We have been here a few times and it is one of if not the best Italian spot in Charlotte. Excellent food, good prices and very good service. When we get back we will go! If you want Italian in Charlotte GO HERE! read more

INCREDIBLE pesto!!!! Get the linguini genovese with fresh pasta - I could eat this every single day. Beautiful spot, packed and so popular! Highly recommend going for a girls night, splitting a bottle, and eating some delish pasta! read more

Dolce Osteria - Linguine alla Genovese - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

This is my second visit to this location in a month, which speaks to how much I enjoy the food here. Tonight was just as exceptional as my first experience, with amazing, genuine, and personable service, along with great food. read more

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We've been here a bunch and keep coming back. FOOD: All yum! Pay the extra $4 for fresh pasta. Apps: The Prosciutto and Burrata is a yum appetizer. We also like the little dish of beans that come with the complimentary bread. You get one complimentary refill of bread, then they charge you. Entrees: Our favorite dish is the Buttara. Amatriciana is another favorite of mine. Hubs also likes Penne Alla Vodka with Shrimp. My dad likes the Chicken Parmesan (note it doesn't come with pasta, thats another ~$9 for a side of (out of the box) pasta). There is no kids menu, they can sell you a "kids pasta" which is sauce and out of the box noodles. Drinks: Everything is good. Dessert: Save a few bucks by getting Duck Donuts next door or TCBY across the parking lot. read more

We celebrated my bonus Mom (a.k.a. soul sister) birthday at Dolce Sunday. As you would expect, service was incredible and the food amazing. I'm sorry we didn't get to introduce her to Rita - this was her first visit- but the staff took great care of us, and brought her a fabulous slice of chocolate cheesecake! Stuffed mushrooms and grilled (not fried) fresh, tender calamari for an appetizer. AMAZING crisp, fresh bread with cannellini beans, and robust olive oil and balsamic. Fresh seafood pasta dish with Rita handmade fettuccine (she has been wanting to have that forever), lightly breaded cutlet with arugula in light lemon sauce and broccoli in garlic (like my grandfather used to make), chicken parm again with homemade pasta, and ravioli in bolognese. We tried each other's dishes, I just can't get enough of the chicken cutlet. The breading is so light and crisp, the chicken thin, and tender. Perfectly cooked! The chicken Parmesan cutlet was a little thicker, but just as tender and so flavorful. Can I tell you? The only thing we had leftover to take home was a little bit of broccoli! They said this was the first time they cleaned their plates off, lol! The homemade bread was wonderful, especially dipping it in the creamy sauce from the stuffed mushrooms. Everyone tasted the chocolate cheesecake, it was perfect and I'm picky with my cheesecake because believe it or not, I don't like a dense/heavy cheesecake. This chocolate cheesecake literally melted in your mouth and I want to say the texture was whipped, so light? Just wonderful seriously. Not sure if that was done by Rita's pastry chef, but if so? I think I found my new, annual birthday cake, lol! Cannot wait to go back again and after seeing all the pictures from the pasta making classes? That's on our to do list too! Thank you, Rita and thank you to the wonderful staff at Dolce, we appreciate you so much - you made her first visit, and her birthday, unforgettable (her words, not mine)! read more

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We had a great experience! We visited for restaurant week this year as we haven't visited Dolce before. And honestly for restaurant week it was a fabulous experience! The portion sizes were great, there were an array of options, and the flavors were on point. Boyfriend had: lobster bisque, skirt steak, and limoncello cake. I had: dolce salad (orange dressing is so fresh!), ravioli (I brought some home), and the Godiva mousse. The service was great - folks were attentive, waters were filled, and that says a lot for such a busy time. The space was a bit tight so we were bumping up against the table behind us. For restaurant week I think that's totally fine though because it's super busy and when we left there were multiple parties waiting. Would totally try again another time! read more

Dolce Osteria - Godiva mousse - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

IMO the best authentic Italian restaurant in the Charlotte area. Nice atmosphere, but the food is really good. You need to try this restaurant! read more

