Asteroid Ristorante e Bar Italiani

I’ve loved this little rock hurling through space for a long time. When I heard that it was being sold over the winter I was afraid that things would change. This past week I finally got back there to check it out. Things are still great. Same chef I was told. Very nice staff. Even some nice music (not too loud — we were still able to converse at our table) on a Saturday night. The food was stellar as always.
Reasons for not giving 5 stars: the new gnocci menu item was a bit too gooey. still yummy, but the gnocci got a little lost in the sauce and veggies. I still finished it.
Other reason: someone mentioned that staff may start wearing more formal attire. One of the things I’ve always liked about Asteroid was that while being upscale delicious, it’s always been comfortable. I hope it doesn’t lose that.
So — if you’ve been wondering about the changes there — go try. I was happy to be back.

Since moving to Seattle about 8 months ago from Los Angeles I’ve been searching for a really good Italian restaurant. L. A has an abundance of wonderful Italian restaurants and I suppose I was spoiled but I just can’t seem to find that perfect replacement here in Seattle. My visit to the Asteroid was another somewhat disappointing step in this search.
The Asteroid has high points and low points. Among the high I would include the clearly very fresh ingredients used in the dishes. The ambiance is fairly elegant and refined. They have a pretty great bar and attentive service.
The crux of my disappointment with with this restaurant rests on the fact that it has a little too much ambition. I love a culinary adventure but if it isn’t well executed, it shouldn’t be attempted. The Asteroid doesn’t want to be the Olive Garden and I respect that but their attempts at distancing themselves from the comfort-​food style of Italian resulted in some pretty weird dishes.
We had the the bruschetta as an appetizer which apparently changes by the day. Ours came in two different forms on a light toast. One was gouda cheese with thin slices of pear and carmelized walnuts with a light drizzle of balsamic. It was lovely. The other was an eggplant curry. Not only was it not particularly palatable, I wasn’t sure it could really be called bruschetta given that it was a flat paste. Obviously they are trying to branch out from the traditional garlic and tomato bruschetta that most people experience. It’s just not quite there yet in terms of improving on the original.
Moving on to the main course I ordered that old mainstay of Italian food, the pasta pomodoro. The dish was well presented and included fresh basil and goat cheese. I was feeling pretty good about it until I actually took a bite — their version of pomodoro sauce tasted almost exactly like a strong salsa. It was hot and spicy. The goat cheese was a nice thought but did nothing to alleviate the fire in my mouth. I’ve never had a pomodoro that was anywhere near that hot and I’m not sure why they thought it would be an improvement.
My dinner partner ordered the steak, which was enormous and was reported to be enjoyable.
Dessert was the tiramisu which would have been good but for soggy ladyfingers.
This place isn’t terrible, they’re just not amazing. I suppose my opinion is colored by my feeling that if you’re going to do Italian you should either embrace it as a basic comfort food or be really good at innovating. Maybe they’re just going through an experimental phase, I hear rumors they’ve been bought by a new holding company. Whatever the case may be, in this current iteration I’ll take Pontevecchio down the street over this place any day. But I’d have no problem giving it a second chance.

They have a great happy hour!
You can’t beat $ 2 Manny’s and $ 5 bruchetta that is amazing. I like that their HH food menu is a lot different than your typical HH food (soft-​shell crab).
We’ve never came here for dinner because there menu is pretty pricey, so we’ll probably just stick with happy hour.

Because this was in walking distance and was open during Snowpocalypse 2008 — we visited Asteroid 3 times in 5 days.
It’s now open regular hours (+ lunch!) with a new owner & chef, several familiar servers from days past, and Nathan, the resident bartender.
The food is still just as fabulous as ever! And their Happy Hour is seriously a good deal. $ 4 glasses of wine, other specials I did not pay attention to — and good prices on appetizers! We stopped in had bruschetta — a HUGE plate of cheese & meats with bread, and a few drinks. Our bill? Less than $ 25. Not bad, Asteroid!
Also: chocolate cake — to die for. For reals.

