By far my favourite restaurant in Birmingham. I went here with my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, I had the salmon and prawns with pepper corns. He ordered the seafood linguini, we had a side of garlic bread and I ordered chips thinking the salmon would be a smaller portion. When it came out it was huge and more than enough on its own, perfectly cooked, completely polished my plate! The service is great, if you’re willing to spend a bit more than average then it’s definitely worth it.
Sarah L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Walsall, United Kingdom
Amazing, absolutely beautiful food and lovely non alcoholic cocktails, they do do alcohol ones too lol, Food is really wonderful, service is not intrusive, very polite. If it was cheaper I’d be there all the time!
Julie W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Cradley Heath, United Kingdom
A birthday and 16 of us descend on the poor chef, but I can not fault the speed of service or the quality of my meal. This is a larger than it looks restaurant and our group meet in the basement bar, from the basement dining area you can still see the street so it does have a nice feel, not at all claustrophobic. The lobster ravioli I had as. Starter was really nice and my salmon main was juicy with crispy skin and I loved the peppercorn sauce although I found the prawns bland, veggies beautifully seasoned and still with a bit of bite. I thought it pricey at £32 each for 3 courses but that may have been because we dined from the Christmas menu, I don’t know. Paper table clothes and paper napkins kind of let this place down, I really do have a thing about paper napkins(as in I dislike them for no good reason) There was nothing wrong with our meal but there are better Italian restaurants and Birmingham has so much great choice it’s a shame to settle for mediocrity
Richard H.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Birmingham, United Kingdom
Great food… Just a shame about the service. I’ve never had a bad meal here. In particular the fish dishes are some of the best in the city and there are specials which frequently change. The only let down is the service which consistently makes you feel like you’ve done them a favour by gracing them with your presence.
Sarah S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Birmingham, United Kingdom
The quality of the food has always been consistently good. I enjoy the carbornarra and the steaks have always been cooked just right. I have been going here for years and it was always my ‘go to’ restaurant in town. The only problem is that recently I have felt that they are starting to believe their own press too much and don’t make you feel as though they need your custom. They are always busy which makes you feel that you cant relax and enjoy your meal at your own pace. The tables are very close together also so you feel that people are listening in on your conversation. They have converted what was the just a bar downstairs into more seating. The atmosphere downstairs is nowhere near as good as upstairs. Overall though the food makes up for it and i still enjoy eating there.
Isabelle L.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Wheeling, IL
Went to San Carlo for a business dinner and I admit we had an Italian fellow in our party and I believe that significantly augmented the experience as we got a few freebies brought to the table. Overall impression: good solid Italian food with efficient service but nothing extraordinary. The place got busy and noisy and we felt cramped at our table. The menu was extensive to the point where it was hard to actually pick something. The dishes we ordered were solid but flavor was mostly bland and lacking. The place has potential but the dishes unfortunately lacked Italian character as you can tell they have been toned down to please the local palate and that’s too bad.
Emma G.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Birmingham, United Kingdom
I think the best thing about San Carlo are the celebrity endorsements in the window –who knew Russell Crowe had been to Birmingham! I’ve been here a number of times — mostly on work outings and I have to say that each and every time I have been left feeling rather underwhelmed. It’s not so much the food — that’s pretty decent but the fact that it feels so cramped. Navigating tables — even just crossing your legs requires great dexterity(not always easy after a Salmone Affumicato) Also — and this is a biggy — the waiters seem determined to get you in and out as quickly as possible — sometimes before you’ve even had a chance to polish off your food. I guess if you like somewhere a bit posh and don’t mind sharing your personal space it’s fine, but for Italian restaurants I prefer Harborne.
Andy H.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Birmingham, United Kingdom
An extremely overpriced and over rated restaurant. It shows no authenticity at all with the food on offer in Italy and in fact they murder the vegetables and pasta to its extreme by overcooking them. The service is rude and surly and is hurried. The waiters lack charm and sophistication and are huffing and puffing there way around the restaurant. There are many better Italian restaurants in Birmingham, Cucina Rustica and Fillini to name two. Here at least you are treated as important and not some incomvenience like at San Carlo.
Ay
Rating des Ortes: 3 Birmingham, United Kingdom
Ok so I went to this restaurant to believe its Italian and so it was but maybe not the best I’ve had. Basically the meals are pricey and the food is average. The staff tried to be charming towards our female friends but I found it cheesy(NO im not jealous as the girls didnt find it charming too). So back to the food I had pasta alla norma and it was nice. Would I recommend this restaurant to any Italian pasta lovers? Maybe.
Vik S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Houston, TX
Best frutti di mare since I was in Rome! Unbelievable you pray for places like these but you rarely if ever get them outside of Italy. This food is a masterpiece.
