Permanently Closed - Mercato Stellina at the Market

The food is amazing! Highly recommend the Caesar Salad, gnocchi and bolognese. Wine is also quite affordable.

The food was ok. Nothing great. Have had better pastas in Seattle city. The location and service are the saving grace of this establishment

One person from Chicago and 3 from California met at this place to reconnect after several years. What a great evening we had. We talked late after our meal was over and no one bugged us about leaving when they clearly had no one else in the place and were just waiting for us to exit. Intimate place with outdoor seating. Servers are professional and have charm. Food is tasty and fresh. We'll return.

We had the table booking for 9:00 pm, reached there at 8:58 pm. they had closed the door, finally opened and argued at length that restaurant closes at 9 pm. We showed them the reservation and also the their web site that showed closing time at 10 pm.
The chef was very rude. The staff, in general, did not care about customers.
The first item on menu, Olives and Almonds, was in menu at $6.00 whereas, on web site was at $5.00 ( not a big issue).
Restaurant management needs to teach staff’s behavior towards customers.

Great homemade pasta! Lovely wait staff and great menu :)

Waiting for restaurant to reply before posting experience.

The restaurant was clearly understaffed that evening which slowed down the service.

This is my second time visiting this restaurant. Good is excellent. Service is very friendly. Great place - highly recommend.

Excellent Italian food, must ask for olive oil, and bread, otherwise non may be served, nonetheless, very exquisite, tasty, and portion is very satisfying. Thank you.

Hair in food. Waiter forgot we needed a fresh meal. My husband ate his food (to enjoy since it was warm) and then when they remembered my food, it was late and he was done. No real apology for it. Service was not great or attentive. It was a date night and didn’t feel special at all there. Went next door for dessert and had a much better service experience. Would not recommend.

Food was very bland, gnocchi was very oily. Overall, not worth the money spent on it.

Our favorite restaurant. Dining at the bar and watching the Chefs is the best seat in the house. New Chef Joseph is a master of Italian cuisine. Many Italian restaurants to choose from in Seattle. NO reason to go anywhere but here!!

This was a return visit for us and we brought guests. Excellent place for dinner before a show.

Service was prompt and courteous and food was outstanding. Highly recommended.

Valentines

The Worst Dinner for a Long Time
We had dinner at the Seattle location of Mercato Stellina on February 13th and were highly disappointed and this is why:
While our server Lia was very nice, she was not on her best game that evening.
When we ordered bread, we got pizza dough rolls (think Olive Garden). Lia acknowledged that it was a mistake and that she would take if off the bill. However, when the bill arrived, it was still on and we had to point it out to her which is quite uncomfortable.
Secondly, when we asked what wines were 50% off on Wednesday evenings as advertised on their website she had no idea, she was unaware of the promotion.
While the website mentions that “Selected Wines” - with emphasis on the plural - are 50% off, there was actually only one wine available: one of the most expensive bottles on the list and one that was not even Italian, as you would expect for an Italian restaurant. When asking if we could have the Scavino wine as part of the 50% wine promotion we were told “no” by Lia’s manager. We still ordered the Scavino only to find out that it was sold out. When we then ordered a “2016 Italian Cabernet/Sangiovese”, we were presented with the 2015 vintage, as the 2016 vintage on the wine list wasn’t available.
Overall the lack of attention to detail was present throughout our experience: from the website’s inaccurate marketing of the Wednesday 50% off wines program, to an out-dated wine list, to several poorly prepared dishes including a charred octopus that was nicely scored but had no char flavors and a mushy texture, Arancini which were prepared with over cooked risotto, resulting in them being more like a mash.
With so many excellent Italian food options in Seattle, from Bar del Corso on Beacon Hill to Artusi on Capitol Hill, we think that Mercato Stellina might work for the cruise ship crowd at best, but certainly not for the locals.

Nice restaurant with good food and good service.

