Went for a friend's birthday in early December. There was an unexpected power outage; however, the staff did everything they could to ensure things were great. We enjoyed the dinner, desserts and drinks they were able to serve without using their ovens or anything requiring electricity.
We received our bill and 2 couples paid in cash with the balance to be entered on our credit card. Without power they couldn't run our card so just took the number down and would run it once power was restored. A few days later, the charge posted to our card with an extra $11 charge. Gratuity was added to our check due to the size of our party. We didn't have a receipt or any supporting evidence so the credit card company wouldn't do anything. I emailed the contact address on their website and have been ghosted by the staff. Unfortunately our first visit will definitely be our last. Lesson learned, use cash or make sure the power is on so they can run your card there. It's sad cause I wanted to like this place. Good thing there are other Italian places in WS.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 1
Alex Fernandez
Small Italian with big world charm and good food. Small quiet location away from the crowd at Alki but just across from the water and some amazing driftwood.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
LaMonica Richard
Incredible place for foodies and great cocktails. Every dish has been amazing but recommend the boar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Monique Allen
The food here is always awesome. Service is hit or miss but it seems like they hire a lot of local college or high school kids so it’s sort of to be expected.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Brian Lippert
Best Italian in Seattle. No question.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jamie Kinney
La Rustica has been one of our more frequently patronized restaurants in West Seattle for more than a decade. That ended this evening.
For tonight’s dinner, I made the mistake of ordering La Rustica’s Fettuccine alla Carbonara and expected a decadent pancetta and pasta dish with a rich egg yolk and Parmesan sauce. Instead, I was served a massive bowl of noodles that were fettuccine-shaped but had an unpleasant taste unlike any other fettuccine I have ordered or made myself in the past. The pancetta was abundant, but not crispy and there was a complete lack of any sauce. No rich velvety egg and Parmesan blended with reserved pasta water and pepper, just slightly damp pasta with pieces of pancetta. It tasted terrible and I put my fork down after taking two small bites.
When the server asked if we were enjoying our food, I explained that there was something wrong with my pasta. They asked if I wanted a “side of something” to make up for whatever was wrong with the dish. I’m not sure if they were offering a small bowl of sauce that I could put on the “carbonara” or if they were offering some vegetables or something else as an alternative. I declined the offer.
The owner of the restaurant came to our table a minute or two later to ask what was wrong with my meal. I explained that the pasta had an odd taste and texture and that there was no sauce on the pasta. I used my fork to move the fettuccine around and show her that the bottom of the bowl was completely devoid of anything resembling a sauce and she responded by trying to explain how carbonara is made. I understand that carbonara is a mixture of egg yolks, freshly grated Parmesan, black pepper, and some of the salty water that was used to cook the pasta. This was not that. It was a lack of anything beyond the pancetta and a bit of dampness from the pasta water.
Mistakes happen. I like to cook and have made carbonara several times for my family and friends. Every now and then a sauce can “break” or someone might get too little or too much sauce with their pasta if you aren’t careful in how you portion out servings on plates.
When a mistake happens at a restaurant where dinner for two can easily exceed $100 or even $150, I expect a certain level of customer service. The server and owner should have offered to replace my entree with something else or take the cost of the meal off our bill. If they are being stingy, they could have potentially charged me $10 for the two breadsticks and small side salad that I ate. Instead, they simply presented the full bill and told us to have a nice evening.
I did not have a nice evening thanks to La Rustica and am not planning to return to what used to be one of our favorite restaurants.
I don’t like complaint about my food to restaurant staff or owners and I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews. I’m writing this in hopes that others avoid a negative experience like the one I had this evening and to potentially inspire the current owners to reflect on how they handle the inevitable situations where an easily-corrected mistake has occurred.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Mary Adams
Extremely salty food and even saltier service. Not sure why people love this place so much, hard pass.
I will use all the people who gave this place 5 stars to look for other places they liked to avoid.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Eye Candy
The Vegetarian Linguine Alla Vongole was superb! I highly recommend this dish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brandon Kasl
Overall, it was a solid Italian meal, but not worth the money. There are much better options for the cost just down the road.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Des Smith (askdes)
La Rustica was fabulous! The food, the atmosphere and maybe most of all, the service. Our food was outstanding. We loved the restaurant and from the young gentleman who greeted us as we walked in the door and talked to us about our drive to the restaurant to our assistant waiters and our head waiter. The service was some of the best we've ever had. Everyone was kind, attentive and very happy to help with suggestions and talk about various food & wine items. In this world of big box restaurants and fast food joints, La Rustica stands out with its old world world family-owned establishment, charm service and some of the best food we've had in a very long time! 11 out of 10 Stars ✨
The waitress Rosie was amazing. You may recognize her from her hat. It was my friend's birthday and she went above and beyond to make his experience memorable. This place is a must. Food was fantastic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Reuben Moore
The best meal I've had in years, the pesto salmon filet. Manicotti was excellent. The Tiramasu was incredible.
Austin Toth
Phenomenal food and service!
Dianna Lynn Smith
We are from Lake Oswego Oregon, and Palm Springs California and I wish we had this restaurant in our neighborhoods. Everything about this restaurant is sublime. Be careful with the bread, I could make a meal out of it with a glass of wine. Max our server was has attentive as he was last year. He took great care of us. What is most surprising is the fabulous food at such a reasonable price. Haven't experienced that in very many restaurants lately. Keep up the excellent work! Robert and Dianna
Ellen Weidner
Max took excellent care of us. We sat outside on a perfect evening celebrating our 35th anniversary. Food was delicious and ample servings. The mussels were a wonderful starter, the focaccia delish😋 Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Went for a friend's birthday in early December. There was an unexpected power outage; however, the staff did everything they could to ensure things were great. We enjoyed the dinner, desserts and drinks they were able to serve without using their ovens or anything requiring electricity.
