This is a decent moderately priced little place to eat some Italian food. The decor was lacking a bit but I like the large pictures of the old school Italian actors and actresses. I also like there’s outdoor seating around a fire pit. There’s a large wine selection. I was disappointed that chicken Parmesan was not on the menu but I found another chicken dish that had mushrooms, artichokes with a creamy white sauce I really enjoyed. Honestly from the appetizer to the main dish everything was good, it’s just the atmosphere was lack luster a little but I could eat there again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert Spackman
Good food, service and nice surroundings. Will definitely go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chuck/Annie Driesbock/ Brown
$19 for two small pieces of bruschetta, good carbonara decent pizza a bit
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spaghetti Carbonara
Ethan Koster
We have eaten at Zio Sal a few times now and really enjoy it. This latest time I had the focaccia bread then the lasagna bolognese and finished with a cannoli and espresso. Everything was delicious! They offer first and second courses for more options.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cannoli, Lasagna Bolognese
R S
Valentina greeted us, provided excellent service, and recommended a bottle of Carmignano Capezzana which was a good choice. The cup of minestrone soup was satisfying along with thick slices of focaccia bread. (I'm often not a fan of focaccia bread but theirs was tasty.) We ordered Pollo and Vitello A Tuo Piacere for our entrees, selecting the creamy and rich gornonzola sauce. Definitely a good place for a memorable date night!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Aaron Moore
The guy behind the bar was very nice and friendly. We had a nice time. The quality of the food for the price is more there. Caesar salad price is very high and it's like from Pizza Hut. The pasta dishes were ok but not worth the high price. The pizza was mid at best. The service was great and they have a good wine list. Would have been higher rating if the value was there.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Abhinav Tipirisetty
Food tasted just above average and portions were too small for the price. We spent $70 for 2 entrees + 1 drink and had to come home and eat again to fill our stomach.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Patrice Tisdale
The food was disappointedly flavorless. The saffron risotto tasted like there was made in a seafood/crab reduction. The lasagna bolognese was equally as bland. Could barely salvage it with salt and cracked pepper. The server was nice and tried to correct by offering to switch out the plates, but given the lack of taste in the previous dishes, there was little hope the substitute would work.It may be an off night for the cook, but this is definitely not old country Italian tastes
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Comfort Swen
Good food best of all the oil and vinegar oh my gosh it was good.
The atmosphere of this location is nice, the fire table out front is a nice touch as well. The food ok, we had the minestrone soup which was very oily (layer that covered the top, you can see in the pic) but did have a nice flavor. The lasagna was a little bit burnt but it was the bolognese sauce that was very bland (just a tomato paste flavor) that left something to be desired. This was also very oily as you can see in the pic. The 4 seasons pizza was ok and the salad was also pretty good. The staff was very friendly but service is slow despite not being busy so it does take awhile to get a drink order in, but the cocktails were made very well. Over-all it's a good looking spot, and a good option to hang out with friends and grab a drink but isn't my go to for Italian food.Parking: Plenty of parking in the garage that has access half a block down. The garage is 7' so if you have a taller vehicle it won't work and street parking is limited at this end of the complex
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
AM Johnston
Had a great meal tonight. Romi was an excellent server who answered our many questions and helped accommodate our various food preferences. From the caprese salad to desert and espresso all was wonderful. Thank you for a yummy and fun night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Darien Schuh
Great restaurant. 20% service fee hidden in there for our group of 5. Otherwise great food!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ken H.
