Rialto

Disclaimer: I have a friend that works here, however, I can assure you that if I wasn’t willing to be totally honest I just wouldn’t write a review at all ;-)
I arrived at Rialto’s at around 6:45 on a Friday night and I’m glad I got there when I did because the place was packed 7:30 with a few people waiting for a table. It’s a relatively small space but nonetheless the busy crowd was certainly a testament to the fact that people seem to love Rialto’s, and a good portion of those that came in seemed to know the staff or owner on a first name basis (I was seated near the door) ;-)
Although the specials were seriously tempting me, the pan seared Halibut for one, I opted for a Bruschetta starter [grilled ciabatta bread, rubbed with garlic, warmed goat cheese, marinated red peppers, olive tapenade and roasted garlic], which was delicious, and I really appreciate that the toppings were served separately so I could dress according to my tastes. I also realize that some people ‘expect’ tomatoes with their Bruschetta, however, it’s my understanding that although this is the common way it is presented in America, in Italy tomatoes and/​or Mozzarella are not always one of the toppings (yes, I like that version too).
The house salad was actually surprisingly delicious for such a simple affair, mixed greens in what appeared to be a white balsamic dressing that was absolutely perfect, which was a good thing as my only minor complaint with Rialto was that this was the only salad option, and I love a good Caesar salad, their house salad had me forgetting my desire for the Caesar.
For my main Entrée I was deciding between the Gorgonzola cream Fettuccine, and the Penne with Feta, Tomato, and Pine Nuts
in a light cream sauce with fresh basil… I chose the Penne which was a great choice! The pasta was cooked perfect and the sauce was light yet rich on flavor, the only problem I had is that I promised to save some for my daughter… I should have ordered several to take home! ;-)

My wife and I love Rialto. We’ve been going for years, and the wait staff and owner are like family to us.
The food is consistent and tasty, with great portions and excellent value. My wife in particular loves the lamb. Loves it. I mean, sometimes we need to make a special trip over to get some lamb.
Personally, I really enjoy the pesto pasta with some chicken sausage and a bit of cracked pepper. It’s great comfort food.
Rialto always has great wines as well — both sparkling and some very nice italian reds. And last but not least I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the chocolate cake for dessert — it’s a must-​order!
We have had birthday, New Years, and family dinners here and we will keep coming back!
Tip: Parking can be a bear, so look for spots in the neighborhood behind Rialto for relatively quick and easy parking without huge walking distance.

I can’t say enough good things about Rialto… We have been coming here consistently since it moved to the Fremont location, and every time I am happier than the last… My favorites are the Eggplant Parmesan and Rudy’s Red with Meatballs… Consistently amazing, service is ALWAYS top notch, and we love Rialto so much we sometimes just have to have takeout.
Please give Rialto a shot, I can say we will be back at least twice a month as long as we are in Seattle…

Seating available on a mon. Night around 8. I don’t drink so I have no clue about the wine, but the soda’s are canned which, to me since I suck ‘em down pretty quick, is kind of a negative. The bread was delicious and crunchy on the outside, but they don’t bring butter, you have olive oil at the table– but no balsamic vinegar for dipping. Bummer for me but not my dinner mate. The salad is just lettuce (not iceberg) in a white balsamic vinegar dressing– pretty good. I got the Dijon chicken in cream sauce– which was delicious! Penne pasta with lots of diced peppers and mushrooms in a heavy and delicious cream sauce… Yum. Now my dinner mate got the pesto in linguine with sausag. The pasta was nothing to write home about– nothing surprising or that can’t be thrown together at home. The sausage, however, was yummy. For Seattle it’s pretty good Italian and above the local average…

Two words: Eggplant Parmesan.
Rialto was recommended to my group of friends as the owner’s daughter (I think?) has a design blog that one of my friends follows. We are sooooooooooo grateful to have found this place!
After arriving for an extended girls weekend in Seattle, a group of four of us piled into Rialto on a cold December Thursday night, hungry for a hearty and delicious Italian meal. We were not disappointed!
Their bread (served with your requisit olive oil and balsamic vinegar) tastes freshly baked and absolutely delicious. Our server (Matt?) made wonderful suggestions and took great care of us, even rushing back to the table to ensure our wine glasses were always full.
The spaghetti bolognese was absolutely the perfect hot bowl of pasta I was looking for; and unlike other restaurants this dish was so light! Even though I don’t eat a lot of red meat, the way this dish was prepared made such a difference. No heaviness or greasy sauces!
Upon our server’s suggestion, someone had to order the Eggplant Parmesan. O mio dio. Wow. I can honestly say that I have never tasted such an amazing version of this dish. The eggplant was perfectly fried and again, not greasy, and served with a perfect red sauce.
WELL DONE, Rialto! Can’t wait to come back to Seattle and try the other dishes.

