Bar Cotto

Bar Cotto is another awesome Ethan Stowell place. Solid food (can’t beat the wood fired pizza), fair prices, great wine selection, and excellent service. Just be aware that the restaurant is tiny, so if you’re headed in on a Friday or Saturday you’ll likely need to wait. On a related note, Bar Cotto is not good for parties over four (even two, really). I’ll be back!

Went here for HH and the pizzas were delish. Especially love the chili oil and pepper flakes offered with the pizzas, for the spicy lovers. A pizza seemed large enough to share with someone, as I was struggling to finish a pie by myself. Also ordered the meat sampler on happy hour and the mortadella bruschetta (regular menu) which were my favorite bites to share. I prefer Anchovies and Olive next door for HH since their menu is more diverse/​interesting, but still a great deal and food here.

I was drawn in by the beautiful crusts and outdoor seating. The pizzas (fungi and a cherry tomato and sausage one), though, were way too salty. It seemed like they were going for the punchily salty thing, but it ended up being overpowering. I couldn’t tell if they had good ingredients that I couldn’t appreciate because the salt was so dominant, or if they were covering up mediocre ingredients.
It wasn’t actually bad, just disappointing.

Salumi, beet salad and buffalo pizza è buono. Not at the expense of our comfort tho. Waitress was snooty. Sad. We want to come back, but we want to not only have the amazing comfort food they serve, but easy going rapport with the server. A gal I think named Elizabeth worked here a while back and was super sweet and engaging. We stayed for dessert and the aperitivo flight because she was welcoming and created a great dining experience for us.
1 star for the snooty server tonight. 5 stars for the food. It’s excellent. The only better imho is Bar Del Corso. I take Italian language lessons with the Chefs significant other. She’s is super cool. Give it a try. They open at 5:30 and it’s BUSY but worth the wait.

I haven’t come in yet and not for a good reason. Bar Cotta is on my list simply because Matt Woolen is the Chef.
Ok. Let’s get real for a second here. There are few things in this world I love more than food. To sit here and truly enjoy something that dazzles my taste buds, makes me miss home, drives me to want to explore more of the culinary world and brings me such love and passion that wells up inside that I feel like I’ll explode… seriously though. That for me is food. That is why I continue to pursue food and continue refining my skills as a chef. That is why I could never imagine doing anything else with my life. It’s Chefs like Jen Izaguirre or Renee Erickson or Matt Woolen who was formerly at Old Sage and is now at Bar Cotta, that remind me why I’m a chef. Seriously all I can say is thank you.
So if that isn’t a good enough reason to go to Bar Cotta and enjoy Matt’s food well then… honestly you don’t deserve to come. Yup
Chef Von Braun

Bar is dark and outside sign is impossible to see unless you are on foot but everything was awesome. I had a twilight in parre drink the beet salad and the fungi pizza all superb, didn’t leave stuffed but truly satisfied but still had a dessert of mint gelato in a cookie served with chocolate sauce and mint oil a perfect end to a perfect day and meal

Amazing service and food the staff is as delightful as the food! The pizzas are made by hand and fired in the oven
The bar has phenomenal drinks and wine choices!

I frequent bar cotto often. Try and make a reservation ahead of time! However, if you forget to do this, we often get lucky and can squeeze in at the bar! I absolutely love their food… often get a charcuterie plate with the fried bread along with a pizza. Pizzas are very thin crust but a good size. We find one pizza can usually feed two people.

Bar Cotto is a fantastic place for happy hour on Capitol Hill. Cozy interiors with an intimate feel and great happy hour deals. The salumi board is always on point, and don’t forget to order the torta frita which are little pillows of fried dough to pair with the salumi. I love how thinly sliced the meats are. You can almost see through them! Pizzas are excellent too with great chewy crust and quality toppings. The guanciale is my personal favorite. Beers are $ 2-​$ 4 during happy hour with $ 6 glasses of wine. If you’re looking for a quick HH bite on Capitol Hill, you can’t go wrong at Bar Cotto!

