Is Carbone NYC's MOST OVERRATED Restaurant?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
- When it comes to the most famous restaurants in NYC, Carbone is often at the top of the list. Getting a reservation is almost impossible, and how to get a reservation at Carbone is more art than science. It took me almost half a year of refreshing Resy until finally I saw an open reservation, and I pounced on it. For a decade, Carbone was a Michelin starred red sauce Italian spot that locals and celebrities swore by. The Carbone spicy rigatoni, the Carbone meatballs, and the Carbone mozzarella are just a handful of the legendary offerings at the former Michelin star Italian restaurant.
However, notice I said former Michelin star. Carbone lost its Michelin star in 2022, which could be a sign of declining quality. The hype has not died whatsoever, as it took me pretty much forever to land a reservation. Is Michelin Guide just knocking Carbone down a notch due to trivial matters like lapses in service? Or is Carbone overrated? We set out to answer that question as we try the Carbone NYC location, although let me know how the Carbone Las Vegas location is and if it compares to the NYC branch favorably or unfavorably. Is the Carbone pasta legendary or is it just overhyped?
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Restaurant Deets:
Carbone
181 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012
When UA takes a second bite without any facial drama,....you know he thinks it sucks. The first bite always tells the story.
One bite everybody knows the rules...😅
Carbone is very overrated. Was lucky to get a 9 PM seating. Service was terrible as they did not seem interested in selling cocktails. They pushed some overprice wine. After being seated they finally brought our coccktails just as the food hit the table. Veal Parm was ok. When they figured out that we were not ordering expensive wine they rushed us out. 4 short poured cocktails, 2 over priced appetizers and 2 Veal Parm came to $400 with tax and tip. Not a thank you Not a goodnight. Never again
a nightmare!
Well they want 89.0o for 'veal parmigiana" even a Vegas Casino can't justify that price.
$89 for veal? Fcuk out my face with that
*overpriced
just go to places you can afford like Halal guys. People go to places not within their league then complain about prices
What I respect the most about UA as a reviewer is that he is HONEST. I subscribe to tons of food reviewers (on other platforms) and after a while I unsubscribe as most always say the same thing: EVERYTHING IS SOOOO DELICIOUS, OMMMGGGG…
Honesty is the difference between a real reviewer and an “influencer” posing as one.
I agree,....at least for right now we know UA is not being ''comped''.
Unfortunately, being honest will not get you far on social media, you have to cater to the fake audience.
@@yukonstriker1703hilarious lack of understanding. You think he’s so popular because he praises all the food? Watch more of him instead of just blindly commenting. He doesn’t like everything but more than that his shows are all over the world and heavily curated. He’s not going to be going to random junk places for food.
When they found Carbone in the meat truck, he was frozen so stiff it took them three days to thaw him out for the autopsy.
Great movie!
Very best!!!!
@@henryhill6637what's right is right!
It liquefied in the pan, it was a very good system.
@@rnoldh medium rare, an aristocrat
You can see why they lost their Michelin Star 🌟
Box pasta, then they deserve to lost the Michelin star
More hype than substance. I ate there 3 months ago and the food was good, not great. The minestrone soup at $26 is a joke..
never knew they had one to begin with... wow
@@joelb.2685 Yeah their prices are insane. The caesar salad I had there was one of the best ever, but $32 for a caesar salad is steep. The prices at the Dallas and Miami location are slightly better, but it's still expensive.
The meatballs looked undercooked for pork based
UA, you hit this on the mark. Between NYC, NJ, CT the area is loaded with excellent family owned Italian joints. Jersey has tons of red sauce joints that blow away the majority of places like Carbone (and at a fraction of the price). $35+ for a plate of pasta is criminal (boxed pasta😂!). A minimal menu like theirs should mean all dishes are mind blowing. Makes me wonder how Michelin hands out stars. I realize reviewing a place like Carbone will give you many more views but consider changing gears on the channel to discover all the hidden gems in Jersey and the surrounding areas.
well said
I grew up in NJ excellent comment... these trendy expensive places are for fools
They lost their star. Pretty common to go downhill by cheaping out.
