Carino on 2nd

This review is long over due being that I promised our server I’d «yelp them» back in February. My girlfriend and I traveled to Carino on Valentines Day and we were extremely pleased with… well…everything. Our server (Carolyn from Maryland haha) was perfect. Very polite, attentive, and accommodating… yet not overbearing. The ambiance was warm and cozy. Our meals were delicious. Sadly, now, I can’t remember exactly what we ordered but I remember that my girlfriend had some type of eggplant dish and I had chicken with a garlic/​mushroom sauce. The entrées were delicious. We ate so much that we didn’t save room for dessert.
My girlfriend even went back to Carino recently (based on our experience in February) with a group of friends and they all raved about the food and service. Great job Carino!

I love Tuesday pasta nights! It makes choosing what to eat easier, and it’s a good deal for UES dining. Pasta is cooked perfectly and flavored are wonderful. The service is also fantastic!
I only wish they would improve their outdoor seating situation now that the weather is warming up: get rid of the fluorescent light!

Jonathan and Jason made our night beyond special with amazing food, wine, spectacular service and awesome music! We will definitely be coming back!

The NEW Carino’s is a truly wonderful experience and a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. Jason, the owner and head chef is a force to be reckoned with. We had a meal of the highest quality for a very decent price. The homemade pastas! the meatballs!!! the wine… all incredible. I am a future regular.

If you want to see a chef take pride in his work and eat a full-​proof Italian meal go to Carino on 2^nd! The veal with artichokes and baked mozzarella will knock your socks off! Wine won’t disappoint either.

This is by far the best Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. The staff is very friendly and the food is excellent.

I stumbled upon Carino on 2^nd last night after work. I was starving and something about it caught my eye. The décor is beautiful and they have a full bar. The service was friendly and accommodating, my food was brought out to me within a few minutes and it was delicious. I had pasta with chicken and broccoli, it was prepared perfectly, I was very pleasantly surprised. I would definitely go back to Carino.

Food was amazing and the ambiance was beautiful. Perfect place for a date. Pasta Night Tuesday was perfect and you basically build your own pasta and the sauces were insanely good. Nice spices and flavor along with the aromas to tempt any nose! The dinner prix fix includes a salad and dessert. Everyone from the waiters to the owner were so welcoming and knowledgable! A beautiful night to be repeated for sure! A must stop for anyone who wants good Italian food on the upper east side!

There are not enough words to describe how delicious and wonderful Carino’s is. But somehow, I’ll attempt to sum up my dining experience for you.
*Before anything m else: Carino’s has changed ownership (about three months ago); the new owner is the head chef, so the most important thing to him is providing food that will change lives. And it does.
Me and my brother went on a Monday evening, and were the only ones in the restaurant. Turns out they’ve only started opening on Monday’s a few weeks ago, so we understood — most Italian places are closed Monday’s. There were several delivery orders, so they were still getting business. Having the place to ourselves provided an opportunity for the server and manager to have a nice conversation with us. We split a Caesar salad and the cheese on it was fresh and amazing. Halfway through, the manager served us a plate of bruschetta on the house, and I hadn’t had bruschetta before (no lie) so I thought I’d give it a shot. Best decision ever. It was fresh, juicy, and perfect proportions of all ingredients.
I got their cheese ravioli, which was also incredible. We felt we were served in a timely manner, didn’t feel rushed or was too long.
The interior of the place is definitely a rustic charm. It’s a very slim place — long and thin, but it’s quite cozy. The plates were unique and fun, as well as the featured artwork on the walls.
Hands down the best Italian I’ve had in quite some time and that’s saying a lot from someone who pretty much only eats Italian food. Worth the trip and I suspect Monday’s will start getting busier once people hear more about this place.

Being someone who is born and raised in this neighborhood, I had always passed Carino and never ventured in, not because of any bad reviews, just wasn’t a place that I had tried yet.
Well, I can officially say, that I have been missing out big time, everything was fantastic. The manager and waitstaff were great, Angelo and Girardo thank you. We will definitely be back and will make sure people know what a hidden gem this place is.
We had an appetizer and 4 meals, and I can say, all were fantastic, one of the best Italian places we have tried hands down. Girardo was able to guide us through choosing the right meal for us and even added some customization opinions, just amazing. Everything was great.
Do not miss this opportunity to try one of the better places in NYC for Italian food.

