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.

The set-up of the buffet is very unique and unlike most buffet restaurants. Each section has a clear theme and a wide variety of specialty foods. All dishes are prepared in small batches and are labeled above the selection. You can actually watch the chefs prepare the dishes behind the buffet line. For the price ($12.99 weekday dinner) we got a fantastic value. The food is incredibly flavorful, and they definitely don't skimp on quality ingredients. My boyfriend and I tried to take a sample of every dish available, but by the time we got 3/4 way through, we were completely stuffed. Some dishes were so-so and others were definite winners. Their pastas were a highlight for both me and my boyfriend. Desserts featured were bread pudding, apple crumble, chocolate covered strawberries, and other petite sweets. The dessert section also has a great selection of ice creams that are personally scooped by someone behind the counter.

All in all, our experience at Cannoli Joe's leaves us wanting to come back for more. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive, the ambiance was enjoyable, and the food left us with a great impression. 100% recommend this restaurant.

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).

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.

I recommend the braised beef dish with mushrooms. I also had a grilled salmon dish over orzo that was as good or better than what I have had at some of Austin's most expensive trattorias. The white pizza was very tasty and the spicy broccoli was a nice side dish.

We tried several of the desserts and I liked the fact that they had several different flavored cannolis. The coconut macaroons were awesome. This is a truly unique concept. I will be taking my in-laws from NY here next time they come in town.

BTW, our server's name was Andy, and he was excellent. Very helpful and congenial. Better service than I have received in some "fine dining" establishments. To top it all off we had cappucinos and they serve real Italian coffee! in South Austin no less!! Who woulda thunk it?

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.)
I loved the cannolis with the chips in them...not to sugary... the real thing. We had a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio for a great price..good little wine selection! (My friend got a plate of food to go for her boyfriend..he loved it..and this guy has eaten in the best restaurants around the globe!!!)
It was two hours of really good food and lots to look at. I'm bringing a group of 12 this Sunday night .

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.
The pastas were horrible. No salt no flavor. The alfredo was the worst of all. Moving onto desserts Tiramusu was no where like Tiramusu . Canolies the star of the restaurant didn't taste good at all. Unfortunately nothing was likeable except for things like bread sticks and maybe salmon. All in all it was a great dissapointment. Above all 15.99 for that kind of stuff is way to high . Frankly he can change if he changes his chefs. I am sorry i am sounding really hard but you need honest opinion to eat good food. But if you are the kind of person who will enjoy heated frozen food this is the place for you.