Getting a restaurant reservation in New York City sometimes feels like getting a job interview 😭 The spicy rigatoni looks delicious. I'm glad that the hype was real!
wow the appetizer breads look really really really good. I mean it looks really good. I can't believe how that simple pasta without any meats or vegetables can be good O_O
I went there for lunch a few weeks ago...Honestly the best veal parm I've ever had...the pastas (lobster ravioli and spicy vodlka) were excellent, but the meatballs are a huge let down. While a great place I have to say Carbone is grossly overpriced even by NYC standards. I'd still recommend going as it was really good.
Yeah, the bread service was amazing! No doubt, all of the food was overpriced, but I at least I got the experience of eating at Carbone. The food was really good, but there are much better Italian restaurants in NYC with more reasonable prices.
With tax and tip it was $130 something. At the time they did have a covid surcharge, which they don't have now, but certain menu items have increased by price since my visit.
I used to be in Carbone's every day. But I never ate there. I made deliveries, ha ha ha. 32 dollars for a dish of macaronis? No thanks. I'm a prole. My palate isn't educated enough to appreciate something so good. I did buy a jar of their sauce once out of curiosity to see how good it was. It was good, but I could make better myself at home. I'm sure it's not the same as they serve in the restaurant. That's a quick walk down Thompson Street at 0:46. I thought I might turn up in the background as an innocent by-stander, but I didn't. And actually Carbone isn't that old, at least in that location. I worked in that neighborhood for over 30 years (late 80's to around 2021) and remember when that storefront was empty. It was a restaurant called Rocco's. The Carbone people were cagey enough to keep the old sign to give an illusion of being an ancient joint. Glad you enjoyed the meal.
Yeah, it was great food, but so expensive! It's definitely not a place that one can eat at everyday. I do appreciate how they kept the old sign up. It preserves a bit of history in the neighborhood. It's so hard to get a reservation to the restaurant these days. That must've been a unique perspective to do deliveries there. It's still a really neat space.
@@Jamesnu I've gotten to see a lot of NY's most famous restaurants through the back door, either literally or figuratively. As a teenager, I worked in midtown as a law firm messenger and used to get sent to the fancy restaurants up there during the lawyers' business lunches to pick up or drop off papers. I used to go to the Playboy Club on 58th St (I think) and the Four Seasons on Park Ave a couple of times a week. Later I drove a van for a restaurant supply house. Of course I never got to eat at any of these places. The only famous NY restaurants I ever actually ate at are both defunct. One was Luchow's, where I went with my mother when I was about 7 years old (she was a semi-regular there), and the other was the Automat across from Grand Central Station.
@@RRaquello That's a unique perspective that most people don't have. I would've loved to have gone to the Four Seasons. That was probably one of the most important restaurants in America. I wish automats were still around. That's definitely a unique way to eat.
I recommend peppolinos in west Broadway, the gnocchi and mussels are like eating pieces of heaven. And the ricotta cheesecake is as light as a cloud. I think they are better than carbone and the bill won’t cause you pain
I don't think so, but luckily the satellite venue is a thing of the past so you don't have to worry about it. Everyone will be seated inside the actual restaurant. The only bad thing about that is that it's much more difficult to get a reservation now compared to when I visited.
What is the oil and cauliflower called they give you with the bread? I’ve been trying to find something like it since I tried in over a year ago but no luck!!
I believe it's part of a giardiniera, which is Italian Pickled Vegetables, cauliflower is usually the main ingredient when it comes to an Italian giardiniera.
Such a mediocre and pretentious spot. Have ordered 80% of that menu and the hit rate is embarrassingly low; basically, the vodka rigatoni and veal parm are the only things worth trying.
@@Jamesnu Carbone used to be Rocco . They closed and rebuilt it. There are a lot of good red sauce places but if I would have to name the absolute best its Patsys. Lot of A listers eat there including Madonna and George Clooney.
@@user-or6yn8pm3c Indeed! I'm at least glad Carbone kept Rocco's old sign even though they changed it a bit. I definitely have to try Patsy's sometime.
I wish I knew. Rao's might be the most difficult restaurant to dine at in NYC. I would bet that Carbone has the better food, but I hope at least one day I can visit Rao's to find out for sure.
@@Jamesnu Rao's is even harder to get into unfortunately. They have clients that own tables and you have to know someone to get you in there for a table reservation. When you call, the staff says they are not taking reservations for the rest of the year 🙄 lol Rao's food is probably better than Carbone. Because it is a family owned restaurant that has been in NYC since the late 1800's!!
@Ama B Indeed! It's probably the hardest restaurant to get a table at in NYC! It's on my restaurant bucket list. I hope that one day I can be lucky enough to eat there.
@@Jamesnu yes, me too lol it's definitely on my bucket list. Rao's has a location in Las Vegas & Los Angeles too. I think those west coast locations are much easier to get into than the NYC one.
Carbone's only worth it for their spicy rigatoni. Everything else was average - the appetizers, the veal parmesan (literally tastes like $20 parmesan chicken), the cookie. Be careful what you order - things you assume are free at other restaurants aren't here (such as water and side vegetables).
I know what you mean. While I really enjoyed the restaurant's food, one would think with the way people talk about Carbone that it's the best Italian restaurant in the city and it's definitely not.
This is just very overhyped basic food. Those aren't rainbow cookies, it's supposed to be the Italian flag. Their menu contains several spelling mistakes in the Italian words, reflecting how far they are from genuine Italian restaurants. In summary this is very overpriced tacky Italian-American food.
So you would lick the napkins clean, but it's OVERRATED and overpriced? I don't know about this. Do you just want the best of foods for cheap, or what?
Of course the food is amazing, but it's no doubt overpriced. It's all about value. One can eat similar food in NYC for much less, but Carbone comes with the distinction as the "popular place" and "celebrity hot spot" allowing them to increase prices.
@@basstrammel1322 Emilio's Ballato for sure. It’s very similar to Carbone, but it’s a true old school Italian American restaurant with history. It’s an establishment I’ve been meaning to make a video on as well. Don Angie is a newer restaurant with prices that are less than Carbone, but not by much, on the other hand, the food is significantly better and more innovative.
