Ignore those moments of panic when you at first cannot find the location of the Latin-inspired New York City restaurant Her Name Was Carmen. Located on the Western edge of Soho, there is no signage to alert you and you will be advised to look for an unmarked door at an address that would be otherwise denoted as 527 Broome Street. Breathing a sigh of relief as we stepped inside, we were warmly greeted by staff and escorted to a cozy table for two. Settling in with flutes of cava, our meal got off to an incredible beginning with our waiter's recommended appetizers of salmon aguechile and steak tartare, which alone is worth a return trip. Then it was on to the entrees, and equally excellent choices of Wagyu hangar steak, roasted maitake mushrooms and citrus chicken with wild rice. We capped it off with a delicious dessert, the tres leches. We're told that downstairs, the mood becomes even more lively with cocktails and eclectic music, although we didn't check it out on this visit.The restaurant is open Wednesdays through Saturdays beginning at 6 pm. read more

I booked this reservation because it seemed like a fun, exciting place to eat. Our reservation was at 8PM on a Thursday but we were the only party there for a while. I guess you could say we were disappointed by the atmosphere. As for the food, the dishes were delicious. Chicken was tender and the pork chop was cooked perfectly. I didn't like that the ceviche had grape fruit slices in it. Octopus was a small portion. My party was there to celebrate an engagement so that waiter offered us shots, which were accompanied by a dessert. The mixed shots were free but they charged us for the dessert. You should not charge patrons something that they don't ask for if you are doing a nice gesture. There is a lounge downstairs that I didn't check out but the waiter said they charge over $100 per male to enter. Overall, this place was nothing special. read more

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Very yummy food. The mushrooms were delicious (probably our favorite dish). The oysters were solid too. The lobster pasta definitely was not worth $42. It tasted like regular boiled pasta with tomato sauce and lobster on top. Drinks are very pricey. $21 for their usual cocktails and $12 for their mocktails. The ambiance and decor of the place is very aesthetic. Very Instagram worthy. The bathroom is very trippy (you can see through the doors). It's also in a very inconvenient area near the kitchen. They also have a downstairs bar area with a DJ so if you're done with dinner and want to go dancing, check out downstairs. The music wasn't my cup of tea (a lot of house and white people music) but if you're into that, definitely check it out. Service was okay. One of the male waiters had a stank face the whole time. Crack a smile, brother. Our waitresses, however, were so friendly and polite. One star off due to the priciness of the place. The food just did not match the $400+ bill we got but it's cute for a date night spot if you're in the mood to splurge. read more

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For the ambiance and added lounge down below, this place was ok. Came here with a few friends and a reservation. Walked into a restraint that smelled like lit incense. Also be careful because the benches indoors have a lit candle on top. Ordered the chika chika boom boom drink and citrus chicken to start. The chika chika boom boom was very heavy on the tequila so beware (or mazel if that's your thing)! Didn't get much cinnamon or chocolate flavor as advertised. The citrus chicken, really had no citrus flavor at all and was quite dry. The wild rice had no flavor. Both were well salted though, as a consolation! The cheesecake, honestly, just tasted like regular cheesecake. No panache, no flair. Despite service being kind, I left pretty underwhelmed. For a beautifully decorated space, I expected much more complexity and flavor to their dishes! read more

Her Name Was Carmen - Cheesecake - Latin American Near Me - New York, New York

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Kind of place you must avoid to save your time, money and effort. Mediocre service, tasteless food and generally a blah ambience. They don't know what they are doing. Also extremely expensive for what they have to offer. We literally returned a few dishes and still landed up paying an exorbitant $200 per person. I'm tired of wasting money on such mediocre and expensive places. read more

Really really good service - I had arrived a bit too early to meet up with friends but the host was able to seat me first and let me order a drink while I waited. Drinks: El Caballero Paco and Lola 1-800-Sensual Carmencita Cimarron Tequila No complaints on the drinks - they have a great bartender who knows how to make their drinks. I recommend going with the carmencita if you like something a bit on the sweet side. Entree/Appetizers: Jamon - I really liked this but it wasn't particularly special. Branzino - your typical fried fish with the crispy skin and soft insides. I'm not sure this was worth $45. Steak - for what we paid ($48), definitely expected a bigger portion than the appetizer size.. Yuca Fries - fries are your typical fries. Crispy and well cooked. Pan Seared Salmon - $38 - I think I liked this better than the branzino but for an entree, I thought they would be more generous with the serving size. Roasted Chicken - I thought this was just ok .. nothing stood out. Dessert: Tres Leches - really really good! prob my fav. Chocolate Cremoso - also a must try to finish off your night. A little bit overpriced..$480 for a party of 4 including gratuity for everything we ordered but it is a great romantic spot for dates. On some days, they do have dancing downstairs but did not land on the Tuesday we visited. read more

