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Carmine's
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
200 W 44th St(between Shubert Aly & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10036
Neighborhoods: Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 221-3800
- Nearest Transit:
-
Times Sq - 42 St (S)
Times Sq - 42 St (7, 7X)
Times Sq - 42 St (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R)
- Hours:
Mon 11:30 am - 11 pm
Tue, Thu-Fri 11:30 am - 12 am
Wed, Sat 11 am - 12 am
Sun 11 am - 11 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
684 reviews for Carmine's
Review Highlights
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"Great service and delicious family-style Italian." In 208 reviews -
"The portions are huge and extremely tasty." In 67 reviews -
"The penne alla vodka is delicious." In 22 reviews
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682 reviews in English
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Review from Vicki S.
Manhattan, NY
5/22/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here after a Broadway show with my family. Everything was a little tooo salty, but this is a great place to bring non-Americans because it fulfills all the stereotypes of American portions and guarantees delighted photo taking for Facebook pages (never mind that this is family style..).
The portions *are* really really big though. When the waiter's arms are shaking as he brings you the special four-pasta sample, you KNOW that this is large, even by Carmine's standards.
The location is also great, right beside all major Broadway musicals. And we saw a telenovela celebrity! Fun times. :)
Carmine's: PARTAY! -
Review from Helen D.
5/24/2012
Everyone says it - but I didn't really internalize the message - the portions are HUGE! One serving of pasta could feed 4. One serving of Tiramisu could feed 8.
Don't go with just 2 people - this is a waste of $$ and food. If you go with upwards of 4, it is definitely a better return on investment.
That said - the food in general is not gourmet. It's hearty. The experience is probably what you go for (which makes it a definite tourist trap, especially right off of times square). It has the old world NYC feel.
Anyway - be forewarned that the portions are massive, and you shouldn't go if you number fewer than 4! -
Review from Xiorayma J.
Manhattan, NY
5/19/2012
OMG the food is sooo good here! K lemme start by saying everything here is in very very large family-sized portions so I recommend going here in a group.
For starters.. I had the Carmine salad, which had like cubes of cheese & like genoa salami, tomatoes, & a very tasty dressing that i cant remember the name of..
For the entree, I went w/ the lasagna. I probably should of stopped after 1 piece because its soo filling.. but i couldnt resist! It was too good..
The only bad thing was we had to wait 45 minutes before we were seated, but then again its in times square! (and if you can't keep yourself busy for 45 minutes in times square, there is something seriously wrong with u) -
Review from Michael L.
San Francisco, CA
Started my NY trip with a bang eating at Carmine's. I heard that this restaurant would be great for large groups. Big portions, large tables, good food. And Carmine's didn't disappoint on any level.
Starting with the service, since we had made reservations prior, we were seated right away. Drinks were ordered and brought to the table promptly followed by the food and servers would bus the table immediately when a dish was finished. They definitely got the service down when it comes to big groups.
Onto the best part is the food. No menus get handed out at Carmine's. Just look on the menu board on the wall and listen carefully when the waiter describes the specials. For eight people we ordered:
Salad: depending on how much salad each person wants. I'd say it serves between 5-7 people. Worth ordering to start the meal.
Calamari: we had a group of eight and it was plenty for all of us. Fried nicely and served with a marinara sauce.
Lasagna: this serves about 6 people but it also has a lot to do with how many entrees are ordered. The lasagna here was good, a nice layering of ingredients, they don't over do it on sauce or cheese.
48oz Filet Special: this was the star of the night. Meat and veg. Simply delicious. It was a huge chuck of tender, melt in your mouth beef in a nice wine sauce in a bed of cooked vegetables. Asparagus, tomatoes, a large amount of sautéed spinach and mushrooms, and potatoes. Awesome dish that easily fed the group of eight at our table.
If you have a large group and are in the Theater District/Times Square area. Carmine's is a great spot. -
Review from Pallavi B.
Brooklyn, NY
5/12/2012
I can't believe that I have not written the review for this place earlier.
This is my husband's fav Italian restaurant and now my fav too.
We love whatever we order there and I esp love the bartender Tony there. He even remembers me despite the fact that I have only been there twice with my husband.