Eggplant Parmesan! So good. I was always wary of eggplant, but the server said it was great so I gave it a try – now I am a convert!
We just moved to a place 3 blocks away from the Rialto, and I’m glad because we really enjoyed it. My boyfriend had the cannoli and it was also epic. Decent prices, nice atmosphere, good service and good wine. A great place to have in the neighborhood

Located in the heart of Fremont — this restaurant has got quite the home-​y appearance — with a touch of sophistication. The service was just right, not overbearing and not too scarce.
Food was quite good. We had the classic bolognese and the baked ziti with pork ragu. Pasta was not over cooked. Sauces were hearty and hit the spot. There really are so many choices for restaurants serving Italian in Seattle — so we haven’t had the opportunity to go back, but I’d love to go back again if I’m ever in the area for dinner again.

We decided to give Rialto a second chance on our Anniversary, since we had planned to go to Hunger but it was closed that night.
Sadly, my second visit will be my last. Outside of the bottle of wine we had and our dessert (pumpkin cheesecake in caramel sauce), nothing about our visit was exceptional, or really even that great.
I ordered the Penne with Feta, Tomato and Pine nuts, listed as having a «light» cream sauce. I’m pretty sure everyone one would agree there was nothing light about it. My boyfriend ordered the baked Baked Ziti and fared a little better — his was good, if also very heavy. I still maintain that the food is just okay, and definitely not worthy of the prices they are charging.
The saddest part though, was that he really enjoyed the Ziti and so deliberately left some aside to take home (and save room for dessert!) — but when we opened the leftover boxes the next day, we discovered they had given us someone else’s carbonara. *sad face*

I came here last weekend with the boyfriend’s family, and it was hit-​and-​miss.
Service was super friendly, but a bit slow. The caprese salad was to-​die-​for, and definitely the best part of the meal. Entrees were where things got weird, unfortunately. Rudy’s red got good reviews from my table-​mates, but the bolognese and gorgonzola cream definitely did not. I had the salmon special, but asked if they wouldn’t mind substituting rice for pasta, seems how they’re called a pasta bar. I was given perfectly cooked salmon with delicious sauce and roasted grapes (which everyone should do more often), but oddly, with a bowlful of sauceless noodles that had kind of dried out on the side. I tried to pour the plate’s contents onto the pasta bowl, but it didn’t really save it. Guess it’s my fault for trying to change things, but it didn’t seem like that unusual of a request. On the bright side, the ice cream sandwich dessert was delicious.
Not the best Italian food I’ve had in Seattle, but I’d probably give it another shot in case it was an off night.

Delicious and authentic Italian food made by Italians! The owner is super friendly and is usually around concocting refreshing cocktails for Happy Hour. There is a darling patio set away from the street and road/​bus noise and you can bring your well behaved pup to join you! Another nice feature: parking! There are a few parking spots available right infront of the place. Service staff is wonderful and most of them have been around for years. Prices are pretty reasonable, but you pay enough to know you are getting quality ingredients and kitchen staff who know what they are doing.
Get the caprese to start, the mozz is ah-​mozzing!
Enjoy your visit to Rialto!