Was scoping out Italian cuisine restaurants in my Yelp app & came across this gem. Made reservations for Saturday night. We were greeted at the door by smiling faces & seated promptly. While we looked over the menu we enjoyed a glass of red wine & an Manhattan from the bar. Even the basket of bread they put on the table was delicious! We had 2 baskets, lol! We got the shrimp diavolo appetizer & ate it up so quickly I forgot to snap a pic. The shrimp: so tender & juicy, the sauce: spicy & flavorful I ordered the chicken Parm with linguine along with a side of broccoli. The chicken was nice & thin, perfectly cooked & the sauce was perfect. My boyfriend got the seafood pasta dish ( I forgot the name) and he cleaned his plate! He said the sauce was also spicy & he enjoyed every bite of it. I think we found our new favorite Italian restaurant! read more

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I recently was able to dine at Dolce after more than 15 years and was rather impressed. I don't remember being that impressed 15 years ago, hence why I never returned, but glad I did. The atmosphere is quaint, service is on point and they offer a nice variety of Italian options. Once seated we ordered wine, ordered and received a fresh basket of bread. A variety of dishes were ordered and everyone seemed to enjoy. I had the ravioli which was cooked to perfection. I will definitely keep Dolce in mind when looking for Italian food with a nice atmosphere. read more

This review is so close to a 4, and I feel like if I'd visited at another time (not during Restaurant Week) it would have met that rating easily. I made reservations online for Friday at 7 pm for 4 people. I love how easy they make it for me to do this, but you do have to book with a credit card. They tell you that if everyone in your party doesn't show, you'll owe $25 a place. I'm not sure if they'd follow through with that, but it is worth mentioning. Not a big deal for me as I am pretty anal about schedule, so would update accordingly. Turns out, one in my party had a family emergency a few days before our reservation, and I needed to modify to 3 people. I couldn't do it online, as it said no tables were available, but I was able to call the restaurant and they were able to easily and cheerfully make the change. We arrived and were seated quickly, and given only the menu for Restaurant Week. I get it, LOTS of customers, you need to make it as streamlined as possible. I will also add that the RW dinners in general range from $35 to $50 a plate. Dolce was at $50 a plate. I had high expectations. The choices on the RW menu were plentiful. We three chose different appetizers, entrees, and desserts and tried each other's. For my appetizer, I chose Eggplant parmesan. I'm so glad I did. It was surprisingly light and so delicious. The presentation of mine was not great, but the taste more than made up for that. The entree I selected, upon waitress's recommendation, was Lobster gnocchi. It came with spinach in a creamy red sauce. The sauce had a good flavor, but the gnocchi were very mushy and doughy. I wish they'd been pan-fried for a minute in a skillet to give them some texture. The worst part was the lobster's texture was off and tasted like fake crab. After picking it apart carefully, I'm 100% convinced I was eating fake lobster. So disappointing. Surely this is not what they do for their regular customers? But to charge the max price for restaurant week, I was disappointed. And kind of felt duped that I wasn't told it was fake lobster being billed as real lobster. I'd have most certainly chosen something different if I'd known. My friend had pasta fagioli with mussels or clams (out of the shells) and she let me try it. The clams tasted straight out of a can, almost like those smoked oysters that are small but whole. It was disgusting. My friend saw my face and said she felt the same way and ate around them as best she could. Dessert was wonderful. I got the cheesecake, my friends had tiramisu and limoncello cake. All were wonderful but we all agreed that the cheesecake was the best. Creamy, rich and homemade. Normally, I would give a restaurant another try after Restaurant week, but the switcheroo with the lobster really left a bad impression on me. It was a dirty trick. Next time I'll just go to Aria. read more

