Carmine's

Upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Bellevue. We have been here twice, and the food tastes great.
We especially love the crab risotto we ordered last time.
It was so tasty.
This time, we wanted to try something different.
So we ordered the Giopino, but the taste was not as good as we expected. The Italian collections are very nice.
We tried both white, red and rose, they all tasted very nice. However, the service there needs some improvement.
Servers sound very demanding when they take orders.
And they are trying to clean up as soon as possible and in a very rushed way.
Sometimes, it feels scary as something may drop when they rush to take away the dishes.
And it interrupted the nice dinner experience.
This is a relatively expensive upscale restaurant.
We went there to have a nice dinner experience and wanted to enjoy the conversations.
But the service was a bit disappointing, and it's kind ruined our experience.

There's another review here describing Carmine's as the emperor having no clothes and wow should we have heeded that warning.
Before I go into detail, I will give Carmine's credit for great service.
The staff offered to remediate the situation, but I had lost my appetite at that point, and was so disappointed at the culinary experience. Maybe I was accepting an above average level of risk ordering the tough-to-execute squid ink pasta, but wow, the pasta was actually devoid of any semblance of flavor, featuring "sauce" that equated to mussel water with a hint of tomato backwash.
Spending over $30 for some of the pasta we ate was borderline criminal.
The pomp and circumstance of restaurant may be worthwhile for some, but if you're looking for quality Italian food, look elsewhere. While I'm thankful for the friendly staff for addressing my concerns in a professional manner, I truly hope someone who has decision making power sees this and looks to re-invent your approach to pasta.
Good wine bar? Yes.
Good Italian restaurant? Not so much.

Dinner at Carmine’s was one of my highlights during my travels.
The food served here was fantastic.
One of the best fettuccine ai pesto, I have had since I can remember.
My steak was cooked perfectly and well sized.
Walked away very happy and full.
Well presented and staff were great.