****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things get back to normal soon and hope you will continue these local businesses****
Cantinetta
Recommended by: After having created blog posts on some of our favorite Italian restaurants such as Via Tribulani, Tavolata, Pasta Casalinga, Cantinetta and Bizzarro Italian Cafe. We realized we’ve never done a blog pot on our favorite Italian restaurant in Seattle.
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Description on the Cantinetta’s website: We are an Italian restaurant based in Seattle, Washington specializing in Tuscan culinary traditions, authentic hand-made pasta and seasonal, organic ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 3650 Wallingford Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Various. See below.
Comments: When Seattle restaurants briefly opened back up in the Fall of 2020, the first restaurant we decided to go to after 6 months of not being able to dine in, was Cantinetta. That shows how much we love Cantinetta.
This small unassuming restaurant is right in the middle of Wallingford. And when we say right in the middle, I mean it really is in the middle of the neighborhood away from most of the Wallingford businesses on the main street of 45th. It really has an initmate neighborhood feel with high society dishes.
Cantinetta is located on a corner It’s a very intimate setting with huge windows that lets in a lot of sunshine during the daylight hours, but when sun goes down and the lights dim, it’s transformed to a romantic ambiance.
Another cool feature is the open window into the kitchen, which gives you a show of how the meals are prepared and cooked. Like most great Italian restaurants, they had huge wine list of both Italian and PNW wines.
The dishes are always new every time we visit so we know we’ll have something new to try. Two of our favorite dishes we’ve ever had Cantinetta were co-winners of our Top Seattle Dishes of 2018. Here’s an excepr:
Cantinetta -Co Winner Dishes: Tomato Farfalle, rabbit sausage, basil and Tagliatelle,guanciale, farm egg, black pepper
This little Italian gem of restaurant in Wallingford could have had seriously 5 or 6 dishes in the top 15 dishes we had in 2018. The Lopez Island Clams with Nduja Sausage, Shallots, Vino Blanco, the Black Pepper Tagliatelle, Carbonara, Prosciutto, and the Flank Steak with Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Port Butter also could have made the top 15 but the best dishes of 2018 are….
Tomato Farfalle, rabbit sausage, basil– The main issue we had with this dish is that it was a small portion and it was gone and eaten in no time. We really don’t order farfalle that often and basil is not one of my favorite herbs, but I was really interested in the rabbit sausage, so we ordered this dish. So glad we did. Put it all together and it was perfect. No one ingredient overpowered the others and together worked so well. The minty-ness of the basil, the tomato farfalle pasta combined with the slightly gamey, but so savory sausages. Perfect.
Tagliatelle, guanciale, farm egg, black pepper– So simple, so good. It was like a spin on a carbonara. Again, with a raw egg yoke it already had an advantage to being named a best dish of the year. Combined with hand made Tagliatelle and quality cured meat from the jowl/cheek of pork and it got us wondering how something so simple could be so damn good. We broke the yoke, mixed it all up, devoured it and ordered it again.
Here are some of the other dishes we’ve had in our many visits. Lopez Island Clams, nduja sausage, shallots, vino bianco 15. Pane della Casa – house-made focaccia, extra virgin olive oil 3.5. Black Pepper Tagliatelle, carbonara, prosciutto 20. Flank Steak, black trumpet mushrooms, port butter 29
$45
Most of these dishes are 5 out 5, so when we taste one that is 4 out of 5 here, we are surprised even though a 4 out of 5 would be great at any other restaurant. We are so used to Cantinetta being great, they have an unfair standard in our eyes, but more times than not they exceed our expectations.
Friendly and educated service that sets the stage for the dishes and drinks you’re about to enjoy.
Great for date night, intimate dinners with guests from out of town or small celebrations for birthdays, graduations or anniversaries. We came to Cantinetta for our anniversary. Cantinetta may not be a good fit for parties over 4, maybe 6 max and I’d definitely get a reservation.
Everybody we know who’s been to Cantinetta loves it. Loves it. But we are shocked by how many locals have never been there. Like we mentioned, it’s not in a trendy restaurant neighborhood like Capitol Hill, Ballard or Belltown. And it’s not even on the main street of Wallingford, which may be the reason it doesn’t get a lot of publicity. All we know is that when we’re getting ready to go to Cantinetta we get giddy, because we know we’re in for a special evening.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Via Tribulani
Recommended by: A local reader of the blog suggested Via Tribulani as an Italian alternative since we’ve talked about Il Corvo , Tavolata, Pasta Casalinga, Cantinetta and now Bizzarro Italian Cafe.
