Il Terrazzo Carmine

this restaurant is our new found favorite! Not only is the food excellent, the service is outstanding! The wait staff is attentive and creative. We love the decor....we will come back.

Posted 11/12/08

I have always liked this place. I have been eating here for 20 years. Yes, it seems expensive-but what decent restaurant isn't nowadays?

I have never had a bad meal here and the atmosphere is great. Ask the waiter to serve your table family style and they wil just serve your table the best things available in the kitchen that day.

Posted 09/14/08

This restaurant was recomanded to me, sadly enough, I do not understand what's all the fuss about. My appetizer was very oily and overall the flavor was lacking. For entree I got the halibut ($22!) and it did not taste like anything other than lemon and capers; the plate was poorly presented and the overcooked side vegetables were swimming on a bath of oil. The service was ok but nothing impressive. Like the rest of the menu, the wine list lacks variety and it is way overpriced.

Pros: None.

Cons: awful food!

Posted 04/30/08

The food was either too bland or too seasoned. I paid more than $10 for a canned tuna salad topped with salty anchovies, not to mention the overcooked pasta. My glass of wine tasted like it had been opened for a week. Service was nothing special. The dining room was crowded and loud; my chair got bumped all the times someone walked by our table. I am tired of places like this; overpriced places that thrive on the assumption that customers do not know what good food is.

Pros: none

Cons: where do I start?

Posted 04/29/08

Not worth the money trust me. It is overrated. The food was quite bland. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. I did not have any problems with the service like some other reviewers, but I did not like the food at all (and I know Italian food since I lived there for many years). This is yet another establishment that thrives by overcharging customers for food that can be purchases elsewhere at lower prices. This is a place for tourists on the run, and you know what future Seattle tourist? Ivar's is cheaper.
If you are looking for good Italian food try Barolo (not cheap but worth the money!)

Posted 04/28/08

Having tasted all levels of real Italian cuisine (I'm talking Italy! not america) IlTerrazzo does a superb job of recreating a ristorante experience. we had the dungeness crab bruschetta that was dressed simply with EVO, tomatoes, sea salt, basil and topped with fresh dungeness crab. the fagiole soup and grilled romaine salad were good but the phesant raviolis in demi glace and the roasted duck breast with amarena cherries soaked in grappa were the show stopper.My only critique would be that the skin on the duck could have been rendered a bit longer to make it crispier. we had a wonderfull vino nobile at a steal for around $50. I hope this place is around when i'm older and have more money. i will dine there as often as possible. the service is some of the best i have had in seattle.

Pros: great service and food

Cons: none

Posted 02/17/08

I have been going to Carmines for years and the food is AMAZING! Trained by Umberto, Carmines food is like comfort food, but Italian. The atmosphere is not pretentious, staff is always pleasent and helpful and the food... ohhh the food! Always my first pick for birthday or a family dinner. Simply perfect.

Posted 02/11/08

This restaurant has been a favorite of ours for years. The food, service and experience are consistently excellent. We dined here most recently in early January with friends and were struck by how flawless and unassuming the service and food were. The wait staff's timing is always perfect and noninvasive. We were greeted cordially by the owner, but not fawned over. And the food...everything was done to perfection. I highly recommend listening carefully to the specials of the day. They are excellent. Many of the mainstays on the menu are like soulfood. This is the type of restuarant where you can go and count on them to provide the dining experience so that you can concentrate on and enjoy the company of your dining companions.

Posted 02/08/07

Every bit of food I had was not seasoned well. The flavors are seriously lacking. The entire meal left me wondering why anyone would pay these prices for such below average food! I wonder if anyone tastes the dishes they serve. Perhaps they need a chef that has a good palate.
The appetizer of shrimp on crustini had no flavor. The salad with candied walnuts and grilled pancetta was ok, but needed a different dressing to pull the flavors together. I had one of their specials - saffron risotto with scallops. There was no saffron in that dish at all! Just tasted like butter risotto. Scallops were cooked well, but had a little sand in them. For desert, I had a pear tartlet. The only way I knew it was pears were due to the pear texture and seeing some fruit. It had the overpowering flavor of almond extract. I could have been eating marzipan for what that tasted like.
Restaurant is very dark and noisy, even with only a few tables full. Overall, I would never go back, even if someone else was paying!!! If you want to have an overpriced, so-so meal in disgusting Pioneer Square, this may be your place.

Cons: tasteless food or poor choices of flavors used, in Pioneer Square, overpriced

Posted 02/06/07

Il Terazzo Carmine is the quintessential Italian restaurant. The food is beautifully prepared using high quality ingredients and is simply delicious. The service may be taken by some as cold, however, I tend to see it as professional. There is no chit chat or friendly conversation, however, I don't go out to dinner to banter with the service staff. Most importantly, my wine and water glass are always full and the food is exquisite.

