Pasta Freska Italian Rest

I never eat pizza the way I eat in pasta Freska more

As the other reviewers for Pasta Freska on Judy's Book have stated, Pasta Freska is unique in the Seattle area; you walk in, are asked about your food likes and dislikes, and out comes course after course of food. Positives: * Price was great - I got 6 courses or so, and my other diner had 5 - she was too full to accept one of the pasta courses! $20 a person or so was the cost for all of this food - well worth it. * Wine was well chosen - Tuesday nights are half-priced wine night, and we were lucky enough to be there on a Tuesday, so we got lucky there. * Very vegetarian friendly - I told him I was a vegetarian, but did eat salmon or halibut; so that's what I got - all veggie meals, except for one halibut dish. He had a couple of other things in mind in case I didn't eat fish, so a full vegetarian should be good to go here. * Eggplant appetizer was great... Others mentioned having this as well; I wonder how often they repeat? * Pasta dishes were very tasty; it's not high-scale Italian, but a nice middle ground. Negatives: * There were only 5 or so tables in the place, but after the initial likes/dislikes conversation, I felt like Mike was focused on other tables rather than ours; we got good attention from the waitress though, so it worked out. * Too much food! * You have no idea what the prices will be until you see the bill at the end of the meal. So if you are very budget conscious, I'd ask them first. In the end, I very much enjoyed eating here; it wasn't as fancy as I had envisioned, but it's unique, the food good, and the price is right. I'd love to come back with 4 people; I think the no-menu idea would likely work even better with a slightly larger group than just 2 of us. more

Alex and I recently tried out Pasta Freska on our 7 year anniversary. We've driven by this Westlake restaurant a number of times, and after reading some raves from other JBers decided to give it a shot. Let me tell you, everyone was right! We were warmly greeted at the front my owner, Mike, who promptly showed us to our seat. Mike asked us if there were things we would not eat, were allergic to or really loved and then headed off to get our meal created. There's no menu, and no one gives you any kind of indication about what's in store--which surprisingly for even this control freak was rather charming. Plate after plate of absolutely delicious food came out. From this amazing eggplant appetizer (and I HATE eggplant) to this to die for what I think is a ricotta stuffed chicken in red wine sauce with pine nuts, to a white sauce pasta that was topped with a huge prawn, artichoke heart and what may have been sole everything made my mouth hum with delight. We don't know what the wine was, but even that was excellent as well. The beauty of Pasta Freska are the excellent service (we were constantly being check on in an unobtrusive manner), the great food which you don't have to pick, and the excellent deal--our meal for two roughly came out to be a little over 20 bucks a person. (excluding tax and drinks) If you're looking for an easygoing place to get an excellent meal that will wow your date, try Pasta Freska. But if you want to be able to do anything afterward, leave a little bit on each plate :) more

I was invited for a birthday party at Pasta Freska. I was a little apprehensive about the no dinner menu, but soon I was relaxed, and had quite the dinner experience. The meal was absolutely superb, and its not chicken roulade, try chicken marsala ... I have traveled all over the world, have eaten with the locals, & tribes. Plus have had years of culinary training. Whenever I am in Seattle I will definately stop in, and bring business associates. Obviously some reviewers probably think McDonald's is true american cuisine. more

we hit Pasta Freska tonite and had a perfect evening on their deck. the meal was just as outrageous as it's always been - eggplant starter, then a salad. then magic. the chicken dish i had was great, and the pasta was a nice compliment. but the dill shrimp dish he made at the end - oh my! the shrimp tasted like lobster, it was that good. and mike made 2 or 3 great dishes for my vegetarian hubby. the deck is not street level with westlake so you don't get all of the traffic noise, and it's a cute place. vine-covered walls, etc. this is still one of my favorite places to eat in seattle. more

Last Friday I stumbled into Pasta Freska on Westlake below WRQ. I'm thinking it's a pizza place (which it also is) but was I surprised. The owner Michael comes up and practically hugs and kisses you. You are seated and he asks if there are any foods you don't like or are allergic to. I'm thinkin what an odd question until I realize there are no menus! Yes, Michael is serving whatever strikes his fancy. And he is serving 7 courses of whatever strikes his fancy! The food was unbelievable and just kept coming. The eggplant appetizer was delicate but full flavored. The salad totally fresh with a beautiful balsamic dressing. Then there was the seafood pasta, the sausage and pasta, the stuffed chicken, and the steak. All servings are small so you can keep eating. All exquisite. And save room for the three desserts they are worth it. For all of this food and two glasses of wine the total meal was $40.00. What a find. The atmosphere is not pretty but the fun and friendliness combined with great food more than makes up for the lack of decor. I recommend it to everyone. more