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The ambiance is lovely here- perfect for a special date but comfortable & family friendly. In fact, one waiter was seen walking the aisles jostling a customer's baby for her so she could read the menu. Our waiter was Ferdinand & he was a true delight. He was full of helpful information about the menu & good humor to keep us laughing. We were celebrating our son's 26th birthday & he certainly made the occasion memorable for Michael & the rest of us. I almost forgot the amazing food- the reason for our visit! We all got the same thing- a special- so that wasn't smart in terms of sampling & sharing but it was delicious, every bite. Appetizers & salad & wine & bread were all spot-on. We will definitely come back when we are next in town. read more

Dolce Osteria - Birthday chocolate mousse cake was fabulous (& I don't like mousse usually). Limoncello cake was amazing too. - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

I have heard so much about this place that I knew I needed to try it! It did not disappoint! It is now my favorite Italian place in Charlotte! We went for lunch. Keep in mind they are only open until 2pm for lunch. The place is very intimate and it has a home like feel. It's like your at your Italian grandma's house for dinner. The food was absolutely divine. We had the mussels (in the white wine sauce) and the bruschetta for appetizers. Let's start with the mussels. I promise they put something in the sauce that made you want to dip every piece of bread in it and soak it up. I really wanted to drink it. The bruschetta was so fresh and delicious. I could eat it every day! I had the amatriciana pasta and my friend had the penne alla vodka with shrimp added. Both were amazing! It was so good that I forgot to even capture a picture of these! I think we savored every bite! The service was amazing and I enjoyed the experience from the very moment we walked in. You have to try this place especially if you love great authentic Italian food. The icing on the cake is that they make fresh pasta which is amazing! Don't wait any longer, just run to this place and try it! I'm sure it will be amazing! read more

Dolce Osteria - Bruschetta - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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LISTEN. Hands down, easily the best Italian cuisine in Charlotte. Authentic, fresh, tasteful, full of flavor, portions are perfect and you will leave full and satisfied. My partner and I love it here and for two people with entrees, salad or appetizer, dessert, and a couple of glasses of wine, look to spend about $150 which isn't bad at all for the quality. This spot is always packed so be sure to make a reservation in advance. They also do pick up/to go orders if you call ahead. Rita is one of the sweetest souls and is the cherry on top of visits here! Love love love Dolce. read more

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Make sure you verify an inside table when booking. Hoping for a romantic evening with my wife. When we arrived we were ushered to the outside patio with floor heaters. Felt like we were the Black sheep at a family picnic. If you're okay with that type of atmosphere then continue booking. If it wasn't 7:00 p.m. on a Friday night in downtown Charlotte, I would have made other arrangements. Our first and last time at this restaurant. read more

Just fantastic! Incredible food, excellent staff, authentic Italian. Rita is so sweet and makes the best pasta. Everything we had here was excellent. The bruschetta and polpettine were both great. The carbonara and ravioli were both delicious. The chicken parm was the star of the evening. It was a large portion of chicken but it was so delicious I had no doubt on finishing. The food was so great we didn't have room for dessert, but they did look tempting. We had espresso to finish the meal, which was an extremely dark roast. An overall fantastic evening at Dolce. You'll need a reservation. If you book on Open Table, you still need to call in to confirm. It can get booked up but it's worth it. read more

Dolce Osteria - Espresso - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Tre bien! (wait, same thing but in Italian) Fantastic neighborhood find. Just walking in, my wife loved the vibe : its warm, good buzz but not overwhelming, friendly people, and a host who spoke Italian. Mangiamo! Everything was on point, was a perfect portion size, and was wonderful like out of grandma's kitchen vs. a chef trying to show off. We started with the prociutto and burrata plate : a simple, perfect beginning. For main, my carbonara was some of the best I've remembered, as it was in no way heavy and never overwhelmed by the egg or pork. My wife's chicken parm would have Peyton Manning singing right along, as it was thin, perfectly breaded, and cooked such that it easily sliced with a fork thine. Dolce knows what it's doing as it didn't hide the meal under excessive sauce or mozzarella ... a sign they want the right light to shine! We're definitely adding Dolce to the rotation. Quando posso tornare? read more

