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excellent on many levels

5 Posted on 02 / 01 / 2013

delicious vegan options,always interesting flavor combinations that delight the senses, one of my favorite restaurants, the chef here has an amazing palate. I often go for the vegan pizza- the most recent pizza I had came with a mole sauce and it was incredible. I have always had great service, seconds after you're seated(filtered!)water is provided and they make sure you never run out and they check in to see you're doing ok, you may have to wait a little longer for your meal but it's worth the wait!

Pros: excellent food, excellent service, nice vibe
Cons: sometimes noisy, could use more vegan options

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Don't recommend

2 Posted on 08 / 03 / 2012

This place is living on its reputation. Since recently moving from the east coast from an area with little to offer in veg restaurants, we were eagerly looking forward to trying the many good ones in Seattle. We heard Carmelita was one of the best - but turned out to be sadly disappointed.
After being kept waiting on a line that stretched out the door while the place was half empty, we were finally seated. The $9 specialty cocktail arrived in a small glass that was full of ice. My husband and I were concerned that ordering a mezza platter along with 2 entrees would leave us with far too much food, but we needn't have worried - the portion sizes are so small that we left the place not filled up. The $18 mezza platter consisted of 4 felafel balls, 3 cherries (for 2 people), 4 peach halves, about 6 green beans, a couple dollops, and 3 pitas. The $18 roulade dish consisted of 1 roulade with some sauce and sesame seeds and 2 small onions.
To add insult to injury, the next day both my husband and I had queasy stomachs and I had the runs.
While the food was good and well prepared, I don't like leaving an expensive restaurant half full. There are many other restaurants in Seattle where you can get much better value for your money.

Pros: Good food , Well Prepared, Good ambiance
Cons: Tiny portions, Poor value, Long wait before seating

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Horrible

2 Posted on 07 / 13 / 2012

My family and I are in town visiting friends who were excited to take us to a vegan friendly restaurant. It was so disappointing when we arrived and the waitress was shockingly rude. My friend's husband politely talked to the manager about the situation and she was rude and dismissive as well. We were so uncomfortable for the remainder of the meal, we now all wish we would have just left. As for the food, our friends both had the gnochi, and said it was fairly good, although they were still hungry after. My husband and I had a pizza that was pretty good, nothing fantastic, and a plate of a variety of things that ranged from bad to inedible. I would not recommend this restaurant, unless I was trying to get revenge on someone. I would have rated it one cow (rather than two) but the site doesn't let me rate it below two cows.

Cons: Rude staff, Bad food, Overpriced

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Unimpressed.

3 Posted on 10 / 02 / 2011

We had the fortune of visiting some really great restaurants while in Seattle but were unimpressed by Carmelita. For the price, service is a little too relaxed and the food is basically the same as the options for veg-heads at at non-veg restaurants. We appreciated that the portions of food were not overly large, but we thought it lacked a imagination. We did really enjoy dessert, but that was definitely the high point of the meal.

Pros: great dessert, fine food, right-sized portions
Cons: value, unimaginative food

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Lovely!

4 Posted on 08 / 31 / 2011

The atmosphere was was nice, upscale and good for a date night. The waitress was nice and the service was good. I can't remember the dish's name, but it was a vegan special of raviolis, broccolini and olives. It was AMAZING. I'm kicking myself for not bringing my leftovers home. We also had the focaccia, which was also very good.
The menu is pretty short and like others have said they are mostly a vegetarian place, relying too much on dairy products.

Initially I confused the lobster mushroom dish with actually being lobster. I must have misheard the waitress and edited my first review. Many apologies!

Pros: Delicious food, Atmosphere, Waitstaff
Cons: Too much dairy,

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Great Little Place

4 Posted on 05 / 29 / 2011

My wife and I went here to celebrate our anniversary 2 months late, as I was on a deployment for the actual day. Our waitress was great and even gave us a free desert after hearing our story. The food was excellent and incredibly fresh, and we both loved the vibe of the place. It's more vegetarian than vegan but the dishes we had left us not concerned about the slight lack of choices (we're both vegan). It's a bit pricey but that's to be expected for service and food of this quality. Totally worth trying, especially if you're looking to have a night out.

Pros: Freshness, Service , Atmosphere
Cons: More Veg than vegan

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Great food!

4 Posted on 05 / 09 / 2011

I had probably one of the best vegan pizzas EVER, here; baby asparagus pesto about the size of my plate. Oh-so-delicious and oh-so-filling. I was kind of in love with ambiance and low lighting. Waitstaff were friendly and prompt. Oh, yeah...it would probably be a good idea to make reservations, too! (Just so you know.)

BUT, it was on the expensive side. Most of the items on the menu had a vegan version if not vegan already (which is great), but would have liked perhaps a few more menu options?

This being said, I quite liked Carmelita overall all.

