Verrazanos Italian Restaurant

28835 Pacific Hwy S, Federal Way
www.verrazanos.com

Even without the delicious food, well-rounded wine list, and pleasant service, Verrazanos is the best restaurant in Federal Way. The town has something like 8 miles of waterfront and this is, to my knowledge, the only restaurant which takes advantage of that fact. With large, west-facing windows and a spacious deck, Verrazanos offers a spectacular view of Poverty Bay, Maury Island and the Olympic Mountains. As you can imagine, this is a popular spot in the summer for people who want to dine al fresco. Verrazanos deck is one of my favorite places to be on a summer evening. In the winter, the view is just as great from inside the warm, rustic interior of the restaurant.

But did I mention the delicious food, well-rounded wine list, and pleasant service? Even when they are busy, the servers are courteous and friendly. Their wine selection is great, featuring a lot of Italian wines, as well as some great west coast options.

With all this going for it, the food could be bad and I'd still eat here. But the food is great. It's heavy on seafood, steaks and Italian comfort food like eggplant parmesan, spaghetti, and risotto. They also make fantastic personal sized pizzas and have really nice salads. However, I could not write a review of this restaurant without mentioning their cannoli. It is so good. Really good. Slap your mamma good. Leave the gun, take the cannoli good.

Gino's Bistro

4624 SW 320th Street, Federal Way

http://www.ginosrestaurants.com/

Photo from Gino's website

Strangely, two of my favorite Italian restaurants are run by non-Italians (and no, I’m not talking about the Olive Garden and the Old Spaghetti Factory, presumably also not Italian-owned). One is a place in Seattle run by a Chinese couple and the other, Gino’s Bistro, is owned by a guy from Peru.

Gino’s is a really perfect little restaurant that makes such great food. It’s casual enough that we can bring our toddler here for dinner or get take-out pizza but it’s also fancy enough that we choose it for date night when we do have a babysitter and can order things like pear ravioli in Marsala cream sauce.

It goes without saying that it’s located in a strip mall, albeit a very small one in a wooded area near a golf course at the end of 320th. However, once you walk through the gas station parking lot to get inside, you would definitely describe the interior as charming and romantic. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything I’ve eaten here, from pizza to gnocchi to halibut. The service has always been friendly, as is often the case in family-owned restaurants where your server might also be related to the owner.

This was the first real restaurant we went to when we moved to Federal Way, the first place we went on a date after our daughter was born, one of the first places we took her when she was a baby and the place we go when my parents are in town. Gino’s is my gold standard for Federal Way dining.