Inspired by the warm, traditional Tuscan hilltop town by the same name, Volterra features the bold-flavored, Tuscan-inspired menu of award-winning Chef Don Curtiss.
Chef Curtiss has a long history and following in the Northwest. He received acclaim as "One of America's Most Innovative Chefs", from Wine Spectator while serving as the opening chef of Andaluca. He was also named "One of America's Top 26 Chefs" by Italian Cooking and Living.
Volterra's dining room is inviting with rich red walls; chocolate-brown leather and textiles; and dark woods offset by alabaster light fixtures hand-carved in Volterra, Italy.
"Don Curtiss' lush, imaganitive eats bring a breath of fresh air to the local Italian restaurant scene." Zagat America's Top Restaurants 2006
"That fine tuned quality is part of the welcome suprise that is Volterra." Nancy Leson, Seattle Times
The Scene Named after the Tuscan hill town where the owners were married in 2004, this upscale trattoria re-creates the town's atmosphere through framed photos, Italianate wall sconces and an elegant marble floor. Well-heeled patrons sit at tables in the large dining room and on the tree-canopied outdoor patio; seats in the bar attract a more casual crowd. Servers are very friendly, almost to the point of obsequiousness.
The Food The menu centers on traditional Tuscan dishes, including olive oil soup and tomato and bread salad. An indulgent appetizer is the creamy polenta custard glazed with wild mushroom ragu--like a savory lava cake, the inside oozes fontina. The house specialty, wild boar tenderloin with gorgonzola sauce, comes achingly tender and accompanied by fingerlings. Pastas are house-made and tossed with lush sauces like lamb ragu. For dessert, the spiced Panforte di Siena cake comes perfectly paired with a dessert wine.
We have visited Volterra 3 times hoping the satisfactory would change to an outstanding, but it has yet to impress us.
The food is good, not excellent, the atmosphere is nice, but the prices are extremely high for the amount of poor service you get.
I am more than happy to pay for service alone with semi-decent food. But it is the other way around. The food is actually good--but the service is horrible.
I don't think we will be back. The 3rd time was the charm...and the atmosphere is not enough to keep us returning.
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes /
No
(you must log in or
sign up to vote)
Latest reviews by Citysearch:
(read all 197 reviews
on Citysearch)
The Bar Outshines the Restaurant
By Zak
I had relatively high expectations. Just as another reviewer noted, I too have been to Volterra, and this is not that food. That said; we were built up very well at the bar for our mild disappointment in the food. It has been about two years since I have been back, but the signature cocktails and the cheese plate we had still gave me lasting impressions. They also make an incredible cappuccino.
My advivce is to go and have a casual experience with a date and get sloshed at the bar.
Pros: Good drinks and appetizers. Cons: The food was decent but not worth the price.
Posted 05/22/09
I went on a date there and it was fab
By corepilates
I was there last night for dinner and had a great time. The waiter tended to our needs as my date and I sat and chatted taking our sweet time.. He never once made us feel rushed and the food was great.
Two cocktails and i was feeling a nice little buzz so thanks to the bar tender...
i would recommend Volterra
Pros: old seattle feel
Posted 05/20/09
About as Italian as a Shamrock
By RetChef
I hate for the first review I write, after moving here and signing up with citysearch, to be a one-star business but that's the way it goes, I guess. As it happens, this is the first restaurant my new neighbors took me to. They all raved about the food but they also knew that I spent thirty+ years as a chef, so they were kinda holding their breath.
I don't want to waste a lot of words on this because A) I don't speak unkindly about other chefs easily and B) what I ate wasn't worth a lot of analysis. Let me just say that this restaurant is named after a real place in Italy; a beautiful hilltop town that sits next to the under-appreciated (by Americans) wine town of San Gimignano. I've been there several times, eaten the food, made the food for years, and still have friends there. This is NOT that food. This is over-thought, weird, artsy, pretentious faux-Italian food, no matter what Wine Spectator says. I've loved this food for decades and have found the occasional restaurant in which the chef was from there; one in St. Louis is among my favorite eateries in the country. But what was on my plate here had some extremely silly and wild liberties taken with it. Everything from the appetizers to the desserts showed a hand that takes itself way too seriously and the staff, while polite, treats this stuff as though it had come down from The Mount on a platter carried by Moses. I tasted nothing that had any real skill or thought attached.
I was told that Seattle is not a great restaurant town like New Orleans, NYC, or San Francisco. Judging from some of the reviews I've read of this place, I can see why.
Pros: Nice part of Ballard Cons: Food, service, BATHROOMS!!!
Posted 03/26/09
Great service and even better food
By GolfGirl73
I am surprised at the recent posts regarding bad service and food because I just had a great experience last weekend. I had been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time and think it's one of the better restaurants in town. The tables are close together and it was noisy at times but I liked that it wasn't another pretentious wannabe hip restaurant. Our server was very knowledgeable, pointed out her favorite items and suggested wine pairings based on my preferences. I had the lamb chop which the server recommended be cooked medium (she said the chef tends to undercook the meats). Although, I would have preferred something a little more rare it was still delicious. My friend had the wild boar cooked medium rare and it was rare but very good. I would order that again! The portions were on the larger side so I had plenty to take home and overall I thought for the quality of food and experience, it's a very good value. I can't wait to go back again.
Pros: Great service, good value, wine list, cocktails Cons: Parking
Posted 02/05/09
Lovely restaurant; 5 stars w/o the wine list
By girasole55
I highly recommend this restaurant. It was cozy, the food was excellent, the service was attentive. In fact the food exceeded my expectations -- the menu descriptions don't do it justice! For a "fine dining" establishment, the prices were reasonable.
My only complaint is with the wine list, which is pricey. We were celebrating a special occasion, and let ourselves be talked into a more expensive bottle than we might normally order. It was decent, but it wasn't fabulous. Not worth the extra $$.
I would definitely go again.
