Caruso’s

Reviews

• Adam B.

  star star star star star 4 September 2026

  A visitor to this strip mall has no right to expect a restaurant if this caliber here.  Outstanding in every way, it is easily worth a drive up from Charlotte.
  
  The decor is elegant, with white tablecloths and a clubby feel.  The waiters are seasoned professionals.
  
  Of the apps, the calamari and fried mozzarella are the best possible examples of these standards; but it's the two you've never heard of that are the standouts.  The polpettone is a pastry filled with cheese and meats in a creamy tomato sauce.  The funghi ripiene is not stuffed mushrooms.  Instead, it is fresh lobster and crab and mushrooms in a creamy brandy sauce.  Salads are crisp and fresh.
  
  I've had the fettuccine Bolognese, the osso bucco, penne a la vodka with shrimp, and veal chop parmigiana before.  All are outstanding and the veal chop covered the plate.  The salmon was good; but there was nothing Italian about it.
  
  The cheesecake was perfect.

• Fay C.

  star star star star star 4 September 2026

  After 42 years as a high school teacher and librarian, traveling from state to state with my husband acompany, we retired and moved to Mooresville. My goal was to try every restaurant in the area. Caruso's is one of my favorites. I love visiting Manhattan,NY and this restaurant takes me there. The old world Italian style ambiance is great. Once you walk in you feel as if you have been transported to a different place and time. Sometimes we get this older waiter that has this charming Sicilian accent that makes you feel as if you may step out on 43rd Street once your dinner is over. Oh, the food is great too. Just go and try as many of the menu items as possible. By-the-way, the bartender makes a great Lemon Drop Martini!

• Kristen H.

  star star star star star 22 August 2026

  I am such a fan of Caruso's.  The first time we went we got caught out.  As everyone says, it's in a strip mall by Publix, Orangetheory Fitness, La Patisserie so we walked in expecting to find red and white checked tableclothes and burned down candles in Chianti bottles.  We instead found a gracious, quiet, upscale restaurant.  Apparently we were lucky because we walked in without reservations and managed to get a table, even in our jeans and t-shirts.  And we had a great meal.
  
  After that, we planned in advance, making reservations and dressing appropriately.  We held my mother's 75th birthday celebration here and something magical happened that night.  We had a server (Latin guy from NY) who was outstanding.  I think every single person working that evening came over to wish my mother a happy birthday.  (Not hard to find us since we had a giant 7 and 5 balloon hanging over her head.  The entire restaurant started laughing when she walked over to the table not realizing and then saw her reaction.  Someone then moved them to say 57 instead).  They made my mother feel important that night and made the night very special for her.  And all of us can't wait to return for another outing together.  
  
  For the 8 of us, we split the Calamari Fritti (fried calamari rings with yummy spicy marinara sauce $14), Funghi Repieni (2 mushrooms stuffed with lobster and crabmeat in a brandy sauce $14) and an appetizer special.  Each was delicious.
  
  The Zuppa Di Pesce alla Napolitana (combination of sea scallops, shrimp, mussels, half lobster tail and prawn in a delicate light spicy marinara sauce over linguini pasta $34) is a family favorite.  For those with shellfish allergies, they are kind enough to swap out the lobster for more sea scallops.  
  
  The Rack of Lamb (NZ baby rack of lamb served with Balsamic pesto mint sauce $34) was perfectly cooked and had a generous 8 chops.  I find that we usually choose one of the specials of the evening (recently I got flounder topped with crabmeat served with mashed potatoes and spiralized zucchini and squash $28) so it doesn't help for me to describe them to you as it's all off menu.  
  
  On a more recent visit our server related, I believe, 9 specials to us, describing each one from memory and completely, right down to the spices on them.  Everyone who works here is on point and great at what they do.  
  
  All in all, dress nicely, make a reservation, then sit back and relax because you're going to have a great meal with great service.  One of my two favorite, solid, never let me down restaurants in Lake Norman.

• Mariah M.

  star star star star_border star_border 21 August 2026

  I really like this place, the food is really good specially their pastas, very fresh ingredients, their cocktails and salads are also good. The service is ok and the prices are a little high but, I would recommend when you are feeling like having some really good pasta .
  
  I feel they could redo their menu add more variety, they used to have a mussels appetizer dish that was amazing  specially with their yummy bread but they no longer offer it, that was disappointing... They also have to do a better with their desserts, I can tell they are not made in house, they taste like the ones you go buy from a supermarket... low quality, not what you would expect for their prices.
  
  They seem to never have a hostess at the front, so you have to wait in the front, make sure a waiter sees you and let them know you would like a table, this has been my experience every time I go.... the ambiance is more of Italian old world vibe... outdated decor.
  
  So overall I recommend but just know that it's not a 5 star restaurant, they have a few things to work on to make an overall experience more enjoyable.
  Hope this helps

• Marqus R.

  star star star star star_border 21 August 2026

  Not to berate the culinary dignity of Mooresville, North Carolina, but as far as I could find Caruso's is the only real good bet in town for a decent meal.
  
  Though located in a shopping mall, wherein one wouldn't expect much, Caruso's offer a good setting with a more than pleasant upscale décor as well as upscale professional service. They had specials on the night I was present from which I ordered but in reviewing their menu, Caruso's has some other excellent offerings with all of them in keeping with what are considered real Italian. Like you aren't going to find chicken mixed in with a pasta dish or any other such in attempt at "Italian/American Compromise."
  
  The pasta part of my dishes were perfect in al dente texture, the sauces were fresh, alive and the ingredients of each well married together. The only drawback I had was that in being a party of one, I seemed to have lost the attention of the staff. It may just be my petulance showing, but I don't like being overlooked or ignored when dinning.