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About
Specialties Daily Housemade Pasta and Pizza dough History Established in 1990. Cafe Lago is an Italian restaurant in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood. Founded in October of 1990 by Carla Leonardi and Jordi Viladas, it has been a Northwest institution for rustic Italian cuisine for more than 20 years. Each morning, the cooks at Lago roast vegetables for antipasti, mix and roll fresh pasta, proof pizza dough and bake lasagna and desserts for the evening's meal. At night, the wood-fired oven and josper charcoal broiler are in action. Carla credits Jordi's mother, Ange Viladas, for igniting a passion in her and Jordi for simple and fantastic food--paramount are fresh ingredients, sound technique
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Recommended
vfc on Citysearch
13 years ago
03/18/2009, 02:24 AM
Every dish is excellent – The pizzas are simple but elegant, never over done or "decorated". They make their pasta everyday and you can tell. The staff is a blast. All the sauces are delicate and satisfying.Signature drinks invented in house.
I recommend it without reservation.
Fifi Foodie on Superpages
13 years ago
02/28/2009, 00:12 AM
Great local Italian! Has the best, lightest, floats to your table lasange you have ever tasted!!!!Great pizza, salads (love the blue cheese and balsamic). Good with kids, though they don't do kids portions.
NoobieFoodie on Citysearch
13 years ago
08/02/2008, 02:21 AM
The Way Pizza Should Be – Not many people outside of the neighborhood know about this place and it definitely has a neighborhood restaurant feel. But, my wife and I will drive from West Seattle to eat here. The pizza is how pizza should be. Fired on stone, minimal toppings, thin, crispy and with a crust that's like eating the perfect breadstick at the end of every slice. The fresh made pastas are also really good. The meatballs, that I hear come from an old family recipe, are some of the best I've ever had. Plenty of flavor and herbs but balanced without that overdone dry "italian seasoning" taste that so many affordable italian places fall prey to.
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Bdeanda on Citysearch
13 years ago
05/25/2008, 02:51 AM
Great Spot! – Cafe Lago has great Italian cuisine nailed! Plus, the service is impeccable. The pizza reminds me of Italy. All carmelized and crispy from the wood fired oven. Delish! The ingredients and menu selections are fresh plus the pasta is so delicate and delicious! This is not a cheap Americanized Italian joint. It may cost a bit more but you always get what you pay for. Great wine selection, great food and wonderful homemade tiramisu for dessert. Don't forget to have the Blue Cheese Salad too! Great spot for family get togethers or dine at one of the booths by the bar for a more intimate setting for two.
gdmk on Citysearch
13 years ago
05/19/2008, 02:01 AM
Not what we expected – Despite the good over all critics and a suggestion from a friend, our friday night out at the cafe lago left us non totally satisfied. We made reservations so I have to say that we were prompty seated and got the table close to the window as requested. The service was quite good and polite, checking on us every now and then without becoming annoying. We got the bruschette with the goat cheese that were preety good, but not I-would-order-them-again good. The pizza actually was the big disapointment of the evening: thin crust does not mean cracker crunchy and that what it was. The tomato sauce seemed awfully lot as taken out of a can and frankly offering only 4-5 pizzas with no custom-made option is a major draw back(if you want to call your self an Italian restaurant and want to charge $18-20 for a pizza). The menu seemed pretty short, which contrasted with the fairly selected wine list. I appreciated the presence if imported Italian beer, although moretti isn't the best there is. I would exactly recomend the place, but if you do go, don't miss the panna cotta: super par to say the least.
mpblanc on Citysearch
14 years ago
11/02/2007, 02:08 AM
disappointing – I heard of Cafe Lago as a great authentic italian restaurant. I finally tried it and was not that impressed. First they were out of two main dishes out of six they offer. The bad about it is that they wait for you to spend 15 min choosing your dish to say, sorry we are out of.... That makes a lousy service, I think.
The food was good but probably not worth the price. Dessert wise, same things they wait until you choose to say we are out of such or such, and barely apologize for it.
Overall I was quite disappointed.
s4jones on Citysearch
14 years ago
08/26/2007, 02:29 AM
Still a favorite, but price is getting steep – We "found" Cafe Lago several years ago and it fresh pasta and excellent preparations have brought us back over and over throughout the years. However, during the last year or so we've realized that the prices of their items have gotten rather high. We once viewed Cafe Lago as a great value and just a quick ride over the 520 bridge, but now, it's a pretty pricey choice and is leaving us searching for an option on the East Side that is a little less expensive. Setting aside the price issue, here are my favorite items: ravioli; imple romaine/blue cheese salad (with balsamic reduction); stuffed bell peppers (very rarely on the menu, if ever anymore). My daughter favors the caesar salad, while my wife has in the past favored the mixed salad (but has leaned to the blue cheese just recently due to issues with the materials in the mixed green. Cafe Lago prepares its pasta in house and does a great job. Its limited menu generally ensure good consistency. I'm sure we'll be back, but will probably resort to splitting salads and main dishes to save on costs.
jonb57 on Citysearch
15 years ago
02/10/2007, 00:36 AM
Amazing and authentic – You don?t find restaurants that make homemade noodles that are as light and fluffy as Cafe Lago. I have eaten at many restaurants claiming to be Italian, and what I really get is pasta that I could have cooked at home. Cafe Lago is far more than your average Italian restaurant. For this I am confused by the complaints that have been made at the cost of Cafe Lago?s entrees. I have eaten at cafe Lago for years and have never had anything but the best food for my value, and service to boot. Last night what grabbed me was how reasonable their wine list was. With a $20 entree my date and I shared a $32 bottle of wine that was as good as I have had. So in closing, yes you will spend money at Cafe Lago. But it is worth every penny. Probably more.
japro on Citysearch
15 years ago
01/21/2007, 01:04 AM
WAS FINE, BUT NOW TOO EXPENSIVE!!! – We used to love this restaurant and just visited it last night after a few months. Wow! The prices were out of this world. As the previous reviewer stated, $20 for lasagne...without even a salad with it? You've got to be kidding me? I could make a whole pan for less at home. My boyfriend stated that a restaurant is more than just good food, you are also paying for the service. But last night, it was awful too. One busboy tried to take away our appetizer as I was putting my fork into it. Then, the waitress served our beer like we were at the local pub-slapping them down on the table. At least if they are going to jack up the prices, there should be some justification for it. There is not.
We will NEVER return to one of our once favorite spots. Forget it. Not worth the price.
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