This is my second visit to this Italian restaurant in Lakewood. The food was exceptionally good the wine was a house wine white and was absolutely wonderful from I also ordered the shrimp Italiano and it was a white sauce and it had incredible capers with bell pepper which spinach it was really really delicious. I also ordered the fried cheese sticks that were absolutely wonderful and the bread was seasoned very well because I love to cook breads at home this bread was cooked with love trust me on that. Also the caper's gay the shrimp dish an incredible seasoned taste that was extremely delicious I'm gonna order this dish again when I return next time. So it wasn't too busy today and I want everyone to understand that you can always be able to park very easily in this parking lot. I highly recommend this location and I want everyone to enjoy and also put your 2 cents in put in a review on what you feel should be adequate as a review. The ambiance is wonderful especially the inside and even when you sit outside you get a nice breeze very nice outdoors. read more

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Great food. Only critique is that it gets busy on Friday nights and sometimes the staff falls behind.

I came to Carmela's on a whim after really underwhelming sushi for lunch. Nothing beats sadness, on your birthday nonetheless, than comfort food. Comforted, I was!! This very minimalistic designed Italian restaurant is mildly lit, kind of demure, unassuming. Located in a strip mall in Lakeway, you are definitely not prepared for delicious powerhouse that their menu is, at least from outward appearances. I know I wasn't. I consulted the Bible (Yelp!)- and found this treasure trove of Italian cuisine, Boy am I grateful to God! I ordered the Caprese salad to start, which was perfectly portioned with thick juicy beef steaks, generously sized basil leaves and the perfect drizzle of balsamic. It's hard to mess up something so simple, but believe me honey, I have seen it done! Ashley, my server, and new bestie by the time I left, helped me work my indecision into decision and even read my mind, changing the regular spaghetti to Alfredo, in my Italian trio. I wanted a bit of everything and a bit of everything is what I got! The tomatoe sauce, the spice blends, the perfect panko on the chicken cutlet, literally EVERYTHING was fire! 10/10 would recommend! Thank you turning my birthday frown upside down! And Ashley, you are INCENDIARY!! A true star! read more

Carmela's Lakeway - Italian trio, sub Alfredo under the chicken parm! - Italian Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

We enjoyed the night before Valentine's Day here & had a wonderful experience. The food, the drinks (especially my Limoncello Martini) & our desserts were all delicious. We started with my tomato basil soup & my husband's crab cakes. Yum. Then I had the redfish grilled w/gluten free pasta. The sauce & that pasta melded together perfectly. My husband ordered meatballs & spaghetti. He enjoyed it & will be sure to order extra meatballs next time. The desserts were delicious too. The service was good & our server was attentive & personable. Next date night will be spent here. read more

Food, service, ambience was all great. Definitely plan on returning. We had bread, Alfredo, and the trio platter. All delicious.

Terrific experience! Staff is very friendly. The food is delicious with generous portions. Cozy setting and nice ambiance read more

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So good. Everything we had was yummy, sour dough with oil, spaghetti, trio, chicken parm. How I wish this place was closer to my house! read more

Carmela's Lakeway - Italian Trio - Italian Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

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Food is always good and plentiful. Service is always pleasant and attentive. Restaurant is located in an older shopping center and the interior is a bit tired. Do not let this deter you if you want good Italian food. read more

Great food at great location, very clean place and full of flavors. Very high recommended place.

Carmela's is our favorite Italian restaurant in Lakeway! The owners are outstanding and so friendly! We probably go every two weeks. Brittany is the best server and so special! The food is always above expectations and huge portions. Our kids love it and always want to go there when they visit . It's a must if you are in Lakeway!! read more

The young man who served us was so nice and attentive. The food was amazing. The music was very good. Will be back!!

At least it's better than Mandola's (not that that's saying much). Mediocre food, but good service.

We love Carmella's and are so thankful that we have an awesome Italian restaurant so close to our hood! Their cocktails, bread, mozzarella sticks, salad, lasagna, fish, Alfredo.... Everything is delicious! I highly recommend and their service is great read more

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Great food, great service, and great atmosphere. We started with the Mussels, then I had a wedge salad. Best wedge I've had in a long time! I had the Lasagna and Elaine had the Lasagna Trio. Paired with a nice Italian wine, made for a wonderful evening. I highly recommend for Italian Cuisine in Lakeway, Texas. read more

Carmela's Lakeway - Mussels - Italian Near Me - Lakeway, Texas

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Food was ok. Service was horrible. It took over 20 min before a waitress came to give us water and then another 30 min for another waitress to take our order. They claimed it was due to a shortage in staff but I never saw anyone other table having issues with service. On top of that food was made incorrectly. Not sure if we would ever go back. read more

