Does this restaurant take reservations in advance or not?! Our party of 8 arrived last night, hoping to be seated around 7 pm. Yes, I know that can be dicey on a Saturday night--especially during the Kirkland street fair. We were willing to chance it based on other positive experiences with both the Ballard and Kirkland locations. The funny thing: Our host had been told, when she called days in advance that "we do not accept reservations for parties of 8." Further, she emailed the owners of the restaurant, requesting an "exception." There was no reply. Because we were excited at the prospect of dining at Volterra we stubbornly proceeded with our plans, hoping that it would all work out. We were greeted with, "Do you have a reservation?", Imagine our disappointment and confusion with the "change of policy." To add insult to injury, on one side of the restaurant, there were clearly several tables available--which could have been set up for our party. Yet, we were told that we could "return in 45 minutes to see if we could move other diners" in order to fit us in. The kicker for me today is in viewing the Yelp site, I do see that another party of 8 was accommodated without incident. Wrong time and clearly the wrong place: It all worked out fine for us as we called nearby Lynn's Bistro and, with five minutes notice and a packed house, they did shoehorn us into a cozy table for 8 right in the middle of their tiny dining room--and graciously served up a fabulous meal for us. Lynn, herself, came out of the kitchen and thanked us for our business. read more

Honestly I"m a bit perplexed how this restaurant gets so many rave reviews. In all fairness to them the entrees were good. Not great, but good. The joke was the appetizers. If you like wasting your money then order the caesar salad. For $13.00 you'll get the smallest salad you have EVER seen! It was ridiculous - albeit quite tasty. Never again! The signature appetizer - polenta cream with cheese and some sort of meat sauce was equally disappointing. If you didn't know what you ordered you would swear it tasted like Cream of Wheat - I kid you not! The bill came to $160 including tip for three of us, 2 glasses of wine and no dessert. Save your money or lower your expectations. If I could give it a 2.5 star I would. The only reason I gave it a 3 is the service was excellent. read more

I have to say that we were disappointed in our experience with Volterra. I really wanted to like it and there were moments where it was good, but overall the food was meh and I find the seating to be too close together where we were seated for our comfort. We started with an appetizer of Carpaccio that was a special, only it wasn't special at all-- to the point where we almost wanted to take it back. It was bland, the fish tasted like nothing at all and it was over seasoned with fennel, which EVERYTHING at this restaurant is flavored with fennel it seems. We also got an order of the lamb meatballs which were covered in a sauce to die for-- and this item was the highlight of the meal. Lamb Meatballs-- not special, but against all of the other dishes on the menu, this was special. So Special that for an entrée, I decided to go with the Lamb Ragu-- the server recommended it-- and I was very disappointed. Normally, when I think of a Ragu, I think of shredded meats in a very soft red sauce-- this was more like Noodles with meat sauce-- ground lamb and wide noodles-- which were very overcooked-- the plate was a pile of mush, but the server didn't once come over and ask how our meal was and when I only ate half of it she didn't ask if it was ok-- only if I wanted a box, which I said no-- that should be a clue. We enjoyed the dessert-- and the dessert and the lamb meatballs keep this review from the dreaded one star-- but I wouldn't recommend it and probably won't go back-- even though we leave right down the street. Ballard really needs to come over and do a retraining. read more

Nice ambience but the service is mediocre and the food is pretty awful. My wife ordered duck confit and it was obviously not fresh. It had an old duck funk and looked like a dead baby bird. The server/bartender didn't check back after serving our food and indignantly asked if my wife wanted something else when I finally had to hunt him down to pay the tab. The place really just sucks. read more

Great new restaurant in downtown Kirkland! The bartender is super nice, totally understands how to treat customers. He felt like a best friend after 20 minutes. Food was excellent, group of four, we all loved our meals. Ox tail was superb! read more