You know, two years ago I would have given this place 5 stars. In fact, I would have probably added more of my own. Now, 3 stars seems to suit it just fine for me.
A couple years ago when they first moved to Fremont, I just loved this place. After our first visit, I was sold. I had the Penne al Pomodoro, it was as if they put a ton of a MSG like substance in it, because not even a week later I just had to go back for more. Oh man, even my ex-​boyfriend had ordered the Rigatoni alla Salsiccia, and we were practically licking the forks when it was gone.
Circa 2008. I had been talking about this place since going regularly awhile back, and finally one night we decided to give it a shot. I had been raving ever since the beginning and was very excited to go again.
Not impressed! I ordered my old favorite waiting for that moment of heaven and it never came. I don’t know what it was, maybe an off night. I couldn’t figure it out… had I gotten better taste buds or had the restaurant gotten worse? Even what my boyfriend ordered was pretty MEH.
So, it might have been our choice of nights. But on that particular night, I couldn’t help but think maaaan, I could have made this better at home, paid much much less for an even better bottle of wine, and not paid the big bucks.
We’ll probably go back again at some point but it won’t be on our short list. SAD!

They do lunch now!
This is by far, my favorite restaurant in all of Seattle. You can have your trendy spots, your star chefs and your garbage parts, I’ll take this little slice of Italian heaven.
I continue to bring crowds here whenever possible. Parents, friends, celebrations, you name it. They’ve always made us feel welcomed and served delicious food that we are proud to share with others.
Thank you for such a wonderful place! I know if I ever leave Seattle, this will be one of the places I will pine for.

They now have some pretty great wine tastings here on Thursdays from 6−9pm (happy hour ends at 6):
— 5 (or 6) glasses of wine
— tasty bits to eat while you listen to the wine-​ninja talk about what he’s serving
— $ 15 cheep cheep.
You need to sit in the bar or at one of the few designated tables, but it’s a very cool thing.
After some wine, I caved and had some dinner as well. A absolutely delicious cod that was perfectly cooked and taking leasure on top of a lentil zucchini cake. Awesome.
This place is often not very busy, which is just stupid considering the reasonable prices and top shelf food, but you can take this to your advantage for a quiet meal.

This is a really excellent little Italian place in Fremont. I’m always surprised it’s not jampacked at dinnertime. The food is absolutely delicious, not just your run-​of-​mill spaghetti.
Added bonus: good bar, and wine tastings every thursday, and live music.

Food here is pretty deelish and the waitstaff is very attentive and friendly. Primo pastas, melt-​in-​your-​mouth Osso Buco, and solid wine selection. You might ask why only three stars. What’s the deelio?
Pretty simple. $ 16 entrees that’d barely satisfy a munchkin and a very stealth 10% surcharge on take-​out orders (not cool!). Fortunately for the proprietors, these are things you can fix pretty easily.
Feed the Hungry Man appetite and no tax on take out = 4 stars!

With a plethora of Italian restaurants in the Seattle area, this one is hitting high on my radar. Asteroid has an awesome wine selection (I would recommend the Apolloni 2004 Pinot Noir
), live jazz on Thursdays, excellent food selection, and relaxing atmosphere, you will feel right at home especially in front of the fireplace!
The couple of times I’ve gone, there was no wait and the wine suggestion was excellent! If you like a nice, un-​rushed meal, where the courses are spaced and you can have some great conversation, this is the place.

If you like the Olive Garden — stay away from this place. My husband and I rented a villa in Tuscany last year — it kind of ruined us for stateside Italian food until today.
We had the most wonderful lunch. We headed to Dad Watson’s (next door) and decided to take a chance on something new. So glad we did.
We were greeted at the door, given the cozy table by the window and had a perfectly timed bruschetta, caesar salad and wild boar pasta… oh, and an incredibly creamy cappucino for dessert.
I would highly recommend this restaurant! It is worth driving across town AND after 5pm they will validate parking from the lot below Mad Pizza.