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The atmosphere here is amazing. There were a few mixups with drinks and food but staff was really courteous and quick to correct. Maitake mushroom was great. The mamasita drink was a delicious take on a pisco sour. Some of the other dishes like the roasted carrots, pasta and dessert were just ok. This place is more about the atmosphere, and the lounge downstairs is wonderful. read more

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No sign indicating they were closed, no notification on Instagram - they were closed today despite supposedly being open Wednesday - Saturday. Was looking forward to coming for restaurant week, but not sure if I'll try to come back. read more

Came here with a group because a friend was DJ'ing, Mexican style speakeasy in the basement serving mezcal tequila and sotol. They did not know where the sotol came from unfortunately and had to ask. We also had Carmencita and it was a great cocktail. Nice place for Mexican drinks. read more

Good place to eat. Nice atmosphere and downstairs is cool if you're just looking to hang.

Omg the food was so good we were in a trance. That's all. Portions small, the food is artfully done. Come here for a cute fancy date night read more

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First time at Her Name was Carmen and it was a fun night! We were seated at the basement for dinner. It was 7 of us so we decided to do the pre fix family style dinner ($65.00 per person) which was a great option. Food tasted great - all seafood starters were tasty and fresh while the main course of steak was impeccable! their chocolate peanut mouse for dessert was memorable too. Highly recommend the pre fix dinner! The only cons were that it got very chilly very often probably from somebody opening the door upstairs and the entire party had to wear jackets on and off. In addition, our table was too small to fit 7 people. Apart from that, music was great and the crowd was fun. Staff was very friendly. Overall, a great experience and we will be coming back soon! read more

Her Name Was Carmen - inside - Latin American Near Me - New York, New York

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Dylan V. Needs to go to culinary school and get an education on what good food is. Maybe his palate was made for a place like Taco Bell Cantina. I've been to Carmen numerous times and can safely say Food...On Point. Legit smooth purées, sauces supple and delectable. Oh and the Flan. ¡GET THE FLAN! Drinks Heck yeah As well as a great vibe all around read more

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Great staff and food. Stopped by for a networking event and hadn't eaten yet. So I asked the hostess if they had a table for one despite the restaurant being busy and packed. To my surprise, she told me to wait a few minutes and she would see what she could do. Sure enough, a few minutes later I was seated at a small table and ready to go. It probably helped that the other groups waiting for tables were much larger. I ordered a cocktail, the tiradito, and ended with a dessert. Very satisfied with my experience both service and dining. read more

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I went to this restaurant to celebrate my friend's birthday. We were drawn by the option to have dinner and stay at the restaurant to party since we were told there was a DJ on saturday night. We paid $200/person for dinner/drinks and were then told we had to pay another $200/person to go downstairs to party. We managed to negotiate this down to $150/person which is still outrageous. We ended up going somewhere else instead. The food is very average. Not worth your money. The cocktails were good and the restaurant had a good vibe. My recommendation: find another place for your birthday celebration. This place is a bit of a scam. read more

Such a nice vibe, great food, service was great. It had it all. Cocktails were very well made. We loved the pulpo appetizer, the sauces that came with the entrees were great. We loved the steak too. Ceviche was refreshing and prefect acidity. Awesome dinner and music to dance to after! read more

Food was fantastic! Great ambiance and music great to feel the city is back! Have a fun cocktail list! And the carrajillos were amazing not easy to find in NYC! If you want to go to the bar underneath I strongly recommend dinning there before, there was a fee to get in the bar, but it's just paying for drinks before drinking them... great music! read more

