Anita and I visited Cafe Lago earlier this week and had a great dinner. I had the caesar salad and fettucine amatriciana, Anita had the insalada misto and the lasagne. We split a lemon tart afterward.
I was impressed by the pasta textures. The fettucine was obviously handmade and had a nice, delicate tooth, and the sauce was spicy and yummy. The lasagne could have been served as a dessert -- it was that light, fluffy, and composed, if that word makes any sense in this context to anyone but myself.
The caesar salad was not a by-the-book rendition, but it was tasty. The misto was unremarkable. The lemon tart was actually tart, not sickly-sweet, which instantly won points with us.
The wines by the glass were good, and kudos to whoever wrote their wine menu -- I really felt like I knew something about how the wine was going to taste before I ordered it, and the reality generally matched the descriptions. This was especially welcome as I am shamefully ignorant about Italian wine beyond the most basic varietals. The by-the-bottle pricing is a little odd, though: $35 for a bottle that goes for $7/glass either means that you're getting a steal if you order by the glass, or practically no discount if you order by the bottle. Given the quality of the wines we ordered (and Washington alcohol prices in general), I suspect the latter. Can anyone confirm or deny?
Service was attentive and professional. The waiter won points after serving Anita a glass from a newly-opened bottle that had gone off. We called him over and explained that something didn't smell right; he took one whiff and said, "Yep. That's corked. Would you like this one or something else?" She had a fresh glass within seconds. Nothing heroic, mind you, but nice to see the proper response without a lot of histrionics.
Definitely a noisy, open space, but not uncomfortable. However, I can see how someone expecting a cozy leetle Italiano joint would be put off. This is not that restaurant!
Anyway, the price was reasonable: salads, entrees, dessert, four glasses of wine and a fat tip for our server came in just under $100 if memory serves. We'll return, I'm sure.