Jersey guy from Nutley/Lyndhurst area...lived there for nearly 40 years, and this comment is 1000% accurate. Best Italian hands down is from Jersey, whilst our Portuguese/Spanish cuisine are leagues ahead of NYC as well.
@ryangies4798 Would love to learn your list of good family red sauces places in NJ!! Please do share, as I want to try some great places and don't know the NJ area that well. Will travel for food! Thank you!
I love his honesty, please don’t change, like other food TH-camrs everything they taste they love. Honesty is very important
I just discovered your channel, love it!!! Great reviews and down to earth!
I was born and raised in Europe and am of multiethnic background. My mother was Croatian-German-Hungarian and her cooking reflected her ethnic background, mostly Austrian-Hungarian Dishes.
We lived in the Italian part of Switzerland, thus her cooking was influenced by that style as well.
She was a home-cook and baker, but very good at it and a real food fanatic. We were what you Americans call "foodies",
but we were lacking money and could rarely afford choicer cuts of meat and fish,
just for Sundays and the Holidays
she would try to procure a chicken or some roast.
We ate mostly starches and veggies and locally grown fruit.
I didn't know what kivis or mangos were, until I first encountered them later in life, after I had come to Chicago.
Many of the foods, I grew up eating, were not available in the USA or difficult to come by and only could be found in Metropolitan areas and ethnic neighborhoods.
I lived in a small town about 2 hours away from Chicago-land were the local markets only carried American foods.
Just a couple times a year I'd drive to Chicago to ethnic markets, Polish, Hungarian, German, Italian etc. to get European type groceries.
That was back in the seventies, now even in smaller towns imported international foods have become more widely available.
At home, I try to prepare the dishes that I grew up with, and that my mother taught me to cook, from the ingredients available here.
I still bake bread, once or twice a week
and always have some nice home made pastries in the fridge or freezer, ready in case someone stops by for a visit.
I cannot afford this type of high class specialty restaurants that you are reviewing with my very limited financial resources,
but, thanks to youtube and people like you,
I am able to visit these places and get an idea how they are.
And, most of the time, I get the impression that I am not missing anything,
and that my home cooked food probably is way better than what they have to offer.
Thank you for your unbiased review. It's kind of funny that the highlight of the experience was the cheese and meatball (dry).
I love your reviews. TH-cam nowadays is so saturated with food reviewers orgasm at everything they put in their mouths, finding an honest food reviewer is a rarity nowadays.
Not surprised. A lot of Italian restaurants are way overpriced. You can buy bronze dye cut pasta, fresh meat, a quality San marzano sauce and a chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano for less than 30 bucks for two people if you know how.
a lot of restaurants are over priced nowadays period
I’ve been thoroughly unimpressed with a lot of the hyped up Italian restaurants in NYC. Idk why Italian food gets so many overhyped restaurants that are just not worth the price. I’ve eaten better cart food in Manhattan then some of these restaurants. And let’s not talk about the prices. Must be some old mob stuff where very wealthy people would eat there because theres no way it’s just because of the food.
It's not italian restaurants It's a NYC problem. Everything there is over priced.
@@JsBlazIN maybe it’s just a personal preference. I mean you could always buy a jar of ragu and eat at home for 5$ but it’s just not the same thing! I did hit up carmines in manhattan and have to say it wasn’t worth it. Having said that I hit up a lot of recommended restaurants in nyc and found all of them over priced and over hyped. Cart food? Hell no
easily less than 20 dollars actually and have 4 portions of pasta
I almost never eat Italian food out of the house. The value proposition for what you get is almost always a big disappointment. I usually just stick to pizza. Tastes good and very affordable.
I agree with you. I have the same strategy (as a dutchman with Italian grandparents).
same here. even at expensive Italian restauants im usually like, i make better pasta at home.
I appreciate UA's honest reviews. Keep it up UA.
thanks for keeping it real. Whenever I go to a restaurant with very high expectations it seems like I get defrauded. so many people overrate that it really sucks having to pay a lot of money for very mediocre meals.
