No :-( Jennifer's review (Apr 30th 2006)

One would have to be blind to not have spotted one of the giant Italian Kitchen billboards around town. Proclaiming new ownership and one of Spokane’s best dining experiences, the huge advertisements are everywhere. And even though I see the one on Maple and Second at least once a day, I haven’t really felt the desire to visit. See, Italian restaurants and I have a long and soiled history.

Now take me to a Tuscan cafe, tratorria, or classic pizzeria and I’m a happy girl. But when it comes to full blow Italian restaurants, dialogue from the old Olive Garden episode of Will & Grace takes control of my inner voice. “It keeps getting better and better,” loops and loops through my brain. See there was last spring’s Bruno’s incident and before that a stop at a Lombardi’s in Seattle. And even before that a dreadful meal at Pinnochio’s in North Beach. All bad experiences to say the least. Huge plates of pasta. Piles of artery clogging cheese. Ladles of red sauce. Oh, and white too! In a few words, most of my “Italian Restaurant” experiences, shall I say, have been truly American.And with that, I preface this review of Spokane’s Italian Kitchen. While it might not be my kind of place, certainly there are people out there who enjoy the American-Italian dining scene. If not, the line of people clutching their electronic pagers at the OG wouldn’t wrap around the block every time I walk by.

On a recent lunch visit Remi and I shared the expansive restaurant with only one other couple. Even so, we were still seated next to the kitchen where we were treated to the crew apparently prepping for the evening service. If I never see a busboy rinsing out a huge vat of Caesar dressing again, I’ll be perfectly fine. The lone waitress promptly brought menus and water before taking our order and returning to her afternoon prepping tasks. I went with a simple foccaccia sandwich while Remi decided to try a stuffed pasta with gorgonzola sauce.

Within a few minutes a basket of sliced white bread from Hearth Bread Bake House arrived. It took me a few moments to realize we’d be using one of our own bread plates to mix our own olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And although I would have chosen a heartier, rustic bread to serve at an Italian restaurant I suppose it was okay. The tableside balsamic vinegar however was cheap and acidic. Perhaps it was just for decoration and wasn’t meant for consumption.

Our lunch soon arrived. My sandwich was pleasant, with a bit of kick from the peppery greens. I did quite enjoy the side of steak frites with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Remi dug into his plate of pasta.

So everything was fine. Nothing special. Nothing overly awful. (Although, I couldn’t stomach the cappucino I ordered to go and prepping during the lunch service has always been a pet peeve. Either open for lunch or not.) I would definitely go to the Italian Kitchen before I hit the OG, but the spot doesn’t top my list of Spokane restaurant finds.

This Project Spokane post is part of an ongoing series.

Yes :-) Remi's review (Jan 11th 2004)

The Italian Kitchen serves up some pretty good traditional dishes with a side of American flare. Actually, the most stereotypical thing about them is the size, which tends to be, shall we say, rather large.

It’s tasty though, and I can recommend the gnocchi, which thankfully was not overcooked. The amount of cheese might have been a bit more than an Italian would put in it, but it was still outside of the Olive Garden-style over-cheesed American version of the dish. The same can be said for the stuffed pasta with gorgonzola sauce; cheesy, sure, but not too much so.

I’m not sure The Italian Kitchen is really up there with Luigi’s or Ferrante’s, but it’s still a decent place to go for lunch or dinner, with good service and nice interiors. In other words, there is no excuse for going to the Olive Garden.

Yes :-) Stefan's review (May 3rd 2006)

I hate to stir up controversy, but the best Italian-American restaurant in Spokane is the Italian Kitchen.

If you disagree with the above statement then let’s just leave it at the Italian Kitchen is my favorite Italian-American restaurant in Spokane. Their gnocchi is out of this world. I can’t think of another restaurant in Spokane that consistently serves gnocchi so let’s just say the Italian Kitchen has the best gnocchi around.

I’m not going to waste everyone’s time debating the mob of people who believe that Italian/American food is inferior to true Italian. They are different and in some ways I think Italian-American is better and in some ways I think true Italian is better.

The service is awesome. Ever since new management took over I’m been wowed by how engaged all the waiters have been.

