Casa D’italia

When Anthony Donatone opened his cozy Casa d’Italia in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle, WA, he wanted to create a uniquely authentic menu featuring flavors and textures not offered by the chains. As a result, he has carved out a loyal following among locals who appreciate his fresh, flavorful approach to trattoria-style cooking!

While Anthony offers traditional Italian-American menu favorites, his real passion is building unique specials around whatever locally grown produce or locally caught seafood is coming into season.

For the same reason, Anthony frequently features wild game, which is more flavorful and leaner than most domesticated meats. Game also adds “ear appeal” to his offerings. For example, “Abruzzi sauce with braised wild boar” easily outsells “Tomato sauce with meat.” Finally, because Anthony buys it directly from its Texas producer, the game costs only about as much per serving as premium beef or pork.

To give his seasonal specials a more rustic appearance, Anthony chooses authentic, lesser known pasta shapes, like orecchetti, fusilli, bucatini, cellentani, etc. Similarly, Anthony primarily serves wines, sodas, and bottled waters from Italy. An advantage of sticking to great tasting, extremely affordable wines from Italy is their “non-comparability.” That is, since guests do not see these same labels at the supermarket, they cannot prejudge their flavor based on their “retail” prices!

As a result of Anthony’s insistence on the most flavorful ingredients, authentically prepared, his loyal customers keep coming back for more!