Carnivale Reviews

The venue is simply beautiful! The staff were very professional and helpful. The location is away from the busy Chicago streets and the parking lot just behind the building was very convenient. The guests loved the colorful, fun environment! Let’s not forget the food is delicious!

Carnivale delivered better than I ever could have imagined! The event staff were amazing and I am beyond grateful for them! The food was AMAZING, our guests are still talking about the food!! Not only was Carnivale the coolest place to get married but they also made the planning process a breeze!!

I had my wedding at Carnivale this past weekend and it was incredible. Our guests had a great time and can’t stop taking about the food, decor, and the service, everything was top notch. Doug was wonderful to work with and he took care of every request I had and made it a great experience!

So it will be the best wedding day every

If you are having a 200+ person wedding in Chicago, look no further. Carnivale is the best decision you will ever make. We are SO happy with our wedding. As a professional Event Manager, I can tell you that Carnivale is the best in the business. The service, the venue, the food, the joy! Don't waste your money on flowers or decor because you don't need to here!!! We did a buyout for 275 guests and every person has told us that it was the best wedding they've ever been to. We agree!!! If you work with Erica (she is amazing!) please feel free to ask her for more details on our site plans, etc. The work is all done already. You and your guests will have the BEST time ever! Happy wedding day :) ENJOY!

Choosing Carnivale will be the best decision you make all year, next to getting engaged to the love of your life. If I sound like I’m gushing, it’s because Carnivale really pulls out all of the stops to make sure you have a fantastic day. Not only is the venue bonkers breathtaking (warning: Must Love Color), the food, drinks, and service are top-notch. Plus, considering the amazing quality of service you receive, it’s reasonably priced for downtown Chicago.

After first working with Doug and then Serena, we were given over to the very experienced hands of Erica, and I could not be more grateful to have her helping us through every step of the way. She answered my many questions in an incredibly timely manner and even dressed our presentation cake with flowers on our wedding day.

Here are the details for our Saturday summer wedding, and I wouldn’t change a thing:
-Ceremony at 3:15pm in the main dining room (our friend played classical guitar)
-Cocktail hour in the main bar from 4-5pm
-Reception upstairs in the Samba room for 165 gusts from 5-9pm with music by DJ-Chicago; we did family style dinner (everything was amazing, but the stars were the corn empanadas, seafood paella, short rib, Catalan spinach, and passionfruit cheesecake bites for dessert); we chose a 4-hour bar package with beer, wine and signature cocktails (mojitos, margaritas, and sangria) and added a cava toast for the speeches
-After party at Jefferson Tap (a 5-minute walk away) from 9-midnight

Multiple people said this was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding, which is exactly what we were hoping to hear. You will not regret picking Carnivale!

I just loved that I did not have to worry about a thing. Molly was so great and did most things. The reception was perfect. Venue is so beautiful and food oh my god the best! So delicious! Not the typical wedding food. Everyone loved it so much and it was so much food! Everyone at Carnivale took great care of us. Thank you for making our wedding the best! And stress free :) everything came out so perfect, way better than expected .

What a beautiful, wonderful and exciting place to have a wedding. The service, the venue, food and the coordinator Erica Ferreri was exceptional!!

My dream venue. Everything was perfect! The food, drinks, service- just everything was memorable. My guests have not been able to stop talking about it! We worked with Serena and she was such a delight to work with. I highly recommend this venue for those who want to put a colorful twist on their traditional (or not) wedding!

Chicago brides-this is the place for you. Working with Tiffany Junta made planning our wedding so easy. She is responsive and goes out of her way to make sure that you are comfortable through the entire process. She is great at answering questions, working with outside vendors, and calming anxious brides. Be sure to ask for her by name. The food and drinks at Carnivale are still being raved about by our guests. The space is beautifully decorated and is easy to compliment with simple flowers and decorations. This is not your cookie cutter banquet hall. The eclectic artwork and colors of the main dining hall are carried up through the Samba room creating a truly unique wedding experience. This is complimented further by the amazing staff, food, drinks, and Tiffany. Do yourself a favor and host your wedding here. You won’t regret it.

Carnivale was the only choice for our wedding. We wanted a party that just so happened to have a wedding ceremony in the beginning! lol. We wanted to reflect the energetic, colorful and fun relationship that we have. We worked with Serena P., and she knows her stuff, is super responsive, helpful and worked with whatever crazy idea that we threw at her! Food and drinks were high on our priority list, and we knew that everyone would leave raving about them at Carnivale! Our guests are still talking about our big day. We plan to return for our anniversaries!

