"After proposing to me on the newly constructed harbor steps, he brought me to the Trattoria for a cup of coffee; to dream about our future. We still come here at least once a year, now with our two children."

"On the night before I was having abdominal surgery, my husband took me to see STOP! at the Moore Theater. After the show, we enjoyed a wonderful stroll thru town, arriving here (my favorite restaurant in Seattle!), for a dinner befitting such a great evening. The food was terrific and we ended our "date" with a boat ride home to Poulsbo. Thanks for making my "last supper "so memorable!" - Paul and Samantha

"In 1983, my husband was studying to be a priest….needless to say he never made it! He was 23, I was 19 and we were class mates and great pals at Seattle U. I was madly in love with him and scared to tell him…but he was due to go back to Ireland forever. An older, wiser priest friend told me I had to tell him the truth or I may regret it forever. So in May 1983- up on the stool by the counter I confessed my love…and it turned out that he loved me too! He still went back to Ireland planning to be a priest. (And I cried many tears), but eventually his heart led him back. We were married in Seattle in 1988 and will celebrate our 15th anniversary this summer."

"In 1993, when I was pregnant for the 1st time I brought him back here, sat in the same stools where I told him I loved him and presented him with my positive pregnancy test! Now we have an Easter tradition of having brunch here with our friends and co-workers from a very special home and work place for people with developmental disabilities. This place holds very special memories and history for us." - Tanya and Gerry

"It was a dark and mossy night. I was standing by a street corner near the ferries when an off white car stopped and a beautiful woman said, "I hope that’s you" Well, I’ve been around long enough to know that the answer to that question, when asked by a beautiful woman, is always, "But of course." In a moment of willing suspension of disbelief, I felt myself being drawn into the passenger seat of the off-white auto. "Where to?" she asked, her voice husky. "Take a left where you can" I said. "Are you hungry?" "God yes!" she cried. "I’m starving!" As if with a mind of its own, the off-white auto wended its way up 1st avenue to the interconnection of fate and available parking space. In the lovely Trattatoria, we were greeted, seated and our jackets whisked away, layers and layers. "I’ll have the tortellini", she said breathlessly, "with lots of garlic." "And for me," I said giving into the mad impulse of the evening, "Tell the chef to just go crazy!" To make a long story short, although it is a little too late for that, the chef created the first ever Bob Clam n’ Prawn Linguine, soon to be the Trattoria signature dish. And speaking of signature dishes…but I’m out of the room, and she has an early morning flight." The End - Bob and the Beautiful Mystery Blonde

"This is my first trip to Seattle. I will be back next year with my family. Here is my story. I met my wife Joanna in Feb. 1980 in Louisville, KY. I was in a bar that I had never been to and she was in Louisville for a convention. We met and spent the weekend together. She was engaged to be married in June to a guy she had dated for 6 years. She went home to Atlanta and called the wedding off that night. Needless to say, her family and her boyfriend were not happy. I showed up at her house driving an old pickup with my German Shepard at 6:00 in the morning. Her mother’s worst nightmare. I asked her to marry me that weekend. It took her a few weeks to decide. We got married in September and have been married 22 years. Next year we will celebrate our 23rd with you. Make sure you are here because we will be. We didn’t meet here but you will become part of our story." - Roy

"Coming to this restaurant inspired us to want to visit Italy, especially Tuscany. However, we were pleasantly surprised to have our travel plans postponed with the conception of our beautiful daughter Brooke. Because of our new addition to our family we concluded that we would have to enjoy Italy later in our lives. We look forward to the day when we shall taste the wine, smell the rich aroma of the food, walk in the grass with bare feet and overlook the ocean. Also…D proposed to me six months after our first date here!" - L. P.

"I had given up! I thought there were no good men left! I had divorced an abusive alcoholic man. A furry orange cat was the best thing to come out of this sad time. Driving home from the theater one night, a guest psychologist on KOMO? KIRO? was asking men in Seattle to call in and say what they thought a marriage relationship with a woman should be. I thought HAH! This should be good! The first man made very disparaging comments. I was getting angrier and angrier. Then a second, soft voiced, man called in, he said he was incensed by the first man, that marriage should be a "partnership"; a democracy; a woman should be treated with kindness, respect and gentleness. The psychologist asked his name. He said his name, that he had been divorced for 10 years, had two sons and a steady job for 20 years. I slammed on the brakes by the side of the old Rainier brewery and thought, "this man is my male counterpart!" I drove like a woman possessed. I called every radio station in Seattle. Finally I got the right station! I called 3 or 4 times to get his name. I finally got his name out of them. I must say that I had a very sheltered, protected, prim and proper upbringing. My parents taught me not to chase after a man, if the man was interested, he would call me. I called information, got his phone number, called for a week (Either he was busy or no answer). Finally, I reached him. I just said, you renewed my faith that there are still good men with old fashioned values, left in this world!" He was shocked! We spoke every night for 2 or 3 months. At the end we decided to meet at a public place of my choosing. I called 3 friends in the Police Department and told them his license # and if I wasn’t home by 10 PM, please call 911. That was 16 years ago and 14 years ago we got married and it was the best thing that could have happened to both of us." - Dyan

"Girl fiends & I came here in 1977, mostly after 2am to share wonderful dinners. Thru the years, I came with friends & loved ones, and now I am with my husband. Prior to our marriage, we had a lovely romantic dinner. Tonight, it is still lovely and romantic!"

