Carelli's of Boulder Reviews

Despite our party of 4 arriving late, still got excellent service and delicious meals and were not made to feel rushed. Lovely place, great atmosphere, such good food. We will be back!

This is a fantastic little 'hole in the wall' restaurant. Its tucked into the end of a strip mall on the edge of Boulder at Baseline and 30th, which takes it off the regularly beaten path. Its close to the dorms, but not a place for kids to hang. The atmosphere caters to the parents who come visit the kids as they send them off to CU. There is an outside patio that has a gas fire pit, and a few gas fireplaces inside, too. The bar is beautiful with a colorful and large light fixture hanging from above that ads to the ambiance. Then the food arrives! WOW! Excellent quality. The pizza crust is PERFECT (crispy on the bottom and chewy in the middle) plus the toppings are top quality. The mussels were very soft and meaty. Cocktails are delicious. They have a decent happy hour menu for food. That could be a bit more extensive, as its my favorite meal in Boulder. Overall, very good and definitely will return! There is even a stage for live music, which I believe is featured on the weekends. When we were there it was a jazz band! Very cool.

Hmmm. Fantastic? First REAL Italian cuisine I have had in Boulder County.

AMAZING food! Friendly, knowledgable servers! All around a great place to go eat at!

Atmosphere is pretty solid for a casual Italian joint. The staff felt a bit off and my fish was severely undercooked. Disappointed overall, but everyone was quite friendly.

Great food amazing atmosphere and wonderful service! Definitely the place to go for great Italian food.

Walk thru the door and your nose is bombarded with the fabulous aroma of what will soon be on the plate in front of you. Try the roasted olives for something new. Portions are ample and you will leave full. I did miss having dessert because I was full after the calzone. Ambiance works well for business to romance.

Excellent service. Make sure to get a reservation. A very popular Italian restaurant. Pizza was great as was the formaggio board.

The hostesses was rude, the appetizer and soup was okay. The entrees were awful! Veal was way over cooked and harder to chew than jerky and the shrimp was over cooked as well. Both were way too salty. Took forever to get our entrees that we barely ate and then another 20 minute wait to pay for food we did not eat.

Great food, service, ambiance and George Nelson Jazz Ensemble.

Great food,great staff,great atmosphere and a good deals during happy hour.

The service and atmosphere were great, but almost no one on our table liked their food. They were salty and soaking in the sauce

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. Carelli's is one of the best restaurants in Boulder.

The food is amazing! Our waiter, I'm sorry I don't remember his name was very helpful in ordering exactly what we wanted. We had just got into town and we're tired and hungry! We received incredible service and food! Great Place!

Eggplant parmesan was perfect. The accompanying noodles/sauce was inedible. I ordered minestrone "extra hot" and it arrived lukewarm (but it was delicious). My brother's chicken marsella was not good - mostly noodles, very little chicken. He wouldn't order it again. If you order the eggplant parmesan, get them to substitute something for the noodles.

The waitress didn't have much personality but the food was great!

Very disappointing. We had two fundamental pasta entrees, both of which were mediocre. Even bread was bland. Worst part is we were seated sandwiched between the open pit fireplace and the kitchen, sitting in the middle of the servers' main thoroughfare. When we mentioned this to the server, we were told they get this complaint all the time. Why then, were we, or is anybody else for that matter seated at this table? This was at 5:00, not prime time.

Delicious food. Staff can be a little shy at first but once they get comfortable they are very friendly.

Delicious foods, $$ Tasteful cozy decor. Good for romantic dining, groups or singles.

I was visiting Boulder for 3 weeks, and I had nothing but great meals at all the restaurants I visited. The dinner at Carelli's, however, was shockingly disappointing. Given the number of great reviews for this restaurant, I am guessing that they had an off night.