The house salad and stuffed mushrooms are divine and so is the garlic bread.
We have not gone there in a long time now and will go there soon. -
Review from Kim J.
Brooklyn, NY
5/16/2012
Went for mother's day with my mum, husband, mother-in-law and sis-in-law. Tried to make reservations on-line and on the phone and was told no tables. Pleasantly surprised when we only had to wait around 30 mins. Wait staff was excellent. Ordered shrimp parmigiana, ravioli with cheese and chicken scaloppine with lemon & butter. EXCELLENT!!!!! We all enjoyed our food immensely. The bread for the table is really good as well as varied. Will be going back in the very near future.
P.S. The Moscato is very good!! -
Review from Nick C.
West Islip, NY
5/14/2012
I been too this location for about 15 years now.
The difference is from today to back then is..when it first opened up it didn't really serve to tourist cruising around the district. Also and your all going to think I'm crazy but its true..the portions back then where actually larger!! I swear!
The food will never disappoint you no matter what and I always walk out of their with a smile on my face. So if your in the area and you want Italian...No question this should be #1 on your mind. -
Review from Richard M.
Fairfax, VA
5/19/2012
Absolutely the best. Great atmosphere, great food, and reasonably priced. When you go, either be real hungry or go with friends because everything is served family style. The food and the quality is about as close as you will get to the real thing in Italy. Enjoy!
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Review from Tim O.
Chicago, IL
5/16/2012
Waitress was bad. Food and ambiance was great. Prices were excellent for the food and what we got. 9 people ate like kings for $650, with drinks and wine.
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Review from Amber R.
Brooklyn, NY
4/16/2012
I had to do a review before I forget of the epic time I had at this place.
I went with my cousins and a group of college students after seeing The Lion King. We had a special reservation for us, paid by some student program or something. Seating took maybe 5 minutes because of this, even though the place was packed. I heard the host telling another group (w/o a reservation) that there would be an almost 2 hour wait. So if you decide to come here on a weekend afternoon, definitely get a reservation or something. We were seated upstairs on the second floor at a long table. Since our meal was made up before we got there, there was no scrambling and deciding what to get.
We were first served bread baskets with olive oil, what I'm assuming was 'Carmine's Salad', and fried zucchini. All three were really good, we devoured the salad and zucchini especially. I definitely recommend both because the flavor was just right. The dressing on the salad wasn't overpowering and gave the fresh greens such a good taste... the fried zucchini was addictive. I swear it had to been fried in magic oil or something.. it was hardly greasy, it had this light salty taste that had me craving for more, and the 'zucchini' taste I tend to dislike wasn't even there.
Next up we were served 'penne alla vodka' which was so good... the sauce was nice and creamy and while there was a good portion of it, it wasn't overpowering the pasta. Another plate of spinach came as well, and while it was good in taste, I just wasn't used to the texture (I'm so used to creamed spinach/similar textures) so I didn't eat too much of it.
The waiter came along and brought 'shrimp Parmigiana', which was... my God... just.. I can't even explain it or put it into words, except that the shrimps were -huge-. Another dish annihilated... and then we/the waiter realized that that wasn't ours. Instead of charging us, the mistake was on the house. YES THANK YOU LORD
Soon enough even more came, Spaghetti and meatballs which I didn't eat (I was getting full at that point). The meatballs were ginormous and I could only imagine how they must have tasted. Chicken Parmigiana and Salmon as the 'Fresh Fish of the Day', and broccoli as another side... it was all too much. I could only bear to eat part of the Salmon at that point, the meat was so soft and delicate... it seemed to melt in my mouth.. we were all in a state of ecstasy.
The manager or whoever eventually came along with takeout dishes so we can take whatever we had left. Everyone had eaten a LOT of food, but there was still so much left over! So we stuffed the leftovers into the takeout boxes and tried to prepare our bodies for dessert. We failed.
I can only assume that what we had was the 'Titanic'... which was coincidental since today marked the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking... the college students joked "it's going DOWN". Platters of grapes, cantaloupe? and I think pineapple, a cannoli, a long strip of tiramisu, warm nommy bread pudding, and a bunch of chocolate sphere-like shells, filled with half vanilla and half chocolate icecream with cherry or some sort of fruit in the middle, sliced in halves.