I have dined at Carmela's now several times since my first review, and I must say that they never, ever disappoint. Everything I have eaten there so far has been superb, fresh and flavorful. Even when they are very busy, the service is outstanding and you don't feel like you're putting anyone out if you have a special request or need additional items. The wine list also is very good. I love the atmosphere there as well. It is warm, welcoming, and beautiful. Josephine always stops by to say hello and make sure everything is perfect for us. She does that with everyone as well. If you haven't been there, go soon. You will be pleased and will be coming back again and again. read more

Chicken Parm is what I usually get but tonight we just stopped by for drinks. Espresso martini is awesome...ask Rachael to make it. There are so many Italian restaurants to choose from but this is a hidden gem. Josephine has my heart! read more

This was my second time coming to Carmela's since moving to Lakeway. I just went in to pick up a Chicken Parm to go order. I standed near the hostess stand for 10min before I received any help. The chicken and pasta had a very strong seafood taste which made it inedible. The to go Tupperware was also over halfway filled with liquid. We had to throw away the whole thing and cook something at home. Waste of time and money unfortunately. Overall, not good. read more

Wow-delicious Italian cuisine smell when you walk in the door!!!!! We loved the menu selections and Kim was a fabulous server! The house red wine was smooth and tasty. We ordered a few different salads, pizzas and my son had fish. The bread on the table was warm and delicious! I look forward to going back! read more

Cold lasagna! The sauce and ingredients did not come together. The waitress was very understanding offering to take it off our bill, and make it over for no charge. We decided to wait around as I was having surgery the next morning. MUCH TO OUR SURPRISE, when we got the bill the Manager decided to charge us for the lasagna after we were told it would be NO CHARGE. I can only imagine how the waitress felt after she received a nice tip for service, only to stabbed in the back over the cost of pasta. I won't return! read more

Cocktails are amazing, the food was alright. Sit at the bar, I'm terrible for not remembering the name of the guy behind the bar, but he was a cool dude! Bless you cool dude! read more

We have not been to Carmela's since it changed management some time ago. We have been missing a very nice Restaurant. The food was excellent with large portions that could be shared. The service was the best we have received in the area. I am sorry I missed our server's name because she was wonderful. Carmela's has the ambience of of a fine Restaurant with the warmth of a great neighborhood establishment. We will be back. read more

Good food and great service. This was our first time at Carmela's Lakeway restaurant. We stopped by with our friends who suggested we give it a try. It is a nice cozy restaurant with good food and great service. My husband ordered the Spaghetti and Meatballs and he loved it. I had the Trio which includes lasagna, ravioli and chicken parmesan. It was good. We had a Margherita pizza for appetizer. The pizza crust was average. They serve complimentary bread but if you need a refill they will charge you. Our friends ordered the Shrimp Italiano which they liked. Service was excellent! read more

Delious meal there last night... Very pleasant staff esp our server, Marie. Manicotti was exceptional.. Shrimp appetizer a delight.. perfectly done broccoli.. We'll be back for sure... read more

I love this place- it's out of my way where I live but it's well worth it. The staff is always friendly and I just tried their butternut squash ravioli for the first time and I found it absolutely delicious! I enjoy their bruschetta and their pizza is to die for! What I find the icing on the cake is how the owners take the time and chat with the guests. Josephine and Robin are wonderful and the bartender Amy always makes the perfect drinks for me! Keep up the good work, ladies! read more

I've tried this restaurant in Lakeway a few times now and each time it's gotten better. As many post Covid restaurants it's been hard for them to find staff but the ones they have are great. My favorite dishes are the salmon special and the shrimp dish. Both were cooked perfectly and tasty. The bread they serve is also really nice and fresh. read more

Tonight I had dinner at Carmelo's Lakeway. Our server was friendly and very helpful. I had ordered Chicken Parmesan on her say so. Spaghetti was dry and sauce overbearing sour. Chicken was crusted nicely but very hard and dry. Manager or owner whomever she might be took my plate away and said well I will not get you anything else ,you probably won't like it anyway. She is probably right. How can any person be so rude and horrible. She definitely lost customers tonight! read more

What an Amazing Resturant ! My husband, who is Italian, and I decided we wanted to try this newer place and we are so glad we did ! We arrived right when it opened at 4 pm, since we skipped lunch, and enjoyed everything about it ! The owner and her sister were there and I was so honored to meet and talk with them both. We were seated in a booth at the front and were quickly greeted by our waitress, Carley. She was Wonderful, so attentive, and helped us with our every need. Carley brought us a basket of Fresh Bread that was warm and tasted great. We ordered their Calamari appetizer, which was delicious, lightly battered, tender and cooked to perfection. My husband ordered a bottle of 'Decoy' Merlot which he enjoyed with his Rigatoni covered with Bolognese sauce. It was a more than a generous serving and tasted "so good" he commented. I ordered their 'Chicken Parm' which was also a large portion and I enjoyed it along with the side of spagetti that accompanied it. I can Highly recommend this wonderful resturant. It serves Delicious Food, has a Full Bar, a great wine list, the service is impeccable and even their Music is perfectly suited to an Italian Resturant Don't Miss this Great Resturant !!! Next time we're going to try their Pizza ! read more

