+.5 for service Went to Cafe Carlo for my birthday as I've been wanted to try this place for the longest time. I originally thought this would be a classy, upscale place. It was more upscale than a fast casual place, but it's not one of those places where it feels like you need to dress to impress...which is a good thing in my opinion. Cafe Carlo is famous for their fett chile, which is fettuccine with chicken, chorizo, cashews, and roasted red peppers with a chili cream sauce. It's their best dish, and the combination of fettuccine with the flavours is certainly unique. Warning though, it is on the spicy side. One of my friends had the gnocchi with pesto cream and found there to be too much pesto. The gnocchi was good though. For dessert I had the chocolate oblivion. Absolutely amazing cake, and they gave me a candle to boot too. You wouldn't believe that it's a flourless chocolate cake given the taste. Service was excellent here. Will definitely return to try the spag boo. read more

Cafe Carlo - Fett Chile - Canadian (New) Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

See all

Small but quaint Italian restaurant located just off corydon. This was our second time trying it and it does not disappoint. In fact this time around I just noticed they have a small bar in the back. Try the Pappardelle....it is very good. read more

Only words to use are simply fantastic. From the very knowledgeable staff to the delicious well prepared food and atmosphere. Love this place. Try the Vong and a lemon drop cocktail, you won't regret it read more

This is my favourite restaurant in Winnipeg decades Running! Amazing salads, pastas, etc. I would recommend getting a salad each and then splitting a pasta read more

I have been a fan of and enjoyed my experiences at Cafe Carlo over several decades. Post-Covid, I have been there for lunch (on Fridays) three times. Unfortunately the first & third (last) were very disappointing. The first lunch the food was good but the service received from both people serving us was curt and cold. The second visit was very good on both counts, especially the service! The third one (today) was the nail in the coffin. We arrived promptly for our 11:30 reservation. Once seated we found the music too loud to carry on a conversation - plus there were no other customers at that point - so I asked our server if the music could be turned down. She looked annoyed but the volume of the music was lowered. As we ordered our meals, in checking with my friend, I asked if the music could further be adjusted downward - there were still no other customers so the music was really filling the space. Our server's response was "I already turned it down!" but I explained we still found it too loud - she left in a huff. The music was briefly turned down but then up again. It became clear to my friend and I that the music was being played for the kitchen staff and not the customers. Once we received our food at no point did the server ask how our meals were. When she cleared the plates, I told her that my pesto gnocchi was too salty (a dish I had enjoyed on previous visits), she just walked away not even aknowledging me. It was supposed to be a special lunch, my friend taking me out to celebrate my birthday and I had suggested Cafe Carlo - I will not be back. The quality of service should not be contingent on the mood of the server. As well, post-covid the cleanliness of the washrooms on all 3 occasions was left wanting. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g154954-d702745-r912248531-Cafe_Carlo-Winnipeg_Manitoba.html# read more

A wonderful first experience at Cafe Carlo. We arrived early for our reservation and were promptly seated. Ashley was such a great server for the evening. Attentive, helpful and knowledgeable. Started with the mussels in cream sauce and the daily appetizer special - sweet potato wontons with 5 spice pork loin. Delicious. So delicious we forgot to get any pictures. We had the Fett Chile and Lamb as entrees. Both very tasty. Finished off our meal with crème brûlée and a salted chocolate square. It's a quaint space. The room was mostly full but the noise level was quite quiet. Don't forget to buy the kitchen a round of beers!! read more

See all

Superb! Our waitress was very sweet and friendly and took great care of us. Got the famous Fette Chile which was good but the Seafood Penne was my favourite! Will come back again! read more

Cafe Carlo - Fette Chile & Seafood Penne - Canadian (New) Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Great food. The 'chef special' pork tenderloin was juicy with a savoury sauce that complimented perfect. The seafood penne she was creamy and generous. Unfortunately the rush the waiter put on us by saying , 'there's another booking for this table' as she brought our bottle of wine, encouraging us to order our food and eat quickly put us off and and that is why the rating is low. We didn't feel we could do dessert and coffee. So, we went elsewhere for that. read more

Never been disappointed. For years their menu has provided succulent entrées. Their service during Covid-19 has been superb.

