Their food is so fresh, you think that they went to a garden and freshly picked all of the ingredients, especially for the chopped salad. The Ziti and Veal were big enough servings for 2+ persons. All sides and salads are family style. We, unfortunately, arrived too late to order the Godiva Chocolate Mousse Cake. Service was spectacular and the outside covered dining area was clean. I highly recommend Carmine's read more

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I absolutely love the history of this restaurant, and the food is good. The service was excellent. Although it was only two or 3° outside, we sat on the heated patio and it was nice! My daughter ordered the pasta with some kind of red vodka sauce and it was excellent. I ordered the veal Parmesan with a side of pasta. The veal was excellent and a good portion. I would say it was perfect for a bigger person, or two with smaller appetites. I'm not a big fan of the sauce! It's somewhat thick, which is fine, but definitely on the tangy side. Regardless, the atmosphere and service and overall food quality was worth going, and I will probably go again, eventually. I would like to try a few other dishes. read more

Carmine's - Veal parmigiana with a pasta side with meat sauce - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Carmine's is pretty good, but not so worthwhile that you'd rank it atop your list of must-repeat restaurants. After all, this is Chicago, where great restaurants fall from the sky. Service is outstanding. But maybe a little over the top. We don't need water refills when the glass is a third empty. I felt a little smothered when I would have preferred privacy. Speaking of privacy, there isn't much to be had at Carmine's. It gets pretty loud and that doesn't make for great conversation unless you're hanging out with pro wrestlers who can bellow above the noise. The food is just so-so. I had the square noodles and they were decent, but the sauce could have been... saucier. It was more congealed than I prefer. The bread on the table was very hard. Italian restaurants lose major points with me if the bread isn't soft and warm. And as a major annoyance factor, Carmine's features a restroom attendant in the men's room. When I go to the bathroom, I don't want to slick my hair back with someone else's comb and lather on all sorts of lotions and unguents. I want to urinate, wash my hands and get the hell out of there. After washing my hands, I went to use the paper towel dispenser, which is one of those enervating motion-sensor contraptions, and it wouldn't work. So I'm frantically waving my wet hands in front of this thing while the "attendant" is thrusting paper towels at me. "Sir! Sir!" he kept shouting. ("No!" I'm thinking. "I don't want to accept your towels and feel guilted into giving you a dollar just because I needed to urinate!") So rather than accept his paper towels or keep listening to him shout "Sir" while I try to get the dispenser to work, I just muttered, "I'm fine," and ran out the door. "Fight or flight" should never enter into a trip to the bathroom. But it did. Oh, well. I gave Carmine's a shot. But for the price, I would expect more. read more

Carmines for Thanksgiving for about the 4th year in a row! Thanksgiving dinner was perfect for our family and friends. We had a group of 11 and the service was spectacular the entire night. The bread to start was great since they give the table a bottle of oil with fresh cheese. The risotto from the specials menu was fantastic. Some of the best risotto we have ever had. The dessert is unlike any other. The slices of cake were massive towers. No one in our group had a bad meal. Some items we enjoyed were lobster ravioli, tortellini carbonara, meatball pizza, lasagna, thanksgiving dinner, and all the desserts. The staff truly made our night memorable. From interacting with the 4 year old at the table, constantly topping off our water, taking group pictures for us and checking in throughout the meal, this is an extremely professional staff. read more

Carmine's - Thanksgiving Special Risotto. - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Late review June 2018... My BFF introduced me to Carmine's and I have to admit, I was very skeptical about going. I'm not into Italian food, so I wasn't sure if there would be anything on the menu, that I would like. But I'm glad she changed my mind. To my surprise, I was able to find something, that I would enjoy. The food was really good. I had the shrimp scampi and the calamari. We also have a glass of wine. I will be going back again. read more

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Terrible service! We made reservations for our daughters 18th birthday, we were sat for over 25 minutes before anyone ever greeted us (other than the very attentive gentleman who fills the water and brings your bread) then when ordering a 2nd round of drinks another 15 minutes before receiving. It was extremely disappointing. read more

$28.50 for two shrimp and some calamari rings. Lots of celery and some olives and yellow pepper. It's about a quarter of the size it used to be and had mussels and cuttlefish before etc. If you can afford it, then go for it but I paid $10 less before and made two meals out of it. Yes, all is different in 2022 but I cant pay 30% more for 40% less. Happy for all who can. read more

