When I first arrived in Seattle about five years ago, I was convinced there’s no good Italian food in this town. Having lived in Boston and New York, authentic Italian food wasn’t very hard to find.

After some careful searching, it seems that good Italian food is available in Seattle if just a little bit more spread out. Without a central area like Boston’s North End, New York’s Little Italy or SF’s North Beach, Seattle still has places like Firenze which is unique in being in the relatively cheap-but-authentic category (some other good places include Il Bistro and Assaggio but are much more expensive).

You can always tell a good Italian place by the character and consistency of their pasta. I know it sounds too simplistic but it’s true and Firenze does pasta right.

Firenze borrows it’s name from the city of Florence. The atmosphere is pretty warm and the service is friendly. The price is very reasonable and there are enough authentic dishes to satisfy any Italian food enthusiast. Do not miss the various sorbets they have for dessert. The sorbet is served in the shell of the actual fruit that carries the flavor. Give it a try.

I’ve been eating at Firenze around 2000 and while at the beginning it was a great value the prices have raised over the years. Despite its location the food, service, and quality of the experience is great. The dishes are not too oily and the wine selection is fair. For 30-40 dollars you can get an entree, app, and drink that is well filling. I typically order the linguine with seafood, (Linguine Ai Frutti Di Mare) as I don’t dine there often, and it never disappoints. An outside patio provides summer dining; the inside can get noisy. The staff is certainly friendly enough, plenty of parking in the mall, etc. They only have the fagioli as soup, which I haven’t tried being a minestrone fan, but friends say it’s good.

Because of its location (at the Crossroads Mall), I didn’t expect much of this place. This was my first time there and I was really surprised by the quality of the food, service, and ambience. I have nothing against Crossroads but it almost felt weird to have such a nice restaurant there.

We had 12 people doing a team lunch and everything went smoothly and efficiently. I would say this place is both good for groups and more “intimate” dining.

Lunch pastas are between $9.50 and $15. I wouldn’t call it cheap but it’s not unaffordable. If you happen to be in that mall and don’t feel like doing the food court don’t hesitate to give it a try!