Vito's — Restaurant in Seattle

I have wanted to go to Vito's for years. Me and my partner live a few blocks away on First Hill. Both of us were excited to finally make reservations and check out this long standing restaurant in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, our excitement was quelled by a less than desirable experience. After thinking about our experience, I am certain that this is a management issue.

First off, the wait to be greeted and get a seat is ridiculous. Not only for us, but as I watched guests enter the restaurant, they were confused and put off by the fact that no one acknowledged and greeted them. Many times, we witnessed as guests would slowly walk into the dining room and hail a server to be seated. The first day I walked in to make a reservation, I was wearing my bicycle helmet and a bright red rain jacket. I could not have stood out more. But I still waited for over 5 minutes before I was greeted to take the initial reservation. And as we sat there eating, I saw a few people turn around and leave because of the lack of a host/hostess. First impressions are crucial! Dear management, please spend the extra $$$ to hire a proper host/hostess like most restaurants. You are losing business, and it looks very bad.

Second thing, the online menu on their website is outdated. We researched eating here for Valentine's, and had our hearts set on a couple tasty looking cocktails, only to find out that this menu has been replaced by a new menu a while ago. It wasn't the server's fault, but it put her in a bad position to tell me, "respectfully sir, many of these specialty liquors are not available." This was annoying. Dear management, please spend the appropriate $$$ to keep your online menu up to date.

Thirdly, they ran out of bread. We were there at 6 pm, and by 6:45 pm they had ran out of bread for the tables. I overheard the server tell the guest next to us that they had ran out. They were annoyed, as were many people who did not have any bread to go with their meal. Who runs out of bread on Valentine's Day?! And all the tables were not filled. It was not packed. Dear management, spend more $$$ to have the basics, namely bread.

Fourthly, when I went to cut my pork chop, my plate slid all over the glass table like a fresh salmon at the fish market. The meal was very good, but I should not have to chase my plate around the table trying to cut my pork chop. If I was older and weaker, I would have had two bites, and given up. I shouldn't have to fight for my food. Dear management, spend a few $$$ to get placemats, or plates that don't slide around.

Fifth, the portion sizes for the pasta were embarrassingly small. It may have fed a child, but not an adult. For the price of the meal, there should have been salad or something to go with the pasta. We couldn't have bread, because they ran out. We all know how cheap pasta is. Please serve larger portions of the pasta, it really doesn't cost that much more. We should not have to leave hungry after spending over $100. Dear management, please spend a few more $$$ to serve larger portions of pasta. Your portions are just embarrassing.

I would make the 6th point to be the dim lighting. But that's a minor thing. Romantic lighting only goes so far until you can't read the menu without a flashlight. You should make it easier for us to spend more money.

Do not go to this restaurant! I truly wanted to like it because of the history and location. But I cannot endorse this restaurant or recommend it to anyone. Terrible service and an overall bad experience. The food tasted decent, other than the hard garlic bread. Save your money and go to Olympic Pizza and get their pasta or lasagna. You will spend a lot less money, and you will actually feel happy and FULL...

It was pretty good, but...We went there with friends expecting excellent food and service, at least early on a Sunday evening, that would be reasonably relaxed with a soft jazz background in a "club-like" atmosphere. It was a let-down from our expectations which had been high (maybe unfairly) after reading the other reviews. First, this place is DARK! Even though we had come in on a gray early evening, it took time for our eyes to adjust; at the end of dinner, the 7-point type of the dinner credit-card checks with what may be the smallest type we've ever seen required our dates' keychain flashlights for clarity. Upon arrival, we all noticed a distinct odor that we thought might have been from the long-ago smoking that was probably once permitted; admittedly our eyes got used to the light and our noses to the odor; they were only a distraction for the first five or ten minutes. Second, our drinks, though OK, were slow arriving and one order needed a slight correction. When one of our group wanted ginger ale mixer, "Sorry, we don't have ginger ale." We had the equivalent of about 1-1/2 drinks each. Then came our dinners: three of us had chicken marsala, it was tasty but quite tough; it was accompanied by plentiful mashed potatoes and very al dente broccoli. Our server was personable and there when we needed her. The food arrived promptly. We were there early...around 5:45. At 6:00 or so, the piano player arrived, and he was good, but even with a small audience, he was nevertheless quite loud, making conversation less than easy. His crescendos were seriously intrusive. The price was OK, $80 per couple including tax, tip, and a side salad and a brushcetta that were both good that the four of us shared. Long ago I was a New Yorker and I've been to jazz clubs. This wasn't. In lots of towns, I've been to good Italian restaurants. We concluded that it was, at best, only pretty good. It needs...

I discovered this spot after reaching out to their sister company hideout and they replied that they had Jazz at this venue. I drove down from the Tacoma area and I am new to Washington State so I am up for trying any lil spot with music playin. I must say that their drinks menu and the actual finished libations were delicious and based on that I would give them a 4-5 stars, but this is a review and I want to be thorough.

The ambiance is unique. A mix of the young and old Seattlelites. The jazz band that night was ritzier than what I normally seek out, but I enjoyed that vibe with the drinks.

I would say that the negatives is probably that old carpet smell you get a whiff of when you walk in toward the bar. I get it is an older spot and locals seem to have soft spot for the 50’s vibe, but I think that my observation means that they could use a little renovation here and there to reignite the space because this spot has further potential.

I do love dive bars, and that’s why I was excited to go visit this one. I probably will stop in again at Vito’s for another drink down the road. I hope they realize hey have a gem and although Gems don’t need to add anything all gems can benefit from being repolished a bit.

Thanks for...