Cannoli Joe's

My boyfriend and I went to Cannoli Joe's for the first time tonight. Being a weekday evening, it was rather calm and quiet, which is what we prefer. The service here was great. Within seconds of being seated by the hostess, our waiter greeted our table and took our drink orders. Pros: Wide variety, Great service, Lots of parking Cons: A few so-so dishes, but most were well-liked more

The service was bad, the food was overpriced, and the quality of the food was sub par. The food was uninspired, bland, and tasted like it was made with mediocre ingredients and then sat out for far too long under heat lamps- which it probably had. Things were soggy that should have been crispy, dried out when they shouldn't have been, overcooked, and generally just unappealing. If you're the kind of person who thinks a quality restaurant means eating until you're sick, then this place is for you. If you have any interest in the taste or quality of the food going into your mouth, go to almost any other restaurant in town and you're going to have a better experience (including most of the other big chains, sadly). Pros: eat as much as you want! Cons: you won't want to eat very much of it more

This is truly one of the best deals in town! Forget endless salad and breadsticks! How about endless grilled steak marsala and homemade gnocchi! And the food tastes much better than I expected for a buffet style concept. The chefs prepare everything in small batches so everything I tried was fresh and yummy. We went later in the evening so the place was less crowded (I heard that it can get packed right at dinner time). My wife had a frozen bellini swirl which I tried and it was excellent. I opted for wine and had an Italian primitivo which was very good. There were many good Italian choices in the wine list. Pros: Tasty food, good value. more

I was surprised to read the last review regarding Cannoli Joes...I absolutely love the place. Ive been three times, (last Sunday with a very good friend) and have been blown away by the food and the atmosphere. The place is amazing..with several different theme rooms. I think I'm kind of an expert on this kind of food..because I spent hours cooking with my Italian Grandmother and have been to Italy several times. The salads are light and fresh. They appear to be prepared often and were fresh seasoned well. The grilled peppers and vegetables were juicy . I really liked the beef with portobello mushrooms and meatballs are made just the way they're prepared in Italy. My favorite pasta is the chicken marsala...I was so full I didn't have room to try others! (I guess they make the food in small quantities, and that's why it tastes fresh and just prepared.) more

It started off with a great welcome ,good ambience, very tuscany feel. Actually a great concept. Unfortunately the food didn't live up to the standards. It was the worst italian food i ever tasted. Lets start with salads: nothing really looked fresh and they were suprisingly greasy. The soup tasted like a canned tomato sauce. The next thing PIZZA was the worst of all. None of the grilled foods were juicy . Everything was dry and meat was tough. Pros: Great ambience Cons: worst food more

I had been waiting to try out this restaurant since it opened, once I had the oppurtunity however, I wished that I hadn't. The atmosphere was great and the wait staff was very friendly, but the prices and food quality were a different story. I would have been happy to pay the Sunday dinner price (16.99 or 17.99 per person) had the food been satisfactory, but everything tasted old and flavorless. The dessert table looked amazing when we entered but none of the desserts they offered were actually edible. The pastries were hard and bland. The pizza was tasty, but for 30 some odd dollars we could have bought three pizzas. Overall I felt sorry about spending the money on a less than mediocre meal. Pros: Nice atmosphere and wait staff. Cons: Food and price. more

This place has it all -- lots of different foods that appeal to adults and kids. My kids love it especially the Sicilian carrots and the chocolate fountain! I like the salad bar, polenta and pasta dishes. Hubby loves the grilled vegetables. My kids and their friends at school all rave about this restaurant. They've done a tremendous job with the decor, and they have an accordion player on Sundays. Pros: Good Italian Buffet Cons: Not Italian Continental, just basic Italian more

Just came back an hour ago and this is the first restaurant in Austin that amazes your eyes with the wonderful decor. Don't get me wrong, the food is top notch and very high end. But the scenery is like nothing I have ever seen before. It was pretty cool that my kids got to eat free, but man I am coming back to take my wife out on a date. They have this romantic, nook of a room called the Wine Cellar that I plan to sit at next. Great to see more classy restaurants like this coming to town. Pros: Price, food, decor, ambience Cons: I wish they had a second location in Bastrop more

The Chicken Marsala was very delicious! The pasta was a unique construction and really held the sauce. more

I had reservatiions about going to an all-you-can-eat Italian restaurant, but I have to say I was very surprised by the quality of the food, ambience, and service. They have a great assortment of freshly made salads and many good pasta dishes. They have a grilled steak dish with a tasty marsala sauce. The dessert selection was also better than any buffet I have seen other than in Vegas or on a cruise ship. All of this for $12.99? I don't know how these are making money, but i do know that I am not going to Olive Garden anymore. Pros: Tasty food, great value. more

