Carmine's - Upper West Side

Great food everytime. Been coming here for years. Went back to celebrate my birthday. Chicken wings are so good the house made blue cheese is amazing. Calamari is a table must! And we always get the shrimp parmigian! The shrimp so big! And don’t forget the bread and oil!

The portions are very large. One entree will feed 3 to 4 people. We had lasagna and rage. The lasagna was somewhat bland and the rigatoni noodle in the ragu were cold. The service and atmosphere were as I remember but the food quality was not. Maybe just an off night. The taramisu was excellent.

Unbelievably good food and the family style makes it all the better. I used to hate chicken parm but it is a top 5 for me now (I will only eat it again here). Highly recommend we spent about $200 between 3 of us for 3 entrees and 3 drinks each.

True to its name, family style Italian food. You'll walk into complete chaos and extremely loud noise as you walk in to their dining hall.<br><br>Portion sizes are out of control, however pricing is pretty accurate given the huge portions. As 4 adults and kids, we managed to finish off 1 entree Rigatoni Country Style ($29), and 1 appetizer Stuffed Mushrooms ($19.99). We of course made a mistake of ordering two more appetizers not realizing how big their portion sizes actually are! These included Garlic Bread, and huge portion of Fried Calamari!<br><br>Noise levels on the higher end, pretty difficult to have a conversation with the person seated across the table. Quick service though and really good food quality. The country style pasta was very flavorful.<br><br>Highly recommend this place for a family style experience!

4 people can eat from one portion, family style Italian restaurant serves delicious spaghetti and meatballs, and the portions are gigantic, great for families. Warm and family-friendly atmosphere, and the attentive service!

Had a birthday dinner for my neice. The wait staff was very cordial and attentive. The table setting and atmosphere was nice, music not to my taste but tolerable. The dishes of food was quite a lot and of course sharable. If you compared the price to the average plate every one would have ordered separately somewhere else would of cost about $25 - $35 each however, the bill was not modest at all and the drinks a little pricey as well. Plenty of food but not so delicious. Something different in the sauce. Either my palate has changed or the recipe 🤔. I've been coming here over 10 years either for work gatherings or birthdays. Tonite was underwhelming.

We love this family style old school super popular Italian restaurant! Their eggplant parmigiana is the absolute best, and comes in a huge serving size enough to feed four or more people! Or two with leftovers, which taste even better the next day. We've dined in which is usually crowded-- esp on weekends, but not as crowded as the Times Square location, and also have taken out on many occasions, which has a separate pick up entrance and is super convenient.<br>Their salads, fried calamari, pasta, pretty much all dishes-- are all fantastic and served in family sized portions-- add pasta for a very small upcharge. Focaccia also delicious.<br>Their sauce is extremely flavorful with few ingredients and no sugar.

Happy hour review. The food is good and plentiful. Drinks are reasonable. I finally had the opportunity to go to Carmine during their limited happy hour (Monday to Thursdays only 3-5pm and after 9pm). The calamari is as good as I remembered from the early 1990’s when they first opened, although now, the marinara sauce is less garlicky and more cooked. Serving size is perfect for 2 to share. The best deal was the sliders (2 for $5): the foccacia bread was great, the portion large and the extra sauce was a bonus touch. The mussels were good too but the sauce was not (chili) spicy - it also came with 2 whole stewed tomatoes. The house red was a young montepulciano d’abruzzo (2024) served in a drinking style glass (like in Italy). Lunch menu (sandwiches and smaller pasta portions is available all day at the bar. For those with soy allergy: canola oil is used exclusively in the kitchen. But they don’t make the focaccia and the bread they use in the meatballs in house, so ask your server. Looking forward to returning. Feb 2026

Food was okay. We got around 5 different pastas and shared. All their pasta sauces are on the runny side… I prefer my sauces thicker. My personal favorite was the white sauce clam pasta (linguine vongole). Their calamari is rather bland & expensive. The Caesar salad did not impress us either. The baked clams appetizer, however, is a must order. Aesthetic interior design and great place for sharing, but ultimately, there are better options on the UWS.

Carmine’s UWS location was so beautifully decorated in this wonderful Christmas season. From the moment you walk-in, hostess greets you with a warm smile and managers walk around the dining room to ensure everyone’s needs are met. Our server Juan was extremely friendly, courteous, attentive and made my birthday lunch special. Portions are huge and everything was delicious. The cheesecake was very different than regular New York style cheesecake, which was delightful surprise. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and we were stuffed by the end of the meal. Can’t recommend enough how friendly everyone was and we certainly would love to return to try different items next time. Thank you again for your warm hospitality, Carmine’s UWS team!

Always a great place for a nice group, large portions and all shareable, great location for a birthday celebration. Make sure you ask if meals are spicy our server did not mentioned and we got the double lobster special and it was Hot Spicy without knowing, we was offered pasta thinking it was to amend error but not it was another charge for it. Well it was the server not the food as it is always great!

Stopped in for my birthday dinner . The restaurant was very crowded I'm happy we made reservations even though we weren't seated on time . The table my family had was very cramped for my family of 8 and if we sneezed too hard we could hit the other party next to us 😩.<br><br>For the food it was tasty but not the best. I expected more from carmines . It was extremely busy so I might give it another try to see if it was just a bad night . Everything was family style portioned appropriately and priced well . The drinks weren't that strong but tasted good . They charge a $4 sur charge per person if you bring a birthday cake to cut fyi !! . Happy eating 😋🍽️

Even though the restaurant was very busy and full of families celebrating the holiday, the atmosphere felt warm, lively, and welcoming. Having a reservation made everything smooth — we were seated quickly and didn’t feel rushed at all, despite the crowd.<br><br>The food was delicious and came in the classic Carmine’s family-style portions, perfect for sharing. Everything we ordered was well prepared, flavorful, and served fresh. It ended up being a really enjoyable Thanksgiving lunch, even outside the traditional setting.<br><br>The location is also excellent, just a short walk from Central Park, which makes the whole visit even nicer.<br><br>Overall, Carmine’s delivered exactly what we hoped for: great food, friendly service, and a festive atmosphere on a special day. I’d definitely come back!

My first time here and i can positively say I'll be back. Everything was amazing. The portions are huge and you'll still have some left over to take home and enjoy. My drinks were really good and the food was soooo good!

I went to Carmine’s my first time in NYC with a party of two. Definitely too small for their massive shareable portions. I went back today for a birthday celebration and Joe went above and beyond to accommodate all of our table’s needs! Thank you Joe and thank you Carmine’s! We’ll be back again soon :)