We got married at Carnivale on October 20, 2018, and had the most perfect wedding. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that we selected Carnivale as our venue. The space is beautiful, fun and lively. I don't like to decorate and Carnivale is already decorated, so adding decor to the space is really not even necessary. The food was delicious and the service was top-notch. Throughout the planning process, we worked with Serena, who was wonderful, delightful and extremely competent! She promptly answered my questions and emails, helped us make important decisions and went above and beyond to take the lead on the bridal party & ceremony logistics during the rehearsal and on the day of the wedding. She accommodated our unique requests and was attentive to detail. Serena remembered my husband's favorite drink (Pisco Sour from Peru--not an easy cocktail to make) and handed it to him as soon as the ceremony ended. During the reception, Serena and Luis, the banquet manager, made sure everything ran smoothly. Luis and his staff were attentive to all the guests.

Carnivale had a chuppah that someone had left behind from a previous wedding and kindly stored the big structure in their office for months so that we could use it at our wedding. Serena measured it for me and even had it assembled prior to the ceremony.

We had guests from Chicago, all over the United States and Peru; everyone had a blast and can't stop talking about it, saying that it was the best wedding and venue (with the best food & drinks). This is a huge compliment coming from people who have been to weddings at the most high-end places. We wouldn't have changed a thing.

The staff at Carnivale were very professional and helpful in every way. The staff was always on hand. They checked in with us multiple times throughout the night. The food was delicious and we couldn't have created a better ambiance. Our guests had a great time and we highly recommend hosting a wedding here.

Carnivale was the most amazing venue to hold our wedding. Doug was so helpful throughout the entire wedding process, taking the time to answer our MANY questions, providing his own expertise and ideas, and working to adapt the venue to our ideas and requests. The space itself is amazing- so colorful and exciting without even having to worry about bringing our own decorations. Our guests could not stop raving about the colorful atmosphere and of course the amazing food. Although our wedding is over, we will definitely be back at Carnivale soon!

I had my daughter's bridal shower! Everyone loved it and the food was incredible and the staff was awesome.
LOVED IT!

Our daughter Stephanie and new son-in-law Tyler's wedding was a dream come true. Doug and his staff at Carnivale went above and beyond to make our event fantastic. Doug was so accommodating and helpful with all aspects from planning to the final moments of our celebration. Fantastic food, beautiful and colorful room, and an amazing staff. Thank You Carnivale for making Stephanie & Tyler's wedding a modern day Fairy Tale!!

Doug and the entire crew at Carnivale were so accomidating. If you are having your wedding at Carnivale, you are obviously looking to throw a bright, fun, lively event, but Doug just takes it above and beyond! It is clear he loves his job and made me feel so excited each step of the way. He also worked with us to maximize our budget and make sure no money was wasted. Couldn’t be happier with the service we recieved from Carnivale :))))

I can’t express enough how fantastic working with the wedding planner Doug was! He was very thorough, professional, and exceptional! My husband and I had the wedding of our dreams and all our friends and family enjoyed themselves!

I honestly cannot say enough good things about Carnivale, and specifically, the event coordinator, Doug. My husband and I ended up having a change of plans and had to plan our wedding with only about 6 weeks notice. We were very stressed out about this and worried about finding a venue. Form the very beginning Doug and the Carnivale staff made the process so much. They were able to be so flexible with what we wanted to do and the budget we were working with, and basically said they could make everything we wanted happen on short notice and within budget. Doug was such a dream to work with and made what was a stressful process so much fun. He took care of literally everything. We stayed within budget, Doug thought of literally everything that we needed. The venue was amazing and beautiful and the food was unbelievable. Almost every guest said it was by far the best wedding food they had ever had. We had so much fun on our wedding night and it was honestly better than I could have ever expected even if I had a year to plan (and we only used 4 of the 6 weeks to plan this one!). I would highly recommend this venue to anyone in Chicago. I wouldn't have changed a thing and am so grateful to Doug and his staff for making our wedding the best day ever.

I came to Carnivale with what I thought was a pretty tall order-- Indian/American fusion, with multiple dietary restrictions, in a cocktail style reception-- they handled it better than I could have ever imagined. The event team was so easy to work with, and thought of logistics and details I never would have imagined. They were very mindful of our budget, and did a great job of suggesting options to keep us on track.

