Carmines Italian Restaurant

04/26/2008 Posted by jac39

I had the pleasure of dining at Carmine's for the first time this Friday. I am pleased to say that I would definetely return. The portion were great and the atmosphere was exciting. At times the room felt a little small and would have liked extra space, but I guess that is what happens if you in a busy restaurant. I would definetely make reservations in advance.

04/21/2008 Posted by missicozza

I have never seen so much food in my life. When they say family style they really mean it. Me and my friends went and order a few pasta's, we all left with leftovers. PS try the rigatoni country

03/29/2008 Posted by CCAALL

My letter to Channel 10 can tell the story..... Dear Channel 10, I am appauled at the way the situation has been handled by the restaurant manager Ming Way. I have spoken to him on several occasion. When I addressed this issue to Alaina Bart, she transferred me to Ming Way (He was the manager who came to my table that same night.) who again apologized for what happened but insisted he couldn't tell me if the employee will be reprimanded. After speaking to him 2 weeks ago, he said he would call me back on a Thursday to give me some news as to how the situation will be handled. When he called me back on a Thursday, all he could say was he couldn't tell me when or if she will be terminated, but when we do come back in to the restaurant, to let him know so that he can come over and say hello. I was insulted by that gesture! I felt that he did not care we were insulted and humiliated by ONE OF THIER EMPLOYEES! He actually thought a $60 discount and a hello when we return to Carmine's was enough for the humiliation we endured and for ruining a birthday celebration. From my understanding this employee not been terminated, which is why I am glad I cancelled my reservation for tonight. If insulting, and humiliating customers are thier way of business, then rest assure my friends and I will not come back to your restaurant. I am very much disappointed, especially when I am a good customer. I have dined in at Carmines with my friends at least 10 times since it's opening. Since Carmine's management has not done nothing about this, I am making it a point to be heard by anyone who is willing to listen. And I am also seeking for legal advise. I do understand that me and that employee has personal issues, but March 14th, during a birthday celebration dinner at Carmine's was neither the right time or place for it.

03/15/2008 Posted by jobrien179

Don't waste your time and money. We were anticipating an extraordinary dining experience only to be very dissapointed. We were greated and seated promptly by very friendly staff on a Friday night with no reservation. The waitress came over in a timely manner and she explained about the family style servings which was very helpful. We ordered our beverages and when she came back we ordered our entrees we were told to order to servings of pasta for $12.00 each for 4 people. When the meal came out we were surprised to see that we could have ordered one order of pasta and still had much left over. The chicken parm was fair, the veal parm was burned and tasteless, the cheese overwhelmed both the veal and the chicken. When we were ready to leave, and wrap up the remaining food for our Dog we waited 25 minutes finally the Assistant Manager came over and offered to wrap up the food, he took the food and then proceeded to the next table and played some type of card game with a table of patrons for 10 minutes. All the while we were waiting to pay our bill, take our doggie bag, and put the experience behind us. In 15 more minutes the waitress came by and dropped our food with us, and my husband had to ask for the check while she was trying to scurry away. We finally paid and were on our way and will put this bad dining experience behind us.

Pros: nice atmosphere, hostess very friendly

Cons: poor service, food poor

03/07/2008 Posted by eastsideprov

Big dissapointment....rude service. Living in providence, I have high expectations for quality food and friendly service. I anticipated Carmine's would be up to par with Federal Hill in both. I was driving my parents through Lincoln, helping them find an apartment and figured we'd try Carmines on a Saturday evening. I expected a long wait at the bar, but was excited to find only one full table in the whole restaurant. The maître d' refused to seat us around 7pm, stating "You need a reservation before 9pm. After that we take walk-ins". I walked away disgusted and called one of my favorite restaurants "CAV" and was seated immediately despite how busy it was. Long story short-- stay away from 'chain restaurants' like Carmine's if you are used to fine dining. I read that Carmines hours have been cut to being open only on weekends. I bet even that will end soon. For exceptional Italian, Try Pizzico on Hope St. Rated best in RI!

09/20/2007 Posted by greatash

I've been to Carmine's in Lincoln, RI 4 times. The first 2 (May 07) went well. The food is very good, family style, with generous portions. The last 2 times Ive been there (June, Sept 07) mistakes were made that will keep me from returning. Both times, I ordered the veal parm and received the chix parm. The 1st time the mistake was made, I was in a hurry and did not want to wait for a replacement. I asked if maybe Carmine's could provide me with desert on the house. The assis manager came to my table and apologized, saying that they had been having problems with a new chef, making errors. I got my free desert . So I recently went back and the service was terrible. I had to wait 45 min for a table (but this was expected as it was prime time). the bread came very late. All the while, the waitress blamed the busboy for not bringing the bread out (instead of just getting it herself and talking with him privately). Then, for the 2nd time, I received chix parm instead of veal. At 1st, my waitress said, "No you ordered the chicken parm." I said that I did not and saw her write down veal on her pad. She looked at her pad, realized her mistake and apologized. After 1st discouraging me from getting a replacement(saying "Its gonna be a while")she took the chix back.I noticed the assis GM behing the bar and spoke to him, telling him that this was the 2nd time I ordered veal and got chix.He apologized, said that the entree was on the house, and offered desert also on the house.My waitress came back, I tried to tell her about my convo with the AGM, but she kept talking over me.She said how all the staff in the back were enjoying the chicken. She mentioned that "the managers dont have to know about this."I told her I had said something to the manager. She apologized for her mistake and, since I had spoken with the AGM, she did not charge me for the replacement veal or desert. The bottom line tho, is that I would rather not have this happen. and twice no less.

Pros: good food, family style

Cons: service, some food was cold

06/19/2007 Posted by revjeff

When we heard that Carmine's in New York was opening a branch at the Twin River ("casino") in Lincoln, Rhode Island, wer were in heaven. We always visited Carmine's when we went to New York, and now, with a branch about 25 miles away from us, we could go much more often. To get to the restaurant, you have to trek across the big parking lot, and then through room after room of slot machines and garish lights. The smell of cigartee smoke wafted readilyt hrough the air. Not a good introduction to the place, but nothing the management can help, certainly. If you don't like casinos (that is, slot machine cities) maybe you should eat elsewhere. But even when we got to the restaurant, the disappointments continued. The decor is not as warm and comfortable as at the New York location we've been to: here, at Twin River, it's more like a glorified food court. The service was friendly enough, but slow-- young and not at all well-trained; needing to be asked for place settings for each person; asked for water glasses; etc. The waitress didn't seem to know much about the menu, and had nothing to recommend when we asked. Maybe with time, this will improve (we visited about a month after their opening). The food was tasty, but nothing extraordinary. Servings seems smaller than in New York, but maybe this was the particular items we chose and the fact that there were more of us dining. But when we asked the waitrese if she thought if would be enough, she replied, "Sure." It wasn't. . We asked for angel hair; didn't get it; had to ask again. When it arrived, everything else was cold-- or already eaten. Then, worst of all, when we told the manager of our less than exemplary experience, he shrugged and said, "You should have been here a month ago." Full of excuses and very defensive: not the way to accept constructive criticism from customers, not if you want them to return. We won't-- to Twin River. But Carmine's in the Theater District of New York still has our hearts.

Pros: good food

Cons: inexperienced service