An old staple in Tucson, there's no wonder why seemingly always steady on their business. The food is pretty tasty (good quality, decent selection), the service is good considering how busy it is, and really that's about as much as you can ask as far as what the staff can control. It's a nice, darker environment indoors, which really makes you forget you're in the heart of 4th Avenue, but with this being said it's not exactly a place you'd go to for the views. The outside patio is okay too (not off-putting but nothing overly spectacular). The restaurant was undergoing some construction on this most recent visit so I'm curious for the end product. In any case, we came here for a special occasion and the honoree loved it as much as ever and that's the point. The only thing that will ever stop anyone from coming is if they close the doors; you can always count on consistency here. read more

This place was recommended to me. I am from Wyoming, I was seated outside. The ambiance was absolutely wonderful. The food was wonderful. The service was also wonderful. I highly recommend this lovely restaurant on 4th Street in Tucson AZ. I will be going again very soon. read more

Please Accept My Apologies for This Review! I first walked into Caruso's in 1973, when it had been in business for almost 40 years. As a young student at the U of Arizona, it was rare for me to treat my small family to a restaurant meal because disposable income was somewhat more difficult to come by then. Typically, an Italian eatery provides excellent value and Caruso's turned out to be no exception. My menu selection that day in 1973 was Lasagna Al Forno and it was superb. In fact it was so tasty that I ordered Lasagna Al Forno the next time I ate at Caruso's. ....And the next, and the time after that. In fact, over the ensuing years I have never ordered anything else. I have eaten several tons of that stuff and it has never occurred to me to order anything other than Lasagna Al Forno. My dinner companions, sometimes a couple and sometimes a group as large as 20 have always raved about their meals, so I know that Caruso's does a great job with most or all of their menu items. I will never be able to personally confirm this so long as Lasagna Al Forno is available. If you expected this reviewer to speak with authority about the many other dishes issuing from the kitchen at Caruso's, you are undoubtedly disappointed by now. Please move along to the next review. As for me, future trips to Tucson will always include Caruso's Lasagna Al Forno, as monotonous as that may sound to the foodies reading this. P.S. Do not visit this part town without allowing time for a stroll up and down that two block stretch of 4th Avenue. This is a genuine snapshot of what Hippyville looked, smelled and sounded like in the 1960s, as all aging flower children will immediately recognize. read more

Came for dinner with friends a couple weekends ago. Service was slow but we didn't mind cause it was so relaxing outside in the patio area with all the lights and the weather was perfect on a September night. We all ordered entrees and dessert too much food to mention, the food was good but not overly impressed. I will be back just cause I loved the patio area so much. read more

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After my first couple years of college a friend and I noticed that the incoming freshmen had, well, little heads. I'm not sure why, but they absolutely had little heads. Maybe they had not begun to expand as a result of the absorption of knowledge or as a result of other "mind expanding" things that happen in college (allegedly). Anyway, from then on, freshmen were dubbed "littleheads." As in; "Hey, here comes some littleheads, lets eff with them!" Anyway, when we stopped in here for a late dinner the place seemed to be populated with...littleheads. Dining, serving, etc. This impression was not helped by the fact that past of the lighting in this place is accented with blacklights. Certainly an unusual choice. It took me a moment to figure out why the couple in the back had such oddly glowing teeth. So I opted for a small pizza, I think it was the "Caruso Supreme" or something. It wasn't very good. I tasted my wife's chicken parm and it was probably in the 3 star neighborhood. Overall, Caruso's was a disappointment. Interesting, but a disappointment. Seems like the place where the local college kids go for a "nice dinner out." read more