Walked in with high hopes. I had just had dinner at one of my favorite Italian places in Seattle so was hoping to recreate that experience on the eastside.The menu looked legit, so we ordered salads and starters, plus I ordered a glass of Chianti. First complaint: Where is the bread with oil and balsamic?! The Caesar salads were large for half orders, and weren't anything special. I'm pretty sure my $15.00 glass of Chianti was some sort of low-end cab, but whatever. We had a hard time finding meat or cheese in the Arancini we ordered, and I've had better jarred marinara from the grocery store (was too sweet and flavorless). It seemed as though there was not a lot of care when breading the calamari as the bits were clumped together in huge masses of breading. I feel like the tarter and cocktail sauce was of the caliber of a fast food fish and chips place. Main course: Spaghetti Bolognese w/GF spaghetti - mediocre GF pasta, especially a let down since the GF pasta at last week's restaurant was awesome. Lasagne Bolognese - Not terrible and the Bolognese sauce was not bad, def very different from the marinara. Tortellini alla Panna - The sauce was fairly good and the torellini was OK, but the ham was like cheap grocery store lunch meat and didn't bring much flavor to the affair. Also missing: Where is the server with the grinder for fresh pepper?! All there is are diner style salt and pepper shakers. At this point I was going to go with 3 stars BUT....the next killed it all for me. The only thing I knew I wanted on the way there was Sambuca with coffee beans for dessert. NOPE!! Waiter comes back and says "Sorry, we're out" (down to 2 stars). OK, I'll have the Amaretto. Waiter comes back NOPE!!! "Sorry, we're out of that too, can I offer the Montenegro?" (down to 1 star). "No thanks, I'll go to the grocery store for some Sambuca on the way home". The kids wanted dessert, but there was no way I was ordering the Tiramisu or the Canolli, cuz by now I know it will suck, esp by the standards of last week's dessert. So I settled on them getting the Limoncello cake which you guessed it; was mediocre. The crusher came in the end when I saw the message on the bill "4% discount for cash payments" which who travels with that kind of cash and thanks for telling me NOW? Then I read in some of these reviews that it's actually a 4% surcharge on credit card purchases! THANKS for pissing in my ear and trying to tell me it's raining!! Finally, the atmosphere is sterile and has no real old country Italian feel, and the serving is generic at best. I will not be coming back to Zio Sal and will spread word of mouth that this place is really an imposter for Italian. Anyone who knows the true Italian restaurant experience will know the difference, especially for their price for the real Italian experience. Give your money to the people who are doing it correctly, this place certainly is not.
Melissa Ledford
It’s a shame because the story of Zio Sal is cool. The food should be good and representative of the region of Tuscany, but it is not even close. The carbonara was sticky with excess bacon, never thought i would have a complaint about too much bacon… the caprese had soggy tomato’s and moldy basil. Did not know caprese could be bad… The meat skewers were ok at best. The tartufo is nothing like it is piazza navona in Rome, it’s basically chocolate ice cream… service was below average and I had to request another fork, staff does not check on tables or lookup. Video playback overhead of scenes of Italy, were awesome, the best part of the dining experience, wish the food would have held the same standard…
Very nice spaghetti carbonara.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spaghetti Carbonara
This is a decent moderately priced little place to eat some Italian food. The decor was lacking a bit but I like the large pictures of the old school Italian actors and actresses. I also like there’s outdoor seating around a fire pit. There’s a large wine selection. I was disappointed that chicken Parmesan was not on the menu but I found another chicken dish that had mushrooms, artichokes with a creamy white sauce I really enjoyed. Honestly from the appetizer to the main dish everything was good, it’s just the atmosphere was lack luster a little but I could eat there again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good food, service and nice surroundings. Will definitely go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
$19 for two small pieces of bruschetta, good carbonara decent pizza a bit
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spaghetti Carbonara
We have eaten at Zio Sal a few times now and really enjoy it. This latest time I had the focaccia bread then the lasagna bolognese and finished with a cannoli and espresso. Everything was delicious! They offer first and second courses for more options.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cannoli, Lasagna Bolognese
Valentina greeted us, provided excellent service, and recommended a bottle of Carmignano Capezzana which was a good choice. The cup of minestrone soup was satisfying along with thick slices of focaccia bread. (I'm often not a fan of focaccia bread but theirs was tasty.) We ordered Pollo and Vitello A Tuo Piacere for our entrees, selecting the creamy and rich gornonzola sauce. Definitely a good place for a memorable date night!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