For me, it is really difficult to choose my favorite dish. It comes down to the veal medallions or the spicy sausage gnocchi. Both items are fantastic and recommended. The serving sizes are generous and the spicy sausage gnocchi makes a fantastic lunch (served cold). The veal on the other hand rarely makes it all the way home.

So what’s the dish?: The Italian Kitchen is a fantastic option here in the inland Northwest and don’t listen to the nonbelievers who disparage it.

Yes :-) Quincy's review (Oct 17th 2006)

The Italian Kitchen is the best Italian restaurant in Spokane. The atmosphere is incredible and intimate. The wait staff is friendly and professional. The food is out-of-this-world delicious (I recommend the gnocchi or anything with marinara sauce). The location is ideal-Italian Kitchen is the complete package. Perfect for intimate romantic occasions in my opinion. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody!

Yes :-) Karl's review (Jan 27th 2007)

The Italian Kitchen is the best Italian restaurant I have eaten at outside of San Francisco’s Little Italy. Simply put it is very good.

Yes :-) Eric's review (Mar 5th 2007)

The problem with the Spokane Italian scene is things are good, but not outstanding. The Italian Kitchen is a good place for Italian but compared to Italy’s average place it just doesn’t compare. But for Spokane its the best out there. We went there on a Friday night and the place was packed and the place has a great feel with the lights turned down. he woodwork and attention to detail is amazing. Service was a bit on the slow side, but acceptable and once we ordered, the food came out in a reasonable amount of time.

I had the sausage gnocchi which was good and could easily be split between two people. The plate was huge! My wife had the penne with pesto which was average for pesto sauces. The salads were good, but not mind-blowing and the bread was about the same. The wine list is extensive and they have a decent selection of beer. This is not a cheap place to eat a bowl of pasta, most plates go from $15 and up. For the two of us with one drink each, no appetizer and no desert it was $58. I’ll be back in the summer so I can sit outside!!!

Yes :-) Luigi's review (Sep 17th 2007)

Having eaten at a fair number of Italian restaurants around the US and also having visited Italy 10 times, including a recent 4 1/2 month stay in Rome, I have to agree that Italian Kitchen is the best place to get Italian food in Spokane.

It always amazes me that Olive Garden and Luigi’s come in 1st & 2nd in the Inlander Best Of issue every year. Frankly, I am offended by the use of my name on that quasi-Italian place. Oh well, less crowds are better for the few people here who appreciate good Italian food.

Yes :-) Andy 's review (Nov 11th 2007)

This is by far the best Italian Restaurant in Spokane. Those who say that Luigi’s is the best knows nothing about good food. I would have to say, do not really listen to Jennifer’s review about this place, maybe next time should should try something besides a simple sandwich at a good Italian place. If you have not been here, go, and you will never go back to Luigi’s and its watered down sauces.

Yes :-) travis's review (Dec 31st 2007)

I had the salmon and mahi-mahi on two seperate occasions. The salmon was the best dish I have ever eaten, anywhere. This is not only the best Italian restaurant in Spokane, it is the best restaurant.

No :-( bre's review (Jan 21st 2008)

Not impressed. We go to Mama Mia’s a lot and they are much better. The service was good. Too expensive and portions are small. The meatballs also were gross too much onion powder.

I would have to say the raviolis and gorgonzola cheese sauce was really good.

No :-( jenifer's review (Jun 24th 2008)

$23 for pork chops….really? Never again

No :-( bmwhabitat's review (Aug 10th 2008)

While visiting Spokane last week, I was hoping to take really good care of my wife and treat her to a wonderful dinner. I took the advice of your reviewers and tried the Italian Kitchen, this after reading many other critiques of other very viable restaurants. You steered me wrong people! I was compelled to write back to this site so that the next reader might get a more accurate depiction of what the restaurant is really about. Read on…

You can’t even begin to tout ‘best Italian restaurant in town’ when they serve worse bread than what I can buy at Costco or get at Macaroni Grill, possibly even The Olive Garden. Before this, the Caesar salad was marginal, served on a tiny plate with no style in presentation and again with horrendous bread. I can make far better croutons at home than the “out of the bag”, commercial grade product they put on this salad – Caesar’s are all about croutons and anchovies!

Entree of Gnocchi was the best part of the dinner, but certainly didn’t make up for the earlier misques as a total experience.