Wow. The valentines night was an absolute scam. Literally soggy pancakes with some gravy. A tasteless butter lettuce salad (with one orange slice). A decent cooked beef piece, with some sub-par sauce. And then a wacky angel cake that was thrown onto plate like we're birds in a park.
DesignChic
WAS (past tense) previously my favorite pasta restaurant. Have visited multiple times! While the food has been consistency good in terms of flavor and execution, in my most recent visit, I was disappointed by the reduced menu options and significantly smaller food portions, specifically for their pastas. I'm unsure when this restaurant change occurred, as it had been a few months since my last visit, but for the price of the entrees it's no longer worth it for me. I brought a few female friends who have never tried this restaurant and I was a little embarrassed that the portion size was so "small" even for us. It was a child's portion size of food. I'm sorry, but if you can get handmade pasta with high-quality ingredients from Pasta Casalinga for a more approachable price with double the portion size (aka enough food to comfortably feed an average adult), then the only thing EXTRA you're getting from Artusi is a cocktail menu and ambiance. Very typical Seattle to charge extra for "atmosphere" while a group of women leave the restaurant hungry. I know it's a recession, but c'mon man...
Nice happy hour food and drinks. Unfortunately our waitress kept trying to take away our plates while there was still food on them. Seemed like they were in a rush to flip our table. Also we were sat by the door which can be cold in the winter.
Bobster
really just a great restaurant. wonderful food, very reasonable price, great ambiance, very friendly and helpful service. very accommodating of our requests. now my favorite restaurant in Seattle.
One of my favorite spots! Delicious everything, stellar service. My only complaint is the portion sizes are a little ridiculous. I received nine pieces of pasta in my “entree”. However they were nine incredibly amazing pieces of pasta.
Wait staff was friendly and helpful, but delivery of food was slow. Portion sizes are ridiculously small and unsatisfying. The tiny amount of food was tasty...but weird. How do you serve a bolognese sauce without even a hint of tomato?
Notdogfriendlyplace
Ambiance could improve. lighting over tables is harsh and unwelcoming. I have a service animal with documentation and I was confronted and asked to describe what service she performs in a confrontational way. It was embarrassing and almost ruined the evening.
OffnightatMajestic
Disappointed that my pasta dish (Bolognese) was quite small, and that the noodles seemed barely cooked with very little sauce. If this was al dente then I'll take mine mushy. Very low value for $23. In addition, the server did not know the wine list. Seriously? Best thing were the cocktails.
Ayala B.
Ok, I've eaten well this week, but DAMN! I'm so glad this is the note I was left with. I had the short rib pasta which was PHENOMENAL. The pasta was obviously house made, attention to detail and the care of food was unmatched. Then...the desserts! Let's talk about the desserts!!!!! Tiramisu, always a classic go to but this one was RUM forward in the best way possible. The sorbet (black tea orange or something like that), interesting and complex! The semi-freddo dessert with cherries and chocolate, yes please! All of it was so damn good. Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm bringing my whole team here.
Paris N.
We initially had plans to attend dinner at spinasse, however the wait was about at hour and they recommended us to check out their sister business next door. Initially the host sat us down at a table near the door, but after I requested if we could sit at an open table further back, he agreed with a response of "sure! Let's please you." Waiter was patient enough to explain all the pastas on the menu - granted there are only 4-5 to choose from. Expect portions to on the smaller side for the price you pay.
Artusi was a near perfect dining experience offering a modern and lively approach to Italian food. We certainly came for the pasta, but was quite impressed but nearly everything else: the short rib is an absolute must, the pork medallions, the clams, the tiramisu - just splendid. Although we ordered a bottle of wine, I enjoyed trusting the bartender with whatever cocktail they served us between plates (they knew exactly what they were doing and prepared our palette in a fun boozy way). Our server was my only turn off. We asked to order whatever was best, and they encouraged us to order the gnocchi without the porchetta as they were vegan (thank goodness we didn't listen). I don't ever want to see that omelette thing again, and please just know what a Syrah is.
