02/15/09

Not worth the wait, especially for any sort of special occasion.

by Hatemembershipsites

We had reservations for Valentine's day, we unfortunately arrived 15 minutes late due to unexpected construction on I-5 (3 lnes were shut down near downtown exits). When we arrived, I spoke with the receptionist who was aware of the difficulty that customers were having. We ended up waiting another 30 minutes before being seated at what would have to be the wost table in the restaurant. A 24" round table for 2 in front of the kitchen entry.

We were forced to abandon our wine glasses to make room for dinner, and the bread and water glasses were subsequently abandoned on the ledge above our heads.

Since we were seated next to the kitchen door, wait staff continuously bumped into us with the dessert cart as well as themselves when navigating the narrow passage way.

We booked reservations via Open Table wesite and received a "No Show" status from them so we were not able to provide feedback to Open table.

The food itself was good but confusing, I ordered the Cannelonni Al Forno, which was drowning in Bechemel sauce. Each bite was confusing, was I in an Italian or french restaurant? The one positive aspect was our waiter who was very professional and was aware of the spacial challenges we were experiencing.

• Pros: Wait staff professional
• Cons: Atmosphere, Host staff

12/22/08

Feel real bad for this resturant

by richard98101

Great location and nice ambience. Four of us ate there before the movie and all four of us were very displeased. The bread was great but for a $100.00 food bill and no wine then left with only bread to say anything good about is not right and I feel bad saying anything bad about this resturant. The whole resturant was practically empty and yet they seated us right next to the little waiter station where I learned about the two waiters private lives............I mean private. Yak, yak, yak.....Nope, I do not like this place. My wife and I ordered rice dishes and both looked the same but with different prices....

Oh well such is life.......................

• Pros: Nice looking place
• Cons: Nothing to like

12/13/08

always a delight

by pjracz

I love this place, I have been there several times before a show and was never disappointed. The staff was always attentive the manager comes by the table to ask how is everything and if there is anything we need ect. They have a fab happy hour the appetizers are great and complementory. I love the decor (we always sit upstairs). My BF who loves wine was always impressed. Good homeade bread and breadsticks. The pizza is out of this world, the crust itself makes me crazy for more. The dessert cart makes me drool, love the tiramisu and this bread pudding I had. Can't wait till the next show so I can go there.

• Pros: everything

09/10/08

Romantic, interesting decor, convenient, good food

by eskercurve

After a last minute change to see a friend with the wife and myself, the friend recommended that we go here for dinner. I agreed and was hoping this place was better than Palomino. The parking is convenient, right beneath the Pacific Place mall. The restaurant is not hard to find either, and there is interesting decor to boot. So, I had high hopes for this restaurant, which was played out partially. I ordered the barrel noodles with vodka sauce and perhaps this is my personal taste talking, but I could have made the mixture of vodka to cheese sauce a little more rich in both to really bring out the flavor of the cheese. The bacon added a nice touch, and perhaps I should have been lead to a different dish because usually adding bacon as a garnish to a dish means that the cook doesn't know how to make the main dish vibrant enough and so has to add a powerful ingredient. My wife had the fettucini with red meat sauce and in her words "I could cook better".

However, this place does have AMAZING desserts. I had the fruit gelato with creme sauce and the chef really should open his own line of desserts, it was a never ending tale of creme, fruit, gelato, and soft crispiness of the cookie served with it. My wife's tiramisu was exquisite, if not authentic. Very nice!

In all, this is a good place to meet with workmates, partners, or a date because the mood suits both, and is not risky with bold dishes. If you're looking for a new experience in Italian cooking, look elsewhere. You won't be taken away by it (unless you have dessert), but you also won't be disappointed.

• Pros: Ambiance, convenience, service
• Cons: quality for price

07/07/08

Gnocci Heaven

by Mehri

I am shocked by all the negative reviews. I love this place. I am addicted to the four cheese gnocchi. I cannot get enough!! And the affogato is enough to do you in after dinner. The service has never been bad for me. The prices might be on the high side, not unlike alot of other restaurants in the downtown area. But then I think about the gnocchi and find myself there once again.

