Carmelina Restaurant — Restaurant in Markham

We booked this restaurant for a reunion and the Atmosphere was great. The food was alright but small portions - mightve been because we had a set menu. The servers did an amazing job. We had a group of about 35 and we even stayed a bit later (11pm vs 10pm). and they were able to accommodate us. Tina the head waitress was very kind and had exceptional customer service.

Now for the not so good customer service. The person running the restaurant did an extremely poor job at communication. We originally wanted to book the entire restaurant on a Saturday but was told that it would be better to do it Sunday since Sundays are for private parties. So we agreed. When we sat down to go over details we told them that we are looking at about 40-50 people but we need to confirm the amount of people before we can confirm with them. At the time we said it could be 10 more or 10 less, and he said it was no problem but we just had confirm a week ahead. A $400 deposit was made the same day. Once the day came to confirm, we were told that there is a minimum of 50 people requirement. The person running the restaurant did not once state there was a minimum requirement prior to us making a deposit. We told them as of now we have about 30 people but we are trying to confirm with all our guests. We finally agreed to pay for atleast 40 people as a minimum since that was what we originally told him since the original booking.

On the day of the event the waitress tells me that there is another small party of 6 coming to the restaurant. I was shocked. The owner of the restaurant (different from the other person running the restaurant) talked to me on the phone and stated that we needed a minimum of 1500$ to open the private party on a sunday and a minimum of $2400 to book the entire restaurant. So what kind of communication is that? Telling me the day of my event. The owner and person running the restaurant did not once communicate to us telling these 'rules' that they had even though they state it has been like this for the past 10 years. Well this is my first time booking at this restaurant and they clearly did not communicate. I know as a restaurant owner you are always opened for more business. But It was under our impression that we were going to have the entire restaurant to ourselves and was not once notified by the owner or the person running the restaurant that they were going to have another party on the same day. If I knew we were not going to have the entire restaurant then they shouldn't have made me confirm and pay the day before for 40 people when we only ended up with only 35. I called the person running the restaurant to see why I was not informed that were was another party there and he said he will work something out. and at the end of the day nothing was done.

At the end of the day, the restaurant is good and I am sure walk-in dining is great. But if you going to book events at this restaurant, make sure you have all the details in writing as proof as the person running the restaurant does not communicate details and over promises. If everything was communicated properly by the person running I would come back but after this event, I am completely turned off from this restaurant and will never...

Ok, full disclosure first: We came here because we were attending a "catered event" (someone's birthday), and we drove in from Ottawa just to be here. We didn't just pop in or spot the place from the street. That said... I would absolutely go back the next time our Family decided to fight our way down the 401 into Toronto. So let me tell you about MY meal, and you can judge from there. Our menu was limited as the reservation was for 30, but one of the appetizers was a potato-leek soup. As I'm a big fan of soup I had to have it rather than the salad and I don't regret the decision. Delicious! People joked I would lick the bowl but the in-house bread helped me mop up the remainders, and while I reference the bread, let me tell you there was a curious oil-jalapeno pepper concoction on the table which i just had to try... I wanted to take it home with me. Now, the meals came out and most people ordered the veal, or the chicken, or the salmon (all dishes prepared for this event), but I'm a big boy and although I appreciate the culinary idea of the plate large enough to catch a cat falling out of a tree, with food in the middle, some form of sauce drizzled around the food but not actually on it, and a sprig of WTF-is-that-not-going-to-eat-it decorating the side... I chose the seafood pasta. I'm pretty sure it was the Chef's special that evening. There were large steamed muscles decorating the side, the pasta was inundated with shrimp the diameter of mayonnaise jars! There were scallops (I think), there was lobster (I believe) and there was a glorious amount of salmon and calamari all buried within a MOUNTAIN of sauce and noodles, so hot in temperature that I had to leave it alone for more than 5 minutes while it cooled down. That gave me plenty of time to douse it in Parisian cheese - the real stuff - served in large bowls, and it melted into a thick, succulent ooze that is making me drool still as I write this review some 6 days later! I couldn't eat the whole thing, it was so plentiful. But I also couldn't stop eating and I KNEW that if I didn't finish it (as a catered event) I couldn't bring the rest back to our hotel in a take-out box without compromising some kind of weird etiquette... So I ate the whole thing, reassuring myself that I was doing the right thing by not leaving any behind. I would surely regret it if I did! I did NOT need breakfast the next day, in fact none of us wanted to eat on Sunday until after lunch and even then... We ate light! The service... Again as a catered event I couldn't leave a tip but I really wanted to, because the ladies serving (and the owner himself, who made his presence known) were so on top of things that my glass was refilled almost every time I took a sip! AMAZING! I will be back, for sure. If you have the chance to try this place out for yourself,...

“ CARMELINA, Woodbine and Denison, Markham “ - Visiting Markham’s 3 decades old, indefatigable, Italian culinary icon.

I am almost certain that most of you have not heard of this long standing, north GTA, off-the-beaten-path, Italian restaurant…..let alone set foot in it?! For a restaurant to survive the financial meltdown of 2000 plus the economic turmoil caused by SARS and COVID is indeed a miraculous feat! Supporting a steadfast business decision not to fold in light of adversity and allowing the restaurant to endure such turbulence must exist a back-stage team of skilled and dedicated kitchen staff. More importantly, their food offering must be attractive and well executed enough to attract new, repeat and sustaining customers!....hence our decision to give the place a try!

The rustic, Roman themed decor dining room offers patrons a warm and inviting atmosphere. Live piano, guitar and vocal entertainment featuring nostalgic, pop-classic hits was a most welcoming and heartening addition.

The menu offers a pot-pouri of traditional, homey and comforting Mediterranean and Italian fare that emanates simple and straight forward authenticity. Stand-out char-broiled grilled meats, tender and aromatic, were carefully prepared and cooked to perfection by skilled chefs. Unpretentious and lovingly prepared appetisers, veal and pasta dishes speak mouth watering tastiness!

For sharing we ordered the following: Gourmet Garlic Bread with Mediterranean accent toppings and dips PEI Lobster and Crab cakes with charred corn, lemon and Jalapeno Mayo Steamed PEI Mussels in a homemade tomato sauce with garlic, basil, onion, mixed herbs and white wine Veal Scallopini with Mushroom, Marsala wine, grilled seasonal vegetables and roasted fingerling potatoes Char-Grilled Rack of Lamb with Capers, Red Wine Balsamic Reduction, Seasonal vegetables and potatoes

The outcome of our culinary adventure was a most pleasant surprise. Every component of our meal from the crunchy, well crusted and super light and spongy Garlic Bread; to the generous, lightly packed and crispy Lobster and Crab cakes; to the plumb and fat Mussels paired with a delicious, spoon-worthy sauce; to one of the best executed Lamb Chop I have had for a long while. The only minor down side of tonight’s dishes was the under salt and under seasoned Veal Scallopini.

Service was attentive and friendly, food portions were more than generous and price-point extremely reasonable

Overall, the meal was a pure delight which emits a ‘ worthy of a...