Carusos

Went in at around 730pm on a Friday evening, we got seated right away! We were seated near the front entrance, so I didn't get to see all of the restaurant, but it was very cozy and smelled amazing of course! Unfortunately the service was slow! The food took awhile to come out, the server had to assure us a couple times the food was on the way out. Also, I did have to ask a couple extra times for refills on my drink. We had the chicken Alfredo, and my husband absolutely loved it! Then we had the antipasto salad and the three meatballs with meat sauce from the ala carte menu, also extremely good. All in all, it is a great date night location, with delicious food and smells!!

We arrived on a Friday evening about 5:30 and were seated immediately. This is a big change I noticed because in years past, a Friday night wait for a table could be an hour or more. We chose to sit in the back patio, which was ok...table and chairs were located on dirt so shoes got a bit dusty. Brianna was our server and immediately took our drink order, delivery was moments later. We ordered dinner (there were four of us), all of us wanted the salad. Carusos has one of the best salads and dressing I've had in a long while. For those who don't like their salad "swimming" in dressing...you will not agree with me! Their Italian dressing is so good, tangy, and rich with herbs. The lettuce itself and salad overall was fresh. The salads were delivered quickly. Your table gets one basket of their garlic bread, which was room temp and a bit dry. I dunked mine in the sauce of my spaghetti.Once done with salads, we had a long wait for our main dishes to arrive. About 15, close to 20 minutes passed before dinner was delivered. I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, wanted to stick with the basics and my memory of their sauce. Ok, truth be told, it's probably been about five to six years since we've eaten here, so memory could be a bit lapse. I truly wasn't impressed...I found it to lack that tangy, tomato and meaty flavor (Caruso Sauce). The noodles were a bit over cooked by a few minutes so although they weren't mushy, they were on the way past that al dente taste of pasta. The meatballs were not as I remember...they were good size but basically had no flavor. This I remembered from past because I used to love their meatballs! I'd get a couple of extra sometimes to just take them home for a meatball sandwich the next day. Overall, my meal was ok.Wife ordered the stuffed shells. She asked about just getting the shells...the menu has them listed with either eggplant or chicken. Was told, "yes, you can order just them, they aren't on the menu." Ok, so that was good but...we were charged $21, which is the cost for the shells and eggplant, so basically we paid for something we didn't get. The shells themselves were mediocre at best. The pasta shell was a bit hard and when she went to cut them in half, all of the cheese squirted out. Something off about this dish unfortunately.Friends ordered Chicken Alfredo, which was reported to be ok. The sauce was a bit gloppy and lacked a strong cheese flavor. Other friend had spaghetti with Caruso Sauce and agreed with me about the lack of overall luster.Overall our meal was a 3 star event. I think the nostalgia of the restaurant is what brought us here but we decided that quality wise, probably won't return. I do also want to say that there were other full tables around us and people seemed to be happy with their meals so this review is our opinion only! Take it for what it is. Sorry...no photos this time around.

This place was so good last year I had to come back again this year. The service was amazing and the food was even better. The mood in here is beautiful. Reminds me of an old mob movie. Five stars highly recommended.

This place was pretty much like I remember from my childhood. Old school, great service, and solid food. I'd say the Italian salad was fantastic. I had the lasagne as my entree and it was good!

I learned about this restaurant from binge watching some old episodes of AZ Highways TV, where they claimed Caruso's is the oldest Italian restaurant in the state! It's been around forever and is highly esteemed, so after dozens of visits to 4th ave I finally gave it a try. What I like: Atmosphere is off the charts good. The entrance is the most beautiful property on the block, and when you walk in it feels like you're waltzing through a series of living rooms in a lavish historic home. Servers are classy and conversational. It feels a bit pricey, but the portions are gigantic--everyone will take home leftovers. I could eat their sauce for days. What needs work: The food across the board does not live up to the reputation. The antipasti was a snooze--the salami tasted bland and cheap, and the little cheese wedges were pretty mediocre as well. You could order a charcuterie board at virtually any cocktail bar in town and it would surpass this low-effort appetizer.I ordered the Lasagne Duo with a half serving of lasagna and a half serving of Chicken Parmigiana. It was drowning in that delicious sauce, but I'd be lying if I said the lasagna weren't being carried by a heaping of shaved Parmesan toasted under the broiler. The chicken parmesan was unfortunately not breaded like most places would do it, but the cutlet, although underseasoned, was cooked to tender perfection. There are some pizzas on the menu as well, but it's really basic with only a handful of standard topping options. And unlike most fancy Italian places, it's not even attempting to go for traditional Neapolitan. I am entirely uninterested. Overall, Caruso's is respectable Italian cuisine and something everyone who loves Arizona should give a chance to. But around this price range I think you can probably find some better Italian food that pays more attention to detail and doesn't coast so much on its history and reputation.

