11/13/08

Fabulous Seattle Gem

by SFaille

this restaurant is our new found favorite! Not only is the food excellent, the service is outstanding! The wait staff is attentive and creative. We love the decor....we will come back.

09/15/08

Old Reliable

by nimpkin

I have always liked this place. I have been eating here for 20 years. Yes, it seems expensive-but what decent restaurant isn't nowadays?

I have never had a bad meal here and the atmosphere is great. Ask the waiter to serve your table family style and they wil just serve your table the best things available in the kitchen that day.

05/01/08

Mediocre at best!

by spoony

This restaurant was recomanded to me, sadly enough, I do not understand what's all the fuss about. My appetizer was very oily and overall the flavor was lacking. For entree I got the halibut ($22!) and it did not taste like anything other than lemon and capers; the plate was poorly presented and the overcooked side vegetables were swimming on a bath of oil. The service was ok but nothing impressive. Like the rest of the menu, the wine list lacks variety and it is way overpriced.

• Pros: None.
• Cons: awful food!

04/30/08

Pretentious and overpriced!

by keeponlooking

The food was either too bland or too seasoned. I paid more than $10 for a canned tuna salad topped with salty anchovies, not to mention the overcooked pasta. My glass of wine tasted like it had been opened for a week. Service was nothing special. The dining room was crowded and loud; my chair got bumped all the times someone walked by our table. I am tired of places like this; overpriced places that thrive on the assumption that customers do not know what good food is.

• Pros: none
• Cons: where do I start?

04/29/08

A step up from Olive Garden

by maremmabucaiola

Not worth the money trust me. It is overrated. The food was quite bland. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. I did not have any problems with the service like some other reviewers, but I did not like the food at all (and I know Italian food since I lived there for many years). This is yet another establishment that thrives by overcharging customers for food that can be purchases elsewhere at lower prices. This is a place for tourists on the run, and you know what future Seattle tourist? Ivar's is cheaper.

If you are looking for good Italian food try Barolo (not cheap but worth the money!)

02/18/08

Authentic clean flavors and excellent service

by gwaraphobe

Having tasted all levels of real Italian cuisine (I'm talking Italy! not america) IlTerrazzo does a superb job of recreating a ristorante experience. we had the dungeness crab bruschetta that was dressed simply with EVO, tomatoes, sea salt, basil and topped with fresh dungeness crab. the fagiole soup and grilled romaine salad were good but the phesant raviolis in demi glace and the roasted duck breast with amarena cherries soaked in grappa were the show stopper.My only critique would be that the skin on the duck could have been rendered a bit longer to make it crispier. we had a wonderfull vino nobile at a steal for around $50. I hope this place is around when i'm older and have more money. i will dine there as often as possible. the service is some of the best i have had in seattle.

• Pros: great service and food
• Cons: none

02/12/08

Best italian in Seattle

by monkmanh

I have been going to Carmines for years and the food is AMAZING! Trained by Umberto, Carmines food is like comfort food, but Italian. The atmosphere is not pretentious, staff is always pleasent and helpful and the food... ohhh the food! Always my first pick for birthday or a family dinner. Simply perfect.

02/09/07

Seattle's Best!

by 2gravity

This restaurant has been a favorite of ours for years. The food, service and experience are consistently excellent. We dined here most recently in early January with friends and were struck by how flawless and unassuming the service and food were. The wait staff's timing is always perfect and noninvasive. We were greeted cordially by the owner, but not fawned over. And the food...everything was done to perfection. I highly recommend listening carefully to the specials of the day. They are excellent. Many of the mainstays on the menu are like soulfood. This is the type of restuarant where you can go and count on them to provide the dining experience so that you can concentrate on and enjoy the company of your dining companions.

02/07/07

Not worth the money!

by buglady4

Every bit of food I had was not seasoned well. The flavors are seriously lacking. The entire meal left me wondering why anyone would pay these prices for such below average food! I wonder if anyone tastes the dishes they serve. Perhaps they need a chef that has a good palate.

The appetizer of shrimp on crustini had no flavor. The salad with candied walnuts and grilled pancetta was ok, but needed a different dressing to pull the flavors together. I had one of their specials - saffron risotto with scallops. There was no saffron in that dish at all! Just tasted like butter risotto. Scallops were cooked well, but had a little sand in them. For desert, I had a pear tartlet. The only way I knew it was pears were due to the pear texture and seeing some fruit. It had the overpowering flavor of almond extract. I could have been eating marzipan for what that tasted like.

Restaurant is very dark and noisy, even with only a few tables full. Overall, I would never go back, even if someone else was paying!!! If you want to have an overpriced, so-so meal in disgusting Pioneer Square, this may be your place.

• Cons: tasteless food or poor choices of flavors used, in Pioneer Square, overpriced

01/28/07

Delicious Food with Professional Service

by rmshur

Il Terazzo Carmine is the quintessential Italian restaurant. The food is beautifully prepared using high quality ingredients and is simply delicious. The service may be taken by some as cold, however, I tend to see it as professional. There is no chit chat or friendly conversation, however, I don't go out to dinner to banter with the service staff. Most importantly, my wine and water glass are always full and the food is exquisite.