Restaurant in Seattle, United States
Consistent Italian worth booking in Seattle.
Spinasse is one of Seattle's most consistent Italian kitchens, ranked #64 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for 2025 and Pearl Recommended. Dinner-only on Capitol Hill, with a wine program that takes Northern Italian pairings seriously. Easy to book, with a week's notice usually sufficient for most dates.
Book Spinasse if you want one of Seattle's most consistent Italian kitchens with a wine program serious enough to carry the evening. Ranked #64 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list for 2025 (up from #100 in 2023), this Capitol Hill restaurant has built a track record over several years that few Italian spots in the Pacific Northwest can match. It's not a splurge destination in the mold of Canlis, but it delivers more depth and focus than most of its price tier. Reservations are easy to secure, making it a reliable choice when you want a well-executed dinner without the booking stress.
Spinasse sits at 1531 14th Ave in Capitol Hill, Seattle's most food-forward neighborhood. The kitchen runs under chef Stuart Lane and has maintained a steady upward trajectory on the OAD rankings for three consecutive years, a signal that the cooking is consistent rather than riding a single moment of hype. The focus is Northern Italian, particularly the egg-based pastas of Piedmont — a style that rewards a kitchen willing to put in repetitive, disciplined work rather than chase novelty.
For food and wine explorers, the wine list is the second reason to come here. Northern Italian cuisine and Italian regional wine form one of the most coherent pairings in the kitchen-to-cellar relationship: Barolo and Barbaresco with braised meat, Arneis or Gavi with lighter first courses, Dolcetto as a bridge between courses. Whether Spinasse's list runs deep into Piedmontese producers or extends into other Italian regions isn't detailed in available data, but the restaurant's editorial positioning and award recognition from OAD's casual-gourmet tier strongly suggest the program is taken seriously. This is the kind of place where asking for a wine recommendation is likely to produce an actual answer rather than a generic pour. Compare that to a venue like Uncle Dom's Italian Kitchen, where the format is more casual and the wine conversation shorter. For guests who treat the bottle as part of the experience, Spinasse has more to offer.
For a fuller picture of the Italian dining options in Seattle, Café Juanita in Kirkland and Staple & Fancy Mercantile in Ballard both operate in a comparable register and are worth considering depending on your neighborhood or group preference. Internationally, the Italian format Spinasse pursues sits in the same culinary tradition as 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto, though those operate at a very different price and formality level.
Spinasse opens for dinner only, Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 pm. There's no lunch service. Booking difficulty is rated easy, so a week's notice should be sufficient for most dates, though Friday and Saturday prime time (7:30 to 9 pm) will fill faster. If you're planning around a specific occasion, aim to book 10 to 14 days out to have full flexibility on time slot. The Capitol Hill location makes it walkable from a number of Central Seattle hotels — check our full Seattle hotels guide for options nearby. For broader Seattle planning, see our full Seattle restaurants guide, Seattle bars guide, Seattle wineries guide, and Seattle experiences guide.
The OAD trajectory is the most telling data point: three consecutive years of improvement on a list that rewards consistency over flash. For context on what that tier of recognition means across comparable American restaurants, Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg sit at the higher end of the same circuit, while Le Bernardin in New York, Alinea in Chicago, and The French Laundry in Napa operate at a different level of formality and price entirely. Spinasse is not in that company, but it doesn't need to be. It's doing something more specific: serious Italian cooking in a casual-ish room, with the wine to support it.
Yes, it works well solo. The dinner-only format and Capitol Hill setting suit a solo diner who wants a proper meal without a production. Ask about bar or counter seating when booking , it's often more comfortable for one than a full table, and a good perch for a wine-led dinner.
It's a solid choice for an occasion that calls for a focused, food-and-wine-forward evening rather than ceremony or spectacle. For something with more theatre and service polish, Canlis is the Seattle answer. But for a birthday or anniversary where the food is the point, Spinasse's OAD recognition and consistent cooking make it a dependable pick. Price range data isn't published, but the casual-gourmet OAD categorization suggests mid-range, not blowout pricing.
Bar seating is common at Capitol Hill restaurants of this format, and it's worth requesting when you book. It's the leading way to engage with the wine program directly , bartenders at Italian-focused rooms at this level usually know the list well. Confirm availability when making your reservation.
Come with the wine in mind, not just the food. The Northern Italian format means the pasta courses are the heart of the meal, and the wine program is designed to match that register. Book a week to two weeks out for weekday dining, longer for weekend prime time. Read the OAD ranking as a signal that the kitchen is consistent , this is a repeat-visit restaurant, not a one-time novelty. Also worth comparing: Café Juanita if you prefer a Kirkland setting, or Joule if you want something in a different culinary direction.
Dinner is the only option , Spinasse does not serve lunch. Hours run from 5 pm daily, with Friday and Saturday service extending to 11 pm. If a late dinner suits your schedule, the extended weekend hours give you more flexibility than most comparable Seattle kitchens.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spinasse | Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #64 (2025); Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #79 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #100 (2023); Opinionated About Dining Gourmet Casual Dining in North America Ranked #43 (2023) | — | |
| Canlis | — | ||
| Joule | — | ||
| Altura | — | ||
| Ba Bar | — | ||
| Bakery Nouveau | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes, Spinasse works well for solo diners. The bar seating option lets you eat without occupying a full table, and the focused Italian format — consistent enough to earn OAD's Casual North America ranking three years running — is easy to navigate alone. It's a better solo call than Canlis, where the formal setting can feel awkward without company.
It's a solid choice for a low-key special occasion — Capitol Hill's most credentialed Italian kitchen, with a wine program that holds up to the food. If you want full-service ceremony and a grander room, Canlis is the move. Spinasse suits celebrations where the food matters more than the theater.
Bar seating is available at Spinasse, making it one of the more flexible options on Capitol Hill for walk-in or last-minute diners. The wine program is serious enough that sitting at the bar with a glass and the pasta menu is a legitimate way to experience the kitchen without a full reservation.
Spinasse is a dinner-only kitchen — doors open at 5 pm every day, with Friday and Saturday service running until 11 pm. Chef Stuart Lane has kept the restaurant on OAD's Casual North America list every year from 2023 to 2025, climbing from #100 to #64, which tells you consistency is the house style. Come for the pasta and plan to spend time with the wine list.
There is no lunch service at Spinasse — dinner is the only option, seven days a week. If you need a daytime Italian fix in Seattle, you'll have to look elsewhere. For dinner, Friday and Saturday are the longest service windows, running until 11 pm.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
