La Medusa

Overall 4.5Neighborhood restaurant worth driving from the Eastside to dine at.SERVICE: 5.0. From the moment we walked in the door every person who took care of us was efficient and friendly, and they cooperated well among themselves. Jackson, the man who took our orders and answered our questions about the food and wine, was wonderful. At the end of the meal, he even reminded us that a set % service fee was already included in the bill.AMBIANCE: 4.5. Comfortable, warm atmosphere. Customers order food from the menu posted on a blackboard, and order drinks from a paper table menu.FOOD and COFFEE: 4.5.- 5.0: Appetizer of Roasted Cauliflower. Perfect not-too-soft not-too-hard texture with savory seasoning.- 4.0: Appetizer of Fennel Salad. - 4.5: Mafaldine with Dungeness Crab. My partner praised it highly.- 4.0: Rigatoni with Lamb Ragu, with included cabbage. I enjoyed it.- 5.0: Dessert of Pana Cotta: herbal, mildly sweet taste. Precious.- 5.0: Dessert of Chocolate Espresso Torte, with cream: moist chocolaty texture and perfectly not-to-sweet.- 5.0: Espresso coffee. One of the very few excellent espressos I have had in the Pac NW.DRINKS: 4.5. Beer, ale, cocktails, and wine. We had wine with our meal, and ended with a digestif. The wine selection is limited and chosen to marry well with the plates; it is served by the glass or carafe (half-bottle). The two Italian wines we had went very well with our main dishes.In response to my request for an after-dinner drink, Jackson served us a tinted grappa with a marvelous but light herbal taste.

Amazingly fresh pasta and feels like your at a family home in Italy. Such friendly staff and everything was delicious.

I really liked the staff. The restaurant is quaint small, but an early table will keep it moving along and keep the noise down. You can bookend your visit with a wine bar stop next store. The food was straight forward and really Italian. Meaning this is not just a chopped garlic shop. The thought that goes into the dishes shows the dedicated genius of the chef. You will feel like you are in Italy bite by bite. Side note - the staff's visible compassion for those less fortunate was a natural extension of the vibe, neighborhood and humanity that La Medusa specializes in.

I'm so excited that this neighborhood staple has reopened for dining! We had the aranchino (risotto ball), rigatoni, and paccheri. The risotto ball was delicious and a great starter. The rigatoni was def our fav, the goat was so tender! We liked the paccheri too, I just wished you could taste the anchovy more--it's broken down in the sauce versus big pieces of it. We'll definitely be back here often now that we live in the area. I appreciate that they make all their pasta in house and change their menu often depending on what's in seaso

Small and unassuming, La Medusa delivered an overall top notch dining experience on a recent Saturday night. The burratta was a very good starter, paired with one of their several speciality cocktails. The Venetian Cup getting high marks on a late-summer evening. Their pasta entrees are far beyond the run-of-the-mill. Creative, well -sourced, and flavorful. The espresso torte for dessert was terrific. All breads are sourced from their own bakery (next door) and are top notch. A small and intimate setting, it was full when we departed...so reservations are recommended.

We had a really nice dinner here on a cold night in January 2024. La Medusa is a quaint little restaurant in the heart of Columbia City. The restaurant was dark inside at night time. While the feel was cozy, it was for sure cold inside so bring your jacket! We were given menus at the table and realized all three menus were for drinks. The only food menu is on the chalkboard that's hanging on the main wall. This concept is cool, but honestly it was hard to read the board (the handwriting and small from far away) so it would have been nice to have another viewing option. Our server was very kind and knowledgeable. She was able to explain some of the chalkboard stuff to us. Essentially what was offered were a handful of starters and 4 pasta entrees. They had a meat entree, but that sold out when we arrived at 6pm.Both our pastas were great. The ingredients were fresh and went together nicely. The portion is fair sized, but not huge, so I'd recommend an app for sure.

I absolutely love La Medusa in Columbia city. It is my go to place to take out of towners. Before the pandemic you had to make reservations, way in advance or so I had been told. But sometimes I've called the day of or a couple of days before and had no problem. But that's probably more luck than anything.I usually get there a few minutes early and wait at Persephone next-door and have a wonderful drink made by Marc the bartender. He's friendly and has good conversation and he makes great drinks.Two dishes that are go to for me are their grandmas greens and malafine. The greens have a definite umami flavor, which is delicious. For pasta, I have had their mafaldine 3 times and love it!! The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because I would like to see more protein dishes. I'm a low-carb person and would like a little more than mostly pasta. That being said, I've had the Bronzino fish, and it was very good. But that's generally about the only non-pasta dish.If you have the chance to dine there, I highly recommend that you do. It's a small room and an intimate dining experience and terrific staff.

Great local spot on the rustic and charming Rainier Ave South strip. Was made aware that this location has been here for over 10 years, with a previous employee taking over and renovating the restaurant around 2020. Newer to living in the area but have been down here many times and missed this place. They make the pasta from scratch and the owner among other great staff are there regularly. I started with their next door amaro bar (they have other hard to find Italian goods/produce also) while waiting for my reservation at the restaurant. What they serve here is tasty comfort food with a reasonable price point coupled with approachable staff that are passionate about what they do. It's a good idea to make a reservation as they are a rather intimate space of about 10 tables.

We had a great meal tonight at la Medusa, we each tried a pasta (lamb ragu and rigatoni with broccolini) split a salad and an app, everything was so good. Service was excellent as well. I'll be back!!

just finished a thursday eve dinner and the food was fantastic- Branzino melts in your mouth and the lamb ragù was light and flavorful. But really want to commend the staff for creating an enjoyable dining experience. Everyone was friendly but our waiter in particular went out of his way to make sure everything was perfect. a great place, glad we went back and won't be gone long!