Valerie Lambert Kroll

Review of Carnivale Restaurant

I had always wanted to go to Carnivale and finally...

I had always wanted to go to Carnivale and finally had an opportunity for a friends birthday. We had to wait about 20 minutes past our reservation time to be seated which was frustrating, but at least they had a bar for us to grab a drink while we waited. The ambiance in the main dining room was everything I thought it would be - many Instagram opportunities! I started with a specialty cocktail, the Cotton Candy Martini since it was a special occasion... poor choice. The description wooed me with details about real cotton candy and the pomegranate, lime, and Cointreau, but it just tasted like someone dumped a cup of sugar and vodka in a martini glass. I never send anything back, but there was no way that was going to happen. I then ordered a white wine flight and none of the options seemed chilled. The guac was fabulous, but then I was back to disappointment in my Criollo Half Chicken entree. Every component of the dish was incredibly salty. I think what sealed the deal on my less than stellar experience was when the check came - way to expensive for what we received.