The atmosphere at Carnivale is beautiful, and really fit in with the fun, celebratory vibe we were going for. The food was delicious, and we managed to please the wide array of preferences our guests had.

My husband and I got married on 4/7/18, and we could not have been happier with our wedding at Carnivale! We worked with Doug as our wedding coordinator and cannot say enough good things about him! He was extremely helpful and always responded quickly and answered all of my questions (and trust me, there were a lot!) thoroughly. He was a dream to work with, and made my life as a bride that much easier. He took care of setting up all of our decorations on the day of the wedding, and he did a fantastic job! Everything looked beautiful and exactly the way I wanted it. Doug was attentive to detail and came through on all of my requests.

Our wedding was held in the Samba room for around 160 guests. It was a unique, fun, and gorgeous space! It made for the perfect environment for a party!

The food was excellent! We did a family style meal, which allowed us to give our guests a taste of everything. We had so many options, and we really loved everything! Our tasting was great, and it was hard to pick what to serve for the wedding since everything was so delicious! We've heard from many guests about how great the food was!

The signature drinks (sangria, margaritas, and mojitos) were the perfect addition to our bar package. It was fun to give guests a different option to kick off the cocktail hour.

My one, and only, complaint was that the servers removed the floral centerpieces when dinner was served to make space for all of the family style dishes that were served. Which that is totally fine and I completely understand the need for table space for the meal. However, the centerpieces were never returned to the tables after dinner. We spent a significant amount of money on the flowers for the reception, only to have them all moved to the gift/card table for the majority of the night.

Overall, our wedding experience with Carnivale was absolutely wonderful! From the moment we first looked at the venue to the end of our reception, Carnivale was amazing!!

My husband and I wanted a small (although Carnivale can accommodate large weddings), intimate, unique wedding venue that our guests would never forget - that's exactly what Carnivale delivered!! Working with our event coordinator was incredibly convenient, especially with my crazy work schedule which I thought would have been difficult. It was literally as simple as telling them our visions/likes/dislikes and they made it happen! We also got engaged, found a venue, and planned the entire wedding (~90 people) within 5 months start to finish, all with minimal to no wedding planning anxiety like everyone says you'll have! The night of the wedding was glitch free and they made us feel like royalty - butler passed drinks and apps, fun funky furniture for our guests, VERY fast room change from dinner to dancing, and of course the amazing drinks! We would highly recommend Carnivale as an event location - wedding or not! The pictures speak a thousand words for years to come with the atmosphere, too!

Working with Doug at Carnivale has been a dream from start to finish. He is so attentive and detailed oriented! My husband and I planned our entire wedding, ceremony and reception, in the large private room on the second floor. We chose Carnivale because we knew the food was great, they have great service and we didn't have to fuss with decor/lighting/linnens as they were already there and the space is so vibrant! Doug helped us with every detail and even completed some of our items for us. When I arrived at the venue for the ceremony, I didn't have to make any decisions or change a thing. Everything was set up perfectly, in exactly the way we specified. The night was PERFECT. The food was wonderful, service was timely and our guests had a great time! It's been almost two weeks and we are still hearing from our guests about the fabulous time they had at Carnivale! Book this for your wedding NOW!

We had our rehearsal dinner for about 120 people at Carnivale on June 16th, 2017. It was fantastic working with Doug from beginning to end. He was very accommodating in making sure our menu was exactly what we wanted, even when some items were not originally listed on the family style menu (we took some items from the regular menu and subbed them in). We constantly communicated via email, and he always responded in a timely manner. The food at the rehearsal dinner was absolutely delicious, and our guests really enjoyed the family-style menu, which encouraged conversation between guests and gave it an overall very fun vibe. We were able to add personal touches to the evening...they have a TV where you can enter a USB with pictures, and it will play a slideshow for you throughout the evening. We played a slideshow, and additionally, we made our own playlist for the evening, and they just plugged in our phone and put our music through the speaker system. The only negative thing I have to say is that tasting times are inconvenient, since they are only on week nights in the late afternoon when most people are working. Doug told us to book a table on a weekend, and they would throw in a couple dishes on the house for us to try. There must have been a small miscommunication, because we did not have any items comped, but we let Doug know. Due to this minor error, he took an upcharge from our menu for our event and comped it (we added a white fish, which was extra originally, which was then taken off of our invoice! awesome.). He also comped our use of their speaker/microphone for the speeches. The whole evening was great, from the atmosphere to the drinks to the food! If you have a large event, I highly recommend going with Carnivale!