My belly is full of Bambi thanks to the Asteroid Café.
I had planned on a nice antipasto and veggie pasta for my meal here but I was seduced by the osso bucco venison. two marrow filled bones surrounded by the tenderest melt in your mouth pieces of venison. Bambi has rarely been this tasty and I was raised eating venison my father had hunted and killed himself. while that venison was fresh, he had none of the skills of the chef at Asteroid Café. The rich and hearty meat sauce was the perfect match of meatiness of the venison. The risotto that came with the meal was also a perfect match. The portion size was huge and I was sad my wife is a vegetarian and couldn’t help me finish the dish. the venison is the most expensive dish on the menu at 25 dollars with most of the pasta dishes ranging from 12 to 17.
The wife had the pasta pomodore which must have been good as there was none of the large dish left and she had a happy grin on her face.
We started with the brushetta which came served two ways, one with an olive tapenade and the other prepared with spinach. Both were excellent.
We would have loved to have tried dessert but there was simply no room. Dinner for two entrees, a starter and a bottle of sparkling water was 58 dollars without tax. Plan on spending between 35 and 60 dollars for two people.
The service was friendly and informative without being formal or pushy.

We went there because we were given a gift certificate. We had the address but still it was not easy to find right away.
Big plus for having parking.
When we arrived, we were the only ones in the place, which struck me as for 545 on a Friday night. The service was polite and attentive. The appetizers were pretty typical, we had the antipasta plate and it was delicious.
For Entrees they had many interesting combinations– Wild Boar Stew, Lamb in Veal Glaze among some of the selections. We opted for tamer pasta dishes. I had the Sausage Rigatoni in a red sauce with cream. While i am not typically a big fan of Red sauce, this was amazing. The ground sausage had beautiful flavor. The only thing that could have made this better would be if the pasta was fresh.
The other entrée we ordered was a seafood fettichini in Alfredo. This was ordinary at best. Normally, this is where i would gripe, but instead, please note. The owners were not only present, they were also active in the operation of the restaurant. When they noticed the meal were only half eaten, and we did not want it boxed. The owner asked «was everything all right?’ and it was apparent that they cared. Big props for that.
The desert we had was average.
This would probably be a three if it was not for the attentiveness of the owner, and because of their hands on, I think you do need to think about trying this place.
I would certainly eat here again if I found myself in Fremont. I don’t know if I would drive across town to go again.

The food, the wine, the service, the whole experience… superb. The portion size is just right… I had the gnocchi and did not fall into a food coma. There is an excellent selection of Italian wines, including a variety by the glass.
What I really like about Asteroid is the service. You walk in, there is someone there to greet you; you are not waiting around looking for someone to acknowledge your presence. At the table, the wait staff are attentive and knowledgeable about the menu and wines. Plates come out in perfect time– not too early and not too late. Everything operates smoothly, feeding into a positive atmosphere and a great dining experience.

I was running errands in the Fremont area, got hungry, and decided to try a new place for lunch. I happened across Asteroid and since they advertised a lunch menu, I gave it a shot.
The place is quite empty during the lunch hour so I had two waiters making sure I was taken care of; they were very nice and it obviously beats the alternative, but at times I found it a little intrusive. Granted, I probably shouldn’t have picked a nice Italian place when I was considering affordability, but for a lunch menu the items ran on the expensive side. I haven’t tried dinner here yet., and I’m wondering if the portions for dinner are the same as for lunch, for a few bucks more. If that’s the case, I would recommend eating lunch here if you love the food. If the dinner portions are even a little bit more substantial, coming for dinner would be worth it, especially in light of the live music.
As for the food, it was delicious. Even the olive oil that came with the complimentary bread was noticeably tasty (I asked the waiter and he said it was infused with lemon). My meal was the Ravioli l’Estate and it tasted fresh, decadent and savory. It was a vegetarian dish but I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing any flavor at all. The simplicity of the ingredients really came through and the portion size was just right for a single meal. (Again, my only issue is with the price given the portion size, not to the portion size itself.)
I’d consider this a great Italian place. If you’re comfortable with moderate to high prices for good food, I’d recommend it.

