Carmelo's Italian Ristorante in Punta Gorda - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

I was treated to dinner there recently and it was outstanding. The food is authentic & the menu has plenty of choices. Be aware that some items are served only in the bar, such as pizza. Service was on point - and the wait for food was "just right" to savor each moment. As a first timer I was impressed & will be back. The one hint I offer to other first-timers is to seek out the parking lot behind the restaurant. It can only be accessed from W. Marion; Google maps will NOT take you there!

My favorite restaurant of all times. Everything is superb. Staff is friendly and they know their stuff. They do not rush you. Get the Bada Bing for an appetizer. Pasta made in a 100 lb pasta wheel. My mouth is watering. Very special place.

Delightful dinner! Love their specialty Sacchettini-features pasta purses filled with pear & cheeses drenched in the BEST Gorgonzola cream sauce accented with crisp prosciutto, walnuts and fresh spinach. 10 stars in my opinion

Our go to place for special occasions!

First time eating here. The restaurant is beautiful & has outdoor dining. You feel like you're in Italy. The food is beyond what one could imagine. Pasta is fresh, portions are substantial, and if you had room for desert, be prepared to have your mind blown. The meals come with soup or salad. I had the pasta fagiol. It wasn't a little cup but rather a bowl of happiness. One of the best I've ever had. The prices are so reasonable for what you get that it's a wonder how they do it. We will, without a doubt, be back. Outstanding!

The food was so yummy and my waiter, gianni was very nice!! I also loved the italian music in the background. Everything was just amazing here and i highly recommend coming here!!

Loved the decor. It is small but very nicely decorated. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Parking is not great. We had reservations and they seated us and two other couples were seated and served. We waited 15 minutes and someone finally noticed we didn't have a server so the gentleman came up and apologized. Don't understand why the other server didn't mention us to anyone as she definitely saw us sitting there. The food was good. Have to say the decor was the best part.

Made reservations for 6 people, nephew that was born and raised here was on leave for 28 days from air force before transferring from Germany to Japan. Made reservations got there and it was a table for 4 people and had six chairs. Table was so wobbly, could not be adjusted. Asked if we could be moved to round table and we were told not available. Also restaurant had very bad smell of moth balls, causing my eyes to burn. We ended up leaving and going to Leroys.

This place is amazing! Italian food and pizza are the best.

Attended with a group of eight friends. Sat us in an area that was conducive to conversation. Service by our wait staff was attentive and efficient. Food was outstanding. Tasty, served hot and was delicious. Never have been disappointed at Carmelo’s. In season it’s a wait for a reservation sometimes but “it’s worth the wait”

We asked our waitress for recommendations and had a bruchetta as an appetizer. It had fig in it..It lived up to her description and was delicious. I had chicken carbonara which was also delicious..the food, atmosphere and waitress made the dinner very memorable. I was on vacation so this was a real treat!

Phenomenal Experience, must try the Bada Bing Special table side preparation by Mr.Bada Bing ! ❤️ Delicious!! Gianni was a wonderful server. We will be returning!

UPDATED- We met with friends for drinks. We decided to order a take away pizza and some drinks to go. They doubled charged us for the drinks. I didn't notice till I got home and called them. After not hearing from them and emailing- I called again. Steve was very helpful and had my money refunded back to my card. He was nice and apologetic. So everything worked out and we will return.

The food is the best Italian food you will ever eat. The dishes are very creative and beyond compare.

We have been there at least a dozen times . We enjoyed it every time. We will be back. Thank you!!1

Very good food with fun, exceptional items like the wheel of parmesan. BUT ....TWO TIMES we have made reservations (second time we even called to CONFIRM) and when we arrived they had absolutely no record of our calls. I even showed them their name in "recent calls" on my phone. Where exactly did they write our info if not on a reservation chart? We had GUESTS and Carmelos took over an HOUR to seat us. This should have been handled immediately. Of course will not return.

Our third time here , such Yummy Italian food! Dani the bartender in the back bar makes the best margaritas and she is so sweet!

Good was outstanding as well as the 3 martinis I drank. Definitely will be back.

