Carmine’s

Carmine’s is a must have every time we visit Chicago. The food is very deliciously prepared. On my last visit, I tried the crab stuffed white fish and my husband ordered filet mignon. He was a little confused when he asked for roasted potatoes and a soupy potato dish with peas was presented. It tasted good, but the dish could have been better explained, since my husband was not referencing the menu when he made the request. The service is great. Overall we have been very pleased and we hope to continue visiting Carmine’s when we visit the Windy City.

Always love this place. Solid, always great food. Great wine list and cocktails. Very affordable for downtown Chicago and live piano music on Fridays.

After making a 7:30 reservation and being told upon arrival that our table was being cleaned off and our wait would only be 10 – 15 minutes we decided to pass the time by sitting at the bar. After taking 100 $ from us for sub par Moscow mules and wasting 1 hour and 50 minutes of our time whilst continually leading us on saying that they needed «just a few more minutes» to get our table set and seating parties that arrived after us our party of 10 decided to leave at 9:20 and go else where. I understand maybe over booking on a busy night by 30 or maybe even 45 minutes but almost 2 hours? Completely unacceptable. They figured that a free glass of cheap champagne would ease the pain. It didn’t. Will never go back.

I dined here on the first night of restaurant week with 3 of my friends. From the beginning the entire experience was absolutely perfect. Our server was very friendly & attentive without being overly present. I will say the restaurant week dining was an INSANELY great deal. You get a soup/​salad, a main, a side, & dessert all for $ 44. I have actually never had that much food in front of me at one time. As far as Italian places go, I am really into the old school feel of this place & will definitely be back!

Great, quick service. Very good food. Not the best Italian I’ve ever had, but it was delicious. Love the ambiance, love that there is an attendant in the bathrooms. I loved the sausage and peppers dish and the burrata. Eggplant Parmesan was giant, but the slices weren’t pressed so the texture wasn’t quite right. But still tasty nonetheless. My son’s bolognese also very tasty. I would definitely return.

Came to Carmines for the first time to kick off restaurant week. Victor was our waiter and he was completely wonderful. He made some fantastic suggestions from wine to dinner, to dessert. I’m so glad I asked him for recommendations; among others, he totally opened my eyes to the delicious garlic broiled califlower with lemon. Mouthwatering and completely delicious. I will absolutely be coming back here. The atmosphere was classy, relaxing and everything I needed
after a long week at work.

We came here thinking it was the same Carmine’s as the one in New York. Let’s just say, this is DEFINITELY NOT Carmine’s of New York… what a disappointment. The noodles were cold, the sauce was average. the only good thing was the bread and olive oil and Parmesan.

I live in the neighborhood and have been coming here for years, and every time I eat here I vow to never go back. The food is underwhelming, the prices eye popping and on a busy night forget about the service.
Unfortunately, the restaurants in the Gold Coast just don’t care anymore.

Went here with friends for drinks, great staff, beautiful atmosphere. Very expensive, but a nice place to go for a special occasion.

Visiting this place on Christmas may have been the worst experience I’ve ever had, and I need to share to warn my fellow future diners.
It started when we walked in the door, and the manager insisted on calling me «Alexander» rather than «Alexandra», even after the (very polite) hostess corrected him. To which he said «I know», and continued calling me by the wrong name.
We were sat directly under heaters that were up way too high, and even though we were inside (?), they kept the heaters on full blast throughout the duration of our meal. We were extremely uncomfortable and sweating the whole time.
It took about 10 – 15 minutes for us to be greeted once sat. Our waitress was extremely rude, and even told us we didn’t need more bread when we asked for seconds.
When our food came out, they sat it on a tray near our table, but no one came to actually put it on our table for several minutes. We were so hungry that I actually debates getting us, walking over, and serving the plates to my group myself.
I asked for the spicy marinara sauce with my ravioli, and instead of giving me the spicy marinara sauce, they put about two spoonfuls of red chili flakes on top of my dish. Even after scraping it off, my dining companions and I all agreed it was too spicy to eat. I forced my four ravioli down anyway, because at $ 20+ for a tiny portion, I was hungry and didn’t want to waste my food.
The service was so bad that the poor elderly group behind us even took to wildly waving their arms in the air for 17 minutes (we timed it, because we thought it was so ridiculous) to get a server’s attention for their check. Even though several servers made eye contact with them, it was quite a while before anyone went over.
Overall — the service was TERRIBLE, food semi-​mediocre, and atmosphere just as bad. Also, the bathrooms are extremely dirty. Save your money and go elsewhere. Perhaps to Osteria via Stato, a few blocks away.

