Serafina

Serafina is the quintessential neighborhood bistro - a place for the locals, who never mention it to the tourists - and one that no city person should ever, take for granted. There are nights when you just want to go out to eat, and Seattle has plenty of choices for that. But when you want to have the whole experience of dining out - the transporting atmosphere, the nuanced service and, of course, a truly exceptional meal, Serafina should be the destination.\r \r Much has been written about the atmosphere, as it is almost becomes another one of your dining companions. The colors and decor instantly evoke an intimate Italian bistro, and you at once feel like a welcomed regular. There isn't a bad seat in the dining room, which is small but not cramped, but I prefer the outdoor patio, where you can suspend your disbelief and imagine you are in Tuscany.\r \r The entire service staff is simply polished - knowledgeable, efficient, congenial and unobtrusive. I have taken the recommendation of my server on nearly visit and each time, the dish lived up to its description. Most recently, I had the crostini (topped with arugula and mozzarella) and the house cured pork belly (Pancia) as appetizers. The crostini was a great start to the meal, but the real star is the pancia - roasted, salty pork atop a bed of a creamy and savory corn salad. It is an amazing combination of flavors and one that you will order every time you return.\r \r The entrees were equally well executed. The Kobe beef special was tender and perfectly cooked, as was the unbelievably thick pork chop. What really stands out at Serafina is the freshness of the flavors and herbs that season, but do not overpower, the main attraction. You find yourself understanding the meaning of the phrase ""savoring your food"" better than you did before you sat down. If my experience is a guide, on future visits, you will probably order much more than you can eat, just to see what else they can do.\r \r more

Very disappointed with this restaurant. Called up, and got a reservation for 8:45. Showed up 5 minuntes early, checked in, and were told it would be at least a 30 minute wait. In my book, this is something you just don't do. Who cares about the food. We won't be back. more

Serafina has a beautiful garden patio and when the sun comes out I always have a glimmer of hope that the food is going to be better this time and give it another shot. However, I think they have finally run out of chances. The last several visits, the food has really been mediocre to poor in execution and taste. My pasta dish was way over cooked and the steak was tough and flavorless. Service was extremely casual and the waiter didn't know alot about the wines on the list. For me, a restaurant can win back a few points with a killer dessert. However, I was extremely disappointed with the desserts we ordered. The profiteroles tasted like they came out of a box from Trader Joe's and the Panna Cotta had way too much gelatin and was inedible. Maybe the pastry chef was on vacation? The desserts were so incredibly bad. Worst part about it was that the waiter didn't seem to care that both desserts were barely touched and quickly brought us our bill. Arreviderche Serafina. Pros: Courtyard Cons: Food, Dessert, Service more

I've been here several times with a small group and loved it every time. Especially in the summer when the outside seating is open and all the little christmas lights are twinkling, it is really lovely. I decided to try bringing a larger group of people here for my sister's birthday, hoping it would still be great despite the fact that the place is quite small. Everyone especially loved the live music. About half of us ordered from the 24for25 menu, and everything was delicious! I'm so glad to see that they're using the Columbia City bakery's bread, I think he makes the best baguette in the city. Apparently they were a bit short-staffed and the guy who's usually the bartender waited on us, and he was a little less graceful than a seasoned waiter, but still o.k. In the end, everyone gave a BIG thumbs-up and they all want to go back for another special occasion. more

A bustling, somewhat noisy neighborhood favorite. Food is absolutely superb. Try the make-your-own bruschetta with rustic grilled bread and three lively and flavorful toppings. Lentil soup was superb, lighter and more flavorful than expected. Rabbit roulade was delightful, great dessert choices. Excellent wine list, including numerous half-bottles. Be patient to reap the rewards of this neighborhood gem. more