Use them. Amazing event. Food...drink...environment...staff (especially Doug)

We could not have chosen a better venue than Carnivale to host our wedding and reception! Doug is hands down the best wedding coordinator of all time and you can tell he genuinely loves what he does. He made sure everything went off without a hitch and checked in with us regularly. The prices were way better than what I thought they would be and every single one of our guests said it was the best wedding they've ever been to! The food, the decor, the service, all impeccable. My heart is swelling with gratitude <3 thank you guys soooo much

As father of the bride, I can say that Carnivale provided for us a wonderful, memorable wedding celebration. Four months later we are still receiving rave reviews from friends and family. The food was out of this world, the decor was beautiful, and Tiffany and the people at Carnivale could not have been more helpful.

Gary S

Our wedding at Carnivale was more than we could have hoped for! We didn't want your traditional banquet style wedding that has been done a million times. From the beginning we knew we wanted an intimate atmosphere, a unique backdrop, and great food. Carnivale met and exceeded all of our expectations. We worked with Doug Leuthold and he was absolutely fantastic. He was honest in his recommendations and always responded within hours of my questions and concerns. He made us feel at ease throughout the entire process and was a pleasure to work with. Our ceremony and reception was held in the upstairs Samba room and it was a perfect space for our vision. ALL of our guests raved about the food and drinks. Some of our out of town guests even came back the next day for brunch because they were so impressed with the menu! I would recommend Carnivale to any couple looking for an experienced staff, delicious food, and an all around great value.

Working with Doug at Carnivale was a total dream - he seemed genuinely interested in making sure our wedding was exactly how we wanted it! The night was a blast, and everything went off without a hitch! Doug worked with all of our vendors beforehand so we were sure everything would be perfect the day of, and he and his team went the extra mile to add some personal touches they knew we would appreciate to the night.

I was lucky enough to have the wedding of a lifetime at Carnivale summer of 2015. It was a unique experience and unlike any wedding my guests have ever attended. Not only was the food top notch, but the service was impeccable as well. Carnivale has always been my families go to restaurant for special occasions. We came here for dinner after my college graduation from Columbia College, many Valentine's Days have been spent in the funky dining room, and birthday martinis drank in celebration at the bar. Having my wedding reception here was a no brainer. After drinking our signature cocktail all night and eating the fabulous food we danced the night away! Best day of my life! Thanks Carnivale for helping make the best memories.

We had our ceremony and reception at Carnivale and it was perfect. Melissa responded promptly to any questions I had and provided us with great information/resources. Our wedding size was smaller (approx 75 people) and we used the Samba room upstairs, perfect for dining and room for the dj/dance floor. The entire restaurant has an energetic feel and it's beautifully decorated with bright colors. Service was prompt and the food was great as usual. We're so happy that we were able to have our wedding in the city like we always wanted!

Our wedding reception at Carnivale was flawless. As a publicist attention to detail, communication and creativity is super important to me when working events and all three of these attributes shine at Carnivale.

We worked with Doug Leuthold who is amazing. He responded in a timely manner to all my inquiries and if I suggested something that was not executable on Carnivale's end he came up with a solution that was just as perfect (if not better) than my original idea.

Doug and his team at the reception kept the timeline of events on schedule, made sure the guests always had a drink in their hands and are arguably one of the best event teams in Chicago.

And the food! I can't tell you how many times I have heard from our friends and family how delicious the food was.

I could not have asked for a better venue, team and lead event planner to work with. I now know why people renew their vows because I want to do this all over again at Carnivale!

Choosing Carnivale was the BEST decision we made regarding our wedding planning. My husband and I had to plan out of-state and were seriously overwhelmed by all of the different rental companies, caterers, and bartending vendors to choose from. Then we met Melissa at Carnivale and she was a fairy godmother of wedding planning. She was flexible with my very limited trips to Chicago and always answered my questions super super quick - whether by email, phone, or literally when we would just drop by on a whim. She is amazing. We negotiated a few things with the menu and bar options and I was completely comfortable with how transparent she was about every financial decision.

The service was fantastic - and I believe that I even ended up with a server dedicated to my champagne needs :-) The food was also amazing as always, and my guests told me that it was literally the best food they'd ever had at a wedding. I highly recommend dining there a few times outside of the tasting to get an idea of what you want to do for the menu, but no matter what you choose, it will be delicious!
On a final note, we are so grateful for how wonderfully we were treated the whole night. We weren't rushed through dinner, or out at midnight. Even the bar stayed open longer than planned at no extra cost. We were able to leave decor until the next day without being hassled and all of our vendors said that the staff were a dream to work with.

