Carnivale Restaurant Review

Fantastic food! But, be ready for a wait. We haven't had a dish from here that we haven't loved.

Great Sunday brunch. And it was a buffet! We were two families with a baby and a toddler and had a great time. We even got free mimosas. We re going back again

Excellent food, desserts and atmosphere.
The staff gathering for dinner was a success. Everyone was happy with the experience.

Amazing experience! Atmosphere, decoration and music can't be beat. They have some pretty delicious and innovative drinks. The octopus appetizer was literally the best octopus I've ever had in my life! The ceviche sampler was equally impressive. Entree wise the lamb was one of my favorites, short ribs and scallops are fantastic as well. Service was great from beginning to end, quick and attentive. I wouldn't leave Chicago without a visit to this restaurant.

amazing experience, overall excellent food in a beautiful building/atmosphere. what i didn't like was solely based on my own tastes - everything was well prepared.

pricey, but not exorbitant - i feel it is a great 'value' as the quality of food, service and atmosphere is well above similarly priced places. recommended.

Large setup, getting a table will not be a problem. Wide selection of dishes. Great food, and excellent cheerful service.

Beautiful. The drinks are great! The presentation of food, restaurant staff very nice. Food is made with great flavor. I loved every bit of my visit.

Within our party of seven, there were only two who had already experienced Carnivale dining. The other five were very thrilled to attend the Mother's Day Brunch buffet. It was a really great experience and the buffet event was a hit! Especially with our server, Ricardo. He was very polite and knowledgeable about the menu being served that day. Ricardo was very interactive when he would come up to our table and definitely made us feel comfortable. It made our Mother's Day Brunch buffet that much more delightful. There were so many selections to choose from that we didn't even get to them all. I did love the crab legs, shrimp, paella, and breakfast selections. Their donut wall was a hit with our seven year old. I do wish non alcoholic drinks were included, especially for the price, $45. I definitely recommend coming to this special event with your mom.

Desserts are delicious and the service is always friendly

Beautiful and serene atmosphere. Good food and great customer service.

Probably the best restaurant in Chicago.
Impeccable service
A magnificent atmosphere
And magical dishes

Finally made it to a Carnivale University class! Definitely attending again

Their dinner is delicious. The portions are large and our servers were always really sweet. That being said, their brunch is overpriced and not worth what they charge. I'll continue going for dinners, but I will never make the mistake of doing their brunch again. You are being overcharged for regular brunch food. I get it, their name has weight, so people will pay.

Carnivale is truly top-notch! This is a South American restaurant, not Mexican, not necessarily Brazilian. Given that Latin American cuisine is fairly spicy, though South American cuisine is not as hot as Mexican. Of course, plenty of More

Very beairiful restaurant..warm AND friendly environment. Prices are very reasonable for such good quality of food. Highly recommend this place

Beautiful and elegant. Spanish Octopus was delicious. Will come back again.

Absolutely love the atmosphere here! Food is great too!

FANCY decor. This is a good spot for date night at the bar or for a large group as they have many rooms, but can get loud. They offer great cocktails. The food is very authentic.

This place is just awesome ...brunch or dinner they always have a great upbeat atmosphere.

My wife and I had our small wedding party at Carnivale last weekend. We had an amazing time and loved our seating. The food was wonderful and the staff was very professional and friendly. We had an amazing time and will definitely be back!

great place. everything is great except the new bar rule they have, you can only buy 1 drink at a time even if your friend is 40 yr old

Eratic, very busy, bad tables, service good, food good, overall frustrating. Go early and get a table in the bar otherwise you will need to be patient and flexible.

One room is hot and has sewer pipes running down the wall. Your reservation is simply an idea not a commitment.

We left, just could not take it.

Great evening, great place and food that surprise you with color, taste, flavour and texture. Amazing desert and cocktails. Loved it and had a lot of fun!

