Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in Nutley

Decided to try the restaurant after visiting the bar many times. We were pleasantly surprised by how good the restaurant was from every aspect including the food. It’s the closest we have come to experiencing good Italian food outside of Italy and there’s no need to go to NYC. Will come back for sure and glad to have found this gem.

The food was great, the restaurant is byob but we didn’t know but we were able to place a phone order from the close liquor store and the wine was delivered , I’m shellfish allergic and I was able to find delicious items on the menu , my husband loves shellfish and he also got great items from the menu , the desert was big enough to share .

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.

We all enjoyed our food and our wine and the long time we were allowed to sit and talk after dessert. Two of us had the daily ravioli pasta special, two had the prix fixe meal (with the tiramisu for dessert - yum), and one had the salmon. Our server was very patient, putting up with all our questions and with how long it took us to order because we were catching up on a few years of history in our lives. A plus is the location - easy to get to via subways from the east and west est side of the city, not far from Union Square, Madison Square Park and Gramercy Park.