This was my second stop for January 2022 Queen's Feast dinners. It was my first time here and it definitely made it on my list of top Italian places in CLT. It was smaller inside than i expected but by no means was that a bad thing- a very good ambiance for dates, catching up with friends, or taking clients out. When: Monday evening 7:30pm reservation for a party of 7 Food: 4.8/5 - Everyone in my party loved their food but for this review I will just talk about what I ate and tasted. We were served warm bread to start off with EVOO & balsamic vinegar. First was the prosciutto & burrata- the star of my whole meal! Boy oh boy was this DELICIOUS.. especially when paired with their homemade apricot jam and balsamic glaze! The burrata was perfectly creamy, soft and light and the prosciutto was high quality. Can't wait to go back for that dish. My second course I tried the trota (trout) which was breaded & pan seared , topped with crab, in a red pepper scallion cream sauce. It also came with veggies and mashed potatoes. Am i making your mouth water yet!? This was pretty good but not amazing. I thought the crab was going to be more and not breaded. I also tried the cinghiale which was a fresh homemade tagliolini pasta in a wild boar ragu. YUM! This was everyone's favorite out of the entrees. Lastly for dessert I went for the classic tiramisu. It was very good and tasted like how it should. All portions were generous and left us all stuffed. What a great value! Service: 4.8/5 - service was quick and everyone was friendly and attentive. They just did not go over the top with offering recommendations or chatting with our group which is totally fine but did not deserve a full 5 stars. Vibes: 4.8/5 - it was a small space with tables close together creating a nice dining environment. Kind of reminded me of NYC italian dining. Not too loud but not too quiet either. A great date place or place to take guests out. Other: apple and google maps will take you there a weird way.. just know that the back of this restaurant faces kenilworth and the front faces inside to the parking lot. You can access the parking lot from kenilworth or east blvd. Sufficient parking but i can see it getting crowded on weekend nights. read more

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this place didn't impress me much... the service was standard, the vibes were good but the restaurant was a bit of a tight space. now to the food - i got the spaghetti and meatballs, the homemade pasta was so tasty + the freshly grated cheese BUT the sauce & meatballs were not very good... kinda bland. my boyfriend got the penne alla vodka and loved it, so maybe it's just what I got? Either way don't think I'll be back ‍ read more

Dolce Osteria - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Food was great, so was service. Will be returning asap, sat outside and the outdoor area was great as well

Party of 7 on a Sunday night. All first-timers, but not last-timers! Service was impeccable, food was fresh & fantastic, and we all loved the ambiance ("lovely", "cozy", "old school", and "homey" were some of the descriptors used to describe the vibe/feel of the restaurant). We started with drinks. The house Pinot Noir was lovely, several in my party enjoyed their Italian beer, and the coffee-lover in the group raved about the coffee. We all shared a couple of appetizers (Burrata and Stuffed Mushrooms) and then we each had different entrees - Chicken Parm, Chicken Marsala, Penne Alla Vodka, NC Trout, Vongole Veraci, Buttara, and Linguine Alla Genovese. Everyone was 100% pleased with their selections. Most of us ordered the fresh pasta and were completely blown away with it's amazing deliciousness! Desserts included Tiramisu, Limoncello cake, and Cannoli...again, loved by all. ....and, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Chef Rita...she's a ray of sunshine with the personality of everyone's favorite Zia... and the adoration the staff has for her was readily apparent. She's not only an amazingly talented Chef, but she's also one of the nicest people you will meet. Authentic Italian cuisine, stellar service, and a feeling of being in Zia's kitchen all equate to us already planning our next visit. read more