Decent food- not worth the price though. Would say average entree should be at least 15-20 not 23-30- felt like I was eating at casual franchise restaurant. Very bland flavour palate- as a restaurant that says they're fusion cuisine I found it lacking in flavour profiles. Ordered them from door dash and not sure due to covid that could have been a factor. Perhaps when restrictions are lifted then ambience of fine dining maybe a reason to give it another try. read more

Hands down, my wifes favourite restaurant. She loves the Ceaser salad, bruschetta and fish tacos. It her place to go for every birthday meal. read more

We have enjoyed many meals from Cafe Carlo over the years, and there has never been a complaint, even though we have had the meals delivered by Mobile Maitre D'. Until now. Part of a recent order included Gnocchi with a pesto cream sauce. Gnocchi is something we have had from here, and other restaurants, and I expect gnocchi to have a shape. On this night however, the gnocchi had no shape, only the texture of uncooked dough. It was a blob, inedible. Fortunately, we had ordered an appetizer and the other meal was up to the quality we had come to expect from Cafe Carlo, so there was just about enough to eat. We have dined in enough restaurants in our lifetime to know that occasionally there will be a dud, but in those cases you can bring your concern to the restaurant staff and usually can be accomodated. This action doesn't work with a food delivery service pairing with a restaurant; to call the service back to get a replacement would, a) take a long time to get a replacement relative to when you first ordered, and b) be prohibitively expensive. So, we took our lumps (pun intended). When we called MM, we were told they would give us a credit of the value of the appetizer, which was less than the cost of the gnocchi. Hmmm? When I called the restaurant and asked to speak to the manager that night, (J), I was told it was busy and they would have to call me later. Ok, I understood busy in a restaurant. Never did get a call back. My high regard for this restaurant is diminished by the apparent lack of concern for the product they are setting out. read more

My SO took me out on a surprise date night to Café Carlo last Friday! The ambient and service were great! We had the spring rolls and Caesar salad to start and we both have to say those were probably the best spring rolls we've ever had!!!! For entree, we had the Fett Chil (fettuccine with chicken, chorizo, cashew, red peppers in a chile cream sauce) and the Veal Chop with lemon-caper sauce served with a side of pilaf. The food was delicious! In addition, their Sangria was excellent too! Overall, we had a positive experience at Cafe Carlo and would definitely be back to check out other dishes! read more

Cafe Carlo - Best spring rolls ever!! - Cafe Carlo - Canadian (New) Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

This place has the oddest menu. Its concept is "seasonally influenced California-Italian cuisine" but it's really fusion food. The schizophrenic menu is like something Joey's would offer fish tacos, curried chicken salad, pastas that have black bean sauce, curry as well as traditional sauces and a small number of mains like beef tenderloin and pickerel. Starters average $15 which is quite steep for pretty standard offerings like shrimp and bruschetta. Pastas average $23 and the 4 mains available are $30-$35 - they all come with bread and a salad. Compared to similar style restaurants in the city, it is a bit pricier and I don't think the food quality is there to justify it. Whereas a place that's similar, Bombolinis has a slightly lower price point. I've dined here a number of times over the years and all I say is the ambiance is really warm and casual. Service is really attentive but the food hasn't changed at all and tends to be on the heavier side. Every item seems to be a cream or butter sauce. I asked the server to choose the "lightest" dish for me and he could only point to one dish - the "vong" ($21), linguine with clams in white wine-garlic sauce. If you want to eat lighter, I'd suggest going with a couple of appetizers instead. Fish tacos ($15) - mini tacos filled with crispy tilapia, tomato, romaine & chipotle mayo. Nothing amazing and a little steep for tilapia tacos. All I could taste were the chipotle mayo. Crispy prawns ($15) - panko encrusted prawns served with ginger sauce, mango chutney and house made naan. The prawns were good especially with the chutney but the naan is kinda sad, tasted like bad dried out pita chips. Bruschetta ($15) - a pretty substantial serving with basil pesto, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spicy eggplant, goat cheese & mozzarella on toasted french bread. This was probably the best item on the menu. The ravioli ($23) gives you about 8 generous sized raviolis filled with butternut squash & ricotta ravioli in brown butter sauce and asparagus gunge. I felt very guilty after eating this because it was a heavy dish but it was very flavouful. Good dish but you gotta run a few miles the next day to burn off the calories. LOL. Lovely place but I don't think I would come running back unless they updated their menu to offer more lighter options. But it's been in business for a long time so obviously this place works for a lot of people who love cream and butter sauces! read more

Food was bland and disappointing was not worth the price. Apparently they don't wash their hands or use soap to clean dishes so that's disgusting never eating here again. Also explains the stain on my fork. Owner is a real cow, difficult and rude. I do not recommend eating here save your money and go elsewhere. Plenty of other delicious and sanitary restaurants in Winnipeg. Definitely would not trust with COVID safety regulations. read more