Everything was good that we had, just not great. And they are not pricing the food at just good prices hence three stars. House made raviolis and a pasta dish, both good. Tiramisu was also good, a bit sweeter than my preference. House wine fine, house specialty cocktails fine. Everything just fine. The cappuccino was the highlight and the super friendly hostesses. read more

My husband had a rare 'date night' last Friday and were really looking forward to dinner at the new Volterra in Kirkland. I was a little hesitant because they had just received a less-than-glowing review in The Seattle Times that very day. When we arrived, my hopes were high, as the owner of the restaurant was at the front desk. Unfortunately, his presence didn't do a whole lot. The hostess seated us at a 2-top table (with empty 2-tops on either side of our table), handed us our menus and walked away. Within 30-seconds, she came back and asked us to move over to the next table because they had a large party coming in (2hours later). So we moved. We received our water and bread and were looking over the menu, when she came back and asked us to move AGAIN. Back to the SAME TABLE she sat us at in the first place. What the what? So by that time, I had three napkins on my lap. No apologies. No comped drink for the hassle. Seriously? Is this customary? So that set us off to a wonderful start... here's the rest of what our experience gave us for the rest of the dinner - both good and bad. - The decor/seating is really uncomfortable. I appreciate them going "green" and using eco-friendly lightbulbs, but it makes the place seem extremely cold. There is nothing warm or comfortable about the space. The white-light chandelier at the door, coupled with the grey light fixtures and black furniture makes it look like you're in the middle of a black & white movie. Not a cozy, comfortable space by any means. - The 2-top tables are at least 30" wide, so if you planned to have a cozy dinner with your loved one. Forget it. They're seated over arms reach away. - The olive oil they serve with their very bland, white bread is flavorless. Not good quality oil needed for dipping. - I had the beet salad which was Delicious. Perfect marriage of dressing, arugula and tender beets. Honestly one of the best salads I've ever had. My husband ordered a caesar which he said was good but not fantastic. - For dinner, my husband had the Wild Boar in gorgonzola sauce. He said it was good flavor, but the gorgonzola sauce was very runny and more of the consistency of dressing. The potatoes cooked in duck fat were very good and a nice compliment to the other flavors. - I had the hand-made pappardelle with duck ragu. The meat sauce was really tasty, but the pasta was really thick and chewy. Not like hand-made pasta is supposed to be! I was bummed out about this, because it would have been a fantastic dish if all the elements had come together. I'm sorry that I can't give a better recommendation for Volterra - because I really wanted it to be as good as the experience I've had at their Ballard space. There is a lot that they can do; simple changes that would make a world of difference. We will try it again, one day. I'm just going to keep an eye on the reviews and see if they can step up their game. read more

Have been a patron of this restaurant for years. How times have changed. We stopped to have a drink and bite to eat at the bar. Monday night, post holiday season, and there was a table available and it was Happy Hour. Bonus we thought as we ordered drinks and food. My husband ordered a Dark & Stormy (rum and ginger ale) as a well drink and the pasta special. The pasta special was very minimal, so I shared my food with him. When the bill arrived we'd been charged extra for the ginger ale in my husband's well drink. This struck me as dishonest. I've never heard of soda being an extra in a well drink. No manager available to discuss this communication failure. Won't be back. read more

I wish you could have half stars as I was torn between giving another 4-star versus a 3. Had the Dine Out Seattle meal at the bar. Let me say the bar service here at the small intimate bar is excellent. There were three of us and we ordered all different items so we could taste most everything on the menu! Everything was good, some okay, some really yummy. The main issue I found with several of the dishes was the lack of flavor depth - calling it 'bland' would be too strong a word and my palate isn't dessensitized but there weren't any "OMG you have to taste this" moments but there also was nothing close to "this doesn't tast that good" either. The other reason to bring things down a notch: Very lean on protein. I don't mean as in not having fat but as in, not much on the plate. Maybe it was because we were doing the Dine In Seattle. But I've thought protein portion sizes here always have seemed on the lighter side relative to the prices on the menu. The final reason for the downgrade: price gouging on the wine list. The majority of the wine list is up in the $50 and higher range. Virtually no inexpensive selections. Ouch! Great atmostphere, very good but not OMG food, and pricey (especially if you aren't doing a special deal, happy hour, etc.) is how I would sum things up. Still probably what I'd consider in the top 6 or 7 places to eat in Downtown Kirkland but slipping from the top end to the lower end of the range IMHO. I'm sure I'll be back at some point and wouldn't be surprised if my next review is a 4. read more