Carmine's - $28.50 - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

7-19-14 Service was poor. Limited refill opportunity, forgotten bread and oil/cheese. Dinner though was fabulous which is why we come here. One of the best Italian restaurants in Chitown. 5-24-15 Well the manager wrote me back. Offered to take care of us the next time we come. Which is not often enough. This visit was actually last summer just never finalized my review ai guess and is still one of my favorite Italian places. We always order the sausage asparagus pasta and even if it's not on the menu, they still make it for us. read more

Slow, slow and slow!! That is the wait time for a table, the wait time for a server and the wait time for your food etc...now for the good! Food was yummy. Meatballs to die for!! Pasta was cooked al dente with rich cheese cream sauce. Chopped salad was HUGE. All portions are HUGE!! I cannot stress the need to share. Can I give a tip to management here. Please ask your patrons who are standing by waiting 45 minutes for their table to not smoke. Nobody wants to eat with smoke in their face. This effects the people eating on the street side. Ask them to move to the cute little park area across the str read more

Carmine's - Split portion of meatballs and cheese tortellini - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Pros: - Must order: calamari, stuffed mushrooms, housemade square noodles with VODKA sauce + sausage crumble, shrimp francese, skirt steak velasco - Large and easy to get a reservation, even on special occasions, like... 5 mins before you want to arrive. - Generally aways crowded (equals fresher food). Cons: - Over the last 1.5 years, it's become more like Rosebud (same ownership) in recipes AND pricing, making less of a difference whether you go here or to Rosebud - Personal preference, but they always have a bathroom attendant. I prefer no attendant (ex: skirt steak velasco was historically $20-25. Now, it's $36. It was really good, but I rarely order it now. At that price point, I'm going to add 10 and get Lawry's prime rib or Morton's ribeye. This is SKIRT STEAK...) ----- I come here all the time. Sometimes, days in a row. It's because they have a number of repeatable items. Sigh, I wish they had a loyalty program. 1 star off for their starkly increased menu price changes. Carmine's, I've known you and your prices for years! You drastically jumped prices in the last 1.5! Not great. Feel free to pass on: brick chicken, spaghetti read more

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Very nice setup... Amazing service with very knowledgeable staff. Food came out pretty fast and hot, I ordered the crab and lobster pasta which was very good. Nice size portion as well, i didn't know that Carmine's had a Chicago location as well. I will come back and visit this location next time I'm in town.. read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This past Saturday, February 15th, I celebrated my 50th birthday. I booked a party for 8 people several weeks ago. When booking the reservation, I confirmed with the lady on the phone that it was imperative we have a round table so we could all see and talk to one another. She said that had round tables for 8 and assured me we could get a round table for 8. On the morning of the 15th, they even called me to confirm the table of 8 and I let her know we were all coming. When we arrived on Saturday night, we were met by the young male host with the gold necklace over his black shirt (I didn't get his name). I let him know 5 of us were here and the others were on their way but delayed due to NBA All-Star Weekend. Aside from myself, the other 4 with me were in their mid to upper 70's. The place was crowded in front and I asked if we could sit at our table and wait for the others, but he refused. I asked several more times reiterating it was my 50th birthday and it was difficult standing for some of the elders. He refused a couple more times. Finally, another person (maybe a manager) said to seat us. The led us to the table and sat us a long rectangular table (not round as promised and guaranteed) next to the bar, stairs and kitchen door. There was also a nice big post in between two of the chairs. I was happy they finally let us sit but was clearly disappointed by the table that they gave us. Throughout the night, it was hard to talk to the opposite ends of the table and everyone carried on their own side chats but could not have a table discussion due to the configuration. I would have made an issue that night, but this was my 50th birthday dinner and wanted to try and enjoy it but didn't. It's not like we all shared a pizza, we ordered appetizers, salads, main courses, 2 bottles of wine, dessert, cocktails, and other items as well. Our Family has been coming to Carmine's since it first opened back in the mid-'90s. We have had many family events here and several bigger events in their party rooms upstairs. To say we have been here over 250+ times is an understatement. To be treated like 3rd class on the Titanic by their host (in the beginning) and to be given one of the worst tables (not even upstairs) for my planned 50th birthday was the biggest smack in the face after all these years of our loyal patronage. This was one of my favorite places to go in Chicago, but that changed on Saturday. We had double reservations at Shaw's Crab House and another top restaurant, but they could not guarantee a round table for 8, so we canceled the others and chose Carmine's. Big mistake! Completely disappointed and not the way I wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday. They obviously no longer pride themselves on taking care of their regular customers and above all, they lack in customer satisfaction. There are plenty of good restaurants in Chicago and after 25 years, we can take this one off our list. We will miss Danny the Server and Ralph at the Bar. Respectfully, A 25 Year Customer read more

