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Carmelo's
Categories: Food Specialty Food Restaurants Italian Specialty Food, Italian [Edit]
1448 Marine DrWest Vancouver, BC V7T 1B7
Neighbourhood: Ambleside
(604) 922-4719
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
13 reviews for Carmelo's
13 reviews in English
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Review from Annie W.
3/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Oh.My.Lord.
Let me tell you about last night...last night I went to Italiano foodie heaven.
It was a Friday night, the place was packed (seriously, full house after 9pm in West Vancouver? That's a miracle in itself), orders were placed, a glass of wine found its place in my hand, and the next thing I knew I was swooning from some of the most delicious Italian food I have had in a really...really...long...time.
We ordered the Veal Marsala and Canneloni De Vitello. I've always had a bit of a moral dilemma when it comes to eating veal, but I must say this - IF I am going to feel bad about eating something, it better damn well taste AMAAAAZING...and so they did.
The standout winner for me was definitely the cannelloni. You know that conflicted happy/sad feeling when you're eating something that is ssoooo good? Try as you might, you just can't avoid the thought that with each orgasmic bite you are getting just *that* much closer to the end, and soon there will be nothing but a sad empty plate with little streaks of sauce mocking the end of your euphoria. This is the torture I endured whist eating this dish.
At least there was the decadent tiramisu that helped dull the pain of my loss and was a perfect ending to a fantastic meal. -
Review from SipDrinkNosh O.
North Vancouver, BC
5/19/2012 4 photos
Carmelo's used to be good to me! Meaning it used to be that place you could just wander by, pull your friends in, and have a really homey authentic italian meal...it wasn't avante garde, but it was yummy and it was always a good time.
I was walking on the seawall with a Pal, and we wandered by, and I vouched for this place as such, .....and it had obviously gone downhill....*sigh*... I hate it when you recommend a place and it fails, especially with friends of yours who don't want anything fancy...just good food!
My dinner companion's food philosophy differs from mine. When at a restaurant for the first time, he orders the simplest or most traditional dish, and argues if they can execute the simple dishes beautifully, it will get his return service whereupon he will get something a little more exciting. I on the other hand, hate ordering what I could cook at home, so I often forgo those types of dishes like roast chicken or spaghetti and meatballs... In this occasion, I am glad we dined together because his view ended up teaching me a serious lesson about why our experience was perhaps not the best.
He, of course, ordered the "Carmelo's Classic spagetti and meatballs, while I ordered the Tortellini alla Panna, just a basic tortellini and garlic cream sauce. We also ordered the pizza bread, the carpaccio, and dessert.
My tortellini was ok tasting but pretty damn bland and boring. I hungered for even a stupid Emeril Lagasse-type, Bammm!!!! of parsley just to stop my mind thinking of baby food. The carpaccio was good, but thats pretty hard to mess up. The Pizza bread was his idea, as I dont like to carb load, but the crust was amazing...made me wonder why I didnt order pizza....
When I asked my friend how his dish was he looked crestfallen, and said it was awful...I was a little shocked..I never thought that a place could ruin such a traditional dish they claim as their classic...He said the huge meatballs were dense, overworked, hard and absolutely tasteless. I tried one and almost spit it out. When he told me the pasta was undercooked, I almost arrogantly started the "Al Dente" argument with him, but when I tasted he was right...UGH!
I was surprised...I had never thought that places like these would not be able to make the simple dishes...His philosophy seemed to have merit all of a sudden.
We were hoping dessert would at least be a good end, but they were out of the cheesecake he wanted so badly and while we ordered the flourless chocolate cake instead, it just tasted like the fridge it was kept in. I decided to get the bill, as my Pal started looking more like Charlie Brown every minute. He just had "Good Grief!" written all over his sad little face... -
Review from Will H.
Vancouver, BC
5/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
Loved everything about it except the ambeince... the vibe was a bit cramped our neighbours were looking at our food and felt too close. I knnow this is common for italian joints especially ones in van but that was our only complaint. The food was geat prices were high but not too bad. pastas are 15 ish and entress were pricey around 25-35. wine list was decent but the wine I ordered was not in stock. Service was excellent tho my water was never empty and the waitress was honest. fyi avoid the lasagna
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Review from Bob P.
Vancouver, BC
As good as it gets for authentic Italian food. While there are numerous good Italian restaurants in the Lower Mainland area, Carmelo's ranks up near or at the top. Be sure to gt a reservation or else expect to eat very late in the evening.
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Review from K.S. A.
Vancouver, BC
7/2/2011
Hands down, the best Italian food I've had in Vancouver since Amarcord closed.