Try their lambchops dish and save room for dessert! Very delicious :) The atmosphere is very colorful and has a fun ambiance.

Consistently consistently awesome food! Easily my favorite place in all Chicago.

But I don't recommend ordering anything togo, it's just not that type of restaurant. Eat there

Nice Latin fusion restaurant, with great food and a helpful staff

Great atmosphere, great service, great ambience!! I'd recommend anyone looking for a chill atmosphere with excellent service to match. I took my girlfriend there for her bday. I mentioned that it was her birthday and that she was pregnant as well. He set everything up for a surprise cake with sparklers along side with some cotton candy and caramel popcorn. Food was awesome as well. Definitely had a great time

This place was outstanding tonight, our server was PHENOMENAL, we had to send two drinks back. She was very helpful with the menu and recommending items. The food was ok, me and my husband didn't care for the choices. Lucky for us the menus change per season. They have a full bar the ambiance is amazing. The portions are not over bearing. You'll definitely spend a little cash if you like staying light on your pocket. The drinks are not watered down I gave it 4 stars because the menu choices
Come here for good and and a good bar.

Food is always delicious, vibrant atmosphere and yummy cocktails

Went to a wedding recently there. Food was unbelievable!

A great dinner spot with character. We came for a special dinner after graduation. Caribbean color and vibe is definitely going here; amazing food is too. Our tasty drinks included fresh fruit mojito and Spanish gin and tonic. Tables around us were getting other interesting libations including one with cotton candy. Ceviche, coconut shrimp and guac were excellent starters (the shrimp are huge but there s only 4 in an order and our waiter didn t warn our table of 5 about that). Steaks, Peruvian Chicken and gnocchi were all great mains - creative and very flavorful. Definitely recommended and will come back.

Very trendy, high end, and well prepared menu. Truly a gastronomic delight.

Delicious food with excellent service. Will be going back.

Terrible management. They will go out of their way to mistreat you.

Amazing Place, Amazing food and Great Food. Also an amazing place to hold your next event or Birthday Party.

Festive restaurant with a wide variety of dishes. Great drinks

Almost everything was great (food and decor were exceptional - perfect) until something happened...
The owner of the restaurant came out and said we are to get free desserts for our group (our group just had graduated, about 17 people) but never mentioned he would bring it out or what it was. The dessert menu was left out for us so we ordered. When the checks came, they didn't subtract the desserts. They refused to subtract the dessert charge, and actually brought out the free desserts we were supposed to get.

The owner failed to provide us proper service and thus, made our entire group doubt we will come back again.

For myself, I was deeply disturbed and disappointed by this whole situation. An owner who promised us something free then turns his back on us and charge us. All I saw was a trick tactic...

Great drinks and food! We celebrated our anniversary here and they helped us celebrate it in a nice way! We got here late Friday so we only saw one performance. It was pretty cool though!

Nice dinner at this colorful restaurant. Food was good, seafood plates and meat. Good service overall. Reduced capacity to have space between tables

The happiness started once you open the door, colourful decor, Princess sofa, different party sections, foods are delicious, so as the cocktail.. would definitely come back for girls night out and with colleagues again. One star missing was bcos the selfie-video machine never send the video to us, no matter work or Gmail.. and no body could tell us why?

The staff was very friendly and accommodating. Drinks were amazing! Our waiter Ricardo was great.

Pricey, but good food and drinks. One of the few places in Chicago that has Pisco Sours. An excellent example of classy Chicago.

Excellent service, food & atmosphere. Favorite restaurant in Chicago.

Celebrated my oldest son birthday and my future daughter in law here so glad of choice....very good food! I had pork shoulder with grits and dish was delicious. Caramelized plantains, guacamole and fresh chips non alcohol drink Andrew and another male waiter were fab. The decor and vibe of Carnivals is great. I hope to go back soon.....until then I hope others enjoy too..

