Spinasse

Just ate here for the first time with my husband for a late birthday celebration and was delighted (and left very full)! The place was decorated beautifully for the holidays, which gave it a festive atmosphere. Our server was personable, kind, funny, and efficient. We opted for the option that let's you try every dish on the menu (minus the 2 sides and desserts). Such a great price for the amount of food! We particularly enjoyed the Russian salad and the trout (perfectly cooked and seasoned), and were delightfully surprised by the sausage in onions dish (usually my husband and I don't like sausage). The beef cheeks were also good, but we were pretty full at this point. Everything was cooked according to how it should be and seasoned beautifully. Will return!

DO THE TASTING MENU. You basically get to try every item except dessert. It's phenomenal. Pace yourself so that you can enjoy everything; it will be tough to pick a favorite. The food and service are superb here. I honestly cannot rave about it enough.

I guess no one from Spinasse is reading these reviews--because we also made reservations for a birthday celebration. A very special celebration (80) and this venue was highly recommended for exceptional food. Exceptional food is no excuse for treating people so poorly. Our reservation was for 5:30--we arrived early. They refused to seat us until 5:30. They shuffled us over to the corner to watch pasta dry. The table they sat us at was just sitting there waiting. We could have sat, had a drink, but no. We waited. Then they insisted we order everything at once, and they would bring it out. That's fine, understood. When ordering, the server insisted we weren't ordering enough pasta and told us to order more. We said we were fine. They sent extra pasta as a gift. That was nice. They also sent an extra dessert for the birthday. Then, abruptly, the manager came over and told us (at 8:30 p.m. mind you) that we needed to vacate the table, as they had other reservations coming in. They started clearing plates and glasses. They left my friend with bottled water and no glass to drink it out of. They didn't offer to box up the desserts we weren't finished with. When we didn't leave immediately, the manager came over again and basically said we had to leave. It was 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday night. We saw no other people coming in, no one waiting. It was the rudest behavior I have ever been treated to in an expensive joint. Looks like this is common for this place. There are so many other places in Seattle that appreciate the business and aren't pretentious about what they offer. This was my last meal at Spinasse, and I would not recommend it for any type of celebration. Here's a thought--if you have a table time limit--let people know in advance--and don't accept reservations for a birthday celebration if you're trying to turn tables.

Not even if i lost myself in the alaska wilderness for years and this would be the only place to eat i would go back to this place. I beg the owners to please take away from their advertising that it is an italian restaurant, please please and please stop false advertising.