Upon arrival expectations were high. Crowd was low and very few little kids there. I started at the beginning of the line and got a little bit of everything. Most of the food was semi-cold. The cheese sticks were spongy. The entire food selection was lacking flavor and salt. The Chicken Parmesan was exactly as you get at Sams Food Club. The salad bar was lame. The only salad available was Caesar?s. No option of making your own. No choice of dressing. Their bread selection was horrible. Every piece was rock hard. Last but not least the dessert bar was lacking SUGAR. I swear they left out ingredients and seasoning out of everything. The cannoli's looked so good with little chocolate chips pieces. Now I know they are suppose to have Ricotta cheese tradtionally, but on a dessert bar they should have SUGAR, at least filled with pudding. I also tried some Pistachio ice cream, which had some type of green jelly bits in it..gross. How do you mess up ice cream? Most everything was like being at a Casino Buffet. Cheap food, high prices, bad taste. Pros: Nice Scenery Cons: FOOD, PRICE, TASTE more

I went to eat lunch a little bit after 12 noon on July 4, 2007. A friend of mine had recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try. I'm familiar with the location, as there used to be a Wolfe's Nursery on the same spot. Anyway, as you enter the place, you can tell that the owners put a lot of effort and $$ into creating a lovely building and thus a very nice ambiance. You are asked your zip code (so they can tell where their customers come from) inside. There is a very short wait as the host person takes you to where your table awaits. The front desk has a cool graphic of the restaurant's tables to indicate which tables are occupied. The host will ask you if you've been there before. This was my first time, so the host explained the different areas as we go to my table. I got a cool room in the back. It had all sorts of photos and artwork from earlier times. There are candelabras in the room and a faux fireplace. The waiter took my drink order (raspberry tea) and I went to get my plate to start eating. So you know, the plates are somewhat small (I guess to prevent overeating?) I had two slices of pepperoni pizza, a portion of Eggplant Parmesan, two delicious meatballs with a serving of spaghetti, garlic mashed potatoes, a couple of breadsticks and a small cannoli. To top that off, I had a serving of chocolate ice cream. Aside from the food and great service, I was enthralled listening to the piped-in music: Dean Martin, Italian themed music, instrumentals, etc. I love that type of music. Too bad I don't understand Italian , so I could better enjoy some of the music. There is plenty of parking and the landscaping around the place is well-maintained. The prices are reasonable for the variety of food that is available to customers. The waiter, Isaac, demonstrated great customer service and asked me every once in a while if I needed anything. Overall, a fantastic experience. Highly recommended. Two big thumbs up! Pros: variety, ambiance, music Cons: Some of the dishes could come with a translation /description of item more

This place is a buffet style italian joint - slightly up-scale. Small plates keep the kiddos from grabbing too much. You'd think with those two comments, this place would stink, but actually - its pretty good. The chief cook, or whoever cam up with the recipes, has a clue. Not the best italian you'll ever eat by any means, but a great deal for the price. A good place for kids, and if you dont want to be around kids - dont come. During lunch, during the week however, not a bad place to do business lunch. Dont come here for the power meeting though. Its a cool idea - and more power to the owners who though it up. Pros: good food. quick. cheap. Cons: loud (with the kids). ambience is a bit lacking. more

Was looking for an early and quick meal tonight but didn't know what I really wanted. I'd been to Canoli Joe's for lunch with some friends a month ago and thought I'd go back. Arrived at 6:30pm and had no problem getting seated immediately with the restaurant about 2/3 full. Started with 2 different salads, the Caesar (well dressed, not too dry) and the Greek (marinated tomatoes, calamata olives, cucumber, chunks of feta cheese, etc etc) and a piece of their white sauce pizza. Also tasted some of the marsala steak. more

I had low expectations going in. I generally do not like all-you-can eat places. However, the food quality was outstanding for this type of restaurant. Good variety of foods, all made in small batches so they are fresh and hot. Pros: Quality of food Cons: Service could improve as this is a new restaurant more

I didn't have high expectations coming in, but I have to say that everything that I tasted was excellent. There are so many selections, it will take multiple visits for me to try everything, but I will definitely be going back. Some unique selctions on the pizza, I had one with feta cheese and mushrooms. The salads and antipastos were also excellent. Make sure to save room for dessert, the chocolate dipped coconut macaroons were awesome. All of this for only $12.99, this is definitely one of the best deals in Austin. Pros: Amazing variety, excellent flavors Cons: my stomach not big enough more