We were feeling Italian, so we decided to give Carmello's a try. I am a Grubhub driver, and have picked up from here a few times, so why not?When we got there, we felt underdressed. They pronounce themselves as fine dining and sound "fancy", but by no means did it feel as fancy as they'd like to be.The atmosphere is dated. With paint chipping off the walls, and cluttered and dusty decorations. The women's restroom was filthy, it felt like a bathroom from a Piggly Wiggly. There was music playing, but it was so quiet you could hear the silverware hitting teeth.The menu is small, which Gordon Ramsay would say that means the restaurant can do orders in a timely manner. I feel like, with a shrimp allergy and not eating veal, there were only three options to choose from. I would have preferred to eat the scampi gamberi, and just subbed chicken.We were given water for the table but were never asked if we wanted something else, but that was fine. They gave us bread, which, us being hungry from a day in the sun, we enjoyed forthright. The waitresses were very attentive, we always had water, bread, and probably several times to voice our tables concerns.Now to the food.I ordered the Baked Brie for the table. It came out cold, like it was sitting out, got to room temperature, and then placed under a heat lamp until the waitress came back and brought it. It was not the Baked Brie I am used to. It was $10, so I really felt the need to finish it and not complain. I felt like saying something would not only offend the restaurant, but everyone in it, since the atmosphere was dead quiet.The mains came out within twenty minutes from ordering.As the waitress handed me my plate, my eyes immediately went to the almost black marsala sauce. In the dim lighting, I genuinely thought it was chocolate sauce. It was incredibly salty and it almost tasted like soy sauce. I had my partner taste it, and he said it tasted like Yakisoba. The noodles in my dish tasted like egg noodles, or perhaps, like they had been made then frozen, then warmed up.Other members of my party ordered the lasagna and the scampi gamberi. The one who ordered the lasagna only had one thing to say, and that was, "that was not a $18 lasagna."The one who ordered the shrimp dish said, "those were the biggest shrimp I have ever seen! But that sauce tasted kinda off, like it was prepared forever ago. It also upset my stomach for two days after."I couldn't finish my meal, neither could my tablemates. We got them boxed up, and went home and couldn't bring ourselves to eat them.All together, our order was $92, and we ended up throwing it away. This place was certainly not for us, but at least it was a learning experience.
The wait for our food was an hour. The lasagna had lots of hard noodles. Eggplant parmesan was good, the noodles served with it looked liked they had been setting for a while.There was a party of 2 setting next to us that got there food before us and our waiter didn't apologize but just mentioned he didn't know why the kitchen wasn't sending food in order. Will not revisit!
Amazing original dishes obviously prepared fresh. My wife & I truly loved the food. Waitstaff was good; we were seated quickly, order taken promptly. We'll definitely travel to Charlottesville to go to Carmellos.
We’re visiting Charlottesville on a work trip and asked the locals where to eat. They suggested here and boy, am I glad they did! The food was absolutely amazing and the owner came over after the meal to get to know us for a few minutes. It has such a beautiful ambiance with candlelight’s, Frank Sinatra music and food made from scratch. I would definitely recommend this to anyone in the area!
Delicious food. Kind service. Loved it. Spaghetti & Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, Shrimp Alfredo - All three meals were excellent. We'll be back.
This was an amazing meal. Server was great. Cute atmosphere. It’s hidden in a strip mall. Menu is interesting and different. I have to say it was a delicious meal. The homemade salad dressing is fabulous. The veal tortellini was wonderful in the soup. But it was amazing in the tortellini dinner. A wonderful cream sauce with peas, mushrooms and prosciutto. Lovely wine paired with the dinner. My husband had the veal Carmello that was delicious nice sauce combination. Worth a visit!
Outstanding, haven't been there in some time. Bill our waiter was awesome my dinner was excellent Saltamboca. Glad to see the owner Stella she always makes you feel warm and welcomed!
Everything was delicious! Best Italian restaurant in town!
Small family business, great selection on wine some dishes are below par. I.e most expensive dish 32 dollars seafood mix had no flavor and had sand. Ghetto behavior from staff. Gordon Ramsey needs to show up.
Closed with no warning. Checked hours before driving here, but they chose not to bother updating their hours of operation or posting anything on their website. Disrespectful and disappointing.To be clear, I am aware that many restaurants are struggling with staffing lately. The one star rating is not for the fact that they were closed, but for the fact that they chose not to share that online and save us a drive for no purpose.