Gnocchi Bar

I love gnocchi so when I found out about this place we had to stop in.
The food was good, we all tried a different dish and a couple soups so we could all share. High quality food with great flavor. Super friendly staff!

Gnocchi Bar!
The gnocchi are firm but cloud like, not like the elementary school glue blobs served elsewhere.
The sauces/​sides are all made with every aspect the plate (sometimes bowl (cozy)) in mind, hell even the butter/​salt/​pepper is quality.
Adana’s desserts in the case, I try to never leave without one.

I’m rating this strictly on my Ubereats experience. I ordered the gnocchi and meatballs, and the gnocchi with mushroom and cauliflowers. Both were underwhelming. The meatballs were very good, but I thought that was the only redeeming part of the meal. The portions are also really small. Both my boyfriend and I were very disappointed with the actual dumplings. I won’t be ordering from here again, and I can’t say I’m compelled to actually visit the restaurant.

We drove by here and we immediately KNEW we had to make a stop and try out the food because we love gnocchi and everything about it so we had high expectations.
We walked in and sat ourselves. The waiter was friendly, service was great, and the food even better. We ordered a beet salad, a glass of wine, the mushroom medley, and the chicken with asparagus gnocchi plate. I was a little surprised at how expensive the bill was ($ 50-​ish total) considering the portions we got but in hind sight, gnocchi can be very filling and I liked that I had room for dessert.
I was very pleased with the mushroom medley– it was creamy, earthy and had a truffle-​y flavor to it that I enjoyed. The asparagus and chicken was great, too! The combination of ingredients and flavors were pleasantly different and we definitely enjoyed it.
If you want dessert, they serve gelato. We skipped this one but it looked good!

I Live gelato, creamy and delicious, I particularly love the pistachio and Nutella, in regards the food everything is fresh, tomato soup was simple and delicious, the salads were pretty fresh. Overall was good, service is a bit slow.

I really wanted to love this place, but I left feeling just ok about it.
The food was really, really good. I had the truffle gnocchi, which was super yum. The friend had something that combined two other dishes, and hers was also super yum. The food is definitely not the problem. What is? The confusing organization of the place. If you just want gelato, wait in line at the register. If you want dinner, go take a seat. But there’s only one person in charge of dealing with both sets of people, and it seems like a crazy triage, with the one person feeling like their hair is on fire. There has to be a better way. When we were just about done eating, people sat down next to us. It took about 15 minutes for them to even get menus because there was a group of 6 getting gelato followed by more people getting gelato. They should really consider having everyone place their order at the register, giving them a number or taking their name, and then bringing their food out. It would be way more organized that way, but harder to upsell the gelato dessert when you’re finished. I hope they brainstorm on this, because the food is amazeballs.

This was just a review of the dessert. We tried the key lime cheesecake and the rhubarb crumb… both were good but the outstanding dessert was the key lime cheesecake. It was just the perfect blend of tart and creamy. I really loved this dessert!

I ordered this food to go, so I don’t have experience with their in-​person service.
I had the cream of tomato soup, the mushroom medley, and the 50 Shades of Green; all three of them were amazingly delicious. I would absolutely recommend all three based on taste, speed of preparation, and creative use of flavor combos.

The service was abysmal. After we were seated, we waited a half hour and then had to go find the waitress to get our order taken. We were then informed the food would take a while, but it took over an hour (far exceeding the half hour projection) and there wasn’t even a large crowd in the restaurant. When it was time for the bill, I had to again get up to seek out the waitress to ask for the check after waiting ~15 minutes.
The food itself was underwhelming. I got the truffle gnocchi, which was bland and oily. I would have expected much more for a place that is supposed to specialize in gnocchi.
Myself, and the group I was with, will not be repeat customers. I’d recommend that the management reanalyze their staffing to ensure all customers can be tended to while being able to produce food in a reasonable amount of time while the restaurant isn’t even at capacity.

