A rustic Italian restaurant called Fiasco has recently opened in the neighborhood. Fiasco occupies the space that formerly housed Thackeray Café & Bar, and is owned by the same people, the guys behind Heavy restaurant group. While this street has pizza places and lots of pubs, people wanted a good Italian restaurant and Fiasco certainly delivers on that front. The restaurant has some delicious Italian-inspired food, with classic Italian dishes like spaghetti carbonara sharing menu space with PNW seafood specialties like fried calamari.
Takeout and catering is a big part of this new establishment. Some Thackeray brunch favorites like shakshuka and cinnamon rolls are retained here. Claret Wine Bar next door is alive and well with the addition of a bottle shop. They have some great sommeliers you can chat with as you sip on your wine. Fiasco is also a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee (or happy hour!) and bask in the spring sunshine at one of the outdoor tables. They feature Olympia Coffee for their espresso program and do a mean carbonated Negroni too. They have shareable snacks like bruschetta, cheese boards, and meatball sliders.
It is a good place to come enjoy a date night with a bottle of wine, a family dinner after a soccer game out to share some pizzas, or even a business meeting looking for a group lunch. We went over for a dinner on a fine spring day and had a leisurely, indulgent dinner. The vodka-battered calamari and cheesy bread were delicious and perfect for sharing with friends. They say the true test of an Italian restaurant is in its Cacio e Pepe, and Fiasco does a terrific job at it. The pasta is creamy, buttery, and peppery, like a well-made Cacio e Pepe should be. The fried chicken parmesan is also terrific. The chopped Italian salad lacked pizzaz though and could have done with better seasoning. Do end your meal with their traditional homemade tiramisu; the taste lingers long after the last delicious bite is over.
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I’d love to go there more, but it’s so damn loud I can’t have a conversation with my family or coworkers.
Sad, as I’d go more often if the noise was not so bad.
I feel the same – but have eaten on the Claret side (same menu as Fiasco) a few times and have found it much quieter!
The Claret side ??
The place is kind of two restaurants in one — Fiasco and Claret (the wine bar -with same fiasco menu). Claret runs along the 35th street side of the restaurant and with the various built-ins, etc. it is quieter than the main Fiasco space.
It was super loud in there when we went, and tips are automatically added to the bill. I’m not against the practice, but our servers were incredibly slow on a night when barely anyone else was in there. Everyone in our party agreed take out is the better option at this place.
It was super loud but no one was there. OK.
I like Fiasco much more than Thackeray, and I think the main difference is really the price point. Both are serving solid but not exactly interesting food, but Thackeray was charging slightly higher price that would have been easily justifiable if the food was a bit less boring.
I still feel Heavy is more east side than Seattle. Their food aren’t ambitious or adventurous and neither are their decorations. Thackeray, Fiasco, and Pablo y Pablo all feel much more Bellevue than Seattle. From that point of view, Whale Wins, Joule, Stone Way Cafe, and Pacific Inn are all on the same corner and are all more “Seattle” than Fiasco in different ways.