Best Restaurants for Groups in NoLita

Our meal was very good. We only had a party of two, which is a bit of a challenge for a restaurant where food is served family-style. For most people, an entree can easily serve two people. If you are light eaters, perhaps even three. We shared a chicken scalloping in lemon butter sauce ($32). The chicken was very tender, and the sauce was good enough to dip bread in. The dish also had a bed of sautéed spinach below the chicken. We also shared a mixed greens salad ($30) which was HUGE. It could easily serve 4 people. The salad was a nice mixture of greens with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, pepperoncinis, and olives in their house Italian dressing. My only complaint is why they would put pitted olives in a salad. Not that hard to pick out and eat individually, but it would be possible to scoop one up with some lettuce and bite into it without knowing. The servers seemed to work very hard, though the number of tables they had meant it was a tad slow. The vibe was very good, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. We will definitely keep Carmine’s on our list for future New York trips, especially if we are in groups larger than two.

One of my favourite spots in NY ! Best was toro roll with caviar . And the coconut shrimp was amazing too ! Can’t wait to go back

Servers at the restaurant were great. So were the hostesses inside. Food and tea were delicious as always. The gal checking reservations at the entrance to the hotel to admit guests inside could use a refresher in customer service. How about welcome guests warmly with a smile? Say hello or good morning? Make eye contact? Literally anything other than the cold front she put on. Maybe she hates her job? For paying $500+ for tea time lunch you shouldn’t act like we’re inconveniencing you. She also didn’t offer the lift for my stroller and just watched us struggle carrying it up the stairs and no one grabbed the door to help. They stand on the stairs looking down on people trying to come inside like they’re better than everyone else. That part is odd.

Absolutely phenomenal experience from start to finish. Austin took care of us and just made us feel right at home. Made great recommendations to us and just did pretty perfect service overall. It was very loud which was expected and didn’t bother us all that much, what was a little annoying was these people beside us with ring lights blinding us all dinner but other than that, perfect service all the way through. Couldn’t recommend the tasting menu enough!!! Great value with so many great options:)

Raf's is such a gem! The food, service and ambience are the best of the best! I always love eating here!