Ristorante Doria

Went on a Wednesday night at 7. 3 of us. We were seated quickly. Had tiramisu and spamoni, neither were special. Also had the salmon and a sausage pasta both were edible buying wouldn’t go back. Nothing to rave about. Service was okay.

Visiting from Portland, we had our hearts set on an amazing dinner at Ristorante Machiavelli, but they were closed for the weekend (giving their employees a much deserved holiday) so we scrambled to find another Italian restaurant, and ultimately decided to try out Ristorante Doria in the U District. I was not disappointed. We got the risotto with sausage/​spinach and the gnocchi, but with marinara instead of a cheese sauce. The gnocchi was light and airy, great texture, and perfect portion size for a vacation meal. The risotto was also very tasty, but the sauce was a bit heavy for us and it was way too much food for us to finish. Normally not a problem (I love Italian leftovers!) but without a fridge at the hotel, we couldn’t take it wth us. The bread they start you with was also quite tasty, just the right amount of warmth and not too toasted.

This is my first ever Unilocal review, and I wrote it simply because it’s one of the worst service I’ve ever experienced.
We went in on a Friday night at 5:30pm. Even though the waitress was really friendly in the beginning, she started to become impatient later on. We were still working on our plates and she kept on asking if we were done. I don’t really understand why, I mean the restaurant was not even full!
This was fine, we continued to stay and talk. However what really got me angry was when we signed our receipts and were prepared to leave, the waitress opened and checked all our receipts in front of us still sitting at the table, with a frowned face as if we wouldn’t tip her and she had to check before allowing us to leave! Perhaps we did not dress in formal, but it was a Friday night and everyone was wearing casual, just because we are Asian students doesn’t mean we don’t know we need to tip. I’m never ever coming back to this restaurant again, her action was simply rude. And I’m only giving one star because of their food.

My favorite food cuisine of all time is Italian so I knew I had to try this place. It was awesome! My friend and I came here on a week night and luckily there wasn’t a huge line filled with students. We were seated right away and were able to order right away as well. I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara and my friend ordered the Rigatoni alla Bolognese — both DELICIOUS! The pastas tasted great and we were also given a generous portion. We also ordered the Pannacotta for dessert. It was light and sweet — perfect! It also came with a cookie and raspberry sorbet — both nice additions to the Italian dessert. The only downside to our experience here was where we were being seated in the restaurant when we came in. The restaurant was about one third full and they still seated us right next to another table. When restaurants are crowded, I of course don’t mind but when the restaurant isn’t that full, it would be nice to be seated at a table not right next to another party. :) Other than that, I look forward to coming here again for more delicious Italian food!

Food is great!
However, don’t tell them there’s a surprise birthday cake if you bring one. One of the waitresses shouted to me, «SO WHEN SHOULD I BRING THE CAKE FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIRL?» …and I was right in front of the birthday girl

Read review after review before settling on this gem!
Went in on a Tuesday evening around 630pm– seated immediately as there were only a few other people there.
Server was fabulous– attentive– kind, and on and on and on… plus her accent made the whole experience legitimate.
I ordered one of the two choices for soup of the day (tomato bisque) and a side of veggies (Carrots and broccoli– stupid diet), and a vodka tonic. Bisque was the right choice and I instantly was proud of my selection. Creamy, with light flavored and an occasional gritty crunch that gave texture. Yum!
BF ordered Chicken Parm (which had a more elegant name that we didn’t try pronouncing), to which he raved about, I even tried a bite and instantly loved it. Thin chicken breast with a crisp, yet light breaking? Coating? Idk/​it was perfect. Then topped in a rich red sauce with real tomatoes. It was a win win.
Back to the service– the server checked in at appropriate times with us, our plates were cleared promptly, our check came within reasonable time and she even boxed our leftovers for us.
Cons– the construction outside deters people from seeing this gem! Thanks City of Seattle.
Get in there and eat!

The good:
The bread was delicious — warm and soft with good olive oil. The appetizer mussels were also delicious — the sauce was a tomato based sauce with lots of flavor from garlic and herbs. The tiramisu was moist and went well with the machiatto. Lastly, the live music on a Friday night was great — the pianist took requests and was a great singer.
The «ok»:
Sadly the linguine pasta was overlooked and no longer al dente, if just slightly. This was surprising given how authentic the place seemed /​was. The risotto was a bit salty, likely due to the sausage, and also was missing any gorgonzola flavor even though it was listed as an ingredient on the menu.
The «ugly»:
The service was mediocre at best. We had 2 waiters. The first waiter read the specials to us and then left only to never return. Then after what seemed like 10 minutes, a second waiter came to the table stating that he just arrived for his shift and needed to go learn about the specials and would be back. After finishing our meal, it took him a while to realize we were done and needed our leftovers packed up. All the while the first waiter waited on the 3 tables around us. It was very awkward. A gentleman who seemed to be the manager and brought out the food was pleasant as was the lady server who ran some food to our table.

