards us. Need proper training for the staffs.

Adam Garcia

I received a coupon in the mail for a free steak fettuccine alfredo lasagna meal so I was excited to go back in nearly 20 years. The ribeye had way more fat that actual meat. If the cook is ok with serving a customer a generous serving of gristle then I don't really trust any of the other food being served out of that kitchen. I was quite dissapointed in the meal despite it being free. The margarita was decent and the server was excellent. Sadly it'll probably be another 20 years before I go back again.

Maribel Reyes

The young waiter provided very good service, but the food was terrible; the tomato sauce was awful, and the salad was very dirty. The woman preparing the salads and other items was doing so without gloves and kept touching her nose repeatedly. I was sitting at the first high table and saw her several times. Obviously, my family and I didn't eat them. I decided to speak to the manager, and she came over with a bad attitude. She didn't even introduce herself at the table, didn't resolve anything, and didn't know what to say or do. She just said, "Okay, I'll tell her." It was a very bad service and experience for our first time there, especially since we were just visiting Austin.

Cindy L

I was still looking for it to this restaurant. Ours closed down probably 12 years ago. I didn’t know that they were still around. We ordered the skillet with sausage turns out there was more grease and there was sauce not impressed. I JUST CAN’T

N Go

Wow. Where to start. 😳 (Long review warning…) When we arrived at 8:15 it wasn’t super busy, there were a lot of tables available - the problem was we waited by the hostess stand for about 5 minutes… no one came to us, I told my friend let’s give them 1 more minute and then leave. By this time, there were 2 parties standing behind us. My friend went to the bar and asked if there was a hostess, she pointed at a girl by the kitchen laughing with her obvious work crush, who didn’t even bother looking back at her station. Finally she saunters over with 2 large bags for the gentleman that was waiting before we arrived. Like ok fine, but you could’ve sat us first, then the couple behind us, grabbed the food, then the third party but no - get your flirt on, girl. Finally when she tends to us, she states that there’s a 5-10 min wait (?!?!) my friend said “um… there’s a booth on the bar side can we sit there?” The hostess said yeah sure and so we think she’s going to escort us to the booth. Nope. She stands there as we walk away confused “…. Um do you guys want menus?” (No, we’re just going to sit there hungry 🫠) At that point we should’ve left but my friend really wanted to eat here. Our server was actually attentive however failed to clarify that margaritas came in different sizes and even though I had the menu with the specials and ordered the special margarita of the day, she charged me (twice) for full sized drinks. The weird thing she knew to charge me the special price for the meal I had but not the drinks? Anyway the food wasn’t great. The pasta nachos (too weird not to try) plate was PIPING hot and when I touched it to move on the table it burned me a bit. Also the ends (as seen in the pic) were very burned. Received no warning for this hot plate btw. The pizza was soft in the middle like it wasn’t baked all the way through or something. It was more like a flat bread. My friends dish looked ok but the sauce was a color that made me think it had a skin on it (sitting on a stove all day) and she did not eat all of it (albeit, we were pretty full on apps and bread (also we weren’t immediately served bread, we had to ask for it - which came after our apps, I thought at this place you get that first with drinks like chips and salsa at a Mexican resto? Idk, I could be wrong) Anyway, I’m being generous with 2 stars because aside from not really being clear on the drinks, you could tell our server was trying her best and actually working. And honestly it’s a chain restaurant so wasn’t expecting it to be super great. This place needs better management for sure tho.

$4 extra to make something to go?\nAnd they wonder why the to go business is slow. They wonder why the place is empty all the time. \nDo better.

been in here for a hour still can't get my water. smells like sewage the bathroom is nasty and the sinks don't work

been in here for a hour still can't get my water. smells like sewage the bathroom is nasty and the sinks don't work

Gross. The food literally tasted like vomit, the pasta was watery and sour. Paid over $60 for two people for disgusting food. Save your money go to Olive Garden instead.

That was the most disgusting restaurant I’ve ever been inside. At 7pm on a Tuesday night, we waited only about 5 minutes for a host to seat us. My daughter and I went to the restroom while waiting for the host and the toilet had poop smeared on the front/outside of the bowl. Smelled horrible and the floor was slimy. Not wet, slimy. We got to our table and there was some type of liquid all over the floor in front of the table. We stepped over it to get into the booth and the table was sticky and crumbs were everywhere on the seat. We immediately decided to leave cause I’m not a fan of food poisoning. So gross. The health department should shut this place down. Gross.

