Carbone Ristorante Italiano
“I normally go for lunch cause I work nearby and I am dying to check out the back patio once the weather is warmer.”
“Make your reservation well in advance because this place is hard to get a table at and let me tell you it is well worth it.”
“The tiramisu was rich and smooth unlike any I've had.”
Carbone Ristorante Italiano
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This is a small restaurant with about 10 tables or less in between 37th and 38th street. It was pretty empty on a Sat night – perhaps the cold is making a lot of people staying indoor. The staff was friendly and service was quick.
For appetizer, we had the beet salad ($10). The goat cheese and the beets were plentiful, but the greens were missing arugala. They also gave us two tiny toasted bread with olive oiled tomato chunks on top. As for entrees, we tried the lasagna all a bolognese and the stuffed chicken and sausage ravioli. The lasagna was really creamy – top to bottom. Even the sauce was creamy. Halfway through it my friend was already full. A little bit more beef in the lasagna would've been nice. The stuffed chicken and sausage ravioli was good, but the presentation was awful. It was just the ravioli in pale purple sauce. I believe the purple cabbage gave off its coloring. Presentation aside, the ravioli was good and the sauce carried a hint of wine and mushroom. Altogether, the entire meal cost us about $40. We checked in on yelp and received a free panna cotta. It was like a vanilla flan but firmer. That was delicious.
You want Italian? I got your Italian!
My goodness,this locale, somewhat hidden for a Manhattan restaurant, is a gift to the area if you like your Prosciutto and tangliere de salumi in Italian.
For starters,we were going to get our Rollatine di Melanzane(egg plant rolls) to go and the owner suggested we stop in tomorrow where he could ensure we eat it hot. It was a touching moment as he had recommended it originally but thought we were eating in.
His boisterous Italian was commanding of the bar/restaurant.
So after a drink or two and before the kitchen Closed we settled on a couple great salads that could make the trip back. Meanwhile the wine flowed like beer and we enjoyed a couple rounds with people expounding in Spanish and Italian, to each other! Not that we hadn't heard that before but it's always fun to see the obvious overlap.
The drinks were great, the people were great, and the ambiance was fantastic. Miss it if you don't like your Italian above the waterline of "Olive Garden"
Fantástico!
What an interesting place located on a weird street. I like a good dive so I decided to check this place out. It is small and a little dingy but the service is wonderful. I loved the bartender who was very nice and I ordered a margarita pizza which was delicious. The pizza's are out of a brick oven and smaller so plan to only share with one other person.
Check this place out if you are trying to get away from the tourist ridden restaurants in the time square neighborhood.
I wandered in here on a cold fall night with a suitcase in tow. I'd just finished manning a booth at a conference over by the Javits Center, and I was in pursuit of linguini with clams, one of my favorite comfort foods. The restaurant wasn't too packed, even on a Friday night around 8; there might've been 3 or 4 other tables here, mostly frequented by what looked like regulars. If you're looking for quiet and non-touristy, this is a lovely spot.
The owner is very hands-on here. He's straight from the Old Country, and has an inordinate amount of pride in his restaurant. I can see how some of the other reviewers may take issue with this if conflict arises; but my own parents are immigrants, so I grew up, like many of my peers, navigating various cultural differences in social interaction so I personally just saw a lot of that pride of ownership shine through, and respect what he's made of this place.
The restaurant offers a free glass of wine for a Yelp check-in, and I was given a very generous pour of the house red.
My clams came out fairly quickly. There were many clams, all perfectly cooked, and the pasta was delicious.
After I finished my food, I was quite full and declined dessert. However, the owner had struck up a conversation with me, and was a little bit horrified that I would just bail without lingering a bit longer, so he offered me a little glass of limoncello on the house. That did the trick, and helped turn my evening around from exhausting and cranky to mellow and happy.
Thanks again, Carbone, for keeping me sane that night! I'll be back.
My friend took us here for dinner as she has been here several times and adores it. I can see the appeal, a seemingly a hole in the wall with romantic decor, and interesting narrow spiral staircase and a secret courtyard in the back, but there is more to a restaurant experience than decor and ambiance.
While our servers were incredibly nice (especially the guy I believe is the owner) it was also a bit slow. It only seemed to be the him and another girl as the waitstaff so I can understand that they were pulled thin but that should also be noted as a probable managerial problem. Don't under-staff a restaurant to cut budgeting corners.
Our server was great at answering all our questions about the menu and was patient with us when he was with us. He even let me indulge my Italian speaking skills and I ordered everyone's dish in Italian. My friend who has been here before ordered one of the ravioli specials, the spinach and cheese, and our other friend and I ordered the rigatoni alla amitriciana. Rigatoni with pancetta! And we also ordered two glasses of wine (Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, one of my favorite wine – it can be bought in my stores for about $8 a bottle, here it was $9 a glass)
The wine came quick but the food took some time. I was somewhat disappointed with my dish. My pasta was undercooked. Another minute or two in the water and it would've been perfect, al dente. It also wasn't large serving which as I explained to my friend who ordered the same dish and was left feeling very unfulfilled, is a mark of Italian restaurants. Remember, Italians eat multiple courses and their first course is pasta. They eat a small dish of it so they are not full for the second course, which is typically a meat or fish dish.
It wasn't a bad meal, and the pancetta was definitely the saving grace of the meal, but if I'm going to the city and spending almost $20 on a dish of pasta, I have high expectations for excellency. Especially if you tout how much you import from Italy and so on.
The Yelp deal was also expired and couldn't use it.
Grandma was in the house making some tasty and original pasta dishes. Sas was bartending and is a joy; efficient, fun, and always in control. Nice local vibe with some great background music. The food was fresh and interesting. Nice courtyard outdoor seating available based on the weather. Fair prices and portions. 4 1/2 Stars
Best Italian dinner I have ever had. Truly – loved the intimate setting, the immaculate (but teeny-tiny) restrooms downstairs (don't bump your head!) The bruschetta was phenom – fresh juicy tomatoes on a crispy piece of bread. Service was excellent, thanks for the information on the fresh fish – Wow! it was spectacular, covered in tomatoes, garlic, basil and sauce. Fresh and flavorful. Hubby's spaghetti was traditional and delicious. Sorry we couldn't manage dessert, bet it was lovely. The limoncello was to die for! Delish!!
Should have been an easy 3+ rating. We just arrived to town, walked in and were greeted warmly. Loved the ambiance. Peroni on tap is my favorite. We were psyched to be there. Then the food came and the disappointment. My husband had the pizza with three toppings. I had the Alfredo. Both were super bland. Needed salt. My Alfredo sauce was not creamy- more like buttery and lemony. The pizza was wet and floppy. Neither dish had sauce with flavor. There are so many better places to eat. so many. The server honored an expired yelp dessert offer that was still attached at check in – and that did redeem the bad meal quite a bit.