Lot of fun & colourful Latin flavors and colors at this spot. Trendy & chic come to see and be seen here but the service is spot on and the food doesn't disappoint. Fun for b-days & special events & good for date night. Make an opentable reservation in advance

Cool atmosphere, but the food is over priced for the quality

Visited for brunch, and it was just okay. If I come back, it may be to check out the dinner menu. Chicken and waffles were... different. Chicken was good, waffles were desserty and I didn't appreciate that. Side of eggs with veggies were my favorite. Mimosa was skimp and not bottomless. Oh and we paid $8 to park because the complimentary valet attendants were in their car and not visible.

Staff was excellent, food was excellent, drinks were excellent.

Amazing place and the surprise birthday party planning is world class!!

Amazing experience. Highly recommend!!!! Get the cotton candy for dessert!

Amazing meals. i don't know how they do it...but everything is fantastic. the chef came out to speak to us...the service and the decor is the coolest in town.

We went with our extended family for a Sunday Brunch. The little ones loved calamari as much as the cotton candy.

The caipirina drinks were to die for. Love the staff and the decor.

Great atmosphere and food is good but guac was way overpriced

This is the perfect place to hang out with friends and just keep eating.

I loved this restaurant! The guacamole along with my brunch entree was delicious!! My friend is having her wedding reception here so we got to check out the event space and it is incredible. I am in love with all of the colors and decor of the restaurant and the event room. The service was awesome as well.

Have been here several times and each time it gets better and better! Had the foods from South America and it was fantastic! Best place for a first date and special occasions.

Very elegant place, food is fantastic! service is excellent! Pricey but worth it!

Went for a friend's birthday dinner. Food was good and so was the entertainment!

Got the steak for the second time. This place does not disappoint. The place was packed with corporate parties so I went thirsty for a little bit as all the staff was running around but every dessert and bite of food was great.

The service was great and the atmosphere was awesome, but the food wasn't anything spectacular. I really enjoyed the appetizers and desserts. The main dishes I tried were all very flavorful but nothing special. The skirt steak had great flavor but was very tough. The jerk ribs were just normal ribs with a different name(the plantain and coleslaw on the side was great). If I were to go back id probably just get a couple appetizers and dessert. The calamari was fantastic and then the blueberry skillet pie and ice cream cake were really good.

Amazingly colorful and electrified environment. A fairly simple menu with amazing flavors. The Ropa Veija packs so much joy in such a small taco you'll order a second round. The Arrachera is made to perfection however you order your meat. The Rum Salmon was surprisingly tastey and the drinks are so good. Right amount of strength and flair.

Came with a large group for drinks. It was nice. Hip crowd.

Went with a group from work and had a private room. Food, drinks, and service good and plentiful. Brazilian dancers performed in the main room a few times while we were there which was entertaining. Good place with extra buzz/energy vs. a standard sit down restaurant.

The food is really good. Don't forget to order ropa vieja and steak

Such an exciting place with lots of visual stimulation. The food was delicious and the service friendly and attentive. Great for celebrations, out of town guests, or a memorable night out with friends.

Didn't sell anything that I remembered them having. Off course it's been plus 20 years since my last visit. Very sad

Visited for the first time this past week. Tried the calamari appetizer and two entrees - lechon asado and halibut. The lechon was fantastic, easily the highlight of the meal. The meat was falling apart, tender and tasty. The other dishes were good, but not outstanding. Prices a bit on the high side, $130 for two with drinks.

My coworkers and I tried this restaurant and we couldn t believe how good it was. Appetizers, drinks and main courses were great but the only reason I m not giving 5 stars is because the waiter kept asking us every time if we wanted to have this bottle of wine that was the most expensive on the menu.

Three stars because our service was really slow, but the food was fantastic. Other tables were served much faster, so maybe it was a fluke? Cant wait to go back for the food though.

Every time I come here, I get the same meal...and I love every single bite! The drinks are amazing and the staff is really wonderful, offering suggestion when I'm not sure what I want. Love this place!