I cannot wait for our next trip to Chicago, so we can head to Carnivale for a romantic dinner and some reminiscing!

When searching for the perfect venue, we had struggled between finding a cheaper banquet hall (while decorating more to compensate for the lack décor) and finding a more expensive venue (that needs less decorations). With its very colorful and unique décor, Carnivale had fit perfectly in the middle.
We personally had worked with Doug for the entire planning process. His attention to detail and incredible work ethic is reason enough to book Carnivale on the spot. In addition to his professionalism, he is completely down to earth and relatable to make the entire planning process very pleasant. Doug basically treats your wedding as if it was his own. He’ll provide plenty of ideas to fit under your budget while making sure that everything still looks fantastic. Since he also works as the day of coordinator, he’ll make sure that everything goes smoothly to add icing to the cake.
In addition to the wonderful venue, Doug, the food is amazing good. Before deciding on booking the venue, we had tried a few entrees to try the food. Even though the dishes are slightly different for the reception entrees, we sold on how good the food was. Between the dishes that we had tried and the tasting, the hardest part was to decide what to include on our menu. With all of the delicious dishes, we had used the family style menu to provide the guests with a variety of food. Between their deliciousness and portion sizes, family style only made the guests wish that they had larger stomachs!
With such amazing food, great service, and incredible staff, we highly recommend booking your wedding at Carnivale!!

Carnivale was an amazing place for our wedding!! The space fit our personalities perfectly, and provided a space were people felt comfortable to be themselves. The colorful décor allowed us to save on floral centerpieces. A side from the amazing event planning and banquet staff, it was also so wonderful that Carnivale is a one-stop-shop; all the tables, chairs, linens, food, and votive candles in one spot. I would highly recommend this venue for any event or wedding.

THIS PLACE WAS PERFECT! We got married on a Friday with a very intimate ceremony. We invited 22 people to come and decided to have dinner after we said our "I Do's". Our first thought was Carnivale. We emailed a few other locations but it seemed that every other place was stuffy, very basic and not very flexible. We wanted something that was fun and screamed CELEBRATION!!!

I emailed Doug and he was very responsive! He made this whole planning process so easy. He let us talk about what we wanted and made it happen. I cannot give any more stars on this review but Doug alone deserves 5 stars! The night was perfect, the manager (I think Jesus) let us know before we hit our minimum so we didn't blow our budget. We were seated family style with 22 people around 1 big table. It was a great night, great service, great staff!!!

The food at carnivale was obviously incredible and plentiful, and one of the main reasons we booked them. But what really stood out was the service we received, especially from events manager, tiffany. Tiffany reduced or stress levels every step of the way, and went above and beyond to make sure every detail was taken care of. I would recommend carnivale and tiffany to anyone consider it for their wedding ceremony and/or reception.

Carnivale BEATS any wedding venue in Chicago in any shape, form, or fashion! The place is dashingly beautiful and will wow guests with their unique and colorful decor.

We initially worked with Ally, (who later resigned to pursue being a stay at home Mom) to which we were then introduced to Doug. We were skeptical because we laid the ground-work with Ally and almost felt as if we were starting over with Doug. When I tell you this guy is fantastic, WOW! He was EXTREMELY thorough and worked so hard to make sure we had everything we needed. He was so accommodating and he made planning a wedding as painless as possible. We LOVED his worth ethic, responsiveness, professionalism, and his down to earth personality.

Doug is also good at getting a feel for your budget and will recommend great ideas based on what he's experienced with other weddings. We are BEGGING for another reason to have to work with Doug just because he's so damn GOOD. He also serves as a day of coordinator to ensure everything runs smoothly.

The food... Probably the greatest thing about this venue. We received countless texts and calls about how good the food was! Their menu is seasonal so it's ever changing but we had a REALLY AWESOME menu! We didn't get to eat as much as we wanted but we already had all the food at the tasting beforehand. We don't think there is a bad tasting thing on their menu... Top notch food!

We spent about 16K (with consumption bar) for 121 guests. This can be pricey for some but Doug knows how to cut corners and alter things to get the price where you want it. They require at 5K to reserve the date, at least 8K for the wedding to go on, and you can pay the remainder afterwards.

We said that we would make it an annual thing to go to Carnivale in honor of our of having our wedding there because we love this place so much.

