Carino Riserva

Reviews

• C T.

  star star star star star 24 July 2026

  Stumbled upon Carino Riserva during the Lilac Festival today.  Decided to escape the heat to have lunch at Carino.  They had a special Lilac Festival Menu.  We ordered the following:
  
  - Tuna Tartare Sushi Tacos - taco is a piece of nori, tucked with sushi rice and tuna tartare and microgreens for garnish.  So good!
  - Gyoza - delish!
  - Karaage - fried chicken bites of fantastic!
  - Tonkatsu Ramen - delicious broth, tender pork slices
  - Tokyo Classico Ramen - a clear broth, tender pork slices.  Delicious as well!!
  
  Will have to come back for the regular menu.

• Thi N.

  star star star star star_border 21 July 2026

  This was my first time experiencing Japanese Italian fusion cuisine. The chef exceeded my expectations with an amazing blend of flavours that meld so well together. It's rare that I order daily specials when first trying a new restaurant out, but I was immediately sold on the entrees when the server described the dishes to us. The food was served fairly quickly which was great.
  
  I did however order one appetizer that was alright, nothing special though:
  - Spicy tuna tartare -  albacore tuna and avocado served with tortilla chips, nothing special stood out on this dish maybe because the tuna mix itself seemed very one note to me in that it wasn't chunky more mashed up so you definitely have to eat it with the chips to enjoy different textures. I would try something different next time. 7/10
  
  Now onto the entrees:
  - Spaghetti aglio e olio with lobster chunks, baby scallops and shrimp. This dish was mixed with tobiko which added a nice mild smoky salty aftertaste with every bite and adding a little crunch/pop. 8.5/10
  
  - Gyozagna was a fusion of gyozagna and lasagna. This was my favourite dish. I believe the gyoza was wrapped in pasta dough versus the thin wonton wrappers because it was thicker and more firm to the bite. Each gyoza had a lot of filling and the lasagna component was meaty and cheesy. 10/10
  
  Overall, I enjoyed the dining experience in this nice intimate classy restaurant. I would definitely come back again to try something else on the menu!

• Elizabeth K.

  star star star star star 17 July 2026

  Interesting and delicious looking menu - gave me a hard time choosing but I ended up getting the scallops and risotto. Accompanied by good sake, great company and excellent service, we all enjoyed our meal.
  
  The scallops were perfectly seared and cooked. Fantastic texture. The risotto was buttery, delicious, and abundant! Took half of it to go as it was quite rich. I will definitely be back to try some other dishes!

• John T.

  star star star star star 8 July 2026

  I work across from this magical place, for a year I kept on saying, "I will visit you one day" while pawing at my office window, kinda like a scene out of a typical romantic comedy. Then the stars aligned, me and girlfriend were looking for a place to dine before meeting some friends at Vin Room and I (smart, always hungry, with 35 years of eating under his belt) said, "why don't we check out Carino?" She agreed and we were ready to grub.
  We were greeted with a warm, quaint interior, with smells of delicious food billowing from the exposed kitchen. All the food was amazing, it was like biting into excellence... delicious excellence. I can't wait to go back and try out the rest of the menu.

• Kathy L.

  star star star star star 3 July 2026

  Carino Riserva is a very quaint restaurant. I absolutely love the atmosphere as it really reminds me of Japan.  As soon as you walked in, all the staff greets you hello in Japanese.  When you leave you can definitely expect the same.  It's an open concept kitchen where you can see the chef preparing your meal.
  My grandma has a very strict low salt diet and the chef was very kind and had helped adjust our meals to accommodate her.
  I had the spicy duck, namba, with gnocchi as this dish combines everything I love: duck confit, gnocchi and soup! The truffle oil dashi soup was worldly even though it was quite salty. With that said, I do have a track record of finding Japanese noodle soup fairly salty so you can be the judge.  The soup also comes with a little dollop of Yuzu Kosho, a citrus and peppery paste that adds a pleasant kick to the broth.  Despite all the saltiness, Carino's bowl was highly memorable and I will continue to order and recommend it.
  I also suggest ordering a few different dishes to share as their other menu item were delicious!  I will continue to be a fan of Carino. Happy eating!