Zio Sal

Walked in with high hopes. I had just had dinner at one of my favorite Italian places in Seattle so was hoping to recreate that experience on the eastside.The menu looked legit, so we ordered salads and starters, plus I ordered a glass of Chianti. First complaint: Where is the bread with oil and balsamic?! The Caesar salads were large for half orders, and weren't anything special. I'm pretty sure my $15.00 glass of Chianti was some sort of low-end cab, but whatever. We had a hard time finding meat or cheese in the Arancini we ordered, and I've had better jarred marinara from the grocery store (was too sweet and flavorless). It seemed as though there was not a lot of care when breading the calamari as the bits were clumped together in huge masses of breading. I feel like the tarter and cocktail sauce was of the caliber of a fast food fish and chips place. Main course: Spaghetti Bolognese w/GF spaghetti - mediocre GF pasta, especially a let down since the GF pasta at last week's restaurant was awesome. Lasagne Bolognese - Not terrible and the Bolognese sauce was not bad, def very different from the marinara. Tortellini alla Panna - The sauce was fairly good and the torellini was OK, but the ham was like cheap grocery store lunch meat and didn't bring much flavor to the affair. Also missing: Where is the server with the grinder for fresh pepper?! All there is are diner style salt and pepper shakers. At this point I was going to go with 3 stars BUT....the next killed it all for me. The only thing I knew I wanted on the way there was Sambuca with coffee beans for dessert. NOPE!! Waiter comes back and says "Sorry, we're out" (down to 2 stars). OK, I'll have the Amaretto. Waiter comes back NOPE!!! "Sorry, we're out of that too, can I offer the Montenegro?" (down to 1 star). "No thanks, I'll go to the grocery store for some Sambuca on the way home". The kids wanted dessert, but there was no way I was ordering the Tiramisu or the Canolli, cuz by now I know it will suck, esp by the standards of last week's dessert. So I settled on them getting the Limoncello cake which you guessed it; was mediocre. The crusher came in the end when I saw the message on the bill "4% discount for cash payments" which who travels with that kind of cash and thanks for telling me NOW? Then I read in some of these reviews that it's actually a 4% surcharge on credit card purchases! THANKS for pissing in my ear and trying to tell me it's raining!! Finally, the atmosphere is sterile and has no real old country Italian feel, and the serving is generic at best. I will not be coming back to Zio Sal and will spread word of mouth that this place is really an imposter for Italian. Anyone who knows the true Italian restaurant experience will know the difference, especially for their price for the real Italian experience. Give your money to the people who are doing it correctly, this place certainly is not.

The spaghetti bolognese was absolutely terrible. How do you mess up pasta? It was lukewarm and it genuinely tasted like convenience store pasta that was heated up. The appetizers bread and calamari were okay. The customer service is not bad I went with a big group and our waitress was nice and let us overstay our visit. The ambiance was dingy restaurant. Parking is extensive as it is located at Redmond Town Center. Would never recommend this place to anyone. Stay away.

Wow, this was really bad Italian food. And I have some low standards. I came here with some friends for Seattle Restaurant Week last year. The place was pretty empty, especially for a Friday night. We ordered the arancini, tortellini alla panna, ravioli aurora, tiramisu, and limoncello cheesecake. When the tortellini alla panna arrived, it looked so unappetizing. I'm not one to judge a book by it's cover, but the taste wasn't much better. The sauce was bland and the ham was slimy. My friend who ordered the ravioli aurora said something similar about his dish, and how it tasted bland and unsalted. The desserts were okay, but I've had much better tiramisu. The only saving grace of this meal was the arancini, which was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Overall, I was expecting more, especially during Restaurant Week. Maybe we ordered the wrong things or their Restaurant Week menu was simply a miss. Regardless, I won't be returning this year.

Fantastic! My friend and I stopped by on a quiet Saturday afternoon - that time when it is often too late for lunch, but too early for dinner to find Zio Sal empty except us. We were seated immediately by our accommodating and very professional waitress. I was originally going to go for pasta but upon seeing the pizza I decided to change gear. I am a sucker for a delicious pizza and I was not left disappointed. It was a thinner style (to be expected) but with the best crust. Often times I find the crust frail and brittle on the thinner style pizzas, but this has a lovely crust. Not too doughy, not brittle; just right! The restaurant was a nice space. Various pictures of singers and actors decorated the walls. The space is very open and there's a large patio out front. The prices are fabulous and thr food delicious. It is a great restaurant!

I have been here twice. The first time I was unimpressed for the price. The second time convinced me it will be my last. Zio Sal was busy - there was one waitress for the entire restaurant. She was incredibly kind and tried to do her best - but it was way too busy for just one server. And at most entrees being at the $20-30 price point, there needs to be more service. We waited about 45 minutes for our food but had to eventually give up and take it to go because we were running late for our next appointment. The waitress comped our meal - so any stars given are really are for her. The food was frankly not great. The Arancini - you only get one rice ball. It was fried well, but the risotto was over cooked to the point that it was like rice pilaf. It lacked salt making it not tasty. After adding salt it was a bit better. They don't give you enough sauce, and the entire dish tasted like the soap that was used to clean it making it rather unappetizing. My son got the veal - it presented well but again was completely unsalted. My daughters lasagna was OK. The pizza was fine - nothing special. It is not neopolitan style despite being listed as such. The crust it too thick and chewy. I will say it is advertised as tuna and onions but it's really sardines and onions - which is not what I expected but at that point it didn't really matter anymore. I feel bad giving a trash review - but I don't get this place. I don't get the 4 stars. Two times I've been here and this review really described both times.I have a feeling they have different people that cook here when sal is not around. It's the only explanation I can come up with for the wildly disparate reviews. There were two young men in the kitchen this evening - maybe neither of them were sal.