I had a friend from out of town (and let's put it this way, she's not my friend anymore! ;) Just kidding! Brought her to Sarefina to impress her with Seattle cuisine but the food and service left us staring at each with smirks on our faces the entire time. She was pregnant and so upset that she didn't have a good meal.... First, I asked about wine and the waiter started pushing the glasses for $12 dollars, and that wasn't quite as much as I wanted to spend so I finally had to take the menu back from him, and told him I'd 'keep looking', but still felt his pressure to select the higher end.. Then we ordered Casa salad for $7.00 each, and it literally was 4 large pieces of lettuce with swirl of red onion on top...nothing else! We laughed, we couldn't believe it.. So then the waiter suggest to my friend that she get this free range chicken dish. (Interesting that the restaurant should care about chickens, since their menu is LOADED with VEAL! I had to double check and make sure I was still in progressive Seattle) Her dish was literally disgusting.. it had little clumps of rubbery chicken with bones and no meat, and little unpasturized cheese lumps, (that were really soft and gross), and uncooked potatoes.. I took a bite and could understand why she didn't touch it. My halibut was pretty good except for the fact that the vegies that came with, looked suspiciously right out of a BAG! It has peas and carrots in it... With the halibut, it was small for the price, with seemingly frozen vegies and no rice or anything else.. It was very expensive for being as terrible as it was, not to mention that the waiter is clearly trained to ""upsell"" and is snooty, and the water person walks by constantly. The waitrons literally circle around without stopping over and over. When we were seated, the hostess asked if we want bottled or tap water.. I can't believe this experience. What a waste of a great space! Pros: beautiful ambience Cons: greedy waiters, poor preparation more

I celebrated my 40th Birthday at the restaurant last week. Such a big birthday means high expectations, and the crew of Serafina met all of mine. To be honest I hadn't been in years and didn't know what to expect, but the experience couldn't have been better. I just returned home from a year in NYC, and the food at Serafina took me back to a dining experience at Babbo. Try the Pork Belly. Try the ravioli. Try everything. Our waitress was gracious and helpful. One of my dinner companions is a wine maker and brought his own bottle to the meal. Often restaurants grumble about this, but our server was perfectly happy to open and decant the bottle for us. I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. If you haven't visited Serafina lately, you are missing out!! Make a reservation soon. more

Serifina is highly over priced and over rated. We had reservations for 11 and the restaurant really did not know how to handle a party that size. I was bumped into by the staff at least 25 times over the course of two hours. My entree was under cooked and small with very little flavoring. My entree was supposed to be their specialty and it was not that special. There were also a couple of people who felt ill after we finished our dinner. To sum up this place, I am surprised that they are still in business. more

I was going to post a quick review of Serafina for people from out of town and was shocked by some of the negative comments I saw here. Honestly, it motivated me to be a little more specific in this review. I have been to Seafina many times and have found it to be some of the most elegant, well thought out Italian food in Seattle. The food is hearty, homey Italian with fresh, bright flavors, subtle, complex sauces, lots of herbs and handmade pastas. It looks like they use a lot of local purveyors and organic ingredients, too, which I like. This is what I think of as ""clean"" food. \r \r Serafina is the place for a special occassion dinner, although the conversation level can get pretty loud after about 8:30. Be sure to try the pumpkin ravioli, anything with pork--- and the fish is always perfectly cooked.\r \r The bartender, Matt, is a a real artist. Try the Pomegranate Smack--I think he invented it. Wowee.\r And the wine list is outstanding. Interesting (mostly Italian) wines from small winemakers at mid range prices. The waiters typically seem to be very knowledgable about the wine list and I've been steered to some great new finds .\r \r Pros: ambience, service, food, wine list Cons: parking (their lot is a block away), can be noisy on a weekend night more

Typical night at Serafina - lively, busy, people seemed to be having a great time. After a short wait at the bar - which was crowded but friendly, our gracious host (rachel?) sat us. I loved the wine list - I think it just won a Wine Spectator award - big range, interesting Italians, and a good though brief selection of regional NW wines. With the help of our server, we picked a Dolcetto, which matched our food beautifully. The food was outstanding and prompt - I had something I'd never had before - a pork belly and what seemed to be a mostarda - or type of marmalade. What a match - sweet and tart against the salty, luscious pork.\r It was a great night - highly recommend it. more

Serafina is always one of my favorite places to go for a nice lunch. I love the ambiance. It's a casual neighborhood place with rustic and kitschy decor and very comfortable. However, I have been disappointed with my experiences at dinner the past 6 months or so. The service seems off. I haven't had a server lately that has been educated about the menu or wine list nor have they been more than adequate at meeting the basic needs of taking orders and refilling water. It seems that the water and wine glasses are always empty and noone ever checks back to make sure the meal is satisfactory. I had a cold pasta dish on my last visit that I wanted to send back but my waiter never checked on us so I just ate it out of desperation. i will continue to go for lunch and avoid dinner. more