Indeed, the Titanic did 'go down'. I ate so much food that I had the worst stomachache for at least 3-4 hours afterwards. I didn't know whether to be satisfied, or to regret that dinner.
Price-wise, I feel that it's fair. The place is family-style so the servings are for maybe 3-4+ people, which is pretty good for the price. With the service and the overall experience I'd definitely come here again with a group, hopefully with less food so I don't make myself keel over from acting fat like I did tonight. -
Review from James S.
Manhattan, NY
5/22/2012
This restaurant has exceptional service, doesn't get any better! The food is exquisite too!
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Review from Chelsea P.
Missoula, MT
5/21/2012
The food was in HUGE portions and was tasty, but I would not return because it's so incredibly loud and we waited so long for a table and there's plenty of other Italian restaurants you could go to. It was a good experience going since tt's a famous "classic NY" restaurant but once was enough for me!
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Review from Lindsay D.
Midtown West, Manhattan, NY
5/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
Oh my god...it was not large porpotion...it was HUGE porpotion....If there are only two of you...don't go to this place.....anyway...good service...delicious food......just remember to bring more friends with you.......
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Review from M N.
Newport Beach, CA
5/11/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Second time here and still impressed! Delicious food all around! Don't skimp on the dessert! We had the titanic and it was totally worth it!
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Review from Just M.
Fort Washington, MD
5/2/2012
I'll keep this really simple. Dined here last weekend with some of my students ( 25-40 yr old IT Professionals). Red-head in my class suggested this spot. She arrived early, I got there 30 mins later, Asked the bartender to send her a drink as a way of letting her know I was there. He proceeds to ask me if I knew her? I replied yes...he gave me a "Sure you do..." look then told me; "I'll see if its ok by her..." She waved excited to I found the place, he came back and said; "I had to check, most women are cool with "blacks" sending drinks then being harassed"!!
NEVER AGAIN!!! -
Review from CANDICE H.
Brooklyn, NY
3/16/2012
Once my bf said "the lasagna taste like Chef Boyardee" I knew I was over it.
Cons:
-Cold bread
-Menus are on the wall. Not a con for me, but if you go to Carmines make sure you have your glasses or your contacts are in.
-Very loud
-I had a question about the lasagna and the waiter looked at me and said, "we can't exclude the veal. do u know how long it takes to prep this?" I don't give a #$%@ if you have to milk the cows to make the cheese, if I wanna know about an ingredient, don't question me or get an attitude about it.
-oh the waiter never told us his name. I can't even tell you the name of the guy who sucks lol
-The food doesn't really have a homemade taste to it. Or maybe it's because my lasagna just tastes better.
Pros:
.................................................. .don't hold your breath on reading the pros.............................................. .............................maybe i can edit this the next time I go back. If I go back. -
Review from Jean Y.
OMG! I love this place!!
We had fried calimari and vongole.
Both were excellent, especially vongole.
I've eaten many vongoles in my life, this vongole I had last week was the BEST!
No doubt about it. The noodle was cooked perfectly aldante, just like we had somewhere in Tuscany. Calimari..is always calimaris. Fried shellfish with coat, they are always tasty.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/22/2011
I love this place. Good food & good ambiance.
What more do you want for dinner?
We had Linguini with… Read more »
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Review from IBEDATNICA I.
New York, NY
3/12/2012
Pros: Food is Great Family Style So If You Go With A Large Group You Are All Set.
Con: if you can make a reservation or be ready to wait
I have Been Coming To This Fine Establishment For The Past 10 Yrs.
I Recently Brought My BFF To Eat Here This Past Weekend & After Spending 2.5 Hrs waiting to be seated I must say it was worth it.
I will let you know this the hostess who doesn't have the mostest Michelle is RUDE
and very uninformative.
We would ask her what the wait time was she would not only give us wrong information but she would give us a dose of attitude I honestly felt like telling her to tone it down a notch or two she is only a hostess (no offense to all other Hostess ) not the executive chef or owner of the venue.
