Trattoria Carmen — Restaurant in Turin

We were traveling with a vegan friend and when we arrived for dinner here, the waiting staff were incredibly unwelcoming and unhelpful. The antipasto is already set out on the table and looks bizarrely fake.

When I explained about my friend being vegan, he shrugged his shoulders aggressively asking me what I wanted him to do. I asked for a simple pasta dish with tomato, and he said no. He refused to bring out any vegetable alternatives for the antipasto as well.

There is no paper menu to look at, therefore if you don't speak/understand Italian it would be a real challenge to eat here. The dining room is very small and the atmosphere was incredibly uncomfortable. We left after this conversation and had a delightful dinner (with vegan pasta made happily by the chef) just...

Upon arrival to the Trattoria Carmen we were slightly uncomfortable and with the language barrier (English - Italian) making it hard there were some misunderstandings early on. Once we had a translator it made the experience much easier. If you go and do not speak Italian, I highly encourage you to bring a translator, be that a person or an app (like we did) in order to communicate better with the floor staff. The food was fantastic, being regional cuisine from Piedmont. The staff opened up once we started to use a translator and were much more accommodating as the meal went on. I recommend if you'd like a true, regional experience of Piedmont food and have a few hours to...

The only menu you will get your hands on is a wine list. The dishes will be explained to you by the waiter - if you don’t speak Italian, don’t worry, the staff speaks English. I strongly recommend taking a selection of antipasti: insalata russa, vitello tonnato, tatar, flan with cheese sauce. The portions were generous, and everything was delicious. Then we had agnolotti and gnocchi with cheese sauce (unfortunately, I don’t remember the cheese name, but it was absolutely amazing). The tiramisu was a perfect finish for this dinner. I visited this place on weekday’s evening, and a reservation is a must - I called the same evening and was lucky to get...