Great video and review. Agree with you. Excellent critique. Love your facial expressions!
To summarize what to get at Carbone:
- Mozarella
- Bread
Thanks UA!
Appreciate your honest review!
I'm sorry it was not great your videos are always spot on thank you for your thoughts and for sharing ❤
At Woodbury Commons, there's a restaurant "Parm" that I think is related to Carbone, although I'm not 100% sure. They have Carbone Rigatoni on the menu, and if it's the same as Carbone, I totally agree with your comment. It was a big disappointment. I also had the meatball parm, and I also noticed that it seems like the meatballs have sausage in them. But I didn't care for the sausage texture in the meatballs at all.
Nice video. This type of restaurants are usually not so good, specially if you asked for dishes or foods randomly from the menu. You found that the mozzarella cheese and the meat balls are the best because they are fresh and they sell too many of them on regular basis, so those are not left over. The other dishes (pasta with sauces) ...you could do them better at home or get them in a cheaper restaurant. 👍
He's right too, anything trash, just remove it from the menu.
I've been waiting so long for you to review this restaurant 😭😭😭 thank you
Hey UA!
Hope you've been doing well my lad! It's nice seeing your channel continue to grow! I have never been there myself, but a few old coworkers of mine said they like the food at "Pasta Lovers" In Manhattan. Perhaps you could give that one a try! I'd be very curious as well.
I need more videos please lol keep the great work buddy 🎉
I'll keep em coming!
They make their own pasta. No restaurant makes sauce with fresh tomatoes. Canned are the only way to get consistent ripe tomatoes.
Wow, what an honest, observant review! You are good.
The food looks so so good and the lighting of this video is really top notch. I’m not really allowed to eat pasta due to some sensitivities so this is pure torture through the screen haha
until u get the bill lol
Just did Lucali's this weekend. Was worth the hype. Got there an hour early at 3:15 and could pick any time we wanted to eat. It's hard to live up to expectations when they are that high but they did. Would love to hear what you think
Was just in new York but didn't get to lucalis hopefully next time
Is Lucali’s a pizza place?
@@mikentosh yep
His brothers restaurant is better. Better pizza too. Guissipinas.
The coolest part of your channel is that. You might be helping Carbone get their Star back if they listen to your input. I’m right now imagining if UA Rating will be a thing in the future.🤔🤔🤔 I would say do a UA Star rating from 1 to 5. Your credibility is pretty solid at this point. KEEP GROWING!!
Good review!
Great review 👏
highly anticipated. UA doesn’t disappoint. Carbone on the other hand, meh.
UA...
I very much enjoy your reviews and honest demeanor.
One thing... can you pleeeeeeease change out hat background ragtime music!!??
Thanks
TheBay
I like that you give honest reviews and don't say that every place is AMAZING as do so many TH-camrs and Tik Tokers
We Love Your reviews UA!!!. The menu is sparce as to other "Little Italy" restaurants I have dinned at and not using "Fresh Pasta" to a formal Michelin Star is also disappointing to what I see. All review comments are always welcomed as Honesty is being lost now of day's but, Never Back Down.
What I don't understand about all these food reviewers are the utter lack of table manners! Ridiculous. And disgusting.
Carbone isn't overrated, because New Yorkers don't eat there. Tourists only.
Great review
Thanks for an honest review. I definitely will not be going to Carbone next time I'm in the city. There are so many good restaurants, I don't need to eat mediocre food at prices where you need to take a second mortgage on your home to pay for! Love your channel, UA, keep up the good work!
love the honesty
first time subscribed any channel. very refreshing and unpretentious food perspectives.
3.1k+ 👍! Hi UA! Ooh Wee! Mmm! I enjoy you and your true reviews. It feels like I've almost been to the places you show!
What I like about this channel is that he is totally honest with the food that is being served. And now I can say over priced food.
In a city like New York, there’s NEVER reason to wait for anything! Lol there’s always going to be another place just as good, if not better somewhere else in the city. Forma Pasta Factory is one of my favorite pasta places, you could’ve gotten an amazing Fettuccini Fungi for just 13 bucks!
