Carmines Di Vega - New Haven

The best tomato sauce I’ve ever tasted! The sauce is outstanding! Everything is incredibly fresh and delicious. The high-quality homemade bread and salad that come with the dishes truly elevate the meal. I typically order takeout because I’m too busy to eat in, but the food is consistently spectacular each time! Overall rating: 5/5 for the food.

On July 3rd, the restaurant was quite busy. A party of about a dozen was seated in the front/bar area and seemed to be receiving attentive service. However, those of us in the back were left with just one and a half waiters, with no extra assistance. There were eight tables occupied in the back, including one with six or eight people. A few tables, including ours, decided to leave after waiting over an hour for our entrees without any updates. Additionally, they didn't have the wine we requested, and their selection was already quite limited. Our waiter appeared to be completely overwhelmed; he eventually brought us the wine but forgot to provide glasses. Aside from the wine, nothing about this experience was acceptable.

Carmine’s is my new favorite restaurant! Delicious classic Italian cuisine, beautiful presentation, and incredibly attentive service. !Food: 5/5

Disappointed Diner Having just eaten here this evening we can offer mixed reviews for the food and absolutely terrible reviews for the service. Ordered the Burrata Proscuitto, Chicken Soup, PEI Mussels with Garlic and white wine. Veal Scallopini, Lobster Pappardelle di Vega. Starters were nice however the mussels were massively overcooked perhaps left under the heat lamp but sauce was very nice so we did not return. Our waiter was new and inexperienced so we wanted to make life easy. The Kids meatballs were fine as was the chicken soup. The Veal scallopini special was ok but not delicious as my husband never usually leaves half. For me the main offender was the ‘Pappardelle di Vega’ egg noodles with hand picked lobster meat, shrimp, and asparagus in a brandy and tomato cream sauce. Sounds great right? I’m a Lobster Fettucine fan. I love the creamy sauces and it’s a go to dish for me so this sounded yummy. My dish arrived and it was swimming in sauce like soup. Undeterred I tasted the pappardelle and it was slimy and soggy with no bite. I then searched the pasta for the lobster and finding nothing but four shrimp and stewed asparagus, I asked to speak to the manager. I could not believe it when he began picking through my dish with a fork showing me tiny specs of lobster throughout the sauce! Yes, really! I told him that this was one of my favorite go to dishes that I regularly eat at other restaurants and it was so disappointing and most definitely not hand picked lobster he said “oh WOW, what do you expect for $22” I corrected him advising the dish was actually $29, very poorly cooked and not as described.. Comparatively this is an average price for this dish and most certainly not a deal by any stretch of the imagination. We immediately returned the dish to the kitchen and asked for the check. I can honestly say I’m shocked and upset having been spoken to like that in a restaurant where I’m buying dinner with my kids. Incredibly bad attitude and totally unprofessional. Our bill was $140 with drinks and a total of $26 gratuity was added undeservingly which we duly paid then left disgusted.

I have been dining here for many years and I’ve never had a bad meal. The portions are quite generous and the food is absolutely delicious. The prices are very reasonable too. I particularly enjoy the calamari, which is served in a New York style, as well as the chicken Francaise and chicken Marsala for my main course. In summary, I highly recommend this restaurant. Food: 5/5