Scott W.
Still fabulous and delicious. This place is better than Seattle deserves. Don't believe me? Order the butter lettuce salad and a drink. That's it. You'll get a few greens on a plate and feel like you regret reading this Yelp review. And then take a bite and realize that even the Artusi preparation of butter lettuce destroys any comparable "Italian" place outside of Spinasse and Altura in the city. I have never had a bad meal at this local treasure. My only complaint it that they have redesigned the interior of the place to, I assume, make room for more seats. The previous design of the restaurant may have been less functional but the vibe was way better and now it's just O.K. Still, you'll find very few meals as good as this one in Seattle.
Anna L.
I came here for the valentine's day dinner (set meal ~$65/pp) and it was not the most exciting 4 course meal. I felt like the items were not super creative, nor presented in the best way for the price. The food itself just tasted ok, though not bad and also super small. We shared 1 raviolo with 4 little droplets of filling for 2 people LOL it was sooo small. We wanted more!! We also did the drink tasting set, which was around $35 and this was pretty cool, but I only liked 1 drink (the cocktail). Anyways... I probably wouldn't come back for any set dinner plans.
Jay C.
Had dinner here for the first time with my wife & daughter. 1.) Decent ambiance (****) 2.) Staff was helpful (****) 3.) Food was very tasty (appetizer + 3 meals) (****) 4.) Food portions: appetizer (****) main dinners (*) Very disappointed in dinner portions. They were essentially slightly larger appetizer size. While I'm not a fan of the wheel barrow size portions of some restaurants, either, for a basic noodle dish, I expected a more "meal" size portion for the $20 price (I had the Pici) I'm not sure I'd immediately return to Artusi.
Sayaka Roth
I highly recommend coming here for happy hour! Delicious food and cocktails, good service, nice interior design, and reasonable prices. I also love that they focus on quality over quantity. The large windows make Artusi the perfect spot for spring and summer.
Wow. The valentines night was an absolute scam. Literally soggy pancakes with some gravy. A tasteless butter lettuce salad (with one orange slice). A decent cooked beef piece, with some sub-par sauce. And then a wacky angel cake that was thrown onto plate like we're birds in a park.
WAS (past tense) previously my favorite pasta restaurant. Have visited multiple times! While the food has been consistency good in terms of flavor and execution, in my most recent visit, I was disappointed by the reduced menu options and significantly smaller food portions, specifically for their pastas. I'm unsure when this restaurant change occurred, as it had been a few months since my last visit, but for the price of the entrees it's no longer worth it for me. I brought a few female friends who have never tried this restaurant and I was a little embarrassed that the portion size was so "small" even for us. It was a child's portion size of food. I'm sorry, but if you can get handmade pasta with high-quality ingredients from Pasta Casalinga for a more approachable price with double the portion size (aka enough food to comfortably feed an average adult), then the only thing EXTRA you're getting from Artusi is a cocktail menu and ambiance. Very typical Seattle to charge extra for "atmosphere" while a group of women leave the restaurant hungry. I know it's a recession, but c'mon man...
Nice happy hour food and drinks. Unfortunately our waitress kept trying to take away our plates while there was still food on them. Seemed like they were in a rush to flip our table. Also we were sat by the door which can be cold in the winter.
really just a great restaurant. wonderful food, very reasonable price, great ambiance, very friendly and helpful service. very accommodating of our requests. now my favorite restaurant in Seattle.
One of my favorite spots! Delicious everything, stellar service. My only complaint is the portion sizes are a little ridiculous. I received nine pieces of pasta in my “entree”. However they were nine incredibly amazing pieces of pasta.
Wait staff was friendly and helpful, but delivery of food was slow. Portion sizes are ridiculously small and unsatisfying. The tiny amount of food was tasty...but weird. How do you serve a bolognese sauce without even a hint of tomato?