I'll always recommend a rosebuds affiliated restaurant. Their choices of food is spectacular. We went on Valentine's Day and the waiters and greeters are so respectful. I love the positive work vibe they have. Super classy place. Best part is we didn't wait too long for our food considering it was valentines read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I have been to Carmine's many times for dinner and it's always consistently excellent but I had no idea that Carmine's did brunch on Saturday- so had a reservation after Covid quarantine and it was Awesome!! Eggs Benedict, Crab Benedict, and the Rigatoni was GREAT! So happy they're open! Great food and service as usual! read more

Carmine's - Carrot cake! - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Nothing like being trapped at O'Hare due to weather, snacks in the lounge scarce, to make you opine abt last night's meal. The plan had been to end up at Ema, but somewhere along the way B decided she wanted meatballs and to be w/in walking distance of her palace, so although we all know there is much better Italian in the city, to Carmine's we went, with what seemed like half the tourist population that had descended upon our fine city. The menu is fairly classic for a red sauce joint - you can start w eggplant rotollo, grigliato misto, or dip into a caprese salad or a slurp of pasta e fagioli - for mains, there is more bolongese, arrabiata, alfredo, and primavera than can safely be consumed and if for some reason you're going keto and happen to be dragged here, there are a bounty of meaty/seafoody entrees at your disposal. We started w calamari, grilled octopus/shrimp, and a chopped salad - the portions are meant to be huge, but I actually found the starters a bit skimpy; $23 of grilled seafood was definitely not present during our meal, and charging $16 for a chopped salad w ingredients that might have been impressive in 1997 is truly a shonda. Never a wild bunch, we skipped the pasta mains and went for whitefish piccata, mussels, and a sea bass special - and it's here where one order easily would serve two. The piccata is buttery and comforting, the mussels a bit unimpressive but edible. A side of pasta primavera was adequate, the pasta cooked al dente, the sauce a bit lackluster, naturally I preferred the garlicky/salty spinach. While din was fine, the behemoth slice of chocolate mousse cake we got did make up for 70% of the meal's average performance - rich and dark, it was devoured entirely. Would have hit the carrot cake without regrets, or even a cheesecake if asked again. Gelato and berries is available for the waist conscious, but really, what's the point of that by this time in your meal. Service is friendly though not totally dialed in; order errors are quickly fixed. I can easily see how a table gets ignored for thirty min as the place is a zoo - our table of four was no match for the multiple tables of 10-15+ surrounding us. Starters $10-23, salads $14-20, mains $28-55, desserts $12-14. Despite all of this, there is something comforting abt a place that remains unchanged, its mediocrity a celebration in its own right. I can't say I didn't enjoy the meal and when aunt B wants something vesuvio or marsala, I won't say no to a repeat nosh. read more

We've been coming here for Thanksgiving for years and have never had a bad experience. Unfortunately, we had a negative experience all around today from the service to the food. In years past, our group is seated quickly and taken care of well and efficiently. Our server for years, Sam, is wonderful but his usual quality of service was hindered by what must be behind the scenes changes. Service: we had several servers who couldn't seem to keep us or each other straight. It took extremely long to even get someone to come to our table and we even had to ask the manager to send someone over. At the end of the evening, one of the members of our party approached the manager to provide some feedback and was laughed at and mocked. Food: The quality just wasn't the same this year. The bread seemed stale, we had to ask for more bread (which is usually replenished quickly), and the chicken, pasta, and traditional thanksgiving meals were lackluster. We have lasagna every year and the sauce tasted as though it was straight from the can and possibly microwaved for about a minute just to warm it up. The thanksgiving meal also changed quite a bit and wasn't close to as good as it's been in previous years. Overall, very disappointed to have spent our thanksgiving meal and money here this year. read more

Wait staff was awesome. Super professional and attentive. Food on the other hand was mediocre and the manager was just arrogant and not helpful to say the least. Definitely would not go back and that's unfortunate because again, the wait staff was awesome. read more

I love coming here. It is a beautiful part of the city and the building itself is great Chicago atmosphere. I recently became gluten free and was really exited about their gluten free options. However, since being gluten free I explored away from the pasta and checked out their filet. Let me say, I am a big ribeye girl and usually skip on the filet (personal opinion). However, I got it one night and it was cooked PERFECT and the sauce is incredibly. Ive came back three times now and ordered the filet and its been perfect and consistent every time. I never leave a single mushroom on my plate it's that good. Cant wait to get back here after quarantine. I might not be able to wait and will look into delivery options. read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The first time I came here I brought my for brunch since I am not an egg eater and I failed 3 times at home - so he ended up with scrambled! At brunch we had excellent service and they have enough on their menu to satisfy any breakfast fan. I had the yummy cinnamon french toast while he enjoyed the italian omlette. The next time I was there for dinner with a friend and had the pasta while he went for the flavorful steak. read more

