Seattle has many great things, but it’s sadly lacking in old-school Italian restaurants. Bella Rosa is filled with tcotchkes and drippy old candles stuffed in wine bottles, so it manages a pretty close approximation of those musty Italian-American places all over Midwest and East Coast cities. The menu is extensive and also features some Moroccan dishes, which I never tried. So far, I haven’t gone terribly wrong here yet, and the atmosphere is cramped, dark and weirdly romantic. An underappreciated restaurant, in my opinion. But then again, I’m strange.

3410 NE 55th St
Seattle
(206) 527-3400