This restaurant is a MUST visit! The food is amazing, the decorations, the piano player, etc. When I am there, I feel like I am in a cozy, adorable Italian restaurant in Italy! And the service speaks for itself! read more

Our family celebrated an important birthday at this delightful restaurant last night, and we were all pleasantly surprised. We easily made reservations for 10 and were accomodated with a table close to the piano bar. The food was delicious, and we ordered several appetizers, the made-at-the-table caesar salad and several different dinners. Everyone agreed that the freshness and flavors of the food were very good. The service was beyond exceptional, and having the lady at the piano was a great addition. All of us agreed that we will definitely return, and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys authentic Italian food made from scratch along with a fun environment for the whole family!! read more

On my first visit, I had a great time overall. This is an extremely fun, family-friendly spot, with a very casual atmosphere and a musical duo singing classic Italian favorites, which really added to the experience. As for the food, I started with the escargot, which was excellent and generously portioned for the price. I would absolutely order it again. The Caesar salad, which they are well known for, was beautifully prepared; however, it lacked egg, which made it overly tart and missing the richness of a traditional Caesar. While I'd give it a 10 for presentation, the flavor was closer to a 6. The vinegar and lemon were too strong without anything to balance them, and for the price, I likely wouldn't order it again. What truly stood out and would bring me back was the impeccable service. The staff was friendly, efficient, and attentive, always checking in on guests. Between the atmosphere and the excellent employees, I would definitely return to try other dishes. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

such a fun spot! the live music is an excellent touch. very unique inside too and we really enjoyed the experience here. food was good! definitely tasty ( loved the carbonara!!!!) but nothing super special. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Insalata di Cesare Dinner - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Atmosphere is great, always a live piano player. Table side Caesar salad is excellent with anchovies. Carbonara pasta is very good!!! Pizza was just okay. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Fettucine Alla Carbonara - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Cavatore is always great. However, last Saturday was even better!!! The sauces, brandy and marsala were epic!!! Looking forward to next time. read more

We tried to go there for lunch at 1:00 and they turned away. Said they closed at 1:15. Another time I tried to order online at 10:30 thru Uber Eats for noon lunch and they cancelled my order. Food is good, but service is very unreliable. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Seven of us came this Father's Day weekend to celebrate the dads and a birthday. Service was attentive, food was excellent, and we all had a wonderful time. read more

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Wonderful food. Enticing ambiance and exceptional service. We always enjoy our experience with them whether we are eating in or having it delivered! read more

Very high quality home made dishes. A woman stopped by our table and made a salad in front of us using natural ingredients. It was very cool. The atmosphere is great. There was a pianist playing during our entire visit. I recommend. read more

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We've been here several times now and the food is always great. I appreciate the fact that they have gluten free options, including pastas. Great neighborhood option read more

We absolutely love Cavatore! Maria makes the best tableside Caesar salad--be sure to ask for her by name, it's an experience worth having. The drinks are fantastic, and the Tuesday wine specials are a great deal. Olga was attentive and provided excellent service, making the night even more enjoyable. 100% recommend! read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Table side Caesar prep by Maria - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Everything was amazingly great! Phoecian was our server both times we have been. He is what all servers should be - attentive and kind. My first visit was with my mom and brother, for his birthday, Phoecian asked the pianist to play a rendition on "Happy Birthday" without us even asking for it. The second time, I took two of my grandchildren. They were able to make their own pizzas which they enjoyed. read more

