Cafe Parco

I thought that the food was okay. I did not like the bread that was served before the meal at all. It seemed like it was bread that you buy at a grocery store and have the bakery slice. For the price the food was sub-​par. I got the sausage and noodle dish it was good but could have used a bit more flavoring. The waitress though seemed ruffled at first but came around and was very sweet.

I rarely give 5 stars, but this lovely little place deserves it!
A quaint little house off the park, this restaurant has a nice intimate ambiance that was perfect for our party. The wine list was very nice, and the waitress kindly helped us navigate it to find a bottle that worked for all of us. The bruschetta was very nice for a starter. The Italian sausage and meat sauce pasta was incredible. And the gnocchi was VERY tasty — I’m a sucker for anything with lamb in it, and this certainly didn’t disappoint. I will definitely be back.

They’re closed down :(.

We had dinner Sat. night. What a charming restaurant. Very atmospheric.
Our appetizers the calamari and caesar salad were amazing. However, our dinner were just ok. My husband had the Ragu all Bolognes with sausage and meat sauce.
I could make it better at home. I had the Gulf Prawns. They were good, but nothing special. I’d like to go back and try brunch. It is such a cute place. Our waitress was great. The Make It My Day drink was special. I’m going to try to make it at home.

Very cute place. Staff could be more friendly. Wow. Not busy at all but any customer is a good customer. Smile please. Food is excellent. Food was incredible. The Place is very quaint and nice. Staff did warm up halfway through. Could smile more please.

Came here for restaurant week. But after reading the reviews I plan to come here for brunch.
Great hidden gem. Lots of street parking. Cute little patio.
Our server was great! Super helpful and funny. Picked out a great red wine for me.
The food was great! Everyone at the table enjoyed the whole meal. The dessert was by far my favorite lemon cake yum.
Great fancy drink menu. It was hard to pick just one.

We went here for Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, we did not have the same experience that other reviewers have posted with this restaurant. The first issue we had was with the wait staff, it seemed like they were either understaffed that night or disorganized. There happened to be a large party there and that might have been the cause but a good staff and kitchen should not be affected that much.
Both of our appetizers (the fried gnocchi and the ravioli) were odd tasting, especially the gnocchi it seemed grainy and glue like. The ravioli was advertised as spicy and although we both LOVE spicy food, you tasted nothing else. The entrees were unfortunately VERY average. We had the pasta dish and the chicken dish. The pasta dish was under seasoned and even with the sausage it was bland. The chicken dish was not much better and almost seemed like it was made earlier and then reheated and the rice it was served with was both greasy and dry (go figure). Both entrees reminded me of something you might be served in a bad hospital cafeteria.
The Limoncello cake was delicious (I had the cheesecake which again was average) but even the Limoncello cake could hardly make up for the subpar appetizers and entrees.
We had just had an amazing experience at another Restaurant Week place in Ballard so maybe our expectations were high but honestly, even at the Restaurant Week prices, we felt like overpaid and were underserved all the way around at Café Parco.

I wasn’t aware of this little gem until the Restaurant Week menus came out. Everything looked good, so we decided to give it a try. We started with the fondue and the fried gnocchi, which were both delicious. For entrees, we had the sole and the chicken. I was hesitant to order the chicken because some places will serve pretty dry, bland chicken. This was the opposite of that! My boyfriend and I shared both entrees and I think I probably had more than my half of the chicken! Dessert was the flourless chocolate cake and the turtle sundae. Loved the turtle sundae, and the cake was a little heavy & hard to eat more than a bite or 2. Good flavor, but I’d probably try something else next time.
I definitely had a hard time choosing what to order, which means that we should probably come back again and try other things! Also, a note on the drinks — the cocktail list was awesome. I had such a hard time choosing what to order. They also had an extensive wine list that was all reasonably priced and grouped in logical categories!