First fancy dinner since returning to Chicago and it was amazing! The outdoor dining is beautiful- although- I don't think I was 6 feet away from the surrounding tables. As far as food goes- it's delicious and the portions are generous. Great sangria too! read more

Carmine's - Rigatoni Alla Vodka - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Warm and inviting environment, not if you are AA. Hostess was not very accommodating, 6 beautiful women sat at a table for 4 (4 chairs) and asked to pull chairs up to the table to accommodate the rest of the party. We were elegantly dressed and all members in our party paid for valet parking. Once a few refused to not accept the smaller table the hostess stomp away and offered another table steps away from the back door where it was extremely cold. Our bill was well over $500.00, and the soup was salty. Yes, I was upset and vowed to never come again. We or I will never go where I am not celebrated but tolerated and that is exactly how we felt. read more

Carmines is a cool traditional looking restaurant that opened in the early 90s the owner Alex also has the famous rosebud Restaurants. Carmines has excellent service we were waited on by Victor who was an impeccable waiter he knew the menu from front to back. Victor made excellent recommendations on dishes and he had no problem improvising anything that I wanted to make as far as changes. I first ordered a cosmopolitan martini with Kettle One Vodka and true to form that's exactly what he brought me his demeanor was smooth and pleasant and he made our dining experience that much better. My first course was the caprese salad and I also had avocado, capers and artichoke hearts added. it was a large and hardy. An incredibly delicious Starter. The mozzarella was fresh and the tomatoes were ripe and red. My friend ordered the fillet mignon done medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. I ordered the square noodles it was nice but I should've had sauce put on it when it was brought instead of asking for it on the side but that was my fault. Please note there marinara sauce has a big kick to it so if you don't like spicy food at all then get the Vodka sauce. The bathrooms are spotless and in the ladies room they have an attendant that's there till close with sticks of gum hairspray and to pass you a towel after you wash your hands. They keep several TVs on so you can watch the baseball game which this evening was going on and everyone at the bar was excited because the Cubs were winning. You also can see fabulous photos of Alex with Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett all the wonderful Italian Americans that of come to eat at his authentic restaurants. There's plenty of outdoor dining which is great because it's a list of who's who outside especially during the summer. Great restaurant great food great ambience great music, great outdoor seating and the prices are reasonable for what you get. very clean so if you're in Chicago you must come to Carmine's! read more

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Went there Saturday night. Gentleman at the door was very nice and pleasant; sat us at the covered front patio has had no reservation; he moved us later to a table to be further away from the door and being warmer. Placed order for appetizer and two entrees. Appetizer was mixture of seafood grilled but in reality mostly burnt. Then waited and waited and waited. Complaint to waitress and her answer was kitchen was busy; I pointed out people who came after us, had their dinner and are checking out; how could that be!! Finally after 70 minutes after our order was placed, the dinner came. I had linguine with clam sauce which was overly salty. This was my second time to this place, last time was many years ago and experience wasn't much better. Last time to this place for me as there are other options. read more

I've always had very good food experiences here and the staff is always friendly. My last visit here February 6, I had the beef medallions marsala with wild mushrooms, it was excellent. read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is excellent, we ordered fettuccine Alfredo with crumbled sausage and it was absolutely awesome, the bread that is served is very good as well. The service was ok, not great but the food overcame any deficiencies with the service. Go to this place. read more

Traditional Italian food. Came for a work dinner. Table ordered: Calamari - average Stuffed mushrooms - good Cesar salad - good Chilean sea bass - good Lamb chops - good Lasagna- very good Meatballs - very good Service was very attentive. Restaurant was very friendly. Would come again. Bill with tip $400 read more

Carmine's - Meat Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We had our first dinner at Carmines on Rush in Chicago. We had planned to dine on the patio or the street seating, but it was a 45 minute wait and plenty warm that evening with immediate seating inside...so make a reservation if you want to sit outside and avoid the wait. The menu is extensive and the entrees ranged from $25 to $55. My wife had the Chicken breast and I had the 8 ounce filet mignon and it was the best steak I've ever eaten. We both ordered the asparagus as a side dish and it was all we could eat! We will be back. Wonderful, world class service by Abraham and great food in a classic Italian dinning experience. read more

