Casa Carmen

We enjoyed an early Friday dinner at the bar. The bartender was great! Mixed excellent drinks and was very helpful with menu recommendations. We had the guacamole which was excellent (better be in a Mexican restaurant) and the tuna for appetizers. Both were delicious, but the star of the show were the amazing sauces that were brought out which we asked to keep for our entrees. I had the poblano peppers and my husband tacos. We both really enjoyed our meals! The bar was cool, and the rest of the restaurant was beautiful. Nicely decorated and cozy.

Trying to find a Mexican restaurant with good food AND a good ambiance is tough in NYC. Come to Carmen's for the ambiance but not the food. It's a great place to grab a drink or kill time with people that has a clean aesthetic and the food presentation is nice. But the food lacks flavor. The guacamole was a bit underwhelming and too mushy and watery for my taste. The chips are fried tostadas. A lot of places do this and it's kinda hip. But just plain triangle chips would hold the guac or salsa just fine. My biggest gripe with Carmen's is the portion size as well as the lack of seasoning on the chicken. The chicken in the enchilada was just boiled chicken breast. It sounds like an exaggeration but it's very true. Just plain shredded white chicken breast that was very chewy and got stuck all in my teeth. Plus, it was cold! We had to ask them to reheat our food. This is a great place to hang out. Just don't expect much from the food.

I went to this relatively new fancier Mexican restaurant; which happens to also have another recently open location in Tribeca; around a week ago with one of my groups. The prices are a bit high but hey it's Tribeca and the flavors were overall solid with a more interesting menu containing dishes such as panuchos and fideo with a particularly good mole which is what they are advertising here mostly. The woman serving us was very friendly refilling waters whenever it was needed and put up with the person next to me and she was nice enough to even separate the checks at the end for our group of six as the place wasn't super crowded which was very appreciated. I didn't have a drink even though the cocktail menu looked delicious with most drinks being between $17 and $20 outside of $25 cocktail presumably using some fancy aged mezcal or tequila. It's nice to see a Mexican spot in particular with a lot of mezcal cocktails and I'd likely stop by for one of those and an appetizer another time. Another person had the banana old fashioned wish they thought was excellent. I started with the Panuchos Yucatecos with cochinita pibil, refried beans, pickled onion, and habanero for $18 which came with three reasonably sized pieces. Panuchos are uncommon here and you can kind of think of it as being an inside out version of a tostada with the beans inside instead of being on top. The pork was tender and delicious and there was a bit of sourness from the pickled onions and a little bit of spice from the habanero though I think there could have been a bit more heat which was a bit of a theme throughout the meal but I understand them not wanting to make dishes too well picante for the crowd. There was a salsa that was served though I'm not sure if this was with my dish or the other person's but it worked well with the panuchos.The only other appetizer ordered was the Trio de Quesadillas with melted Oaxaca cheese and seasonal vegetables which is normally $18 but they added steak for some reason so it was $28 I believe (she did warn it would be a lot more.) I didn't try it outside of the tender steak but he liked it and it came with two regular quesadillas and one made with blue corn which was a fun spin.My main dish was what they specialize, mole, which is available either as enmoladas or as pollo con mole. Enmoladas simply is enchiladas topped with mole sauce and is my favorite preparation for said sauce. In this case, this dish comes with your choice of chicken or vegetables, mole Xico, crema, cotija cheese, and refried beans and comes in at $28. Mole Xico apparently refers to a mole found in that town in Veracruz and is by comparison slightly sweeter. Said enomladas de pollo was delicious here and not too sweet with a light bit of bitterness from the chocolate and there was plenty of shredded chicken in there. I got it without crema and it was delicious and worth the price though I would say I prefer the more spiced variants of dark mole but this was well balanced. Another person got what I got and some of the others got the more standard Pollo Con Mole Xico comes with a piece of boneless leg and thigh along with sesame and a side of Mexican rice and refried beans and I'm not exactly sure which dish gives you more chicken though that dish might be more filling. The other two got the Enchiladas Verdes with chicken or vegetables, tomatillo salsa, crema, cotija cheese, and refried beans for $2 less. I tried a bit of their verde which was tasty and not too sour from the tomatillos though I preferred my sauce.For dessert, I had the Tres Leches Con Fresas or moist milk cake with strawberries for $14 which also had a whipped cream on top which tasted faintly of strawberries also. The portion size was fine and this was just okay. It was much less sweet by comparison than what I used to which is a good thing though I would say it was a lot less moist. I tried something else which was better which was the Pastel de Elote with warm corn cake and ice cream which is the same price. The cake had a good texture and there was some dulce de leche or something else on top to make it a bit more sweet. The ice cream on the side was banana I believe though from what I can tell from the other person ordering, you could likely switch it up for another one of the daily flavors but I'm not sure. There was also a special which was a chocolate cake which someone else enjoyed.At the price point, I prefer a few other spots such as La Contenta Oeste and Ruta Oxaca for instance but it was still good and better than some of the other fancier Mexican spots such as Empellón Taqueria. I'd probably go back here to try more of the unique small plates or maybe try another one of the main dishes as I would prefer not to pay the same prices for two tacos regardless of the quality. The space is nice, the people are friendly, and the food while pricey was still well flavored. Would go back. Low 4