Oh how I miss the Ballard Volterra and I am hoping they will open another in the area soon. Wild boar with gorgonzola is my all time favorite! Try to order something else but just can't as I know I will be happy with the boar. Order the 'tasting menu' if it is available. Mushroom polenta is delicious and I don't even like mushrooms! read more

The wild boar is fantastically delicious. The cauliflower and tiramisu also impressed. They were super busy when I went, so a little slow and also noisy, but I did go during Seattle restaurant week. read more

This is one of our favorite places to go for happy hour. We usually sit at the bar where the long time bartender takes great care of us. Yesterday, I arrived about 8 minutes before happy hour ended. My girlfriend was going to be along in a few minutes, so I was going to order a glass of wine for two. Noticing the bar was full, I ask the hostess if the high tops were for happy hour too and could I have a happy hour menu. I was told they were, but that I had to order fast as happy hour was ending in 5 minutes. Her tone was very condescending, particularly egregious since I am old enough to be her father. I brushed it aside and was seated with a pile of menus. I hastily ordered two glasses of wine and something to eat. When I got the bill my girlfriend pointed out that I was charged regular price for the wine. I called the waiter over to have him correct the issue. He leaves and the hostess returns. In a not very conciliatory manner, she informs me I ordered wine from the regular menu -- not the happy hour menu. I told her that when I asked for a happy hour menu I assumed that's what I was handed. She became argumentative and then went to consult with someone higher up for an interminable length of time. She came back with the bill and said she would charge me full price for one of the glasses of wine and happy hour pricing for the other. I don't what weird logic led to them to thinking this was some sort of reasonable redress, but to my mind it was saying I was wrong, but they'd be willing to throw me a bone. A near argument ensued, and finally I said this wasn't worth my time and that if they were fine with losing a long time customer over $6 I'd be happy to pay the bill as it stood. read more

Less than expected. Have been waiting for time to cheek the restaurant out. For the price we paid I would expect MUCH better food. It was busy on a Friday night, but better restaurants shine when busy. Not sure we will be back. read more

Reserved a table and still waited over 20 minutes,not even an apology.long wait for food not as good as it used to be.

Once was enough. High prices for small food... the cheese plate was $12, I think 3 ounces of cheese would be pushing it. The house salad was awful, the greens they used were bitter and an poor mix for the vinegrette dressing. I had the wild boar tenderloin, it was ok but with so much mustard sauce on the top who could really tell? Along with the entree I spotted a total 5 small potato wedges and a few slices of yellow squash... maybe it was out of season and this is all they could find down at Safeway. The desert was much the same, $12 for a slice of fruit pie about 3" in length and 1" at the outer round radius.. it was good but not great. The waiter did a good job, but I really don't like people explaining the food to me in such detail. Maybe I have higher expectations because I spend a lot of time cooking.. but remember the way to outsell a $8 bottle of vodka is to sell the same one for $30. read more

