Carmine's

Amazing how people line up for large portions of mediocre food... Attended a birthday party here. It wasn't bad, but it was by no means great -- typical dumbed down oversweetened Italian food. The ingredients were excellent, but maybe it's a step above an Italian chain restaurant or the like.

I attended a birthday dinner here and was greatly pleased. The food is somewhat expensive but comes in large portions and is delicious. It's a great place to go with a big group. The wine and dessert were delicious and they definitely catered to our every need. Yum!

Every time I go to a show I make a reservation at Carmine's. It is a great experience, the food is abundant, the waiters and bartenders and patrons are all happy friendly people which gives the place a homey atomsphere. Sitting close to others makes it more of a social event then just lunch. And I love the wine glasses. I feel I am at my grandmother's on a Sunday. If you are looking for privacy and quiet this is not the place for you. Make a reservation, if you arrive without one, eat at the bar. It is great and order the Titanic for dessert. Heads will turn.

Went here pre-theatre with a large group of friends. Had never bene to, or heard of, Carmine's before and was absolutely overwhelmed by the quality - and quantity -of food. We started out with salads and large appetizer plates heaped with meats and veggies and cheeses. Delicious! Then came platters of mushrooms stuffed with sausage (to die for), penne alla vodka, and linguine alle vongole. All incredible. Just as I thought I couldn't force down anymore food, out came eggplant parm, shrimp scampi and veal marsala. Wow. Finally, dessert platters full of tiramisu and various cakes and cappuccinos all around. Will dream of this meal for months to come!

Three of us were there on 5/14 as we were told "it's a great place" - yeah, well ... we'll never go there again. Food is served family style, meaning lots and lots of it; ours were regular salad ($9.50) and spaghetti with huge meatballs ($21+). The food was good & plenty of it, so no complaint there. The guy outside said a 1-1/2- to 2-hour wait, but you can sit at the bar & get served from the full menu. We got lucky & got a seat as we entered, but waited & waited for a waiter/ress; we finally flagged someone & were told "you have to order from the bartender." Okay, but the menu is on a wall (away from where we were seated) - so we get up & almost lose our seats. My daughter had to go to the bar, order our food, go back for drinks, silverware, etc. Since it was a Sat evening & many people, we had to listen really carefully for our name, then go back to the bar for the salad, then again for the spaghetti. Young women were walking around calling out peoples' names for I guess dining in the real part of the restaurant. They really should have a PA system or the flickering/vibrating things to notify the parties. We never did see any other part of the restaurant; the restroom facilities were up a lot of steep steps, so we went to Toys R Us instead for that purpose. When we go to NYC next year, we will not frequent Carmine's.

Going to Carmine's for dinner is an exciting outing for my husband and I. We plan it, get dressed up and treat it as a special night. We love the NY vibe inside the restaurant and it is ALWAYS busy but we don't mind because we enjoy having a drink at the bar before we are seated. We have had so many of the dishes on the menu and we recommend the calamari for sure, best we have ever had, the chicken marsala is divine and the sausage and broccoli with rigatoni is delish. You can not go to Carmine's and not order the salads, they are all excellent. The only dish I didn't love was the chicken parm because my husband makes a killer parm at home and it just didn't compare.

Our waiter came immediately to meet us. The menu (on the wall) is extensive and (almost) everything comes in family-sized portions. We ordered three entrees for the six of us (a little overboard, but it's so hard to decide!) We ordered linguine with white clam sauce, angel hair with sausage and meat sauce, and veal picatta (veal in lemon and butter sauce). We also ordered a house salad. The bread came first and was a basket filled with a variety of different kinds of Italian breads, everything from rolls to different kinds of focaccia. The salad was huge, heaped on a platter with a good variety of vegetables including cucumber, tomatoes, pepperoncinis, olives, onions, lettuce, etc. The linguine with white clam sauce was the best I've had in a long, long time...probably ever. A lot of times, when you order white clam sauce, you get olive oil, clams, and some parmiagiana cheese that slithers off the noodles into a pool on the plate. Not so at Carmine's. It was very tasty, the clams were huge, and the sauce stuck to the noodles just right. It was clam sauce heaven and I had two helpings! The veal which was incredibly good. We were offered six slices of veal in lemon and butter sauce. It was tender, delicious, and disappeared very quickly. After supper, we had canollis and cappucino. The canollis are made with a chocolate dipped shell and dusted with pistachios, just as they should be. Very yummy indeed! There is a dessert called the Titanic, but we didn't dare attempt it. I asked the waiter what it was, and it sounded like enough ice cream and chocolate to certainly leave you ten pounds heavier. We decided not to risk it. Make a reservation, or be prepared to wait. But its worth it. It is far and away the best Italian food I've ever had in Manhattan.