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I'd never eaten at Dolce before. They used to be just Dolce and have since added "Osteria"...not sure why. I placed a pick up order through the restaurant tonight (Mon, 5/13) for the chicken cutlet dinner. You can see from the photo I posted what it looked like when I got it. NOTHING like the picture on the website. Just a slab of dry chicken cutlet, no garnish, butter sauce on the side - which I'm not sure why it was packaged this way because I did not ask for anything "on the side". And the chicken was so tough I was unable to eat it. I drove 7 miles/20 minutes through heavy Charlotte rush hour traffic - I was so disappointed to find that once I got the meal home, I found the chicken too tough to eat. I even tried different sections of the chicken cutlet, thinking maybe I'd just gotten a particularly tough section. None of it was edible. I called the restaurant and asked to speak with a manager. The woman who answered the phone, I believe her name was Marguerite...? Not sure - I know she had a spanish accent and I believe that was the name. She said she wasn't the manager but she was "the one in charge". She also proceeded to tell me that I would need to bring the meal back TONIGHT in order to get a refund. Here are some other things that she said during my call: "We can't refund a meal unless it's brought back", "We can only refund your money if you bring it back tonight", "You won't be able to speak to the owner/manager because she is Italian and does not speak English" (I'm sorry but this place has been around for 8+ years...I'm not sure I believe the owner doesn't speak enough English to at least chat with me), "We have never gotten any complaints about our food before", and when I challenged her on this she edited her comment to "We have never gotten complaints about this dish". Everything she said to me sounded like a lie. In complete disbelief that this woman was refusing to refund my money based on what I was describing to her, I asked again, politely, if she would just refund the $28 - especially since it was going to be impossible for me to get back in the car and get back there this evening - and she refused - again, insisting that I would need to drive the 20 minutes back to the restaurant tonight in order for her to "decide" whether or not she would refund my meal. I asked if I could come back tomorrow - and she said no, because they were closed on Tuesday - and she said by Wednesday would be too late to get a refund. It was bring the meal back tonight, or nothing. What a scam. I feel utterly shocked and ripped off. In all my years of dining out and getting take out, I can honestly say I have NEVER received this kind of horrific treatment. The fact that this place is still operating with "management" and food like this is beyond belief. I fully expect to hear that this place is closed within the next 6 months. I genuinely hope that the owner does the right thing and reaches out to me - and I hope that the woman that I spoke to on the phone is held accountable. Most restaurants train their personnel on how to handle complaints - and I will say that most places do it very, very well. It would NEVER suit a restaurant to treat a customer in this way - because especially in this climate of super inflated prices - people expect to at least get good food and great service for the high prices they're paying. AND dissatisfied customers can just do what I'm doing now - go online and leave a very bad review. What restaurant would ever want to risk that for $28? read more

Dolce Osteria - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

I really love this place, the food is authentic and occasionally his family comes over from Italy and they cook dishes as specials. Wine list is decent and the owner is a friendly guy. Since the make over about a year ago or so, the ambiance is very nice and relaxing and would be considered romantic. The Italian feel of this place is undeniable. Go and Enjoy read more

The food was delicious! They were overbooked for Restaurant Week but not to their fault. Open Table had overbooked them (according to the owner), but they made due with the space they had. Service was good and the owner even checked in to make sure we were doing good. Get the tiramisu if you want a good espresso kick at the end of dinner! Everything was delicious. read more

Dolce Osteria - Cinghiale | IG: asianadventuretime - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

There are so many good things to say about this spot. From the moment you walk in, it feels as if an Italian family is welcoming you in to their home. It has an authentic, genuine feel. The restaurant surprised us with TWO complimentary appetizers on top of the house bread, which is served with a unique bean salad. The food was all outstanding, and our server was knowledgeable, professional and welcoming. We'll be back for sure. read more

Truly some of the best Italian food I have ever had. Being from Philadelphia, I am extremely picky when it comes to good, authentic Italian food. If you are looking for that in Charlotte, THIS IS YOUR PLACE!! The staff was wonderful and the ambiance made me feel like I was back in the Northeast. I got the special Lobster Linguine in Rosa sauce and it was unreal. I cannot wait to come back here! read more

Authentic Italian restaurant. White table cloths and great service. Reasonable prices for the food. Delicious bread and bean dip appetizer. Our entrees were delicious! read more

Dolce Osteria - Penne alla Vodka with chicken - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Cute restaurant in Charlotte. Small, comfortable, great service and the Vongole is very good. Nice wine selection. Highly recommended.