This place was confusing and underwhelming.
At first glance, you walk in and are immediately presented with a huge selection of appealing gelato flavors via a huge cooler cabinet. At the same time, you’ll see a menu of today’s gnocchi specials and a few spare tables for dining in. Is this a gelato bar, or gnocchi bar? It’s quite an odd combination, if not bi-​polar. The server immediately asks you if you plan to dine in or take out. We dined in.
After being seated, served water and placing our order, it took a god-​awful 30 minutes to get just two plates of gnocchi. There were six people dining in at the time we ordered, so the long wait was just inexcusable.
When our gnocchi arrived, it was underwhelming in portion (each @ ~$ 13 a plate), served hot, and moderate in flavor. The mushroom had decent flavor, though the addition of cauliflower was odd. The caper, bacon and truffle gnocchi was overwhelmingly powerful. They were heavy handed on the truffle oil, and the combination of that with sour, pungent capers was too much for one dish.
I had specifically asked the waitress if she recommended an appetizer to go along with our gnocchi dishes as we wanted to make sure we ordered enough food, but she assured us that the gnocchi dishes alone would feed us fine. They weren’t enough and I was surprised she wouldn’t at least try to sell us more food. Even my wife left the restaurant hungry, and she is of petite stature.

WOW!
I have had gnocchi all around, different countries, Michelin starred Chefs, James Beard award winners, and some of it has been really amazing. Let me tell you, Lisa Nakamura kills them all. This was the most perfect gnocchi you could ever dream of. Light beyond belief. Absolute perfect pillows of potato goodness! Her menu is simple with some great add ons. The price point is almost tragically low for the quality of her product! Hands down the best gnocchi anywhere.
The space is well thought out. Directly across the street from Seattle PD East precinct. There is also a very nice selection of gelato for after, but honestly all I want is another serving of the gnocchi!
Keep up the amazing work Lisa! I wish you nothing but great success and prosperity! You deserve it!
Come give this place a try. Lunch or dinner it does not matter! Mouth watering, savory, perfection on a plate!

This place is a bit odd, but worth it. When we walked in we weren’t sure what to do, order at the bar, sit, wait to be seated… it’s a little confusing. We were sat and then great service started. They were attentive and friendly. The menu is straight forward. A few salads, soups, lighter bites, and then the gnocchi. My wife got the butternut squash salad with a truffle dressing and the cider chicken gnocchi. She really enjoyed it, especially the salad. My mom ordered the meatballs with gnocchi. This was good, but not great. The sauce had a Chef Boyaredee flavor to it. The gnocchi was tender and perfectly cooked. I had the stuffed gnocchi. Balls of gnocchi dough filled with braised short rib and cooked perfectly. They were tossed in a horseradish cream sauce with a bit of broccoli. It could use a bit more broccoli, but it was still delicious.
They have a nice, but small wine list.

This is a Customer Service review which was horrible. We wanted to grab some food, went up to the counter to put in our order, and took a seat after the waiter gestured us to the table. He said he would be right with us but he was busy running around for almost 20 minutes never came back to get our order. So we left.

I’m not sure when they changed to Gnocchi Bar as I’ve been coming to this place for the past few years when it was known as D’Ambrosia Gelato. Why I adored this place was the rich italian desserts and gelatos. They had the largest selection of gelatos up to a year or two ago when that selection got cut in half, then half again from there and now it’s a gnocchi bar!
Nonetheless it’s a nice spot, cozy and quaint and away from all the hustle and bustle of cap hill. It’s also right across the street from Seattle Police Department so you feel extra safe! haha

Great recommendation by the waitstaff and super friendly. Ordered the short rib w horseradish gnocchi. Excellent. Will definitely go back and try more dishes.