Since the menu featured chicken marsala and a variety of veal dishes, I asked the waitress if the chef would be willing to prepare veal marsala instead. She outright refused without checking with the kitchen, which I found a little odd. In the end my friend ordered chicken piccata, and I had the veal scallopini. The chicken was engulfed in a cream sauce like alfredo, instead of the tangy flavors of capers and lemon my friend was expecting. My dish had 3 small chewy pieces of veal on a bed of overcooked pasta. The sauce was depressingly bland, yet managed to stab my tongue with incoherent tastes of parsley and onions that strangely failed to agree. It was more like a poorly executed rendition of onion-gravy smothered porkchops that costed $23.

I wish you all better luck.

Everything was very tasty. I really enjoyed my dinner.

Greg is built this into a fabulous restaurant. The best Italian anywhere. Always enjoy our time there!

Food here was fantastic with a nice ambiance. The staff were friendly and very knowledgeable about the food and wine choices - precisely what you want in service. It is quite pricey, but you get what you pay for!

Love the staff, ambiance is the best, great wine selection.

I sat at the bar for 20 minutes. Being told by 2 people the bar tender would be right over. I was the only person in the restaurant. And there the bartender was at the end of the bar. No hello. Nothing. I just left.

The food was good. Service was slow; our waiter was also the bartender (which seems odd) and we didn't get much attention. Parts of our order were forgotten. He tried to make up for it by comping my drink, which I appreciated, but I'd rather get good service.

Great service. Great food. Fair price. Like olive garden but def a whole lot better

Just got AWESOME take-out, what a treat. One tiny suggestion... a person in our party eats gluten free, so we ordered gf bread along with the meal. Is there any way to put some kind of butter or garlic butter on the gluten free bread? It comes dry with nothing on it. What would be great would be if it had the same butter/garlic that regular bread comes with or at a minimum a side of butter. (Dry regular bread is pretty marginal to eat, gf is worse.) We are so grateful for your optional gf menu, just a suggestion to make it perfect! Main dishes and gf pizza were TO DIE FOR! Would give this restaurant 10 stars if I could.

Carelli's offer a great Italian dining experience. A patron can choose from basic classic Italian to more upscale seafood fare. They have a good wine list and the ambiance is great for a romantic dinner or a large gathering. The menu has enough price point variety that a person can spend a lot or a little.

Probably my favorite Italian restaurant in town. Nice staff and great food

Not too overpriced, the food delicious, and our server was great.

The place was very nice and clean and the food was good, but the service was awful. We had reservations but we still had to wait 15 minutes. Once we were seated it took another 15 minutes to get drinks and we had to share menus because they didn't have enough for everyone at our table. We even had to ask for forks when our salads showed up. Our waiter didn't seem to care about our table.

Good food, nice atmosphere, dessert crepes are great.

Excellent food and service. Its an Italian joint, but try the burger sometime.

Yummy for my tummy! The chicken tortellini was magnificent. MMM!

Sorry to say after all the reviews and everything we read that we decided to go to carelli's for our Valentine's Day dinner. Our hostess was extremely kind and attentive. Unfortunately the food was one of the worst Italian meals that my husband and I have had in a very very long time. I tried to chalk it up to up to maybe an off day for the chef and decided to go headlong into a wonderful dessert. Again,fortunately my Crepes taste like Tupperware. The only thing that was good that evening was the wine that was chosen by our server. I wanted to love the restaurant and I'm still baffled by the following. I'd have to say that I wouldn't even take a gift certificate it was given to me.
Sorry...just not good food.

Delicious Italian food and very accommodating. Our waitress was great, the only issue we had was that the food service and making was a bit slow. Otherwise it was delish!

Came here with our friends that are locals that insistant we eat here. Great experience and great food that did not disappoint!

Good place, always busy. Had mussels and always get the margerita salmon for my wife. J.T. is always great behind the bar.

Great curbside service that was ready on time and the food was delicious!

Italian food and the atmosphere at this spot is excellent. visited on fri i believe. had a friend come into town and asked me to take him here again. it has a great feel to it.

