Di Carlo Trattoria & Pizzeria

I haven't been to Di Carlo's for a while (its a bit of a drive for us) but we've gone at least twice a year for the past four or five years. I had to find a nice restaurant for my daughter's high school graduation dinner (for 11 people) and being that I live in Racine, pickings are slim. I checked out the reviews for the last year and ....not good at all. I was REALLY worried. We wanted to have a nice meal and we were picking up the entire tab. We almost didn't go even though I've always been happy there; I know things can change. Nevertheless I thought...what the heck, let's give it a try.

So, we went to Di Carlos on June 7th for dinner. I must say, we were very pleased overall. But we were a bit worried at first....

I had reservations and immediately upon checking in, the hostess advised my husband that they were "unusually busy"...I was worried that we were going to have a long wait. Not so, luckily we were seated within five minutes of our time. We were in the original section of the restaurant, not really very aesthetically pleasing, but not bad either.

The waitress was VERY friendly and upbeat. W were one of four large parties back there (it was also loud), but hey, there were alot of us in there...it wasn't intimate dining, nor was it meant to be.

Our waitress had two of the large parties, at least 24 people, AND was serving some tables in the other dining area. We received our menus, she took our orders in good time. Then we sat and sat (for a bit too long) and started wondering where our bread (we were hungry) and water was....Apparently, we deduced that there simply were not enough bus people. Because all at once, after our long wait...a small group of young men came in with water, bread, etc. and all was finally well (but the water glasses were REALLY SPOTTY...(not dirty, just water spotted...pretty badly and I'm not that fussy). Something I should have pointed out, but whatever.

Here are the items we ordered..gnocchi, pepperoni pizza, farmers market pizza, veal parmisiana (my dad loves it, gets it here every time),
spinach and artichoke rigatoni (my sister's favorite), shrimp Siciliana, 2 combo platters (obviously smaller than in the past....but very very good..not enough for my husband, but okay for my mom), 2 seafood Arrabiatas, and my Alaskan Halibut Pomodoro Bianco (OH MY GAAWWD I am so glad I got this)....LOADED with cremini mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, fresh asparagus..and a DELICIOUS light creamy sauce!!

We were very very pleased with all of the food items....other than the rather smallish combo platter (I gave my hubby my side of spaghetti) and the fact that it doesn't come with a salad (what the!?!?) everything was lovely. Many of us had leftovers to bring home also.

The service was very very good after the slow start, the waitress was wonderful and we had a good time overall. Very well worth the $266.00 (which included the 18% gratuity...I also gave the waitress a bit extra on the side ) We had wine, beer, a variety of soft drinks, one dessert, etc. so all in all it was a good value.

I would definitely go back and am so glad that I didn't give up due to the negative reviews. I believe there may have been problems and probably still are here and there, but if you love a place and are disappointed in changes, go right to the owner. Maybe someone did and they got the message because we had a great dinner there. I don't think that most of the prices are outrageous at all although I did have a problem with the smallish combo platter with no salad for $12.50...come ON...throw in a salad Mr. Di Carlo!!!

I would definitely recommend Di Carlos for the great menu selection and food, and from my experiences, generally very good service.

Everyone at that table on June 7th will be back for certain.

Used to like this place, but service is horrible especially after remodel.

Pizza is OK.

Cheese bread is all I like there.

This is a case of a good resturant going bad. Since remodeling, the prices have gone up and the portions have decreased in size and quality. What was once an intimate cafe where the owner greeted each customer has turned into a place where repeated phone calls are not returned and it takes over a half hour just to get a waitress to take your food order. The last meal I had there was a gristly steak that was over cooked and of poorer quality than what they serve at chain resturants for half the price or less.
After being a loyal customer since this place opened, I can now say that I have eaten my last meal at Di Carlos.

Comments (1)

Betty Ann G - 11/02/08
Foods not that good Drinks r to expensive and table r to close was nicer before the remodled will not go back