We haven’t been yet and even if we had, probably wouldn’t have reviewed the joint — restaurant reviews, frankly, are a pain to write and usually end up unsatisfying and incomplete. Prefer, instead, to dole out praise, non-praise over the long run in bits and pieces. Fortunately, plenty of your neighbors have been to pasta genius Justin Neidermeyer’s Spinasse already and want to tell you all about the place helping to expand the upper edge of the Pike/Pine corridor.
- Capitol Hill Triangle swallowed the charm and zucchini blossom frittata but choked on the bill. “Though we had a wonderful dinner (the waitstaff was outstanding and the atmosphere convivial), we left feeling that Barolo, La Spiga and Machiavelli offered better value.”
- Wright Eats underwent an out of body experience. “Each dish transported us straight back to Italy. With the sweet and sour onions served with artisan salami from Fra Mani, we were suddenly eating dinner at a rustic agriturismo outside Bologna.”
- The Yelpers are hovering at 4.5 stars. “Pricey? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely” — but beware! “The restaurant is very small and there are certain seats where you will be constantly brushed against or knocked on.”
- Seattle Food Genius Ron Holden (hey, if this Justin dude can be a pasta genius, Ron can be a Food Genius) tells us we can’t get a tacky cocktail but we can get a fundamental change in approach or assumptions! “Spinasse represents a major paradigm shift for authentic Italian cooking in Seattle: no longer the exclusive province of self-taught immigrants (Sorrentino, La Spiga), and far superior to competent but soulless culinary-school Italian (Tavolata, Branziino).”
So there you have it. Cool to see what looks like a strong player emerge in the connection zone between 15th Ave and Pike/Pine.
Seattle is pretty weak on the Italian food front. Can’t wait to try this new joint and a definite bonus its so close by.
i was at a private party there a week before the official opening. while the food was good, and free, i didn’t see what all the fuss is about. if it were a paid affair (and by what people are saying an expensive one), i likely wouldn’t feel as good about the food.
not to stir the pot here (okay, maybe just a bit) but i wonder how many of these reviewer’s opinions are tainted by the sheer anticipation that the place has to be awesome? i mean, if we got someone from new york, l.a. or san francisco up here who’d never heard of neidermeyer, would the praise be so lovely?
i will likely go back in a few weeks to give the full menu a paid spin and maybe i can be proved wrong but at this point i’m not buying the hype.