Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Astoria

Great experience. Service and pasta making instruction was excellent. Friendly staff. Great value in that you have a nice meal while there and you get to bring home the pasta you made for another meal at home. The buratta was delicious as was the broken meatball sauce and the pesto! Our only complaint was that we wish they had a bigger space. The seating and pasta making stations are very tight and because the ceilings are low, there’s not great airflow. Otherwise a fun night!

We were so pleased with our first visit to Carmine's. My husband and I usually travel to NYC alone, and have never gone before because we heard how large the portions are - and they are NOT kidding. There were 7 of us for dinner, and we shared a Caesar Salad, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Rigatoni Bolognese, Eggplant Parm, Veal Scallopini, and Tiramisu and it was perfect portions. Only thing we took home was the Garlic Bread (which the 19-year-old scarfed down likely before it made it to the hotel fridge.) Paul our server was fantastic - happy to see our family reunion the day after Christmas with family from Myrtle Beach. The restaurant is crowded and loud, so expect that - but it's a fun environment and you can tell it's mostly families just having a great time. This dinner capped off a perfect day celebrating the 19-year-old's first Broadway Show.

We plan our trip to NYC around eating at Carmine’s. This time we ate at the upper West Side location. We usually eat at the Times Square location. But this year it was booked solid for Christmas a month in advance. We were wowed again with an awesome meal at Carmines at 91st Street. We had the garlic bread with cheese. We always ask to add the cheese. So wonderful. We also split the lasagna. It is the best we have ever tasted. We brought over half of it home. I would recommend either Carmine’s to anyone wanting authentic Italian food at its best.

Small restaurant. We came half hour early, it was still full, people waiting. But they tried very hard to accommodate us and they did. They were very nice. The food was very very good, the veal was fantastic. The ice cream on a brownie? It was some dried up cake, nor a brownie. But everything else , served for 6 people , was excellent.

Food and ambiance were very good-we loved the crudo, and grilled calamari,enjoyed the pasta and desert.Service was timely and helpful.the experience was very nice and we will return.