Delicious food and cozy atmosphere. The mixed greens salad with walnuts, shaved cheese, and fresh herbs was very flavorful. I also enjoyed my entrée, which consisted of angel hair pasta, spinach, tomatoes, yellow summer squash, and shaved cheese in a creamy sauce. I definitely want to come back soon, most likely for a special occasion since it is a bit on the expensive side.

Charming and cozy, Parco is a bit of a hidden treasure! The service and food are amazing. I think my favorite is the fried gnocchi… delicious!

We went there for my bday brunch but unfortunately I thought this place was very overpriced for the food. All the dishes we ordered were rich in butter and truffle oil — excessively. I don’t expect to go to a place and put on 5 pounds after the meal! Not such a great experience

Recently tried this place for brunch and we both really enjoyed the food. I got the Double Baked French Toast with Marionberry which was decadent but not too heavy. It is topped with a very sweet purée that is infused with marionberry and ginger cream, then topped with whipped cream (which I could do without) and sliced almonds. I think all the flavors worked together very well. I love french toast so it was nice to try a different version of it. My friend got the spicy chicken sandwich, which was good, nothing amazing but it was very flavorful and crispy.
I like how the café is close to Madison Park, it definitely has a neighborhood feel.
The interior was not really what I expected it’s actually pretty small and I can imagine it being cramped when busy. However, there weren’t many people when we went. It doesn’t look like it can accommodate large groups. Décor is a bit strange, going for that library/​gothic look, they could definitely let more light in and not have such heavy/​dark velvet curtains.
Also, I’m not a coffee connoisseur but the coffee here was really good, probably local, and it comes in an individual french press, very cute. Would recommend this spot for a date or brunch!

Tried this place yesterday for dinner and liked it! Cozy, warm and calm. You can literally smell the fresh roses (flower store downstairs, I assume they are well supplied) and the service was excellent. Our food was bountiful and very good.
A great neighborhood spot.

Absolutely amazing! My husband took me here today for brunch as part of my birthday weekend celebration. We are both fans and will definitely be back soon.
I got the Panino Croccanti with a side of bacon and my husband got the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. The Panino is two French Toast topped with rosemary ham and black truffle and basted eggs– we both couldnt get enough. It was amazing! Perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The Chicken was incredibly juicy and loved garlic flavor toast it was served with.
The service was just as amazing and everyone was friendly. Café Parco has been opened for 2 years now and Im just sad it took me 2 years to discover it.
Cant wait to go back to try other things off their menu!

My best friend and I went to Café Parco last night. A quaint little house with lots of outdoor seating and intimate indoor seating in Madison Park. We sat outside in the warm weather, which always makes me happy.
The waiter was very accommodating and allowed us to try a few different wines before landing on our favorite.
The menu was full of mouth watering words like — truffles, marionberry sauce, braised in wine for 24 hours… I had a hard time picking just one thing. We started with Basil Shrimp and Parco Cesar Salad. By the way the waiter described the size of the Basil Shrimp we would have thought it was coming out on a side plate. Instead we got a big dinner plate with delicious, perfectly cooked shrimp. YUM! The Cesar salad was full leaf romaine with salami, parmesan cheese and a lemon anchovy dressing. So good, I could not wait until dinner.
Dinner we got Cappelini di Mare and their classic Italian Sausage and Meat Sauce pasta. I asked the waiter to hold the baby octopus on the Cappelini di Mare, but he said it was in the seafood mix. I was a little disappointed because just the site of baby octopus makes my stomach turn. The dish was good, not great. I was expecting a lot more flavor. The Italian Sausage and Meat Sauce was amazing! Homemade sausage crowned the top of the pasta with freshly shaved parmesan. It was absolutely delicious. I would get this dish next time.
Dessert… why didn’t we start with dessert? I ordered the Bacon Brittle Sundae. YUM, YUM and YUM! Bourbon barrel aged maple syrup and bacon brittle candy sprinkled over French Vanilla Ice Cream. The bacon brittle is a brilliant salty/​sweet combo that made my friend and I want to order a side of just the brittle. So good!
I cannot believe this place isn’t more busy. Probably because we dined on a Tuesday night. The chef previously worked at 94 Stewart. The menu is constantly changing (according to the waiter). I am definitely going back!