Server wouldn't give us a chance to fully ask for what we needed before running off. We kept having to call her back. When we saw a roach crawling on the wall we told her and she seemed unphased. She got a manager and they apologized and said they "wished they could do something". My friend said you could offer a discount. So she gave us each a 10% discount. Then the check was wrong. By this time we had been there almost 2 hours and got soup, salad and wings. Nothing that should have taken that long. No extra discounts were offered. Overall bad experience. Don't plan on returning.

The bar tender at this location on South Park. She I bet hate her job. Poor horrible service. This is my 3 time coming here last 2 weeks, and she always have bad attitude. I do not recommend this place.

Worst experience dining here ever!!! I am pretty certain that I will never take family or friends out to dine here again. To start the host seated a party the same size as mine before me, even though they arrived after me and were placed on the list behind my party. The waiter took our orders and brought out the appetizer followed by my 4 children’s meals in a timely fashion. The deciding factor of this becoming a terrible dining experience was the fact that after my children completed their dinners my wife and myself hadn’t received our entrees. This was a time lapse of approximately 35 minutes(I had to show the manager the 35 minutes of YouTube videos I watched @ the table). If I wanted to wait 35 minutes after my kids got their food I would’ve gone to the Denny’s restaurant next to the Austin airport. I asked to speak with the manager (she was also quality control for the food line), as soon as she shows up to speak with me the food we ordered magically showed up. Tried to have a professional discussion with her about the experience and she proceeded to blame the waiter. The waiter was Aaron H, and he was very polite. I defended him in saying that she was in charge of the food and not him, then she started to give me a unprofessional attitude and said “I might as well eat the food that is brought to the table otherwise they are going to just throw it away in the trash!” I responded with “I am not going to eat that food because my kids are ready to leave and I am not going to pay for a meal that might’ve been sitting underneath the heat lamp for a possible 20 plus minutes” I hope that Corporate reads this because that manager needs to be replaced!!! I am attaching a picture of my receipt to prove this isn’t a bogus review.

I came here for the first time today and our waitress was great. Everything else not so much. The environment was humid and unclean and seeing a cook step outside with gloves on and not change them when he came back inside was concerning. We got the eggplant and chicken parm and for the price of a lunch special the portion was the size of a kids meal. The chicken and eggplant parmesan tasted like a frozen dinner. I do not blame the staff for the conditions, this state of the restaurant is on management.

I was so excited to take advantage of the Monday special and brought my coworkers in with me only to not be seated in a timely matter. A server did not come by after waiting 10 minutes at our table in a slow pace restaurant as only 2 other tables were seated. We were very discouraged and left.

Stay far away, there's a roach infestation and I'm not the first one to review about it! We used to love going here and we had just visited this restaurant a month prior to our latest visit which prompted this review. Initially our server was great and attentive as we had a large party seated together. We ate bread, salads and part of an appetizer until my kids pizzas arrived. My son wanted to eat a piece of it right away but I told him to wait as it was too hot to eat. Not even a minute later a roach crawls out from underneath the crust and onto our table. I immediately get up and get the nearest waiter. I'm not one to make a scene in public but it was so hard not too as I was completely disgusted and the roach was still crawling around on our table. He apologized and got the manager who also apologized. Our main meals had arrived right after the roach came out and we said we were not going to eat there anymore and we left. I couldn't stop thinking about this on the way home and wondered if anyone else had recently wrote a review involving roaches there. If you look, you will see there have been previous reviews that mention roaches as far as 7 MONTHS ago and as recent as 1 month ago. This means that they've known about these roaches and the problem has yet to be resolved. I will not support a restaurant that doesn't take food safety seriously and you shouldn't either!

Food is not of a quality standard compared to other Italian restaurants .They need lot of improvements . I would subject they should stray with a quality Mariana sauce at first instead of a low quality store brand .Their pizza was better but pasta 🍝 is not so good at all .Service and atmosphere is great . Kimberly was awesome and treated us well .

The food is not good. The Alfredo sauce had a lot of pepper and seemed to be watered down, no taste. I was very disappointed. Second time being here and thought it was cause I was pregnant the first time that that is why it tasted nasty but no. Food is awful. And this waitress (maybe she was new) she spilled the drinks when she brought them to the table and it spilled on my 8 month baby and high chair. Instead of rushing to go get us some napkins/towels, so I could clean off my baby. She went to go remake the drinks first. I had to use the paper napkins from all the silverware we had on the table.

Honestly, I don't usually do this, I also own a business, but I live in San Antonio and for my birthday I was invited to this restaurant, but what a bad decision. 1. 30 minutes waiting in the street while inside they have an availability of almost 80% of the tables. 2. Wait 10 minutes for a loaf. 3. a Caesar salad without chicken I tell the waitress and she laughs without solving anything. 4. Our food went to the trash, we didn't eat anything. Obviously I won't be back and sorry to waste gas and time going from San Antonio to this place.

