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Carnivale: Restaurant Reviews

702 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607 (The Loop)
(312) 850-5005
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Ranked #136 of 7,336 restaurants in Chicago
Price range: $14 - $40
Cuisines: Cuban, Latin, Mexican, Puerto Rican
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Restaurant details
Good for: Bar scene, Large groups, Special occasions
Dining options: Lunch, Dinner, Reservations, Late Night, Dessert
Dining style: Casual Dining
Neighborhood: The Loop
Cross street: Halsted
Transit: Bus: The #8 Halsted at Fulton Market/Lake: 2 minute walk The # 65 Grand Avenue at Desplaines:10 minute walk The # 56 Milwaukee stops at Fulton/Desplaines: 2 minute walk Train: The Blue Line at Milwaukee/Grand: 10 minute walk The Pink Line at Clinton: 5 min walk The Green Line at Clinton: 5 min walk
Description: Carnivale is a reflection of Latin culture and community, as passionate as the people themselves. The soulful cuisine allows you to explore the dishes of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, El Salvador, and Mexico. The kaleidoscope of colors, music and playful décor ignites the sense of being in a Latin house party. Executive Chef Rodolfo Cuadros supports the Green City Market and uses as many local, sustainable ingredients as possible out of concern for the environment and community. Carnivale is the perfect location for your lunch, dinner, birthday, anniversary, wedding or corporate event. Carnivale has hosted exciting events such as Oprah’s “Color Purple” release party, the “Batman: The Dark Night Returns” wrap party and a private event with John Legend. Carnivale is located in Chicago’s West Loop, just off the expressway and close to downtown. It's also a quick CTA ride from Michigan Ave, Navy Pier or the Art Institute of Chicago.
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231 reviews from our community

78% Recommend
    109
    73
    32
    11
    6
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
There are newer reviews for Carnivale
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Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Celebrated my 25th Birthday”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 14, 2013

I was here with 3 friends on March 13th, 2013 for my 25th birthday. We had reservations for 7:00pm and upon arrival we were told it would be a few minutes. We order drinks at the bar while we waited which was all of less than 5 minutes. We all ordered the Victoria's Secret specialty drink which was excellent, very pink and very sweet! When we were seated we ordered the guacamole which was the best I've ever had. It is a loud dining room, but I didn't mind because you are free to talk loudly and have a good time which was very appropriate for my party. The decorations were amazing and I especially liked the wine racks built into the walls. All of our food was out of this world! I ordered the new york strip steak and a side of fried plantains to share since I've always wanted to try them. They were worth it! So tasty! For dessert the staff brought out a small slice of cinnamon flan with a candle which was very good, also my first time with flan. Then we also ordered The Big Top dessert which comes with a slice of red velvet cake, flan, caramel corn, vanilla ice cream and plantains and a huge over sized bouquet of cotton candy on a carnival stick and sitting in a high class stuffed with more candy corn. It was very pricey but everyone around us was getting it so we of course had to try it too! Such a great birthday. The service was a little slow on our drink requests and it did take a while to get dessert, but nothing overly long. Great place and will for sure go back!

  • Visited March 2013
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Ask Laurierenee about Carnivale
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Chicago
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
11 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
5 helpful votes 5 helpful votes
“Colorfull”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 14, 2013

What a great restaurant. Where do I start, we had a sampler of the home made ceviche that was excellent and beautifully prepared. There were four of us for dinner and we all tried something different and shared. I think the braised pork shoulder was my favorite. Don’t forget dessert! We went over board and bought the desert sampler, way too much food even for 4 people but the presentation was fun.

Visited May 2012
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Ask ChicagoStolarski about Carnivale
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Akron
Senior Contributor
37 reviews 37 reviews
12 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 19 cities Reviews in 19 cities
25 helpful votes 25 helpful votes
“Great big party atmosphere”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 12, 2013 via mobile

I loved this place for our conference party. The mulit-level, multi room gave you plenty of options to find places to talk, observe, and hang out. The food was decent, a little odd how they slopped the rice dish onto this big slab, I felt like I was feeding at a trough. Overall, it was a cool place to spend a few hours, and the dance floor is in decent shape.

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See 3 more reviews by Dallamjm for Chicago
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Chicago, IL
Contributor
16 reviews 16 reviews
5 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
“Nice lively spot for drinks, appetizers”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed March 3, 2013

I haven 't really been all that impressed with the food. But, I would recommend it for meeting friends for drinks and appetizers.

  • Visited March 2013
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
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See 3 more reviews by ChiGirl1977 for Chicago
Ask ChiGirl1977 about Carnivale
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Ithaca, New York
2 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
“S & M Pic on Wall”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed February 14, 2013

We came for a family celebration. The food was high quality, but not well-seasoned. The colorful decor was very pleasing until I turned around and noticed I was standing in front of a bondage picture--a woman with ropes encircling her naked butt. So... not so good for families, with very little to recommend it except for the wonderful colors.

  • Visited February 2013
    • 2 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 2 of 5 stars Food
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Ask leslielynn1341 about Carnivale
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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