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For anyone visiting NYC I can't recommend these restaurants enough! 1 on the upper west side and one just off Times Square. I loved that it was the family reunion scene in Finding Henry Applebee by Celia Reynolds - it is perfect!
The first time I booked it the descriptions suggested it was a family style restaurant and it didn't seem to set people alight. It seemed great for the location and safe.
It was soooooo much more!
We visited a week or so before Christmas and squeezed into a table with waiters spinning around with massive food platters of garlic and lemon infused food. Even more intoxicating was the real Italian family feel - there were huge extended families celebrating with mounds of food. There were camel coats like a sort of wonderfully nurturing mafia-style spoof film. The decorations were everywhere and had a hint of the old-fashioned - they were beautiful. I was spellbound from the second we were escorted to our table as we weaved through these scenes of joy to the very back.
Wooden floors packed with tables - I was mesmerised watching the buzz.
My treat and looking at the menu the pastas were $30! My face paled until our wonderful waitress explained that family style meant we share. We had the Caesar salad and lemon chicken with tagliatelle. I will never ever forget it. we were full, garlic-infused ourselves and loving' it!
We went twice this time (just pre-COVID post-Thanksgiving 2019). It buzzed and we queued and loved the banter. It is special and gave us so many family memories.
The best of it? They have many recipes online - even the lemon chicken - heaven on a plate.
Here's a link to that heaven - try Carmine's if we ever get back to NYC - it's unforgettable. Love the family style.