+1

I haven't eaten at Johnny Carinos in a while, since they closed the one close to me. And it was a huge disappointment. While I was waiting to pick up my to go order, which was behind, like a couple of other people that were waiting before me, a phone call came in saying that they hadn't gotten their order right. This led me to pull everything out of my bag to make sure they had it all. They did not. And they didn't have something at all that I had ordered, and the substitution was unacceptable. I have to say when you walk in, it looks like it's not managed very well, nothing like it used to be. To top it all off, my daughter ordered fried ravioli (supposedly with cheese on the inside) and my picture says it all. I won't be back and I suggest you stay away as well. **edit - since I already spoke to the manager in the store without any positive resolution before I posted my review, I won't be calling the manager again expecting anything different. I stand by my original statements that you shouldn't eat here. You can find really good Italian food at many different places, no need to give this place your business.

My family and I went this past weekend and the wait was 30 minutes. Their excuse: because all their workers are graduates.... there was only 4 tables being served at a time. Bathrooms are filthy. Guess that's what happens when you hire nothing but kids... disgusting... never going to this location again. Even after washing my hands, I felt as if I was dirty after touching the handles of this place.

Eggplant was served burned... cooking staff covered burned eggplant with sauce and cheese and brought it out and served. That was poor... rethink your meal here! We asked chef and manager, chef came out, agreed the meal was bad just by appearance... So! Buyer Beware or should I say, Eater Beware!

Gross!!!! Very disappointed. I drove in from NB to have dinner here. I really.miss the one we had in NB. Wow! Talk about letting go.. the Italian combo with Steak that I ordered was not even real steak! I was shocked. Left the steak just how it came.

HATED IT. One of the worst experiences ever. Horrible service. Horrible food. We went because of the mail flyer for a free steak fettuccine Alfredo and lasagna meal and free appetizer (choice of salad or Italian nacho). We went early (5p) for dinner with my nieces. We ordered the free meal, nachos, stuffed mushrooms, a kids cheese pizza and a kids pepperoni pizza. We had our stuffed mushrooms that were decent and the free nachos come on a tiny plate. Tiny. It's free so I get it. It's fine, it's gross anyway. It's white cheese, black olives, peppercinis, tomatoes, and jalapenos. Then after apps the server asks if we're ready for the check...The check?! We haven't even gotten our food! I should've taken it as a sign to run. The steak fettuccine had three pieces. What a joke. The lasagna was dark red and looked weird. It was a sad plate. I had one bite of the lasagna and immediately no. It was tangy and weird. I already knew it would be bad just by looking at it. The girls got their kids pizzas 10 min later. They were not fully cooked. The dough was still raw. The red sauce was dark red and tangy. The kids wouldn't eat it saying it tasted weird. All of the food was inedible. The kids got free ice cream which had ice pieces in it. Like when it melts and you freeze ice cream again. It has little icicles in the ice cream. All of the food was disgusting except for the mushrooms. The tables were sticky. The server said it was his first day as server and I'm not mad at that at all. He didn't shadow anyone or there wasn't anyone watching him. Clearly there was no manager because although we were first ones to order and be seated we were last to get our meal because he made a mistake. He didn't enter the food in properly into the system. I freely bread for him because he clearly didn't get trained properly. It was all bad. Do not waste your time or money, and save your tummy from this nightmare.

I wanted to share my experience from my visit today, which was my first time dining at your restaurant. Unfortunately, it was deeply disappointing and concerning. After being seated for lunch, we waited quite a while before receiving any assistance. Once we ordered, it took an unusually long time for our meals to arrive. While our server did apologize for the delay, what followed was completely unacceptable. As we began eating, I noticed movement on our booth. To my shock, there were roaches crawling on the table, the wall, and even emerging from underneath the booth. I immediately requested to speak with a manager, who came over and apologized. However, her explanation made the situation even worse—she admitted that the back of the restaurant, including the kitchen, had recently been treated for pests, and they “didn’t think” the roaches had made their way to the front. This admission was alarming and left us feeling sick. Acknowledging an infestation in the kitchen raises serious concerns about food safety. The manager did comp our meal, but by that point, we had no choice but to leave. I strongly urge you to address this issue immediately, as no customer should ever have to experience what we did. I hope you take this feedback seriously and ensure that the restaurant meets proper health and safety standards.