I had written a long review, and then tried the spellchecker for the first time. Don’t ask me why. :-(When I tried to close the spellchecker I accidentally clicked a button on my browser’s Favorites menu and ended up navigating away from the review page. No worries, I had saved my review using the Save Now button beforehand. But when I got back to the page, I had lost it all. :-(So I recommend that you save early and save often *OUTSIDE* of the browser (in a text or Word doc), m’kay? Now I will attempt to reconstruct my review.
I spotted this place on Unilocal when my half-​Italian wife got a craving for pasta but didn’t want to cook it herself, which she does so well. Rialto had a LOT of 4– and 5-​star ratings, now we know why.
We started with the calamari, which was excellent, despite being just slightly on the chewy side. My wife had their special, meatball meat-​based ravioli. She said that it was the closest thing she had found to her mother’s ravioli. And she loved the sauce that some have complained as being «too simple.»
Being a meat-​eater and inclined towards spicy food, I had the hot Italian sausage plate, with peppers, onions, and spinach. Excellent!
We found the service to be as good as the food, and not at all «pretentious.» We will be back to further explore their menu, especially the dessert menu, which we did not leave room for this visit.

One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Very considerate and fun staff, great food and wine.
On our second visit, the waitress remembered what wines we liked and skipped the non-​vegetarian specials for us. This was an instant win. Great for an evening out with my wife.
Their eggplant parmesan is excellent.

Just saying… still delicious in the new location. I still miss the ghetto-​ness of the old place, but the food is still the same. I’m still ordering the exact same thing: Classic Bolognese.
The new location is huge (relatively). It’s got a nice charm to it – almost like you are at somebody’s house. I like this place and I seem to gravitate coming here anytime I’m close by.

Everything I have tried here is fantastic and the pasta is homemade and fresh. They have a good wine selection and make sure you get the chocolate pudding cake for dessert.
This is one of my new favorite Italian restaurants

This is our favorite neighborhood restaurant. The prices are reasonable and the food is always spot-​on. The specials are usually quite special and the chef does know what to do with fish. The wait-​staff are excellent and they don’t turn over much, which seems to me indicative of good management.
I think it is excellent and we return often.
Update: I have to take a moment to update this review. We always enjoyed our time at Rialto and that is really the substance of my update. Consistency. Consistent excellence is difficult for even the most extravagant restaurants. At Rialto, you can count on superior quality food and service every single time. Sadly, we are now living in Philadelphia, so opportunities to enjoy Rialto will be few and far between, so I encourage you to check it out.

Fremont Pizza & Pasta (or whatever your name was), oh how we miss you! Alas, you were a reliable standby for those desperately hungry weekday evenings, when cooking was out of the question, as was traveling further than our stubby legs would carry us… You were the homey Italian joint down the street, and we loved you. (Clearly not enough, however — for you have abandoned us forever, without so much as a kiss goodbye…) You had consistently decent food, friendly service, and we always felt like, among your clientele, we were among friends.
At Rialto, not so much.
Okay, call me biased. I harbored hopes and pre-​conceived notions that this hussied-​up version of the former establishment really OUGHT to mimic the experience of the past. We figured we’d give it a few months to adapt to it’s new surroundings, and settle into the neighborhood before we ventured forth.
Tonight was the night.
Oy, vey. What a bummer.
Okay, I’ll try to be fair:
Con: You’ve lost that loving feeling, 4307 Fremont Ave N… With your new paint job and brighter interior, you’re much more stark and sharp, without the coziness and warmth of the old-​you. Granted, just that one dining room is considerably brighter, while the other remains rich and comforting with it’s chocolate walls… But all the same, if we’re going to have a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of eating in a museum gallery, vs. Happyville, then excuse me but those odds are simply not worth the gamble.
Pro: The service was very good. The server apologized more than once, and thanked us for our patience, as apparently she was one of only two servers on at the time. This clearly revealed that she felt she was «in the weeds,» though her apologies were not at all necessary — she was on top of everything we asked for, and was very friendly, without being overly… anything. Well done, pretty lady.
Con: Good lord, can someone please tell me how you can call yourself an Italian restaurant, and yet your red sauce is NOTHING more than pureed tomatoes!!! I swear, there was not a hint of salt or pepper, much less a mother-​loving dash of oregano! And are you KIDDING me with the bowl of Barilla, tomato-​purée, and a whole sausage just chillin’ on top?! Not even sliced, or otherwise… Just — pasta-​sauce-​sausage = here ya go! I don’t think I’m even remotely snobby when it comes to plating, but frankly it occurred to me that the plate looked… LAZY. According to E, it tasted as exciting as it looked.
Pro:
MY plate looked nice, and was well-​cooked, too. It was a special tonight: seared scallops over lemon risotto with blanched green beans. The scallops could have been pulled off the heat about a minute earlier, but overall, the dish was very good. The risotto was delicious, and the beans were perfectly crispy, so nice work on Sauté.
Con (with the disclaimer that this is UNDERSTANDABLY NOT within the control of the establishment):
The clientele tonight was HORRIBLE. You could honestly cut the pretentiousness with a knife and serve it on bread (oh, that reminds me – their bread was quite tasty and fresh, but the salad that comes before your meal is absolutely nothing to hold your breath for). I don’t know whether there was an a$$hole convention at the church across the street tonight, or what… But geez-​louise, I haven’t experienced that many dildos in one room since my last trip to [insert favorite erotica store here]. Gah…
Anyway, it’ll be a while before we try it again. I HAD felt badly for it when Via Tribunali went in DIRECTLY next door just a few months ago (Dude, Rialto was there FIRST!!). They’re both neighborhood-​y Italian joints, right? AND just a few blocks up from Brad’s… But after tonight’s experience, I think we’re going to give both VT & Brad’s a fair shot, and then decide who’s team we’re on…

