Cantinetta

[Finspot]

First the good news. This is exactly the sort of neighborhood restaurant Seattle needs more of. The space is inviting & energized, the service good. If I lived in lower Wallingford I'd be glad to have this place nearby. That said, my dinner companions and I agreed that the kitchen overshot on a few of the dishes on this particular night. Pig trotters braised and fried (so far so good) were accompanied by an overpowering anchovy sauce; a simple gravy or red wine reduction would have served them much better. Steamed mussels were cooked with so much bay leaf that the astringent flavor pretty much wrecked the delicate wine & cream broth and negated the flavor of the fennel entirely. Our mains were decent. I'd order the Casoncelli again. Overall we enjoyed ourselves and I look forward to trying Cantinetta again, with hopefully some better appetizers that don't pretend to be more than they are.

[swarf]

I grew up right down the street, and my mom still lives there, so I'd really like to see a place like this succeed, but my overall opinion is only so so after two visits. First of all, I am a salt lover, and though I've heard numerous complaints of over salting, most stuff was just right for me. On the whole, food has had the potential to be great, but significant errors have gotten in the way. I had a steak with porcini and walla wallas in the summer, and while the mushrooms and onions were great, the steak was certainly done past my medium rare order. More recently, both dishes we ordered that had mushrooms suffered from poor fungi cleaning. There was a definite amount of grit with the hedgehogs (with a steak), and in addition to some dirt with the black trumpets (in a risotto, so evenly distributed), there was moss (I guess it gives you a sense of place?). In addition there was lipstick on a teacup. I don't have a big budget for dining out, and unless someone else takes me out, I likely won't return anytime soon.

[Finspot]

Yikes, black trumpets should never be dirty; all you do is cut off the ends. And moss? That's ridiculous. Hedgehogs are tougher quarry to clean, but still. Sounds like they're cutting corners.

[swarf]

Redeemed! A trip a few weeks ago was great. Everything was good, a few plates excellent.

[staffstuff]

This was similar to my experience with the food..heavy-handed with flavors, oversalted, too small portions and overpriced.....i don't think Seattle needs more of this kind of neighborhood place.

[Finspot]

Staffstuff, I hear what you're saying. I guess my point is that it's nice to see more neighborhood restaurants (like Cantinetta) opening in Seattle that are paying attention to ambience, service, and at least making an honest effort with the food--as opposed to endless iterations of the corner Thai place of little note. And I didn't find the menu overpriced; it was considerably less than the same fare served up in Belltown, with most mains well under $20. Despite some glitches with the appetizers we really enjoyed ourselves, so they must have been doing something right. I plan to give this one some more time to work out the kinks in the kitchen.

[Colin2]

My recent experience aligned with both of yours -- fun, interesting, a lot of energy being put into the place, attentive service, a veg-friendly menu ... but sauces and flavorings overwhelmed dishes. I had something with bacon on top and tasted only bacon.

If they could pull it off better, the prices would be OK.

[mrnelso]

And I think we do need more of this kind of neighborhood place; and never was there a more neighborhoody neighborhood place than this, but...
Somebody in the kitchen (the chef perhaps?) should actually taste the food and appreciate the presentation.
They will learn a lot.