First star for the beautiful setting, second star (probably half a star) for the food… The rest was due to the bad service.
Walked in with the place half occupied yet still had to wait for the busser to clean up a table for us. At least we looked at the menu before being seated. A waiter came 10 min later with bread and oil (no flavor/​seasoning) after taking the order of another group that came after us as well as getting dessert for the table next to us (who still had their food).
We receive our food after 10 min and was quite delighted at the chicken Parmesan. It was moist and the breading had good seasoning and reminded me of chicken katsu. Though one out of the three was burnt, the meal was still good.
It wasn’t until I said something that the waiter took our bread bowl hastily away when our food came out, but he didn’t even bother to take our oil too, which made it hard to eat since that tables is small. Finished food in 20 min and asked for a dessert menu towards the end of our meal. He came with the menu and took away our plates. I tried asking the busser of she can take our order but she couldn’t and said she’ll inform the waiters. But she never did. Then we spent 15 min before our order was taken. I tried staring them down, but only notice how he took went to groups that came after us. Twice. It wasn’t until we finished and paid where he actually showed some nice service by turning around saying have a good day. Would not come again after being disregarded and waiting more than twice as much as it took for us to eat.

Came again on a Saturday night. This blonde hostess in her 50s saw us, ignored us for 2 solid minutes then said «no tables, wait 15 minutes and come back» and walked away again left us hanging.
To all: Doria has great food. But one bad experience being treated like crap with no respect can be truly awed.

Used to live in the neighborhood and went there for a few dates with the wifey. I liked the food and atmosphere is intimate and very relaxing. Its a fun little restaurant that has a way of making you forget about the outside world. The food is well priced and very tasty. I also forgot my hat there one time and they had it waiting for me a few days later. Someone could have easily stole it, but they saved it for me, that was super awesome of them to have that sense of service and integrity.

I’ve still been on the hunt for some delicious carbonara since my past trip to Italy. This place peaked my interest after finding pictures of carbonara on Unilocal and finally I had the opportunity to try it!
Made a reservation the same day for 2 people (busy weekend, Valentine’s Day weekend!) and they happily took us. When we got there, took about 10 minutes to get seated.
Ordered the spaghetti carbonara and breaded calamari appetizer.
The calamari appetizer has good flavor and they definitely could have fried it a bit more. The breaking was a big soggy and it wasn’t crispy.
The spaghetti carbonara was delicious! It had that rich and thick flavor that tweaked my taste buds and had me dreaming of Italy again. My only criticism was that the spaghetti was slightly overcooked. Otherwise, great carbonara representation of Italy. I wish places here would use thicker strands of spaghetti instead of the American thin strands… My girlfriend wasn’t that hungry so we shared the carbonara entrée. Their portions are extremely generous.
And don’t forget their dessert! If you check in to Unilocal you get a free dessert with your entrée! We love tiramisu so naturally that’s what we ordered. I loved their dessert, it reminds me tiramisu at a place in San Diego called buon forchetta; delicious!
Their service was terrific, very attentive and quick on bringing the check.
Overall, I’d come here again for sure!

Friend told me this is good place to eat.
Came In and nice small place. Order Cioppino and its my favorite dish in Italiano.
After long wait and finally came, what a Hugh disappointment, no fish not. Like picture on Unilocal,as a restaurant owner, I wouldn’t use those seafood for my customer, clam was so small why put those, only eatable is two shrimps, two thumb down. Order extra small basket bread $ 2.00 you kidding me. But sauce was good.
It’s ok place but food quality is no there and so sad that ppl spending money for those quality food. Very disappointed at this place, «owner is cook», ya use better quality seafood.

Atmosphere is good. Able to have conversations without a lot of noise.
Came with our friends who got there earlier. They had an appetizer before we got there and ordered their main courses and wait for us.
When we arrived, was greeted by Marcello and seated with our friends. The waitress got 2 glasses and we ordered a bottle of wine the same our friends had.
We were relaxing after driving 50 miles from Gig Harbor, not even 5 minutes the waitress asked for our order and we begged off and asked for more time to look at the menu. We were finally understanding the menu and asked for a mussel apetizer. She asked what our entrée will be. I assumed the food would come after We finished our salads etc. We thought we would have some time to enjoy the appetizer but the salads came right away. The table was full and we had finished about half our salads and still trying to eat the appetizer when the main courses came. There was no room on the table so our salads and appetizer were taken away.
They were not that busy so I don’t understand the big rush. Waitress asked to have us pay for everything during the meal so she could «close her book out».
Not a very professional way for a business. Marcello was on the floor so he must approve of this.
Don’t think we’ll be back. Had such high expectations of a relaxing and memorable time with our friends.
The food was so so.

I guess based on the prior reviews, we lucked out as the waitress was nice to us. (whew!)
Old school Italian restaurant, very dark with opera playing in the background. Our meals were very good. The Caesar salad was OK, nothing to write home about. I would return!