04/08/08

Go for the mushroom calzone.

by Sasha04

If you want amazing service, look elsewhere. What I like about this place is the decor (lots of wood panelling and marble touches) and my favorite thing to eat there, the calzone (they just have one). Filled with mushrooms, pancetta, and ricotta cheese, I find it to be amazing. The dessert cart is fun, but not a necessity. A bit pricey, especially considering it is a chain restaurant. The Risotteria downstairs is about the same for less money with an adjusted menu. Also not too bad, but again, the service on all of my visits has been inconsistent. Usually mediocre, sometimes great, occasionally really bad.

• Pros: ambiance, calzone, location
• Cons: sometimes really crowded, pricey, spotty service

02/11/08

Still thinking about the pasta...

by Em0505

My husband and I ate here 2/9/08 while celebrating our anniversary and it was delicious. We'd made reservations and had no trouble getting to a table. The entrees were a little slow coming out; the waiter was telling us the kitchen was backed up. Once they arrived, our entrees were delicious. I got the Puttanesca sauce with angel hair (spicy and cheesy) and my husband got a vodka-sauce pasta with bacon. They were right on top of refilling drinks and checking up on us without being intrusive. I wish I'd had space for dessert because the tray looked amazing. This is my new favorite Italian restaurant!

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Entrees were slowing coming out

11/11/07

less than impressed

by verbeach

It was my husband's and my first time in Seattle, and Il Fornaio was the closest restaurant to our hotel. If I had known it was a mall chain Italian restaurant, I might have thought twice. We made a reservation online for 8:00 and when we checked in at 7:55, we were told by a very snippy hostess that it would be "at least 15-20 minutes." The atmosphere was nice, it was romantic even though the tables were very close together. Our server was friendly until I asked for a re-do on my gnocchi, then she was very cold to both of us. It was very doughy, definitely underdone, I couldn't even choke it down. She did get me another plate, which was even more undercooked, if possible! At least I was able to fill up on the bread that they kept refilling for us (low-carb dieters beware!) We ordered tiramisu for dessert, and then waited.... and waited.... it finally showed up 20 minutes later, which is really unacceptable in my opinion. All in all, I would say the decor was nice and the bar selection was great, but I could've had food and service just as good, for a lower price at the Olive Garden.

• Pros: romantic atmosphere
• Cons: service, price

10/24/07

Undercooked...

by banchagisi_nae

I had the gnocchi and was disappointed. My first experience was wonderful...having tried it at Buca Di Beppo's however here it was an entirely different experience. It was not chewy like it's suppose to be, but rather slimy on the inside from being undercooked...and yet it took about 20 minutes for our food to arrive. The whole time, I was poking through my food and bracing myself for a cooked, or undercooked piece of gnocchi...lol.

I did however enjoy the ambience and if I ordered a different plate, maybe my rating of the restaurant would have been different. The people around us didn't seem to mind that the tables were soo close to each other, I could probably reach over and take a sip of someone else's wine...but then again if the focus was on the food... We also had to wait about 20 minutes to find a seat and all in all, for a plate that was lackluster and unsatisfying. Good thing they provide bread, otherwise I would have still been hungry afterwards.

06/18/07

Perfect if you prefer to be unsatisfied

by rodeofive

I had dinner on a whim before seeing a movie and my date I were very disapointed with our meals.

We are generally easy to please when it comes to dining out but we both walked away with post meal depression after our sub par pasta plates. Now I like basil but when the overabundance of it consumes the taste of alfredo, it kinda ruins the plate. Also,the shrimp in that same plate was waaay undercooked and had to be sent back to the kitchen. The cannelloni was bland and I am pretty sure it was filled with canned chicken!(yup). It would have more appropriate to call it cannelloni porridge. The service was fine and the foccaccia before the meal was excellent but I was literally calling friends and family and was inspired enough to write my first and probably last restaurant review after walking away from dinner. The movie I saw was pretty good though!