Fantastic food and excellent service! Had a reservation for 4 and they were able to extend to 6. Will come back when are 2 so can sit at the bar!

Small menu, but everything we tried was excellent quality. Fresh pasta was great.

We arrived for lunch, we were the only people in the restaurant other than the waiter and two cooks.
Our Waiter was delightful, the restaurant itself is small and tucked away. There isn't a view, so I would imagine the food to be wonderful. We ordered a Green Salad for 11 dollars and a Pasta for 22. our Salad consisted of 12 leaves of lettuce. The dressing was a balsamic, which was nice. But nothing else on the salad but lettuce leaves. Our for 22 dollars was the size of an average persons fist. The sauce was nice, the portions was so small, we left very hungry and disappointed in or 36 dollar lunch. WE won't be back.

What a gem! I usually avoid the Market because of the tourist trap vibe. I didn’t have much choice tonight, so decided to give Mercato Stellina a try. I am so glad! Seriously wonderful food. Bursting with flavor. The octopus was their best I’d ever had, even in Italy! Crispy gnocchi with duck confit...a total surprise. Just amazing. Small restaurant with cozy and romantic ambiance. Perfect service. We will return again and again!

An excellent restaurant! Superb fresh pasta, plus attentive service.

Wonderful menu with variety, yet not overly ambitious which frequently diminishes quality...
Absolutely the best Cacio de Pepe in the Northwest and the octopus was cooked perfectly and super tender!!,
This is a “spot” for us!

The starters, especially the octopus, are excellent, and the fresh pasta dishes are really wonderful. Excellent options for wine by the glass as well.

Wonderful little place with great Italian food and friendly service.

Way Overpriced. Food is meh. We had Bolognese and Gnocchi. Service was excellent. Would no go back.

Delicious pasta dish - my crispy gnocchi with duck confit, parsley, and aged balsamic was absolutely unique and delightful. I have never had such pillow-soft gnocchi before. The balsamic and citrus finish really brightened the dish with a nice punch. I would order this dish again.
I enjoyed the quiet cozy interior with soft lighting. I intend to visit many more times in the future to enjoy the other menu items.

First time and loved it. Waiter was fabulous and the food delicious. Will return!

Just great small intimate atmosphere with great food. Could be in Italy!

Ordered 2 pizzas--both has a crust so hard and tough that was impossible to cut or EAT!!! Quality of toppings also mediocre.

We loved the food and the service was amazing!

Great cocktails, food and service. We felt well attended and left alone. A difficult balance to pull off.
Great meal.

The Campanella with crab was excellent

Great service and food. Freshly made pasta!! Yum!

Fresh pasta and great wine. Perfect for a date or Sunday lunch in Pike Place

Some of the best pasta I've had in town (and I'm a lifelong resident). Great location and service. 100% recommend.

This was a wonderful dining experience because the service was wonderful... authentic and memorable. The flexibility to alter your order was great, including an amazing of menu cocktail that was invented based on my favorite flavors! The burrata was the best I ever had, made in house, and all the ingredients were fresh and delicious. I only wish I didn’t live so far away so I could come back more often.

A pleasant surprise - good flavors and well made. Delicious

Some good, some not so good. We loved the salmon pizza, it was outstanding and the crusts on their pizzas are excellent. We were disappointed by the caesar salad. It was $11 for several small leaves of romaine, the ends of which were brown. The focaccia parmesan croutons were ground so fine you could barely taste them and the dressing was almost non-existent.

The servers were extremely pleasant, but we had to ask for drink refills and remind them of a forgotten drink order. The wait for food also seemed overly long.

In addition, the tip of 20% was auto-added to the check. I rarely tip below 20% but would have only given a 15% tip if I had the choice.

The best pasta!! Go and watch them make it in the window! Truly mouth watering Casoncelli, and spinach mushroom lasagna. Wine is on the high end by the bottle and there is the 20% service charge, so I would make it a special meal!