My husband and I have been coming here for years and this by far has been our favorite Italian place to eat in the city of Houston. However, when we arrived last night, the restaurant was 90% empty. We had to wait at the hostess stand. it took them forever to see a party that was in front of us. When she finally got to helping us, we told her we were a party of two she immediately told us she had nothing available, but a bar top table and turned around and walked off. She did not even give us the opportunity to ask how long it would be to wait for a table within the empty restaurant. Being in recovery the bar space is not a suitable option for us, but trying not to make a scene we walked over and sat down. There was one couple sitting at the bar and once again, all the other tables were empty. We sat there for a while with no one greeting us. We looked over the menu and realized that my husbands favorite dish had been removed. We planned on asking out server if it was still an off menu dish that could be ordered. We continued to wait, finally someone came to fill our water glasses and by that point my husband had had enough. We told her we were leaving and she said "ok" and turned around and walked away. The customer service by all the staff we encountered was WAY below our expectations and after having driven so far for dinner, we were beyond disappointed. The hostess seemed to have a very hard time conducting her duties with only two parties. My husband and I spent many years in the restaurant business and customer service should be the pinnacle of your hostess. How do you not get greeted when you have no customers??? If it was busy I would understand. But one bar couple? It is absolutely ridiculous to tell us you have no tables when you have an empty restaurant. Even the parking lot was empty when we arrived. Unfortunately we will not be going back. The drive is too long for subpar service and their scaled down menu. read more

We decided to choose this place for italian. It's an interesting location. I've passed by here many times without knowing that there was a restaurant here. The service was good, they were attentive and polite. There was also live music, a piano player was playing which was a nice touch. We ordered the cesar salad. I had expected for them to make it table side, so we can watch but it was made in the hallway outside of the room where we were eating. The salad itself was good, there was abundance of parmesan cheese but still tasty. I ordered the pasta with scallops and shrimp with angel hair pasta. The scallops were seared, just through. They kinda had a fishier taste than what I've experienced before. There were lots seafood but I think could've been executed better. There was also a discrepancy with our bill. There was another dish inadvertently added, thankfully we had reviewed the items we ordered. I don't believe I would return. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Insalata di Cesare (2) - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I stop by here a week ago, because I was craving their Caesar salad with grill chicken added to it. The dressing was so good, but not worth a total of $24 for 3 ingredients! I was charge $10 for a chicken breast in which I think it was a half breast for the amount that I got! Insane, but I still paid for it! I was craving it! lol They make some of the best Caesar dressing. So next time, I will just go buy there pint for $12 and go buy my own romaine lettuce for less than $4 and croutons. read more

Casual Italian. The best Caesar salad!! They always serve fresh garlic bread and the pasta tastes homemade. Great place for neighborhood Italian spot! read more

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Great for a little date night! Great food and live music for a great price! I recommended for my parents to go next time they want Italian! read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Table side Caesar salad - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Service was very good and the food was excellent [Calamari, Caesar Salad, and the Asparagus] except for the Chicken Picatta which was just average due to an overwhelming amount of heavy lemon-based sauce. read more

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Delicious! Celebrated a family birthday here recently- we booked Cavatore last minute because of the great vibe & reviews.... Great decision! Service was good, drinks were brought quickly, and food was fantastic. I tried the Pasta Pescatore & a family platter appetizer (calamari, fried ravioli, and caprese salad). Tiramisu and chocolate cake were also winners. If you visit during the weekend, they also have live music! read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Great ambience and the entire staff is very nice and friendly!! The Caesar salad made table side is a must. All of the entrees were homemade and delicious!! read more

We hosted or grandson and bride of 3 months on a Thursday evening. They had not visited Cavatore and live a short distance away. So it was a great find for them. We were seated promptly. Drinks were served promptly and we requested some time to visit and review menu options. We had Italian sausage pizza, veal piccata and their Italian sausage house special. Everyone enjoyed their meal at a leisurely pace. We were never rushed. We each had their special cannoli for dessert. Yum! But we probably should have shared 2 for the table as they are quite filling. It's hard not to give a 5- star rating but I just rarely give one. read more

I loved this place. First time in and we fine dined! Caprese had zesty taste , stuffed mushrooms amazing (and i don't like mushrooms at all), caesar dressing/salad fantastic. Main dish came with so much seafood i ran out of pasta for it ! The octopus wasn't expected but blended so well with the soft scallops & shrimp. 1000% would be back & recommend read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Pasta Pescatore - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Don't go here unless you want food poisoning, This was my first and last time dining at this restaurant. My shrimp and scallops dish tasted off and had a strong fishy smell, and my husband's veal piccata was rubbery and tough almost like it had been reheated in a microwave. Within hours of eating there, both of us developed intense abdominal pain and ongoing diarrhea, which is extremely concerning. I hope the restaurant takes a close look at their food quality and handling. The food here is gross Awful experience. read more