Early April I called to make a reservation for Mother's Day, May 10, 2015. Plan was to treat my Mother, Wife, and Daughters to dinner. We arrived 20 minutes before to ensure good seating. Low and behold, we were given a round table next to a Bussing Station. Maybe 15 minutes before we see our server. Before we ordered drinks, I asked for a cheese pizza. Waiter comes back with our waters maybe 5-10 minutes later. At that time a group of 3 sit down close by. 30 minutes into the visit we get our beverages. After noise and ruckus from the bussing station haunting our conversations, it bothered me a bit. I confronted a manager after visiting the wash room. Asked how is it, that we were not given any options to sit in the patio or more accommodating seating for my family. She apologized, and asked if there was anything she could do. Little does she know, my wife would go ape ish on me if she had known I was upset and speaking to a manager. So I avoided that all together. Since I was the only person quite bothered. I kept it that way. Over an hour goes by, the table who sat down after us. had already received their pizza, and our pie was still a no show. I went to inquire about our pizza's where about' and it still took over 15 minutes for our pie to arrive after that. We drove from Phoenix to enjoy a dire disappointment. My mother nor Wife would complain, I know for the reason of the gesture made to celebrate their day. They definitely were annoyed and hungry, but they handled the upset gracefully, like the beautiful woman they are. Lesson learned; Caruso's not a genuine customer service oriented place to eat. The food was good, but the whole experience was quite demoralizing. I'd like to give it another try, and change my review. Until then, I must write exactly what we experienced as a family and consumer. The place was not that busy, being it was 4:55 pm when we came in. After we sat down, the restaurant started filling up more, and it's more obvious now, that we became less of priority to the establishment. I'm extremely disappointed and hope nobody else drives hundreds of miles to this place to get treated the way we were. The hostess, server, and front staff was nice, but the whole experience was way below typical standards. read more

Caruso's - Maybe 2-3ft from our 1 month + reserved accommodation - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I was visiting family in Tucson, and this place came recommended. Some of the reviews said "good food, bad service". I'd say "ok food, terrible service". Every person that we encountered in the restaurant looked at my group as if we were intruding on a private party. Our server was not rude or dismissive, just very unfriendly, and she only came to our table to 1) take our orders 2) bring the food 3) bring the bill. I shared the Caruso's special and the spectacular pizza. Neither of which were special or spectacular. The Caruso's special was about $14 and included two ravioli, two meatballs, and less than a fistful of spaghetti, with some watered down white sauce. The pizza looked, and tasted exactly like a DiGiorno pizza, I'm not trying to be clever when I say this, I truly think that there is a chance that they are re-heating store-bought frozen pizzas. The only positive about this place was the free garlic bread- it was pretty good. Please don't go here, I literally would have rather gone to Olive Garden, or Macaroni Grill, or Buca Di Beppo. Just go anywhere else- literally. read more

Been around since 1938 and it's a classic northern Italian restaurant that keeps things simple and delivers a quality meal for a great price. I had the lasagna and chicken parm. My wife had the eggplant with meat sauce and large side of spaghetti. Good Chianti to wash it down read more

I am dropping this restaurant from two stars to one star. I eat here every Mother's Day with my fiance's family and to be honest the service has become awful and the food is outdated. Like my last review the only great thing was the salad but they only give you one carrot one tomato two peas. It's a total joke but the dressing is awesome. This restaurant has flow issues it's like it set up in an old house it's separated by rooms and the waitresses are stuck jumping room-to-room and the service begins to diminish greatly! We would ask the waitress for something and it would take her 15 or 20 minutes to bring it or she wouldn't show up with it at all and would have to be reask! I had the Carbonaro which is so strange it doesn't have peas and it has some strange sausage crumble on the top that is clearly cooked in advance and it has some type of weird breading on it and it is disgusting! However, I would like to mention that several members of the family like the Lasagna, however it's an outdated mess in my opinion. It tastes like canned spaghetti sauce and really poorly season meat. I would skip over them if I were you. You look around the restaurant and the majority of the patrons are above 50 years old and the food probably hasn't been updated for the past 30 years. Again, like always this is just my humble opinion. read more