The guy behind the bar was very nice and friendly. We had a nice time. The quality of the food for the price is more there. Caesar salad price is very high and it's like from Pizza Hut. The pasta dishes were ok but not worth the high price. The pizza was mid at best. The service was great and they have a good wine list. Would have been higher rating if the value was there.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Food tasted just above average and portions were too small for the price. We spent $70 for 2 entrees + 1 drink and had to come home and eat again to fill our stomach.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The food was disappointedly flavorless. The saffron risotto tasted like there was made in a seafood/crab reduction. The lasagna bolognese was equally as bland. Could barely salvage it with salt and cracked pepper. The server was nice and tried to correct by offering to switch out the plates, but given the lack of taste in the previous dishes, there was little hope the substitute would work.It may be an off night for the cook, but this is definitely not old country Italian tastes
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Good food best of all the oil and vinegar oh my gosh it was good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The atmosphere of this location is nice, the fire table out front is a nice touch as well. The food ok, we had the minestrone soup which was very oily (layer that covered the top, you can see in the pic) but did have a nice flavor. The lasagna was a little bit burnt but it was the bolognese sauce that was very bland (just a tomato paste flavor) that left something to be desired. This was also very oily as you can see in the pic. The 4 seasons pizza was ok and the salad was also pretty good. The staff was very friendly but service is slow despite not being busy so it does take awhile to get a drink order in, but the cocktails were made very well. Over-all it's a good looking spot, and a good option to hang out with friends and grab a drink but isn't my go to for Italian food.Parking: Plenty of parking in the garage that has access half a block down. The garage is 7' so if you have a taller vehicle it won't work and street parking is limited at this end of the complex
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Had a great meal tonight. Romi was an excellent server who answered our many questions and helped accommodate our various food preferences. From the caprese salad to desert and espresso all was wonderful. Thank you for a yummy and fun night.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great restaurant. 20% service fee hidden in there for our group of 5. Otherwise great food!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Walked in with high hopes. I had just had dinner at one of my favorite Italian places in Seattle so was hoping to recreate that experience on the eastside.The menu looked legit, so we ordered salads and starters, plus I ordered a glass of Chianti. First complaint: Where is the bread with oil and balsamic?! The Caesar salads were large for half orders, and weren't anything special. I'm pretty sure my $15.00 glass of Chianti was some sort of low-end cab, but whatever. We had a hard time finding meat or cheese in the Arancini we ordered, and I've had better jarred marinara from the grocery store (was too sweet and flavorless). It seemed as though there was not a lot of care when breading the calamari as the bits were clumped together in huge masses of breading. I feel like the tarter and cocktail sauce was of the caliber of a fast food fish and chips place. Main course: Spaghetti Bolognese w/GF spaghetti - mediocre GF pasta, especially a let down since the GF pasta at last week's restaurant was awesome. Lasagne Bolognese - Not terrible and the Bolognese sauce was not bad, def very different from the marinara. Tortellini alla Panna - The sauce was fairly good and the torellini was OK, but the ham was like cheap grocery store lunch meat and didn't bring much flavor to the affair. Also missing: Where is the server with the grinder for fresh pepper?! All there is are diner style salt and pepper shakers. At this point I was going to go with 3 stars BUT....the next killed it all for me. The only thing I knew I wanted on the way there was Sambuca with coffee beans for dessert. NOPE!! Waiter comes back and says "Sorry, we're out" (down to 2 stars). OK, I'll have the Amaretto. Waiter comes back NOPE!!! "Sorry, we're out of that too, can I offer the Montenegro?" (down to 1 star). "No thanks, I'll go to the grocery store for some Sambuca on the way home". The kids wanted dessert, but there was no way I was ordering the Tiramisu or the Canolli, cuz by now I know it will suck, esp by the standards of last week's dessert. So I settled on them getting the Limoncello cake which you guessed it; was mediocre. The crusher came in the end when I saw the message on the bill "4% discount for cash payments" which who travels with that kind of cash and thanks for telling me NOW? Then I read in some of these reviews that it's actually a 4% surcharge on credit card purchases! THANKS for pissing in my ear and trying to tell me it's raining!! Finally, the atmosphere is sterile and has no real old country Italian feel, and the serving is generic at best. I will not be coming back to Zio Sal and will spread word of mouth that this place is really an imposter for Italian. Anyone who knows the true Italian restaurant experience will know the difference, especially for their price for the real Italian experience. Give your money to the people who are doing it correctly, this place certainly is not.
It’s a shame because the story of Zio Sal is cool. The food should be good and representative of the region of Tuscany, but it is not even close. The carbonara was sticky with excess bacon, never thought i would have a complaint about too much bacon… the caprese had soggy tomato’s and moldy basil. Did not know caprese could be bad… The meat skewers were ok at best. The tartufo is nothing like it is piazza navona in Rome, it’s basically chocolate ice cream… service was below average and I had to request another fork, staff does not check on tables or lookup. Video playback overhead of scenes of Italy, were awesome, the best part of the dining experience, wish the food would have held the same standard…
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1