We received our bill and 2 couples paid in cash with the balance to be entered on our credit card. Without power they couldn't run our card so just took the number down and would run it once power was restored. A few days later, the charge posted to our card with an extra $11 charge. Gratuity was added to our check due to the size of our party. We didn't have a receipt or any supporting evidence so the credit card company wouldn't do anything. I emailed the contact address on their website and have been ghosted by the staff. Unfortunately our first visit will definitely be our last. Lesson learned, use cash or make sure the power is on so they can run your card there. It's sad cause I wanted to like this place. Good thing there are other Italian places in WS.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 1
Small Italian with big world charm and good food. Small quiet location away from the crowd at Alki but just across from the water and some amazing driftwood.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Incredible place for foodies and great cocktails. Every dish has been amazing but recommend the boar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food here is always awesome. Service is hit or miss but it seems like they hire a lot of local college or high school kids so it’s sort of to be expected.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Best Italian in Seattle. No question.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
La Rustica has been one of our more frequently patronized restaurants in West Seattle for more than a decade. That ended this evening.
For tonight’s dinner, I made the mistake of ordering La Rustica’s Fettuccine alla Carbonara and expected a decadent pancetta and pasta dish with a rich egg yolk and Parmesan sauce. Instead, I was served a massive bowl of noodles that were fettuccine-shaped but had an unpleasant taste unlike any other fettuccine I have ordered or made myself in the past. The pancetta was abundant, but not crispy and there was a complete lack of any sauce. No rich velvety egg and Parmesan blended with reserved pasta water and pepper, just slightly damp pasta with pieces of pancetta. It tasted terrible and I put my fork down after taking two small bites.
When the server asked if we were enjoying our food, I explained that there was something wrong with my pasta. They asked if I wanted a “side of something” to make up for whatever was wrong with the dish. I’m not sure if they were offering a small bowl of sauce that I could put on the “carbonara” or if they were offering some vegetables or something else as an alternative. I declined the offer.
The owner of the restaurant came to our table a minute or two later to ask what was wrong with my meal. I explained that the pasta had an odd taste and texture and that there was no sauce on the pasta. I used my fork to move the fettuccine around and show her that the bottom of the bowl was completely devoid of anything resembling a sauce and she responded by trying to explain how carbonara is made. I understand that carbonara is a mixture of egg yolks, freshly grated Parmesan, black pepper, and some of the salty water that was used to cook the pasta. This was not that. It was a lack of anything beyond the pancetta and a bit of dampness from the pasta water.
Mistakes happen. I like to cook and have made carbonara several times for my family and friends. Every now and then a sauce can “break” or someone might get too little or too much sauce with their pasta if you aren’t careful in how you portion out servings on plates.
When a mistake happens at a restaurant where dinner for two can easily exceed $100 or even $150, I expect a certain level of customer service. The server and owner should have offered to replace my entree with something else or take the cost of the meal off our bill. If they are being stingy, they could have potentially charged me $10 for the two breadsticks and small side salad that I ate. Instead, they simply presented the full bill and told us to have a nice evening.
I did not have a nice evening thanks to La Rustica and am not planning to return to what used to be one of our favorite restaurants.
I don’t like complaint about my food to restaurant staff or owners and I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews. I’m writing this in hopes that others avoid a negative experience like the one I had this evening and to potentially inspire the current owners to reflect on how they handle the inevitable situations where an easily-corrected mistake has occurred.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Extremely salty food and even saltier service. Not sure why people love this place so much, hard pass.
I will use all the people who gave this place 5 stars to look for other places they liked to avoid.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
The Vegetarian Linguine Alla Vongole was superb! I highly recommend this dish!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Overall, it was a solid Italian meal, but not worth the money. There are much better options for the cost just down the road.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
La Rustica was fabulous! The food, the atmosphere and maybe most of all, the service. Our food was outstanding. We loved the restaurant and from the young gentleman who greeted us as we walked in the door and talked to us about our drive to the restaurant to our assistant waiters and our head waiter. The service was some of the best we've ever had. Everyone was kind, attentive and very happy to help with suggestions and talk about various food & wine items. In this world of big box restaurants and fast food joints, La Rustica stands out with its old world world family-owned establishment, charm service and some of the best food we've had in a very long time! 11 out of 10 Stars ✨
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The waitress Rosie was amazing. You may recognize her from her hat. It was my friend's birthday and she went above and beyond to make his experience memorable. This place is a must. Food was fantastic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best meal I've had in years, the pesto salmon filet. Manicotti was excellent.
The Tiramasu was incredible.
Phenomenal food and service!
We are from Lake Oswego Oregon, and Palm Springs California and I wish we had this restaurant in our neighborhoods. Everything about this restaurant is sublime. Be careful with the bread, I could make a meal out of it with a glass of wine. Max our server was has attentive as he was last year. He took great care of us. What is most surprising is the fabulous food at such a reasonable price. Haven't experienced that in very many restaurants lately. Keep up the excellent work!
Robert and Dianna
Max took excellent care of us. We sat outside
on a perfect evening celebrating our 35th anniversary. Food was delicious and ample servings. The mussels were a wonderful starter, the focaccia delish😋
Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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