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Came here for a dinner party of about 10 people. It was a family style, pre fixe menu. While the menu items appeared to have nice selections, the serving sizes were abismal. You were given just enough to taste it. 2 of the offerings listed on the menu were only given to half of the table. The waiters started clearing the plates off the table while food was still in it! So bad enough the serving size was so small, but then they would take calf the plate from us before we could finish serving ourselves. The only reason I gave 2 stars was because the two bites of food I did have of whatever was served was actually really delicious. You would think at 150 pp, it would include some type of dessert since the serving size was so minuscule, but no it did not. Then, when our group wanted to go to the lounge area downstairs , the gentlemen (I use that term loosely) who I assume was the manager or in charge of entry demanded we pay another 2000 to get in after we just spent 1500 on our table for dinner, saying we didn't spend enough. He could have said it in a polite way, but he spoke to us like we just walked in off the street. He was so rude. I personally would recommend going somewhere else, not worth the price at all. read more

This place is so chic and warm. The decor and vibes are for sure a hit. We had a couple of things and they were all delicious ! The jamon croquetas are so good and the passion fruit ceviche is a must ! I ordered the carmencita which is with mezcal and it was yummy but strong ! It is a bit pricy so keep that in mind but you will for sure indulge in a tasty meal. read more

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First time the owner wouldn't let me in because I was wearing shorts in the middle on August. Looked me up and down and said no. Although I didn't see a dress code on their site. Second time, the Bouncer is very selective and overcharging for entrance. ($200) read more

A fun and amazing place to be! Got there before the dj started downstairs. Had a couple of drinks and small plates. Everything was amazing especially the bartender Jorge! Very friendly and professional, handled the crowd. Definitely will be back! read more

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Food was subpar, service was disgusting. We came to celebrate our friend's birthday and we were treated terribly by their staff. We noticed that we (a group of BIPOC and POC customers who had just spent $1000 for a mediocre dinner and water down drinks) weren't being treated with the same respect as the white people who had just entered the establishment. We brought this to the attention of the manager who's response was to gaslight us, minimize our experience, and offer us a round of shots as if it was the cure for their discriminatory actions. It's giving Kendall Jenner in that Pepsi commercial and for that, we'll give Her Name Was Carmen a 0/10. Absolutely would not recommend. On top of everything we encountered, we were also charged a $73 COVID-19 fee when, 1. The COVID-19 NY State of Emergency had already been lifted. 2. NO ONE in the restaurant wore a mask, including the servers and staff. 3. We weren't informed of the fee and were met with resistance when we asked to have it removed. The icing on the cake was when their manager felt that it was appropriate to point out the handful of people with dark skin sprinkled in the crowd in an attempt to justify their behavior. Her Name Is Carmen ought to be ashamed of themselves. read more

This is the fourth time I've gone to Her Name Was Carmen and I've never been charged a cover. Miguel, the bouncer at the door, was charging everyone (men and women) $20 to get in tonight, and he was pocketing the money himself. There was no cashier in sight at all. I was with a group of 7 women and he tried charging each of us $20 to get in...We we're celebrating a bachelorette and we were ready to spend money at your establishment tonight. However, it was 1 AM and he told us that it was "alright" downstairs, and that they were closing at 3 AM. So to spend $20 at the door, in addition to drinks, for only a couple of hours and an "alright" crowd didn't seem worth it. He charged a group of 4 women in front of us, $20 each, and put the money in his pocket. Your boy Miguel is turning away business for his own profit. Aside from that, this place is great when the bouncer isn't ripping you off. read more

Went here over the weekend with a group of 12 for brunch and was very disappointed. There's a brunch price fixe for $45 that includes TWO arepas, coffee, a cocktail, and an entree. It may seem like a good deal but I do not recommend it. Service was bad and food was ehhh. - First, we were given one bite sized tiny arepa and when I asked where the other one was, the waitress was rude and said the menu was wrong and they're only giving one now - We ordered our coffee as soon as we sat down and did not get it until after we paid the check, had to ask about 4 times. Once we got it, it was probably the worst coffee I've ever had - tasted like dirty water. We also had to ask many times to get our water refilled. - They served everyone but once person their entrees and by the time the last person was served, everyone was almost done. We talked to the manager to see how they could rectify the situation and she was less than pleasant. - We told them we were celebrating a milestone birthday hoping that they would bring a dessert or do something festive, they did not. - The portions of the entrees were TINY. I guess you don't come here to eat. We thought there was going to be a fun brunch party vibe but it was kind of sad and empty inside, definitely a ton of other places to go to in the area. read more