Louise
Rating des Ortes: 5 Birmingham, United Kingdom
on Karen’s recommendation i stopped off for a bite at San Carlo Restaurant and then headed on over to Red Bar and Lounge nearby for drinks. i’d never been to this restaurant before but really enjoyed it. I will certainly go again.
Karen2
Rating des Ortes: 5 Birmingham, United Kingdom
San carlo has nicely presented and tasting food. stop off for a lovely bite to eat and pop off to Red Bar & Lounge on temple street for some fantastic cocktails. mmm yum! thats a combination that cant be beaten!
CAB_2
Rating des Ortes: 2 Birmingham, United Kingdom
I first went to San Carlo as a wee nipper abouy 15 or so years ago and have been numerour times since. I have now however stopped going as I believe that it is greatly out shone by Flini @ Raddison for Italian food. This is Italian food for the english pallet. The menu is not very authentic and the execution of the dishes is average at best. I have extensively travelled Italy and visited many times and there would be Mamas everywhere screwing at some of the food served here. Service is rude at times(unless you are female when the waiters are falling over themselves to flirt). Once you have tried Flini i belive you would never go back here. The restaurant survives on its previous reputation not its current performance. Also it was closed down for a bit a while ago for RATS — it is still under the same ownership? No rats anymore but their standards can hardly be the best.
Haggis
Rating des Ortes: 4 Reigate, United Kingdom
We had a work team building day in Birmingham and this restaurant got recommended to me by a friend. Great feel about the place and apparently a good celebrity spot, there are photos of the owner and celebs on the walls. The menu is very extensive, to the point you feel there is too much food on offer. The wines were excellent, the food was good. We all had starters and mains, with most people saying it was fantastic and some said it was just okay. It came to about £60 a head but we did have three courses, a lot of wine, grappa, coffee’s. Definitely worth a visit
Claire
Rating des Ortes: 5 London, United Kingdom
I have been to several San Carlo restaurants but enjoyed this one the most. Gorgeous fresh shellfish and a vast selection of wine made my meal one to remember.
Maylin
Rating des Ortes: 4 Castleford, United Kingdom
This is a busy italian on Temple street. They have restaurants in Italy, and have branched out to birmingham, London etc. They managed to squeeze us in at 9.30pm the same day we booked. It had two floors, a little cramped because it was so busy but this was my biggest grouch. The service was great, we ordered the oysters as a starter and they were huge. I was expecting a very small portion as many celebrities were known to visit the restaurant. However, the oysters were to die for, my friend had the scallops which were lovely complemented with the rocket leaves. I would recommend this for an anniversary dinner or a dinner date as it is quite special!
Mitch
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oldbury, United Kingdom
San Carlo based slap bang in the centre of Birmingham city centre is easilly recognised by its neon blue sign and its snazzy window displays. The interior is very modern with a buzz in the atmosphere. However I feel they want to maximise covers as there is no space in between some tables. The food is quite elaborate but at the same time you can find on the menu traditional Italian dishes. We all enjoyed our food and found it excellent quality with the exception of one of the dishes(Cant remember what Sorry!) which was very average. The service is good as they are always there to help you however at times it felt a bit crazy and mad and the staff wanted to nudge you along — unintentionally. Overall, you cant really complain about San carlo as it gives you proper Italian food at quite good prices in a very good location.
Shinyg
Rating des Ortes: 5 London, United Kingdom
Whenever I head to Brum, this is top of the list for lunch. It combines the fun of an old-fashioned Italian restaurant(bustling atmosphere, yummy food, good portions, affordable prices and staff who know what they’re talking about) with a modern interior. Every time I’ve been, the service has been excellent and the food brillant. It is a cramped space and generally quite busy, but that’s half the fun. You know a restaurant is good when it’s constantly packed. The food is rustic Italian, and nobody judges you if you order a pizza(though I usually go for one of the amazing pasta dishes). Make sure you try the starters too — the king prawns in tomato cream sauce are amazing.
YummyM
Rating des Ortes: 3 London, United Kingdom
On my last visit to San Carlo I found the tables were too close together,(I do not want to hear the conversation of people on the next table !) the food was ok, my food was tasty but my friend who ordered vegetarian found a piece of ham in her food ! The waiters were friendly, maybe a little too friendly and things seems a little caotic ! A place to be seen in Birmingham and I know people who love it so it must be doing something right, it is always packed and very busy at weekends.
Alistair H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berlin, Germany
The first restaurant that I ever went to in Birmingham. My parents had just helped me moving in, and we wanted to go for a meal in town. Happily, we stumbled upon this place. San Carlo is located on Temple St., which connects the cathedral to New St.(Birmingham’s main shopping street and the location of the(in)famous railway station.) It’s only a thin little road which doesn’t look to have much on it. The restaurant itself has a blue neon sign, so is quite easy to spot. In the window is a huge display of fruit and stuff. The food is your standard italian selection of pastas and pizzas, but done well. The prices are competitive and the service is very good.