I ALWAYS find myself telling people how awesome Bar Cotto is. It is a huge treat when I can go there and the food/​drinks are always spot-​on. I love their mushroom (fungi) pizza and we always order a cured meat plate with pillows of dough because it’s so delicious. Also, their cocktails are wonderfully crafted and they have great bar service. It’s also a great place for takeout.
Easily one of my top 5 favorite restaurants in Seattle.

Excellent!
Pizza is light and crunchy. Cold cuts perfectly sliced and dry. Thought I was back home in italy

Garlic sauce. On their pizzas. Now. Anytime. Food amazing and ambience cool, non pretentious, so go with your buds or a date and you’ll have a great time. Their pizzas are thin crust and Supergood.

Love love love this place! Perfect location on Capital Hill… Always great food! Awesome pizzas, house made salumi, house made Porchetta and tasty salads! Pillows of bread that are heavenly. and tasted even better wrapped in piece of prosciutto!
The pizzas are EXCELLENT… they taste exactly like the pizza in Italy! Close your eyes and take a bite you will be AMAZED! We always order the Margherita pizza. so delicious. The cocktail Twilight in Parma is delightful! A combination of gin, lime, lambrusco with a sprig of rosemary! Super good!
Every time we visit the background music is great!!! I want their playlists.
Great happy hour food and drinks — even on the weekends! Good prices too.
I wish they had a spot like this on the eastside:(

Great place! Small place and interesting to see only four people working including the cooks! You can see the entire kitchen too. It’s all integrated and the service was great. They manage it all very well. In terms of the food wow quite good. The meats and fried dough were amazing especially with a reasonably priced bottle of Italian wine. We made a tweak to the mushroom pizza and did red sauce which was great. I look forward to coming back

Love love love this place. The food is to die for! They have a great selection of salumi and the torta fritta that come with are my absolute favorite. You must get them when you go. The pizzas are fantastic and overall the service is good.
My only issue with the place is that the last time I went the waitress and host (or maybe shift manager) were all over each other and flirting left and right. I can’t tell you how many times I saw them hugging or touching. Not professional. Cmon guys. I’m eating here. Other than that no complaints, and I will be back again for sure.

this neighborhood restaurant is wonderful and popular with the locals. We sat at the bar on the sidewalk and had a great time people watching and relaxing. The waiter was friendly and quick with our drinks and food. We started with a plate of the meat, the frittas (bread) and a summer salad. Then had a couple of pizzas for our entrée. The restaurant smells wonderful and they have a small bar. I highly recommend this place.