Great place. They need to fix the back area hot and uncomfortable.

I live in Indiana went here for dinner meet the owner one of the nicest person recommended the salmon it was amazing grandson had steak he recommended was amazing Alfredo was amazing you have to try the meatballs we are flying back just for dinner here that's how good it is service was amazing also highly recommend this place if you are in punta Gorda

This was our first time bringing friends.It was also our first time dining outside in the off season. It didn't disappoint.Richard was our waiter and was very attentive and the food was outstanding. We sat outside under a covered patio decorated with lights and plenty of fans for ventilation.

My favorite restaurant. Garden seating was comfortable even in the heat.

I usually order a pasta or seafood dish but felt like meat this time and ordered the signature Bocconcini a La Marsala, medallion fillet with green beans and vesuvio potatoes. The meat and sides were saturated in sauce, overspilling on the plate and drowning each ingredient, not to mention the lukewarm steak. Stick to the pastas and seafood and if you want steak, order the surf and turf or rib eye.

I have been to Carmelo's many times and usually love my meal and can't wait to go back. Tonight was a different story. My boyfriend and I made a reservation at Carmelo's to celebrate our anniversary as it's usually one of our favorite places. Tonight it took a very long time for us to get our drinks, my boyfriend asked for lemon for his water that he had never received. We then got our appetizer after a little while of waiting, which was fine. After we saw tables around us who were seated after us receiving their bread, we then had asked for ours because we never received it. After maybe a little over an hour of being at the restaurant we got our food. I got the shrimp and scallop limoncello, which I have gotten many times there. It had diced tomatoes in it that were uncooked (along with the usual sun dried tomatoes) and this wasn't something that was changed on the menu, if it was I would have asked for it to be left out of the dish. The sauce also seemed to be extremely watery tonight. Eventually our waiter boxed up our food and asked if we wanted dessert, we got one and asked for it to be for to go and for the check. At this point we have been here for an hour and a half. He brings the check and we put the card immediately in as we are sick of sitting outside and waiting. The waiter proceeded to take the bill and talk to the table next to us for over 10 minutes with our bill in hand. No exaggeration. Just five minutes short of being at our table for 2 hours is when we finally were able to leave, as we had a 7pm reservation. Maybe this was an off night for Carmelo's, I really hope it's not the new normal here, and I may just be exceptionally frustrated as we had sat there waiting for a lot longer than we had ever experienced at Carmelo's before. We saw many tables of two that arrived after us come and go before we had even received our check.

Place an ordered for delivery. Waited an hour for the delivery to come and then it was canceled. Honestly will never bother with this restaraunt again. Don't order delivery from this restaurant. Obviously they don't care about their customers waiting at home for the food.

First time we had been there. Service was top notch!! Get the Bada Bing! Will definitely return!

Gotta have the Bada Bing. Everything we ordered was excellent.

Our server Ben was amazing. There was a group of 8 of us for a birthday. He was on point from the time we sat down till we left. The food was amazing. Everything about this place was top notch. My whole group will def be back plus some more.

We were there this past Saturday evening and EVERYTHING was amazing. Best Italian restaurant in PG. 🇮🇹

Sutton was a great server. And Ernesto had great table side cooking our bada bing

Enjoyed our first visit to Carmelo's

This place was exceptional. All the food was wonderful and we can't wait to return.

being from nyc my family and i have a high standard for food. That being said we were very impressed by everything. It was amazing .....Everything.

Love this place. Greatest Happy Hour in PG!

Tried this place last night waiter was great food was average or below much better Italian restaurants in Port Charlotte. Pasta tasted out of a box definitely not home made like the place in Port Charlotte. Definitely 1 and done and very pricey for what ends up on your plate.

