Carmine - Italian
Kagurazaka *****

Address - Shinjuku-ku, Saikucho 1-19 Mishikawa Bdg. Opening hours - from 12:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm Map - Yes Telephone - 3260-5066 Menu - In Italian and Japanese CC - Yes

For honesty, I will say right away that Carmine Cozzolino is an old acquaintance of mine, but he is not paying for this review. Some years ago I ate for the first time at his restaurant, which has moved to new premises just across the street from the old. Former "Carmine" is now a pizzeria called "La Volpaia". My companion and I ordered a 3500 yen set apiece and shared the whole thing. Impolite, perhaps, but convenient. We both got assorted appetizers; I ordered linguine in octopus and tomato sauce, spring chicken "alla diavola", and tiramisu, while she had penne in mushroom and gorgonzola sauce, swordfish steak with mashed potatoes, and panna cotta. Everything was truly excellent, including the home-made bread and service. Since then I have eaten several times at Carmine's, which has sort of become my yardstick for judging Italian restaurants. My only complaint is the crowding, which could bother some people (not me, though).

January 2000:

I am sorry to say my opinion of Carmine's other restaurants isn't equally good. La Volpaia and Carmine Edochiano are in fact deservedly part of my shit list.