Ambiance could improve. lighting over tables is harsh and unwelcoming. I have a service animal with documentation and I was confronted and asked to describe what service she performs in a confrontational way. It was embarrassing and almost ruined the evening.
Disappointed that my pasta dish (Bolognese) was quite small, and that the noodles seemed barely cooked with very little sauce. If this was al dente then I'll take mine mushy. Very low value for $23. In addition, the server did not know the wine list. Seriously? Best thing were the cocktails.
Ok, I've eaten well this week, but DAMN! I'm so glad this is the note I was left with. I had the short rib pasta which was PHENOMENAL. The pasta was obviously house made, attention to detail and the care of food was unmatched. Then...the desserts! Let's talk about the desserts!!!!! Tiramisu, always a classic go to but this one was RUM forward in the best way possible. The sorbet (black tea orange or something like that), interesting and complex! The semi-freddo dessert with cherries and chocolate, yes please! All of it was so damn good. Next time I'm in Seattle, I'm bringing my whole team here.
We initially had plans to attend dinner at spinasse, however the wait was about at hour and they recommended us to check out their sister business next door. Initially the host sat us down at a table near the door, but after I requested if we could sit at an open table further back, he agreed with a response of "sure! Let's please you." Waiter was patient enough to explain all the pastas on the menu - granted there are only 4-5 to choose from. Expect portions to on the smaller side for the price you pay.
Restaurantji Recommends
Artusi was a near perfect dining experience offering a modern and lively approach to Italian food. We certainly came for the pasta, but was quite impressed but nearly everything else: the short rib is an absolute must, the pork medallions, the clams, the tiramisu - just splendid. Although we ordered a bottle of wine, I enjoyed trusting the bartender with whatever cocktail they served us between plates (they knew exactly what they were doing and prepared our palette in a fun boozy way). Our server was my only turn off. We asked to order whatever was best, and they encouraged us to order the gnocchi without the porchetta as they were vegan (thank goodness we didn't listen). I don't ever want to see that omelette thing again, and please just know what a Syrah is.
Still fabulous and delicious. This place is better than Seattle deserves. Don't believe me? Order the butter lettuce salad and a drink. That's it. You'll get a few greens on a plate and feel like you regret reading this Yelp review. And then take a bite and realize that even the Artusi preparation of butter lettuce destroys any comparable "Italian" place outside of Spinasse and Altura in the city. I have never had a bad meal at this local treasure. My only complaint it that they have redesigned the interior of the place to, I assume, make room for more seats. The previous design of the restaurant may have been less functional but the vibe was way better and now it's just O.K. Still, you'll find very few meals as good as this one in Seattle.
I came here for the valentine's day dinner (set meal ~$65/pp) and it was not the most exciting 4 course meal. I felt like the items were not super creative, nor presented in the best way for the price. The food itself just tasted ok, though not bad and also super small. We shared 1 raviolo with 4 little droplets of filling for 2 people LOL it was sooo small. We wanted more!! We also did the drink tasting set, which was around $35 and this was pretty cool, but I only liked 1 drink (the cocktail). Anyways... I probably wouldn't come back for any set dinner plans.
Had dinner here for the first time with my wife & daughter. 1.) Decent ambiance (****) 2.) Staff was helpful (****) 3.) Food was very tasty (appetizer + 3 meals) (****) 4.) Food portions: appetizer (****) main dinners (*) Very disappointed in dinner portions. They were essentially slightly larger appetizer size. While I'm not a fan of the wheel barrow size portions of some restaurants, either, for a basic noodle dish, I expected a more "meal" size portion for the $20 price (I had the Pici) I'm not sure I'd immediately return to Artusi.
I highly recommend coming here for happy hour! Delicious food and cocktails, good service, nice interior design, and reasonable prices. I also love that they focus on quality over quantity. The large windows make Artusi the perfect spot for spring and summer.