There’s a place in downtown Seattle where you can see like 5 or 6 Starbucks from just one corner. Standing on that corner makes me want to burn our city to the ground, hulk-​smashing my way through every green mermaid and Norah Jones CD that Starbucks has to offer. Obviously I haven’t written a review for Starbucks because it would just say «NO.»
A world in which those Starbucks cafes were replaced by Gnocchi Bars is what Oprah might call «DREAMING BIG» but I would totally endorse it. First-​class gnocchi with a renowned chef at the helm, and incredible desserts that are made in-​house. I could eat their stuffed gnocchi or mushroom medley dish every day if wearing stretchy pajama pants to work every day was also allowed.
They offer gluten-​free gnocchi, which is great for those with celiac disease and also people who think they’re allergic to gluten but don’t know what that is. Vegans, please stay in the forest where you’ll have access to tree bark and fresh spring water because gnocchi contains eggs and a lot of awesomeness and fun.
I highly recommend throwing Chef Lisa Nakamura’s gnocchi in the air after a graduation or wedding in lieu of hats or rice.

Maybe it was just because it was take out but this meal was very disappointing…
The sauce was way too watery and had vey little flavor. The gnocchi was cooked well but was not as dense as it should be. All in all it was a very bland meal.
I still like the idea of a gnocchi bar (b/​c i love gnocchi) and I will probably give it another shot. Maybe next time I will dine at the restaurant and see if it is any better. Judging from my first meal though… I would look elsewhere for a good gnocchi dinner.

The gnocchi here are tasty. I got the Hot Couture (gnocchi in cream sauce) and added bacon. The fococcia bread that comes with is really delicious, and I regret not getting extra. I enjoyed the meal overall, but it wasn’t so good that I would go out of my way to get it in the future. I prefer the gnocchi at Mama Melina’s in U District which is a bit denser and comes with a richer sauce.
What dropped the score for me, though, is that they don’t carry Diet Coke (or any sugar free drinks)! When I asked my server, he said they had Mexican Coke and would that be okay instead. Sorry, hun, but that’s not an appropriate substitute. He went on to explain that all of their beverages have sugar in them, so we diabetics are out of luck. If they had had some sugar free drink options, I probably would have given Gnocchi Bar a 4.

Came here with a friend. We had already eaten, so not super hungry but wanted to try! We split the mushroom gnocchi (with potato gnocchi). The mushrooms were delicious, but diced really small, there could’ve been more artichoke (or my friend ate it all without me noticing), and the peppers were spiiiiicy! The pesto was very flavorful, and had we been more hungry we probably could’ve finished more of it. The bowl LOOKS small, but believe me, that tiny bowl is FILLING!!!
We also got a small gelato to share which wasn’t life changing but was a nice end to our second dinner of the night.
Maybe if we had skipped our first dinner I would’ve loved it more as the gnocchi was pillowy and perfectly cooked, but I don’t feel like it was life changing. I will attempt again at a later date when I’m hungrier… :)

I decided to walk over there from Harborview after seeing a news story on the restaurant. I was hoping for the gnoochi stuffed with lamb. That wasn’t on the menu and may never be again. I ended up trying a stuffed gnoochi with ham and sauerkraut. Got 5 large gnoochi with not much filling compared to the size. If it weren’t for the awesome sauce, my rating would be lower. The filling combination added little to the gnoochi, bland. The website says cheap, but a $ 14 dollar potato meal is not cheap. I will definitely try them again with regular gnoochi, not stuffed.
The atmosphere and service were superb.

I’ve had and loved Lisa’s gnocchi when she was doing a pop up in Miyabi on 45^th. Yesterday I finally tried her newish place and it did not disappoint! Came in mid afternoon on a Wednesday before the dinner rush, so it was quiet, which was nice. Ordered the green gnocchi (pesto) and added bacon. It was delicious! Sampled my friend’s order with a white cheesy mushroom sauce that was also delicious. The sauces were great and I loved the pillowy texture of the gnocchi. Will definitely have to come back and sample more!