Come by and sit at the bar with confidence, ask for Danny to take care of you if you, him (as me) is spanish speaker. Here's what we got and everything was delicious.. Pink panther (drinks) Sacchettini (pasta, I added shrimp) Scampi (appetizer) Pesce spada Taormina Desert: carrot cake

Food was delicious so says everyone at my table. we also agree that our waiter wasn’t attentive at all. The person who helped him serving the dinner and clearing the table etc was very attentive. we can only hope that our waiter was having a really off night. we are locals and will come back but hope to have a different waiter. Return visit — same waiter who though busy was very attentive and professional. So, good service and as always the food didn’t disappoint so the entire experience was a delight! Another visit and we were seated in a room with no air conditioning; not broken a/c, no a/c. Needless to say, we were very warm.

This is the real deal! The most amazing Italian meal I've had in forever. Just walking in the door, you're immersed in the authentic smells of spices, cheese, and bread. Caesar was delicious, love those anchovies... Shrimp Arrabiata was right on point. Must mention excellent service!

As always, the food was beyond incredible! Linda Trapeni-Beni never disappoints with her expert service, and her personal touch ; which is why for special occasions, it’s ALWAYS Carmelo’s , and it MUST be Linda!

A few hiccups with the orders but overall the flavors were amazing!! Carlo deserves a raise, one of the best servers we’ve ever had!

Okay, lost our reservation, sat at the bar. Must have been 30 people waiting for a table standing right behind us having a "Cackle Convention" Honestly, not that great.

Great food pretty good prices You need to make a reservation

Thank you Carmelo and staff for absolutely the best Italian food in Southwest Florida! Amazing Food…Amazing People..Amazing Atmosphere equals an Amazing Experience….”mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare !!

Food was amazing. Attention from our waiter Giannni(sp?) could not have been better. He was charming. Such a beautiful place

It’s a shame that this restaurant doesn’t have a better way for reservations. No one ever answers the phone but they want you to leave a voicemail & they “will call you back”. Yet no one ever answers the phone. So we drove 40minutes expecting we would wait an get a table, nope apparently they are completely booked for the night, yet we looked around and there are tables open everywhere, they claimed they have a private event at 8pm. Yet we arrived at 6pm an it’s only two of us & our baby. This has happened 2 times at this restaurant, an it’s extremely frustrating considering we drive that far an no one ever answers there phone. They could have easily sat us at 6pm an we would have been long gone before their 8pm “private event”. But instead they turned us away an had awful customer service.

Perfect for a wonderful Italian food.

We stopped for a quick bite coming from the airport. Had toasted ravioli and a Flatbread at the bar. Bartenders were terrific! Food was fast hot and delicious. Looking at the menu we will be back without a doubt! See you soon!

I brought my lovely lady here. It's a little crowded, the food is good. It has some ambience. It became one of our local spots in Punta Gorda

We both had surfnturf. Husband's steak was rare not medium. My medium was well done. Lobster tails are ok..is the meal worth approx $80 absolutely not. Calamari was ok. Chocolate raspberry martini not on the menu was the best part of the experience. Ask the bar guys they'll make it for you. The dining room gets to be stifling hot and uncomfortable.

Authentic Italian Food served with pride and a smile.

Best Italian food in Punta gorda

Food was ok, definitely not worth the price or the drive, was hot inside, longer wait times, very loud place, don’t think we will go back, disappointing after all the great things we heard

Two bad meals here, one good. Stay away from veal. Very goid service. Try to get seated inside or garden area (when open)

We had a large group (20+ people) and a private room. The food was amazing, service was stellar, and Carmelo's is always a hit for atmosphere. The occasion was somewhat somber, but the Staff at Carmelo's made the night an absolute pleasure !!! Thank you all

I am 74 years old and have eaten at great restaurants in many parts of the world.This may be the best. The service and food quality is fantastic. I had the Bada Bing tonight and I don't have words to express how good it was. Carmelo himself came by and Dani at the bar was great. Wonderful experience. What a treat.

Had a great birthday dinner there with my parents. While we missed Joe playing the accordion because it was too hot to have the garden open we still had a great dinner. Chicken Valentina, veal Parm and a seafood pasta I cannot remember the name of, were all awesome!

C'mon man have someone update your Google business profile to say if you're closed or not

One of the better family run Italian restaurants that I have been to in Florida. The food was very authentic, fresh and tasty. Service was super friendly and attentive. My only suggestion for the restaurant is to upgrade their plates, their food looks great, but their plain white plates really take away from the quality of the presentation

Everything we ate was delicious!

