Rocco’s

I’ve been here for drinks and shuffleboard– always a good time and a fun crowd. Based on the reviews here on Unilocal,I’ll have to come back to try the food!

Rocco’s will have to be an occasional treat, but one of which I am looking very much forward. This place pulls you in from the bright lighted sign out front. The interior is very fun, eclectic and imaginative. The place has a turn-​of-​the-​century and rustic look, but with many anomalous touches, from the tiny succulents on the wall, the bizarre art in the bathroom, one wall that looks like it’s from a small bar in Northern Michigan, to drink menus inside of old children book covers, and receiving the bill in an older styled women’s wallet. Those aren’t the only touches appreciated, as the water is flavored with cucumber and their whiskey drinks come with one huge ice cube.
We were met at the door by a friendly gentlemen who signaled inside for a table for two, and while it was busy we were seated right away. However, it seemed space for groups was a bit limited. The service was extremely friendly and attentive. I didn’t mind that the service occasionally seemed slow, because I was really enjoying the vibe of the place.
We ordered cocktails, garlic cheese bread, two slices, and two pieces of tiramisu. I jumped on their old-​fashioned made with Copperworks barrel aged gin (if you look up Copperworks you’ll see my glowing reviews). I did not realize I was ordering the best old-​fashioned I ever tasted. It had a syrupy and smooth mouthfeel and the flavor just about brought tears to my eyes. The waitress informed me that the bartender has won an award or two for his craft. The garlic cheese bread is packed with flavor, not to mention packed with stringy melty cheese, as it’s kind of a stuffed bread that is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Pesto in the sauce was a nice touch. I was surprised by how much I liked the pizza. I only wanted a slice so settled for the meat special, which was chicken, bacon, artichoke and onion — not my favorite typically. It seemed a little flimsy initially, but the crust had some crunch beyond the first couple of bites and the flavors of the sauce and ingredients were fresh and intense! We took the tiramisu home and it was one of the best I have had. It was ridiculously spongy and light.
The prices here make this an occasional treat (for a part-​time working doctoral student) and I am excited to introduce this place to friends and visitors. The drinks here are priced as they are at many craft cocktail bars, between $ 10 – 12 mostly. The slices are between $ 3.50-$ 5 I believe. The small garlic cheese bread was $ 11 and I’m not really sure how much the Tiramisu was, but with three drinks the total was north of $ 70. Everything we had was worth the price tag and I can’t wait to try more varieties of their pizza, but I might have to be patient for that next trip!

Paul the bartender makes the best sazerac I have ever had in my entire life! Seriously life-​changing.

Stop #2 on a reunion crawl of sorts. I met up an old friend in Belltown and we dropped by Rocco’s for drinks. It was Monday, January 18^th around 8pm. We walked in and sat at the bar.
*Macallan 18 ($ 32)
*Jack daniels black ($ 7)
Things started getting hazy at this bar as I had 5 drinks at our first stop. I remember the bartender being really sweet.
You can smell all the yummy pizza when walking in, but since we also ate at our first stop, I didn’t have any room to try the pizza. (I think this sounds like a good excuse to come back. Hehe!)
Very fun bar. If you’re in Belltown and looking for a place to eat and drink, Rocco’s is a good choice.

Has a blast. When you walk through the door the décor is amazing! Love the dark chic look!!! As for the bartender who made me a raspberry lemon drop– you sir are the man! Best drink EVER. The gorgazola pear pizza– what!!! Amazing! I want this place next door! Thank you so much for an AWESOME experience.

I’ve been to Rocco’s a couple of times — sometimes inebriated and getting a slice to go, and sober when grabbing dinner and drinks with a friend. I’ve had great experiences here. The bouncer is fair and wants to control the flow of people waiting inside, because it is a small space. I’ve really enjoyed the cheese, tikka tikka tikka, and bbq chicken pizzas, and hope to try out more. The house salad we ordered was pretty pathetic, and the dressing wasn’t very good at all.
Btw, pizzas are HUGE… a server helped change my mind when I was hoping to order a pizza for myself. Seriously, one or two slices is enough to fill a person with a healthy appetite.