Our hopes were high, we'd heard great things about Serafina. We were looking for something exactly as advertised.\r \r But here we are, a Tuesday night and we're still feeling the 'sting' of a shockingly rude and disturbing experience at Serafina Restaurant last Friday evening. \r \r In fact, my husband and I were certain we had starred in a new version of Bloopers . . .\r \r Here's what happened: We asked our server for his wine recommendation and ordered a bottle. When two glasses finally came, we 'laughingly' said, ""oh, we thought we ordered a bottle."" ""Well, it costs the same,"" he said. \r \r OK. So, we ordered the antipasti for two, and entrees of free range chicken and a pumpkin ravioli. ""Good choice,"" he said.\r The antipasti arrived after the wine was long gone, so we ordered two more glasses. We tried to enjoy the sad offering of olives, a parmesan crisp, 2 small and unremarkable dolamatess -- pricey, meager, not even good. Still no wine; just ignored for 20 minutes, (or longer?).\r \r We talked, we laughed, we got uncomfortable.\r \r We had been there 45 minutes. Our server noticed us and said, ""have you ordered yet?"" \r \r We should have gracefully left; ; but no, we ordered all over again. No apology from him, at all.\r \r Finally, we received: cold, pasty ravioli -- dry, almost fillingless, served with possibly three hazelnuts. The free range chicken should have been free. \r \r The hefty bill was hastily plopped down, unsurprisingly reflecting nothing for the forgotten order, the wine mistakes, and needless to say, the poor pacing and neglect. \r \r We found ourselves on the street, hungry, feeling a bit abused, and wondering what had just happened. \r \r It had to have been Bloopers; had we been pranked? Can we just say it was a joke?\r \r Until the final 'reveal' -- let's just say Serafina must be some odd version of The Emperor's New Clothes. Truth is: Serafina Restaurant on 1/26/07 for us was perfectly terrible, and that's all there is to it. Pros: versatile menu Cons: service, preparation and presentation, pricing, uncomfortable seating more

I would like to take a moment to express my disappointment at a recent visit to Serafina. My daughter specifically requested Serafina for her birthday dinner as she had never been and had heard great things about it. \r \r Our waitress began by asking if we wanted something to drink. I asked for some suggestions for a bottle of wine in the ""$30 range"". She proceeded to inform us, rather snootily, that ""$30 is on the lower end and we have a very limited selection"". She then began pointing out bottles in the $45 - 60 range, which was clearly more than what we wanted to spend. We ended up ordering by the glass.\r \r We ordered the antipasti appetizer, which at $7.50 per person, I felt was overpriced for the small amount of food that was on the plate - 4 thin slices of salami, 2 small piece of cheese, some other cheesy thing and a small bowl of olives. Then, before we were completely done with that, our entrees were brought out. We felt rushed.\r \r We were seated at a small 2-person table and another 2-seater was right next to us. During the course of our meal, another couple was seated next to us. As our waitress served them, she squeezed herself between our two tables and on more than one ocassion, her rear-end was literally in our faces. This made for a very unpleasant and awkward meal. She never apoligized, never excused herself. Our meal took just a little over one hour. Again, we felt extremely rushed...a special occasion dinner in a fine restaurant should certainly take more than 60 minutes.\r \r The food was bland and the presentation less than exciting. Extensive wine selection was almost overwhelming.\r \r As we got up from our table to leave the restaurant, we walked right by our waitress who was not busy, but just standing...she looked right at us as we walked by and did not smile, did not thank us for coming in, not a peep. I found that extremely rude.\r \r Unfortunately, overall we were not impressed with the food or the service. Pros: Cozy atmosphere Cons: Service, parking, value more

