After all the waiting, planning, tasting, concocting, and everything else that has gone into making Cicchetti a reality, Tuesday night was the first chance everyone who’s worked so hard had to share our restaurant with the world. We had our first soft opening, a private gathering for 75 or so members of the Serafina family. As one of the servers on Tuesday night, it was incredibly exciting to share our new restaurant, menu, and space with people who haven’t yet had a chance to see it all. Then, Wednesday, I got a chance to come in and dine.
Finally open for business!
So let’s talk a bit about some of the interesting features of Cicchetti. First of all, it’s a really beautiful space. There are so many different, unique places to sit: the bar, where you can watch Chris and his team assemble one of the 40 or more unique cocktails on our list. Or you can sit at the counter in front of the kitchen, while Dylan and his crew do their thing. Feel like taking a table? Why not sit in what we’re calling the library room? Or if you’re prefer, head up the stairs, where you can check out a stunning view of Queen Anne Hill, Lake Union, the Space Needle, and more.
Ok, but let’s get to what really matters: the food and drinks. The menu is divided into hot and cold dishes; my suggestion is to pick 3-4 per person and let your server group them for you. One of the best aspects of the Cicchetti menu is that it allows for almost any kind of dining experience. Want to come in and have a full dinner? Order a few small plates, then a whole oven-roasted fish with chermoula, or some Moroccan spice-rubbed lamb. Just a few bites to go with your cocktails? How about some Castelvetrano olives, some Basque fries with romesco, and some of our rosemary and sea salt foccacia with Trampetti olive oil. Or come in with a large group and try everything on the menu.
If you’re anything like me, that all sounds great, but something important hasn’t been mentioned yet: namely, what you’re supposed to drink while at Cicchetti. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. First of all, we have 15 Mediterranean wines available from all over the region, including an Israeli Moscato, a pair of Greek wines, as well as others from Italy, Spain, and France. All our wines are available by the glass, quartino (two glasses of wine), and bottle. Standouts to me are the Vinho Verde which doubles as our house white wine, what we call an ombra (the term refers to the Venetian practice of having a small glass of wine with one’s cicchetti). A pair of reds, the La Segreta Rossa and the Bodegas Carchelo also jumped out at me.
So far, Cicchetti has met, if not exceeded my expectations. The food and drinks have been great, but I was sure they would be. What’s been most exciting is to see is how there’s a certain vitality to the place when it’s busy; the cooks are putting up tasty food, the bartenders are mixing up great and unique drinks, the servers are making everything happen, and the guests are flowing about, almost like you’re at one big party!
We’d like to extend a special invitation to those of you who are reading our blog to attend our last two nights of soft opening (tonight and tomorrow, November 20th and 21st). Please call us to rsvp at 206-323-0807 and be one of our first guests!
My husband and I stopped at Cicchetti last night for a little something after the cocktail tasting. What we found a whole lot of wonderful! There so many plates to choose from so we picked several. All were beautiful and tasted, well, divine! This is even more fantastic as we are both vegetarian. The space was really down-to-earth and relaxing. Oh, and I can’t end this without stating that the service was just as great as at Serafina. Thank you for creating our next favorite place!