Ristorante Doria is a nice Italian place in the U-​District that stands well on its own, but is not quite as strong when compared to all the other great Italian options in Seattle. They have a solid happy hour, with a tasty sangria that had me happily buzzed by the end of the meal and generous wine pours. Their bruschetta is tasty if a little too crunchy, and the polenta with truffle cream sauce is quite rich and indulgent, in a good way. The cavatelli with wild mushrooms is decent, but the mushrooms did not seem any different than what I could pick up from Safeway, and the sauce was definitely reminiscent of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup. Service is decent as well, and given how they serve gluten free pasta here, I can see how it would be a favorite for some.

If you come here between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. on any day, it’s happy hour. Be sure to order from the happy hour menu or ask for the happy hour menu. The dishes are nice and big for happy hour. They don’t skimp on the portions for sure! One thing I wish they’d do is free bread and olive oil, but it’s only $ 1.50 on the happy hour menu, so not that big of a deal.
Service: Decent. However, they can be super slow getting the check, especially if there aren’t a lot of people in the restaurant. I guess that’s part of the charm. We had two waiters try to give us the check or take the credit card for processing. Needless to say, the service is there, just coordination might need some work.
Ambiance: As soon as you enter, you don’t feel like you’re in the U-​District at all. In fact, you don’t feel like you’re on 50^th and Roosevelt, which is technically still part of the U-​District. No, it feels like you’re in Capitol Hill or Queen Anne. The interior decoration is amazing. It is quite dark, so it’s not the best place to take photos, but because it’s so dark, it’s quite romantic.
Credit card: I believe they take American Express.
Overall: Neighborhood gem, one of the best-​kept secrets.

I came here for a little birthday dinner. After scoping out the menu and reading some reviews it sounded like the perfect cozy dinner spot for a small group in my neck of the woods (N Seattle!) — and it was just as I had hoped! Service was very warm and friendly; it wasn’t too loud, but there was enough background noise; the ambiance seemed very Italian (tablecloth, vignettes, etc.).
I ordered the gnocchi and it was absolutely WONDERFUL. I do think it was one of the best gnocchi dishes I’ve had — definitely better than the new Gnocchi Bar in Cap Hill. The gnocchi were soft and light and the gorgonzola cream sauce was incredible. Incredibly velvety rich but with the right amount of cheese — four kinds. (Is there such a thing as too much cheese? I don’t know. But it didn’t cross the line). The gorgonzola and parmesan were the most recognizable flavors but I’m sure the Asiago & Fontina added their own subtle elements. The dish was pretty rich, so I boxed half to enjoy later.
My friends all seemed to enjoy their dishes,. I refrained from trying since they had gotten more meat & seafood-​centric dishes.
I also loved that the menu was clearly marked with vegetarian/​vegan friendly options.

Super nice people.
We came in with another couple for dinner. My friend was not feeling well and the sound and activity became to much for her. The restaurant quickly accommodated us, changing our order to take out and getting us on our way. They were perfect.
I had the clam pasta. It was great. Clams were juicy, not gritty. Sauce was butter-​y and garlic-​y. Loved it!
One friend had the lentil soup. She rolled her eyes with pleasure — over vegetarian lentil soup? Yes. It was thick and flavorful and she almost licked the bowl out. Other friends had pasta dishes, that they liked just as much.

It’s not the cheapest place in the University District, but it’s definitely one of my favorite, and close to my heart!
This is an old-​school Italian place: low lighting, small, intimate tables, wine bottles displayed out front, and signed pictures of rat pack-​era celebrities. They even have any free staff playing an old piano in the corner, and many times they take requests.
I love Ristorante Doria because I can almost always get a reservation there, even if it’s full you can somehow feel like you’re having a quiet and romantic dinner.
The food, I think, is really good. They have a very good variety of pasta dishes and Italian entrees. The Chicken Marsala is really, really good. So good it’s hard not to order that every time. The seafood dishes are also solid — this isn’t a place that just buys stuff that’s on the edge of expiration. I also enjoy the pollo ala limone. The portions are quite nice and most every entre comes with a pasta.
One thing to note — they always (I think) have lentil soup, which is solid but nothing out of this world. But they also have soups of the day. And the crab bisque is awesome. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I think so highly of this place — it’s easy to ruin crab bisque and I’ve had awful crab bisque so many times! It’s either too rich, or it’s cold, or there’s no crab, or there’s no flavor. This soup comes out steaming hot, with plenty of flaky crab spread out through the creamy concoction, which is not too salty, but plenty delish.
An added bonus — the wine is really reasonable. None of the reds by the glass are more than $ 8. The staff can recommend a red or white to go with any meal!
I’d recommend this restaurant for date night, or taking the parents out, or a Monday night treat. Hell, any night!

The place is really cute. I like the little decorations around the counter and it all felt very friendly and classy atmosphere.
I went here for happy hour but I think it’s a bit too early and the proportions are very small. I guess it’s authentic Italian place so I can’t complain much.
I got the garlic pasta (can’t remember the Italian name). It was the little shelled pasta with mushrooms and the whole thing was very tasty. I also ordered some appetizer with egg plants and that was a bit tasteless.
Overall, the food tasted ok and the feeling of the place felt very nice, but it’s a bit too expensive and I had to ask for the happy hour menu.