This week we had the opportunity to try out Carnevale at Maria and Enzo’s and it was a straight up party! I will start by saying we did not have to pay for our meal and I was a guest of someone that was invited to cover the event. I got to experience every aspect of this event and I really enjoyed it!
Maria & Enzo’s gets transformed into a high energy party during their Carnevale event, complete with stilt walkers, face painting, balloon animals, live music and over the top decorations.
When you walk into the restaurant you can already tell it’s a party just by the decorations and the colorful lights, lighting up the room.
When you get to your table it’s complete with little favors for the whole family including masks and festive beads!
When we sat down we were greeted by the nicest staff. Fun fact about Maria and Enzo’s, the waiters are from Italy and are very knowledgeable about the history of Carnevale. They talked to us about the history of the event and told us about the special offerings on their menu for the event.
The Feast of Carnevale menu is a pre-fix 5 course dinner costing $45 per person. Pricey I know but I really think the event is worth the price. You can see the full menu here.
Each feast starts with an amuse bouche, which in this case was a Caprese skewer and a bread basket with Cibatta bread, grissini and ponte foccacia. Next is their Pasta di Carnevale, which was a penne pasta with a parmesan cheese sauce. The amuse bouche and the Pasta di Carnevale are not always the same.
You also got to pick a second course from their menu. I chose the fried calamari and it was some of the best I’ve ever had, no joke.
After this was the main course and I chose to have the Fettuccine Cacio e Pepe, complete with thin pasta ribbons, pecorino romano cheese, cream sauce and toasted black pepper.
The feast also included a Bugie dessert which tasted like the outside of a cannoli. It was perfect after a meal like this that was incredibly filling.
Also included during this event is loads of entertainment. They have a balloon maker(?) on stilts walking around to every table, a face painter who also walks around to each table which I’ve never seen before, and hand painted masks. All of which were free (unless you tip them, which you should). On top of all that, they also had live music throughout the night.
Overall I do think this event is worth it on the menu price alone. The fried calamari dish is regularly $17 and the fettuccini dish is $22. That’s $39 just for those two dishes. The ENTIRE 5 course meal is $45, I think that is a no brainer. The entertainment is a lot of fun and it really does make the dinner more of a dinner show than just a sit down dinner.
Carnevale is going until March 5th at Maria and Enzo’s. Even if you don’t go to eat, I think it’s cool to just go take a peak inside. You can make reservations for this event here.
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