So I came out to try something new last week and found Rialto…
We were greeted in timely fashion and sat at a nice quaint table for 2. We sat and sat as our server (I think his name was Matt) was chatting up at another table for quite a while.
We were finally greeted and he seemed not too excited to be there or quite personable either. Now Im not asking for the Red Robin style of greeting, but for being in the industry for the last 8 years, you show a genuine quality of interest to all of your guests whether they are regulars or first time guests. This includes talking about specials as well as order taking and checking on your guests to make sure everything is going great.
Now the food was pretty decent. We started off with the Bruschetta which was the highlight of the evening. The roasted garlic, red peppers and goat cheese was ON POINT !!! I had the Pasta Fresca with a side of Chicken sausage. It was BLEH at best. I would think the Sausage and Garlic would jump around my mouth like pop-​rocks exploding in my mouth…
After dinner and having our plates cleared you would expect to hear, how about some dessert or is there anything else I can get for you this evening? Not this case, her and I just sat for about 7 minutes just talking which is fine. He finally came back with our check.
Now I am definitely willing to go try this place out again, but service definitely needs to be upgraded with this one particular person. This is NOT reflective of the other servers there who were smiling and always tableside taking care of their guests…

If I told you I was at the opening night of this restaurant because Rialto just had to have me there to impart my Unilocal wisdom and bless them with my patronage, it would be an incredible lie.
I happened to be walking by this cool looking house that was buzzing with activity and it meant only one thing… a new establishment! I asked to see a menu and also when Rialto would be opening. I was told they were working on making it happen tonight.
I came back two hours later hoping to be the first to discover a treasure trove of pasta and dig into a brand new concept. Instead, I learn this is a move from another location in Greenlake, but the pasta is indeed a find.
The menu is simple and inviting.
It is the spicy Puttanesca Asciutto you want. Not exactly fire, but certainly heat. I finished every single tube of penne.
Split a few dishes because the portions are gigantic. Wine list is quite reasonable and adventurous.
At $ 74.00 for two starters, salads, entrees, one bottle each of wine and Pelligrino, this is a welcome Fremont addition to the scene.
Service? Hey, it was an opening! Vivacious and energetic.
One does not complain when accepting just about every suggestion our server made.
Best of luck to Rialto.

You could call me bias. My hubby and I have enjoyed Rialto’s for fun or special dinner dates, so I hold a little spot in my heart for this place. Most of our visits were when it was near Green Lake and revisited once at their current location pretty recently.
I can say I do miss the intimate feel of the Green Lake location. It felt more like I was visiting a friend for a yummy Italian dinner. However, I am excited they could find a place and expand their seating, so on busy nights you aren’t waiting in the awkward bar/​bathroom hallway.
As for the food, still yummy. Tasty bread, good variety of pasta dishes, and decent wines. Also, I have always loved Rialto’s for their specials. And for the service? I think it just depends on your server. On our last visit, I remember ours kind of disappearing for longer-​than-​needed times, but I think he was being split between the two rooms (more organizational flaw than his). However, the other servers were willing and did step in and help clean our table, answer questions, etc.
Let’s just say, if I’m looking for a solid, good plate of Italian food — I go here.