Cafe Carlo is still a rip-off after all these years. I hadn't been for about 10 years because on my first and only visit I found it overly priced and overly pretentious. After Cafe Carlo made the Opentable top 150 local gems I thought that I would give it a try to see if anything has changed. Not much I'm afraid. Lunch for two came to $70 (w/ one beer) for very average fare. The sea-food chowder was very good but was sold to us under the guise of being one of the "soups of the day". The menu clearly said that the soup of the day was $3 with a main course. What made the sea-food chowder a "soup of the day" was that it was discounted from $11 per cup to $10 per cup. That distinction should have been brought to our attention when ordering and substantially increased the bill. I had the True North Fish Sandwich which was 95% bread. The minuscule portions of pickerel were hard to taste by simply being overwhelmed by the amount of bread, and the breading. The broccoli and cauliflower slaw was merely florets of broccoli and cauliflower, some peanuts, in a slaw dressing. I found it uninspired. Though I had ordered my sandwich with the Slaw it was originally brought out with fries. When I pointed out the mistake to the serving person the only response was a look of disbelief. My companion felt compelled to mention that he had clearly heard me request the Slaw and then the response was "Excuse me for being human". So in summary, Snooty, Pretentious, and Over priced. read more

We made it by here twice now and found the meal to be good both times however against the price it seemed over priced. The service was ok but both times it had something wrong with it, between them not want to be here, and you are lucky to be served by us. Ether way adding up the price, food and service it may be a long time before we go back. read more

I have not been in years since I lived in Winnipeg. Some say you can't go back. A rainy day for lunch at cafe Carlo with a colleague was just what we needed. Excellent warm service and environment. Food, including the bread was fresh and enjoyable. I would recommend it. read more

Cozy and comfortable, good service and yummy food highlight this slightly schizophrenic cafe. Mexican standards like Quesadillas (excellent) and French dishes like Creme Brulee make the menu have duality. The elegant long stem wine glasses and the classical music playing over the air make me wonder how to classify this restaurant, but I certainly will come back and try! read more

Cosy place. Excellent service. Good ambiance. They have an interesting menu and a good wine selection. The food was freshly made. I had the chef special pasta and my collegue had the sea-food pasta. I absolulely loved mine! I am craving some more as I write this. Worth a visit and many more. read more

One of the more sophisticated venues in town. The food is always excellent, the service polished and professional. All the food is made from scratch and the menu continues to be innovative. read more

My husband and I had our first visit to Café Carlo last evening for our date night/birthday celebration. Very courteous and friendly service from the get-go. We had the spring rolls to start, and they were fantastic. For our dinner, my husband had the Tenderloin and my choice was the Pickerel. Both well done as we like it, lots of flavor, and very tasty. We had a very enjoyable evening and would definitely be returning, as well as recommending, this little Winnipeg treasure. read more

The bruschetta was excellent and the wine was smooth. Very good atmosphere -- perfect for ... http://whatilikeaboutfood.tumblr.com/post/33617763918/cafe-carlo-243-lilac-street-party-of-2 read more

Bad service, the waitress was standing over me seeing what I was keying in as a tip. The food was okay. I wouldn't go back or recommend this place. read more

Service was great, but some problems with the food. The pasta for the squash ravioli was undercooked which was unpleasant but the rest of the ravioli was great. The mixed greens salad was ho hum and some of the greens had brown spots. The apple cherry crisp was waaay too sweet and came with ice cream and some kind of sauce which just added to the icky sweetness. Why do restaurants think we eat like 5 year olds? If I want too sweet, I can pick up something at Costco. Good wine selection. read more

After a recommendation from a friend, we decided to give this restaurant a try. We definitely felt very cramped at our table, and I don't think there's much they really could do to address this, given the space and layout the establishment has to work with. It was busy when we went in, so we were patient with the wait times, but we could tell that they were short-staffed for the amount of volume they had in there. The menu selection was relatively limited, and I know some people like that, but I like to have a few options. I had a seafood pasta dish that I don't recall the name of. The food was good, but for the price and wait time, it wasn't really special enough that I would consider it worth it. The same could be said about our service. Our server did a good job considering she had a lot on the go, but there was nothing about it that wowed me enough to want to go back. This restaurant may be some people's cup of tea, but wasn't really mine. read more

We really enjoyed this restaurant. The staff were polite and friendly and the food tasted delicious. Overall it was a great experience and we will go back again. read more