Is it fair to rate a restaurant based on an UberEats experience? I ordered the meatball gnocchi in tomato sauce using the App and was pretty disappointed with the meal. The portion was actually decent (looks smaller than it is), but the gnocchi just didn’t hold up being kept warm in the delivery vehicle. They were all soggy by the time I got my food. Also, the tomato sauce was very watery with none of the «kick» that was in the description. The meatballs were fine, though.
Overall, this seemed like a reheated meal, not something I want to drop $ 12 on for a lunch. For that price I’m going to compare you to Il Corvo, or any other italian place downtown. This dish didn’t hold up.

Went here with a friend for dinner in the summer and it definitely met my expectations. The only reason I’m not giving it a 5 star is because the portions were a bit too small in my opinion, food took way too long to come out, & there was no air conditioning.
However, the flavor are delicious! I was craving a really cheesy, rich dish and the mushroom medley w the white cheddar sauce definitely hit the spot. I also added bacon to my gnocchi.
I love my gnocchi, I love my cheese, together gnocchi bar happily met my cravings!

What could be better than gnocchi and gelato? Nothing! Nothing I say! Oh wait, espresso? Yes that could top it off! This place was pure genius — whomever came up with the concept deserves high fives all around. The first time I came here was on a cold evening, and even then I craved the gelato. Needless to say I indulged. The nocciola (hazelnut) gelato was smooth, creamy, and totally satisfying. The second time I visited I had the Fifty Shades of Green gnocchi dish — pure perfection in a bowl! The light pesto flavor on fresh broccoli and gnocchi prepared just right — perfectly past al dente — made for a memorable dinner. If I had more time before going to see Wicked at the Paramount mere blocks away, I would have tried the espresso — alas something to look forward to for the next visit! I will be back here just as soon as I can!

The gnocchi here are pillowy and delicious! I had the chicken and cider with pumpkin gnocchi, and although I usually prefer my gnocchi in a thick sauce, this had just enough flavoring that it didn’t matter. My friend had the mushrooms with pumpkin gnocchi and now I want to have that next time…
For dessert I had the chocolate peanut butter tart, which was delicious but pretty typical, and I wanna get the tiramisu or gelato or cannoli next time to be more exciting.

My SO and I finally had a chance to try out Gnocchi Bar when we finally had time to walk around the restaurant’s vicinity. We like the restaurant’s layout. It’s casual and modern classy enough that you don’t feel stuffy like dining in old-​tradition or high end restaurants. The layout of the store was a bit confusing. We walked in and didn’t know whether we were supposed to line up at the counter and pick something off of the menu somewhere or to sit down at a table for table service. Luckily the staff was kind enough to tell us to just sit at the table and she brought us the menu.
We decided to try 2 Gnocchi plates (around $ 11-​$ 14 each). One potato gnocchi with roasted mushroom and cauliflower in white cheddar cheese sauce and another dish of polenta gnocchi with chicken and zucchinis, mushrooms and capers in butter, cider sauce. I like the idea that you can pick whether you want to have potato or polenta gnocchi for any of the gnocchi dish you order. Since we tried both, we both preferred and recommended the potato gnocchi over the polenta ones. You can also add more toppings in your dish for additional $. The potato gnocchi were more chewy and tasted more like what I would expect of gnocchi… while the polenta was sort of bland and broken apart as you bite through it. We the two dishes, we also clearly preferred the roasted mushroom/​cauliflower over the mushroom/​zucchini/​capers one. The white cheddar sauce mixed much better with the gnocchi while the cider sauce was clear. and I thought the taste was a bit off (a lil sour from caper) and just didn’t mix well at all with the completely bland poached chicken,
Be aware of the size of your gnocchi dish. Their dish looked small, but were actually pretty filling. We only finished 1.5 dish and take the remaining ½ dish of leftover home to eat the next day. We initially thought we would try out the gelato, too. but surprisingly (and unfortunately) we were too full to even attempt to down some more creamy goodies! Overall, a decent place to try out some interesting mix/​takes on gnocchi once in a while. but like everyone said. it’s sort of overpriced and there are just other dining options that may taste better around the area.