A place I would like for you to review is Sevilla. IMO, it's the best Spanish restaurant in the city. Get the chicken riojana, clams a la ajillo, and the seafood paella a la marinera. The prices went up in the past few years, but I think it's still worth it.
Sevilla was my go to in the West Village when going to NYU!
I think UA is allergic to shellfish.
this is a great review ,i thought the food looked good ,i totally agree with you it is over hyped,thank you for your honesty
Rough review UA 😂 I'd be careful Carbone's might know some guys 😂😂 great video 👍
Appreciate your review! No wonder they lost their Michelin star.
UA EATS NEEDS A SCORE RATING SYSTEM. Great video!!!!
Nice review UA, those portions looked awfully small for the price also. I kind of feel a little sorry for Tina though. It seems like whenever she is with you, she has to wait for you to try and poke around in her food before she can eat.
If she's not paying I don't want to hear it. lol
$89 for veal parm… The very definition of customer price gouging.
There's a sucker born every day
@@RFSpartan 🤣
Well, the porterhouse for 2 at Carne y Mare is $225. And the Times regularly reviews Japanese tasting menus which swamp the $89. There’s one on the Bowery for $600+…
Before Carbone, it was Il Mulino churning out decent enough Italian-American food but at preposterous prices. Carbone is basically Il Mulino for a younger crowd. Torrisi, one of their other places in the restaurant group, is a much better restaurant. Outside of the group, there are old school spots like Michael's in Brooklyn, Rubirosa in Little Italy, or something more recent like Don Angie, which is a more modern take on Italian-American cuisine.
In NYC there are tons of spaghetti joints that serve a good sauce, good meatballs, sausages, and eggplant, and don’t cost an arm and a leg. Michael’s is always a good choice
Yesss I’ve been waiting for the Carbone review!
Hope you enjoyed it!
@@uaeats you nailed it. Carbone has been overrated for years.
I can’t see how they even got a Michelin star. Those dishes have nothing to do with great recipes. In Italy you probably would pay no more than 8 dollar for any of those pasta plates. Americanized recipes have nothing to do with the Italian tradition. God.. I can cook much better than that and I’m certainly no chef.
Agreed - I felt that the pasta appears to be store-bought/ off the shelves. Service is excellent!
Charging 30 and 40 dollars for those boxed pasta entrees is absolutely criminal.
I love this episode.... this is the best TH-cam channel. Enjoy
I am always very worried when the food comes out too fast. It’s been reheated 😮 also the meatball looked completely raw - i.e. probably microwaved. I rather am disappointed that the mushroom fettuccine was not made with porcini mushrooms. At least the garlic bread was decent 😂
When ordering you should ask if an item is made fresh..like the pasta..or packaged/ canned etc to adjust what you order.
I've only been to the one in Las Vegas, but I enjoyed it. Definitely not the best Italian I've had but not nearly as bad as many here make it out to be (the menu is pretty much the same as NYC). I do find it a little frustrating when people respond to a meal or dish with "well I've had better X at Y, therefore this food isn't very good". I dont go into every meal expecting it to be the best I've ever had. I'd rather judge a place on its own merits rather than whether other places are better, or assuming a restaurant is amazing because of hype.
Diaclaimer: I don't live in NYC and this don't have access to world-class Italian on every block. :)
Love the vids, though; just subscribed yesterday.
I like how the dishes here are meant to be shared as characterized by the big spoon on the plate, kinda like asian dishes.
yep, family style!
Always honest… and that counts in my book!! Thanks for being honest!!!
A high quality canned tomato can be better than available fresh tomatoes. It doesn't taste like tin either lol.
I was going to make it my mission to get a res at Carbone for November, but after this video I'm not going to worry about it. Does anyone have a suggestion of where else to go for the best Italian food in NYC?? Or any other highly rated delicious restaurant??
L'Artusi.
@@darkknight32920 It's on my list! Thank you!
Saying the pasta is from the box is all I need to know. Good unbiased review as usual!