Overall good brunch experience
A party of 6, we went to Café Parco in the early afternoon for post-​church brunch. Overall the food was good. A lot of people liked their dishes and for the most part was very tasty. All the dishes seem to be pretty cheesy and rich. They have a large waffle, french toast, and egg/​pork menu usually incorporating a cheese or truffle oil.
Definitely a cute restaurant, but don’t bring your manly men here b/​c my husband wanted a dish that was heartier. He asked the waiter which had the most meat and the chef sent out a dish that consisted purely of meat: pork belly, ham, and sausages — all of which my husband liked.
Our waiter seemed a bit slow. It took longer than normal from him to take our order and bring out the check.

So many things wrong I don’t even know where to begin.
First, it’s my friend’s bday and I made reservations here given the 4.5 star rating on Unilocal.We started off in good spirits, excited to celebrate — but that rapidly changed as the night progressed.
SERVICE: The service was the MOST disappointing about our experience here. Our server was NOT attentive, unprofessional, and not pleasant. He forgot to bring us a wine menu. He forgot an item we ordered, which could have been prevented if he repeated the orders after taking them down. When we notified him of our missing clam appetitzer he seemed offended. By the end of this whole soirée, we could not WAIT to just get the damn bill and leave because it was so awkward that we were not happy at all. He asked us if we wanted dessert and we all said, «No, I think we’re good.» But he proceeded to bring the dessert plate out for us to view! This is not a language issue…
FOOD: Mediocre. Why were there scales in the elk dish? The waiter said it’s bone shavings and that it’s «rare» but it does happen sometimes. But they look like rubbery-​plasticy scales and BOTH of my friend’s elk dishes have an abundance. Don’t make up some stupid excuse. Just say you don’t have a damn clue or at least go investigage — ASK YOUR CHEF. How can this make for a pleasant dining experience when we are having to spit out scales every other bite?
My fish had a lot of bones — tell me if I’m wrong but most high-​end restaurants debone fish, no? Because I was also spitting out fish bones with my elk-​scale spitting friends. I’m paying $ 30 a dish, I’m expecting $ 30 quality.
To be honest, we left as fast as we could and went up the block to Voila for dessert. Before we left, the manager offered us a gift certificate for a second chance, but the waiters weren’t apologetic or sincere at all. We will not be going back even if it’s free food.

I went to Café Parco a few weeks ago to celebrate something personally meaningful & important to me. The restaurant is quite small but charming with beautiful paintings on the wall & lighting was soft & pleasant.
I ordered the sauteed mushrooms appetizer & it was quite tasty. I savored every bite! For my entrée I ordered Squash Pomodoro, a fabulous vegetarian dish with a well balanced symphony of tastes!
Thoroughly enjoyed it! They mix the olive oil with several different herbs & spices on the spot, just before bringing it to the table; great touch!
I really liked their wine by the glass «system», too! The server brings you a glass & the actual bottle of the wine ordered, lets you taste it & then pours it for you, very nice touch!
Service was friendly & attentive with a hint of humor. No complaints there! Thank you!
I find Chef Celinda very creative in her food combinations & will definitely go back to Café Parco with friends to try some other menu items of hers.
Keep up the good work, Café Parco!

