Kimmy L.
Yelp
My family and I came to Montalcino for Father's Day dinner. My parents had been before but this was my brother's and my first time eating here.
Montalcino is one of the few fine dining Italian restaurants in Issaquah. It can be hard to get a reservation (as it's a cozy and intimate restaurant) so make sure to reserve well in advance!
For dinner, we ordered the
ANTIPASTI SAMPLER PLATTER (special for the night - $15 per person) - included Halloumi cheese, fresh Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, shrimp, salami, prosciutto, olives, Parmesan cheese, and toasted baguette slices with bruschetta. This was a wonderful and tasty starter - we had to be careful to leave room for our entrees!
CALIFORNIAN WINE FLIGHT - chardonnay, pinot, and cabaret from Washington and California. The cabaret was our favorite - perfectly sweet and balanced, but the chardonnay was crisp and was a close second. The pinot had strong notes of dark cherry, which I wasn't a super big fan of, but to each their own.
VEAL OSSOBUCU (+$45) - the veal was juicy and tender and came with sides of potatoes, broccolini, and carrots as well as a chunky tomato sauce on top. My brother thoroughly enjoyed it, bone marrow and all.
SHORT RIB RAVIOLI (special for the night) - fresh ravioli with short rib (braised for something like 17 hours!) inside and on top of the dish. It was served in a creamy white wine sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese, baby tomatoes, and basil. The sauce was outstanding with rich, earthy, and savory flavors and the braised short rib was both sweet and savory. This was the best dish of the night!
PASTA AI FRUITTI DI MARE (+$45) - seafood pasta with fish, prawns, scallops, clams, and capers served in a red sauce. My dad thought it would be like Cioppino (or their Misto Mare), but while the ingredients sounded similar, the sauce had a kick to it! He wasn't expecting it to be spicy (as it wasn't notated in the menu description), but he was sweating throughout the meal and took some of my ravioli sauce to cool his mouth down. So beware if you don't like heat!
SEAFOOD PASTA with cream sauce (special for the night)- I don't remember the exact name of the dish, but this seafood pasta (tagliatelle) was similar to the Pasta Al Fruitti Di Mare, except that it had a little cream mixed into the red sauce and was thus a little less spicy (but still had a slight kick!). It came with a little calamari as well. It was alright, but because it tasted so similar to the Pasta Al Fruitti Di Mare, we probably wouldn't order it again.
Service was excellent and our waiter was extremely attentive. The owner was there was as well and made sure all of his guests were well taken care of.
Portions are large here (definitely larger than your typical Italian fine dining restaurant) and so all of us left plenty full with the rest of our appetizer platter for leftovers the next day.
Overall: 4.5/5 for food, 5/5 for service, 5/5 for atmosphere