Do it right and you can't beat Carmine's
Written: Aug 08 '01
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Pros: The food is AWESOME! And affordable
Cons: LOUD, LOUD, LOUD, and CROWDED!!!
The Bottom Line: Affordable, delicious and fun!
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| LouiseWR's Full Review: Carmine's - Upper West Side |
We were considering a family-type restaurant on the Upper West Side and remembered Carmine's, which we hadn't been to in years, yet remembered fondly. Would the fried zucchini sticks still be as good (and abundant) as we remembered? In a word, YES! For the price and quality of the food, Carmine's cannot be beaten, with a few important caveats. Get there well before 6 PM. On a Saturday night, for a table for 7, we had to wait over an hour. Carmine's is indeed for large groups so our size was not a factor. My kids were ready to implode. They stopped taking reservations(whatever that means) by 4 PM, which is when we called. When the 7 of us sat at the table, the noise level was impressive, but with kids to deal with, that was actually a relief. SO don't go intending to discuss much beyond how delicious the food is, and isn't it loud in here?
Be sure to order the fried zucchini sticks as they are out of this world. Remember also: the portions are huge. We ordered two appetizers and finished neither. We decided to cut back from 3 entrees to 2 and finished only one of them. The ravioli was terrific and I'm dying for the spaghetti and meatballs again. Okay, okay, not fancy Italian, but oh so satisfying. And the kids love it.
When we left around 8:30 the people waiting to get in were stacked cheek by jowl. It was a sea of humanity. It was a minor relief to get to our parking garage on 90th and Amsterdam which discounts parking for patrons of Carmine's if you remember to validate the parking ticket at Carmine's. The ticket for the whole meal, for 7 people, came to $100 (this included one pitcher of beer and sodas).
We will return!
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Large Group
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Epinions.com ID:
LouiseWR
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Member: Louise
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 57
Trusted by: 7 members
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