Walking down 2^nd in route to Carino, I was unaware I was walking into a multi generational location. For years, Mama Carino held firm the very same ground and people came in droves to enjoy her classic Italian fare.
The muted outside appeal quickly washes away upon entering, as I absorbed the slightly Mediterranean theme. Once seated, I opened my menu unsure of what Italian food to expect — -Regional? Neuvo? Progressive with outside influence?
The menu read well, Al Forno, Signature Pasta, Seafood, Veal and no shortage of chicken dishes. As our waiter and artist Gerardo approached I had my appetite and appetizers at the ready which I amended after a beautiful delivery of some of the favorites enjoyed everyday by the regulars.
A classic starter could not be denied —-
My personal favorite — the Stuffed Artichoke expressed its intense flavor so clearly to me. Steamed then perhaps a bit of frying in extra virgin olive oil was picture perfect, the breading & meat of this choke with a glass of a crisp Vermantino (2014 Fattoria do Magliano) set the high taste tone that was to continue.
Calamari can be a wildcard, never really knowing if the frozen, precut & bagged is in play – or — as was the case at Carino, the fresh more oval than flatly shaped squid was served with two distinctly different dipping sauces. Appropriately named ‘Crispy’ the calamari was light, extremely fresh and plated well, atop slightly charred greens with two dipping options — this lightly breaded and citrus (y) app was wonderfully fresh and flavorful starter.
Three starters seem slightly gluttonous but i have zero will power and had to try the Prosciutto, Finocchiona, Pickled Vegetables & Olives with another Vermantino of course which blended with the fennel salumi and Italian Mozzarella, rustically cut and as all enveloping harmoniously as the classic jazz being played in the background.
I love Old Blue Eyes but its beyond overdone in the Italian restaurant scene.
The Lincoln Sausage was served al dente in an extra hearty meat ragu was an excellent representation of the magnificent cooking of Bolognia, and Yes, I’ve been to the Red City.
When the general manager Angelo warmly greeted our table I knew this restaurant was in good hands. Soft spoken and sincere we shared some high & low brow wine talk, as i admired the beautiful interior design. I learned something very important from Angelo in that moment I had apparently overlooked or had forgotten about. The high importance of temperatures on the served dish.
From the Caesar Salad which was chilled, not to mention cut perfectly specifically for my order, but it got me thinking that every dish I enjoyed had temperature differences, all part of the intention? — I say an unequivocal ‘Yes’ in classic Italian, form and function just like Armani and Ferrari.
Veal Bennedetta was a twist on my veal experience, less pounded this Italian favorite meat was a tad thicker which held up well to the garlic cream sauce and combined a common texture with the lovely shrimp. Brava!!!
Chicken Alla Griglia was served with the bone in, second slight French influence for those keeping score. I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that 99 percent of chicken served in restaurants are breasts without the added work that comes with bone in and likely costs under a dollar a pound. Not here at Carino— Served with roasted baby carrots, the bone in approach speaks volumes to this magnificent flavor and overall magnificent dining experience. Brava Carino.Brava.
I forgot to mention the wine list. uuugh, quick addition here:
The well crafted wine list spoke to a keep eye of the creator, who appeared to take into account and pay attention to all of Italy’s twenty one respective regions with bottles ranging from $ 30.00 to $ 90.00 with an attractive Super Tuscan at a very reasonable mid $ 60.00 a bottle.
***Single guys*** This is a first dinner date MUST, trust me.

This used to be a staple for my boyfriend & I on Wednesday (they used to offer a free glass of wine with entrée) — food was good, ambiance was nice, and the price was decent for the neighborhood. However, they’ve recently come under new management, and our last experience there left much to be desired. I understand there’s going to be a bit of transition, but the waiter had no knowledge of the menu, and the manager was rather pushy about their «new & improved» wine selection. I had the chicken parm which I used to love here but there was barely any sauce on it and overall it was just meh.

Menu claims to have been here for 30+ years however, the person «in charge» kept claiming/​making the excuse that it was only their 4^th days «under new ownership»…no drink menus made it hard to decide what types of wines they had. Cheaply put a bottle on the table trying to upsell it. Waitress could not answer even the most basic of questions about the menu such as «what type of sauce comes on an entrée». Ordered water for the table upon first meeting with waitress and waited 20 minutes.
Waitress never followed up about menu questions. Waited over 30 minutes for simple chicken parm and a pasta dish in red gravy and sausage. Used car salesman of a manager refilled my gfs half filled glass of wine «on him».
The whole experience was in very poor taste.
Overall the food was mediocre which is why they get two stars. However, when a side of pasta is ordered with a plate of chicken parm, it’s usually expected that it comes with some sauce on it.

I am a regular at Carino. Come here for an authentic Italian experience. It is beautifully decorated with a wonderful ambiance! The customer service is top-​notch! Desiree the owner is the nicest hostess and remembers us every time we come in. Their bruschetta and chocolate mouse are AAAAAAMAZING! I would come here just for that if everything else wasn’t also great!
Tuesday’s have a great deal where you get bruschetta, salad, pasta, and dessert for $ 17.00. They also serve the pesto that night which is a personal favorite!

We were excited to try this place after reading the really great reviews.
The food wasn’t bad, I had the chicken part, and the portion size wasn’t too large but was enough for me to be full with a bit leftover. All around though I have to say it was a mediocre experience.
Several times we assumed the waitress just forgot about us, including when we had to flag her down to ask her to take our order. It wasn’t her fault, she was the only waitress for the night. On a Saturday, I’d figure they would have at least two. There was another woman helping who seemed like a manager or owner, and I was less impressed with her… She saw us walk in and ignored us standing awkwardly in the door waiting for someone to greet us and seat us. I would probably order from here for takeout but there are better places for a sit down experience.
Also– random thing to add, but we found the automatic cheese grater they use to be very loud and distracting to other tables, not to mention a bit tacky.

Love this place, food is amazing, great people… I will definitely recommend this restaurant.

I have been to Carino on 2^nd several times and love the food and service, especially Des! I recently went with my sister and niece and this is what my 6 year old niece had to say: I liked when I got to meet chef Roberto and his spaghetti and meatballs are the best! I loved the chocolate mousse too. But the best was bringing the check to my mom and my aunt and helping Des with the register!

My boyfriend took me to this place and I’m so thankful he did! I love the Tuesday special you get to pick what pasta you want and you get dessert after.

Let me preface this by saying that the wait staff was very friendly and nice… HOWEVER, the food was AWFUL! Italians would we offended if you called this Italian food.
We ordered 3 dishes, one worse than the next. The risotto tasted like undercooked rice and water. The marinara sauce was sooooooooooo acidic and tasted as if it came straight out of a can.
I would not wish this food on my worst enemy. The only thing that made me angerier than eating bad food was paying 40 dollars per person for it.
Stay away. Do not recommend!

Avoid! Just got my order and am now looking «pasta fagioli» it’s chicken broth with spinach and noodles. They basically took Italian wedding soup and removed the meatballs.
Pasta is absolutely disgusting, if I wanted to spend $ 45 on Lipton soup broth and a microwaved entrée I could have went to the grocery store.
These reviews are 10 000% fake and I would never order from here again.