Seattle
>
DeNuzio's
Consistently Excellent. I have eaten at Luigi's a number of times over the last 8 years. It is always excellent, and each time excedes my expectations. I have taken friends who beg to go back again. I have attended 3 or 4 of the "cooking classes" that are always fun. They aren't meant to be a 4 course dinner, just a sampling. My friends who go to the cooking classes with me have told others how much fun they are and now we have a group wanting to go this fall. Ignore the bad reviews, sometimes only angry people comment. This place is the best Italian Food in Seattle!…
Worst experience ever!. We also had a radio station promotion valued at $360.00- for a cooking class for 8. What a joke! It was described as 4 course famoulous meal. Instead we received a small cup of soup, one pork chop, and a banana for dessert. The guests were complaining how hungry they were, but Luigi didn't bring anymore food. We didn't receive a salad, pasta, vegetable, or even bread to curve our appetite. The bill came, and in addition to the "valued" $360.00- he charged us another $398.00 for wine, tax, and of Luigi's tip! I was appalled and complained, but felt like they were nothing but bullies. It was deceiptful and dishonest to believe that our meal was valued at $750.00!!! We literally were served a cup of soup, a pork chop, a banana, and wine for an absurd amount of money. We too had the same situation as other reviewers- Luigi brought wine that was never ordered, and charged us for it. I will NEVER be back, nor will any of our guests who came that evening.…
Consumer beware! Misleading charges and mediocre food.. We arrived at Luigi?s Grotto for lunch with some good friends from out of town. As this was their first time in Seattle, we thought we?d take them for some authentic Italian. Atmosphere was good at best. The waiter (Luigi?) seated all 7 of us and asked what we wanted to drink. He returned with 3 sodas (cans), three glasses containing a single ounce of substandard wine (watered down), and one beer. We were asked if we had any dietary restrictions (3 vegetarians, 3 carnivores, and 1 vegan). We waited for menus. Instead we were served parmesan bread ? roughly a bite per person. Then came salad. We assumed this was part of the appetizer and ate and talked while we waited for menus. Luigi appears again with a platter of perciatelli with vegetables and a 5? pizza. No meat for our carnivore friends, no choice of entree. Despite the pathetic portions of pasta offered and our ravenous hunger, we were unable to eat much more than a bite or two. The pasta was fresh, but flavorless; the broccoli (mostly woody unpalatable stem chunks) was undercooked; the zucchini and eggplant were overcooked, and the tomato pieces tasted canned. We all sensed that we were being served leftovers. The pizza was fair, but was hardly enough for one person as an appetizer, much less an entree for 7 and we questioned why it was given to us at all. I tried several more times to flag down ?Luigi? to enquire about the cost, but he pretended to be too busy (this despite the fact that we were the only customers he had). We were served a bowl of ice cream and the pasta was taken away and replaced by the bill. $196.00 ($28 per person!) for food that was far from fresh or original. ?Luigi? was thoughtful enough to calculate in a 20% tip for himself. Total bill: $237 for LUNCH. Poor service and food my Sicilian grandfather would have been ashamed of. Avoid Luigi?s Grotto at all costs?because ?all costs? is exactly what they charge.…
Great Cooking Classes!. I have always had an amazing time at this venue and the cooking class. It's fun, entertaining and worth the $50 (wine included!). They have cooking classes monthly and my friends and I always try to make it a point to be there. Fun, great food, and atmosphere.…
Disappointing Evening. 6 of us went to Luigi's expecting a great evening of wine, food and to learn how to cook Italian from Luigi himself. This was a package promo($180) from a radio station. First, the entrance to the grotto - really named DeNunzios-is steep stairs to a Seattle underground restaurant. Luigi himself was at the bar and welcomed us. However he pointed us to a waiter who took us to a table for 6. A waiter took our drink order - the absolute worst martini my husband has ever had - watered down w/2 types of gin?! The rest of us shared a carafe of Chianti. for $20. Luigi brought another caraffe of wine without being asked. Luigi's waitstaff was ever present and seemed eager to assist. Luigi did cook at the table on a portable cooking table & stove. ...but never did we get an opportunity to cook as the promo had promised. We were served excellent bread and salad and, disappointingly, a serving of Luigi's mac and cheese and ONE chicken drumstick each! The food was good, the servings miniscule. The gentlemen in our party were stunned when our check arrived as they were still hungry-expecting more food to be prepared and served. We were given 6 Hersey kisses with the check and Luigi disappeared. Our waiter(s) gave us the check for $148 and we were shocked to see an extra charge for a carafe of Chianti which we did not order We had prepaid $180 for the dinner and was stunned to get this additional charge which came from Sales tax and 18% gratuity on $300 he said was the value of the meal in addition to $40 for 2 carafes of wine, one not ordered and a $7 martini . Is it legal to charge tax on inflated value instead of the actual charge? When the credit card charge was brought back ,the writing plainly looked like $198. The waiter said it was just his bad writing. I feel sure that the charge would have shown as $198. Stay away unless you like to feel cheated at the end of an evening. This is the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant…
