Tom B.
Yelp
In short
Sophisticated Italian cooking in a lovely, welcoming setting.
In long
Downtown Bothell is certainly no longer the sleepy distant suburb it was 30 or so years ago. Lots of medium-rise buildings, lots of wide bustling streets, lots of new construction of all kinds...then drive a block over and you're back in the quiet old burbs again. Amaro is right on the border of those contrasting areas. Parking is a huge hassle, especially on Friday nights, so of course we came in on a Friday night.
Everything's warm and nice inside. Big glass walls encasing the wine cellar, lots of tasteful blond wood, every inch of every surface is fully finished in every way. Lots of very intentional lighting design; you're never stuck in the shadows and nothing flickers. Quite the contrast to the nearly-old-world charms of the antique construction of their sister restaurant (Il Bistro, in the market). This is a very complete modern build-out.
Staff are warm and friendly at all times, right from the second you step in. We posted up at the bar on comfortable tall stools, with 2 big flatscreens tuned to the game. Way to make this dude feel right at home. They were absolutely slammed--no place else to sit, 2 bartenders working with full barback support, and they never had a rest for even a second until we'd been there an hour. This place is thriving for sure.
We checked out the buratta, which is a fantastic hearty appetizer. For a lot of us, this borders on entree generosity in terms of portion size. The roast tomatoes are excellent, and the bread is piping hot and delicious--cooked just enough for some crunch and plenty of chew. As delightful as it is to serve yourself the toppings, this would also show up beautifully as a finished pizza. These ingredients would work well in many settings.
The carpaccio is something we looked forward to for days before we got here, and it still somehow exceeded our expectations. Rich and tender thin slices of beef with great contrast from salty and bitter veg on top.
We also checked out a fig and pear pizza, which was every bit as delicious as it sounds. We've had this recipe/combination several others places and it's always great; Amaro's is as good as anyone's for sure.
We were tempted to order too much food because we also wanted to try the pork shank. One of the expediters finished her shift and sat down next to us to eat one for her shift meal, and it smelled so damn good we almost got it to take home as 100% leftovers. This menu is worth exploring thoroughly.
The bar program is quite over the top. Huge whiskey list, nice gins, tequilas, everything you could want (within reason) for a called spirit. Solid tap list, gargantuan wine list with many tempting options. We had fantastic cocktails from Vanessa, who is a sorceress behind the bar. She had a couple of her own creations on the list, and she made up a couple things for us on the spot. She's such a talented bartender.
Prices here are certainly not the cheapest, but they more than deliver the quality for what you pay. We didn't even consider dessert by the time we filled up, but we've heard they're amazing and we can't wait to come back.