Al Boccalino

The first time I went to Al Boccalino, it was right after the legal ceremony of my wife and my marriage. Even though he was not open, he graciously allowed us to stay, but we couldn't because one of my friends was a vegetarian, and since he WAS allowing us to stay, he had only one thing to cook: a veal dish.

History aside, my wife and I were very curious about this place, and others are too by simply walking by the place, going to the waterfront. The mood inside is romantic and cozy, and there's at least three small dining areas. Frank Sinatra was playing and that just brought back my memories of growing up in Chicago. We ordered the Risotto Riserve wine and I had the Raviolo, which was crab encased in home-made ravioli topped with a wonderful Pistachio creme sauce that was heavenly. My wife had the penne and we asked if Luigi (the owner and chef) could subsitute the tomato sauce for a creme sauce (my wife's favorite).

The result was heaven. Normally when I cook a alfredo sauce, the flavors are powerful, but his was subtle, and the pistachio was simply amazing! The natural crab taste blended perfectly with the sauce, and my wife's dish was awesome too. The lemon flavored noodles mixed perfectly with the creme sauce she had. Combined with the atmosphere and the cozy staff who know regulars, we were hooked. No other Italian place in the Seattle area will do anymore, and dare I say my own cooking now has to rise to the occasion!

This was a perfect occasion!

Pros: everything

Cons: parking (limited free parking)

Posted 09/13/08

If you're looking for great Italian food and a fun experience, this is the place to go. First of all, the service was different from anything I have encountered, and I loved it! The owner and servers were very outgoing and conversational. This made for a comfortable and enjoyable setting. We were asked if there were any limitations on what we would like to eat (this was good because there were vegetarians with us). Soon after, we were served two amazing appetizers. One was a polenta with creamy Gorgonzola, the other was a dish of chantrelle mushrooms in a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. For the main course we had a wonderful pasta dish with an aurora sauce, as far as meat goes we had chicken, prosciutto, and Italian sausage, and the vegetarian dish was amazing but I honestly do not know what it was. Dinner was phenomenal, the servers were not too "in your face" yet very accommodating (ex. getting drinks, clearing plates, etc). We also ordered dessert, where we got a sampler of spumoni, tiramisu, chocolate terrine, and strawberries in a special sauce. Overall, the food was outstanding and I would definitely go back just for that. I also enjoyed the fact that we didn't have to waste time with menus, we were simply served some of the best Italian food I have ever had. I thought the atmosphere was great and I will be visiting them again.

Pros: Italian food, service, atmosphere

Cons: A bit on the expensive side

Posted 02/10/08

For a fun night out with great atmosphere and terrific Italian Food we highly recommend Al Boccalino. Luigi is great fun and his wait staff is terrific. We love to turn the ordering and wine selection over to Luigi and many meals later we have yet to be disappointed. This is not an inexpensive place to dine but it is always memorable and delicious!!!

Pros: ambience, fun atmosphere, good service

Cons: none I can think of

Posted 10/13/07

We visited this spot for dinner this weekend as walk ins. Upon entry, we were both charmed and confused by the owner's and server's over the top accents and bold personality, then unsettled as we were asked where we were from (I guess pioneer square is a touristy part of town). About 5 minutes after arriving we placed our wine order, 3 separate glasses of wines, and the server changed the order to a house chianti. As the bottle was being opened, the server told us it was $35. While the wine was good, I consider it incredibly presumptious to order patrons to change thier order to a totally different type of wine, and an expensive chianti at that. After pouring the wine, our menus were removed and we were told to trust the server for our food choices. We had a fair idea that perhaps this would result in a high bill at the end of the night, but for whatever reason decided to go along. We were served appetizer plates of fiori di zucchi, and then one plate of pasta with meat to share. While all of the food was fine (but doused in oil), we were charged about $50 a person at the end of the evening. From what we saw of the menu, a pasta dish and an appetizer with a glass of wine and americano after would have normally cost about $30. In seattle, $50 can go much further towards purchasing delicious italian that it did here. I don't think its ever appropriate to take the reins from a customer unless you are going to give them a deal or the customer offers the reins up. We were placed in an uncomfortable position and told to trust the server and owner, and regretted it.

Pros: Good italian ambience

Cons: Pushy service

Posted 06/17/07

I planned a private winemaker dinner at al Boccalino recently and could not have been more impressed. Owner Carlos Tager and his staff were all fantastic, both in the planning stages and in their service the evening of the dinner. My Grilled Salmon with Seedless Red Grapes in a Red Wine Sauce was excellent and I was told by more than one person that the Breast of Chicken with a Crimini Mushroom, Proscuitto and Cognac Cream Sauce was THE best chicken dish they had ever had (not on the regular menu, but ask for it!). Everyone in the group was planning on returning!

Pros: Great staff, food and atmosphere.

Cons: Reservations needed for Seahawks/Mariners nites

Posted 06/11/06

Entertaining corporate clients who wanted a "unique" italian experience.

We are all wonderfully surprised at our experience - great service - fabulous food - good selection of foods with great prices.

Will recommend you - and be certain to see you again.

The Page's

Posted 12/15/05

My reservation for 6 adults and 1 youth was to celebrate a Birthday. The ambience and location we found as advertised Intimate Italian restaurant in historic Seattle. The Anti Pasti and Insalate e Verdure were excellent. Unfortunately thats where the good news ends. Service was lousy and all main courses were very disappointing in presentation and quality e.g., my special Risotto w/prawns was served in a bowl with very few prawns and sprinkled with plenty of parsley to cover an otherwise poor presentation, my nieces Lasagna was inferior to Costcos, my wife and daughters Linguine w/clams were average at best and again plenty of parsley etc., etc., etc. Their imported Italian wine is over priced and finally they did nothing special for the Birthday girl even though they were made aware of the occasion. Very disappointing. We all went back to our Hotel for dessert and coffee.

Pros: appetizers, salads, ambience

Cons: Service, quality, price

Posted 11/12/05

We scheduled a ladies lunch here on a Friday and it was a delight. The penne was a bit salty for my taste but the ravioli was excellent. The service was wonderful too!

Pros: menu, service

Cons: parking, small

Posted 10/13/02

Had heard good things about Al Boccalino and I am glad that I decided to listen to the recommendations. We had a wonderful meal, great service and will definately return. The restaurant is very small, because there is a big group of people on one side it was noisy at first, but after they left it was very quite and the tables filled up quickly so be sure to have reservations or get there early.

Pros: service, bread, value

Cons: not enough choices

Posted 09/25/02