I'll start by saying the food is great. The veal parm special used tender, tasty veal. I had the seafood pasta in red sauce, and they were generous with the seafood, which wasn't overcooked. However, it took an hour from the time we were seated until the food came to the table. When it finally did, my meal was served a full 10 minutes before my partner's dish was served. That's totally unacceptable. As far as atmosphere, if you've ever been to a South Jersey Italian restaurant that's trying to be like a South Philly Italian restaurant, then you'll instantly relate to the ambiance and atmosphere at Caruso's. It is a one-and-done for me.

I really wanted to rate Caruso's higher -- it's a Tucson elder statesman in the restaurant scene! -- but unfortunately the service was kind of a mess and the food, while good, wasn't strong enough to pull it up to four stars. The food is traditional Italian comfort food, served in heaping portions. On our visit, I got linguine with shrimp in the mushroom garlic sauce, while my companion got the "Half and Half" of meat ravioli and spaghetti in a meat marinara sauce. We thought it was really fun that you could do a combo like that! Both meals were solid pasta dishes that hit the spot, and the sauces were truly excellent with rich flavors, but neither felt like something that we'd go back specifically to Caruso's to get again. I did appreciate the generous servings, which were enough to provide leftovers that reheated beautifully as lunches later in the week. As I said, while I have no criticisms of the food, the service was very slow and our interactions with staff felt uncomfortable. We were seated quickly, but then waited a long time for a server to come by to bring water, and then waited even longer for her to come back for our food order. We would unsuccessfully try to catch her eye when she was moving through the room, and on the few-and-far-between visits to our table she seemed irritated. I always want to give someone slack (who knows what's happening behind the scenes either in the restaurant or in their life), but the server's apparent annoyance with us was to the point that I felt like an imposition asking for a water refill, and actually apologized twice for doing so. The garlic bread is delicious (and I do love garlic bread!), and there's always a place in my heart for a giant pile of pasta, but I honestly think that the next time I'm feeling an urge for Italian and am in the vicinity of Caruso's, I'll get takeout from them.

Lovely place. Stop by for dinner and it was amazing. My salad was excellent and the pasta combo with raviolis was good as well. This place is very large inside and outside. It looks like a place where families can go and enjoy not only a good meal but themselves. Especially the outdoor area. Service was good as well. If you are in the area, stop by and try one of their delicious dishes. You won't be disappointed. Happy meals!

Caruso's is a longstanding Italian restaurant in the Tucson community. I had high expectations when I arrived, but unfortunately, I was disappointed. On the positive side, the service and atmosphere were excellent. The service was friendly and attentive. I was with a larger party, and everyone was cared for well. The ambiance was a classic old-school Italian restaurant, which was welcoming and pleasant. We received a nice appetizer of bread. However, when my main dish arrived, I was very dissatisfied. I had a small and lackluster plate of shrimp scampi in front of me. The pasta was overwhelmingly lemony, with a hint of garlic and butter. I barely got any shrimp flavor. I expected the food to match the excellent atmosphere, but I left hungry for something better.

It was good, but nothing extra special. Comes with one free basket of bread per table. Seater was very friendly and personable, seating us in her favorite spot where you can people watch from inside. The server left lots to be desired. She almoat seemed annoyed by anything we said. Ordered the chicken parm (small, moist chicken was a plus, but no breading, covered in mushrooms under the cheese, and not much cheese) with stuffed shells (not quite stuffed and only 2). Also had the shrimp scampi. Shrimp were large and clean. Lemony scampi sauce and a small side of pasta. Italian wedding soup was good, but again not the greatest.