Carmine's Italian Restaurant - Washington D.C.

We actually dined here 2 nights in a row 🤭
Sat night - Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna, Strawberry Shortcake- loved (and ate) it all. Yes we were 🐷 (didn’t have lunch). Louis was our waiter and service from the staff was very attentive. We sat near the pathway from the kitchen so we got to see some amazing dishes walk by. Portions are HUGE and delicious.
Sun night - No reservation but walked in at 5 and it was a 45 min wait. Bar is open seating and had plenty of seats but we had a kid and could only sit at the bar high tops which were full. We were willing to wait and after 2 min, the host Kevin came by and said a table was available. We felt very welcomed and were so appreciative. Jeremy was our waiter and checked with us several times to ensure we had what we needed. He also brought us a bread basket which was such a treat. We ordered chicken Marsala, broccoli, and a kid’s chicken parmigiana (it’s an adult portion in the normal world and a steal at $10!)

Tips:
* Use Open Table for reservations (set an alert if your date/time is not available since things change)
* Come hungry or prepared to take home leftovers
* Scope out the bar if you have a smaller, adult group (they have bar specials too)
* Chicken Parmigiana = YES
* You can order the lunch sandwiches for dinner! We saw a meatball sandwich and a sausage/peppers walk by.

All the food was great and we would order it all again but the real stars are the staff that provide such AMAZING service!!

We went here for a Christmas Girls Night Out and we had the absolute best time! Our waiter was very attentive and helpful. We asked him for lots of recommendations and he absolutely delivered with some fantastic dishes! I am gluten free so he was very helpful to get our table gluten free dishes to share. The atmosphere in the restaurant was wonderful- classy but relaxed. We definitely recommend going to Carmine's for a nice dinner experience!

Our friendly and professional waiter, Charles, added the perfect touch to our first visit at this Carmine’s restaurant in D.C. The manager and hostess are both phenomenal people that made our experience very memorable! Every plate ordered was freshly prepared, tasted divine, and presented in a traditional Italian family style that makes you feel so pampered!! We are so grateful to the staff for making us feel like family.

We liked the penne a la vodka (very creamy), the fried calamari ( loved the crunch), and scarpariello wings. We remembered to order from the lunch menu, as the dinner servings were large, we still had enough for a meal at the restaurant and a couple more meals at home. Really reasonable prices. We received excellent service from Makayla and the rest of the staff.

I went here with some friends for a lunch, and we had a really good meal! I recommend going for lunch in the early afternoon, because the restaurant atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. However, I’m sure going for dinner would be just fine, too.
The service was welcoming and our waiter was very patient, kind, and gave us good suggestions.
Finally, the food was really delicious and good! I would definitely recommend getting the lunch portion Penne alla Vodka (best shared between two to three people) and the Chicken Parmesan. The only thing to take note of for anyone unfamiliar with the menu is that the cuisine is not truly authentic Italian food; it definitely has New York Style Italian food incorporated. Also, the food was a bit expensive (however, I understand that it is a more pricey restaurant, and the fact that it is in downtown DC). Nonetheless, the food was very enjoyable and I had a great experience at this restaurant!

5-Stars across the board. It was pretty easy to find parking. The two hosts were very pleasant and welcoming. We got a table rather quickly. The restaurant had a wonderful Italian aroma. The food was absolutely delicious and the portions were huge. This is a great restaurant for families or large parties. The manager Kevin was extremely informative and friendly. He made great menu recommendations. He told us about a few other restaurants within the company. We can’t wait to visit the Carmine’s New York location as well as their sister restaurant Virgil.

Here’s the deal, this is a big-family-style-sharing kinda restaurant. All plates are for sharing meaning that they are intended for 2-3 people on the lunch menu or 5-6 for the dinner menu. And let me tell you, those servings are HUGE, even the appetizers/salads. Plus they give out complementary bread which is always a win. I tried spaghetti and meatballs and it was delicious. 100% recommend and will be back.

Great Family Style Italian Restaurant. Be prepared to eat with there large portions. One meal or salad can easily freed two adults. Staff was wonderful and quick to serve. Large selection of food and beverages.

Excellent family style Italian meals. Old school hospitality and service. Great food and nice selection of drinks. DC outpost of NYC classic.

As many mentioned, large portions of food is served family style for sharing. Staff are warm and attentive. The porterhouse is the center of attraction. Good to share and maybe pair with 1 or 2 other dishes.

I recently held our company’s holiday party here and the experience was amazing! The restaurant was very busy with customers, however the servers we had dedicated to us provided 5 star quality hospitality and made us feel like we were the only people there. The food was hot, fresh, and delicious! Everyone who came to our party was happy and glad we held it at Carmine’s DC. This was the first time many of my staff had experienced this restaurant. We booked a private dining room which was a great call considering how busy they were. The dining room was the perfect size and ambiance. Finally I want to give a huge thank you to Sofia the Sales & Catering Manager for her help and support. I wish that I remembered all of our wait staff names because they were excellent. If you have a small or large business and are in search of food and beverage ideas, give Carmines a try!

