In Cockeysville, good Italian food is often found in the most unlikely places. Tucked into nondescript shopping centers here and there, locally owned Italian restaurants offer some of the best meals in the zip code.
Carlo's Italian Bistro is one of those spots. Located in a building just in front of the Church Lane Shopping Center on York Road, Carlo's is a family-owned BYOB restaurant that turns out likable and familiar takes on classic Italian fare.
Scene & Decor In a previous life, the building that houses Carlo's was The Treehouse Bar and Grille. Before Carlo's opened in 2012, the space underwent a major renovation, including the removal of a large central bar. In place of The Treehouse's green walls and blond wood, Carlo's is all dark wood and pale stone, with large, Italy-themed art on the walls.
On a Thursday night around 6:30, most of the restaurant was filled and a private event occupied the lofted second floor. The crowd was a mix of families and couples, including a birthday celebration or two.
Appetizers We started with a plate of fried calamari ($9.95), cut in thick rings and served with marinara sauce.
Though the calamari itself was a little chewy, we liked the crispy coating; it was well-seasoned with a peppery kick.
The calamari was delivered at the same time as salads, which are included with Carlo's entrees. The salads were a standard mix of lettuce, cucumbers, red onion and tomatoes but we were impressed by the bite of the house vinaigrette.
Entrees The menu at Carlo's holds few surprises; it's stacked with dishes that everyone, from toddlers to grandmothers, will expect and appreciate.
The dishes themselves were traditionally constructed and appealing. Mushroom-studded Marsala sauce, which we had with veal ($22.95), was balanced and lovely.
The mushrooms gave the dish a hearty backbone and the sauce itself was well-seasoned with a slight undercurrent of sweetness. The veal, pounded thin, provided a nice but unremarkable base for the sauce, and we liked that it was served with a side of rigatoni, with ridges that captured the sauce's flavor
On the menu, the fradiavola sauce was advertised as spicy and the kitchen was not joking about that. An order of shrimp fradiavola ($19.95) packed a major punch — and we liked it.
Under the heat, the sauce was bright, savory and chunky. We loved the extra layer of spice but appreciated that it didn't completely overwhelm the rest of the flavors.
Our only complaint about the dish was the portion size. Though there was plenty of linguine and sauce, the plate included only five shrimp. They were fairly large and cooked nicely but overall, the dish felt skimpy.
Drinks Carlo's is BYOB with a $4 corkage fee; during our visit, every table appeared to take advantage of the offer. Our waiter was quick with glasses and an opener, uncorking our wine before we even had a chance to glance at the menu.
Service Though he handled the wine with impressive speed, a few minutes later, our waiter was slammed. Several tables filled at once and he was handling most of them on his own, with some help from a trainee who seemed to be on her first day on the job.
As a result, our table fell through the cracks for a bit. Between placing our orders and receiving our appetizer and salads, we sat while other tables received their food.
When our food did arrive, though, it came with an apology for the delay, and the rest of our meal was appropriately timed. Our waiter had support from an excellent team of busboys, too, which helped move the food from the kitchen and keep water glasses full and plates cleared.
Dessert After overhearing our waiter recommend it to another table, we ordered a slice of limoncello cake ($5.50). Sweet and pretty, it was very tasty.
By the time we left, the private event was winding down but the restaurant itself was packed. Our waiter seemed to have found his footing but he was still very busy, handling a huge number of tables.
We sympathized with him; he was working hard. But given the likable food, the crowd was really no surprise.