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The wine list and wine by the glass offerings are seriously dated. Lambrusco? Really? 1991 called and wants their wine list back! This kind of Italian fare is enhanced by a good (doesn't have to be expensive, highly rated or hard to get) glass of wine. The food is good but, you have to understand that the menu is limited (and a bit outdated itself)...no fresh fish, no daily specials, not many non pasta options that aren't drenched in sauce but, that's ok if you understand that ahead of time and like me enjoy that from time to time. Service (thanks Layla) was terrific. read more

Great Italian spot if you're looking for a more authentic take. As many of the reviews say, this is a staple to natives of the area. My partner's family has been coming here for years and it really doesn't disappoint! I had fettuccini alfredo, as I'm really picky with white sauces, and Caruso's fettuccini was to die for! The whole thing was finished! Anything you order here is a guaranteed win. read more

We don't understand why Caruso's doesn't get more high ratings. We love their food when we want good Sicilian/southern Italian food in a place with a family vibe. Their sauces are so flavorful, and I could drink their Italian salad dressing. All items are reasonably priced. We had great service last evening from Jared - he is informative and charming. We were late for our reservation due to a play running long. I did call to tell them we would be late, and they were gracious about holding our table. This would get 5 stars if they had a full bar, but we can always find wine we like! read more

Good food bad service, terrible service, awful service. Timeline: Arrived at 600 seated at 610 Waiter arrives at 640 to take drink order and appetizer asked for a straw. 650 waiter finally takes our order. Still no straw. 710 appetizer arrives still no straw forgot soup order and type 720 ask for soup and waiter asks which one he forgot. BTW still no straw. 725 ask another waiter for a straw finally get one BTW still no food to eat 735 food arrives cold. 745 finally got a 2nd glass of tea 755 paid bill and walked out very unsatisfied by the whole experience read more

It's been around a long time and we were lucky to get in on a Sunday evening. Service very friendly, ambiance was traditional murals and dark cozy furniture. Menu choices were tasty. read more

I like to write my reviews as I dine, one section at a time. First appearances would lead one to believe they are dining in a basement as it is VERY dark. Wait staff thus far is friendly and all smiles. Garlic bread is ok, nothing worth to long of a mention. The minestrone soup is described as homemade, it does taste of fresh vegetables but is bland to say the least. Vegetable soup it is, minestrone it is not. The impersonating soup in no way mimics Nonnas minestrone in any manner. Being almost off the boat Italian presents me with a plathora of experience eating regional Italian cuisine to compare this meal to. read more

Caruso's - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Food was good. We ordered side of meatballs and garlic bread. Pizza was also good but a bit soggy. Service was great. Highly recommend setting up a reservation instead of just showing up so that you don't have to wait. read more

I'm from the East coast. I love Italian food. We went to Caruso's to scratch that itch. I love Caruso's location and old school restaurant decor. It's dark, has red and white checked tablecloths, and the waiters are dressed in their best black skirts with white button downs. We ambled in around 5:30pm, and were sat fairly quickly. We ordered some iced teas and were quickly brought VATS of the icy goodness. The cups are huge. Awesome. Never needed a refill, even awesomer. The waitress seamed a bit disinterested and annoyed in general. She took our order (my husband had the lasagna w/chicken parm and I ordered the fettucini alfredo w/shrimp & scallops). She asked if we wanted soup or salad, so we both ordered salads. She brought some hot garlic bread (yum) and the salads. A nice little bright antipasto w/lettuce, a few pieces of spiral pasta, olives, carrots, red pepper, and a delicious Italian dressing. We didn't find out until the bill came that the salads were $3.95 a piece. Kind of annoying. Probably wouldn't have ordered them if we'd known. We thought they were included with the meal. The food came (along with another hot basket of garlic bread). My husband's looked and tasted amazing. Mine looked pretty good as well (see picture). I was a bit disapointed at the # of scallops/shrimp. And the seafood itself left a bit to be desired. I found a few cold spots which lead me to believe it may have been frozen. I'm not used to finding quality seafood here in the desert so it was passable. The sauce was delicious...the typical alfredo with a pesto taste to it. Lots of basil and garlic. The pasta was al dente just as I like it. The total, two drinks, two salads, and 2 huge-portioned dinners came to a grand total of $50. Not bad. Not the best I've ever had...but it'll do in a pinch! :) read more

