d'anna's cafe italiano

great go-toitalianin bellingham. this is my favoriteitalianrestaurant in bellingham. great food, though prices are a bit higher than elsewhere. the space is broken up by rooms, which creates a more intimate feeling.

accept no substitute. want italian? like red sauce sicilianitalianwith fresh in house pasta? i worked there for many years, and most dishes are tip-top. try creamy pesto and shells with their in house made sausage. more upper priced selections are excellent- such as the duck,chicken marsala and thee pork chop. everything is made on site same day, so freshness is a priority. oh yeah, get the kalamari for an app.
-bobby,
    cook & kitchen manager 10+yrs

we've been to d'anna's several 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 littleitalianstyle 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 anitalianrestaurant 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 bestitalianrestaurant in bellingham, bested only by giuseppe's.  however, it serves very good informalitalianfare and is well worth a try.

super. food: a+
portions: a
presentation: b
service: a
ambiance: b
prices: c
overall value: a-

best qualityitalianfare in b'ham, at fair, not cheap prices. excellent service. not fast food, because everything is made fresh to order. very accommodating to groups. if you are patient, you will have an outstanding and bountiful meal. downsides: always busy and can be very crowded. small rooms. can be noisy.

arguably one of the bestitalianrestaurants in bellingham. the ambiance is stimulating, the staff friendly, knowledgable and efficient but its the food that really shines! be ready for rich, complex flavors that will knock your socks off. this place is just plain delicious.

consistently awesome. :). we love d'anna's! we go here for every special event. it is on the higher price end, so it's a special event thing, but the food is just amazing.

the gnocchi is my favorite, delicious and it just melts in your mouth. mmmm :) big portions, good wine selection, rich deliciousitalianfood, and the bread they serve with the salad is great.

it is a little loud in here usually, as it's a small space and very busy, but the food here takes center stage, not atmosphere. i can't say enough good things about d'anna's, it's the ultimate pasta comfort fest. :)

bestitalianfood in town. the food is consistently great !! been there at least 30 x's and never had a bad meal !! only drawback is the service is sometimes slow but it hasn't stopped us from coming back.

my husband and i visited d'anna's tonight 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 trueitalianpasta. 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.

to be totally fair we've only been there once. however, the service was incredibly slow and i attentive, the food was not great, and the atmosphere is incredibly loud. there are otheritalianrestraints in bellingham that we enjoy much more than d'anna's.

a very good place to eat.

we've been to d'anna's several 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 anitalianrestaurant for overcooking pasta, but i've been here enough that i can overlook this one misstep. i do slightly prefer giuseppe's for myitalianfood fix, but d'anna's is a very good place to eat.

-----04 jan, 2010-----
tastyitalianfood.

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's is the bestitalianrestaurant 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.

outstanding. bestitalianfood i've ever tried. highly recommended. the seared ahi tuna was excellent and i can't wait to go back!

bistro flavor & attitude/ fine dining prices. the food here is amazing, greatitalianfood- rich in flavors. the moment you walk in the door you are overcome with scent-sations of garlic happiness.... however it is not cheap- which is confusing because its absolutely horrid "wine tumblers", boring interiors, and mediocre service will have you thinking otherwise.

scott. love it for all is not, just simple rich hearty reditaliancomfort food


-----28 aug, 2011-----

scott. we had a wonderful time here, spectacular classicitalianfood, exceptional service and very relaxed. we will eat here anytime our travels take us through bellingham

bestitalianfood in town.. if you want comfort food go here. i just went here for a friend's b-day and it was fresh, homemade and delicious. i ordered linguine with clams and all the ingrediants were high quality. all pastas are made in house!