Carmine's — Restaurant in Bellevue

The worst dining experience of our lives — harassment, threats, discrimination, and a ruined engagement dinner.

On August 17, 2025, my family and I went to Carmines Bellevue to celebrate my engagement with my fiancée. This was supposed to be a joyful evening where both of our families came together. Instead, it turned into the most humiliating and hostile encounter we’ve ever had at a restaurant.

We had called around 5:30 p.m. to ask about a table for seven. We were told the earliest reservation was 8:15 but that walk-ins were fine around 7:00 p.m. My parents and brother arrived first, expecting a normal greeting. Instead, the hostess (a woman who appeared half-Asian) was immediately rude and dismissive. No smile, no courtesy — just attitude. When asked about waiting for a table, she brushed them off and made it clear she didn’t want to serve us.

Later, when we went back inside, the situation became unbelievable. The hostess came out again, this time with the manager (a white man in a black suit with glasses). When asked to apologize for her behavior, she said, “I’m not here to apologize.” She then repeated that she “wasn’t afraid of us” and even told us to “meet her outside after 11 p.m.” — essentially challenging our family to a fight. This was said multiple times, loudly, in front of her manager.

The manager did nothing. He stood there silently while his employee harassed us, and then he made it worse by threatening to kick us out and call the police. We calmly told him, “Go ahead, call them.” Of course, he didn’t — because he knew they were in the wrong. They backed down, proving they had no case and no professionalism. At one point, when told he was “useless,” the manager literally nodded in agreement, admitting through his own body language that he had no control over his staff.

This wasn’t bad service. This was harassment. This was intimidation. And the way we were singled out made it feel like discrimination. Our engagement dinner — a once-in-a-lifetime celebration — was ruined. Instead of joy, we left angry, humiliated, and shaken.

Carmines Bellevue failed at every possible level. The hostess’s threats and aggression, the manager’s silence and complicity, and the toxic culture that enables this kind of treatment make this restaurant unsafe and unworthy of the Bellevue community.

Carmines Bellevue should be ashamed. Zero stars if possible. No couple celebrating an engagement should ever be treated this way. No family should be told to “meet outside after 11” by a restaurant employee. And no manager should ever threaten police action against guests who simply asked for respect.

Do yourself a favor and take your business anywhere else in Bellevue — there are plenty of restaurants that understand hospitality, dignity, and basic human decency. Carmines is not...

This is my second time at Carmines and although the food was mostly delicious it was hit and miss for me, the service was just not as attentive as my first visit

This was a splurge date night for us and we were seated promptly (oh just real quick they have complementary validated parking at the 88 garage) and it was a reservation, we were seated near the bar and let’s just say the bartender was very um boisterous, that lasted the entire night with quite a bit of colorful language 🤣 so let’s get to the food

Calamari Fritti 5/5 plentiful and beautifully cooked calamari, it’s honestly very dangerous to order as you’ll be tempted to stuff yourself and miss out on mains

Ravioli Di Capriolo 6/5 A beautiful Venison filled ravioli that’s nestled in a delicious veal demi glaze. We had the small portion to share which is perfect and I would 100% order the full portion as a main and still have delicious leftovers to take home and be incredibly happy. An absolute must!

Ossobuco 3/5 I was quite disappointed with this dish, it just didn’t hit as much as I’d liked it too. It’s cooked in a tomato base but still managed to not be fall off the bone tender, not sure if that was the objective but the veal felt a little dry? The pasta and veggie that accompanied felt so disjointed with the plate, all in all it lacked the flavor I was hoping for and didn’t feel thought through

Anatra Arrosto Alle Ciliege 4/5 this duck breast and confit leg was very yummy, the duck jus was delicious, overall a very delicious preparation of duck the risotto was a miss however

Profiteroles 3/5 this was a big reason why I wanted to come back as there are so few places that have profiteroles but I’d say you can afford to miss these. Although our waiter was kind enough to split the dish for us, the profiteroles were far too soft the ice cream nothing to rave about and I could do without whatever berry coulee was going on there

Would I come back? no not for the price point, the food should have been better and the service should have been much better, waiting for our waiter to be done with other tables and hope he comes our way became quite an adventure. Ah well, fun times...

The first time at Carmine's was a business meeting, hence I was not really focused on the establishment. So, take everything with a grain of salt AND pepper! I intend to go back for a 'proper' introduction.

The reservation was

Both the indoor and outdoor dining rooms felt a tad too modern for my taste. For the time of day (1:30) we did find a private enough place to have a business lunch and the courtyard did look inviting.

The lunch menu was varied enough that I got to try a lighter dish that was not a Soup & Salad (nothing wrong with SnS, except I didn't feel like either on that day).

We started with the Antipasto Assortito, which lived up to its name as a house specialty. Then, my guest had the Rigatoni Bolognese which he seemed to enjoy very much. On my side, I tried one of my favorite ingredient test dishes, which the house serves as Parmigiana Di Malanzane. I highly recommend both the assorted antipasto and the eggplant dish.

The wine ended up being a trial and error case. First time in a new restaurant, I always go with a classical wine, even if I have to compromise the 'established' wine selection etiquette. So, I had a glass of Chianti. I had the feel that the bottle came from a local grocery's shelf or maybe the bottle it came from was opened too long, which I doubt/hope was not the case. Basically, it was too astringent and not as fruity as a 'decent' Chianti. To be fair, next time I will order a bottle but I will try something else as well.

I loved their French wine glasses, but the sizes seemed a bit large for me. OTOH, I would have those glasses over the typical Italian wide opened glass any time any day. Also, the large size did make it work as a decanter.

The overall service was excellent.

It was nice that we didn't have to worry about parking and they do provide vallet parking services.

Next time, I would take my wife for lunch; for dinner, I would have to let her decide. If warm enough, we will definitely try the courtyard. I am looking forward to try some of their other Piatti Forti.

PS Unfortunately, the 2 of the 3 dishes that we had are not listed below to be...