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Had dinner here last weekend and it was delicious.... the outside seating was perfect in the evening, not too hot! The service was great and the pasta was delicious. We usually dine at Tavern (next door) but I am a major pasta lover and will be back to Carmine's very soon. read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I had a late lunch today with 2 friends at Carmines and it was great. We had Italian sausage and calamari as our appetizers. Carmines calamari is the best in Chicago hands down. The batter was crunchy but not dry and over cooked like most places. For my main dish I had the Italian beef sandwich. The beef was nice and juicy while the bread roll was soft but chewy. The portions for lunch are big so be hungry when you come here. Our server Rip was also superb. He was attentive and made sure all our dishes came out correct. The bussers also did a great job of clearing dishes and keeping our water glasses full on a hot chicago afternoon. read more

Carmine's - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service gets 5 stars. But...there's always a but when my review starts like that. But this is an over-priced tourist trap where quantity over quality is their motto. It's like Gibson's but with better outdoor seating, and no celebrities or hookers. The service was wonderful but the bland $20 plate of watery spaghetti was not. School cafeteria spaghetti leaps to mind. I think this was called Carmine's Clam House when it opened, but maybe people thought it was a brothel so they changed it. It might have been called Carmine's Crab House, but the rationale for the name change would still apply. My memory ain't what it used to be. So if you are a tourist and want to spend a lot of money come here, and be generous to your servers...they don't cook the stuff they just bring it--superbly. read more

Incredible carrot cake. My table loved their dinners. The staff were attentive and the restaurant was clean. High price and high service. Great dinner int he middle evening on a Tuesday. read more

Carmine's - wine and olive oil. - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Phenomenal place!! Food and service is always excellent! Danny Levin is the best ! Plus the Linguine with clams! Super delicious! Highly recommended! Thank you. read more

Carmine's - Linguine & Clams , plus those delicious meatballs! - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food terrible, we order a pizza and it tasted like a frozen pizza from the supermarket. The service was below the average, the server never understood any requirements and got kind of desperate because he didn't get it. And high prices. Totally overrated! read more

No stars! This restaurant was absolutely terrible. Not only was the food not cooked properly and unseasoned,the level of customer service was none existent along with the uninviting atmosphere. I wouldn't recommend a rat here. read more

Service that ignores you, took 1.5 hours for food, dry bread, decent pasta. Honestly the bus boys were the most attentive and helpful. They were the best part bringing heat lamps. The kitchen was backed up and our waitress didn't come by for an hour. read more

This is my first time to this Carmines in Chicago. The only other one I had been to was in Las Vegas and thought it was good so I thought I would try this one next time we were in town. I would very much recommend it! Very food Italian food! I had the Eggplant Parmesan and my husband had the Lasagna. Both were huge helpings! I also took some Cannoli with me to go ;-). Service was very pleasant too. The picture posted is the Eggplant Parmesan I ordered. read more

Carmine's - Eggplant Parmesan! Fabulous! - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Carmines is a nice establishment with some good history around the city here. The wait was pretty long. We did have 8 people but I saw tables with far bigger and they got in just fine. So as we waiting, we talked, went to the bar to have one or two. The bartender was ok, just indifferent about working on the weekends. As we were seated, we were told the specials, and they sounded great so one of us took them on it. We also had two orders of the stuffed mushrooms... they are excellent. I had the linguini with clams. One, I bet into a something pretty tough, thought I chipped a tooth. The atmosphere was nice, but I felt a little rushed, I know they have to turn over tables but it felt like they were pushing us out a little. It was a hearty meal with a kind of lets get ya out so we can get more people in type of deal. Still a good stop none the less. read more

Conveniently located in the bustling area of North Rush street. The outdoor area is nice and spacious I was seated promptly and I was able to order within reasonable time frame. Drink order came quickly and I was able to finish it before my pizza came. Order was not understood or wrongly placed but couldn't be bothered to send it back to have it poorly fix. Waiter never came to check if I were interested in a second drink or if my order was right. When he actually brought the check, he was not even apologetic for the mistake. I guess I won't be coming back or recommend it for that matter. read more

Amazing food, drinks, staff, and location. There's no doubt about this place being a 5 star. From the host to the waiters, its all a classy establishment. Its a must do for sure. Get the calamari appetizer, and carrot cake. Lawd!!!! read more

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What's great about this restaurant is that there is so much flexibility in the menu. I was trying to decide between 3 dishes and they said they could combine all 3 for me! I had ricotta dumplings in vodka sauce with sausage and broccoli, it was lovely! Portions are massive! read more