After such a long wait We finally decided to approach a manager and ask him for assistance not even then did Michelle's attitude change.
Carmines if you are reading this please place people that are customer friendly in the front area and people like Michelle in the back there is no room for unfriendly staff who look like they don't want to be there working with customers.
I will not let her poor attitude stop me from coming back because the food speaks for itself. -
Review from Ashley L.
Redlands, CA
3/29/2012
Amazing Italian food!! Family-style entrees, around one plate for 2-3 people. It is pretty pricey, but well worth it! Get the stuffed artichoke and chicken parmesan. To die for!
FYI: The wait was long and reservations are impossible to get unless you make it 2-3 days in advance. -
Review from Ashwin T.
3/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
such a pleasant surprise.
As a new yorker of close to four years, a little part of me died inside when a friend suggested this place for a big group lunch post an early afternoon dose of linsanity. How could a restaurant in plain view of Times square be anything other than an exercise in mediocrity stuffed to the brim with tourists, covered with a healthy topping of extreme over-pricedness.
I'll admit, I was wrong. This place takes "family style" seriously. Look for:
-Giant portions
-Very reasonable prices
-Surprisingly good quality given the above two
sure it was packed, but I think it was actually full of new yorkers. move aside tourists, we are keeping this one for ourselves -
Review from Marcy W.
ADDISLEIGH PK, NY
3/4/2012
Pros: Ambience, Customer Service, Portion Size, Price.
Cons: My 3 lb bowl of Lasagna was burnt on the bottom and I kept it, didn't have the heart to send back all of that food to get thrown away. I started having flash backs of TV commercials with the starving kids from all over the world and just felt terrible. -
Review from Melissa B.
ASTORIA, NY
5/17/2012
Fantastic!! We went there with my friend, and ordered salad, white wine seafood pasta. It was big portion for two person. But taste was great.
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Review from Dennis A.
Costa Mesa, CA
3/29/2012
While in search for warmth & food I stumbled upon Carmine's on yelp...
After reading a few reviews I was sold.
All I can say for the food is:
WOW!!
The family style serving plates are large enough to feed people who can eat. I was with a group of 4 and when we eat we eat...
Some of the items we ordered which stood out were:
Penne alla Vodka, Garlic Bread + Cheese, & Manicotti...
Downside was we nearly waited 2 hours just to get a table the simple fact that NY Giants were playing didn't help much or the rain. But one thing was certain when we walked out of that place was that those two hours were well worth the WAIT! -
Review from Nonya B.
Long Island City, NY
4/12/2012
Another hyped up, overated tourist trap.
Again, I detest "family style" dining, so please note that that alone drops stars for me. The food is nothing special but at the ridiculous price they have it at, it should be. It's average Itlatain grub. NOTHING special. Seriously, it's a waste of money.
You want good Itlatian food for a good price? Head down to Little Italy.
You want amazing, traditional Italian food for the same price? Head to Astoria for L'incontro Trattoria.
But this place? There's a reason why no locals eat here. -
Review from Maite H.
2/3/2012
We attended a business dinner at Carmine's after attending a Broadway show and the food was just fabulous! There were about 30 people in attendance and knowing that the restaurant serves family style dinners meant the more the merrier. The minute we were seated at the whimsical restaurant, I was in food heaven.
Our dinner consisted of:
(1) Open Bar - Best part of New York is that you don't drive.....so, drink and be merry!
(2) Appetizers: Bread, Calamari, Baked Clams, Stuffed Artichokes, Carmine's Salad.
A great beginning with an array of delicious appetizers.
(3) Pastas: Penne alla Vodka, Fresh Pomodoro With Prosciutto, and Lasagna.
Nice selection of pastas that were all yummy-licious
(4) Entrees: Lobster Oreganato, Porterhouse Steak, Chicken Scarpariello, and Shrimp Scampi.
All of the entrees were fabulous but I was fortunate enough to sit at a table where the other guests were not fond of lobster. OMG, I was so lucky...because the lobster was fresh and fantastic!
(5) Side Items: Broccoli, Escarole, and Spinach.
All tasty and a nice touch with our entrees.
