d'anna's cafe italiano

we've been tod'anna'sseveral times, but not for a while, so it was time to visit again. they have quite an extensive menu, perhaps too large to pull off perfectly. most everything we have tried has been good to excellent.  some of our favorite dishes in past visits include the minestrone soup, the aglio e olio, which has garlic, walnuts, white wine and olive oil served with anchovies and house made spaghetti, the bruscellone (flank steak with garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, hard-boiled eggs, walnuts and cheese), and the spicy scampi appetizer, which had a very complex tomato based sauce but wasn't quite spicy enough for me. that was easily remedied with the red pepper flakes provided on table.  we also like the puttanesco, with black olives, anchovies, capers and marinara sauce served over spaghetti.  all their entrées come with a complementary house salad, which includes a little italian style bread.  the bread is good but the salad dressing is way too acidic for my taste.
we once did have a disaster:  grossly overcooked pasta. it was cheerfully replaced immediately. it's hard to forgive an italian restaurant for overcooking pasta, but i've been here enough that i can overlook this one misstep.
our most recent visit was a little less successful.  my calamari appetizer was a bit limp, and the dipping sauce was really bland.  i would not order this dish here again.  my gnocchi with shitake mushrooms, peas, tomato, pancetta, spinach and cheese was good, but i’ve had many better gnocchi dishes.  my wife’s spaghetti with meat sauce was simple but fine.
one other complaint:  please serve the wine at the proper temperature!  it was 77 f the last time we ate there, and we ordered a $27 bottle of pinot noir, which arrived at room temperature. many people think that red wine should be served at room temperature.  any wine expert will tell you that 60-65 f is the proper temperature, not 77 f.  it makes a difference.
this is a very informal place and not the really the spot for an intimate dinner.  i rank it as the second best italian restaurant in bellingham, bested only by giuseppe's.  however, it serves very good informal italian fare and is well worth a try.

my husband and i visitedd'anna'stonight as a birthday treat. the ambiance with the open kitchen and friendly wait staff was refreshing for what i consider more of a fine dining establishment. the red pepper flakes and paper napkin on the table lends itself to a more comfortable feel. the salad and focaccia were good, the salad dressing a bit too acidic for my taste personally, but it was still good. the dressing didn't overpower the flavor of the lettuce. the focaccia was more of a pizza bread, with a small amount of sauce and cheese on top. the wait staff was friendly and very attentive. now, for the main dishes. i had the chicken marsala, a chicken breast smothered in mushrooms and a deep marsala sauce. my husband had the chicken parmigiana, and both entrees came with another portion of focaccia. portions are large, plenty to take home and offsets the higher prices (i'm a recent grad). but to be 100% honest, the fresh pasta alone is worth the price!!!! beautifully tender, yet cooked perfectly, al dente, toothsome. a true italian pasta. the pappardelle with pesto accompanying my chicken was the best pasta i've ever had, honestly. and my husbands accompanying linguini, exceedingly light, delicate and toothsome. i will most definitely be visiting again for a special occasion. a wonderful, friendly, authentic establishment.

a very good place to eat.

we've been tod'anna'sseveral times, but not for a while, so it was time to visit again. they have quite an extensive menu, a lot of which looked very appealing to me, so i took a while to decide. my wonderful wife independently decided on her entrée, and it turned out to be the same one that i had picked out! pretty amazing considering the size of the menu. so, i picked something else. with one exception, everything we ordered was excellent. she started with a small serving of minestrone soup. warning- what they call small is not. it was a full size soup serving, and it was very good. i had the spicy scampi appetizer, which had a very complex tomato based sauce but wasn't quite spicy enough for me. that was easily remedied with the red pepper flakes provided on table. her entrée was the aglio e olio, which has garlic, walnuts, white wine and olive oil served with house made spaghetti. she added the optional anchovies, and liked the dish a lot. i had bruscellone (flank steak with garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, hard-boiled eggs, walnuts and cheese). it must have been braised for hours, because it was very tender and tasty. unfortunately, my side dish of pasta, which had a very nice fresh-tasting tomato sauce, was way overcooked. i didn't eat it, but i did tell the waitress at the end of the meal. she immediately offered to have a side of pasta cooked up for us to take home. we accepted, and between my wife's leftovers and the extra side of pasta (cooked perfectly, by the way) we now have most of tomorrow's dinner. it's hard to forgive an italian restaurant for overcooking pasta, but i've been here enough that i can overlook this one misstep. i do slightly prefer giuseppe's for my italian food fix, butd'anna'sis a very good place to eat.