I am very sad that I have to make a bad review but I gave the owners and mangers a chance to make it right but they didn't call me back. I had dined there when they first opened and was treated great and was really excited to come back on my bday with my friends to have dinner. called to make reservations and they only had 8:30. My friend got here early and she said the table had been open since 7:30. Not sure whey they didn't call to tell me that but anyway...I had my 73 year old other with me and three girlfriends and we were very excited to have a nice meal and were very hungry by that point. My mother and I got there at 8: 30 we had not been drinking before hand so we were ready to have a drink and food. I had recently had surgery so I had not been able to go our or drink in months. We all sat down at our table and my mom and I ordered a martini and the other girls had wine. When our Server arrived he was very unpleasant and sarcastic from the get go. I am not sure why, we were very well dressed and polite but we were very hungry so we did ask for bread. Then we waited another fifteen minutes for bread and by that time asked for another drink. He was again un pleasant and rude to us. So I complained about him to another server who went directly to him and told him that I complained. Ten minutes later he came to our table and told us that he was cutting me and my mother off of drinks! We were very confused as we had only one drink . I asked to talk to the manager and she was useless and was apparently afraid of the servers. The other server came to our table and looked at me and my mother and then left. Then the manager came back with the bartender and said that she was sorry and that we did not seem drunk. At this point my b-day was ruined and it was almost 10 pm. We were all ready to spend a lot of money and they let us walk out of the door. I was crushed. I did call the manager and she said that she would have the owner call me....that was three months ago. read more

Went there for Valentine's day week-end; would say it was some of the best food we've ever eaten in Kirkland. The cocktails were interesting, the wine list had Italian and domestic; both reasonably priced for the quality. The bread and oil dipping combo was a little bland initially (maybe more chew and crust to the bread / balsamic sauce would help). But their signature rosemary salt perked up the flavors quite a bit. The Cured Meat / Pecorino (more pecorino, maybe pepato, please) app was excellent; use some of the table bread, oil and salt to enjoy the flavors even more. We had the Piedmontese Tenderloin and NY Steak as main courses - both fabulous. The meat and topping / sauce were better than high-end steakhouse flavor, in our opinion The mashed potatoes were good but the polenta side was great. The chocolate torte dessert was beautiful and flavorful but could have been more creamier in texture, we thought. Ambience - the room is a bit oddly shaped but still stylish and comfortable; bring your reading glasses, though. Our waiter was a pro - very food and wine knowledgable; we even chatted him up about Top Chef Seattle. A great dining experience! read more

Just finished dinner with the hubby for Kirkland Restaurant Week! Was outstanding and service was quick! Would bring business associates and family. Tiramstu and wild boar was my favorites. Unusual and organic drink ..ask for Ginger Ale... made with real ginger. read more

Really enjoyed the brunch here. Great food and very friendly service.

Meh. Food was average. Wild boat whatever was tough and smothered in sauce. Pasta was average. They never brought us bread. Etc Etc

Great food. My crab ravioli was excellent but my wife's steak was even better served over the best polenta ever. Service, food, and wine were all 5 stars for this price category. read more

My wife and I love Volterra, and we used to visit the one in Ballard quite a bit. Since we moved, we have not been back for several years, so glad that Volterra now opens in Kirkland. I had the Wild Boar and it was as good as it gets. It was super tender and the flavor is just perfect. Great ambiance. Diverse selections of wines. The Chianti Classico 2008 was fantastic. read more

Fantastic! Better than meals I've had in Italy. Amazing food, great flavor profiles, really fresh ingredients. Terrific signature cocktails. Hubby had a tangerine basil martini and I had a very well made old fashioned - both excellent! Nice little wine list. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. These people do service right!! Get the polenta, get the beet salad. Cant stress this enough - get the wild boar. Limoncello and panna cotta were great too. read more

The restaurant had posted it was open till 10 PM on the Wednesday evening I decided to place a to go order. I called at 9:30 PM and requested to place my to go order. I was told that they had stopped taking orders for pickup. Quite amazing that they are turning down business when everyone is staying at home because of the corona virus scare. Kirkland is the epicenter for the nation and so it compounds the impact. This restaurant obviously does not care about it customers to not even accept a to go order half an hour before closing. I promptly placed my order at another Italian restaurant called Ristorante Paradiso on Lake Park Lane Street in Kirkland at 9:40 PM with them closing at 10:00 PM. They were happy to take my order and the food was delicious!!! When service is bad the food will reflect that. To many good restaurants where you don't have to compromise for bad food, bad value or bad service. Life is to short!!! read more