(6) Dessert Sampler of Tiramisu, Cheesecake, Chocolate Cannoli, and Fresh Fruit served with coffee or tea.
I still had room to sample every dessert which were all sinful...well, maybe not the fresh fruit... =)
Carmines is a great restaurant to celebrate special occasions with a big group. The food is wonderful, the atmosphere is festive, and the service is great. I'm a fan! 5 Stars! -
Review from John L.
2/20/2012
I want to like this place so bad.
Items we got.
Basket of Bread 5 out of 10. Cold Cold Cold
Eggplant parm 7 out of 10. It was served luke warm
Chicken parm 6 out of 10. Drowned in cheese and luke warm
Lasagna 8 out of 10. Served just slightly over luke warm.
Side Spanich 8.5 our of 10. The best dish all night
This place is packed at a 3pm reservation. This is something I would recommend a RESERVATION!! Open table!
We waited about 15 minutes to be seated.
Server seemed overwhelmed and also had about 4 to 5 tables.
Thank you for allowing me to try this place. I think I just may skipped this place.
If you served food hot. I would love to come back. I hate eating food luke warm or cold.
Dessert cold would be awesome. That Titanic looked amazing though. -
Review from Terrye C.
Vallejo, CA
4/23/2012
was in the mood for some Italian, so my cousin and I went to Carmine's. We sat at the bar. We didn't know it was family style but the bartender explained before we ordered. Well we couldn't get no pasta, the dishes are huge (feed at least 5-6 ppl) so we ordered 2-different sandwiches, a Sausage w/onions & peppers and a grilled chicken w/fried eggplant, when the sandwiches came they were both Humongous with humongous cesar salads. Everything was excellent, but we both ate 1/2 of each sandwich...its excellent for a group of at least 4.
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Review from Tony C.
Elmhurst, NY
1/15/2012
"Let's celebrate a great 2011, and welcome 2012 on the uptick!" was the theme for the free lunch at work the Friday before New Year's Eve. Carmine's was elected for their great sandwiches, and they delivered in spades.., you try catering for 150 horny auto mechanics!
The food arrived. I went straight for the Chicken Parm, and I wasn't disappointed. Everything was good & peaceful, for the time being. The bread was warm, crispy, flaky, and soiled with marinara.., just the way I like it. (anything, spoiled with marinara would do it for me actually..). And the chicken?, it was tenderly cooked and wrapped in a well-seasoned bread coating. They could have spared a little more sauce and cheese, but I wouldn't complain about that, not to their face anyway.., hence.... They delivered plenty of other sandwich options too, Italian, Veal Parm, Eggplant Parm, etc..
An hour or so later, I revisited the kitchen, and what do I see but orphan sandwiches without a home! All of them were eggplant parms. Half sandwiches, full sandwiches, long sandwiches, shorty sandwiches, etc.. (*) Apparently, nobody else appreciated eggplant parm like I did. I was exploding with excitement, as my eyes welled-up. I wasn't greedy though, I just wanted half, plus there were too many eyewitnesses loitering around. I quickly snatched the juiciest one I could see and paced around frantically with but one dilemma. I had to put it in the fridge, but I didn't want anybody to steal it.
I knew I had to do it. I took a bite out of it, and I made it a point to slather extra glistening saliva on the remaining sandwich. Think of it, who would steal food that's been eaten, muahahahah! That just made the rest of my day go by soo much smoother, more so with the lingering taste of rich n' succulent breaded eggplant parm in my mouth. Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
I headed into the kitchen again, and what did I see, but that same mountain of unmolested, yearning eggplant parm sandwiches screaming out at me. People are starving all over the world, and there's all this delicious food sitting here for the taking. "I have an active duty to not allow food to go to waste!" Yes, one of my oaths, and New Year's resolutions (convenient). I came up with that one at the last minute, literally. So, I did what any crack addict would do. I grabbed the biggest, baddest, longest, messiest eggplant parm sandwich, threw it in the bag with my other half eaten eggplant parm, and I ducked my head and ran.