Rocco’s, you’ll always have a pizza my heart. ;)
Rocco’s is hands-​down one of my favorite restaurants in Belltown! Whether I’m going for lunch or dinner, I always leave satisfied and stuffed. :)
A few favorites include:
–Lasagna Pizza — Basically two of my favorite foods in one. It’s best when the cheese is extra melty, otherwise the ricotta can be a bit much. If you aren’t feeling the sausage, they offer a vegetarian option as well.
–Fun-​Guy Pizza — I’m a sucker for truffle anything, so this is definitely a great go-​to. We’ve also added sausage to this pizza on occasion — yum! :)
–Three Little Piggies — Vegetarians beware! This pizza is layered with sausage, pepperoni and salami. Be sure to get any of their pizzas with their house-​made sausage!
Opt for large salads if you’re sharing with a group — our party of eight easily shared two large salads.
–Arugula Salad — The date vinaigrette really sells this salad!
–Greek Salad — Another solid choice, it’s exactly what you’d expect. :)
You can order their specialty pizzas in half (4 slices) and whole pizzas. I’d say that one Rocco slice is equivalent to two slices elsewhere haha, so a half pizza is great to share with someone else. XD
And yes, they do take reservations! So if you’re going with a larger group (say 6 or more), then I’d recommend calling in.
All in all, it’s hard to leave Rocco’s disappointed. Their service is pretty great — they have some fun staff members that checked up on us frequently. They even split the check for our large group.
Every New Years resolution needs a cheat day, so why not break it at Rocco’s? ;)

Best pizza in Seattle, there, I said it.
It’s good as a slice, it’s good as a whole pizza, it’s good for sharing with friends or eating all by yourself. (no judgement, i’ve done it.)
Their cocktails are great, the list is in these old kids books. Also, the bill comes in an old school wallet which I find a little quirky and fun.
They open at 11:30am, so it is nice to be able to pop in and get a slice. It does however turn in to 21+ after a certain time on most nights, so keep that in mind if you’re not of age.

Greedy Prices. They bill full specialty price even if it’s half cheese. 36 bucks for half specialty half cheese. There is NO TRANSPARENCY. They did not tell me that they bill the whole pizza at the more expensive price.
Outrageous that they don’t compromise the cost when there aren’t toppings on half the pizza.
That’s just greedy.
They’ve also got a snobby attitude. Reminds me of the South Park episode where they smell their own farts.
If you buy a 50 dollar caviar pizza and want half cheese on it then they’ll still charge full caviar price.
Yea it tastes good.

I literally love everything about this place. Service is amazing! Super fun, friendly and welcoming. Being from out of town, our server Paul was so helpful! Letting us in on all the local hot spots! Food was amazing! Definitely coming here again!!!
And ask Taylor to make you a «dealers choice» best hands in the cocktail business! He won’t steer you wrong!

So other reviews state that the pizza served at Rocco’s is NY style. I suppose it is but maybe a bit thicker. One thing is for sure, it’s really, really good pizza. On top of the really good pizza is a really good bar. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a bar stocked as well as the bar at Rocco’s. I was actually a bit lost with what to order from said bar but soon figured it out with the help of our server.
One of the main reasons why we chose Rocco’s was because they have a gluten free pizza crust as a member of our party has a gluten intolerance. There were four people in our group, two men and two women. The gluten free man ate his entire pizza. The other man, woman and I finished a half-​pizza. One slice and I was full. I could have eaten another slice but then I would have felt stuffed and that’s just not a nice feeling.
The lesson learned here is to order minimally because the worst case scenario is that you can order additional slices if needed. Another lesson learned was that The Three Little Piggies pizza was extremely yummy. The meats were flavorful and there was a generous amount of sauce which is a big win in my book.
Rocco’s is definitely going to be saved in my go-​to book for a rock solid place to take out-​of-​town guests. This place is just super.

