Montalcino Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Issaquah

Sorry for the length of this review, however…. We have traveled extensively - globally. We know great food, service, etc. Initial impressions… Five stars for food... Chef's background shows! Five stars for the location. Quiet side street off main roadway. Five stars for the ambience Hostess was very nice. It’s looking good for 5 stars.

We were hosting very dear friends who were visiting. Based upon Google reviews and local friend recommendations this might be that special place for us. Let us try it. Here is where my review drops below 5 stars. We told we had two reservations, and a public debate began. My significant other made a booking via OpenTable. She noted there were two, one was immediately canceled. This was not her first rodeo with OpenTable. Server should have said No worries, cancel one and let us move on. The server continued; well, I called you. Getting a bit snippy with a first-time customer. We are busy people and are not waiting an unidentified caller. Ok so let us assume you made a call. There was certainly NOT a voicemail which would have notified us of a call. Yes, we wasted time debating their problem. This leads us to the next obstacle, unknown to either of us, this is a fixed booking place. You have a fixed, limited time to eat. Montalcino was qualified as a wonderful place, no caveats. No reason to check the website. We were meeting friends who we had not seen since pandemic and wanted to chat... no chatting. Service was hurried with unfinished food being taken away. Really, I did not finish my wine or meal. Sadly, 3 stars based on service. The restaurant business has tons of competitors. The win is repeatable business. Hey, it is ok if your business model is transactional. We are careful with the personal time, especially when paying top dollar. We vote with our money and based on our experience, it is unlikely we will return. Looks like our hunt in King County continues. We are out regularly and are looking for an intimate date night and/or special personal event... From my reviews, please look at Luna Blue Tiburon, CA or Pietro’s Fountain Hills, AZ), we have found them in places we travel and are from. If you are a fan of quick in and out "American" style fixed timing dining caveat, then this could be 5 stars for you. We prefer Italian style, Italians love great food and intimate, personal dining. Yes, I did check the website and it states fixed timing. Readers beware. For business owners, marketing and/or customer facing staff who are reading my review, you never know who you are speaking to unless you recognize them. In this case, there were 2 Google Local Guides. Yes, we both have similar views. In closing, we are not asking for an apology or anything, just treat your customers with respect and deference. It is sad when server attitude drags a 5 star review to 3 stars. Thank...

Given that it is 32-48 Fahrenheit and pouring rain, and covid regulations, outdoor dining has not really been an option. However, yesterday we discovered that restaurants have got creative and created these “semi-indoor” dining experiences. Here is how it works: A large canopy on the street with 6-8 tables for max. 4 people Only available by reservation Online menus Large generator-supported heaters to keep the canopy area warm. All tables at least 6 feet apart Holiday lights and Christmas décor inside the canopy to give a warm, fuzzy feeling.

And on a scale of 1 to 10 (from worst to greatest), following is our assessment of the restaurant: Food: 10 We ordered the Bruschetta, a glass of Cabernet, a glass of Chardonnay, Pasta el Pesto con Funghi, Lamb entrée and Tiramisu for dessert. Honestly I wish I could give a rating of 20 on the food. It was so good that we kept eating. Portion sizes of main course were huge too. If I ate nonveg, me and hubby could have shared a dish but we ended up getting left overs to-go. Tiramisu was small but it was soooooooooo yum! Service/ Staff: 10 There were only 2 servers for the entire place. All tables were taken but it didn't feel like the service was getting impacted by that. Both servers were kind, knowledgeable, polite and courteous. I asked for broccoli in my pasta and they made sure there was plenty of it! My brother also interacted with the restaurant to arrange gift card and apparently the interactions were very informative and helpful! Staff was also sanitizing every time they came into the canopy and going out, along with wearing masks. Location and Parking:10 Right in the heart of Issaquah downtown, Alder and Front Street. There was plenty of parking since not many people were allowed. Ambience: 8 Given the circumstances, these guys did there best, to provide a warm ambience but the fact is we were still on the street and in a tent (see video in comments). I can’t wait to try there pure indoor dining, when everything opens up. Price:7 This is where it pinches a little. This is definitely a fine dining, good ambience, superb food restaurant. For 1 appetizer, 3 glasses of wine, 2 entrees, a desert and a 20% tip, we paid $165! OMG! I don’t remember if we have ever had a meal that expensive for 2 of us. No, I am not a cheap date and I would love to say that the food was worth the money, but can’t bring myself to say it. It was certainly excellent food though. Make a reservation and...

You want great food, go here! Next time you are looking for something new and willing to drive (from Seattle) a little bit check out Montalcino. It's easy to blow off a review as exaggerating, but please trust me, this is some of the best Italian food anywhere, worldwide. I've been 5 times and each time myself and everyone with me had fantastic food in addition to enjoying the wine, drinks, and ambiance. Nearly everything from the kitchen has caused myself and others to look up and say how amazing it tastes. A good example is a truffle cheese that I have had served between courses. It comes as several small unassuming slivers of cheese. Each crumble of this stuff is out of this world and this is a tiny example of their amazing food. Several days ago I had a special that was a mushroom tortellini with a cream sauce and wild boar meat. I normally don't love mushrooms nor cream sauce, but something told me to trust it because everything here is so good. I have to say that after the first taste, I believe that this is the best tasting food I have ever put in my mouth (top 3 bare minimum). Again, not kidding or exaggerating. My wife agreed. We had intended on sharing 2 entrees, but essentially spent half the meal stealing bites from this special. The other menu items were, as usual, out of this world as well. The setting is a wonderfully quaint, small space a half block off Front St. Parking is easy, and I can usually get a reservation, but maybe not at my desired time as they are popular. Portion size is large to enormous, plan on showing up hungry. My only two complaints would be that desert is good, but not out of the world as the rest of the menu. Also, prices are appropriate given portion size and quality (with a bunch of organic ingredients), but it's a bit more money than I'd like to spend, especially since I want to be there every night. Roughly $30/entree. Bottom line is, if you think you've tried all the great food in the greater Seattle area, you haven't had it all without...