So, there I am at home, on movie night, watching Friends with Benefits with Mila Kunis, and enjoying my ginormously free sandwich (and the half sandwich that I took a bite out of and slathered my saliva all over). At one point the movie begins to get interesting as it approaches an action scene (there might have been some nudity). The music picks up, and the flailing limbs are moving a lot faster. I'm gorging on this sandwich, and I noticed that my pace is picking up as well. But, the faster I go at it, the more it seemed like the eggplant sandwich was resisting me. So, I went for a really big, hamster-like bite, filled every cubic inch of my mouth with the sandwich, clamped down, and proceeded to gnaw it off from the rest of the sandwich. I continued to aggressively wag around with my lockjaw, until I heard a deafening "crack!" That's no bueno :-( Something broke :.-(.
Seriously, who chips their tooth eating an eggplant parm sandwich? At this point my mouth is full of sandwich, left cheek, right cheek, all full of sandwich, and I began to wonder which tooth is it that cracked!!! Fortunately, it was one of the golem-like ones in the back and not one of the cute pearly ones in front (I'm not that stupid!).
Maybe in 2012, I'll try not to be so greedy? just maybe ;-)
Some laser gum surgery, installing a post, and slapping on a crown molar tooth later...
Maybe in 2013, I try not to max out my dental benefits in the first three calendar days of the year...
(*) Eggplant Rollatine is one of my favorite dishes! -
Review from Chris C.
2/15/2012
My co-workers were totally right. This place is a must go in NYC.
The food was delicious, the drinks were strong and tasty and the service was top notch.
You must go in a group. The plates are HUGE. I'm talking HUGE in the way that you'd expect a standing ovation if Hulk Hogan were able to body slam these plates HUGE.
Definitely don't go as a single diner...you won't just be stuffed...you'll pass out. -
Review from Charlotte P.
North Haven, CT
3/26/2012
I visited Carmine's for a friend's birthday and was pleasantly surprised. The restaurant serves large portions of food family style that are delicious and filling. Our table ordered 6 entrees for 7 people and there was plenty of food with left overs for all of us. The wait staff was attentive and friendly and offered a gluten free and allergy conscious menu for a person in our party and was knowledgable about the food products and helpful. Great experience! A good place for a casual but special celebration. I would definitely go back.
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Review from N S.
Patterson, NY
5/13/2012
I have been to this location quite a few times and it is always good food at a good price. This time it was the best which was quite a surprise considering it was Mothers Day, there were 8 of us and by noon they were packed!! Our waitress was excellent. We were not rushed and all our courses came out in a timely fashion but not on top of each other(pet peeve of mine). Now for the food. Excellent!!! Fried calamari artichoke and ceasar salad to start followed by hands down the best Veal parm ever! Penne vodka chicken scarpiello and escarole were great as well. So we will be returning as soon as possible considering I am 5 months pregnant and i think I am going to be craving the calamari and veal!!!!!
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Review from Ej F.
1/31/2012 1 Check-in Here
Ate here New Year's Day 2012. Place was poppin' but my wife and I got a table right away (since its family style dining, there's not many parties of 2).
Since everyone was partying it up in Times Square for the concert and ball to drop the night before, I wasn't too surprised that our waiter was hungover. He was a bit slow, sensitive to loud noises, but still did his best to be nice and professional. We were sympathetic to his situation but some other tables were not as perceptive or kind.
Anyways, food was really great and plentiful. Wish they had smaller servings, at least for the salads. Decor was beautiful, perfect for the holiday season with the lights and trees. Great location and great food... worth the wait but luckily we didn't have to wait at all! -
Review from Sophia J.
Bellerose, NY
4/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Just can't go wrong with Carmine's! Love the family style portions where 2-4 people can share and still feel like you had enough. Order the pasta dish that comes with lobster, calamari, mussels, shrimp, & clams. Soooooo good and trust you will have leftovers!
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Review from Ana M.
Brooklyn, NY
3/19/2012
I have a really bad track record of forgetting people's birthday, especially my mother's birthday for the past 3 years. I've gotten her really nice last minute gifts that she, by some wonderful miracle, loved and cherished. But I still felt kind of guilty and promised that there will be no more last minute gifts!!!! So since the beginning of March I was hunting down restaurants that I hoped my mother would love. I was about to give up and take my mom to a dinner until a friend told me about Carmine's. Of course I went on yelp to confirm if this place is legit, and a few reviews later I was sold and made a reservation for a party of 5.