-----04 jan, 2010-----
tasty italian food.

d'anna's is a nice place. good food, reasonably priced. we've had the bruscellone, the puttanesca, the butternut squash ravioli, and several other dishes. they were all very good. the menu is very extensive, so extensive that we could never eat our way through the whole thing, but i wouldn't mind trying!

highly recommend.d'anna'sis the best italian restaurant in bellingham and surrounding area. the food is excellent and service is outstanding. they make you feel very welcome and the price is right too.

our favorite. this is my wife's and my favorite place to come for a romantic date, especially when we want a sure thing.d'anna'snever disappoints. the calamari is divine and the chicken entree's are delicious and filling. and the waitstaff is easy-going and knowledgeable, attentive but unobtrusive. easily our best culinary discovery since we moved to bellingham.

fresh pasta sure to please.d'anna'scafe has got outstanding fresh pasta, my favorite being the linguine with meat sauce. you'll get a free salad and some focaccia style bread with your meal, but i find the salad dressing to be absurdly vinegar-y (i.e., barely unpalatable) and their focaccia, while plentiful, to be heavy with sauce. my 11 year old likes it, so i usually pass it to him. the ambiance is friendly. butd'anna'spasta is superb.

out of control amazing. with all of the italian restaurant in bellingham, you'd think they'd all blend together. but it is obvious thatd'anna'scafe stands out above the rest. i have nothing at all bad to say about this place, except that they should open either a second location or move to a bigger building. handmade pastas, delicous bread, and tasty entrees. my advice is to go at lunch, because you are probably getting the most food for your money. not to mention, you won't be waiting in those crazy dinner lines out the door!

amazing flavors!. i have traveled tons!! eaten at more restaurants than i could count in a single day! but bellingham, wa is my hometown though, so i end up spending a fare amount of time there. i am extremely picky when it comes to food. so its not a light matter that i have made a ritual out of eating at d'anna"s. the service is fast and personable, the prices are fare (around $15 a plate), and the atmosphere is cozy and warm.
but what really matters when you go somewhere to eat, obviously, is the quality of the food you are enjoying(or not enjoying). i've been toldd'anna'smakes everything, literally everything, from scratch, and if you ask me, the flavor backs up this rumor to the fullest extent. the food is always served hot, the homemade bread is always soft and fresh, and the seasoning is perfect-to-taste.
the point being, if you find yourself in bellingham, and you're hungry...... go get yourself some fresh, homemade, italiano at d'anna's!!!!

pasta to die for. featuring the best housemade pasta in the northwest,d'anna'scafe italiano is worth a trip to bellingham... not that anyone needs an excuse to visit bellingham!

always fresh, i love the ravioli and don't miss the homemade sausage and meatballs.

d'anna's cafe italiano consistently serves the best italian food in bellingham. a long time favorite with locals,d'anna'sfeatures homemade pastas, sauces and desserts along with a complete bar.

the rustic look--brick walls, posters of the italian countryside and an open kitchen design give it a more informal, friendlier feel. the servers are always attentive and friendly and the food is delicious--consistently so.

we ordered a starter of tapanade served with creme fraiche, fresh greens and grilled crostini. our dinner main came with a fresh green salad of micro greens dressed lightly with an italian vinaigrette and a large slice of their broiled sicilian bread topped with herbs and cheeses. we each ordered a different pasta for our main. i ordered my favorite spaghetti and meatballs. yeah, it is sort of like ordering vanilla ice creme when there are so many other flavors to explore, but i have always judged an italian restaurant's quality based on its ability to make this classic dish shine andd'anna'sshines deliciously. my wife ordered the little pillows of potato gnocchi. she asked for an received a combination of the traditional gnocchi along withd'anna'sspecial spinach gnocchi all tossed with olive oil and fresh tomatoes.

she also ordered a nice glass of white wine from the extensive and affordable wine list and i had my usual iced tea with lemon which was kept full throughout the meal along with our water glasses (another marker, in my opinion, of an excellent restaurant).

for dessert we ordered a delicious peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake with a fabulous crunchy crust embedded with crushed peanuts.

d'anna's is a wonderful place for a family celebration or a special occasion. you will be treated like family and the food will delight you. the extensive menu offerings have something for everyone so bring your family tod'anna'sand experience italian food the way you remember it!