Pros: Good food, Vegan options, They have a bar!
Cons: Expensive

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very glad we went and will go back

5 Posted on 03 / 11 / 2011

I almost let the fact they have a few vegan items compared to dairy items hold me back from going. I am glad I didn't. This place does some wonderful things with vegetables. They have a nice amount of apps that are vegan, all were delicious. The specials were creative, as was most of the menu. they had maitakes in a dish, my all time fave food. It is a great upscale place to enjoy.

Pros: fine time, creative, savory

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A rare high-end vegetarian restaurant

5 Posted on 12 / 03 / 2010

Cafe Flora and Carmelita are the only high-end vegetarian restaurants in Seattle. I had the good fortune to do both of them in sequential evenings.

I started with the saffron-cauliflower phyllo napoleon which was a little bland. My friends had the cheese plate which they were quite pleased with.

Actually we started off with cocktails. I mention this only because I want to recommend the gin-ginger; excellent.

For the main course, I had the trio squash pizza which blew away the chantrelle pizza I had at Flora's the night before. Other dishes ordered at the table includeded the farfalle pasta which was excellent and the purple potato gnocci which was great as well.

For dessert there was sherbert (of which I'm not a fan) which was enjoyed by the person who ordered it. The pecan pumpkin pound cake got mixed reviews. I, however, enjoyed my Valrona chocolate cup.

The staff was friendly, knowledgable, and efficient.

Overall, an exceptional dining experience. It would be nice if there were more high-end restaurants in Seattle.

Pros: Great Food, Great Service, Good Atmosphere
Cons: Pricey, but worth it.

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Not a great option for vegans.

2 Posted on 08 / 09 / 2010

I LOVED this place when I was a vegetarian. I ate there probably 4 times a year. But when I went back as a vegan, I was very disappointed. They rely HEAVILY on animal products to make their food taste good. Whenever I have ordered one of the FEW vegan options from Carmelita's it has been bland and boring. Very disappointing as this is a beautiful restaurant with wonderful service and in my neighborhood.

Pros: Ambiance, Service
Cons: Prices, Parking, Vegan dishes are bland

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meh

2 Posted on 01 / 02 / 2010

Meh! The only good thing about the meal was the wine and the company. The food was grey mush.

Pros: Wine, the bar across st.
Cons: Taste, consistency, Service

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Very good but pricey

4 Posted on 09 / 03 / 2009

I enjoy the ambiance of this restaurant and the fact that the menu offers small dishes - this way you get to try different things. The vegan selections are somewhat limited, however, and the portions *are* small (Yes, I know - they are small plates.) To have a satisfying meal you may need to spend quite a bit.

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I think there are better places in Seattle

2 Posted on 07 / 27 / 2009

The ambience and our waitress were really great. It is a beautiful place and we were so excited to have a fully vegetarian fine dining experience.

Carmelita uses cheese in their dishes which contains animal rennet ( an enzyme made out of a calves' stomach). This doesn't qualify the restaurant as vegetarian. We were surprised that they haven't changed this as finding microbial/vegetable rennet based cheeses is pretty easy!

The leek tart and quinoa fritters that we had as our first course were very delicious. My husband got the vegan risotto as his second course. It was very plain and tasted bland. I got the polenta and mushroom dish as my third course. It tasted pretty weird and I could not even finish a quarter of it. My husband ordered the vegan pizza with fig and kale pesto. It was AMAZING. I have not had a better pizza crust! We ordered vegan almond bonbons for desert that were pretty good.

All in all, Carmelita was nice enough but a disappointing experience because of their use of animal rennet in their cheeses and that some of their food was really tasteless.

We probably won't come here again but we have to say that the decor and the staff was very good.

Pros: decor, staff
Cons: animal rennet in cheese, bland dishes

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Carmelita

2 Posted on 05 / 14 / 2009

I have never had service more rude than at Carmelita. i swear that i could see up all the waitress' noses. the food was ridiculously expensive and really nothing to write home about, mediocre at best. I took a friend here for a treat and we were sorely disappointed. this place just reinforces the snooty vegetarian stereotype. Really don't waste your $$ when there are so many amazing restaurants in seattle. A much better choice would be Aryas, Chaco Canyon, Annapurna. And if you want something fancy AND friendly go to Cafe Flora.

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Classy Vegan Dining

5 Posted on 03 / 18 / 2009

Carmelita is a lovely organic veg restaurant. The setting and ambiance are wonderful. Its a great place for vegans to dine with cheese eaters. We had wonderful Vegan Empanada Appetizers / Soup and the Polenta was amazing. The organic bottle of wine helped, too!

Absolutely delightful staff and waitress.

Pros: Wine, Polenta, Staff

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B is for Bland, S is for Soggy

2 Posted on 01 / 18 / 2009

The settings and staff were both pleasant.

The Farro Tagine vegan dinner entree was a bland, soggy puddle. The dish pretty much lived up to the common misconception that all vegetarian food is mushy, grey gruel. I'm not opposed to bland food, but if you're going to shoot for that and charge 17 dollars a plate, you'd better pull it off with finesse and ingenuity. I've had delicious, inspiring, beautiful vegan food. This was none of those.