Pretty good. Parry said it is the best pesto or at least pretty near to the one they cook. Ooooooh. We tried various dishes. I had the canneloni and they were on point! Sauce didn't taste as grocery store one. Kid had spaguetti a la bolognese and it was a hit. For dessert we had tiramisu and limoncello. Both great options!! Family atmosphere. We found a table easily. I would come backnon summer and sit outside. Highly recommend them!

2.5 overall. We two came for dinner. Though it didn't affect my rating, in examining the receipt afterwards I learned that "All Credit Card Are Subject to a 3% Processing Fee".FOOD: 3.0. (see photos I posted). OK, but if there is a next time I'll try the pizza.- Gnocchi al Sorrentina- Risotto with prawns. OK taste that did not live up to the $34 price.- Sautéed bell peppersHOUSE WINE: 2.0 @ $15 a glass.- 1.5: House Red was a mix of sangiovese and syrah. A huge disappointment.- 2.5: House White was less mediocre.SERVICE: 5.0. She was stretched as the sole server, but did a fantastic job while maintaining a cheerful mood.AMBIANCE: 2.5. It was Dec so only the inside seating was available. It was half-full and yet so noisy that it was difficult to carry on a conversation without repeating each sentence at a very high volume -- which only added to the cacophony. I think this was due to the high and hard-surfaced industrial ceiling. Pop music at too-high volume contributed to the aural punishment. A bit cold inside; we kept our winter jackets on during the meal. Definitely not a spot for a romantic dinner, at least not indoors.

Excellent, quality food with rich flavor! Would highly encourage you to try this restaurant. Nice atmosphere with touches of Italian ambience. The wine list is well designed to pair with their menu. The staff is friendly and attentive as well helpful with recommendations. Couldn't ask for better service.

I love Zio Sal! I have been here few times and my favorites are Linguine Pesto and Bolognese. Their Caramari is very crunchy and great for appetizer. linguine pesto sauce is very creamy and little bit heavy side, but it's my go to pasta when I'm starving. Although, Bolognese is my go to spaghetti at Italian restaurants because it is classic Italian sauce and I live it when they cooked with a soffritto of onions, carrots, and celery, tomatoes, and milk to give it a creamy texture! Zio Sal's bolognese is very tasty and sauce is yummy!

OVERALL: Dining at Zio Sal has been one of my best restaurant experiences in a long time. I lucked out (an unfortunate thing, I feel like people are missing out!) in that when I arrived myself and my partner were the only customers. Everything was set up very nicely and from where we sat I had a very nice view of a giant skyline photo of Florence (a plus as an art student! I was able to impress my partner with knowledge on the Dome!).RESERVATION PROCESS: I had reserved our table in advance just in case, since it was for Valentine's Day and the site was very user friendly, so that went smoothly. I also ended up calling to reschedule the reservation and the staff was very kind over the phone. FOOD:The menu itself was organized well, and we ordered focaccia bread, the Gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce, and the Linguine Pesto. The 4 pieces of bread came with a very fun jar of olive oil with a shaped jar of balsamic inside of it! It was very good. I like to try a lot of gnocchi, so when I see it on a menu I usually order it - this is the best gnocchi I have had by far. It had the perfect flavor ratio of sauce and it tasted amazing! For the price I was a bit surprise at the portion, but it turned out to be EXACTLY the right amount of food for myself and my partner where we were full but not stuffed and were able to walk away feeling very satisfied. I could also tell that the dishes were made with a lot of care, so I don't mind the extra price.The linguine pesto was my partners dish. We agreed that it was good (still the best I've had!) however the gnocchi was so amazing it outshined the rest of the dinner. I decided to order a cappuccino before we left. I am pretty particular about my coffee, and I use a moka pot myself when I'm at home. It didn't really live up to my expectations, but it was a good cup of coffee regardless. I feel like this is the one part of the menu that was overpriced without good reason, since my small cup (like a teacup's size) was over 5 dollars. WAIT:Helped by the fact that we were the only people there at the moment, our food came out very quickly for what it was. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes (I'm guessing, I was not keeping track. Good company!) STAFF:We only interacted with one staff member (including in the reservation process) but he was extremely kind and helpful, and succeeded in checking in on us the perfect amount (not leaving us for too long, we didn't ever have to try and flag him down- and not visiting too often where it was awkward). BILL:While this was a high bill at $63.15 base- I ended up leaving $75 to account for the tip. I entered this restaurant with the expectation of paying more than I was used to, because it was a special occasion. You get what you pay for for the most part!Establishment is LGBT friendly