For me, Dolce was a mixed bag. On the plus side, the food is REALLY goddamn good and quite authentic. I was in Italy a month ago and the food here was as good. Let me break it down for you... Burrata and prosciutto starter ($12.50) - order this. The burrata is creamy wonderful deliciousness and the prosciutto paired perfectly. Spread it all on authentic Tuscan bread (served with a small ramekin of bean salad). You could make a light dinner of this plate if you wanted to. My carbonara ($17.95) was damn good too - creamy and full of pecorino tastiness. My BIL loved his amitriciana bucatini pasta as well. I also liked that the space was fresh and clean - it appears to be newly remodeled. There's a big covered patio too - smoking is allowed out there which can be a plus or minus depending on your proclivities. Now....on to the downsides. When we visited, they were pretty dead but our service was inattentive. You could argue, probably correctly, that this is truly Italian service where they don't bother you. So plan to spend some time. Finally - they had a food prep station at the first table inside the door. That sat, unused, with a big bowl of ravioli filling and fresh pasta sheets....for at least 2 hours, unrefrigerated and uncovered. Literally in the dining room where any random could touch or cough on it. Not okay. Especially considering during that time 1/2 the kitchen staff was sitting in the patio smoking like chimneys. Like guys, just don't let me see all this ok? This place is authentic on many levels - you decide if it's right for you. I'd go back because the food really was awesome but I'd say hell no to the ravioli! read more

Dolce Osteria - Carbonara pasta - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Really was craving some pasta on my lunch break - read some reviews and picked this place. I'm disappointed, the reviewers said this pasta was so good. It was just what I wanted too, a shrimp pasta! But this let me down. When I called the man on the phone told me a lunch portion was not available for this dish, only dinner. Cool, no problem, I love pasta... but was given a small portion for $20 this was less food than the lunch portion at Firebird's. read more

Dolce Osteria - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Draw a line through reviews from 2016 and back. They don't matter anymore. Why? The new owners are crushing it. From the new decor to the warm welcome we felt right at home (well, if I lived in Rome). We began with a complimentary cannolloni bean and bread plate. Soft and expertly seasoned, the beans enhanced the rustic bread with its crunchy crust. Wonderful start. The Funghi appetizer we selected are button mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cream cheese served in a cognac cream sauce. The combination of el dente mushrooms, the slight ooze of the cream cheese, and the richness of the sauce coalesced into a memorable first course. Lori ordered the ravioli stuffed with seafood. Cooked perfectly it was the star entrée of the evening for our party. My plate of pappardelle with a wild boar ragu held its own, but after tasting the ravioli I regretted my decision. Nothing was amiss . . . but, that ravioli. Mmm. I guess you'll have to try it for yourself. We received excellent service but we had to request a waitress after being seated for some time. Once we ordered, and because it was restaurant week with the kitchen focused on an abbreviated menu, we felt the plates came out too fast. Somewhere in between these extremes lurks their fifth star. I'll return to help them find it, too. In the meantime, a hearty "Give 'em a whirl" from me. read more

Dolce Osteria - Funghi appetizer - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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My sister and I loved this place. It was a perfect evening spent during Charlotte restaurant week. The gnocchi was our favorite of the two dishes we got but we finished both plates and licked the plate (just kidding). I definitely have plans to return and try more of their homemade fresh daily pastas. We sat inside, but there is a covered patio available. They have lots of wine options but a limited bar if you're feeling a mixed drink. The desserts were so delicious. Both the tiramisu and the limoncello cake, but possibly only available on their restaurant week menu. read more

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The Sorrento pasta is my favorite. The restaurant also has good wine selections and great service. read more

Dolce Osteria - Sorrento Pasta... soo good! - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

We had a great meal tonight. The food was delicious. The salmon and mussel dishes were excellent. The service was subpar. Our waitress did not look happy at all. If you go, order wine, as the service at the other tables looked exceptional. read more