Caruso's - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Hello everyone, Just wanted to let everyone know my experience I had at Caruso's Italian restaurant my family and I been going over there for years this was our restaurant for the longest time, we always went there for special occasion and up to couple of months ago I had the worst experience there will couple of worst experience there after the first one so the first awful experience is that I took one of my friends for the first time she never been there and I told her it was so good over here and she took a bite off her plate and there was a long nasty hair inside her food so I got the manager/owner Jennifer (she has blond hair and skinny) and she said am sorry but there nothing we could do about it she said just to let you know that all my staff wears hairnets back in the kitchen but she didn't give me a discount or take it off my bill all she said is sorry with a bad attitude this was a couple of months ago, So I try to give this place another try and another bad experience again my niece made reservation for my sister birthday so she called to make them never told her that they couldn't do separate checks for 30 people, this the first time I ever heard this because they have before so when we got there after dinner they put it in one check and they said they don't do separate checks at all my niece had to do all the work that the waitress should of did and my niece separated all the checks her self and the same manager Jennifer came and she was very rude and she said who ever said that should of told you guys that and she was no help at all again sorry but there nothing that we could, you guys have to figure the bill out yourself so we were doing the workers job and not only that they were kicking us out at 630pm when we got there at 430pm it was such a bad experience over there we never had before I would never go back there at all and the food wasn't as great as usual. Am sorry but this doesn't deserve any stars at all read more

I'm not impressed. I have to say that since the Albuquerque Carusos is one of my favorite places but I was not impressed. The restaurant is located in what I would call downtown university but since I don't live here it's hard to say. Being disabled I always hope for easy access and parking and that's not the case. We went on a Tuesday night and the whole area was busy and active. There is no parking on its own instead you have to park on the street and the handicap parking is a block away from the place. After finally finding parking we headed toward the main door which has large over sized steep stairs. In order to get inside you have to hold the side rail for dear life and pray you don't fall while someone else carries your wheelchair up the stairs. We got inside and were not greeted at all the hostess seemed frazzled and didn't care. After signing up on the list (like a doctors office) we had a short wait. We were finally seated and being disabled you normally hope for a close spot but the hostess walked us clear across the building and sat us in a tiny area my wheelchair could not turn around in without blocking the table behind me. The waitress was very rude and not friendly at all. She had a serious attitude and half paid attention. We got our order and food and it was a disturbing display of slop. Veal Parmesan looked like cat food strips with red sauce all over it. Sampler had very inedible ravioli you couldn't even cut it. The spaghetti was too firm and crunchy slipped in watery sauce. The only thing edible was the meatball and garlic bread. When we another lady showed us how to get out using the handicap way. This way is longer than going to the door and takes you behind the kitchen, through the patio and no where near the handicap parking as its locked with a key and let's you out in an alley. Ended up spending 40.00 on inedible food and bad service. So not happy. :( read more

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The cheese pizza was phenomenal!! I finally tried it after being loyal to their delicious eggplant parmesan for years. My niece always ordered the cheese pizza despite my encouraging her to try something less boring, but she always refused. Well, now I know why - it's the best pizza I've had in forever! I had cheese on my side of the pie and my friend had anchovies and mushrooms on hers which was equally as scrumptious. The service was great and the energy in the place matched the food quality. I wasn't at all bothered by the noise as it was from fellow friendly, happy customers relishing a fabulous meal. Worth every penny! read more

I've been here more than ten times over the course of my time in Tucson as an undergrad - and it's been consistently phenomenal. The food is great and the atmosphere is always friendly. Granted it's not a 5-star restaurant - but it's less pretentious and better than that. If nothing else, the service is impeccable. The pasta is generally cooked to perfection and the Caruso's special sauce is OFF THE HOOK. Sitting outside is a must, as long as it's warm enough in Tucson :-) Order the "Caruso's Special" with meat sauce and you won't regret it. read more