Go for the music! Thursday nights FREE jazz jam will knock your socks off or (insert extremely complimentary glowing phrase).
Seattle has a remarkable community of jazz musicians. Even more remarkable is that many of them are under 30. I am continually amazed at the talent that appears for this weekly event. Seasoned older musicians are in the mix too. How these people know so many tunes never ceases to amaze me.
If you’re an old style jazz fan or just want to see what the fuss is all about, this is a great time and place to check it out. The music usually starts around 9:30 and runs till 1. And its FREE. Happy hour after 11 too!
Seattle Freeze Free Zone.
The wines are always tasty and small plates are a suprising treat. I suppose I should eat there sometime, it sure Looks good!

I had a lovely meal here in great warmth and comfort while my home in West Seattle was cold and dark during the Apocalyptic Hurricane-​Force Windstorm of 2006. We’d hoped that by staying away from home all day, we’d return to a well-​lighted and heated home. No such luck.
But anyway.
The place is cozy, and the service is friendly. The bartender waited on us, and although I have no proof, I got the sense that he was not merely the bartender, but had a hand in the operation of the restaurant, and just happened to be tending bar at the time. Not sure. Either way, he provided excellent, friendly service, complete with wine recommendations and welcome friendly chatter.
The bruschetta featured some untraditional toppings – at least relative to the chopped tomatoes, basil, and olive oil that is traditionally served – and was outstanding. Although several dishes sounded tempting, I chose a cioppino stew that was hearty and satisfying,
They’re open until 2:00 AM, plenty late to tame your gastronomic cravings. Although we did not sit at the bar, it looks like it’d be a great place to enjoy a quiet drink, or set to live jazz on Thursdays and Fridays.
Jeesh, now I’m really anxious to get back there.

Oh, so close to a 5, but…
1) waited sooooooo long.
2) had to sit at the communal table, but with no communal people, so it was three of us huddled around one corner of a 12 person table… we looked so sad and pathetic… like we had no friends at all. PITY ME!
BUT, the food was out of this world. Get it? Cuz it’s ASTEROID café? Yeah. I had the wild boar stew w/​noodle action and my lady friends (that’s just how I roll) had the duck confit over something tasty. The duck was like «ta dow!» in my mouth and the boar was like «ba damn!» in response. Mmm, food orgy!
Also, the staff is really helpful once they did stop by. You pay the price though, $ 40/​person incl. one drink (the sangiovese was so good, and served an adorable mini-​carafe so you can get just enough to swish all pretentiously). It’s important y’know.

You know, for all the groaning about how there’s no good Chinese or Mexican food in Seattle, shouldn’t we give some praise to the great Italian we have?
Squeezed between Dad Watson’s and the former Red Apple Market is Asteroid’s new location. As mentioned, not many people seem to know about it yet and we were surprised to find things very quiet on a Sunday evening and we had no problems slipping in 4 people without a reservation. The staff is extremely helpful and very knowledgable, which you’ll need when going through the massive Italian wine list. We went with the something something Elena and it was an excelennt Pinot Gris.
Foodwise, I opted for a Penne dish with chicken, sundried tomatoes, and goat cheese. Simple enough, but I must say it was the best pasta dish I’ve ever had, bar none. The seafood salad with muscles, calamari, and octopus (yum!) was a great starter. They also provided some patte and bread to nibble on while waiting.
It ain’t cheap, and you’ll be spending between $ 30 and $ 60 a person depend on wine and entre selection. The portions aren’t that big, especially for salads and pasta dishes. You’ll leave full, but still, when compared to most other restaurants these days, it’s like «oh…that’s it?»

The service here is so personal and attentive and the food so specially prepared that it was an all around wonderful experience. After asking for a recommendation on a modestly priced italian red, the lovely bartender allowed me to taste a few different reds before choosing the bottle. Such great service. Because my group of 5 walked in so we did have to wait, but while at the bar the several staff members checked on us frequently and one even offered us complimentary and delicious bruschetta with a chickpea tapenade not even on the menu. The rigatoni salsiccia was delicious and the tiramisu had that same homemade personal touch — a full flavor where you taste the espresso and liqueur. Make a reservation and don’t miss out on a great neighborhood experience.
I give it 4 stars because there were a couple of members of our party that weren’t as thrilled with their vegetarian meals as I was with my salsiccia. But I think it’s a place with great atmosphere and a super italian wine selection.