I really like the pizza here — I find myself craving the fun guy pizza sometimes with mushroom and truffle oil. The lasagna has been my second favorite so far. The slices are pretty large and delicious! Most of the pizza in Seattle has been disappointing thus far, but Rocco’s stands out as being one of the best in the city for me. It’s also nice that their water infused with cucumber. The servers have all been really nice. I’ve always sat at a table for two, so I’m not sure if there are larger tables in the back for groups, but I wouldn’t think there are many. I’d recommend for date night!

LASAGNA PIZZA. Damn this was good. When it comes fresh and hot out the oven, it is seriously divine. The crust is chewy and warm, the red sauce and goopy and delicious, the mozzarella is stringy, and the ricotta is a melty glob of heaven. The pizza is HUGE and comes with 8 slices. There were 4 of us and none of us (including 2 guys) could finish our 2 slices.
You can order two flavors on one pizza and get charged for the price of a whole pizza of the higher-​priced flavor. Our other flavor was the spinach and bacon, which was a white sauce pizza and I personally thought it was way too heavy and oily and not that great. Also, the pizza took pretty much an hour to come out, and we were so antsy. But LASAGNA PIZZA. (still not worth an hour wait though). Also, I love leftovers and I love cold pizza but this pizza the next day was not good for some reason :(

We tried this place because we needed a break from seafood, it had good reviews, and it was super close to our hotel. It was freezing outside so the short walk was welcome. We arrived around 6:30 on Friday night and it was packed. They had a wait for tables, but the bar had a few seats open so we hopped on a bar stool and ordered a couple of beers.
The interior is small, but nicely decorated and had custom paintings on the walls. The bar wall has hundreds of bottles of whatever your poison is and the bartenders were a show themselves as they made a variety of different and fun cocktails with fun equipment. The drink menu is even a storybook cover such as a Dr. Seuss book with the menu inside.
We weren’t that hungry so we started off with a small garlic cheese bread and the butternut squash ravioli. The garlic bread had a cold marinara sauce which I really did not care for. I would have preferred it hot. The pesto dumped in the middle of the bowl of sauce is another story. It was delicious and oily on the garlic bread and gave it a great kick of flavor (even though the bread was great on its own.
The butternut squash ravioli was huge. I am not sure why it was listed as an appetizer, because it was meal. It was served in bowl, which was difficult to cut it and I would have liked a plate instead, but who really cares it was all eaten and had a rich cream sauce to accompany it. The nuts on the top were overkill and were not necessary. You could taste the spice and brown sugar in the squash and it was even a tad sweet, but the sauce balanced that well. Loved dipping my bread in the sauce.
Husband got a slice of the Gorgonzola spinach bacon pizza and it was great as well. When you hit the pockets of Gorgonzola you almost puckered up, but the bacon and spinach helped. The crust was solid.
If I had more time to spend in Seattle I would definitely stop here again and try their other menu items and pizza out.

Love this place! First of all they are one of the few places you can buy pizza by the slice. I don’t need an entire pizza so love this aspect, and it’s in the heart of Belltown right near all the action. So in between stops on your pubcrawl, or just a place to fill up & sober at near the end of the night, you can’t beat this place.
Service is great although a bit slow. Bartenders are fabulous and make good drinks. I really love their «Lasagna» pizza, it tastes delish! And it’s vegetarian!!!
Only wish they also had gluten free pizza by the slice, as I come here quite a bit with my gluten free friends and they always have to buy an entire pizza.

Clearly you go to drink because the pizza is the worst. I am not from Seattle so maybe this is what Seatlites like but this isn’t good pizza. The pizza is knife and fork. Way too much toppings with no bread structure to support it. The sausage pizza I had was bland which was ruined by uncooked onions and mushrooms that just let their moisture washout any flavor.
Only worth note is the pizza size but at $ 30 a pie I will just make my own pizzas.