We were craving Mexican for dinner, so we found Casa Carmen. A decent spot for elevated Mexican food. Started with the ceviche verde, which was excellent - so fresh and tasty. Tacos de ribeye were incredible. Cooked perfectly, dripping with juice, and served with an incredible green salsa. Enchiladas verde were kind of a miss. The chicken inside was cold and kinda dry. Wish we got more tacos instead of this. I got the pastel de elote corn dessert to go, and it was a great sweet treat. The caramel and banana ice cream went so well together. There are lots of whole corn kernels within the cake itself, which wasn't my favorite but didn't stop us from polishing all of it off. The restaurant is well decorated with a cozy, upscale vibe.

Came by for a drink and dessert after dinner.Cocktails were not good, the Banana Old Fashion is as full of syrup almost undrinkable and disgusting. My stomach was crying.Truffle Creamed Corn was okay.Churro was cute and good and delicious.Flan was quite dense not sure if it's normal?

Had a nice dinner with a group of friends. Solid spot for tacos, guacamole, drinks, etc. would definitely come back when in the mood for the food.

I went to Casa Carmen for brunch with a group of friends, it's an amazing Mexican restaurant with authentic ingredients and wonderful service. I'd highly recommend trying the quesadillas and the pancakes for appetizers, both were absolutely delicious. I also had the Chilaquiles with an over easy egg added on top, it was great. If you're craving authentic & delicious Mexican food then look no further!

Phenomenal food, amazing service, plenty of seating! Plenty of vegetarian options with More of a modern touch on Mexican food. The drinks were well made and delicious. Every single entree was so flavorful and spiced. Corn was my favorite! Definitely a hidden gem, and would highly recommend this place!

The food was fairly tasty but all the portions were crazy tiny and the entrees felt incomplete so struggle to give it that high of a rating. For instance, the fish entree I ordered was cooked well but was literally just a piece of fish in sauce without any sides or anything else on the plate. And for the price point and how much we ordered, and how hungry we still were after we left, it would be hard to justify returning. All that said, if you do come here, we enjoyed the crab tostadas and the corn truffle side, which we found unique. They take reservations on resy. We were able to walk in without a reservation but got the last two seats at the bar. If you want a table, I would recommend making a reservation.

Searched for upscale Mexican in this neighborhood and found this location. The restaurant is very attractive and welcoming with two dining areas dimly lit for a cozy experience. The wine list is on an iPad, making it a fun and interactive way of choosing the perfect pairing. We started with the guacamole which was rich and silky smooth. The tostadas were generously heaped with crab and tasted fresh. We ordered a pea stuffed appetizer special that was unique and quite good. The chicken was nice but neither of us loved the Xico mole sauce. It was very chocolatey and just didn't work for us. Overall we enjoyed the experience and would come back to try more of the menu.