The food is great. The wine selection is good. The beer selection is lacking in my opinion. The desserts are amazing! The serving size is large and the salads are delicious. I don't know what kid of dressing they use, but it's yummy! I've lived in Tucson less than three months and this is the only place I've been to more than once. It was good for a small group and the outdoor seating was pleasant. And it was good for a large group seated inside. The service was less than stellar the second time and we only had a group of 14. Well, my service was less than stellar, the waitress kept forgetting me. I think it was fine for the rest of our group. I define rely recommend this place. read more

Really good, highly recommend. This is a Tucson original serving mostly students and 4th at patrons. We make a point of traveling here from Nogales at least twice a year. The food is very good, service is good and prices ...... Well students flock here. Atmosphere and devote are homey and very Italian. You won't be disappointed read more

Caruso's - Spaghetti carbonara - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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We had reservations set for 730 for a party of 15. Arrived early as it was a surprise birthday party.. As majority of party arrived by 730, our tables were given away. Surprise was ruined. They sat us in two separate sections one with pure kids the other adults, later gave us a different section so we had to move again. Service was horrible. What was supposed to have been a surprise. Became a 2.5 hour wait for drinks, bread, and meals, which were all served separately with majority of kids being served last. What was originally a good spot to go, has now forever become one to Rec'd be avoided going forward. Kids were literally falling asleep at table. No check in by manager, or any sense of apology for screwing up our tables, the delays or to even see how our food was. Avoid this place. I've been in Tucson most my life, and there are far better Italian restaurants in town. Caruso's disappoints, is over priced for mere average Italian food. read more

I wish that the food at Caruso's was as delightful as their adorable patio. The patio, decorated with party lights and running-water fountains is definitely the best thing about this place. Without the patio, one would be left to eat the crappy food while confined in the bland indoor section of the restaurant. The cute setting got me all hyped up and expecting actually good food...big mistake... The garlic bread (hard, despite being soaked in butter) became plentiful (after we asked), but actually only served to fill us up was we waited for our food. The actual wait wasn't all too long (especially since we were a larger party), but it was necessary to fill up on the bread even during the meal just because the main dishes weren't all that great. Neither were the salads by the way. I will tell you the one really good thing on the menu! The "eggplant parmigiana." Actually, it's not really eggplant parmigiana--at least how I've ever had it (not breaded)--but it is eggplant (yummy--not mushy) and cheese (I'm a fan of cheese) and the red sauce it's in isn't too awful. So, the moral of this story is--order the eggplant (or steal a bite of it from your friend across from you, like I did!) read more

Caruso's - Copious amounts of Garlic Bread - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Caruso's will always be a favorite restaurant of mine. It is an absolute treat to dine here. This is a great place to take family and old friends to chat and catch up. Service can be slow on busier nights, but it really doesn't bother me when I'm in the middle of a conversation. The food is well worth the wait. I've never made a complaint about the seafood, food temperature from any meal, or any freshness concerns. It's always top notch, delicious, home cooked feeling Italian food. Just superb. Love love love it. read more

Historic Italian Food in Tucson. One of my favorites for intimate meals or for family gatherings. Kind of a dark atmosphere in the front. The soups are excellent. The important thing is good family Italian cooking. A Tucson Icon. read more

Caruso's - Just getting started! Good Stuff - Pizza Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Ok, so I know this place is "old school", and I'm ok with that. But the basics are the basics. They really need to step up their game. Service: Slow Dinner: I ordered old fashioned spaghetti and meat balls..hard to mess up. The Caruso sauce was literally watery, the meatballs were so-so at best, and the garlic bread was bland. How can garlic bread be bland??? The homemade sausage wasn't half bad, I'll give them that. And the manicotti was very good. Desert: The tiramisu didn't even have any coffee liquor (or if it did u could tell), and the Cannoli had a great big gaping hole in it; they didn't even bother to completely fill it. This place may have been good at one time, but now it's riding only in its history. The actual food is not impressive. read more