Dishes ordered: 1. Branzino - crispy on the outside, tender on the inside garnished with lemon, thyme, and rosemary. Perfect for sharing. 2. Pulpo with squid ink rice - the octopus was a tad over grilled but the sauces were nice, rice was crispy but would not order again. 3. Salmon Aguachile - sashimi style salmon, drenched in delicious sauce 4. Ceviche was just OK 5. Egg white sour cocktail was fantastic 6. Yuca fries were good for sharing, different Music and vibes were nice. Romantic lighting, white table cloth place. Bit overpriced for this type of food. read more

Her name is Carmen is a great concept, but the execution is not quite up to the idea. Small plates, good music, great vibe and nice cocktails make it a place for a snack or late night drinks rather than a full meal. Seafood based menu is good and we enjoyed everything we ate, but found it hard to put together a meal. The desserts are good too. Hopefully they will buildout the menu and make it into a true dining option. read more

Her Name Was Carmen - Latin American Near Me - New York, New York

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Come here if you like raw seafood but aren't too hungry. Everyone is well-dressed and attractive. The decor and silverware is simple but beautiful and hip. Upstairs is a restaurant with a tiny bar, downstairs is a lounge with a larger bar space that gets dancey at night. The only food they serve at the restaurant is seafood, most of which is raw. There doesn't seem to be a website, so I wasn't able to check out the menu in advance. If I had known that it was only limited to 10ish things, I probably wouldn't have come even despite the cool ambiance. Luckily we weren't extremely hungry otherwise we would have left feeling hangry and unsatisfied because the portions are small (and very overpriced). For the two of us, we ordered the clams, king crab, hamachi, tuna sandwich thing, and scallop crudo. The quality of the food was high but still not worth the price. The king crab was $45 for ONE CRAB LEG (albeit served beautifully on ice and comes with an amazing ginger dipping sauce). If I ever go again (which is unlikely), I would order the hamachi and tuna again. The hamachi has awesome texture from the rice crackers, served with tasty avocado sauce. Everything else was just okay. Drinks were pretty good, at least upstairs. Maybe next time I'll come just for the downstairs portion. read more

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Absolute worst restaurant in new york. Service was subpar and the drinks were unsatisfactory and lacked flavor and originality. The new menu that was launched was a disappointment. Whoever the new chef is, needs proper culinary advisement. The chef cooking this food is an absolute moron he should not be aloud to cook read more

Two hostesses + others provided zero customer service. They alleged someone came and cancelled my reservation in person. The reservation was under a very unique name. I would understand if they gave away the table for being late but why lie? Also when trying to figure out alternate options, I felt like I was pulling teeth and they were acting like it was absurd to ask questions since i had never been there. If you're a POC, do not come here. read more

We went in for dinner service then attempted to go downstairs. Were denied entry to the downstairs area for "not spending enough on dinner" despite spending $200. Not sure if it had anything to do with the table being Indian....food was mediocre and wine selection was overpriced. Would only recommend if you're white. read more

Horrible place. Nothing was worth it. Staff was very rude. The hostess was nice when we walked in but then when we wanted to go downstairs she became so rude and angry. Like you are a staff person putting people at their tables, calm down. read more

Had a reservation they made us wait outside like it was a club lol. Food sucked as well, but service was fast.

Food was better than I expected! And by that I mean it's actually really good. We came here for a group dinner and loved that the downstairs area transitions into more of a night scene. Whoever was the bartender that night also makes the perfect old fashioned - I may have had more than several...which is why this review is short and I can't provide a ton of detail on what I ate, other than the fact that I quite enjoyed it. read more

This place should be put out of business . They threatened to call the cops on us because we refused to drink more alcohol. The girls we were with were highly intoxicated. No one should have been drinking past that point. But since we couldn't drink past 2000 they threatened to call the cops. I wish they did so we could report them for trying to over serve us. All they care about is money. Stay far away. read more

Worst line I've ever experienced in NYC for reason! It's in part the fault of the *awful* crowd in line not listening to the bouncer, but generally think this establishment handled high volume evenings terribly. read more