Description on the Via Tribulani’s website: Located in the bustling, trendy neighborhood of Capitol Hill, our first pizzeria has become a primary meeting spot for a variety of visitors. With an open patio that echoes conversations and laughter to the streets, cozy booths that make a dinner more welcoming and a buzzing bar that serves fantastic drinks, Capitol Hill’s location features unique and traditional Italian décor. With a private dining room that is romantic, yet comfortable for parties of up to 16, our first restaurant has everything one needs to feel at home.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 913 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Carbonara Pizza – Fresh Mozzarella, organic egg, pancetta, extra virgin olive oil, Polpette Al Pomodoro – Veal Meatballs, pomodoro, grana Padano, Rigatoni Bolognese – Giuseppe Cocco rigatoni giganti pasta, house-made bolgnese, grana Padano, Lasagna Al Forno – House-made meat ragu, fresh ricotta, smoked mozzarella, parmigiano, Andrew Will Merlot
Comments: Much like Bizzarro Italian Cafe, “Via Trib” has been around for so long we almost take it for granted. They’ve been around since 2004 and currently have locations in Georgetown, Queen Anne and the one we most recently visited, Capitol Hill. They had a location in Fremont, but no longer.
Via Tribulani has pasta and antipasti, but their claim to fame is their Neopolitan pizza. And they take great pride in it. A snippet from their website:
We opened our first pizzeria in 2004 in the burgeoning Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Months before we opened curious onlookers poked their heads in the former auto body shop, and outlandish rumors spread quickly throughout Seattle. One person saw a team of masons reportedly flown in from Naples to build a gargantuan wood-fired oven, someone heard that the bricks also came from Naples rich with Vesuvian ash, a reporter ran a story about a taxi driver leading our owner down a dark Neapolitan street to meet a talented pizzaiolo who was then whisked to an airport…
As it turns out almost all of the tall tales are true – on opening night people began lining up for the authentic Neapolitan pizza and since then our ovens have only gotten busier. Via Tribunali has been called “more authentic than the pizzerias of Naples,” and even though that is a flattering exaggeration, it is fair to say that our pizzerias have grown out of an almost unnatural passion for the food and wine of Southern Italy.
Via Tribulani even has a certificate from the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, which is an international organization officially established to give special designation to pizzerias who meet strict requirements that respect the tradition of the art of Neapolitan pizza making by the Italian government.
So here’s that special oven made of brick from Naples and assembled by masons flown in from Naples:
The oven is supposedly kept running 24/7 and is kept at 1,000 degrees, which allows the pizza to cook in just one minute. We’ll admit the pizzas are damn good. I personally like the thins crust and the ingredients are top notch. The price is a bit on steep side.
On this particular trip we also ordered the lasagna, rigatoni bolognese and veal meatballs. The lasagna and rigatoni were good, but nothing to write home about. We’ve been lucky enough to have had some great pastas in bolognese sauce at Il Corvo – Best Pasta in Seattle, Bizzarro Italian Cafe and even at Japanese restaurant Kokkaku. So when comparing Via Tribulani’s to the aforementioned restaurants, it falls short in our opinion.
On the other hand, the veal meatballs were a hit. Two baseball-sized meatballs in pomodoro sauce with grana Padano cheese sprinkled on top. I always wonder when I see meatballs of this size, how they get the meatball perfectly cooked all the way through.
The other interesting fact about Via Tribulani is that it was created by the same person who created Caffe Vita as mentioned our our Caffe Vita – Fremont post. And for a time the Caffe Vita in Pioneer Square had the same pizza oven in it. This same owner also a financial backer of Lil Woody’s, Hitchcock and Wandering Goose. Wow! What a diverse group of restaurants! This dude seems to have the magic touch.
Update:It seems that Caffe Vita was recently sold by the owner of Via Tribulani to the owners of Bastille, Poquitos, Stoneburner, and Rhein Haus.
In summary, the atmosphere at Via Tribulani -Capitol Hill is romantic, the pizza and meatballs were our favorites, the wine menu had a good variety of locals and Barolos. It’s a solid choice for those who don’t want only pasta or only pizza.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.35
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: We’ve mentioned Cantinetta in a couple of our Dish of the Year blog posts, but have never reviewed it.
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Bizzarro Italian Cafe
Recommended by: I went back to work after lunch at Pasta Casalinga and mentioned it to my co-workers. We talked about Pasta Casalinga and I mentioned some of my other favorites like Tavolata and Il Corvo. A co-worker mentioned her favorite was Bizzarro Italian Café in Wallingford. We’d been there before, but it’s been so many years. A revisit is in order.