Long wait time for our food. Food was not that great. My soup only had 3 or 5 greanbean pieces 😖. The rest were piece of probably 1 full celery stalk. The soup tasted like a can of tomatoes chunks. 🍅 I am very disappointed. I'll just continue to go to my favorite Carino's on N. IH 35. Their food is delicious 👩🏽‍🍳. On a positive, our waiter was very kind

This place was trash. We waited forever for our food. We were without refills for a long time. One entree was wrong. The second entree had so little sauce the manager said it was way too dry. The 3rd entree had a huge hair in my daughter's food. We got our salad with our entrees.The waitress said we could all get a desert due to food & service. After taking our desert order, they came back and said we can't give you the deserts, we can give you ice-cream. I used to work here and I brought my family to come get this service. I was embarrassed. Don't waste your time coming here!!!

This was not a good meal especially for the high cost, tiny portions and quality of meat taste. My husband ordered Chicken Parmigiano that was 29.39 as they charged extra for the chicken in Chicken Parmigiano. The portion size was a child's portion. Literally one handful of spaghetti. I ordered Lasagna which ended up costing 26.48 and the meat in it was inedible. It ended up going to the dog :( and I honestly didn't even want him to eat it. One tiny piece of cake for 12.60. The price and the portion sizes along with the quality of the taste was utterly regrettable. Eating out is a luxury to us on special occasions and this was so disappointing for 116.00 meal. Do not waste hard earned money, go to Olive Garden or somewhere better.

If I could leave 0 stars I would. My mom and I went for lunch and it was inedible. They have bread and oil to start which tasted like lemon or something had been added which was the least of our problems. We also started with a small plate of calamari which was mostly pepperoncinis with only 6 pieces of the octopus/squid that was also chewy for $10. I had a Caesar salad and it tasted like acid and burned my mouth. My mom had a house salad that also tasted like acid and tasted like the worst bottled ranch available. My mom received pasta that was put with the wrong sauce that fell apart on her fork from being overcooked. I had spaghetti with meatballs and the sauce looked like super thick BBQ sauce and tasted burnt and definitely from a jar. Both pastas also tasted heavily of acid. Definitely will not ever be going back.

Nader Jawhari

A restaurant with a serious identity crisis. Italian food with chicken wings and nachos and smoked ribs? An ambiance similar to a brightly lit Chinese restaurant and priced to be at $18-$28 a dish. Fried Raviolis with Thai Chili Sauce? So many examples of a what should not be a fusion restaurants. No thanks. This place is an absolute joke save your time and money. Side note our server was the kindest and sweetest guy. I feel bad he has to work there.

Marilyn Slentz

Geronimo charged $20 dollars plus tax for this roasted garlic. What a joke & jerk of a general manager. No wonder Carino's have closed.

crystal ortiz

We ordered a kids plate and 2 Dinners to go. All of the pastas had the same amount. Barely any pasta. Looks like they put 1 scoop of pasta. I literally just picked it up from a 25 min drive and am disappointed. $60 for that little amount is crazy work. Wish I could take my tip back.

Sydney

Don't come here unless you want dry, overcooked, cold food. We should've took the empty parking lot as a red flag and not eaten here. We were seated with no wait, and the waitress came to get drink orders and bless her heart. She made everything difficult and confusing. Talking about how the flavored teas they had on the menus weren't blended or mixed together or something like that, and they were syrups. Also adding to the confusion by saying "we're not like red robin or red lobster that have the mixed flavored teas". So we just said that was fine even though we didn't really understand her. We also got the raspberry Italian soda, but then the bartender comes over to the table saying that they're out of raspberry syrup because they're waiting on shipments to come in. Which is understandable because that's not really their fault, but maybe you should tell people that you're out of something instead of letting us order it. Ordered calamari as an appetizer and it came out cold and barely even crispy. Main dishes came out later on. We got the lemon rosemary chicken (don't get it. Flavor is not that good, veggies had a weird rotten flavor, and chicken was so so so dry), classic Alfredo with shrimp (was ok had a weird taste to it), spicy shrimp and chicken pasta (was decent and really good spice to it, but not worth the price), and the spicy Romano chicken (same as the other spicy pasta, decent but not worth the price).

Haley Allison

I was really excited to come to Johnny Carino's since I haven't been to one in 20 years! The bread was hard as a rock. The Alfredo sauce tasted like great value plain and basic walmart sauce and the ravioli was like 5 or 6 for 20 bucks!! I paid 1.99 extra for the nasty Alfredo sauce. My husband got a sandwich and the bread was hard on it also. His drink had a leak and we had to ask the waiter 4x before he finally gave him new drink. He sat there for over half an hour with no drink at all cause it all leaked out everywhere. He even walked past our table several times between us asking and still didn't get it and he only had two other tables. So bad service and bad food. I was so disappointed and definitely won't ever go back and advise family and friends against trying it if they are in this area.