We had a wonderful experience from the host, wait staff, chefs & management Friday night. We had a reservation for 22 people, with 6 separate bills, and it was a Surprise for my mother's 75th Birthday! We could not have pulled it off without the support of the Carmelo's Italian Ristorante! We were treated very well,, drinks, apps, & meals were all in a timely fashion. The flavors were amazing. Best hospitality experience! Thank you for all you did to make the evening AMAZING!

Dined here for a family dinner with two little girls. Gotta tell you. The service is what made our night. Quick, attentive waiter. Concise, knowledgeable, warm - even helped us find bug spray. We dined in the patio but it was too warm and not enough ventilation. The food was good as well, but the service is what stood out the most. Way to go!

The best Italian restaurant by far in this area. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious!!!!!😋

The food was good, not great. I ordered Fettuccine alla Marissa. I don't believe the pasta was homemade and aside from that it was not all Dante and overcooked. I love olive oil but this dish was swimming in it to the point that I had a very upset stomach the following day, all day. The bread was by no means homemade they put two cold hard rolls on the table with some olive oil and spices. The server had been seated two tables after us and we were only a table of two. These 2 tables got their food andtheir checks and we're out the door before us and he even took their orders before he took hours even though we sat down at least 15 minutes before them. Not good service.

Amazing place with one issue. There have been three times when I called ahead and their automated message said they were open. I then checked Google which also said they were open, only to arrive and find they were closed. Food is great.

Nine of us were out celebrating two birthdays. It was our first time here and I had made reservations for on the front porch. Who knew it would be the hottest day of the year so far but we endured and boy was it worth it! Food, drinks, desserts and service were outstanding! We were constantly brought ice for our drinks and our server was on top of any of our needs. We all said we would be back but would save the outdoor dining for cooler months!

Finally! found a real Italian restaurant! Absolutely delicious! a hidden gem I accidentally found. I will be making the 45 minute journey quite often to enjoy Carmelos Dinners.

Great food and service. Will come along again.

Absolutely incredible food, restaurant, staff—all of it!! Hands down my favorite place in SWFL. You will NOT be disappointed, no matter what you order. The calamari, steak, salmon, fettuccini, shrimp / scallops, you name it— all out of this world. The service and staff are impeccable. They are so attentive; we hardly finished a plate and it was taken from the table. You will not wait for anything. Cannot say enough about Carmelo’s. It is worth every penny!!! Will be regulars here for sure!

We had a delicious dinner! Our waiter was very attentive and so friendly.

Sit in Emily’s section and she will make your night! Great experience!

We sat outside this time with a party of seven people and it was brutally hot. We should’ve sat inside. The food was absolutely spectacular. The service was wonderful and we had a wonderful time.

Carmelos is always an amazing dining experience. We sat out in the garden area, drank cocktails and listened to live music. A very relaxing slow paced dining experience that took about two hours. Food was delicious, service was also top notch.

Love, love love. Excellent food. Like eating in the garden.

Great Italian restaurant. Food and service never disappoints. Excellent wine list.

First time there. Food was amazing and lots of it!!

Restaurants has to be updated. Ceiling and air duct is filthy. Good is good.

We have always had a fabulous experience at Carmelo's. The restaurant is a bit noisy but the menu is varied and all items have been delicious. Service has always been attentive but unrushed. Unfortunately this time our server, Gianni, rushed us to the point of being annoying, even though we pointedly told him we were not in a rush!

Took a month to get a reservation for 6 people, when we finally got to go service was horrible! We kept having to ask the servers to take our dirty plates and cups. Everything took so long, took about 45 mins for food to come. Pasta was hard and super salty. One dish had their chicken missing. Kids chicken cutlet was almost burned and hard. Really disappointing! Especially going there for the first time we thought we’d have a much better experience. Oh let’s not forget all of the flys!! Super annoying.

I got my spaghetti meal to go, but I wish that I could have sat down for dinner. The place is really super cute and it appears that they have authentic Italian family running the restaurant. The food was excellent.