I have eatin here in the past and never been impressed or much of a fan but my experience on Christmas Eve defiantly warrants a review. Yah yah I know it’s a holiday and they are busy but they also WAY overbooked. We were seated 50 minutes late for our reservation. The service was horrible and rude. Some prime examples of this were I ordered I caprese salad as a starter for myself and it came out split on three plates and placed in front of everyone dining. When I explained that was my salad and was not ordered to be split he took the other 2 plates and SLAMMED them all in front of me and said oh… HERE! Ummm ok! I later asked if we could get some more water as everyone had run out and he came and filled mine and left the other 2 empty. We were drinking wine so it’s not as if we were cheap or anything (especially since they are charging the amount per glass I can buy a full bottle). The food that was served pizza pasta salads etc were overdressed and over spiced and nothing that would bring me back… but the experience we had was defiantly more than enough to keep me away. The BADDDAAH BINNGGG attitude and vibe they give to their customers doesn’t do it for me. BAADDAAHH BYEEEE!

Given the area, prices, and vibe of the restaurant, I figured this place would be very good. I got pizza and it was good, but nothing really special. I guess I would have to try some other dishes, but I’m vegetarian and my options are very limited. Service was okay.

Expensive. Great service. Good selection of seafood.
Try the Chilean sea bass.
Stuffed mushrooms and calamari are really good.

I love you Carmine’s! I will shout it from the rooftop… I LOVE YOU! Everything from the upscale Rush St. ambiance, to the classic Italian food and feel… Carmine’s is legit. My two girlfriends and I dined here tonight after some shopping on Michigan Ave. Upon walking in we see Bill Rancic… um could he be any cuter, nicer, amazing-​er?! Ok sorry this review is for Carmine’s, not Rancic. Anyhoo, we had the pick of the litter as to where we wanted to sit so we chose a nice table outside on their heated patio.
Our waitress was a doll and didn’t rush us one but as we sat and chatted and mulled over the HUGE wine list. We all ordered variations of red, and they were all very enjoyable! For food we split the baked mussels and sausage pizza. The mussels were FAB and the sauce was genius. Pizza was equally tasty… not one bite left on the plate.
Sadly we opted out of dessert but I’m sure it would have pleased. Carmine’s is a sexy, and delicious spot and encompasses what Rush St. is all about. I will definitely be back… hopefully sooner rather than later:)

This sweet little place was just the ticket for an afternoon lunch, before leaving from my business trip. I ordered a glass of Riesling, and spaghetti and meatballs!
Perfect sauce, the meatball was piping hot, with just the right spices, even the noddles tasted freshly made!
I sat outside, which was wonderful in this fall weather!
I plan to come back on my next visit to Chicago!

I hosted a birthday celebration here last Saturday night. Planning the menu remotely was very simple and there were a variety of options. Our tables were located at the back of the patio with heaters. It was quite comfortable despite the cool evening.
We had what seemed to be some dedicated staff to take care of us. The food was delicious and there was SO much of it.
I made an amazing selection in choosing Carmine’s. I highly recommend them for your private party.

We made a reservation for dinner here on a Saturday night and were hoping to get a seat outside. The place was packed and the hostess said the wait for a table outside was an hour, no thanks! I would have to say this place is mediocre at best. It’s sad when your favorite part of the meal was the French bread served with olive oil and parmesan cheese. The olive oil was delicious. Unfortunately, the rest of our meals didn’t pan out that way.
I ordered the chicken marsala and my boyfriend had the steamed mussels. This is when I have to say it’s about quality NOT quantity. The serving sizes were huge but the food wasn’t good. The chicken was dry and was loaded with mushrooms but hardly any sauce. Also, they were not served with a side of mashed potatoes like usual. They only served it with a tiny plate of rigatoni. :(The mussels were not fresh and a couple of the shells were broken. Having worked in a restaurant many moons ago, I know that any mussel shells that are broken or cracked should be thrown out, not cooked.
We were really looking forward to some authentic Italian but were mistaken. We fell for the tourist trap haha. There are many other better options for dinner on Rush St.

Always a great night at Carmine’s!
I Usually have my birthday dinners here with my girls,
Love the live music, the dim lights, and the food great! –sitting outside on Rush st. during the summer is just perfect. Going back soon.

Decent place. Went there on a Saturday for lunch, and we were lucky enough to have a table for 2 available on the terrace. The lunch was pleasant, staff was extremely friendly. We ordered draft beers that were good — I mean, how can draft beers not be good?
However I was a little bit disappointed by the food. My dad had spaghetti, which tasted good. I ordered a burger and the meat came a little burnt, it is a pity because everything else was very good. I hope it was exceptional and wouldn’t mind to try the place again to make sure of that.

My Chicagoan friend took me here on my last night for a nice and fancy dinner.
We made reservations in advance but it took us quite a while to get seated. Sidenote: isn’t that the point of reservations? The whole getting a table experience wasn’t great as we were directed to go upstairs and waited until someone acknowledged us finally and were directed to a seat. Also we were missing a drink menu. The whole thing just seemed rushed and hurried.
I had the tortellini carbonara because it sounded good from the website description (bacon, cream, cheese… yum!). Despite the previous issues, the pasta was DELICIOUS. I was so inspired that when I went home to ATL I made tortellini with cream sauce because of nostalgia, but I digress.
In all, the food is supreme but the front of house may need some work so it is only a-​ok in my book.