Dolce Osteria

Arguably one of the best authentic Italian restaurants in Charlotte. Their Gnocchi is great , had the lobster one during restaurant week menu many years ago , it had a slight edge over their more simpler regular menu gnocchi which is good as well but more of a comfort food vs the more flavorful lobster one , I've also had the Prosciutto and burrata and the stuffed mushrooms which were great, the veal was good and the chicken cutlet was a little better , the Tiramisu was a great finish as well. Highly recommended place to try.

This is how your plate is going to look like after you visit this place. I literally discovered this place today with my wife after googling up a good spot to get carbonara pasta near me... What a Gem in charlotte! Owners are a beautiful Italian couple that run this business with purpose and put their kindness and soul in their food and the experience you can tell... flavors and environment are beyond expectations. Please give yourself a favor and go try this place! I own restaurants so I appreciate reviews a lot, this one could not miss out since it is absolutely well deserved!

Not a big fan of pasta, but this pasta was amazing. Had the Scogliera and the Linguine Alla Genovese. Scolglier exceeded my expectations as its not overly acidic but just perfect and the linguine was creamy with the shrimps. Would recommend.

Always a great meal here. Small and not very decorative inside, but who cares. The simple dishes and food makes up for it. The meals are always well prepared, hot and reasonable in price.

Very cute Italian restaurant with tons of charm, classic Italian music playing and the food! Hands down the best lasagna we've ever devoured. The calamari was sauted and not breaded, which was very light and refreshing. It's a must visit for anyone looking for a rewarding culinary experience.

Went here for restaurant week and the food and wine was delicious! They only had the queens feast menu (limited) but the options were excellent. The tricolor salad had a delicious lemon vinaigrette, and the lobster bisque went well with the bread. I would definitely recommend the trout entree! It’s a generous portion and very flavorful. Both the lemon cake and tiramisu were sweet and tasty

The best Italian food in Charlotte. Legitimately. It always irritates me when I see lists of the best Italian restaurants in the area and this restaurant is left off and super mediocre restaurants make the list. In part, I think this is a hidden gem and the masses don't know about it---which to be honest, I don't hate. There is another part of me that wants everyone to experience how great this place is. I have been coming for years, and am never disappointed. I sincerely think this is in the same vein of restaurants I would go to when I lived in Italy. AUTHENTIC. This restaurants just feels good to the soul.

There are many Italian Restaurants in Charlotte, but Dolce Osteria has to be one of the best for authentic Italian cuisine. It is small with plenty of ambiance and a great menu for lunch and dinner. A perfect place place for that special meal event. You will not be disappointed!

I happened upon this place waiting for a dental apt. I showed up too early. I remember going to Italy over 35 years ago, (teenager) Rome, to be specific. The food there was nothing short of miraculous. Not just the taste and the freshness, but how my stomach felt after eating it. I always had a very sensitive tummy. And Italian food in general gave me heartburn and was very heavy. I cannot eat much of it. BUT when I was in Italy, I was able to FEAST!! No heartburn, no discomfort, nothing. Pasta and wine, meats and cheeses, things I couldn't pronounce and to this day I cannot remember. But what I will never forget was the flavor and... how happy my tummy was. I was able to EAT without discomfort. And my body absorbed the food and nutrients like the desert absorbing rain. Fast forward to today. I was 17 again. Me and my tummy had the best lunch, Vodka Pene with shrimp paired with a Moscato. Just like I did all those years back in Italy. To the kind gentleman who sat me down, table of 1, for an easy lunch: thank you for taking me back to Rome when I was 17. This nostalgic old lady and her tummy thanks you!!! Folks: this is the real deal.

Very, very friendly folks here. Got to rate some of the dishes separately as they were varied Stuffed mushroom app. 5 out 5 Caesar 3. I will skip next time Martini. 5 of 5 well done Buttera. Go fresh pasta. So good. 5 Shrimp with pesto. 4.5 Lemoncello cake. 3.5. Ok. Definitely will be on the rotation moving forward

Met a friend here for lunch. The restaurant was empty except us. There was one other person out on the patio. I ordered the Pollo salad. I was very tiny, contained quite a bit of rotten lettuce, had some breaded chicken on top that was unimpressive. I didn't even finish half of it and the waiter didn't ask us how our food was even once. Not even when he carried off my tiny, barely eaten salad. I arrived home an hour later with some uncomfortable gurgling in the belly. Sadly, this was the first and will be the last time I visit Dolce Osteria. There are too many other amazing restaurants in Charlotte.