I was really on the verge of a one star review here. The service AND the food my friend and I had here last week were absolutely wretched.
My first major complaint is the gnocchi itself. It isn’t exactly cheap – you’re looking at 11 – 15 $ worth of gnocchi for a single meal – and it’s also just downright bad. This was easily the worst gnocchi I’ve ever had, and my friend agreed that he’s gotten better gnocchi from the grocery.
The reason for this is that the gnocchi is bready. It was like biting into a noodle on the outside, but the inside was like pure whitebead. It was weird and the sensation on my tongue made me think of licking a sponge. It didn’t soak up any of the sauce except on the very outer edges, making it rather dry, and super weird on the palette.
I suspect part of the problem here is that the individual gnocchi’s are way too big to cook properly. I’ve had great gnocchi, I’ve had ok gnocchi, and then I had this. This was a new gnocchi low, which I found fairly inexcusable given that the place specializes in nothing but gnocchi.
The service also left a lot to be desired – it took us so long to get our plates cleared that even though we’d specifically come here for the D’Ambrosio gelatto, we ended up leaving and got Molly Moon’s instead. There were three servers there – this was at like 5:30ish on a Sunday – and although none of them were standing around doing nothing, they weren’t really doing anything either, if that makes sense. There were seriously like 5 tables in this entire restaurant, four of which were two-​tops. I have no idea why these three servers could not handle this. I even watched another couple get up and leave while waiting to be greeted.
In fact, now that I think of it, the service is the most infuriating part, because at least they can claim they had an «off day» on the gnocchi, or they actually like it spongy and bland, but there is never an excuse for me to wait 15 minutes for my check with three servers in the building and only 5 tables, even with the occasional customer coming in just for ice cream.
I will not be back. I’m sure this place will be gone in another 6 months if this is how they do business. I know they’ve been getting some rock star reviews in magazines around here, but clearly those food writers had a very different experience from us average guests.

This review is specifically for the gelato bar, not the gnocchi. Although the signs don’t say D’Ambrosio outside anymore, it’s still D’Ambrosio gelato inside, never fear!
This is a very casual place where you order at the counter and they bring food out. The gelato case is right next to the register. They had all the classic flavors, plus a few unexpected ones like malted milk chocolate, which I’ve never seen as gelato. The server recommended swirling it with the coconut gelato, essentially making it a Mounds bar flavor, which was excellent advice! The coconut gelato was very fresh and had a strong coconut taste — it could be a little overwhelming if you don’t love coconut, but I thought it was fantastic. The Nutella flavor was solid, too.
The prices are pretty typical, i.e., slightly higher than ice cream. A $ 4 small cup includes up to two flavors, and they’ll let you sample a few to pick your combo.
The space was somewhat cramped inside, with just a handful of small tables, and it wasn’t clear to us whether we were allowed to sit at the tables with our ice cream or if that was just for people ordering dinner. We decided to take our gelato to go anyway, but it was a little confusing.
A good place to stop and grab some gelato, but head to Cal Anderson or Pike/​Pine to sit outdoors and do some people-​watching while you enjoy your frozen treat.

I thoroughly enjoy this place. Cute and casual with dynamite gnocchi and gelato made with simple ingredients. The prices are decent and the location is great, sitting in the space previously occupied by Eltana near Cal Anderson and all that jazz.
It’s summer time, so Gnocchi Bar has thrown open the garage door, so to speak. One can sit at the counter with open air access to the streets or at one of several small, intimate tables. It’s a «seat yourself» scenario, and while we’ve had some rocky experiences with initial service/​recognition, the service is overall quite quick and friendly. Again, the word «laid back» comes to mind.
There’s nothing notable about the décor other than its casual, non-​statement-​y approach; this experience is all about the food — the beautiful, plump potato gnocchis (Polenta just never made much sense to me. I refuse to try it… and I guess the makes me a snob. Oh well). Even though one may not consider the «heaviness» of gnocchis Summer fare, Gnocchi Bar managers to pull it off, offering lighter-​flavored options like Portabello Belles with Sweet Spicy Mama Lil Peppers tossed with Pesto. My personal favorite is the «Just Tomato» which is… well, just that. It’s a pure tasting dish where one can enjoy the acidity of plain sauce paired with the baked-​carb, blandish (in a good way!) flavor of the doughy pillows of delight. The gnocchi is a great texture: just the right amount of chewy and just the right amount of density. This tip might be for you: Depending on how hungry you are, I would recommend ordering 3 dishes for 2 people, since 1 dish seems a bit on the small side and each plate has about 15 pieces of gnocchi on them. I don’t know about you, but I am a growing girl. To me, 15 pieces is like bird food status.
Final recommendation: the gelato. It’s D’Ambrosio (a local Seattle business). It’s divine. And you can try as many flavor samples at the gelato bar — a welcome remnant from the space’s Eltana days — as you like before committing. I recommend the Madigascar Vanilla because I’m boring like that. Yup.