This is the worst Italian food ever. Olive Garden is better snd it's terrible. It's Italian food but it's run by a family of mexicans. No problem but they can't cook Italian. Pizza wasn't done. Chicken stuffed with prosciutto was like overcooked shoe leather. Even the prosciutto was like rubber. I wouldn't serve this food to a dog. read more

We've driven past the spot so many times and finally decided to make a stop there for dinner, and I'm so glad we did. The food was amazing. We loved the table Syed, Caesar salad. Chefs kiss! The live piano really made the evening special. I love that it was really excellent food, but in a casual environment. all the staff were lovely, and we particularly enjoyed the dessert tray. We will definitely be back for more family dinners. This is such a great spot. read more

Have been eyeing this spot for years and finally decided to make it in. It was a quiet Monday evening so we were seating right away. Water and free bread came to the table right away. Service was prompt and started with the Risotto Balls -- not to bad! Nice crispy outside and nice cheesy filling. After that we ordered the table side Caesar salad for 2. This was a neat experience as it's made table side. But HOLY GARLIC. You will be tasting garlic for DAYS after eating this. After that finished my meal with the Capelli D'Angelo con Pollo -- (made with Capellini pasta). Not sure if the name is some creative direction or misspelling or they really didn't know the name of the pasta?? Was a little weird. Pasta was ok, sauce has good flavor but watery. Chicken was good, not chewy like some other places. Overall it's a cute atmosphere and set up if that's your vibe. read more

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I had the pleasure of visiting Cavatore for a late dinner with my husband about a month ago. The atmosphere and decor is pretty cool! We were seated almost immediately, which was nice. Our meals were scrumptious! My only issue was our slow server. I noticed, while we waited for him, he was chatting it up with coworkers, so we had to wave him down a few times. At one point, we had to ask another server to find him. Anyway, other than that, we did enjoy the food and drinks. We'll definitely go back and hopefully, get a different server! read more

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A cute mom and pop shop vibe at the restaurant. They provide bread to start & the breads okay. I love the bread you can dip in oil/seasoning. There bread was almost just like garlic bread. I got the carbonara and the portion size was perfect. It didn't leave me feeling super heavy. The pasta itself was delish and their bacon in it was great! Would definitely recommend. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Fettuccine Alla Carbonara - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Split between 3 and 4 stars. This is a cool place in the Heights, and it used to be a barn. I love refurbished buildings that turn into unique, wonderful places like this. All the Italian decor is really nice. I feel like this was *the* place in the 90s, and a lot of people look to have been here during this restaurant's heyday. It's still cool but now it feels like a rinse-and-repeat service. None of the servers had heart or passion, it just felt rushed and almost like a fast food experience. The apps were pretty good, especially the risotto balls/arancini! Really nice. The vitello piccata wasn't too bad. The real winner was the pizza. The dough was light and the Italian sausage and mushrooms were the perfect toppings. Be sure to request buffalo mozzarella, otherwise they default to non-buffalo. This wasn't the best pizza I've had, not by a long shot, but it wasn't bad. The profiteroles were gross. That's about it for this review. Pretty decent place but nothing special. I wouldn't visit frequently even if I were in the neighborhood, but it's worth checking out a time or two. If I were to go back it'd be on Monday (1/2 off wine) or Wednesday ($3 all beer!) read more

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If I could give it another star I would. I went during weekday lunch and the service was superb! Exceeded my expectations. They have the best garlic bread that is soft, moist, and flavorful! I had to stop myself so that I don't fill up. The Pesto Pasta I ordered had plenty of sauce and cooked to perfection. Just the right portion. I tried my boyfriend pasta and I stole several bites of his from there. Absolutely delicious. He ordered the Angel Hair pasta that came with the shrimp and scallops. The staff was wonderful and friendly. I can't wait to go again and try more menu items. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I understand i Didn't have a reservation but i am guessing the host (short guy with glasses) was rude and told us we shouldn't even wait or wanted to take our name down because they were "fully booked" already. Left a sour taste about a place i like coming too All i was going to order was a Cesar salad and pizza, thanks :) read more