If you enjoy delightful cocktails, inventive salads, cured meats, and heavenly pillows of dough, then Bar Cotto is calling your name. If you like pizza too, you should already be there getting your fill.
I visited Anchovies & Olives during SRW and became intrigued by Bar Cotto next door. The surroundings are cozy and quaint, with about ten 2 tops, some of which can be pushed together for larger parties, and about ten spots at the bar. There’s an open kitchen so you can see your charcuterie being freshly sliced and your pizzas being prepped and popped into the oven. This place is pretty small and with most of the tables being 2 tops, if you’re more than 2 people you probably should make a reservation or expect to wait.
We started off with cocktails — I’ve been on a gin kick lately, so I went with the Twilight in Parma (gin, lime, rosemary, lambrusco) to start. Not only is it nice to look at, but it’s splendidly yummy. Next, the Brushfire (mezcal, strawberry-​rhubarb syrup, blood orange liqueur, chili infused peychaud’s bitters garnished with sage). This was one of the most interesting drinks I’ve had lately — every sip of it made me feel euphoric, though that could be related to the torta frita and fresh charcuterie that I was drinking it with.
The menu has 5 groups: Salumi, Verdura, Bruschetta, Pizza, and Dessert, of course. We got something from 4 out of 5, the bruschetta will have to wait until next time. The Asparagus salad with red potatoes, pickled onion, anchovy, and soft-​cooked egg was the unsuspecting shining star. Don’t sell yourself short by skipping the veg on the menu, their salads are inventive and delectable! If you’re here and not getting Salumi, you’re a lost little lamb. We went with the lardo, porchetta, and salame gentile and loved every last bite. Don’t forget to order the torta frita with your meat-they’re little salty pillows of delightful dough that you need in your life. We struggled to find a pizza we both wanted and finally settled on the parma, which was yummy but not the best thing we had all night.
After a wonderful meal, I needed something sweet and I was babbling about wishing I could have white port — my favorite, but most places don’t have it. We ordered dessert — a strawberry rhubarb crisp that was amazing! And we ordered some after dinner drinks I was going to go with a glass of Moscato d’Asti, my old stand by, and the boyfriend ordered some tawny port, when David, the mind reader and server extraordinaire, said they also had a white port if we were interested. Was I ever! It paired incredibly well with our dessert and I ended a wonderful evening on an even higher (and a little bit of a tipsier) note than I could have expected — thank goodness for über!
We ordered everything we could have wanted and after tip we spent about $ 150 — a pretty penny, but it was well worth it considering the lovely date night we had which included 6 full price beverages. I’d definitely come back for date night, or for HH, or a birthday, or any other occasion with a small group. I’ve had the pleasure of dining at 3 Ethan Stowell restaurants (so far) and each one makes me happier than the last. Keep on keeping on Mr. Stowell, you’re doing it right.

Cotto is still a place I frequent quite a bit. In fact, I went twice last week. Excessive? Perhaps. Delicious? Definitely.
Most of my visits are during happy hour, where pizzas can be had for $ 8-​$ 10, which is a screaming deal. Favorites are the parma, funghi, and salsiccia. Round out your pizza with a corona bean & cauliflower salad, or the daily salumi board, and you’ve got a meal for two.
The bartender is super friendly, and there’s a solid selection of beer, wine, and cocktails. Cotto’s a chill place to hang out and enjoy awesome food.

What a quaint little spot! We were able to move our reservation up by an hour and still got a spot when we came in a bit early. Our server was very friendly!
The 3 pack salumi for $ 18 (we got sopressata picante, salame felino (my fav, very flavorful), and prosciutto di Parma (least fav)) and it went so well with the torta fritta. The torta fritta are bite sized, salty, doughy, soft and I could eat a whole bowl myself! Each bite was full of deliciousness.
Also got the salsiccia pizza — the tomato sauce was good and if it weren’t for it, I don’t think I could’ve finish the pizza. Overall, a decent pizza.
I would definitely come back to try the other salumi options, not so much for the pizza.
At the end of the night, we were each given a bag of freshly made pasta! :)

My first Ethan Stowell experience and definitely not my last! My girlfriends and I came by the restaurant on a Thursday for happy hour and were blown away by the great selection and prices. We ate away our post-​work stress with the:
–Parma and Salsiccia pizzas — We were pleasantly surprised with how large the pizzas were! Granted, they do have a thin crust, but we couldn’t even finish one. I’m a big fan of arugula, so I jumped at the chance to try the Parma pizza and was not disappointed! :)
–Escarole salad — The escarole was another first for me — I thought it was light and fresh and the hazelnut was a nice touch. Yum!
–Salumi board with torta fritta — Loooooved the salumi board! The happy hour board comes with a tasty selection of three meats and the option to order torta fritta on the side. The frittas were like the salty sisters of Lola’s beignets, hahahaa: P
Nice, casual dining environment as well — the low lighting and wooden ceiling adds a kind of rustic and warm feel. Seems like a great date spot too! I think Bar Cotto is one of my favorite Cap Hill restaurants that I’ve tried so far and I’ll definitely be coming by again! :)