Description on the Bizzarro Italian Cafe’s website: Bizzarro has been a Seattle favorite since it opened in 1986 by original owner, chef and visual artist David Nast. He converted the building which was originally an auto workshop into his dream restaurant on a shoestring budget with a lot of hardwork, ingenuity, artistic inspiration and love.
Neighborhood/Type: Wallingford
Address: 61307 N 46th St, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Monday Night Meatball 5 juicy spicy meatballs tossed with spaghetti rustica pasta in our world famous marinara, Elk Bolognese- Wild Oregon Elk with fennel, thyme, Mama lil’s peppers and pork shoulder slowly simmered into a creamy ragu tossed with our handmade parpardelle ribbon pasta. Drunken Clams- Local manilla clams in spicy tomatoes with prosciutto, basil, shallots & ouzo. Chianti.
Bizzarro Italian Cafe has been in existence since 1986, but it’s one of those places that doesn’t consistently come to mind when thinking of Italian food for some reason. We have our regular Italian places like Tavolata Il Corvo and The Pink Door and our quaint neighborhood spots like Cantinetta, Salvatore and Serafina.
Our revisit to Bizzarro Italian Cafe is a good reminder to keep it as an option not only due to the good Italian food, but the one of a kind kitschy décor. It’s very apropos that it’s a few doors down from the King of Kitschy things, Archie McPhee.
According to Seattle Magazine, Bizzaro Italian Cafe was started by an artist, David Nast. And ownership/chefs has changed numerous times including Mike Easton who owns one of our favorites, Il Corvo . We did not know that.
Bizzaro Italian Café is a small intimate restaurant in the Wallingford area and as mentioned has been around for over 30 years.
Their claim to fame is a cell phone surcharge if you talk on your phone while everybody is trying to enjoy their meal.
If I remember correctly, I believe this surcharge was implemented in the early years of cell phone usage, where there was no texting or photo taking abilities. Who talks on their cell phone anymore?
For fun, if you want you can check out some of the irate customers who have been charged a surcharge and it appears they are not shy about it……
Cell Phone Charge! Source:Yelp
We went on a Monday evening thinking it wouldn’t be crowded, but we snagged the last open table and after that there were people waiting for seats.(Note: Bizzarro does not take reservations for parties less than 6).
If you do have to wait, they will take your number and they’ll call you when ready. You can either walk around Wallingford, go to Archie McPhee or get a drink at the Blue Star next door.
If you’ve never been to Bizzarro Italian Cafe, you’re in for a visual blast you’ve not seen anywhere else. There is literally something to see in every nook and cranny of the walls and ceilings in the entire restaurant(take a look at the pics).
There are quirky bits of memorabilia everywhere you look. You have so much for conversation starters, which makes it a fun place for first dates.
The tables are packed pretty tight and the with so many people in a tight spot, it can get quite loud.
First comes the bread with vinegar and olive oil. All entrees come with a salad and you can upgrade to a Ceasar’s salad if you wish.
We started off with the Drunken Clams which is a perfect match to slop up the sauce with the bread. The clams and bits of prosciutto were tasty, but the sauce is the star.
Our server offered to bring more bread when he saw we had extra sauce, but ran out of bread. We were tempted but didn’t want to fill ourselves up before our mains came and said he could take the sauce away. We shed a little tear as he took it.
Our entrees were the Elk Bolognese and their special of the night, Monday Spaghetti & Meatballs.
I’m a sucker for a ragu sauce and how often can you find elk on the menu. This is probably their most popular dish. I was expecting a bit of gamey, but there was none. One thing I loved about the dish is they are not chintzy on the meat.
Normally the meat to pasta ratio is decidedly heavy on the pasta side. This dish surprisingly was heavy on the elk side. This is a comforting dish to have on a cold night.
The Spaghetti & Meatballs is normally a mainstay on Sundays, but they happen to serve it on this Monday.
We may have gotten the last dish, because shortly after ordering it, one of the servers erased it from the chalkboard. The sauce was average, but the spicy meatballs(5 in all) were fabulous.
One small thing. I wish they would serve wine in a proper glass instead of a tumbler.
One of the secret side stories of Bizzarro Italian Cafe is a table in the back area it’s situated right next to a massive pole and has a chalkboard sign that claims to be the “Best Table in The House”. We think it’s a tongue in cheek title since it’s situated next to a massive pole. Sorta like these seats….
You might look at kitschy decor and think this is their gimmick, because the food in not up to par. Well the food is definitely as good as the decor is kitschy.
