When real estate mogul Patrick Carroll was contemplating where to eat dinner in Miami on April 12, some of the city’s hottest restaurants—including Carbone and Dirty French Steakhouse—were apparently off-limits. The reason, according to a lawsuit filed in a Miami court this week: Carroll was banned from the establishments and others owned by their parent company because he had allegedly called Carbone’s service manager “a street n-----” in December.
That Wednesday evening, Carroll opted for sushi at Hiyakawa Miami and quickly wound up being banned by its restaurant group, too.
During his meal, the lawsuit claims, Carroll became enchanted by an attractive woman who was on a date with another man. He allegedly pursued her so relentlessly—including “following her to the restroom”—that the maître d’ felt the need to intervene. Carroll didn’t appreciate the reproach. As his meal ended, he spat on the 25-year-old employee (or, as his spokesperson later framed it, he “pantomimed” spitting). Carroll’s antics, which were captured on video, were soon reported by the property industry outlet The Real Deal.
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A Daily Beast investigation of Carroll published several weeks later revealed far darker conduct, including accusations of domestic violence. Carroll admitted to hitting his now ex-wife on a 2019 call that was surreptitiously taped and posted online until his attorneys convinced a Florida judge to have it removed this February.
Among the other behavior detailed in the story was his guilty plea after a March 2019 disorderly conduct arrest for allegedly telling a Colorado ski resort official that he was “about to get knocked out.” In February 2020, he was sentenced to 16 days in jail when a judge in his divorce case ruled that he had stiffed his wife; in November 2021, he was sued for libel by his wife’s divorce lawyer, whom Carroll derided on Instagram as someone who “messes with young children”; and earlier this year, he posted a video of his ex-wife having sex to his popular Instagram account.
Saturday’s lawsuit filed by Hiyakawa maître d’ Miguel Weill sheds additional light on Carroll’s alleged combustibility. During the December incident at Carbone, the complaint states, he clashed with a server who had “poured a glass of wine for a guest that Mr. Carroll disapproved of.” Carroll “followed the server” outside and “pushed him in his back while he was carrying plates.”
The service manager got involved, telling Carroll that his aggression was an “ongoing problem,” according to the complaint, which says Carroll tried to hand the manager cash in exchange for keeping the situation under wraps. The manager refused, the lawsuit continues, infuriating Carroll, who told him, “never in my life will I bow down to a street [n-----] like yourself.”
A spokesperson for Carroll told The Daily Beast that he “has not [been] served with any legal paperwork and will vigorously defend the truth in court.” Major Food Group, which owns Carbone, did not respond to a request for comment.
The complaint also offers new details on the alleged spitting incident. By Weill’s account, Carroll dined with three companions, including one of his attorneys, Duncan Levin. Hiyakawa Miami is intended to be a refuge from Miami’s fevered streets; there is roughly one staff member on-hand for every three guests, all of whom have trained in Japan, and the restaurant serves a maximum of 50 meals per night, according to the lawsuit.
Carroll’s group shattered that tranquility. Some of them discussed their misadventures at strip clubs and previous encounters with women, the lawsuit claims. Less than an hour into his meal, Carroll asked a manager if he could buy a drink for the attractive woman seated nearby. The manager declined, igniting the feud between Carroll and the staff. At one point, the lawsuit alleges, Carroll “complained to his dinner companions that [the maître d’] was ‘cockblocking’ him.” Later, he threatened to “beat up” the employee, who responded by telling Carroll to conduct himself respectfully.
According to the complaint, “Carroll then told [the maître d’] that he isn’t going to respect him and that he ‘doesn’t give a fuck’” about the instructions, considering the employee’s “$20 shirt and $10 tie.”
After the spitting incident, Carroll left the restaurant and “knocked on the glass to summon his companions, but none of them followed him to the car,” the suit claims. Carroll and his driver left alone in his white Rolls Royce Cullinan SUV, “nearly getting into an accident” as they departed, the suit says.
Carroll acknowledged that his behavior had been “out of line” in an apology note to the maître d’, as The Real Deal reported, though he walked back his contrition in an Instagram comment soon after, claiming that the employee was responsible for the conflict. In fact, the complaint alleges, Carroll threatened to sue Weill and the restaurant for defamation.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Weill said the conflict and ensuing media attention had battered his mental health. “I didn’t eat for two days. I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he said. Multiple customers have cracked jokes about the humiliating incident, and he has struggled to stay focused. “I like to give people memories. That’s why I do my job,” Weill said. “For me to do that, I really need to be present and to connect, and that has been completely ripped away.”
Despite Carroll’s note, Weill added, the tycoon has not sincerely apologized. Meanwhile, Carroll’s Instagram shows him enjoying the good life in helicopters and private jets.
“He’s over there relaxing, you know, wherever,” Weill said. “That’s not fair.”