Dolce Osteria was so good! I was very pleasantly surprised. All of the food was delicious and reasonably priced, and the service was amazing. The owner came to our table and made sure we were having a great experience. Also the inside was cute and cozy! Will be back

I have been to Dolce multiple times and every time their food and staff exceed my expectations. Their homemade pasta is absolutely amazing. We have not ordered one thing that we did not like. I come from an Italian family, and usually am not impressed by Italian restaurants. Dolce is the exception. Their staff are attentive and so so nice. Our favorite place!!!

Went last night for restaurant week and I'm already excited to plan another date night there! Prosciutto & Burrata - creamy mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma, baby arugula with balsamic dressing and homemade apricot jam - the jam was so good I could eat it by itself but everything together was perfection Trout topped with crab - this isn't on any menu but it was absolutely delicious! The fish with the cream sauce and without the cream sauce was so flavorful and fresh! I was stuffed but just kept eating It came with sautéed veggies and risotto both of which were perfectly cooked as well. I cleaned my plate! Limoncello Cake - lemon cake with limoncello liqueur, topped with sweet limoncello glaze - soft and most with a hint of lemon so good Everything was done right! Absolutely yummy!

We're here visiting from California and wanted to try an Italian restaurant and found this on yelp so we decided to give it a try based on what we saw on the menu. The carpaccio could've used more flavor. The mussels in white wine and garlic sauce was my favorite! So flavorful and delicious. The pastas were okay. My husband got the Sorrento and it wasn't bad it lacked a little flavor but my seafood pasta was a little too salty but the extra $4 for the fresh pasta was good. The bottle of moscato we got was really good and my affogato was good as well

Penne Alla Vodka (5/5): Very rich and creamy. The pasta was cooked very well, and I really enjoyed this dish.  Scogliera (4/5): The sauce was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the actual pasta (the texture was a little off). Plenty of mussels, calamari, and clams in the dish which was nice. Bread (4/5): The bread was pretty standard (although a bit too crunchy for me), but what really stood out were the beans that came with it. This was my first time having cold beans with bread, but I liked how refreshing it was (and it had a nice hint of spiciness too). Torta Di Cioccolato (4/5): Pretty much what you'd expect from a chocolate mousse tart.  Polpettine (3/5): Nothing special about these meatballs.  RATING SYSTEM 5 - Great (Need to get this again) 4 - Good (Would get this again) 3 - Ok (Might give this another shot) 2 - Not Good (Won't get this again) 1 - Bad (Telling people to avoid this)

Outstanding food and service. We had the spaghetti with meatballs, chicken parm and bruschetta. We ate on the patio with our pup and were very comfortable. Staff was very friendly and kind to her which we appreciated. We will be back!

We decided to dine at Dolce Osteria during Queen's Feast restaurant week and had a great time! We started with stuffed mushrooms, and prosciutto and burrata. Burrata cheese in America is just so underwhelming. Meats and cheeses over here lack the flavor and intensity we fell in love with in Italy. We moved on to the main course and ordered the lobster gnocchi and pappardelle with wild boar ragu. Both were delicious. The lobster gnocchi was very rich and buttery. My favorite part of the whole meal was dessert! That mascarpone cheesecake was heavenly and don't even get me started on the homemade tiramisu! There were 2 mix ups to mention. They delivered two pappardelle dishes to our table instead of the lobster gnocchi. So my food sat in front of me while we waited for them to go get the lobster gnocchi that my husband ordered. Another thing - Two $50 Queen's Feast meals with a $40 bottle of wine adds up and when we checked our bill, the grand total was only $43. We brought it to our waiter's attention and he adjusted it to the full amount. Not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to be comped for the two inconveniences. The interior is super cute and reminded me so much of a family restaurant in Italy. The tables are very close together so you can definitely hear conversations going on around you. They were super busy and the wait staff was running back and forth constantly. If you're looking for an intimate date night, maybe choose something with less hustle bustle. I highly recommend reservations. There are not many tables, and people were waiting in a long line out front on a Saturday night.

Headed into Dolce Osteria today because I was in the mood for some authentic Italian fare while in town. My husband and I believe it was a perfect choice. It wasn't too busy when we arrived around 5:30 p.m. We were seated immediately, and the table was nice and clean with cloth napkins and a cloth tablecloth. We were given bread with a little salad made with cannellini beans . I forgot the name of it, but it was darn delicious. Our server was Fernando, and goodness, he was so informative and polite. I enjoyed that he answered every question I had. We ordered our drinks and then waited to order once the drinks arrived. We ordered the Carpaccio as our starter. Once it came out, it was really good, and the freshness of the arugula was great. I enjoyed the steak that was paired nicely with the bread served. They take a little bit of time to make the food here because it is fresh and so worth it. It also gave us some needed alone time. Fun fact: the pasta noodles are made fresh here. My husband ordered a Caesar salad with chicken. He enjoyed it very much and finished it. I ordered the pasta special of the day. It was a pasta with calamari and shrimp , baby spinach, and a white wine sauce. It was tremendously delicious . It wasn't overly salty, and goodness, the taste of the sauce--mmm. We ordered dessert... I had a cappuccino accompanied by a tiramisu made in-house. Both paired deliciously. My husband had some vanilla gelato and enjoyed it very much. I will add that I truly enjoyed this little restaurant, and the pasta, GOODNESS, was so good, lol. Also, seeing how the employees worked seamlessly together was superb.

