Serafina

I love the food here it's simply amazing. And the bar tender let me try one of the infused liquors they had...Persimmon Vodka... it was amazing! Great all the way around. Thank you! Pros: Food and service is awesome! more

Serafina is an icon of the Lake Union and Seattle area, it has withstood many economic storms and is a survivor because it is excellent !!! I absolutely love their menu, staff and attention to detail. If you ever have a propblem the management will go above and beyond to make it right. We often give gift certificates to Serafina's as gifts and I have had nothing but Kudos from all recipients...... who are now dedicated to Serafinas for the Classic Italian Fare. I would recommend Serafinas without hesitation and you will love your meal, the staff is exceptional and the ambiance, GREAT WINES!. Its a Classic for a reason.... \r \r Michelle ( Former 42 year Resident of Seattle... now Park City, UT) I miss Serafina's Big Time! Pros: Food Quality for the Price Cons: Parking can be a challenge but not often more

It was a perfect weekend morning and we were at one of our favorite Seattle Restaurants, Serafina Osteria and Enoteca. What is there to like about Serafina?\r \r 1. Live jazz duet - piano and saxophone, this time ? while you dine at Sunday Brunch\r 2. Food that is so complete and alive with flavor that you need not add your own condiments. It would be an insult to the chef if you did. It is what it is and ?Oh, how it is!? The food is as well prepared as any upper end restaurant in downtown Seattle.\r 3. The courtyard with the morning sun penetrating through the cover of trees and shrubs, the sunlight highlighting the old green painted window and door frames and the cedar trellis with the wisteria cover.\r 4. The staff who make you feel like someone special and who make sure you are well attended because they have a fondness in serving their customers. If it isn?t right, they will make it right. You feel invited to return.\r 5. The location in a residential neighborhood along Eastlake above Lake Union and away from the bustle of downtown Seattle.\r 6. The charm and ambience of the space situated as it is in a residential neighborhood. It has an eclectic feeling with its five separate spaces and its anti-modern architecture.\r 7. Criticisms? Well, it is two million light years to the Great Nebula in Andromeda. That is significant. Any issues with Serafina are insignificant.\r more

on a beautiful summer night in seattle, we were seated near the patio with the refreshing breeze flowing over us. our hostess was extremely courteous , and the wait staff was very knowledgeable about everything on the menu. i had ordered the handmade agnolotti (a delicate handmade pasta filled with a robust roasted pork shoulder) complimented with a chive butter sauce. this was absolutely the best meal i had ever eaten. from the bread and delicious olive oil before our meal, to every last drop of sauce on our plates. we left the restaurant entirely satisfied and gluttonous. we had no room for dessert, but plan on going back to try Mei-I Funtanilla's desserts . i can't wait to eat here again! more

I love this place. Warm, busy, great food, lovely wine. I could go on. Sat on the patio and it was beautiful. My server was lovely, smart and informed. we had caprese salad, 2 kinds of ravioli, a great lamb dish. I come here 4ish times a year and have NEVER been dissapointed. \r Pros: Food and wine, cute waitstaff Cons: parking more

Talk about snobby wait staff! When we arrived without a reservation at 5:25pm (they start seating for dinner at 5:30pm) they acted like it was a huge inconvenience to find a spot for us even though there were only about 3 other small parties waiting as well. We were able to sit at the bar and were rudely directed to close our tab so they could seat us right at 5:30pm in the dinning room. I do have to say our waitress was very pleasant and if it weren?t for her it would have been the worst dinning experience of my life. I should have listened to my sister when she warned me about this place but I unfortunately had to experience it myself. Never again! Pros: Nice ambience Cons: Bad customer service more

Having been to Serafina before, we knew it was a great place for a special occasion. Therefore we decided to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday and bring his family along. When we arrived his father walked up to the hostess desk and stated we had reservations at 8pm. The main hostess rudely told him that it was not 8 yet (it was about 7:55, and we of course would rather be early rather then late) and to come back to her when it was time for our reservation. I was mortified when he came back and told us what had happened. We then had to cram into the small waiting area with the other bar patrons. When his father spied an empty small table in the bar he sat down to wait and had me come over. The hostess did not wait one second to push her head over us and tell us that table was reserved and we were not allowed to sit there. After standing for more then half an hour after our reservation we were finally seated. From there on out the service from our waiter was fantastic, the food was amazing, wine, etc. everything else was great! But to have an evening start off due to bad service has made me very unlikely to return to this establishment. If they cannot hire proper employees and teach them how to speak appropriately to guests, I would rather take my money elsewhere where I am made to feel welcome. Pros: The rabbit was the best I've had! Cons: The horrible hostess lady more