It’s really is a one of a kind restaurant that you will not find anywhere else and has the quirkiness of a cell phone surcharge and “Best Table in The House” to boot.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4. 55
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: A local reader of the blog suggested Via Tribulani as an Italian alternative since we’ve talked about Il Corvo , Tavolata, Pasta Casalinga, Cantinetta and now Bizzarro Itlian Cafe. We’ve been to Via Tribulani, but not for many years. It’s time for a revisit.
Related Articles:
**********5/20-Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
Il Corvo – Pioneer Square
Recommended by: Our server(sorry we didn’t get your name) at Trove in Capitol Hill recommended Il Corvo as her favorite lunch spot.
Description on the Il Corvo’s website:At Il Corvo we rely on years of experience and knowledge in order to create the perfect noodle. We work with traditional bronze dies and handmade tools as well as high quality organic ingredients to develop pasta with a proper al dente mouth feel that is both delicious and firm.
Neighborhood/Type: Pioneer Square
Address: 217 James St, Seattle, WA 98104
What we ate/drank: Campanelle, Pappardelle, Maccheroni, Kale Salad
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Il Corvo just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
There are certain Rites of Passage in Seattle like standing in line at Paseo for a sandwich or standing in line at Tsukushinbo for Ramen Friday. Here’s another one. Standing in line for lunch at Il Corvo.
Some history of Il Corvo first. It used to be this secret pasta place located in a gelato shop near Pike Place Market. I can’t remember if they served lunch everyday or only on certain days, but I remember there were maybe 3 tables. And I don’t think there was any signage that Il Corvo was located in this gelato shop. You just had to know about it. I also remember that it wasn’t really a proper kitchen but that pasta was being made off of a portable butane burner, like you might have for camping.
Eventually Il Corvo moved to it’s current location in Pioneer Square, but it’s only open for lunch and it’s only open on the weekdays. The daily ritual that happens is a line starts forming at 10:45ish and sometimes earlier. If you want a seat(aprox 35 seats) in their small location coming at 11:00 right when they open is too late. If you look at the picture below it was taken exactly at 11:00 and you might think that there’s only about 12 people waiting. Nope, there’s already a line from the back of the restaurant that starts at the cashier all the way through the restaurant and out the door. So although there’s 12 people waiting in line outside, there’s actually a line of more than 20 inside. This is definitely an indication of how good their pasta is. The owner/chef, Mike Easton, was a Finalist for the Best Chef: Northwest award given by the James Beard Foundation.
So you stand in line, get to the cash register and order. Then they will advise you where to sit and bring the food out. Even with the large crowds, they do a good job of managing the available tables. While waiting in line to order, they went down the long line to ask if you were ordering to go or staying and this way they could decide where to seat people even prior to them ordering. If you are a party of one or two, don’t be surprised if you’re sharing a table with others. It can’t really be helped due to the popularity of Il Corvo and the always present line through the restaurant, but it can feel very cramped once seated with those in line hovering right over you. It’s just the price you have to pay like any popular place.
There’s an ever-changing menu of three pastas a day at $9.95 per dish. You can follow what they’re serving that day on their Instagram. They also have some Anti-Pasta dishes such as kale salad, prosciutto plate, pickled vegetables and house made focaccia. They also serve wine.
We always order the three different pastas and when all dishes get to the table, we always look and each other and say, “There’s no way we can finish this”. We always do.
The Pappardelle ala Bolongnese was my favorite and gets a five out of five rating from me. Served with flat broad pappardelle, the meat in the Bolognese sauce is blended into a gooey paste. Bon Appetit actually published the recipe for this gravy back in 2015, but I’d much rather have it prepared and cooked by a pasta Jedi.
The Campanelle with arugula pesto with walnuts, almonds and pistachio was on the other side of spectrum with a really fresh and light compared to the savory Bolognese. I think we’ve had this same dish, but it was with Fusilli the last time we were here.
The last dish was the Maccheroni with corona beans, swiss chard and mama lil’s peppers, which was also a home run. The Maccheroni noodles are massive to match the corona beans. I think the bigger holes in the noodles allows all the ingredients to really permeate. And we’re big fans of Mama Lil’s Peppers. These are also a main ingredient of both Morsel and Biscuit and Beans’ biscuit sandwiches.
As a courtesy for those waiting in line for a seat, try not to linger too long. We did notice that a lot of people do order to go to eat back at their office, but definitely the best way to enjoy it is fresh off the pan in the restaurant if possible.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 5.00
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
-
- Most locals know about it
-
- Locals “in the know” know about it
-
- Only those who live close by know about it.
-
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: After this blog post was published a friend/reader reminded us of Tavolata after seeing me gush about Il Corvo’s pappardelle. We’ll head there soon.
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