Man oh man I’d like to kiss the cook who made this garlicky dream of pizza come true I don’t get diet cheat days often but why I do I go big this big «ROCCO’s» Big I love this place except at
and even then I’m a Belltown local fan of his joint my favorite of course is the extra garlic oh the roasted garlic is delicious you just can’t help but wanna pick the toppings off before you get home staff always cool enjoy this pizza I did

I can only really say one word about this place that can accurately portray how I feel.
WOW.
This place has some of the best of every kind of pizza experience — the slice, and the pie are both amazing options for a foodie/​pizza lover.
1) PRICE: The price point here is great for a group of 3 – 4, but not great for one, at least for the full/​half pies. A half (much less than a whole) pizza is way too much for one person to eat on their own (unless they either eat competitively or have a massive appetite). It is, however, really reasonable for one person if you’re down to try some slices. The specialty slices as well as the pepperoni are well worth it for the price.
2) QUALITY: The slices look and feel flimsy, but I think that’s due to the actual way they make it. The quality of the slices is awesome; the slices themselves feel a little less than premium, as does the look, but I can say with confidence that these guys know quality. My guess is that the thinness of the crust (leading to the less-​than premium look/​feel) is the biggest reason you can taste the pizza, since the bread doesn’t overwhelm the flavour of the cheese/​sauce/​toppings. It’s also not greasy, since they don’t use a whole ton of oil, so your hands stay relatively clean, and your mouth doesn’t feel like it’s consuming two pounds of grease with every bite.
3) SERVICE: I mean, they give you CUCUMBER WATER. The atmosphere is definitely premium here, and the waiter was really helpful in offering suggestions for what to get, especially since I was really indecisive about what I wanted. Also, the waiter was really attentive, replacing the cucumber water with a new jug once the old one was almost ¼ left (with four people these go fast).
4) VALUE: For what I paid, I felt like it was fair every time I went. Regardless of whether or not I went there for slices or pies, this place really felt like it lived up to the hype that Unilocal had for it.
I think I’m going to start doing a rating system per section, out of 100 overall, based on my overall experience, since 1 – 5 stars is not granular enough to express my liking (or disliking) of a particular service or establishment. Hence, the inaugural:
Price: ⁸⁵⁄₁₀₀
Quality: ⁹⁰⁄₁₀₀
Service: ⁹³⁄₁₀₀
Value: ⁹⁰⁄₁₀₀
Overall: ⁹⁰⁄₁₀₀

The place is gorgeous with a great vibe and super delicious food and drink! If we lived here, we’d be regulars!
The pizza is excellent — thin crust but with plenty around the ends, crispier on the outside, soft on the inside. It has wonderful sauce and cheese in perfect quantities, not too heavy but also not skimpy.
You can buy a whole or half pizza. We got a half of the veggie — great toppings, and 4 huge slices! Plenty of food for two! They also feature pizza by the slice in a limited selection of flavors every night. We picked up some slices another night, and it was also excellent!
Now, for the rest:
The bar tenders really know how to mix a drink! My Moscow Mule was extra tasty and my husband’s hot toddy was terrific.
We started with the broccolini, which was yummy! The ends had a lovely roasted flavor and it was just the right amount of garlicky.
The service is efficient and knowledgeable but also super laid back. You’ll feel like you’re just hanging out with some helpful friends. Overall, a terrific spot!

The single best thing I ate in Seattle.
First, be forewarned. This place is always jam-​packed. There’s a bouncer-​type guy who will delay your entry, even if you want to grab a slice to go.
If they ever remodel this place, they need a separate entrance/​counter/​waiting area for people grabbing slices to go. Oh, and charging 40 cents for a to-​go box is pretty weak.
That said, the people who work here are uniformly friendly and fast. Just try to keep your eyes on the guy whipping slices into the oven. He’s a blur.
The night that I sat at the bar, my server was a really friendly foreign guy who made sure to tell me to, «Have a good night,» on my way out the door.
The garlic cheese bread is pretty good. Cheesy pockets hanging out in a warm bread sleeping bag. It also comes with some tomato dipping sauce with some super-​intense chopped basil on top. (Maybe throttle back on the basil there, guys.)
The pizza itself is just perfect. It’s soft and chewy and melts in your mouth. I sampled the pepperoni and the cheese, and I actually thought the cheese was perfect. No need to adorn it with toppings, though I’m sure you’d be happy if you did.
I loved Rocco’s. You will, too.