A lot of pasta dishes are supposed to be made with dry pasta, though. Fresh pasta doesn't always mean better. The rigatoni dish that he expressed "box pasta" is inherently always made with dry pasta, so it feels like this guy is just reaching for criticisms that don't even make sense
@@Edmontonoilers4life1 good to be reminded of. I just went back to his l’artusi review, a ny Italian place, the “box pasta” comment was the number one comment in that video and ua acknowledged it, so I am curious if it is just a preference of ua’s.
For sure. Think of it this way. Would you rather have a nice al dente spaghetti for a dish made with spaghetti, or a chewy fresh version? Most would take the al dente version. Box pasta criticism are made by people that are just fishing and likely have never even had fresh pasta versions of the dishes they are criticizing.@@brandoncarpenter9681
But he did say that if was a boxed pasta it was a lower quality and they should have used a better quality.
@@Edmontonoilers4life1 Yeah, dry pasta gives out much more starch than fresh pasta and is essential for a good sauce (depending on the recipe)...but the quality varies immensely from a cheap dry pasta to one made with proper semolina, a good extrusion and drying process. You can really taste the difference.
Nice work, UA. You do it so the rest of us don't have to. Why they pack these restaurants is beyond me. This place is really lazy and easy to see why their reputation is taking a hit
People just go to take pictures, post on instagram and brag about eating there.
If you ever get to Phoenix AZ go to Durant's downtown. Great food and service. If you have been there, how would you rate it?
I bought the Carbone pasta sauces to try at home and was so disappointed! It was so sweet. Sweeter than any other jar pasta sauces I’ve ever tried.
Try "Michael's of Brooklyn" pasta sauce. I couldn't believe it was from a jar.
Please review Carmine's Italian Restaurant. Thanks.
What's the Price for the hold Meal ?? Keep
the Reviews coming even if it's a Hot Dog Cart ...
Good Job !!
Total price of the meal was $104.53. And maybe I will indeed eat at a hot dog cart in a vid sometime!
Many , MANY Years ago when We lived in South Jersey
there were some Great food Carts on the Streets ....
@@uaeatscan you imagine what the bill would have been if you lease had a glass of wine salad and dessert I'm sure they try to up-sell you the food look mediocre-at-best nothing really special for a whole lot of money great honest review
Ahh the sandwich approach towards review. Good going!
Do not disagree with your evaluation. Thank you for your honest review.
At time mark 1:56, isn't that Andrew Alfred Scott from the Property Brothers?
UA, were you at Newport Mall in jersey city? Thought I saw you haha
Need to try Michael's Of Brooklyn or Brooklyn Rootsin Brooklyn amazing food
What was the total cost of the meal?
a place that wants over 30 bucks for a pasta dish, and then i can probably make it better at home. Yeah thats disappointing😂
Love your content. You are very honest. 🧐👌
you should try Palma on Cornelia Street 28 cornelia street the Linguini with mushroom is awesome the meatballs are wonderful try them you wont be disappointed
Food looks amazing. Would love to see how it compares to Rao’s. Shame that both places are almost impossible to eat at.
Carbone was very good 7 years ago when I dined there for a birthday. Veal Parm. Had takeout at Raos during Covid. Twice. Great bar. Overhyped food. Spaghetti & Meatballs were fine. Pork Chops mediocre.
You gave a true honest review. I agree with your rating.
Thanks for a great review! Looks like a greasy spoon Italian restaurant from mid 90's!!! We all can cook better pasta dishes at home!!! Absolutely cannot fathom how they got a Michelin in a first place!!!
I respect UA's honest food reviews and this one was brutal. Everything looked delicious but, I guess you can't judge a book by its Michelin Star cover.