If you are contemplating on having your wedding here, please do it. Doug will make sure you're in GOOD HANDS!

THANK YOU CARNIVALE!!!

I would recommend this venue to any one. Alison was great to work with!! Answers all of your questions. The food was amazing!! I could not have asked for a better place to celebrate my wedding!!!!

Carnivale is our favorite restaurant in Chicago. Little did we know it would play host to the most important and special day of our lives. After researching numerous wedding venues in Chicago, we discovered that the vibrant, fun, delicious, and beautiful restaurant, Carnivale, not only has a huge party room that can accommodate up to 200 guests, but it also has the most gorgeous backdrop for a wedding ceremony.
Our favorite place to eat AND we could get married AND we could party?
DREAM come true!
And it was. In a nutshell, Carnivale is where our fairytale wedding took place.
Ali Polzin is the events coordinator at Carnivale. Before meeting Ali, we loved the place. But after meeting her, we absolutely ADORE it! Ali made the experience of planning our wedding fun. She even arranged for us to come see the venue set up for another wedding so that we could get a feel for what our day would be like. The menu tasting allowed us to experience what our guests were in store for: PURE HEAVEN.
Ali was available any time we needed to ask a question, and she made us feel like her only clients because she was so attentive.
The staff at Carnivale is phenomenal. Everyone was blown away by the food, service, and ambience. Many of our family and friends have said that they've never been to a wedding as nice as ours.
Carnivale is a hidden gem! We are quite confident it will soon be THEE wedding venue in Chicago. Thank you to everyone for making our special day so unique and memorable.

After having our wedding at Carnivale, I cannot understand how everyone in Chicago doesn't have their wedding here. It's difficult to even put into words what an incredible space this is, and photos really do not do it justice. From the moment we walked through the door, we knew that this special mixture of color and light and sound and vibe was the right place for us! And we weren't the only ones to react to the ambiance : every single guest at our wedding told us that it was the best they had been to!

Really, the deal doesn't get better than this! After looking into other spaces and options around Chicago, we had the pleasure to meet with Ali, who showed us around and who was such a pleasure to work with while we planned and coordinated the event.

Coordinating the wedding from the East Coast threw up so many obstacles-- some anticipated, some not-- but Ali's professional and prompt responses to all of my (many) queries, as well as the simply perfect backdrop that the space provided, always allowed us to take a sigh of relief knowing that even if everything else failed, everyone would eat and drink well in a beautiful venue. I received so many comments on the food and beverages from the guests, most of whom were anticipating the standard sparse and underwhelming wedding fare and were so pleased with the delicious and generous entrees they received instead.

Additionally, the staff was simply lovely. They were tremendous! Everyone was kind and warm and the whole show, once it was placed in their hands, ran like clockwork. Ali kept a cool head throughout the whole weekend and was always available to help guide us along the process. It was stressful seemingly every moment leading up to it, but once it began, it was everything we had hoped for and so much more. Cannot recommend highly enough!

There were very flexible, I was able to alter ingredients in my meal due to dietary restrictions. The majority of my husbands family does not eat pork and they were able to provide us the same quality meal and alter the preparation.

Jesus was my coordinator, and he was awesome!!  He took care of
everything and answered every question I sent him.  I cannot say
enough about how much I loved this venue.  The ceremony was in the
main dining room and was just stunning.  The cocktails and reception
area were in private rooms upstairs, and were perfect for a fun and
bright wedding. My guests raved about the food and ridiculously
awesome drinks (the mojitos are phenomenal). The tasting was my
absolute favorite part of the wedding planning, and they go all out for it. The staff were attentive and extremely thorough- nothing went wrong!!

Best, best, best place to have a party! The ambiance was great, the food was amazing and Doug was so organized and helped keep everyone from losing it! Wish I had more kids to marry off so I could have another party there!

My wife and I were married at Carnivale in July last year and we could not have found a more perfect venue to meet our needs and desires. We were living in Egypt when we began planning for the wedding and needed a space which looked beautiful without the need for extra decorations, had a professional event planner who could provide suggestions and communicate effectively with clients who were overseas, and had great food. With Carnivale we hit the jackpot.

Our event planner, Tiffany Junta, was able to connect us with professional vendors for the two things we needed to outsource, our cake, and an amazing DJ (from Toast and Jam) who kept everyone on the dancefloor for the whole evening. Tiffany was in communication right up to and through the wedding to ensure every minor detail was looked after. Thanks to her efforts, everything was smooth, stress free and perfect on the day.

