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
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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
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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
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Pros: ambience, service, food, wine list
Cons: parking (their lot is a block away), can be noisy on a weekend night
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