Ok, so this isn't a place I would go to once a week, but for special occasions it is quite an experience. The experience is a big part of the deal. One simply tells the server what one will not eat and the rest of the meal is served up course by course, and each one is a surprise. The food is good too. Although there are restaurants that are equally as good, probably for less money, but add in the experience and it makes the extra cost worth it. I'd also like to say that the restaurant is vegetarian friendly and will gladly make specials requests. Try it out! more

My husband and I were looking for a place to celebrate our anniversay. We wanted someplace with excellent food and a romantic atmoshpere. Friends had told me about a place near our house called Pasta Freska. It sits on a traingular plot of land and the building footprint somewhat resembles an arrowhead. The front door is located at the tip or point. The building is really unassuming, it looks like a typical pizza joint, and in fact, during the day they serve pizzas and grinders. .However at night, the chef takes over and begins to play. He creates the most amazing gormet dishes. We had checked out several places and it was getting late, around nine pm. My husband an I peered tentatively in the front door. We saw no customers and were sure that was a bad sign. Fortunately, one of the servers saw us and urged us to enter. She asked us if we would like to sit outside, and to our delight Pasta Freska has a charming outside deck located a half story up on th rear side of the buiding. Pasta Freska is very different from most restraunts. Fist, there is no menu. For those of you who have trouble deciding what to eat, this is the place! Your server will sit down with you and ask you questions to determine what to serve you. Drink selections are based on what is being served to you and your selection in general terms. In other words, don't look for a wine list, there isn't any. We were served garlic bread, an appetiser of eggplant, artichoke and cheese on a bed of red sauce, lightly dressed salad seasoned with myzithe cheese, a seafood pasta with enormous prawns and chunks of fish, a bowtie pasta with meat sauce and a stuffed chicken breast masala. Dessert consisted of tiramisu, spumoni ice cream and a chocolate torte. The food was beyond fabulous. We requested a glass of wine and the server brought out a very lovely merlot. She left the bottle with us, so we could choose to have more if we wished. It was truely an enchanting dining experience and worth every penney of it! more

I hate to rain on the recent parade of great reviews for Pasta Freska (especially after just one visit) but if last night's dinner was any indication, this restaurant's selling point is the owner's charm, not the food. And Mike is charming, no doubt about it. He sits down at your table, chats about your dining preferences, and brings over glasses of wine at the slightest provocation. After that promising start, our meal went downhill. Yes there was plenty of food -- a thin slice of eggplant swimming in a basic tomato sauce, a bland seafood linguine swimming in cream, and a tough chicken roulade overstuffed with ricotta -- but none of it approached the transcendent experience described by previous reviewers, and most dishes could best be described as 'adequate'. It may be unfair, but our table's interpretation of the Pasta Freska format is that Mike (or rather, the cook behind the wall) makes whatever food he feels like making, all of it prepared in quantity ahead of time, and then makes an elaborate show of asking your preferences before serving you whatever he has in the kitchen. This makes for good theater, but -- at these prices -- a disappointing dining experience. I hope our experience wasn't representative, but I'll think twice before visiting Pasta Freska again. more

Two words: no menu. What a great experience to have the chef/owner sit down at your table, bottle of wine in hand, and ask what we absolutely wouldn't eat, what we could be allergic to, and how spicy we could handle things. From there, it's all a surprise. Five courses later, including dessert, we left stuffed to the gills with some amazing Italian-inspired home cooking. The only downside to the "no menu" format is the wine, which you can certainly limit to a glass at a time, but a bottle is clearly "suggested" as the chef uncorks a fresh one at your table as you're seated. And this certainly ratchets up the bill. Still, well worth it for the experience. more

i stumbled upon this place years ago thinking it was pizza, subs & salads. turned out to be the best dining experience i've ever had. ever. upon arrival you'll be warmly greeted by mike, the owner, who will seat you and find out what you *don't/won't* eat. that, my friends, is the ordering process. then you just sit back and receive plate after plate of incredible, amazing, mouth-watering dishes, starting with an appetizer and salad. you'll be stuffed silly but unable to stop eating, and you will be making plans to return before you even leave. the prices are very reasonable, especially if you skip the wine, which can get pricey. GREAT place for a date, to bring out-of-town guests, or just for fun. i enjoy eating on off-nites like mon, tues or wedn since weekends can get crowded. pasta freska is also great for groups. that's my story and i'm stickin with it. more