Amarone Ristorante and Bar — Restaurant in Issaquah

Another Review by BAM.

You best not sleep on this place! It's a secret for locals in the Issaquah Highlands.

First things first. I was won over as an Amarone fan with the Linguine Piccante al Pesto Gamberoni - Homemade pasta with spicy pesto sauce and wild mushroom topped with fresh jumbo prawns.

If you like pasta, pesto, pepper, prawns + mushrooms & a creamy sauce. You have to order this!

This was our families first visit to Amarone. We were not disappointed. The owners were both in serving, busing tables, greeting people. It's a family run joint. Let's support this place!

We are a San Francisco family. Brought up with good Italian food in the North Beach neighborhood that Mom & Dad loved.

The Original U.S. Restaurant, North Beach Restaurant, A. Sabella's at The Wharf, Alioto's, Caesars, Gold Spike. Good food. Family style restaurants.

The food here, brought me back. Their homemade linguine I enjoyed had that mouth feel that you can't forget. The bite. The chew. Perfection!

Look, I'm all for the ambience, the vast openess of the space. I even love the Sinatra Booth that we were seated in, located on the left as you enter into the restaurant. The large booth is a secluded seating area, that was an intimate, but open space. It was perfect for our Sister's birthday celebration!

Where do I start? You can start with a glass of Prosecco, but I started with a glass of Peroni, because I am a beer guy. But if you love wine...they've got it all from the Brut $695 for a bottle or maybe an 8 oz pour of Sangiovese, like Puglia, or maybe just the House Red.

But whatever you order, they bring you a glass with a "Healthy pour". Oh yes. They want you to know your welcome here, with the first sip!

Let's move to food...we weren't too hangry, the ladies just had a vegan thai lunch at Totem Lake.

Some of the sister in-laws opted for "Cicchetti" - small plates. Others had Piatti Forti - Entrees

Annabelle, My Beloved enjoyed: Scampi al Paprica - in garlic butter paprika sauce/ Tender large shrimp cooked to tender, moist perfection.

Prosciutto e Melon - a classic dish with Italian fresh Melon with Prosciutto di Parma with cheese and aged balsamic. Refreshing!

Alicia the birthday girl OMG'd over: Fettuccini Melanzana Parmigiano - If you like eggplant cooked just right...not too soft, still has a hearty mouth feel, you will love this dish. Pasta in a house made tomato sauce topped with fresh baked eggplant

Auntie Cora wow'd over: Calamari Fritti - golden calamari with capers, fire roasted pepper, lemon wedge and house San Marzano sauce. Could have been crispier. If you like crispy, ask. They will do it!

Even Mama enjoyed the Monster Meatball in the: Pappardelle con Polpetta Gigante Special pasta in a light cream classic tomato sauce topped with a giant homemade Kobe beef, veal and pork meatball. A little spice

Whatever you do, give this place a try. You won't be...

My wife and I went here for my birthday and I decided an update was needed.

I didn't think my last review could be topped but...wrong. Everything was wonderful. I ordered the Papardelle Con Polpetta Gigante. Yes, delicious pasta with an amazing cheese covered giant meatball. I must be honest. It was the best tasting meatball I have every eaten.

My wife ordered a haddock dish which was the daily special. Absolute perfection with some of the tastiest risotto I have ever tasted.

An order of pistachio gelato made for a light and tasty end of the meal.

Throw in a bottle of wine (half priced on Wednesday) and my birthday dinner was nothing short of heavenly.

Is it pricy? Yes but, in these days, anything of quality is pricy and, to be honest, it was not that bad cost wise

Do yourself a favor and give this place a try

This was truly an amazing dining experience.

I ordered a Caesar salad appetizer and I can say, with no doubt, it was the best I ever tasted. Just a touch of dressing (most restaurants literally drown their salads in dressing. However, the highlight of the salad was the croutons. You could tell they were made on site. Amazing flavor.

The entre was linguini with clams and mussels . The pasta was cooked to perfection. Plenty of clams and mussels. The capers gave it some extra zing. Needless to say, the plate was clean when I was done eating.

Wanted to try the tiramisu but was simply too full.

Specially thanks to Tony and his amazing singing

If you want fantastic Italian food, you simply...

Our dinner group of six enjoyed nice and attentive wait staff service, okay drinks, but were not overly impressed with the main course entrees.

We started with the crispy green beans and the rice mozzarella balls as an appraiser, these and the tasty bread were shared with enthusiasm. Several of us had previously recalled the Kobe beef bolognese that was a recipe of Sip and early months as Amarone, it was amazing. One of the pastas we had last night was this, but it was nothing like it used to be. This just seemed like flavorless red sauce, no sofrito flavors or texture, or any beef seemed to be in the pasta.

The two streaks were ordered, each of them were prepared well and were full of good flavor, just the right salt and pepper touch. The gorganzola gnocci was too sharp and heavy, it was overpowering and could use a little more butter creame to cheese to only lightly coat the pillows.

The other pastas we tried were the ravioli with a mushroom Marsala sauce and short ribs. The meat was a struggle to find a pleasing bite that was not gristle or frankly very tasty. The dish seemed too heavy with the mushrooms and the ravioli as was the other pasta was perhaps overcooked.

Knowing the past experience in the early days of Amarone, and some items that are great, I really want our neighbor restaurant to thrive, but I’m going to have a difficult time convincing my group to return regularly. It is clear that the cooking has changed, and with that the styles of...