My boss took us here for a group outing (none of us had been) and I’m so glad he suggested we try it!
I never would have seen this place nor decided to eat here had we not been deliberately looking for the establishment. It’s neatly nestled within the neighborhood so I probably would have missed it completely. We wanted to take advantage of the good weather so we opted for the outdoor seating under the trees and the only word I can come up with, to describe the restaurant, is «cute»! Very relaxed, comfortable, and almost romantic.
Everything on the menu sounded mouth-​watering but I decided to go for the Creative Eggs — Italiano with polenta (you also have the choice of red potato browns if polenta isn’t your thing). I had never had polenta before but decided I might as well try it. If Parco’s preparation of polenta is standard in polenta-​making, I’m sold! The texture was so smooth and creamy and the sweetness from the cornmeal was a great balance to the savoriness and saltiness of the roasted pepper, mozzarella, Salumi finocchiona, and olives. Even though I hadn’t tried it before, there was homey-​ness to the polenta that was very comforting. My eggs were cooked just right and everything about my dish was simple and delicious. Perfection.
My coworkers also seemed to love their dishes (the Creative Eggs — Mushroom with red potatoes and the Eggs and… — No Carbs).
We ordered a tart to round off our meals. It had a flaky (not too sweet) crust, decadent tart filling, and a fragrant, tart raspberry sauce drizzled over-​top. Again, the chef found the perfect balance between sweet and tart and it was just wonderful!
I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a meal in quite some time! Well done, Café Parco! I’ll be back!

While I feel bad giving this place 2 stars, 3 stars is too generous — the food and service were really «I’ve had better.» Also, the first 2 top table we were sat is right next to the window and cold air was streaming in and the table, itself, felt like it was on top of the table next to it. They did move us to another very small table in a corner (the table actually faces into a corner with demi-​walls so you have your back to the remainder of the restaurant — an odd configuration, but not cold and private enough that you didn’t feel a part of your neighboring table’s conversation). The wine, however, a 2005 Burgundy, was delicious.
I started with the Fonduta — a roasted garlic cream sauce with «toast.» It came with untoasted white bread; I asked them to toast it and slightly toasted wheat bread out. For my taste, the dish needs much more toasted bread — such as a crostini. The sauce is just okay (better with some of the whole roasted garlic cloves), but within about an hour of eating it my stomach wasn’t happy. Our server confirmed that the dipping sauce is the base for one of their pasta dishes.
My husband had the mozzerella and spinach salad — which was fresh and tasty and good ingredients, but was drenched in dressing (pooled on the bottom of the dish).
My husband’s fresh pappardelle with a braised veal and tomato ragu with shaved mushrooms was just okay. While the pasta had good texture and the veal was tender, the sauce was a tad too rich for his liking and dish was defintely underseasoned (despite a few fluffs of Reggiano cheese).
My «Drunken Ravioli con Anatra» (roasted duck leg — gorgonzola dolce egg pasta ravioli filled with sweet potato and Amaretto soaked currents) was flavorful and rich but literally sat in at least 4 tablespoons of liquid duck fat … I had to spoon it out of the dish in order to eat some the tender duck meat. The ravioli pasta had good texture and the filling was delicous. The duck fat pool ruined the dish though.
We found the service to be off — it took our server quite awhile to initially come the table and he wouldn’t take our appetizer order when we ordered the wine even though that’s what we wanted to do. Then, it took a long time for him to come back with the wine. I did him to be friendly and knowledgeable.
When were leaving, a staff person with a gray bucket of dirty dishes was hemming and hawing and waiting for us to leave because she needed to take the dishes downstairs through the front door (!) to where the sanitizer is — extremely odd set up. It was very uncomfortable, as the host told her to wait until we left and then she was still trying to get around me to the door (she should have taken the dishes back into the kitchen until we left) — the entire restaurant is extremely smalll. He mentioned something about the kitchen being so small they didn’t want to put the sanitizer in the kitchen … Hopefully, they’ll install a dumbwaiter or some other way to access the dishwashing space so they don’t have to continue to take dirty dishes by customers waiting in the front door area … it just feel that’s kinda gross.
I will try the restaurant again but as of now, it’s not one of my favorites. I still much prefer La Spiga, Spinasse, Serafina, and Café Lago.