Bottega Italiana Gelato

 

A couple of weeks ago, I had my 20th Birthday Get Together and in that, my friend Anthony gave me a "homemade coupon" for a meal with him at Shiro's Sushi Restaurant which is a high-end sushi restaurant in the Seattle/Belltown area. Being near the Puget Sound and close to Pike Place Market, there is no doubt they had the freshest fish out there. Disappointingly, I forgot to take pictures! Grrrrr... ha. Well, I'll describe the meal shall I?

I, along with Anthony and 2 other friends, ordered different Dinner Meal items. One got the sushi platter, another got a sashimi platter and my other friend got their famous broiled black cod. I on the other hand got the tempura dinner. Now, this dinner was a full out dinner. First came a cucumber and shrimp salad, then a miso soup, sashimi for the tempura and black cod dinners and finally, the main course of what we ordered. The food was light, yet flavorful. In every dish, the main star was the seafood and with it being so fresh, you definitely can't complain. However, make sure you're prepared to spend lots!! This place cost a pretty penny.

Now, let's talk about something I actually have pictures from. After Dinner, we decided to get some gelato. So, with the help of the iphone, we found one called Bottega Italiana located next to Pike Place Market. With fantastic ratings, we just had to try it. 

We got to Bottega Italiana around 8 pm and it was empty which we somewhat expected with it being a Wednesday and somewhat late. However, once we got our gelato, crowds of people began to funnel into the little shop. Looks like we got there at the right time. We immediately we're able to look at their selection with it being empty at first..

I know what you're thinking. "Where the heck is the Gelato?!". Don't worry, I thought the same exact thing. But hey, maybe it was because it was the end of the day? Well, that better be the reason anyway. ha.  Once the people began coming in, I noticed them taking out brand new tins of the good stuff.

They had a variety of flavors from Strawberry and Basil to Melon. They also had a Panacotta/Burnt Cream Gelato which I was intrigued by. Getting a taste of it, I was definitely in awe of how good it was! Subtle vanilla notes, yet not overpowering in artificial flavors and I thought it was more creamy. I would take that flavor over a vanilla any day. However, despite it's 'awesomeness' I opted to try their Salted Caramel and Choclate (Bottom Scoop) and their Pistachio (Top scoop)

The Pistachio was another favorite. It had different coffee notes in the flavor which I believe is due to the roasting of the Pistachios. In addition it had little bits of Pistachios running through. The Salted Carmel and Chocolate somewhat disappointed me. There was Chocolate Shavings/Chips in it but I found myself searching for that Salty Caramel. 

The total was about $4 which is a good price when considering how big the scoops were. They were not skimpy and I love that! One of my pet peeves are Ice Cream/Gelato shop owners using their scoop and getting exactly that much, no more no less. Do they not want us to comeback or something? Here at Bottega Italiana, the girl doing the scooping piled it on. I even saw her put a scoop in the cup and scoop a little bit more to add to it.

Phewww, that was one wordy post. But definitely check out both places. Definitely worth the money.

My Ratings

Shiro's: 4 out of 5 stars

Bottega Italiana: 5 out of 5 stars

Shiro's Sushi Restaurant

2401 2nd Avenue

Seattle, WA 98121

(206) 443-9844

Bottega Italiana Gelato

Pike Place Market

1425 First Avenue 

Seattle, WA  98101

(206) 343-0200