I really liked Carmen - I've gone there numerous times over the past years, but my recent experience last Friday totally changed my perspective about the place.
My parents, sister and some family were in town visiting so I had made reservations for 8PM at Carmen. We got there 5 minutes early and were escorted by a senior member of the staff - who as it happens actually runs the place - to wait in their back patio, which was empty due to the cold weather that night. We were then told that our table is a little delayed. The reason was that the previous party "took longer to order". We waited 1 HOUR for the table to free up! Are you kidding me? What's the point of having a reservation? They didn't bother calling me to tell me they were running a litte behind. The lady at the restaurant argued with me when I had proposed that it would have been nice to receive a courtesy call about this so that we didn't have to wait outside in the cold with older family members. They did not offer us anything while waiting - I mean what kind of customer service is this? Where do these people learn the fundamentals of hospitality and FNB services? I racked up a $700 bill that night and they did not rectify their "mess up" by offering a complimentary round of drinks or some food or anything for that matter.
I was very excited to get my family to experience Carmen. Unfortunately the service lacked respect and professionalism.
It's sad to see how some restaurants run their establishments with low quality service, without understanding that little things go a long way.
Unfortunately, I will never be stepping foot in Carmen again.