Since it was bland and over-priced, I'd give it a 1-cow rating if happy cow allowed it.

Pros: nice environment and staff
Cons: bland, expensive, soggy

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Good Veg Haute Cuisine

4 Posted on 01 / 03 / 2009

Fancy vegetarian cuisine. Went for prix fixe meal. Truffled mushroom leek soup was extraordinary along with spiced pear gelato. Only two vegan entrees which were good, but not knock-your-socks-off. Very pretty atmosphere, but pricey for a family.

Pros: Fancy Atmosphere, Fancy Veg Fare, Limited Vegan Options
Cons: $ Expensive, Entrees were just OK

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Awesome food! Would definitely go there again.

5 Posted on 05 / 21 / 2008

I went here several years ago and I am still thinking about the awesome meal I had! The food was savory and divine! I had the gnocci and lemon basil sorbet for dessert. This is an upscale restaurant so don't expect huge portions and cheap prices. The portions were moderate but neither I or my dining companion left hungry.
Great date place and probably not good for families.

Pros: Savory food, great date place, great atmosphere
Cons: No cons! It was all excellent!

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Beautiful dining experience

4 Posted on 02 / 26 / 2008

Really nice atmosphere. Interesting menu selection. Great banana split!

Pros: Good food, Romantic, Friendly staff
Cons: Not centrally located

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Hungry

2 Posted on 10 / 20 / 2007

A nice place to visit. However you will leave here hungry.

Pros: None, None, None
Cons: Too little amount of food for the price., Expensive

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Spoil yourself

4 Posted on 09 / 11 / 2007

My husband and I decided to spoil ourselves our last night in Seattle and we were not disappointed. It is beautifully decorated and the ambience is perfect for a romantic evening. The Cheese Plate appetizer is divine! The Leek & Gruyere tart is delicious and the Paella is very flavorful. I also recommend the Spiced Berry iced tea (herbal). The is definitely not a good place for families with children. It is, however, a great date spot.

Pros: tasty food, quiet, romantic ambience
Cons: a little pricey

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Special ocasions restaurant!

5 Posted on 09 / 04 / 2007

It's one of the most romantic vegan restaurants around. Great for an aniversary or a date. The prices are a little high and the restaurant is a little crowded but at the end of the night that's the last thing on your mind. The food is awsome, so is the atmosphere and it's guaranteed to make you date happy.

Pros: excellent food, healthy cuisine, romantic atmosphere
Cons: a little pricey

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Dance of Flavors

4 Posted on 07 / 12 / 2007

My husband and I went there for our 6th anniversary dinner. The place is very nicely decorated - I will try to upload a pic. The waitress wan't the nicest in the world and sometimes took too long to come to our table even though we were one of the few in there so late. The meals were exquisitely tasteful - We were not disappointed in this area! Presentation and taste were excellent. Flavors blended in a unique way made it seem they either use a professional chef or hired one to design their menu! Unfortunately, there weren't many dinner selections, like maybe 5 or so. Also, they're a little expensive. The music CD they used was a little droning and depressing for our anniversary dinner. We would have preferred to hear a mix of music like most other restaurants do rather than one CD played through. We got a look at the patio before leaving. Very nice!

Pros: eclectic, elegant atmosph, elegant, tasty food
Cons: music from one CD, very expensive, waitress apathetic

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Families should eat elsewhere

2 Posted on 05 / 04 / 2007

The food was decent, though not what I've had there in the past, but I'll never return after the irritation shown by the staff regarding our 1 year old daughter. Though not perfectly behaved, we took pains keep her as quiet as we could, while the staff, clearly visible in the prep area from our table, gracelessly gestured in our direction, rolling their eyes and indicating their quick patience for a family trying to have a meal together. When we softly tried to sing to our daughter in an attempt to keep her in a good mood, we were told to "Stop singing, it's probably bothering the other customers." It was a brusque and inelegant way to get your point across, and certainly made us feel unwelcome. None of the behavior of our family seemed to us inordinately disruptive, and as parents, we're quick to take a meltdown outside to spare the other customers. In this case, the staff could definitely stand some etiquette lessons. If you have a family, I'd DEFINITELY consider another venue.

Pros: Inventive cuisine, nice atmosphere
Cons: Not conducive for family, Rude waitstaff

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Pretty good

4 Posted on 07 / 13 / 2006

A good "date" restaurant. If you're celebrating an event, tell them, they'll give you a nice little treat. ... I have always had good service. The food is inspired, too. The portions look small, yet I always left feeling full (and having had enough room for their yummy desserts). ... a friend who is not a "foodie" didn't enjoy it - tastes can be a bit "different" in the gourmet or unusual-combination sense. ... The main room is fine but if you can, make a reservation for the pation or garden, that's even nicer.

Pros: excellent food, nice staff, ask for patio/garden
Cons: pricey, limited vegan options