02/16/09

Reservations: Carnivale 's definition means 45minutes at least from your reserved time

by Ruby13

I was very excited to go to Carnivale but turns out it was a huge dissapointment. My fiance and I had made a reservation for 10:00p.m. and didn't get seated until 10:45p.m. on Valentine's day. By the time we ordered, the specials were gone and the waitress was not very friendly..... she looked bothered that she had to wait on our table. The food was ok but for the price it is not worth it. I had the short rib which had alot of fat on it and the seviche was pretty good however. The decor is the best part of Carnivale. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone and considering that I saw it on Check Please which I love , the number thing that a customer wants is good service and this place needs a course on great customer service!

06/16/08

Not so Great

by chloe01

I went in for Fathers day with my hubby and son! I wanted to show him a good time since we hardly ever go out. My friends had told me about this place and I thought "hey why not" Well the entire time I was there I was bothered. The music was much to loud to have conversation and I was bothered by my server during the entire meal. I understand you want to check on us but ever few seconds is just ridiculous. Also, there was this manager that kept yelling at the servers (or maybe she talks too loud) I dont know but it was horrible. The food was decent but nothing spectacular. I can make better rice and steak. There are much better places here in Chicago that are worth the money! Never Again

• Pros: I like the colors
• Cons: Ridiculous Staff

04/27/08

Delicious and beautiful

by ABC423

I went to Carnivale for my birthday with 3 of my friends, and I am so happy we did! The space is gorgeous, with a lot of interesting photography all over, including in the bathroom. Service was great, from the moment we walked in, and our waiter was very helpful in explaining the menu. I especially liked that they buy from local farmers. Their signature raspberry mojito is worth the hype, and the caipairinhas and margaritas are very good as well. We had the guacamole to start, which was a very generous serving, with a really nice amount of spice, and it was very fresh. I had the pernil for my main course, which is shredded pork with a rum glaze, and it was fantastic! It was served with rice and beans and fried plantains, which were also excellent. It can be VERY difficult to find well-made plantains in Chicago, but Carnivale does it. The portions were very generous, as well, which is often not the case in some upscale restaurants. They even brought out a birthday dessert for me, which was tasty, but not as tasty as everything else. I didn't really care at that point, though, since I was stuffed already. I would definitely recommend making reservations here, though, because it was pretty busy, even on a rainy Thursday night.

• Pros: service, decor, food, drinks
• Cons: dessert