Vancouver food is often over the top: swimming in oil, trying way too hard to add excitement with fusion of unexpected ingredients, spending money on trendy decor instead of delicious food. None of these sins is in evidence at Carmelo's. It offers delicious food that you can actually eat, not just take a photo of. -
Review from Jay R.
8/7/2011
We were looking for some good Italian food and decided to go to Carmelo's. It wasn't very busy, but there were a few people.
The service was very good, and our waiter was very polite and had a deep, sultry voice.
The food was very good. The portions were pretty substantial. I asked for a lot of fresh parm and the waitress dumped it on, just the way I like it :) -
Review from Anesti T.
Toronto, ON
8/26/2011
This was my first visit to Carmelo's. I t came highly recommended and I was not disappointed.
The room is very comfortable with impressionist prints and paintings lining the walls. We arrived early and the restaurant started filling up quickly.
One of the specials was lobster ravioli with dungeness crab and shrimp, some of my favourite things all on one plate. We ordered it as an app along with calamari and both dishes were amazing starters.
Moving on to main courses I had the veal marsala which was rich but not too heavy. The Dessert menu offers lots of tempting options including one of my favourites, crème brûlée which was the best part of the meal.
The texture was absolutely perfect and it was flavoured with a hint of citrus which was a great accent.
Our server, Sarah, was very friendly and attentive.
I look forward to eating at Carmelo's again soon! -
Review from Tania M.
North Vancouver, BC
9/30/2011
Best Prawn and Scallop risotto I have ever had! The food is very good!
Definatley will be returning -
Review from Vanessa G.
12/8/2010
This has been my favourite Italian restaurant for a long time. Fresh baked daily in the restaurant focaccia served oil and vinegar to start. Salad's that are fresh and light the way they are served in Italy.
I have only had the veggie pasta's but the cooks will make to order if you want to mix things up. I would usually get a spaghetti marinara with rose sauce. Another nice touch is the fresh parmessean. I would have the waiter stand about 5 minutes over my dish as he get's a work out grinding that cheese onto my plate.
Pizza's here are delicious as they are all hand made, thin crust, and baked in their forno oven. It's hard to go with the delicious pizza when you get free fresh focaccia.
Price point int higher but you can taste it in the quality. -
Review from Mike P.
7/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
Chloe's previous review is pretty much spot on as far as this place goes. This place was very busy for a Monday night, so we figured the food must be good. I had a linguini dish with ham, peas, mushrooms and cream sauce and it was pretty good (tiny little bits of ham, but was expecting this; would definitely recommend this dish to others). We ordered two salads for the four of us and they were nice enough to split each one up onto it's own plate, nice touch!
I'm used to getting such huge gigantic portions at italian restaurants that i get at least another meal or two from the leftovers, this wasn't the case with the portions here.
The food was maybe a tiny bit expensive, and so was the beer ($6.50 for a bottle of beer seemed a wee bit much for me). That being said I would rather have good quality food and pay a little bit more than cheap food and poor quality food, so was definitely happy with my meal at Carmelo's. -
Review from Chloë E.
Vancouver, BC
1/8/2009
What a cute little restaurant to pull up a chair to a delicious pasta dish. The decor is warm, inviting, clean, and relaxing.
Menu items appear very simplistic, but that's (in my opinion) the beauty of Italian food. Portions aren't huge -- I easily lapped up the lot of my pasta. Many dishes include seafood, which is a nice focus and not something I personally often cook at home.
We were there as a large group for an early dinner. The waiter provided attentive and respectful service.
Carmelo's is a touch of high-class but with very reasonable prices. All of the pasta dishes hit at about the $10-15 range, with a smaller portion available for most.
I won't make the special trip to go here, but would be nice for a lunch on the way to Whistler or a pre-shopping fuel up. -
Review from Peter O.
North Vancouver, BC
10/18/2011
As good as it gets
-
Review from Mary Ann P.
3/5/2011
The food was terrific and the service excellent! We started off with a Cesar Salad and Clam Chower and both were as expected, nothing out of the ordinary. My husband ate cannoli and I ate veal, they were both served hot and delicious! So the entrees is what to go for! If you can squeeze in dessert, they advertised that they have a pastry chef who comes in and makes the dessert, so of course we had to try one. It was not to disappoint so go get some dessert before you leave. The place is very busy starting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights so reservations are highly recommended! The only thing I would have to say is that it's very cramped. They pack in the tables and chairs so there is very little wiggle room between you and your neighbors. So privacy is out of the question, but if you are looking for some good food than this is the place!