We absolutely love the atmosphere and the food, I could rave about it and those are all the 3 stars. The wine is okay, but way over priced. We asked the sommelier for a wine similar to Justin which is about a $25 bottle from the grocery store and he brought out wines and had us taste them and they were decent but not as good as Justin so we said okay, assuming they'd end up being about $65 with markup. Come to find out they were $160 per bottle (we had multiple bottles for our party). Would never order wine again if that is how the sommelier operates but may give it another chance since the food is always fantastic. read more

Wild boar was tasty and done just right. Service was a bit slow, but we were there on a busy Friday night. Wait staff were friendly and helpful. The wine list had a nice selection of SuperTuscan choices, and the sommelier was knowledgeable and helped us make a great choice. Parking underneath, which is a help on a busy weekend night. Big downside: noisy. Really noisy, as in too noisy to hear what your dinner companions are saying. So noisy it gave me a headache. Very noisy. Did I mention noisy? Wow, it was noisy. read more

Ambiance, food, and service excellent. Only bummer is pricey. Went for restaurant week. Drinks were pricey. $12 for glass of house red wine. Barely got a sip on first pour. Had the cauliflower, wild boar, and chocolate torte. All awesome. Come but be ready to pay. read more

We have dined at this restaurant several times, at both this location and the original in Seattle. The food is average for the price point. When you are paying these prices, it is not "outstanding" to get a well cooked piece of meat, etc., that is simply what you paid for. Paradiso in Kirkland is a more authentic Italian experience. I write because of what I feel to be overreaching, dare I say greedy, customer service. Specifically, corkage. I get it. Restaurants feel they need to charge corkage. (Albeit, really successful restaurants that have a passion for wine, often do not if you bring in something not on their list and is exceptional) Margins are razor thin on food and most of the profit comes from the alcohol and it simply will not work if everyone brings in their own wine. I get it. But, every good restaurant does NOT charge corkage when you already bought a bottle of their wine, and a round of cocktails, and multiple apps, before dinner. The point of corkage is to deter people from passing on the restaurant's wine list to bring in their $15 bottle of bathwater they bought at Safeway. But for a typical evening, I am not going to buy two bottles of wine. If I bring a special bottle to have, that is just something over and above the very expensive bottle of your I already bought. Yes ? I already partook of your wine list and your doubled bottle price, yes ? So in summary, the Kirkland outpost is not as good as the Seattle one, I feel they are overreaching, the service was indeed slow on top of everything else above (and no, they were not slammed, perhaps busy, but there were empty tables), we won't be coming back and will be recommending to others that ask not to bother. We will direct them to Paradisio. read more

Food is extremely greasy. Not authentic Italian. Atmosphere ok but not so cozy. Location ok. Service ok. read more

I've been to this place several times and I've always liked what I've had here. I always order the little bites appetizer as that's probably one of the most unique things I've seen on the menu. I like that it's pretty much a surprise of whatever sort of things the chef decided to put together to start off the meal, and there's always something interesting to start off. The Lamb Ragu and the Wild Boar Tenderloin I've hard on other occasions and both are quite good. The cuisine definitely feels like something you'd get in northern Italy but isn't the tomato based standard you find at so many American Italian restaurants. Service was always prompt, friendly and professional. read more

My husband and I have had dinner here many times as well as taking clients and friends here. We have never had a bad experience and the food has been yummy each time. The service is fabulous. This is one of our Kirkland favorites! read more

