Carnivale: User Reviews

I loved it, he liked it....
By angelius from Albany Park, June 15, 2008

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My cousin raved about this restaurant so we decided to check it out. I was happy to find that she wasn't exaggerating. The hostess seated us right away and our waiter was friendly and attentive. The mood was festive and energetic, however, my boyfriend thought it was a bit noisy (due to the conversations going on). The wait was not long for the appetizers and main entree and the food was absolutely delicious. Kudos to the chef!

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"Finger Lickin Good"
By Monica from suburbs, April 18, 2008

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My husband and I have had great times at Carnival and try to get all of our friends to go with, the last time we went my sister-in -law went and i dont eat beats, but they have a great beat and chesse platter w walnuts, it was to DIE for. Everything each time we go gets better and better.If you havent gone yet, you are missing out on some good stuff. The service is great the chef is blessed....finger lickin good!!!!!!!!

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Best Latin Restaurants I've Had & I married to a Colombian!
By beanchip46 from Orland Park, April 7, 2008

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Wife and i had a 6pm reservation for Saturday night 4/5/08. We were kinda worried about waiting a LONG time because of what we read in previous reviews, but we were seated at only 6:05pm. Awesome. Very friendly hosts. It was our first time there and were very impressed with the abiance and the decor. Our server was also very friendly and new everything about the place and was able to explain everything on the menu, including recommendations. Man. . . the food was GREAT. My wife is Colomian and her mom always cooks old country meals. Sorry to say this ma, but the food here beats your's in any throwdown! We had the platanos and arepa appetizers. . .for something that is normally not a big deal, these disher were finger lickin' good. I can't drink alcohol so our server recommended the Virgin Rasberry Mojito which i couldn't get enough of. For the main course I had the seafood paella (without the sausage) and she had the skirt steak. Both, normally basic dishes, but they surprised us both with unique flavors that worked very well. Service was perfectly timed and we were in and out in about an hour and we were happily stuffed and had leftovers too. I would recommend this place to all my friends. It's not cheap, but well worth every penny!

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Amazing!
By Aqw74 from Lakeview, March 4, 2008

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One of my favorite restaurants in the city. As someone who likes the decor/atmosphere of a place almost as much as the food, this place does not disappoint. Great menu selection of very flavorful foods. Try the shrimp ceviche, the arrachara for dinner, and wash it all down with a mohito afterward. Its not the cheapest place in the city, but for the food and ambiance, its less than I usually expect to pay.

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This place is huge!
By lawriebear from lawriebear, February 15, 2008

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This place is huge! We did have to wait, but not that long. I personally love the interior of this place. Very lively and colorful. They have good drinks, and the food wasn't bad.

I guess this place is the "It" place in Chicago. Cause when we were there, our table was right next to the Chicago Bears' Offensive Players.

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Get ready for the longest wait of your life....
By 8a8yd011 from Budlong Woods, January 18, 2008

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If I could give this place negative stars, I would give this place -10 stars. Here is my experience at Carnivale....

Me and my Fiancé had made reservations for Carnivale for 9:30pm for a party of 2 for Friday January 18. I got there at 9:25 all excited because I have heard so many good things about Carnivale. On arrival me and my fiancé checked in with the hostess. She looked on her screen for Smith. She said all that she had was Smith party for 7. The hostess handed us the pager anyway and asked us to wait by the bar. After 30 minutes my fiancé went to the counter and asked the host if she was going to page us anytime soon. She said that she is just waiting for a couple of tables to clear. Another 15 minutes and still nothing! We patiently waited and waited and waited for a total of 45 minutes. Our reservation was at 9:30 not 10:15! After having enough, I returned the pager to the host. I told him that the wait time was RIDICULOUS. 45 Minutes?!?! He took the pager and said, "What do you think that you are doing? I was just about to page you." Page me???? "My reservation was at 9:30!!!!" I said to him. He replies, "No I see here that your reservation is at 10PM for Smith."

I can't believe that they changed my reservation without even telling me. They could have at least notified me that there was a mistake or apologize. I threatened to leave and it didn't even phase the host. He just shrugged and turned the other way. If that's the host's attitude can you imagine what the upper management's attitude is like?

Carivale's wait time and the snobby hosts and hostesses is absolutely ridiculous. If you like snobby hosts and having them mess up your reservations then Carnivale is the place to be!!!

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Worst Birthday Ever
By suzy2915 from Orland Park, January 18, 2008

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DO NOT CELEBRATE ANYTHING AT THIS RESTAURANT!!! I made a reservation for 9pm a week in advance and got my table at 11pm. AND to top it off, the reservation was for 16 people and the clever people working at carnivale wanted to seat us at TWO DIFFERENT SEPERATE tables! HELLO!!! ITS A BIRTHDAY PARTY! Never again, what a waste. VERY DISAPPOINTING!

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NYE Let Down
By Leslie from Fulton River District, January 3, 2008

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My group of 3 was very excited to spend NYE at Carnivale and was horribly let down. The actual event was in no way how they described it to be. The band was horrible. Where was TIto? The dancers were hating every moment of dancing. The band kept trying to get people to dance but no one would. It was nothing more than a normal restaurant experince and not a festive NYE event. We ate an appetizer and left. There were supposed to be specials but there were only 3 specialty drinks, all with 10 cane rum. Very disappointing and would have a hard time recommending this to anyone wanting something special. Thank heavens for the smoking ban now. I thought I would gag in the bar waiting for our table. A horrible way to ring in 2008.

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Very Disappointing Treatment for a Group dinner
By Amy from Amy, December 13, 2007

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I have been to Carnivale before with a small group and had a fantastic time. However last weekend went with a party of 12 and was greatly disappointed. We arrived 15 minutes early for our 8pm reservation and were not seated for over an hour. The staff and the manager gave the impression they could not have cared less. Once seated, we had to wait another 10-15 minutes before anyone came over for our drink order. I will give the restaurant credit, they did bring appetizers over right away, however if we hadnt asked for the manager not sure this would have happened. Although the food was flavorful, it was also cold when it arrived, not typically how I like to eat beef, and mine wasnt the only cold meal. Interestingly enough, one of our group did not receive her meal for another ten minutes. Although I would consider going again if the group was under 4 people, would encourage those with more than 4 in their party to find somewhere else to go.

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