We have now visited Carnivale on three occasions: the tasting, our wedding and for our one year anniversary. Each time the staff have made us feel like royalty. The South American themed menu is delicious and provides a wide range of options for all dietary needs. The bar was exceptionally well stocked, the signature cocktails were outstanding, and the bar staff worked hard to ensure the bride’s glass was always full.

Many of our guests still tell us that this was the best wedding they have ever been too.

We used Carnivale for our reception venue and overall it was a wonderful experience. Our guests raved about how unique the space was and they LOVED the food which are the two reasons we picked this space to begin with. We rented out the entire second floor and used both rooms throughout the night.

My main concern was the split space but it ended up not being an issue. My only regret was that I didn't have them simply remove tables from the dining room space and do all the dancing in the bigger dining room. The cocktail room got a little warm so we had some sweaty folks on the dance floor but that didn't stop them...we had a great party!

My biggest piece of advice is to HIRE A DAY OF COORDINATOR!! I had one and was so glad I did. Carnivale has an event coordinator but I wasn't very happy with her. When I arrived at the space the set up wasn't complete and some errors were made with the decorations. My day of guy did a great job trying to get it straightened up but there was only 1 of him with an hour to set up between the ceremony and cocktail hour.

If you use this space hire a day of person to go to the venue at least 3 hours early to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Carnivale is perfect for a unique space, delicious food and drinks for a reasonable price but you need to hire your own day of to make your vision come to life.

The staff at Carnivale was easy to work with and very responsive. Everything turned out perfectly. We received lots of compliments on how great the food and drinks were and how different the venue was.

Our wedding was phenomenal. Our event planner, Alison, was not. I feel like she was not a personality to run events. She also made, we feel, a couple big mistakes that co$t us.

We discussed having a coffee and cake bar. I wanted the cake laid out by flavors. The staff ended up mixing all the layers and no one knew what they were getting. I saw guests picking up the pieces of cake and smelling them to guess the flavors. They also asked me how I wanted to cut the cake at the moment my husband and I were cutting the cake. Really? isn't this a question to ask and have ironed out BEFORE the event. I didn't understand completely and said, at least leave us the top! well, needless to say $1700 down the drain. The whole cake was cute, not all of it was eaten and they threw it away!

I also laid out my tables according to her diagram. numbers were not how I listed them and my family sat in the "curtained" area with friends and vice versa. We wanted our family in the "VIP" area. I was pissed about this.

I felt if I had a question, she was unbending and not personable at all. I wish we had another event planner.

THE REST- amazing!
bartenders, waitstaff security, everyone! loved them. Very attentive and friendly. The food is delicious, but I didn't expect anything else and our wedding was not only memorable to us but to all of our guests.

At our Carnivale wedding, everything was perfect. The setting is incredible - very festive with no additional decorations needed, Numerous guests proclaimed the food was the best they ever had at a wedding. Everyone at Carnivale was gracious and helpful
And, if you can get Tiffany to help with planning you will be very happy. I can't recommend Carnivale more for setting, food, and service.

My husband and I had the pleasure of having our ceremony and reception at Carnival on September 19th, 2013. It was truly amazing and they were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. Our planner, Ali Polzin was incredible and worked to make our day so special and memorable. Ali worked around all of our unique needs and we felt so lucky to have worked with her! Great atmosphere, great food, great drinks and a great planner! Highly recommend to any bride looking for a fun and unique venue!

Carnivale was the perfect place for our post-elopement reception. We hosted 42 of our closest friends and family for a nice dinner and mojito making class. The process of working with Carnivale wasn't always seamless. We were passed around from event coordinator to coordinator; I think we worked with a total of 4 people in 9 months! However, Megan, our final coordinator, really took initiative in helping us plan during the final weeks before the reception. Without her, I don't think the day would have come together, as she thought of so many little details that made the day amazing. She was even able to upgrade us to the Samba Room at the last minute, which made our evening so much more special. The ambiance, service and food were excellent and our guests are still commenting on how much they enjoyed our reception.

First let me say that our wedding ceremony and reception at Carnivale ultimately turned out beautifully! The food was amazing as were the drinks. The floor manager was awesome and took great care of us. Our guests kept commenting on how much they loved the ambiance and food/drinks. In the end, it was everything we wanted.

