Best Family Style Restaurants in Upper East Side

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.

Loved the food. Had the Maine Lobster Summer Rolls for our app. The dipping sauce was really good. And we shared the Grilled Bronzino- the sauce was amazing. Really special dish and you get a lot of fish. And my favorite was the coconut rice. Melts in your mouth. For dessert they gave us Ube Flan in the house. It was a perfect way to end the meal. The servers are great, we sat right down with our rsvp, and I enjoyed the darker atmosphere as it beings a downtown vibe to Columbus Circle. I’m going back!

It was a pre fixe meal as it was Christmas Eve but I think that worked to our advantage. The Mezze was outstanding. I highly recommend sharing dishes. All of them were very good.

Dinner was so delicious! Service was great—really appreciate them making Christmas Eve so special! Very family friendly. We ordered an appetizer and then had one dish of the chicken Alfredo. It was literally the best I’ve ever had. It fed two adults and two children. The kids loved it and cleared their plates. Then we had the Italian cheesecake and hot fudge brownie. Both were great, definitely recommend the brownie.

First of all, the food, as always, was of the highest quality - everything from the oysters and scallops to the steaks and creamed spinach were perfectly delicious, but mostly we can't say enough about how absolutely fabulous the team of folks graciously serving us were - especially on Christmas Eve charming the six of us (including our two young grandsons, aged 5 and 10). A new family tradition! We offer particular and special thanks to Elise, Jessie, Kelly, and Chef Carla for helping make it such a memorable evening in Lulu of Plum Run!