Was visiting Tucson and saw this restaurant while I was walking down 4th. My friends and I decided to stop in and try it. The wait wasn't too bad and the staff was nice enough ! My poor review is mostly in regard to the food. There's no nice way to say it but nothing we got was very good at all. We decided to get an order of the half and half pasta with Caruso sauce, Caruso spectacular pizza, and the anti pasta. The spaghetti and ravioli were not good. There was barely any sauce. Just kind of tasted like watery dining hall spaghetti. The pizza was also not good - definitely not "spectacular". The sauce tasted very salty. I can usually devour a whole large pizza by myself. With this pizza I only ate one piece and called it quits. No one In my party liked anything we got. I suggest skipping this one. Location and staff are nice, but the food is just not good at all. read more

The best Italian food ever, except for my mom's. Atmosphere is great. Just watch out for the waitress that doesn't write anything down. She has brought me the wrong thing 3x. That is the only reason that they are getting a 4 read more

Caruso is the best place for Italian! Everything I have ordered has never disappointed. Make sure you order the Italian salad BEST SALAD EVER!! Its always good to come here for special occasions. read more

I've never complained at a restaurant until today ordered one cheese pizza and it took an hour to come out, he said "it was actually 45 min" No sir it was not look at the time u open at 4. When it did come out it was the most soggy pizza I've ever seen, all the cheese fell off right when it was picked up. Manager didn't offer to remake it or refund or anything, said he'd give us a discount and TOOK OFF 3 FUCKING DOLLARS... how sweet. Thanks so much will never come back. read more

I wouldn't eat here to save my life. I have known people who have worked here and the stories they tell me is unbelievable. The uneaten bread on guests tables gets reused into one of the "special" sauces. And when they drop anything on the floor it just gets washed off and cooked! NOPE. ILL NEVER EAT HERE read more

Food is SO good. It's classic Italian, and the atmosphere is really beautiful as well. An all around great restaurant!

The scenery was very beautiful at night. The lights and decor was very beautiful. The food was terrible. I had the chicken parmesan I believe and it was very dry. The flavor was also not there. The waitress offered to bring me something else but I tasted my date's food and also didn't like it so I declined. read more

I like that they bring bread to the table. We got the lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, cheese ravioli, and spumoni. It was all pretty good, but our table was wobbly and they wouldn't let us sit at a larger table, even though there were plenty of tables open. read more

Went with a group of friends this last weekend because one of them had gone there 35 years ago and still remembered the lasagna and wanted to go. Had a very nice time. The service was good. I had the lasagna along with 4 others and we all really enjoyed our meal. The old style salad before hand was really nice and was like having a flash back to when I was a kid. If I am ever in Tucson again I would go back to this place again. read more

We were a party of 30 with one waiter. My sister ordered a pizza and salad and her order was given to someone else. I got the chicken Parmesan with stuffed shells and it's full of salt and Garlicky. Not impressed. For a party of 30 there should have been more than 1 waiter/waitress. and I never got my side salad. I would never come back to this place read more

This place used to be fabulous. It was always packed. Now it's mediocre at best. Definitely over priced. Gordon Ramsey needs to come in and fix Carusos. It's not that hard to make good Italian food, with distinctive flavor. All of our dishes were bland and forgetable...except for the price. We won't be back. read more

this place was so bad I can't even put it into words. the service was terrible but the food was even worse. there was 9 of us. we didn't get to eat together only because the food came out at different times. the food tasted terrible. terrible. we eat at many different restaurants through out the week snd I can honestly tell you this was bad. my husband had the chicken Alfredo and the chicken was so dry I had the eggplant parmigiana and have never been served with it this way. I love eggplant parmigiana get it all over town. never ever had it this way. strips of eggplant small small portions. never again read more