However, we experienced some issues- one significant and on our wedding day. We booked the main dining area for our ceremony and samba room for reception, approximately 14 months in advance, with a sales manager who left Carnivale a few months later. The sales manger we had after that was very friendly and fun, but we ran into communication and timeliness issues with her. I’d sometimes have to email a couple of times, over the course of a week to get a response to a question. Though, that wasn’t a huge deal, just a little annoying. However, she was over 45 minutes late to our scheduled tasting! After we waited for 30 minutes in the bar for her, the chef finally said that we should just get started. When she finally arrived, it was without a. reason for being late. Still we had a good time at the tasting and afterwards, discussed the timeline and plan for the day, including the location of both the ceremony and reception.
Fast forward to the day our our wedding. Our ceremony was scheduled to start at 3:15pm, so I arrived at 2pm to get ready in the bridal suite. (the bridal suite is little more than a glorified bathroom with room for barely two people to fit in). When I got to Carnivale, the hostess directed me and my bridal group upstairs to the samba room. To my unpleasant surprise, we discovered that the samba room was set up for our ceremony, NOT the main dining room as planned. In the samba room, the reception tables were shoved against the wall to make room for ceremony seating. I couldn’t even access the bridal suite because the door was blocked by the tables. In addition, our deejay and photographer were there, very frustrated with the change in ceremony location. No one was very happy and our sales manager was nowhere to be found. I went down to the host stand to get everything straightened out but guests were arriving and I was still in my street clothes. Instead, I asked a friend to find the sales manager, which took her awhile to do. When I finally spoke with the sales manager, she told me that she was completely unaware that we were supposed to have the ceremony downstairs. This categorically untrue. Not only had we signed a contract with the locations specified, we’d also discussed it with her a few times. Plus, I’d rented an extra speaker for the main dining room, through her, so that our deejay could play our ceremonial music there. Why would we rent a speaker for a room we weren’t going to be in?! It was ridiculous and frustrating. I’m not sure why they switched locations but it felt like shady. Ultimately, I kept my calm but refused to budge on the location of the ceremony.
The staff managed to set up the main floor and samba room amazingly fast. The photographer plus crew and deejay were also able to break down everything and get set up without too much issue- though the deejay told us that the rented speaker cord didn’t even work. Thankfully he had a back up.
Overall, it turned out beautiful. But there really was no excuse for the tardiness with our tasting nor the unnecessary stress I had on our wedding day with the incorrect set up.

We bought out the entire restaurant for a Sunday wedding. It was fabulous! The colors were so bright and beautiful. I think this is one of the prettiest venues in the city and by far one of the most unique.

I cannot tell you how many compliments we received. The food was outstanding...so were the drinks.

I deducted 1.5 stars for "value" because renting out the entire restaurant was very expensive. In fact, we had a hard time meeting the food/beverage minimum with 160 guests. However, if you want to 'wow' your guests, this is the place!

This is a difficult review to write because while our experience planning with Carnivale was less then satisfactory the actual wedding itself was fantastic and the Carnivale staff are wonderful.

We worked with Alison from Events and she made the experience far from pleasant. She was very serious, severe, and was not flexible at all. Every meeting with her was full of tension. I got used to it but my family and fiance did not.

However I will say during the planning process she was very attentive to email and the entire Carnivale staff welcomed us any time we needed to do a walk through.

The actual wedding went wonderfully and the whole bar and event staff were extremely attentive. Book Carnivale for the amazing decor, the fantastic food, and the wonderful drinks. Our guests were ecstatic about the space and many of them said it was the best food they'd ever had at a wedding. The gentleman who was the floor manager (I think) was especially fantastic. Constantly making sure my husband and I had our needs met and going the extra mile whenever he could.

I would absolutely recommend Carnivale to anyone wanting to throw a private event but I would NOT recommend working with Alison. However rest of the event and restaurant staff was fantastic!

After $209 per person was spent on food and drink (5 hour bar package plus one hour based on consumption) our opinion has not changed, we had a great time. We decided to have our ceremony in the main dining room and it served as a lovely backdrop. Everyone commented that the food was great and plentiful. In fact, it may have been a little too rich for some, once you have factored in a few mojotos and sangria.

The staff was very accommodating; the banquet manager did a phenomenal job, hands down a professional through and through.

One thing I did not appreciate was the breakdown at the end of the evening, there was a rush to get our belongings off the tables and packed up, and I noticed that one of our centerpieces was damaged due to neglect. I would have preferred that they kept their hands off of our items, as was planned from the beginning.

At the end of the day, we had a wonderful wedding!