Carmine's Italian Restaurant

Last night, for the first time, I dined with a party of 10 at Carmine's in Arcadia. It was a very disappointing experience. The food and service were equally offensive.
First, a large antipasto salad was brought to us piled high on a flat plate assuring that whatever you managed to put on your plate the same amount would fall off the sides and onto the table. To the owner(s) of Carmines, invest in large salad bowls. Apart from some of the usual, the antipasto salad was unappetizingly composed of beats, cauliflower, and raw sliced mushrooms. Also, the portion of deli meats was very skimpy.
Second, before everyone had had a chance to serve him or herself some of the antipasto, the waitress brought the bowls of minestrone soup. As a previous review for Carmines mentions, our dinner party felt rushed. The waitress stacked several bowls of soup on top of each other, and this resulted in messy soup plate bottoms and a soup mess on our tables. There was no acknowledgement on her part for the insulting service, and several of us used our napkins to clean the mess.
Lastly, I was served my plate of Chicken Marsala, and it looked and tasted like a bad cream of mushroom soup. Because there was so much broth (sauce) in the bowl like plate, the chicken was nowhere to be seen. The only things visible were some mushrooms floating on top. After mentioning to the waitress that I did not care for the dish, she asked what was wrong with it. One of the things I mentioned was that I could not taste any marsala wine in the broth (sauce). She responded that at Carmines we dont make our Chicken Marsala with marsala wine, we use sherry. But its called Chicken Marsala, I responded, to which she acknowledged that I had a point. She mentioned that I would not be billed for the Chicken Marsala, but that I would be billed for the soup. As expected, when the bill came, the charge for the Chicken Marsala had not been removed. When someone from our party approached her about it, the waitress simply said, Oops, I forgot. Personally, I dont believe she really forgot (just a hunch).
Some of the more recent reviews reveal that Carmines used to be a very nice restaurant with very good food (I personally attested for the pizza), but recently it has made changes in its operations that are not for the better. In my opinion, Carmines in Arcadia can turn it around by instituting and insisting on an elevated level of restaurant pride and standards.

We have been going to Carmines in Arcadia for about 20 years, maybe more. It was our favorite Italian place. In the last several years there has been a change and now we don't go anymore. I think the food is still good, but the servers rush you through now. There is no time to linger. You are not even finished with your pile of pasta and they are at your table asking you if you want to take it home. It seems they are trying to go "upscale" and have lost the intimate family and romantic date night feeling. Someone should tell them they are not in Old Town Pasadena, just on Live Oak in Arcadia.

I had the pleasure of eating there once about 6 yrs ago..the new manager at the time was very helpful and service was excellent i think her name was deidre kane a very nice person made sure food was hot and delecious ..great pizza too

This is a very nice, home-style italian restaurant located on the southern side of Arcadia. The environment and service is great! The servers and the restaurant itself make you feel right at home. However, I was less impressed with the food. I ordered the eggplant (usually a big fan of egglant), but it was quite dry and not very tasty at all. However, my date ordered the chicken alfredo and it was quite good! Overall, pretty good place to stop in and grab a nice little italian dinner.

MY BOYFRIEND AND I GO TO CARMINES IN ARCADIA ALMOST ONCE A WEEK. THE SERVICE IS GREAT AND THE FOOD IS AMAZING. THEY ALSO HAVE TAKE OUT AND DELEVERY SO YOU CAN ENJOY THAT HOME COOKED ITALIAN FOOD RIGHT IN YOUR OWN HOME!!