Never experienced service like this. Waiter neglected to clear the original wine glasses from the seating. My wife and I each had two glasses of wine and this was our table at the end of the night. F- service wouldn't begin to describe this. Also $4 for homemade pasta with the chicken Parmesan for a minimal serving was comical.

Food, service and atmosphere were great! One of the best Italian places in Charlotte

Made a reservation that morning and then had someone fall ill (fever, vomiting, all bad for the food service industry) and quickly realized we needed to cancel. Tried calling throughout the day, but one answered the phone until 4pm, about an hour before they opened. The young woman who did answer finally was extremely rude when I tried to explain that we needed to cancel due to illness, and stated the card on file would be charged for a missed reservation. I tried explaining that not dining when ill protects both the employees and other patrons and is the ethical thing to do. After some back and forth, I asked to please speak with a manager, she said "we aren't open there isn't one here!" and hung up. I tried calling back, she answered, said nothing, and hung up again. As a restaurant manager myself I was hoping to speak to someone professionally, hoping they would understand that we are trying not to put others at risk, but I'm left quite shocked by the behavior of this employee. I guess now all I can do is hope they will do the right thing when it comes to the cancellation fee, but at the very least I hope this review will be a training opportunity for management and staff. Very disappointing.

Enjoyed an amazing dinner at Dolce. First visit and will definitely be back. The scampi was outstanding. Great ambience and service. Fernando our waiter was delightful!

Delicious authentic Italian cuisine! I highly recommend. Homemade pastas are a must! Very creative menu and excellent Italian wine selection

A cute little restaurant tucked away in the Dilworth neighborhood of Charlotte, I was able to walk in this quant restaurant on Valentine's Day without a reservation and the staff was so kind and attentive! My only complaint is the waiter forget to tell me the special it wasn't until after I had my food that I overheard him sharing with another party... my food was amazing the pasta was perfect the sauce was amazing and even the topping that comes with the bread was delightful!!! Portions were great too you will not leave hungry! Cannot wait to go back and try some more of their authentic Italian dishes!

I fly to Charlotte once a month for work and treat my team to dinner. Luckily they picked Dolce Osteria. The homemade pasta is delicious, we all were stuffed but couldn't quit eating it. The service was friendly and fantastic as well. It's a warm, cozy environment and i highly recommend folks to try it! I also will go on to say that when I couldn't find a copy of my receipt I needed for my expense report they quickly found it and emailed it to me. Definitely will visit again in the future!

Traditional Italian family restaurant with a great menu, excellent preparation, great Italian wine list, and friendly service.

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?

Amazing food and service. We will definitely come back. I ordered blind and was amazed at the offering. Nice job!

Incredibly attentive and kind service! We were seated very quickly. The restaurant itself is surprisingly small, but very cozy! The boar ragu was wonderfully creamy and the desserts were just as charming.

Nice little place for casual dining. Great service and excellent food. I had the Chicken Marsala and it was outstanding!!! That's my favorite Italian dish and I've had it at many different places. This was probably the best I've ever had. Enough said!

Exceptional service and fun waiters and waitresses- they did a great job taking care of a party of 13. The homemade noodles and sauce was amazing.

Moved to Charlotte area from NYC, and have been on a quest for really good authentic Italian food, this place has it. As servers passed my table with dishes of food I wanted to order every one of them. We ended up having thee best meatballs (almost as good as mine), shrimp fra diavlo appetizer. I had a Veal saltimboca that was as close to perfection as humanly possible, my wife had some HOMEMADE pasta that melted in her mouth. Fantastic, friendly service, low key relaxed dining room. Perfect for a date night. Oh and Ole Blue Eyes was playing in the background.

Birthday celebration perfection! Loved the Italian authenticity and service. The food was delicious and service was great. 10/10!

Delicious Italian food tucked away in CLT. Cozy ambiance with a local hot spot type feel! Found close to a year ago and it's one of my regular go to's.

Loved this place! The atmosphere, the service, the friendly waiter's made the night even more amazing.

Favorite Italian in CLT area. Authentic Italian food and awesome service. Great vibes with a lively atmosphere. Originally from Long Island, NY with an Italian background and this restaurant has continuously impressed me. Will absolutely keep going back!