My first visit to Sarafina's was a disaster. The green salad was bitter, the eggplant signature dish was far too salty. The restaurant was profoundly noisy and the waiter could care less......so I contacted the manager next day and she repsonded immediately. \r \r I returned and was delighted. The service was wonderful, the food was very good. \r \r Totally enjoyable.\r \r Cons: expensive wine list more

I had dinner with 3 other girlfriends on a Friday night. The restaurant was definitely crowded, but the staff did all they could to get us a(fantastic) cocktail while we waited. BTW--I think Matt & Chris are the best , most creative bartenders in town. Their special infusions absolutely rock!\r I had the sea scallops with a sort of grapefruit sauce which I think are some of the best scallops I've ever had. Huge, tender, moist-wow. The table shared a quail salad with a lush raspberry dressing that had us all groaning. One of the others had pasta with lamb ragu that tasted just like a dish I've had in Rome.\r And the desserts were spectacular. We ordered 3 and shared and they were all homemade, seasonal and wonderful. The service was good throughout and some lovely Brazilian music started around 9. this is where I take all of my out of town guests. more

Small setting, nice small bar, very romantic and intimate for a couple or small family. Food is impressive and servers are very knowledgeable on wine selecton. Pros: very romantic Cons: no parking more

My boyfriend and I just went out to Serafina for a romantic/fun outing and we can't wait to go back!\r While it was my boyfriend's first visit, I had been there once before in the summer months, and was able to enjoy the lovely patio dining on a warm evening. This time around, we went for a late dinner on a Saturday night, looking forward to the live music that is scheduled on weekends.\r I must admit, that after reading so many reviews from people who were disappointed with the whole experience, I was a little worried-however, as my first experience had been a positive one, we went in hoping for another good time, and we weren't disappointed.\r We were seated promptly, about 5 minutes after being greeted at the door, right on time for our reservation. Our server was friendly, was able to help us with the wine selection and, as a small but important thing, was able to let us know ahead of time that one dish was in short supply-it's always annoying when you have your heart set on something, and you don't find out it's unavailable until you're placing your order-glad we avoided that pitfall!\r Our appetizer (the bruschetta with a fun twist) and bottle of wine was served by the executive chef, which, in our eyes, made the service all the more special. The entrees arrived in a good time frame-we had just enough time to enjoy our appetizers and soak up the live music a bit before being served the next course. Since it was a busy night, we were both glad they weren't rushing us to empty out another table. The pasta was great (as it should be in an Italian restaurant) and the beef in the Gnocchi di Patate dish melted in your mouth!\r We both had a marvelous time-our server was attentive the entire evening, the live music was a fun way to liven up a regular dinner date, the food and wine were quite enjoyable, and the cozy restaurant, complete with twinkling with lights, was the perfect setting for a romantic evening together.\r Serafina was a wonderful experience!\r more

One word sums this place up. Horrible. My girlfriend and I have been to many downtown Italian resteraunts, and this was one of the worst by far. It had some good reviews (I don't know how or why) so we wanted to try it. We didn't have to wait too long, but we were shoved at a two person table stuffed very tightly between other tables. The entire time we were there we could barely move, not to mention it was so loud that we could barely hear each other. My back was literally touching another persons back several times. Since we are all about authentic Italian, we decided to go with a classic Italian starter, bruschetta. Perhaps we were expecting too much by not carefully reading the description before ordering, but we never expected something as simple as bruschetta was able to be completely slaughtered. I'm still not sure what the three ""toppings"" were, although I'm pretty sure one of them was tuna. Half of the bread was soggy. We were so disappointed with the service and atmosphere by this point, we left. It took us nearly 10 minutes to track down our waiter simply to let him know we were leaving and to get our bill. He didn't ask why we were leaving or seem to even care. \r \r If you're looking for a nice romantic dinner, this is not the place to go. It might be ok if you are going with a large loud group, although you should expect way overpriced food for the quality and service you get. I know I'm never going back. Cons: poor service, bad food, horrible atmosphere more