We have been dining at Carelli s for 15+ years. The food is amazing and the service is excellent. We love the eggplant stack, the salmon parpadelle, chicken a la Carelli, and the Tiramisu is to die for. Tonight we ordered the linguini with clam sauce. As our 3-year-old grandson was eating clams, he said, we should call them and thank them and tell them we love them. Enough said!!!

House and ceasar salads we're excellent. Good service, nice atmosphere

I had some very strict dietary restrictions and thanks to the great bartender, they made me a custom meal. It was one of the best meals I've had at a restaurant! Definitely recommend Carelli's!

Although my wife and I live in Arvada, Carelli's is worth the drive to Boulder. We went there again last Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. We arrived before our 7:00 reservation and my wife had one of the house infused pineapple martinis. The martinis are $9 but plenty big. The bar area is elegant but the bartenders are friendly and laid back. They were helpful in choosing our wine when we sat down for dinner. Our server in the dining room, Mario, was very knowledeable and recommended the specials. I had the halibut with blue crab risotto and my wife had the veal scallapini. Both were excellent. Carelli's provides an elegant atmosphere without being overpriced.

The food here was delicious, tried the calamari was not disappointed! It was so tender and fresh!

Went here for Christmas dinner. The place was packed, they were out of their signature garlic bread, so they gave us some white bread instead to get us started. I had the Risotto Funghi which was incredible. The decor is lovely, great for date night. The waiter seemed a little impatient, probably because it was Christmas eve and it was really busy, but it was all right.

Big miss on their Chicken Piccata. First, it should be served with a breaded chicken breast that has been browned in a pan not strips of chicken that have the texture of rubber. Miss on the sauce too, where are the capers? The noodles were fine but even I can do that. This dish and a salad cost me $27.00, for that price I expect the correct Italian recipe not some improvised concoction.

Excellent. Best found so far since we left NY 4 years ago.

We had a corporate event at Carelli s and it was great!!! The service was great. The staff was extremely attentive and the food was nothing short of delicious!!!

Evey thing here is at good as it gets. The food is fantastic and has a very good Italian style. The waiters are very nice and help all of your needs. Overall a fantastic place to eat.

Great food and great meeting room, such a joyous restaurant!

Always good. Angie made our group luncheon flow smoothly! Thanks

Disappointing compared to the Italian options for the same price in Denver. My pasta was grossly overcooked and tasted like it was boxed pasta. I was given a dirty fork. Definitely not returning.

I am a firm believer that service can make or break your dining experience and worse yet.. make or break you BUSINESS! The service was not the best and well.. the food was eghh.. I wasn t impressed.. the pics look much better than the food actually was. By the end of my chicken parm I felt like I had eaten a frozen reheated meal.

Had a first date with someone I really wanted to impress there. Aside from the first date jitters, the staff was very friendly and understanding, the dinners were excellent, and whether or not I am on a date, I am returning and recommending Carelli's to all of my friends.

Such good food, and our waitress (Jessica) was awesome! I loved eating here.

Food was very average and had a long wait for it to arrive. Very over price for what is provided. Atmosphere is nice though.

Good classic American Italian food at reasonable prices. Recommended.

I only had a pizza this time but look forward to going back and trying more of the menu!

Carelli's of Boulder has an incredible atmosphere, great service, and amazing food. Every night is a great night at Carelli's! You cannot go wrong with this restaurant.

The best personalized service in town. Chris the manager keeps this place humming and JT behind the bar is the best. Great wine section, quality ingredients, and Greg the owner can often be seen running the kitchen.
We go there at least twice a month and are always pleased we did. Don't miss the eggplant stack appetizer.

Great food, great service and ambience, always a top choice when looking for a classy Italian restaurant.

Great food, great atmosphere, very romantic! Great for a date night. My go-to is the Garbage Calzoni.

Food was amazing! Great atmosphere and service and may I suggest the Romeo and Julietta with extra brownie!

Great place great food great service
Always reliable and wonderful.