Italian

Carlo of Boca (Boca Raton)

Posted on January 16th, 2010 · Boca Raton Italian

***** Carlo of Boca, 7491 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33487, (561) 988-9699.

Last night, dinner at a very good–very reasonably priced– 96-seat Italian joint…Carlo of Boca.

Carlo has been open for something like 1 1/2 years…on March 27, 2009 the Sun Sentinel gave the joint 3 1/2 out of 4 stars. You can check menu/prices at www.carloofboca.com.

Carlo of Boca is probably as good, if not better than your favorite “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joint…and a whole lot better looking. The decor is upscale–no pizza joint counter (by the way, Carlo doesn’t make pizza), but your tee shirts/shorts will work quite well here.

Last night, I did minestrone soup, veal parmigiana, shrimp scampi, penne alla vodka, chicken marsala, penne with marinara sauce, tartufo. All entrees come with soup or salad, pasta side, garlic bread. To give you a point of reference, that veal parm entree was $18.95. Just so you know, I thought that the minestrone was one of the best that I have had in recent years…I also ranked the tartufo as being right up there.

Carlo’s food is very good. Like I said before, it is probably better than most of the “mom & pop” joints which dot the South Florida landscape. Throw in the no-pizza joint look, very professional wait-staff and owner Luis Bolivar Sr. charmingly-visiting every table in the joint–and you got a real good place for lunch or dinner.

Carlo of Boca has one heavy duty drawback…it is located in one of the crappiest shopping centers-going…you know the kind of center, where half the stores are vacant, another being a “Christmas” store–and you can’t see Carlo unless you are already in the center. Absolute–horrendous location. Simply put, if this joint was in a good location, I’d bet that the lines would be out the door to get in. Thus far, Carlo is making-it on “word of mouth.”

I’m gonna rate Carlo a “must try.” I really enjoyed the food. Found the prices just right…and I enjoyed the attentive and professional service by Luis and his wait staff

Carlo of Boca is open for dinner 7 days a week 4pm-10pm…Carlo also serves lunch Tuesday-Friday 11am-3:30pm.

11 Comments to “Carlo of Boca (Boca Raton)”

  1. SS says...

    My husband and I are big fans of Nino’s especially the Boca store. Like you we think that Nino’s is one of the better red sauce places. We recently ate at Carlo and found the dishes that we had to be as good as Nino’s. Its menu is not as large and the there is no pizza but the veal parm and shrimp scampi that we had was as good as Nino’s same goes for the pasta sides. We thought that the garlic bread was under baked and should have been a lot crispier. The minestrone soup is better than Nino’s. We also like our chicken cacciatore etc on the bone and Carlo doesn’t have bone in dishes. Carlo is a nicer looking place than Nino’s. So we now have two really good Italian restaurants in the neighborhood.

  2. mike s. says...

    good find.
    enjoyed the change from the standard looking italian joints around here, you know the ones with the pizza ovens.
    the food was as good as most of joints in the area.
    nice to have a professional italian waiter for a change rather than some high school kid.
    you are 100% correct that this joint is located in a horrendous shopping center. unless you have it as a destination you would never even think about it.
    hope Carlo makes it.

  3. ed c. says...

    hey jeff, thought that the food was good, although the veal pam was bit on the soggy side. the owner is a very pleasant fellow as was the waiter that we had. prices were a-ok and it’s a nice looking restaurant.

  4. GB says...

    This restaurant was an original creation of my Dad , Carlo Barta . He worked on the interior design as well as menu creations. He passed away before the restaurant opened . It was his dream too have a restaurant in Boca Raton . It was the place we moved to 20 years ago when a renowned family owned Hungarian Restaurant closed . It feels good to know his legend will carry on .

  5. david stone says...

    GB : How sad to learn of Carlo’s death. We lost touch after you guys moved to Boca from Needham. Our condolensces to you and your family. Elizabeth & I enjoyed so many delightful dinners at Chardas in Brookline. How is your sister D and mother, M ?
    We would love to get back in touch ! I am on Facebook under david m. stone, or my email is david4w@gmail.com.

  6. wcc says...

    very good food.

  7. vince & roberta says...

    luis (or raul julia as i call him) is great at mingling and responding..roberta and i are eaters and luis provides the best choices
    and the best atmosphere

  8. chewy says...

    food is ok nothing great

  9. louis f says...

    good food and good service.

  10. DG says...

    They have a 20 bucks for a whole dinner which includes dessert. Was there last night and food was excellent.

  11. Gregg L. Friedman MD says...

    I really enjoyed Carlo’s of Boca Raton. The food and service where both great. The prices were low.

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