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Amazing, authentic Italian, like my momma used to make. We ordered a catered meal of Carmela's salad, lasagna & Lemoncello cake for a dinner party of 12. Everything was absolutely DELICIOUS. We were treated like family from start to finish & even loaned the lasagna pan to return after the event. Many of our guests asked to take leftovers home, since all raved about the lasagna! We LOVE this restaurant & the lovely family and staff who run it!!! read more

My husband and I have enjoyed Carmela's. I especially enjoy the mussels. We frequented when it was Verona's. Carmela's renovations are open, bright and enjoyable. Although short staffed, Ashlyn handles the crowd with grace. She is lovely and gracious. I would have given 5 stars, but I have a sensitive nose and the matronly woman comes in and out and around the tables smelling of cigarette smoke. My nose immediately stops. I would not have said anything but this has happened on one than more occasion. We appreciate having this jewel in the community. We also enjoy their happy hours. Thank you to Carmela's and to Ashlyn for our enjoyable dining experience. read more

Our family started dinning at Carmela's just after they opened, hoping to boost our local economy post pandemic. Things were great at first, despite the typical "growing pains" however each visit after grew more disappointing than the last. We dinned there this evening and were soooo bothered by the bartender. The servers were lovely, you could tell that they were very stressed and behind. The bartender was engaged in an exclusive conversation with one solo patron.... for 45 minutes straight. No joke. We were being served our main (post apps) and still no wine in sight. The leadership/ownership really does not have a grasp on the clientele and said nothing to the bartender. It was very frustrating, to say the least. The owners have become complacent and rather rude as well, as if they can not be bothered. We will not return to Carmela's. read more

I went there for my first time last night. I was very impressed with the atmosphere, the service and the food and they are reasonably priced. I will definitely be going back. read more

Food was good, not special, but we'll worth the money. They are short staffed, but did a good job. My wife and I had 4 bar drinks. They more than exceeded the cost of our meals. Watch the liquor bill. This websites wants me to keep typing . I'm done. read more

I haven't been to Carmela's in years and I was excited to see what changed. The interior was completely re-done and looked beautiful. But when I was seated at my table there was a kid laying next to us maybe 1 foot away (probably one of the employees kids) and I could literally smell there feet, the table obviously should not have been there, because one of the hosts also decided to lay down next to us. There was a Cheap paper matting on the table completely taking you out of a 4 star Italian restaurant experience. Was not going to write a review but the food quality has absolutely gone downhill (absence of spice and flavor) and with the added uncomfortableness of the unprofessional atmosphere made me write one. I will not be coming back. read more

The sweet, wonderful owner is almost always there and her daughter too. So the recipes are authentic and delicious. We had Carmela's cater our son's rehearsal dinner and everything was delicious - especially the lasagna and eggplant parmigiana. We've eaten in the restaurant and done taken out since then and it's always delicious TJ wonderful service. Highly recommend. read more

Normally a good review but their weak management to keep allowing children to sit at the bar is out of bounds.

When i used to take hill country cruises out thru dripping springs, I'd always stop off at Carmelas on highway 12 going towards dripping springs. The food was always great and the staff was super friendly. Than!!!! I discovered the same family has a Carmelas in lakeway off 620 in lakeway next to lakeway blvd. I go more often than i should. Im a creature of habit so I always get the same thing. My 12 year old an I share the meatball pizza, i have a grilled chicken ceasar salad that always has crisp lettuce and hot fresh made grilled chicken seasoned to perfection, And my 8 year old always gets the kids spaghetti and meatballs. And it kicks butt everytime. The staff is very kind and caters to me and my boys like were the only ones in there even though they are consistently busy. Always going back. read more

We ordered a margarita "pizza". This it's not a pizza it is made on bread dough not pizza dough. The rounds of mozzarella cheese are not melted. Won't make this mistake twice. read more

Haven't been here since first week it opened. Delicious Osso Bucco. Wife had Haddock that was perfect. Great service. We will return soon read more

Carmela's has great ambiance and a full bar and good wine list. Unfortunately the food was bland and not on par with the restaurant under previous ownership. The mussels appetizer was good, but both of the entrees my wife and I ordered, Penne with vodka sauce and the chicken dish were not flavorful. The menu description sounded great but the dish itself was lacking. read more