Carmine’s
“We happened upon Carmine's after walking through Times Square and seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.”
“the shrimp and scallops were juicy and flavorful
all of us ate to our hearts content and we still had enough leftover to take home”
“We had the calamari to start, rigatoni country style, spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parm.”
Carmine’s
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I love love love Carmine's. My mom has been coming to New York for 30 years for business, and it's still one of the places we have to go whenever she's in town from Texas. It was very crowded on a Wednesday night, but luckily, there was only 3 of us, and we were able to find a spot at the bar. The bar keep is hilarious and gives a generous pour. They have 10 oz pours of wine from $12-20 depending on the wine.
We always have to order the garlic bread, even though they give you 9 huge pieces. It's perfectly gooey and crispy at the same time. Of course we couldn't eat it all so we ended up sharing the bread with the people around us.
We also ordered the Carmine's special salad. It is kind of like a Greek salad but with a lot more salami and cheese. I definitely recommend ordering this dish because we practically licked the plate clean.
We ordered the penne sausage and broccoli pasta dish. The red sauce is a little spicy, so it's a good compliment to the sausage. We really tried to eat it all, but we just couldn't.
Is this place touristy? Yes. Are there better Italian places in Manhattan? Yes. The point is you go for the experience, and you have an amazing time. That's why we keep coming back.
Next time you are in Times Square, NY, you must visit Carmine's !!! Make sure you book a table as this place is packed with crowd and delicious italian flavor.
We can't thank our friend enough who reserved the table and introduced us to this great place. Italian menu really stumps me every time and i am left wondering what to order. Glad we had help this time.
As usual the delicious breads were served with olive oil. There were variety of them.
The menu is quite extensive and interesting!! I was alarmed by the fact that almost all the items on the menu are "family size" – serves minimum 4 people. So downside is that if you have a group, you could order different menu entrees. If not, you can still order what you like and carry to-go. Wonder why such interesting menu.
Now thats out of our way, lets talk about food.
Delicious!!!
Appetizers:
Fried zucchini:
Family size fried zucchini. Unhealthy option to order. Probably could be enjoyed if you have it in limited quantity.
Entree:
Shrimp parmigiana:
Large shrimp pieces cooked to perfection and served with tangy marinara sauce/cheese is absolutely tasty! No complaints!!
Cheese ravioli:
Too much cheese but delicious. Again, italian food is heavy. So order with care.
Penne ala vodka (veg):
This delicious pasta with veggies is a great vegetarian option.
Dessert:
Tiramisu : best of the best!
Overall it is great place. If they can really introduce normal size entrees, it would be very convenient for wide range of food lovers!!
so…. to add insult to injury, paul here- see photo- someone who has zero followers and also appears to be connected to carmine's, sent me this message.
true indication as to why if you're in nyc theater district and you need a restaurant- an italian one- avoid carmines at all costs.
this is exactly the type of people that are there.
see photo with paul d's private comment to me.
hey paul- who is the idiot now???
Nothing remarkable. Decent food. Family style. $160 for 4 people with 1 app, 1 salad & 1 entree.
Calamari was fantastic!! Mixed greens salad was ok. Chicken parm was disappointing – tough, overly pounded, flat chicken breast made to look bigger than it was.
It was good but not a place I would look to return. Plenty of other options in New York.
This is not the place to bring a large group, ever.
Carmine's is great downstairs for 4-6 people who want to experience shared food on large plates. This location is not setup to handle larger groups, though.
We booked a reservation for 35, which required that we sign a contract and pay for a guaranteed amount of food off a ridiculously overpriced prix fixe menu ($70 a person without drinks or tip). Our contract called for a private room and wait staff. What we got was shared seating in the upstairs dining room being served by the same staff as everyone else. We had one waiter assigned to keep 35 people happy (use your imagination to see how that went).
The group menu requires that everyone eat the same dishes, and wastes food when people don't care for something that had to be ordered ahead of time (and they bring out way too much food for the group in every course).
Everyone did get fed. And like idiot tourists, we opened our wallets and paid for the experience near Times Square, but do yourself a favor, and take your group elsewhere, or break them up into smaller groups to sit downstairs and enjoy the experience (and price).
Despite the 1.5 hour long wait, it was totally worth it. Carmines is the top of the top when it comes to family style restaurants. The interior offers a romantic setting, perfect for a date night. The setting also is perfectly appropriate for a family function as they have an upstairs with more space for bigger crowds.
The hostess was awesome, keeping my party informed of any wait issues and times.
They offered for us to go sit at the bar, and have some drinks, so we did just that. A nice long bar, new york style at its best. The bartenders on the top of their game, making sure every person there is served promptly and professionally. Huge wine and beer assortment, lots of liquor as well. I myself am a cranberry and vodka girl.
We were seated in the back, underneath pictures of old new york city, little italy and some famous actors and actresses.
We started out with fried calamari (does it get more italian than that?), which was to die for. perfectly battered and seasoned, crisp and light, the marinara that was paired with it was homemade and unbelievably delicious. I thought does it get better than this? Well it does!!
Please keep in mind carmines is a family style restaurant, so the portions are huge, perfect to share.
We got penne alla vodka, the rigatoni bolognese, shrimp fra diavolo and the spinach for a side.
Holy cow i know i said it was for family but im not kidding, all three of those dishes were for my party of 10 and we were more than satisfied.
The vodka sauce was one of a kind, perfectly prepared, not too creamy like some can get. The pasta cooked to perfection. The meat sauce (bolognese) has such a perfect variety of meat, the rigatoni noodles were huge! The shrimp fra diavolo was spicy, i got heartburn soon after but it was sooo worth it. My only gripe is i wish it had more shrimp for the family serving that it was, it kind of lacked.
Honestly, i loved my experience at carmines. I was told they have thanksgiving and christmas menu's catered to the day, so im booking my reservation now for thanksgiving. a turkey meal from carmines?! YASSS.
If youre in the theater district and just watched a show and your craving some awesome italian food, this is the place to be!!
WOW! The wait was 1.5 hrs long, but I kept seeing random groups of 2 come in and just sit down without going to check in and of course were served right away. That was very enraging, but if people were willing to wait, I figured this was going to be good.
We finally sat down and was asked if we wanted water… I knew immediately this place was like Europe by just looking around and when asked about water, you have to specify tap water or you get the expensive bottled water that tastes exactly the same as tap water. Unfortunately I was not paying attention and my friend who didn't know this, just said yes to water. It ended up being $8 and we got 2 more tap water jugs after.
We were warned that portions were big but my friend really wanted calamari and chicken Parmesan with pasta. No kidding. The calamari alone was enough to fill the 3 of us. Mind you we tend to eat a lot but even this was just too much! And once we started getting full, the chicken parm comes out… This could've fed 6-7 people! Omg, it was huge. Overall calamari was on point. Chicken Parmesan was nothing special. So I was pretty happy and very stuffed after this meal. Not to mention, none of my friends could take the leftovers so I got it all meaning it fed me for at least 3 more meals.
With larger portion sizes means larger price tags. Plates ranged from $25-35. It was definitely expensive and I felt like we paid more for the decor, atmosphere and portion size, less of the food quality. With that said, quality wasn't horrible but definitely not the best I've had. I enjoyed everything, would return with a bigger group in the future.
Nothing special about this place; family size dishes, very crowded, average customer service is all I can tell about this place; there are lots of other options available in New York that have way better quality of food and service.
The price is also on the higher side, again not worth paying to eat in this place; I think the location is what they are getting the advantage of; will definitely not go back.