Posted 01/27/07

Exquisite food, magnificent presentation, ludicrous combinations, the greatest wine list on earth, the
owner seating the customers in an exacting friendly manner, the cheff delivering the main courses to the table, real Italian service and perhaps a little snooty, but that is how they are and if one knows it, one will enjoy it. It's how they really are and with food like this and and a wine list like that, as far as I am concerned, they have every right to be as snooty as they like and I will enjoy it. Thank God they are here, doing what they do.
Breffni

Posted 01/06/07

Carmine Smeraldo continues to offer the best italian food, service, and dining experience in Seattle. Long known for his demands and expectations of his staff he is there what seems 24 hours a day to insure they don't slip up. Every entree I have ordered has been divine. A nice unpretentious wine list and full bar. You are almost always seated at the time of your reservation. The neighborhood isn't the greatest after dark however they do have valet parking in the garage behind the restaurant. I always think of Carmine's first when I think of italian cuisine. You simply won't be disappointed.

Pros: Food, service

Cons: neighborhood

Posted 11/15/06

Just went here for lunch with a friend to celebrate a new job... what a fantastic dining experience. We were sharing an antipasto platter and salad for appetizers and the server divided them in two so that we could have separate plates. Then, for the entree, he did the same thing, so we didn't have to keep taking bites of each others food! And a perfect plum tart for dessert... YUM.

Pros: Impeccable service, delicious food

Cons: A little expensive, terrace is very loud

Posted 08/23/06

Absolutely love this place! Have been going here for years and I agree with another reviewer that it matches the authentic style of Northern Italy.

Pros: Prompt seating, friendly non-intrusive service

Cons: Terrace gets a little loud, but hey who wouldn't want to be outside on a beautiful Seattle day.

Posted 08/15/06

Food, athmosphere, wine list - everything was exellent! My wife lived in Italy for several years, and very skeptical about Italian food in US. But she loved that place and we for sure will become their regulars...10.11.05 - and we did!

Posted 10/10/05

My fiance took me to this restaurant for Valentine's Day. Wonderful space / ambiance, service was great, food was exquisite! Good portions for a gourmet restaurant. Hands down, the most authentic Italian food in Seattle.

Pros: Quality, Quality, Quality!

Cons: None!

Posted 02/14/05

Being a frequent traveler based out of New York, one thing I can count on in my travels is that Italian food always seems inferior to that which I find in NY. However, not in the case of Il Terrazzo Carmine. The food is authentic northern Italian cuisine that can stand up to the best restaurants in NY City.

They have a nice array of foods from meat to fish to pasta. The Carapaccio is out of this world and the wine list is superb. I would recommend this restaurant to my own mother.

Pros: Easy Parking, Food Quality, Wine List

Posted 12/12/04

Recently visited with 3 friends. We were seated promptly. The wine and beer selections were good. Service was excellent from the bartender. The menu was a let-down, as the only meat offered in filled-pastas was venison. Their menu online isn't consistent with reality. Rigatoni Bolognese lacked taste. All pastas were cooked well, but fell short. Nice space, but outdoors is too loud from viaduct traffic. Bummed we strayed from Firenze & Rustica.

Pros: Free valet

Posted 08/22/04

We recently came here before an evening Mariner game and had a wonderful time. Since it was a nice night, we sat outside on the sunny patio (a must-do - I liked it a lot better than last time when I sat inside). It wasn't very crowded and we had prompt and friendly service from our waiter. I had the lemon-drop to start and it was the BEST I've ever had - not too sweet or strong. The calamari and my monkfist were both tasty as well, although my boyfriend's veal stuffed ravioli was amazing. We also had excellent wine recommendations!

Pros: Outdoor seating, Friendly waitstaff

Posted 07/20/04

Went here with my, at the time, girlfreind for our 4 month. Started out well by them having valet parking in a garage right by the restaraunt. We were earlier for our reservation, but the hostess was very prompt at seating us. The dining area was rather crowded and not too spacious. Dinner was candle-lite and fairly romantic. Pasta was very good, she got cheese ravioli and got something similar. Servers were very freindly. Relatively good price. I paid about $50 for dinner and desert. Valet was swift about getting my car after dinner. Overall a GREAT choice.

Two weeks later I was no longer dating that girl, but rest assured that was all HER fault and had nothing to do with the restaraunt.

Pros: Parking, Romantic

Posted 04/25/04

The food was great and the Service was very nice (French Style). A delightful atmosphere. Had a fairly sophisticated, well dressed crowd the night we went. Citysearch had the restaurant listed under the category of one dollar sign for price (under $20.00) which is quite a bit off base. Definitely should be in the $20-40 category for entree without desert, appetizers or drinks. Don't wear jeans or you'll feel a bit out of place. Very nice wine selection and the meal was perfectly paced.

Pros: Lovely space, wine selection, service

Cons: pricey-ish

Posted 01/02/04

Wonderful atmosphere and they make anything Italain you like. Being 100% East Coast Itlain I've longed to find a place like thi on the West Coast--it's a wonderful & delicious dining experience

Pros: Romantic atmosphere, delicious food, good serviec

Posted 06/09/03

Always consistent, quality meals in the bar or a full meal in the restaurant

Posted 08/15/02

Great place to take clients before a ball game. Close to the field and prompt service. Best italian food I;ve ever had.

Pros: great food, good location

Cons: expensive

Posted 07/26/02

The food was GREAT. The service was very responsive and courteous, great for a business lunches. Im a laid-back Seattleite and found the atmosphere a little pretentious. Tip for the people who work here: SMILE, it wont kill you!

Posted 05/30/02