Worth the wait for reservation. Food is 10/10

Wonderful experience for our second time at Carmelo's! Excellent service, exceptional food and an atmosphere that you can only get in Punta Gorda! Highly recommended for any day ending in "y".

Everything was wonderful. Our server was great and made it just that much better.

Dinner for two, special occasion...Appetizer- Arancine Sicillane (Rice balls filled with meat sauce peas and mozzarella) Main courses -Sacchettini & Chicken Valentina. Food was primarily a culinary experience like no other (except their caesar salad) and service was excellent.

We celebrated our anniversary with two other couples who share the date and everything from the service to the food was phenomenal!

Very good I'm satisfied and I will be back. Thank you very much

Best Italian meal ever; the bread and olive oil dip- delicious; salad- excellent, the house balsamic vinegrette is well balanced, entrees- veal piccata, veal saltibocca--- stellar!! While these are classic dishes, Chef Carmelo sets a new standard with the taste and execution of both dishes; in addition the orzo versus the typical pasta.. so very smart! Light but allows the delicious sauce of the dish to permeate the orzo Our server, Mike is a gem and enhanced our dining experience PS The bar. Bravo! Testa Rossa martini- fabulous!!! We can't wait to return!!

Went Easter so I feel we would have had a better experience another day! Food definitely tasted homemade!

Carmelo’s gave us a delightful anniversary dinner with the atmosphere of a beautiful Italian patio along with wonderful food and old world service. We were greeted like everyone genuinely cared we were there. Would recommend without hesitation, for special occasions, relaxed dining, and out-of-town guests. Worth the drive from Fort Myers and worth every penny.

I am obsessed with Carmelo's Ristorante! Their food is incredibly delicious and homemade! The Salmon Tommasso is my absolute favorite and their desserts are always fresh and yummy 😋. We visit every chance we get and bring friends and family when they visit us. Carmelo's also has fabulous pizza, salads, steak and seafood entrees and a great wine list. They also have a beautiful patio and everyone is welcoming and friendly. Mariela at takeout is always so kind and friendly. They opened a new place downtown called Ortigia and I can't wait to try it !

Very nice restaurant. I have an allergy to dairy and it was so nice to see that there were dairy free plates on the menu. Not a plate made with dairy substitutes that chang the taste of the recipe. Just a delicious, and creative meal simply made without dairy.

Delicious dinner but even better service. Ben was outstanding.

Wonderful place. Great food. Great service. Busy place. Make a reservation.

This is one of THE PLACES to come for authentic Italian food ! If you want to try something different, unique and outrageously delicious, try the " caralli Bada Bing" !! Strongly suggest you split this dish as an appetizer with someone as it's so rich ! It's prepared at the table side using in house made pasta, tomatos, basel, and aged Parmesan cheese scrapped from a 100 lb wheel on the cart ! It's a show preparation and out of this world delish ! Their other dishes are excellent as well, and all pasta is made in-house !Reservations are a must in prime season, especially if you want to eat between 5:30 and 7:30. There are many good people to wait on you here, but Linda, Donna, and Colin are outstanding !! Enjoy 😉 😉 !

Went for my Birthday,what a fantastic evening.Food was the best I’ve had since I moved to Florida.The Cavatelli Bada Bing was amazing

Best food I've eaten in a long time. You have to get the Bada-Bing

Great Italian food. Dress nicely, it's not a quick trip to dinner. But it's relaxing and enjoying the time, company, and food

It was fun, relaxing. and very nice atmosphere.

Omg this food is incredible. Literally loved everything. The scallop and shrimp limoncello pasta was the best. Ricotta blueberry cheesecake. Chicken parm. All so good.

Absolutely stunning! Got there early and they accommodated us with a high top at the bar and MAN did we luck out with Dani the bartender. The service was probably the best service I had in all our anniversaries. Dani and Sutton spoiled us to where I think we’ll have to sit in the bar area forever now. Thank you

I don’t get the hype? Great service! Zero atmosphere. Ordered bone in ribeye, heavily over seasoned, so salty you can’t taste the meat. Yuk!