Food was ok, waiters were AMAZING (specially Luis and Esteban), but the hostess (Mariana) was beyond of a disappointment. We were Only given 1h 30 mins in the table, and while drinking in the table, we were asked to stand up because there was another reservation (we ordered bottle service food etc, and there were 2 other tables available), but overall her attitude was absolutely terrible. She was so rude and we've never seen this at a restaurant. The place could definitely have a good vibe if it weren't for her. read more

Abridged version- If you want to have a dining experience where the staff's behavior is appalling and the food portions are minuscule, this is the spot for you! We dined at Her Name on a Saturday night for my birthday celebration and upon arrival our table was not ready. Understanding of that, we were happy to wait in the lounge while the table was being prepared. We sat in one of the booths where our less than friendly cocktail waitress served us a round of drinks. When asked a question about one of the options, she snipped her reply to me as if my inquiry about the sweetness of the cocktail was such a burden to her. Mind you, the place was completely empty at this point, and her haughty attitude towards us was that of total impatience and annoyance. We were seated approximately 40 minutes late, but did have a delicious meal, the only highlight. The experience was dampened yet again by the conversation overheard between the hostesses regarding our appearance, essentially slut shaming us. We were sitting right next to the host stand, so everything they said was in earshot. Revolting to say the least. Less than 2 hours after being seated, we were approached by one of the managers, Chris, informing us that we needed to pay the bill because they had another reservation waiting for the table. As a gesture for the inconvenience, he would take us back to the lounge and would comp a round of cocktails or a bottle of champagne for us. We returned to the lounge where we asked our previous charming waitress for a round of espresso shots, because we were booted from our table before dessert. Of course, we informed her that we would have no problem paying for that separate from the free round we were promised. In her same snarky manner, she informed us that it was "absolutely impossible" for her to bring us espresso because the bar did not have an espresso machine and she would have to "go all the way upstairs and carry 7 shots down for us". Additionally, she was only "authorized" to bring us a bottle of Cava or a round of cocktails after we requested the same bottle of champagne we were having at dinner. The price difference between the two bottles was $12 and again we informed her that we would pay the difference. Rather than handling the matter in a diplomatic way or simply bringing her manager over to help solve the issue, she erupted on our table, literally screaming that she had provided "impeccable service" to us earlier and that our requests were "out of the question". The manager came back over and was able to solve the issue, but only after she verbally attacked one of my friends, saying that he had an "attitude", pointing at him up and down yelling that he "needed to take it down". Her behavior was actually comical, watching her implode and stomp away. Not 20 minutes after receiving our drinks, the manager, Chris, returned again, saying we would have to leave the table that he had brought us to, gloating to me that he "sold this table on Monday for $3000." As if he had done us such a huge favor by sitting us there. All of this long-winded review to say that they have some real talents in the kitchen, but the level of unprofessionalism and pretentiousness on behalf of the staff was like nothing I have ever experienced. read more

Service was absolutely terrible. They kept charging us more money every time we tried to get the stamps to go downstairs to the dance floor. Absolutely not worth the humiliation, the club was not even fun anyways read more

So disappointed, it's the second time that I go to this place, and in both visits the lost my boyfriends jacket! One was a really nice leather jacket! And the other one a 500$ coat. They have CERO control of the coat room. And they don't take responsibility on anything! We went there to have fun, not to get robbed! read more

I would leave zero stars if I could've. Me and my three girlfriends came to celebrate a bday. we were super excited but one of us wore a nice pair of Jordan's and the bouncer refused to let us in because she was wearing sneakers. I must mention the bouncer was LGBTQ (tan jacket, longish dark hair, olive skin.. prob Latin) so they know who it is.... he told us we couldn't come in cause of sneakers and it was "soho honey". now I'm a Latina and part of the LGBTQ and I am upset... he let five white men wearing dirty Reebok's, adidas and an assortment of other sneaker brands right after us!! with no issue. now was it cause they were men and we were females... I don't know. I am very sad nonetheless. I was looking for a good time and my friend was looking to celebrate her bday and that couldn't happen because of a pair of nice Jordan's.... A SHAME!! WOULD NOT SUGGEST... NEVER COMING BACK AGAIN!!! read more

Her Name Was Carmen - Latin American Near Me - New York, New York