Spinasse — Restaurant in Seattle

Well, this place really blew me away. This is gonna be a bit rambling, but I just need to gush about how amazing this place is.

I decided to go here to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and treat myself to a nicer dinner than usual. I’m extremely glad I did.

Service: One of the ways Spinasse shines best is through its incredibly friendly and helpful staff. My server’s name was Aidan, and they were consistently on the mark. They suggested I get half portions of two of the pastas I had trouble deciding between and it was excellent. Furthermore, they also suggested the torta al cioccolato which was absolutely heavenly. If Aidan is any indication of the other staff members, this is one of those rare restaurants where you could say, “surprise me” and be absolutely blown away.

Now onto the food: I started with the Prosciutto di Parma, and it was the first dish in which I noticed a trend in all their food: Balance. The prosciutto was served with thin apple slices, which isn’t entirely out of the ordinary. However the inclusion of the mustard seeds and the black currant vinaigrette made for a medley of flavors that played together amazingly.

This was followed by a pair of dishes, the funghi salati and the half order of the tajarin Al ragu. Both showed even more of this expert balancing of flavors, and they had been sent out at the same time so that their flavors could also interact. The ragu was exactly what you would want, and the pasta so incredibly delicate that I’m still shocked it was possible to make.

Finally, they brought out my final half-order of Cavatelli, and this dish is something unique to me. It’s comforting in the way a hearty meal is in winter, and yet it’s light in a way that makes it fitting for summer. Typically I think of foods as either one or the other, but this was special, and absolutely knocked it out of the park.

At Aidan’s recommendation, I ordered the torta al cioccolato. They honestly could sell the hazelnuts on their own because they’re perfect. I’m not usually a fan of buttercream, but the dessert is the textbook definition of decadence. If you like chocolate, you MUST try this cake.

Final Thoughts: While certainly a restaurant with a price tag (I spent $100 on my meal with a cocktail), Spinasse is shining star and has more than earned its reputation. The food is incredible, the drinks are wide and well made, and finally it is run by a team of people who have the knowledge and skill to match that of the food. I cannot recommend this place enough and I will DEFINITELY be back for another taste.

To the team at...

This place was so popular I had to get a reservation basically a month in advance. When we finally got in, it was a surprisingly small, homely lit place, with a quiet atmosphere.

I ordered what they're known for - the tajarin con burro y salvia, which is their butter, egg yolk, and sage pasta, that comes with tagliolini noodles Firstly, we had the bread service with olive oil & balsamic vinaigrette. This was fantastic - the bread was light and airy, and the dipping liquids were great as well

Amusingly enough, when I took my first bite of the pasta, I didn't like it at all as it was super cheesy. I then realized the reason for this was the parmesan was pretty much all on the top. After I mixed together all of the pasta, I took my second bite, and it was heavenly

This is the best pasta I've had in Seattle - and it's not even close. The tagliolini noodles are unimaginably soft, practically ceasing to exist once they're in your mouth. They're so thin they can fit between the prongs of the fork, and yet act as a tremendous vehicle to convey the sauces. The way it soaks up the butter & egg to impart all the flavor is amazing

The sauce is also out of this world. It can be easy for some to say that since there's butter and egg yolk, which is just a bunch of fat, and since fat is flavor, it's easy to make this pasta taste good. However, I've had a bunch of pastas that have been too buttery, or too cheesy, and I know how easy it is for a pasta to fall into that chasm. This one maintains the perfect ratio of all its fat, so each bite is delicious but at no point feels excessive in any way. It's buttery, it's eggy, and slightly cheesy, but at the perfect level in all three

Is this as good as the pasta I've had in Italy? Not at the highest level, but it would rank on the higher end of that spectrum. The fact that it's even in those comparisons shows how clear this pasta is of the Seattle-based competition - it's truly amazing. Maybe the only small nitpick I have is it could've been warmer - it did get cold sooner than I would've liked. Other than that, no complaints at all

For the price of around $33 for a full portion, it is on the expensive side, since I wouldn't say it's as much food as you might get somewhere else, but the quality is just that high

Overall, this is a incredibly made and practically technically perfect pasta bursting with...

I arranged a 7-person dinner at Spinasse last weekend. For context, I am part of a group of mid-30s men who enjoy going to top restaurants together. We are a boisterous lot and always have a few cocktails beforehand. We also are likely typecasted as being part of the “patriarchy” upon first glance, which can negatively bias the service experiences we have in progressive-leaning areas. Over the last nine months, we have had extremely underwhelming dinners at restaurants under the direction of Renee Erickson and Ethan Stowell. The consistent theme from our recent dining experiences was that we paid very significant amounts to leave each restaurant hungry after service experiences that could be described as nonexistent. When I say nonexistent, I don't mean offensive, I just mean absent. Apart from filling up waters and taking the dish orders, we felt like the automatic service charge had killed any effort from the service perspective.

In comparison, we were thrilled by the quality of our meal and experience at Spinasse. Every element of it was excellent, from the specificity of the Piemonte regional cuisine, to the flow/pace of the dishes, to the service. As a group, we decided to go with the tasting menu, and the portions were spectacular. At least twice as much food as we have had at our other recent meals out. We felt truly satisfied from start to finish and we had to be thoughtful about not getting so full that we couldn't appreciate the meat entrees. What a treat in a city that's become so suffocated by small plates and over promises. Our table was a pretty tight squeeze for a group as large as ours. Especially because we ordered multiple types of wine and required multiple wine glasses per setting. But the staff was excellent at taking away empty plates, replacing utensils, replacing glasses, and just flowing around the table. The dialed in service made it so that the space limits were not an issue. And the flavors were just divine. The food is not trying to be 3 Michelin Star in terms of the price of all the raw ingredients, but the execution and balance is excellent. All in all, I think that the price for this meal is (at the high end) of reasonable and I very much look forward to returning for a special occasion in the future....