Their servings might look small, but these lil dough balls fill you up fast. I came in here for lunch and got the potato gnocchi in a white cheddar sauce with cauliflower and mushrooms for myself and their spinach, mozz, and sun dried tomato salad to share. I was beyond stuffed after a few bites of gnocchi, but they were such goooood bites.
I’ve never had such good gnocchi before and now I’m a gnocchi believer. They were so light and fluffy, yet dense and filling. You won’t understand until you come here! The bread that comes on the side is also to die for and I was tempted to ask for more.
I made the mistake of wanting to people watch while eating and tried to sit up at the stools on a nice day. The sun came in right there and it was way too hot in that one spot. I love restaurants that can completely open in nice weather, but that spot wasn’t working out for me.
Wish I ate at Allium when chef Lisa was working there. Would love to try other dishes from her!

More like 3.5 but rounding off to 4. Honestly, given the chef’s credentials, I expected way more. But then, gnocchis were still pretty delicious and «pillow-​y».
I tried the stuffed gnochhi and chicken gnocchi. The carrot one was super delicious but the chicken one left a lot to be desired. The delicate gnoochi was overpowered by slightly tough chicken texture. As per other reviewers, the add-​ons were a bit on the pricey side as well.
I’d have preferred the layout and service style to be different. You have to find yourself a table before you walk over to the counter to order. They don’t seat you or take orders at the table. This may work for gelato service but not for a dinner/​gnocchi service.

This location used to be just D’Ambrosio, and now it has Gnocchi Bar in the same shop! The signage outside actually says «Gnocchi Bar» now. The place still has more of a gelato shop/​café-​type setting, so it didn’t feel like a bar or a restaurant –a nice place to chill though. And now you can order gnocchi and wine! You order at the counter, sit wherever, and they serve you your food. Even though it has waiter service, the utensils/​napkins were self-​serve (this might change as they get adjusted).
My friend and I tried the portobella gnocchi. I enjoyed the flavors of the mushroom and pesto, and the peppers’ spice paired nicely with the gnocchi (albeit a little too much spice for me; could have used more gnocchi to balance it out). The gnocchi itself was more melt-​in-​your-​mouth/​pillowy, rather than dense like gnocchi I’ve tried before. I liked that it wasn’t overly heavy, but it also wasn’t very filling either. Overall, it tasted great (I’d give the taste 4 stars), but probably not enough if you’re hungry and looking to fill up from one plate. Definitely left hungry, and probably could have eaten another plate or two. I wanted to try the tiramisu, but the price-​quantity ratio kinda turned me away. I’m hoping the taste makes up for it!
The staff was friendly, and very helpful. I’m not sure if it’s because it was their grand opening, but three different servers checked up on us at least five times within less than 45 minutes… which isn’t a bad thing, but it felt a little too much. It almost felt like we were being pressured to hurry and finish. It was their first day though, so hopefully it’ll only get better. Overall, worth a visit! If you’re not in the mood for gnocchi, at least come for the gelato (which I would give 4 stars)!
**Updated overall rating from 3 to 4 to include D’Ambrosio!