Tasty food goddamnit\r Service so crappy the night i was there i was sad.\r We got there and were seated promptly\r our waitress was really good looking and stylly\r But she didnt know much about wine so she had to summon\r the bartender who i wished was waiting on us \r nuff said\r ok i will probably be back \r i just hope i dont have the same waitperson more

Things I like about Serafina: The gorgeous dining room, the cheap wine during happy hour, the pasta dishes. Here's what I don't like: The slow, slow, slow service (I've been here many times and never had good service), the inconsistency in the menu (some items are great, some are blah, once I got mussels and about half of them hadn't opened at all), the happy hour food items that sound good but the portions aren't very big. more

Serafina is one of my favorite restaurants. The restaurant is fairly small, but has very good qualities. The dinner can be very romantic, and the happy hours can be very tasty. \r You can sign up for wine tasting nights, and 2007 was full last time I checked. There is plenty of candlelight and are live bands that come in throughout the week to play jazz and blues. The inside dining area is kind of small, but there is a very nice patio that is best enjoyed on cool summer nights. \r The happy hour from 4 to 6pm has a nice selection of Italian small plates for $5 each. I highly recommend the Bruschetta Duo. The house reds and whites are $5. The lounge area is pretty small: there are a couple of tables and the bar. The food is very rich, very tasty, and presented nicely. The menu changes seasonally. \r I don?t have any complaints about the service or bartending. The worst quality about Serafina is the street parking. \r I highly recommend Serafina for an Italian happy hour or romantic dinner with live music. Pros: Happy Hour, Live Music, Ambience Cons: Street Parking, Kind of Cramped more

I had one of the most special evenings last night at Serafina. I was visiting from NY and my friend suggested we dine at her alltime favorite spot in Seattle. We sat in their beautiful courtyard and felt immediately transported to Italy. We shared everything - from their delicately prepared calamari (not the rubber band rings you get in many places) to the pasta special with fresh chantrelles, all served with grace and style by a warm and knowledgeable server (cannot remember her name). Their pastry chef is genius as well, and we were dissapointed that we were so satiated we were only able to taste the blueberry financier. Oh well, I guess we will have to go back, and back, and back again. Bravo Serafina. Pros: menu, ambience, service, location, hours more

Our party of 5 had high hopes for Serafina's sunday brunch. Unfortunately, the series of events that followed after walking through the door slashed all our high expectations. We called in and made reservations and ended up having to wait 10 minutes anyway for a table in a half empty restaurant. Then after being seated, it took 15-20 minutes to get our coffee (which was WAY too strong and tasted burnt... we're all coffee drinkers and none of us could stomach it). After another half hour or so, our waiter non-chalantly took our order with the kind of enthusiasm you'd expect from a night shift Denny's waiter. A good hour later our food came. And during that excruciating wait, our table was completely ignored, except for the guy who refilled our waters one time. The portions were small and expensive, and two of us recieved our food 5 minutes after the other three. When we were all just about done eating, waiter came by and asked if we needed any ketchup or tabasco. We said no, that we were almost done. Another large chunk of time went by, so we asked for our check and it never came. Anyway, to sum it up, this place completely infuriated us. The service was poor and unapologetic, the food was just ok. I will NEVER go back, and I'd definitely never recommend this place to anyone. It's really upsetting when a restaurant thinks they can charge those kinds of prices and provide lackluster service. At that point, who even cares about the food? Pros: Nice atmosphere Cons: Where do I begin... more

service very slow. portions minuscule, forced tip/28% ridiculous, took 10 mins to get a coffee at the... more

service very slow. portions minuscule, forced tip/28% ridiculous, took 10 mins to get a coffee at the end....even longer to get the bill at the end... more

The patio is killer! Get there early, they don't reserve outdoor seating. Chill, yet perfect service, a no lose menu. We had 6 in our party, and shared all around. Everything was so good! Try the lasagne, grilled lamb, Caprese salad, Blackberry semifreddo. Wine recomendations from the sommelier/chef were perfect (and funny). I'll be so sad when the patio closes for the fall.....\r Cons: Crowded more