Oh how I love my friend for mentioning Carmine's in my time of despair. My mother loved it and my whole family had a really good time. We had the veil parmesan (yes, were cruel cruel people), lasagna, and the mixed seafood pasta. OMG the servings were huge!!!! each serving is meant for sharing with 3-5 people. I wanted to order the Titanic for dessert but after dinner we were so stuffed, we settled to sharing a slice of cheesecake which was still too much for us to handle. The cheesecake was meh! it was soft but I was not amazed, I like Eileen's Cheesecake so much better!!!! But everything else, the veil, the lasagna, the mixed seafood were superb! My mom had an amazing birthday and almost cried when they sang to her. Even though I the bill burned a whole right through my wallet, through my pocket, and burned my skin, seeing my mom so happy was priceless.
Oh and a little heads up, the menus are on the wall. Yes I know, strange. And dont fill yourself up with bread, big mistake! -
Review from Laura L.
3/27/2012
Large group of co-workers and I dined here for supper while in town. Reservations recommended. Family style dinner, we all ordered something to share. My personal favorite was the cold antipasto. I was anticipating the regular cold cuts on top of a salad, not so, Carmines cold antipasto included a cold squid salad, salmon bruschetta , arugula salad, smoked mozzarella, big juicy tomatoes, white bean salad and I can't remember what all else...yum! It was nice since we were such a large group, but since going once I really don't feel the need to go again.
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Review from Rupal K.
Manhattan, NY
12/25/2011
We went to Carmine for lunch and were very disappointed. The bread was old and the waiter was not helpful at all. The food, when it FINALLY arrived, was just barely edible. There was nothing that was worth the wait or the attitude from the waiter. Olive Garden had better pastas than anything we got from Carmine. It was overpriced and unimpressive at every level!
Definitely would not recommend it at all -
Review from Rebecca M.
New York, NY
1/29/2012
Good for large groups who like family style. Five ladies split two main dishes and had a little leftover.
I did not really enjoy the vodka sauce but the lemon and garlic or whatever on the meat was good. Meatballs had an oddly smooth texture to them. Don't get me wrong, I ate all of it. We watched a ton of massive desserts go by.
If you don't want to travel to Little Italy, this will do. -
Review from Kelly M.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
Love this place! Be prepared for the portions as they serve family style. But it is well worth it!
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Review from Athena C.
12/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
Despite being a tourist trap, I do like coming to Carmine's with a group of friends. You would have to wait a good while especially without reservation. You would have to stand near the bar and fight for space with European tourists. Nevertheless, I like the family style cooking provided at Carmine's.
We had a group of 11 and we were seated in the back. Our waiter was quite patient given it took us a long time to order. We ordered a Rigatoni en la Vodka, Veal Parm, Eggplant Parm and Pasta in white clam sauce. Also, we started with their garden salad to share. Everything came out in huge portion. I really like the rigatoni dish; it was creamy and the rigatoni is well cooked. The eggplant parm is also a winner and it is so much we had to pack it to go. The salad is very fresh and light. We also ordered a bottle of Chianti for the table to taste.
We ended up paying about $29 per person and that includes chipping in for the birthday girl. It is pretty reasonable and everyone is full from the meal. -
Review from Ekin H.
Flushing, NY
12/28/2011
I've been to the Carmine's that's located uptown and remembered it just being a night of "too much food." Last night, I joined in with a group of 10 to eat at their theater district location and I must say, it was a very enjoyable experience.
Despite the restaurant being very busy, staff were very quick at refilling our waters and very active at tending to what we needed. All the dishes we ordered were great and nothing that we ordered disappointed us at all.
For those who've never gone to Carmine's, I suggest that if your party is smaller than say 5 people, don't come because it's going to be way too much food. (Our party of 10 ordered 5 dishes plus 1 dessert in total and all of us walked out of the restaurant really full) Come in parties of 5 or more and you'll thank yourself... for having a great time with great friends and also for being able to finish all the food.
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