This review is from my experience in January. Some of the details are not perfect but the general idea is 100% accurate. I was hoping to put this review up immediately but there was no entry on Citysearch at the time. Some friends of mine came over and I suggested we try Carmine's as it got a pretty good review in the N&O. We went on a Friday night and had to wait a minute or two for a table. Our bubbly waitress took our orders and gave us our salads relatively quickly. After awhile of waiting, a friend asked where his beer was as the waitress obviously forgot about it. We were waiting and waiting for food. A manager clearly saw that we were checking out the kitchen and came over to apologize about the wait. He said he was ""chopping some heads"" in the kitchen because of the slow night (even though other tables got their food relatively quickly) and told us we could get appetizers or dessert on the house. (How could they deliver appetizers quickly but not the main meal?) So we were waiting more and more but still no food. The manager and other employees came over to apologize every so often. During none of this, were we yelling (and he seemed surprised that we weren't). He then told us the whole meal was on the house. Finally the food came (more than an hour after ordering). And it wasn't good at all. Mine was okay, and that was the best. The rest of the group said their food had little taste. He gave us two free desserts (for the four of us). But we will never go back again. Ever.
Pros: Understanding manager
Cons: Bad food, even worse service
more