Ate there over the holidays with some friends. It was better Italian food than chain restaurants but not great. Their signature dish with eggplant showed no respect for or knowledge of how to prepare eggplant...the sauce was watery, with what seemed like canned diced tomatos, we couldn't find the eggplant in the dish because it was so thin and inside a burnt hard fried coating and then overpowered by heavy glomps of tasteless cheeses. The other five dishes which should have been quite varied all had a weak sauce that tasted the same on the meatballs, fish, seafood, veal. Service was a roller coaster...overly attentive at times like when they tried to remove the bread and appetizers we had just started eating ... to nonexistant for long periods of time like when we tried to wave people down and eventually got up to seek out more water. Pros: Maybe the outside dining in nice weather Cons: tasteless food, erratic service, awful parking more

I?ve been going to Serafina for more than 5 years. It?s always been a bit of ?event? dining, but 2 hours for 2 appetizers and a couple of glasses of wine!? A 9:15 reservation and we were finally seated at 9:40 (even though there were several open tables. What?s the logic of this?). Waiter took another 20 minutes to get to our table. 30 minutes after THAT we finally get a bread basket. We ordered three plates, received two (not sure where the other one went) and got a second glass of wine delivered AFTER we were already finished. By the time we got out of there (still hungry and much more stressed out than when we arrived ? so much for a relaxing meal) it was 11:30. It wasn't even a weekend night. The food just isn?t good enough to make up for the miserable service. Bye Serafina! Cons: SERVICE, attitude, parking more

My boyfriend and I went with two other couples to take advantage of the 25 for $25 at Serafina. We ended up waiting in the bar while our table was prepared. The bartender was very nice and prepared some very good drinks for us (I had the Bayberry Drop). Then we were seated at a round table in the back corner of the restaurant so we could enjoy the live music but still hear our conversation at the table. We all ordered off of the 25 for $25 menu and the food did not disappoint. The appetizer (toasted harvest bread with goat cheese & fruit chutney) was a very good mix of flavors. Just enough to leave you satisfied, but not full. The entree (baked penne in a four cheese sauce w/ sauteed mushrooms topped with bread crumbs) was very good. I had asked for it without mushrooms, but they had accidently mixed them in the first time. We got our waiters attention and they apologized and took it back. The replacement entree came out extremely quick and was incredible. I love cheese so this was the perfect dish for me with chunks of goat cheese mixed in with the penne. Amazing. For dessert I would definitely recommend the panna cotta. The perfect dessert to follow a rich entree, sweet and surprisingly light. I also snuck a bit of the chocolate hazelnut napoleon which was very good as well. The entire staff was extremely nice and accomodating. I would definitely recommend this place for a romantic evening out. Pros: great food, great atmosphere Cons: our waiter could have been a little more attentive more

In town on business and got a recommendation from the staff at my hotel to check out Serafina. It did not disappoint! While the weather did not permit eating outdoors, the ambience indoors was just as lovely - really warm and comfortable and inviting especially on a chilly fall night. The waitstaff was attentive (but not overly so) and the food was delicious. Sesaonal fare that was well-presented and flavorul. I definitely recommend! Pros: ambience, location, food selection Cons: lighting was too dim to read for this solo diner more

I heard good things about this place and decided to check it out with my wife. We were impressed by the ambiance right away and service was very nice. The food however, lacked good spices. It was good, but pretty mild. My wife noticed the same thing. What I was really disappointed with was the bill. I think for the quality of food I was completely overcharged. Pros: ambiance Cons: price more

The food was good, the ambience was GREAT, especially on the patio on a warm night. The food is different, not spicy per se but they used a lot of flavorful additions like arugula and pinenuts. We had the tender pork belly appetizer which was excellent, the pinenut ravioli which was very different and the gnocci which was different than any gnocci i'd had because it was made with polenta. My disappointment was just in the prices for the serving size. We ordered the gnocci as a ""first"" entree and there were only 4 gnocci. There were only about 10 ravioli as well...and for $16 or something, it didn't seem like much. Overall impression; good and I'm glad I tried it but for the value, I wouldn't return. Pros: ambiance, food flavors, service Cons: value, serving size more

Eating at Serafina is one of the great joys life has to offer. In the ten or so years I have been dining at this establishment I have never been disappointed. In fact, I have always left with a smile on my face. The atmosphere and staff are as fabulous as the food, and I cannot think of a single drawback to the Serafina experience. Pros: food, service, ambience more