Carmelo's Spaghetti Room — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Had been a favorite, but! We called and made reservations with specification that we would sit next to each other, not side by side. I was assured they would note that. When we arrived 5 min before time we were told they did not have a side by side seating for us or we would have to wait a half hour. What is the purpose of a reservation if not to reserve your seating? 7:15 turns into 7:47 and still not seated, let alone, one of the owners total rudeness. Cold, cold ! Where is the warm welcome atmosphere that was in the past? So many more accommodating restaurants in the city that will get our business. We would have waited a bit more and chalked it up to a busy Friday if the owners wife had not been so rude.

Update:

In response to the continued rude behavior encountered during our visit, we would like to provide some clarification on the events that transpired. When we contacted the establishment at 6:45, we made a specific request for a side-by-side seating arrangement. The response we received from the young lady was, "I assure you we will take note of that," instead of offering any assurance regarding the possibility of fulfilling our request. If, during our initial reservation call, we had been informed that our request could not be accommodated, we would have simply chosen another venue, as we ultimately did.

Upon arrival, we were asked to wait for 30 minutes. During this time, we occupied ourselves by using our phones, and glanced occasionally at the food being served with curiosity of the dishes. It's worth mentioning that I was seated intermittently in the alcove area. Additionally, we had requested to purchase a glass of wine each, of which we paid for. It was neither provided nor compensated for by the management in any way.

The response from the management to this review encapsulates the overall sentiment we experienced...

Some of these people that write negative reviews crack me up. One of these clowns wrote a 1 star review because Carmelo's closed before 9pm as the business hours state. Here's an idea, call before you come. If it is getting close to closing time you'll know if you should make the trip or if you'll have to go somewhere else. The employees have lives too. Relax a little bit, you'll be much happier. Another joker was critical of the atmosphere, said it was "creepy" - this jabroni needs to find something better to do with their time. I feel bad for you and how unhappy you must be. The last review I find amusing is the dummy that said they went on a busy night without a reservation and had to wait longer than the estimated 15 minutes they were told. You can't be serious. How is it possible that you have survived this long being as clueless as you are?? Next time, make a reservation. You expect the staff to kick people out or rush them as they eat their meals because you were stupid enough to show up without a reservation during a busy time?? I wish we could review people that hide behind their keyboards and write negative reviews over nonsense - most of you are a joke. Anyway, on to my review. I LOVE THIS PLACE!! First time attending was this evening (1/11/19) with my fiancé, friend, and my soon to be in-laws. I loved every bite of everything I ate. Bruschetta: delicious. Tomato basil soup: delicious. Salad w/creamy peppercorn: delicious. Artichoke dip: delicious. Chicken Carmelo: delicious. I can't wait to go back and try something else!! There is one problem, the Chicken Carmelo was so good it will be hard for me to try a different menu item!! We went at 7:30 on a Friday night and it was busy, but our service was A1 and the food was phenomenal. I dig the small space vibe and loved the food. Nicely...

Not a good experience. Will likely never go back. It was a busy night. We had no reservation. Our mistake. We were told it would be 15 minutes; our wait was 35 minutes. Shortly after we were seated a couple was seated at the table to my left. Even though we were seated first, the server waited on them first. She then left rather than waiting on us. Finally she came to our table. The couple received their salads quickly; ours took a long time. We were not offered vinegar/oil for our bread. I had to ask when I saw the other table had some. I asked for lemon for my water but never received any. When our food finally came, after the table next to us received theirs before we did, we were not offered Parmesan cheese. I heard it offered at another table. Normally wait staff refills water glasses regularly. I had to ask for more water. We were barely finished and our plates were whisked away, even my knife while I was still enjoying the bread. It felt as though we were being rushed. The food was ok but not the best I've had. My favorite was the bread, which was delicious. it was very loud and noisy; I could barely hear my daughter, who was less than 3' from me.

I believe the man at the table to my right recognized the poor experience my daughter and I were having as he made sure to tell us it is a great place and it was just a busy night. He apparently has been there more than 100 times and knows the owners. While it was nice of him to share his good experiences, it was not enough to convince me to...