Might be worth it to dig a little bit on these trendy NYC restaurants. Carbone is owned by a huge hospitality group (25+ restaurants and chains they call “concepts” 😂). Hence Carbone selling sauce in supermarkets across the US and having outpost restaurants in major cities. I’m not mad at restaurants that earn a good reputation but once you sell out, there’s no going back in terms of top quality food and experience. Carbone, like other chains (let’s call it what it is) aren’t sourcing ingredients or even trying to make pasta in house. Why? Because they need consistency across the brand which will always drag the food down to mediocre levels. The real head scratcher is how easy the cuisine is to make well. Italian food can be complex if you’re making legit food from Italy, but a pasta joint has a very low bar to make their food incredible. My personal recipe for vodka sauce is identical to the ones at the best red sauce joints in NJ. It’s crazy easy to make and costs about $4 per serving if that. Just sayin’
I have eaten at Carbone twice. The first time was a lucky walk-in. They had just received a cancellation. At that time they still had their 1 Star. We both thought it was OK but just so. The menu was uninspired.
The second time we ate there we were given a friend’s reservation. By this time Carbone had lost their single Star. At this dining experience the food and service were worse.
This is a highly overrated pompous place. Even the decor appears worn and frayed.
It reminds me of the current iteration of the Russian Tea Room. Once great and now a low quality tourist attraction.
UA, I enjoy learning about the restaurants that you feature on your channel. It would be great if you could learn some table manners however. It's difficult to take someone's opinion on fine dining food when they eat like they're in a McDonald's.
The free mozzarella is only offered for lunch and their locations outside NYC often only offer dinner hours.
Please review Patsys in New York . Sinatra was a regular
You can get the same food on most blocks in Manhattan for half the price. A friend took us there once and it was embarrassing given the price and hype.
Hey U..A. Eating, you are spot-on fella' ! This dining establishment does use BOXED pasta. It is a brand however that is most definitely imported from Italy and the brand is Conte Luna. By the way, this restaurant sells their own labeled pasta sauce (ie; CARBONE ) at the retail level at an exorbitant TEN bucks a jar. Total RIP-OFF similar to RAO's supermarket blueprint. SENTIMENT - based on your sentiment, Carbone's falls into the typical New York "tourist trap" restaurant. Hope this helps Yo ! 🍝 🥖. 🔚. 💰. 💰. 💰
Conte Luna is made in Grand Forks, North Dakota
The reason why it is so difficult to get a reservation is because resy allows bots. The bots sell the reservation for a charge
I was curious bout the baked clams. I always judge Italian restaurants by it.
The sauces i have tried from with the restaurants name that i get here in NC are pretty good, no telling what the difference to make those sauces consistent vs the restaurant tho.
Thanks.
Way overpriced for the ingredients involved. You can’t even say you're paying for ambiance as you got kicked to the overflow section.
Why did the food come so fast? Is it all pre-made?
Final thoughts sounds like it is actually far below average considering the prices paid for each dish and the quality subpar at best aside from the mozz. Meatball is good, but should be good from an "Italian" restaurant in NYC. I would skip it all together by the sound of it. Any place in little Italy probably puts it to shame.
Not fresh made pasta is unbelievable.
I don’t want to be mean but you waited months to go to this restaurant and ordered Italian food like a gavone and then ate the meal backwards. That said no matter what you should enjoy every dish no mater what.
Lol gavone
why backwards, he had anti pasti and then primi and secondi together
antipasto
The (mushroom) pasta is extremely unlikely to be from a low quality box. A trick I like to use is to use dry porcini (or similar) to make a mushroom broth, along with a bit of beef bone broth for silkiness, and cook the pasta in the broth. I roast baby bellas cut into fairly large bite sized pieces (if they are small enough I don't cut them, but leave them as is), and toss them in olive oil, sea salt and fresh pepper (roasting at 350 for 15-20 minutes, and add them (and any roasting pan juices) to the pan at the end, so I can control the mushrooms' texture and shrinkage level. The food here definitely appears overpriced, and not fantastic -- presumably people like to spend conspicuously, say they went etc. -- it ain't about the food, clearly. There are likely many un/less heralded places that have better food, bigger portions, and a better value. Carmine's is pretty killer, provided you have appropriate expectations, and go at a quieter time.
Thanks for the recipe.
Carmines it’s just OK.
they use pretty mediocre pasta Colavita Mezzi Rigatoni mostly Colavita branded pasta charging $30 for that puck of a shitty dish is shameless!
You got Car-boned!.................lol! Nice review as usual