Veal piccata was really awful. The veal wasn't seasoned at all and the sauce was a goopy consistency. The dish had mushrooms. Marsala has mushrooms, not Piccata. The marinara sauce on my side of pasta was so thick and was too sweet. I had minestrone soup that was bland. I don't think I'll be back. This was not an enjoyable meal. read more

Amazing food! Amazing service! 100% recommended. I was leaving town after the holidays and my family took me here for my send off dinner. Upon entry, there was live music and parking is provided. We were seated immediately. The waiters were so patient and provided top notch service. The food all the way from the salad to dessert was phenomenal. I usually don't eat the house salads provided but theirs was made so flavorful. Don't let portion sizes fool you. They are authentic! A little goes a long way. Perfect place for a date night. read more

Cavatore Italian Restaurant - Cavatore sign - Italian Near Me - Houston, Texas

This place is still very good. The atmosphere is eclectic, but in some ways has a cool vibe. Our service was great. The food is very good. The garlic toast that shows up nearly immediately 4.5/5. We ordered Insalata Di Cesare 4.5/5, Pollo Alla Picatta 5/5, and Salsicca Italiana Con Verdure 5/5. Wine is reasonably priced. read more

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We have been ordering their food to go. Love their Caesar salad, pasta carbonara and profiteroles and chocolate cake!!! I Al really looking forward to dining in They have a beautiful setting and live music as well. read more

Let me start with this...I love this place. If I lived closer I'd call it my neighborhood Italian restaurant, but I go out of my way to visit here. I love that it's family owned, and I love the eclectic decor and I love its idiosyncrasies (like when there's a heavy rain they're keeping the water at bay). The staff is welcoming and kind (especially the manager Jorge) and the corner grand piano when they have a pianist playing popular tunes on weekends. I like the fact I can't buy stock in the company and I like the fact that when I order a table side Caesar I'm always curious if it will be better or worse than the last time. Always great but variations of goodness. That's key. No corporation would do that. If Frank and Dean were visiting Houston, this is where they'd go and if an Italian restaurant is good enough for o'l blue eyes, it's good enough for me. Cheers read more

We ordered takeout from Cavatore, and, after waiting an hour for our food, we got a call that the restaurant had cancelled our order. I felt really bad for the *two* delivery people who had gone to try to pick up our order! And sad that we didn't get to try the caesar salad. Too bad! read more

Good food, service and a wonderful pianist on Friday Night. His name was Bill. I look forward to a return visit to try some different items on their menu. Reasonable prices for a nice casual Italian meal. read more

The Good: Service was nice. The table was nice The Bad: The calamari was tough and chewy. Some of the stuffed mushrooms were over cooked. We had not finished eating our appetizers when the young man (with the hair bun) picked up our partially eaten appetizer plate and walked off. We tried to call him back, but gave up. the main courses were good. the meat in the fettuccini was over cooked. We asked for two to go boxes for 2 of us and the same guy picked up the half eaten dishes from the other people at the table and started to walk off with them. We told him no, and pointed several times at the two dishes we wanted to go boxes for. He then picked up the other two peoples dishes again and we had to stop him. Then he came around to my side to get my bread plate and knocked a fork off from the dipping sauce for the rice balls on to my pants, leaving a stain. He looked at the stain, picked up the fork, and walked off......eventually bringing our to go boxes. We pointed out that the boxes were too small for our food, and he went over to one of our guests who was still eating and tried to take his plate away. We told him again that the to go boxes were too small and could we get larger ones. He said Yes, and then stood there while our guest finished a few more bites of his food....and then gave up since the guy was standing next to him. He brought one larger to go box, that was fine. And then knocked a knife and fork from the persons plate next to me on to their lap! So, two of us left with stains on our pants. read more