We had a large group including some unruly small children. Our primary server and the rest of the staff handled our group beautifully. We had the calamari and salad as starters. For main dishes we had the penne alla vodka, spaghetti and meatballs, salmon and chicken Marsala. Everything was delicious including the cocktails(they may have been the best part). The flourless chocolate cake also got rave reviews. If I could change one thing it would be to have a reduced price fix menu for young children as they obviously cannot consume an adult portion and we had a ton of leftovers.

Very crowded, you’ll usually need a reservation. The food is very good. There are different seafood dishes on the menu and we ordered the mussels appetizer and the calamari linguini. The food isn’t salty which is a deal breaker for me. The salad was also fresh and tasty. I liked that the salad wasn’t doused in dressing. There was just enough dressing to flavor the salad.
The wine was served in a regular glass. I would have liked to have had my white wine in a regular wine glass and colder but that’s ok. I forgot to mention, the servings are huge. So be aware of ordering too many dishes.

My husband surprised me today with a reservation here for Valentine's Day 2014. The server Valentina was awesome!! I have never experienced such phenomenal service. The food was so good that my husband and I didn't talk for about 20 minutes while we devoured the amazing calamari!!🤣🤣 The chicken marsala in the spaghetti with meatballs was to die for. A highly advise that you put this on your checklist to do for 2024.

I was with the wedding group on March 10. First time at Carmine's and the experience was AMAZING. We had a SUPER nice lady looking after us all night. She had colorful butterfly clips in her hair, wore a white shirt... I did not get her name! But she was just incredible. Food was great, wine was great -- thank you Carmine's for providing such a great opportunity for all my friends to come together.

I didn’t take pictures of the food because I was so hungry and grabbed it as soon as it came to the table but it was DELICIOUS!!

We each had a hot sandwich that came with a Caesar salad which was a little salty but still very good.

We had the veal parm, chicken parm and hot Italian, which my husband said he’s the only hot Italian! He’s got jokes lol!

The atmosphere is a 10/10!! Love love the music!

One of my all time favorite restaurants

The best Italian restaurant in DC: 5 stars for food, service and atmosphere (including music) The size of portions is AMAZING

Had a great time at Carmines. We had Darryl as our server and he was amazing. He was very attentive, got the bread and drinks quickly, and made recommendations. The only 4 I gave was the atmosphere as the restaurant used to have a demeanor of no plain clothes and we saw many people coming in with t shirts, v necks, sport shorts and flip flops. Just want to make sure that Carmines keeps the class it always has. I will always recommend this to anyone as the food is great and one meals serves 3. We got the shrimp and white sauce and it was amazing.

My husband my best friend and myself are spending a week in Washington DC and this particular night we were in the mood for some pasta and happened on Carmine's Italian restaurant. What a treat! It couldn't have been more authentic even down to dishing up our pasta right at our table.
I'm getting ahead of myself, it started with 3 different types of bread with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip it in. The bread was to die for I would have been happy with just that but we came for the pasta and pasta we had.
The dishes are served Family Style. We ordered the Penne al la Vodka and it came in a big platter enough to feed four. All the dishes come that way.
The pasta came with a beautiful rich creamy vodka sauce over perfectly cooked pasta. Moans were heard around the table with every bite. We also had the breaded veal cutlets. Krispy, well seasoned, and cut-with-a-fork tender.
They also have traditional Italian desserts but we were too full to consider it tonight.
The staff went out of their way to accommodate us. We chose to sit outside in the beginning but the bees seemed to want to drink our soda so without any hassle on our part they moved us inside the restaurant.

We never heard about Carmine’s so we decided on a whim to visit the restaurant. Talk about lucky! The idea of the menu is that you share the meals with the people at your table. Normally we’re not really into that but sure: why not for a change? We were warned by our FANTASTIC waiter Kevin that the plates would be big. He was almost correct: they were HUGE! We had the lasagne and this could easily feed 3 people. The concept of sharing your meal was actually really nice and it helped set the mood for a nice family meal. Although we were quite full we were surprised by an equally huge dessert which was called the boat I think. It turned out there really is always room for ice cream. A lovely cake at the bottom with vanilla and chocolate ice on top of it, whipped cream on top of that and some strawberries and chocolate sauce. Mmmm!!! Absolutely delicious! Last but certainly not least I have to mention that the toilets were the first clean ones I encountered in DC. I highly recommend this great restaurant!

Very good food

We had the Penne Alla Vodka, Chicken Marsala and Garlic Bread. It totally filled us up. Our waitress was nice and the prices are reasonable once we found out that the portions are family sized