Casa D'Italia - Italian Dinner House

01/14/10

so-so food, slow service

by veronica294 at Citysearch

Friendly service upon arriving, and quick seating and drinks. Seating is a bit tight, and some tables are squished right next to one another. The specials on the board were explained by our waitress, and I ordered the primavera rustica and my boyfriend the pasta with three sausage types. My dish was supposed to have pasta, vegetables and white beans in an olive oil sauce with garlic, which it did, plus lentils, which weren't described in the menu. I have no problem with lentils, but know plenty of people who dislike them, and it does give a dish a different texture and taste. Oddly enough, there was a special with vegetables and lentils, so maybe they accidentally switched it? It was overly oily, and tasted a little bland. My boyfriend's dish seemed fine enough. We shared cherry chocolate cake for dessert, which was good, but not spectacular. Though it wasn't particularly busy, our waitress did take some time getting back to our table to check on us. The manager, I presume, ended up boxing up our food, delivering dessert and taking the payment. A little spendy and simple, but okay food and service.

• Pros: cozy ambiance
• Cons: slow service, mediocre food

07/20/09

Best rustic NY Italian Food in Seattle

by DocMgr at Citysearch

I worked for years in an Italian neighborhood in the Northeast.....this place might as well be in South Philly or Brooklyn. A warm and friendly place where the owner chef and his wife and the wait staff remember you (and your kid's names) when you come back. The food is excellent and reasonably priced. Always a great variety of rustic pasta specials and menu standards. My wife and I and our grown children and their familes eat there two to three times a month. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings can be busy; go early or call for a reservation.

• Pros: Good food; good service; great Italian cafe ambiance
• Cons: A little tight inside; better when the patio is open

01/19/09

Not Note Worthy

by lovetodine59 at Citysearch

I went here in Spring of 2008. it was a chilly spring and we sat inside. I think the appeal of this place may be the patio seating. It is very cramped inside. it was a week night and the tiny place did fill up, which actually helped the atmosphere. It was noisy and smelled good.

Our server was nice and knew his long list of specials & wine speech. But, it was a one way conversation. He didn't really listen, which is annoying.

We both ordered unusual pasta specials and for the price, I thought it may be the greatest pasta ever or the greatest pasta bust. The food was OK, not great , not horrible, but what was not OK was, that it was cold. That shows a lack of pride in the Chef and the server.

We both ordered pasta, so for them both to go cold? That's a rookie mistake. I think the special list was too long. A smaller selection done well, would have been welcomed.

In all fairness , it's been a while since Ive eaten at Casa d' Italia Market and Cafe. And things change a lot ,sometimes quickly in the restaurant biz. I hope its improved , but i wont be trying it again.

• Pros: Ingredients seemed fresh
• Cons: lack of pride and lack of sense of detail

02/15/08

Nice Little Italian Spot

by jojoseattle at Citysearch

First if you aren't Italian or from New York I take what you say with a grain of salt, since I am both. In Seattle there are very vew legitimate Italian Eateries and especially ones that last longer than year. The fact that it has been open for years and they do have oustanding food and Italian-esq portion makes it a must visit.

• Pros: Food, Staff, drinks, patio
• Cons: Size

02/14/08

HORRIBLE "Italian" food

by kerramichele at Citysearch

This was the worst food served to me in a long time. My boyfriend and I decided to go here because we both LOVE Italian food (I've lived in Italy and he's half Italian) and we really like little hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop type restaurants -- not to mention the Citysearch editors recommended it in last week's e-mail. He ordered the caesar salad and I ordered the minestrone to start. His salad was practically inedible because so much vinegar (not balsamic, but regular vinegar) was dumped on top of it. The minestrone was basically a bowl FULL of oil with some random vegetables thrown in, which were clearly a jumble of every frozen veggie you can buy in the freezer isle -- and all over-cooked.

For the main courses we both ordered a special; he a pasta in a goat cheese and pesto sauce and me roasted turkey over a bed of roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables. When I got my entree I was surprised to see that my dish was, literally, some turkey in a bowl with minestrone dumped on top of it. LITERALLY. I mentioned to my waitress that I had basically ordered two bowls of minestrone and she just said, "Oh, you're right. I never thought about that. Tee hee!" I was hungry to I started eating it anyway, only to find huge chunks of cartilage and a small BONE in my bowl. I never send things back but since all our food had been horrible that night (my boyfriend's pasta was the most oily thing I'd ever seen served) and it was a $15 dish, I told the waitress I wouldn't pay for it. She then asked the owner, who was sitting two tables from us in the completely empty restaurant, if I could send it back and he got really mad but said yes. He then proceeded to stomp around the 300 sq. ft. room bossing the wait staff around and scolding the guy in the kitchen. It was very awkward and uncomfortable.

The dessert we had was good and they took my entree off the bill, which is the only reason I'm giving them 2 stars. If you want good, rustic Italian, I recommend Machiavelli.

• Pros: Never busy
• Cons: Unknowledgeable wait staff, poor food quality