What a disappointment. I saw the amazing yelp reviews and was eager to try Volterra for the first time but needed an event to convince the husband to go with me. The menu for Seattle Restaurant week looked fantastic. We went on a Monday night and the restaurant was maybe a 1/3 full. I love the decor of the restaurant. Sadly though, the food was only so-so. I had the halibut in a spicy tomato sauce. The halibut was drowned in sauce and this seemed to be the theme for just about everything we ordered. Service was slow. We waited almost 20 minutes between the app and the entree. The table beside us ordered wine and it arrived when they were half way through their entree. The server was pleasant but seemed like he couldn't wait to get out of the restaurant. The tables for two are really strange. They are quite long and it is hard to hear the person across from you (especially when the diners next to you keep chanting "overrated".) I would have asked to be moved but the waiter was almost impossible to flag down and then we would never have gotten our food. Overall, probably won't come back. If you are looking for a fine dining restaurant with amazing food and friendly service in Kirkland the Grand American Bistro is hands down a better choice. read more

Holy cow. Best meal I've had in months. The duck, pasta, polenta, and lemon marscapone custard were all fantastic. Great service, great atmosphere, filling portions and very affordable compared to some of the pricey restaurants around. This is going on my list of go to italian places on the east side. read more

We came here for a birthday dinner for two and it is a very calm mellow environment. Although it does feel dark inside because of the dimmed lighting, the food and service was fantastic. We loved the salt they served with the bread and olive oil. Also, the "oil" soup we ordered for starters was fantastic. And finally our entree we ordered the Carne dinner special that night which was fantastic ! That meat just melts in your mouth! What I did admire the most is the fact our sever was very knowledgable with the food and even the drink menu, he really knew his stuff. We were overall impressed with the food and service. Will definitely come back! read more

AMAZING!! We sat in the bar. We had Paul and he was excellent!! The whole staff was great! Made the dinner so much fun! Gave us excellent wine selections! Can't wait to go back! A little gem in DT Kirkland! read more

It has been a long time since my last time with the one in Ballard. I am so excited to try this location. I went in with my boyfriend on Sat 2 weeks ago. We ordered the course meal. I thought it will came out small but it was a full size meal. It's a lot of food lol. We enjoyed it so much. The service was attentive. But I still love the one in Ballard though!! read more

Went there last night for happy hour to see if things had improved since last year when we tried it for dinner. Had the lamb meatballs as an appetizer and they were like leather. Decided to have dinner instead of happy hour as the menu for that looked pretty dismal. The pasta dishes for dinner were decent, but happy hour drinks were very boring. This was a huge disappointment. Most of the staff was great, there was one guy that "gave you the look" if you asked for anything (like bread). Not going back (we said that last time). Won't second guess our decision again. Just opened the leftover pasta from last night. Make sure you check your "take home" pkg. I was given our friend's pasta dish instead of mine. They just don't pay attention! Unfortunately, it was the bolognaise sauce that I just don't care for. To me, it tastes like Chef Boy RD read more

My husband and I went to Volterra for an afternoon lunch on the weekend. The food was good but I wasn't "wowed". I think that I need to try something else on their menu, but I am excited to go back and give it another shot. read more

Surprise, surprise. A trendy Italian restaurant in downtown Kirkland. The surprise? I ordered the Chicken and that must have been one nicely treated chicken with plenty of love in it's lifetime! It was delicious! We went with good friends so I don't pay as close attention to what I'm eating but I know that all of us were "oooohing" and "ahhhhing" over this food. It is a bit pricey but then again, it's trendy. A fun place to go with friends. read more

A fan of the Ballard location, we were really excited for Volterra to open in Kirkland which is in desperate need of more upscale dining options. Overall, we were impressed. The ambience is contemporary, though not super comfortable or intimate. And it can get loud. The service was exceptional. Our waiter went out of his way to help us with the menu and taste wine options. We shared the broccoli rabe (excellent), tagliatelle with duck ragu, and NY strip steak. All were very solid. Should be a good addition to the neighborhood! read more