05/27/09

FOOD STINKS AND NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY

by amym1031

I went to Carmine's in NYC recently, and honestly, was treated like SH*T. We made reservations ahead of time. I asked if the restaurant was child friendly, which I was told, of course. When we got there, the food was sub par Italian cuisine, and I was told by the OWNER, that maybe I shouldnt have brought my child, who was behaving spectacularly. I couldnt believe it! I was so offended that I told the manager, who went on to tell me that the owner was an old kook, and not to pay attention to him. Overall, food stinks, wait staff and restaurant manager are EXCELLENT, but the owner S*CKS, and I wouldnt bother going there. Take the cab ride to Little Italy and get a real meal.

• Pros: NONE
• Cons: EVERYTHING

12/30/08

Very Good Italian for Even Better Price

by huffy1823

Great Italian at very reasonable prices. A friend and I dined here and split one platter as well as a bottle of wine and we left with money in our pockets as well as leftovers! Can't ask for much more in this expensive city!

• Pros: Atmosphere, Prices, Food

12/30/08

The worst Italian restaurant in UES, maybe even NYC.

by sassieskier

My husband and I ate here recently. We figured it might be good since it was fairly busy for a weeknight but apparently this place is a hot spot for tourists. I don't see this place having a lot of return customers. We ordered a house red, which was hands-down the worst wine I've ever had. We noshed on mediocre bread and watery olive oil for another 40 minutes until our appetizer arrived, which consisted of bland stuffed mushrooms swimming in butter. Another 20 minutes later, our chicken & shrimp dinner arrived. The chicken was overcooked and the shrimp was not fresh. It had a fishy, overcooked, previously frozen taste. I would place my bets that our entire meal was microwaved and then covered in buttery sauces. We will never return and will not recommend it to anyone.

• Pros: space for large groups, noisy enough to dine with small children
• Cons: everything else

10/28/08

Great family style Italian food!

by khodges5683

Being from Texas I was VERY much looking forward to having some great Italian food while in NYC. We stumbled across Tony's Di Napoli for dinner and I'm so glad we did! Excellent family style food, great atmosphere, excellent service, and very friendly and helpful staff. The chicken and eggplant was outstanding as was the tortellini. The calamari was also some of the freshest I've ever had. Excellent desserts. We were celebrating 2 birthdays within our group, and when the matradee found out he came over and personally sang happy birthday to us. He had such a great voice we requested more so he serenaded my grandmother with a beautiful song...which she is still talking about! Highly recommend this restaurant for great food with reasonable prices, and outstanding customer service!

• Pros: price, quality, quantity, ambience
• Cons: noisy

05/07/08

DISGUSTING...we found a 2 in. nail in our food and the manager was horribly rude

by Juliechen85

Do not eat at this restaurant. We went to the Upper East Side location and found a 2-inch nail in our olive oil bread dip. The staff was apologetic and told us that the nail probably came from a fish tank (kept above their pre-mixed vat of olive oil spread). One, their olive oil spread is pre-mixed and kept in a vat? Two, this vat is kept below a fishtank? Disgusting. When the manager came over to speak to us, he was unbelievably rude and stated that we should not worry about the olive oil since we had not technically paid for the starter course. Needless to say, we left and will not return.

• Cons: Poor service, rude manager, poor food preparation, found metal nail in food!

02/11/08

Average at best

by chris70

Carmine's was booked solid, so we came here instead to celebrate my birthday. The shrimp scampi appetizer was my favorite for the night. We also ordered a ceasar salad (too much lemon!!!), the fried calamari was average. For entrees we ordered linguine with white clam sauce (average), chicken picata (average), and the sirloin with roasted potatoes (average). Dessert was not good at all.

Service lacked. We had to ask for olive oil three times before the waitress brought it over and my daughter requested a candle in the dessert for my birthday and forgot it.

I would skip this place and wait for a table at Carmines.

11/10/07

My favorite place for take out on the UES

by todie4d

I order from here all the time, cause of the pick of decent average priced restaurants in the area is less then desirable. It also happens to be crazy delicious. My personal favorites are the ziti and veal dishes. I didn't like the mushroom appetizer.

07/23/07

Great food, good portions and very good service

by ana_t

We chose to go to Tony di Napoli because we needed a place to have a reunion with friends we haven't seen for 25 years. We were blessed by delicious food, a cheerful service and a spacious and round table to catch up for the 25 years gap. The place is friendly and not noisy, so we actually were able to chat, laugh and listen to each other. The fettuccini Alfredo tasted like my grandma's and the veal Marsala was was perfect.

The generous portions felt like home and the apotheotic Tartufo in the end was a sweet ending. The waiters were kind and sensitive enough not to rush us out after we finished the meal, and we were able to keep enjoying each others' presence around the table long after we paid the check. We will definetly come back.

• Pros: Ambience, Parking, Service
• Cons: none

07/11/07

Great place to large group gathering for some fine cooking

by andytak

Sorry to hear that some reviewer had such horrible experience of this place, I don't know why but I had a blast.

I had my wife surprise birthday dinner there on Sat. and we had such a good time and the foods were just to die for.

Our waitress was friendly, accomondating and she was the icing on the cake for our first time visiting and trying this place.

The food, we had the night special, loster and crab rovioi and it was to die for. YOU taste the loster and crab meat, not one of those grounded to a paste kind of stuffing. Even my picky 2 years old were able to enjoy the food we ordered. The eggplant was great, soft and creamy. The chicken parm was so soft and tender we can cut it with a spoon. The veal need some work. We ordered like 9 different dishes and the only neg thing we have to say is the veal was tougher then we throught but everything else were wonderful.

I will definitely recommend this place to everyone and it will be my regular joint when ever we have a large gathering. B/c those family portion was fun and mroe then enough to share.

Thank you for such a wonderful time for my wife birthday.

• Pros: food, service, price
• Cons: veal need some work.

06/20/07

Go to Carmines instead!

by kathanna

I eat out in NYC often and have had dinner at many Italian restaurants in the city. I have been dining out in NYC for almost nine years and I have never had such an awful Italian meal.

The Food: We ordered chicken piccata and the baked ziti. The chicken piccata was horrible - absolutely no taste and made without any capers. We actually had to ask for slices of lemon to squeeze on the chicken along with lots of salt and pepper to give it any flavor. The baked ziti was just horribly bland. We originally tried to order the manicotti and were told that they no longer serve it but still have it listed on the wall menu.

Staff: The restaurant staff do not communicate with each other. Halfway through our meal the manager asked if he could move me because they had a large party coming in and they didn't want me to be in the way. Now with my meal in front of me and my child sitting on my lap they want to move me -- the manager and the hostess should have realized that they had such a large table and would need more room before seating me there. Not only did they ask me to move but the manager was extremely rude.

Atmosphere: Loud and chaotic is an understatement! This restaurant had many children screaming and throwing their food at surrounding tables. Having a child I would never return to this restaurant because this is exactly what I don't want my child to behave like at a restaurant. I would NEVER put up with the behavior here. Go to Chuck E. Cheese if you expect your child to act that way.

Again, I have dined at many restaurants throughout the city for the past nine years that I have lived here and I have never had this awful an experience. I highly recommend Carmine's if you are looking for a great Italian restaurant with amazing food, large family portions, served in a fun, lively and loud environment that is great for large or small groups.

• Pros: none
• Cons: rude staff, awful bland food, unruly children