"It seems ages ago, although it may have been last year. We stepped off the bus from downtown and strolled into our local Trat—carefree, no obligations for the evening. Over dinner, two booths down from where we are now, we talked about starting a family. We imagined, argued, rationalized, and wondered through the salad and bread and pasta-of the-week. By the end of the meal, I think we knew. And now we are a "table for three."

"Ward and Polly were married at the courthouse on November 21, 1980 at 2pm or so. Our wedding party of 10 moseyed on over to the Trat for our celebration dinner. We drank lots of wine (Fontina Candiatta) or something that sounds like that. We all had a great time!! We now have 18 & 20 year old kids that love Trattoria Mitchelli (pizza). We all came back to celebrate our 20th anniversary!"

"We had our first date here…October 8, 1994. Subsequently to that we went to an Aerosmith Concert, and as they say "that’s all she wrote." We were married on November 15th, 1997 and here it is November 15th, 2002…our 5th year anniversary! Back at the place we became acquainted. Great food…Great atmosphere…Great people. We are forever thankful of your great food, atmosphere & people! Keep it up and maybe there will be another love connection like ours!"

"So here is this guy form Michigan who visits the Northwest once a year to fish with his high school best friend. One year he is coming to visit when his old fishin’ buddy says, "Hey, my girl and I decided to go rafting and she has a friend going with us." This is not exactly what I wanted to hear as I wanted to go fishin’! Well, one year turned into another and my next visit we wound up (we meaning the "girl" who rafted with me the year before) on a ferry coming over to Seattle…and no mention of love had been shared, though our first kiss was on the ferry. Walking through Pioneer Square we held hands and found an Italian restaurant that we decided to dine at, first time! It was here that we ate and stared—and it was the onset of our most wonderful 10 year marriage! We have a picture in front of your restaurant hanging on our wall. Thanks."

"In September 1977 I was at the opening of the Trat with Sister San Gabriel of St Alphonses Church in Ballard. Sister got a little drunk on Chianti and started rubbing her foot on me under the table. Outside, if you recall, the street was being torn up by construction workers-all of them women. A younger, handsomer Emmett Watson walked by with his pooch "Sparkles". Anyhow, to make a long story short, Sister San Gabriel and I got married in May 1978 and raised 6 wonderful kids. Ironically, almost 20 years to the date later, Sister San Gabriel and I decided – at the Trat- over a shared bowl of creamy linguine with hazelnuts that our love was spent and divorce was the only answer. Sister is now a croupier in Reno and lives with her lady love "Tony". I have grown quite religious over the years and minister often to prostitutes and strippers who need my caring, kind nature. I am a good listener, they say. So….my life is better than ever- and it is always been good- and I owe it all to Mitchelli’s. May our Father in Heaven bless you and keep you wise in the ways of wine, pizza and pasta." - Father Dominic

"Put us under the: legit business relationship—turns to affair—turns to long term relationship (12 years). It started with your original recipe garlic pasta (which I was addicted to). We had been looking at boats. Dean is an expert on boats & I was looking for a boat to live aboard during the week while I worked in Seattle & lived in Olympia, where my house was. We were just looking at boats until the afternoon Dean waited for 1_ hours while I finished work. I called every 20 minutes saying I should be finished in 20 minutes more. An hour & a half later I finally arrive. I order (as always) the roasted garlic pasta. Dean orders the same. (I think it was in defense as it is not his norm—as I now know after 12 years. He also told me he liked cats—I had 10 strays—he doesn’t like cats!) We realize that afternoon that it might be more than a business relationship & maybe a boat wasn’t the solution. 12 years later we still order the original garlic pasta, drink the Chianti & laugh at the direction life takes you when you think you are the one calling the shots. Eat garlic, drink wine, make love & laugh a lot."

"I was leaving my husband and had fallen in love with a beautiful woman. My husband and I came here, as we had been for 10 years… I could barley stand to sit at the same table with him! I went into the bathroom and wrote "I love _______" on the blackboard. It was such a release. I divorced that year and "_______" and I are celebrating our 2 year anniversary next month!" - Jennifer

"The first time we met, we came here for dinner. Then we came here for our first date together. We’ve come here ever since and now we’re married and continue to come and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. We always invite our friends to come and try the wonderful food and the quiet evening." - Sarah and Issac

"Matt and I came here on our first date- in Feb. 1999. I’d never been here before and we had a great time. So great that now almost 4 years later we are engaged and getting married in August of next year. Thanks to the Trattoria Mitchelli for the great food and a great First Date experience! It was romantic and a great memory.
I proposed to Pam at the SE corner of the counter on this day in 1982. We were married Aug 20, 1983 soon after. We come back to the Trattoria every time we return to Seattle to sit at the counter and sip wine and re-live the moment. I’m a chef at a little bistro in Sun Valley, ID now. The simple, casual food and atmosphere at Trattoria helped inspire my new restaurant and I look forward to visiting the restaurant for years to come. …Pam and I are coming up on our 20th wedding anniversary and the restaurant is an important place for us because it has stood the test of time (like our marriage!). Just to fill you in on the details; I bought the ring at Robbins jeweler on 1st Avenue, dropped to one knee, we shared lasagna and had dessert (we always have dessert!). Pam said yes immediately, we have been together ever since and have two girls, Hannah (10) and Estelle (13). Thank you for listening to our story and for all the good food, fun and love over the years."

"I first met "D" at work. We knew each other for a few years and we were committed to other people. Eventually, things fell apart with our partners. One day, in early spring of 2001, "D" and I had met for an appointment and when we finally looked into each other’s eyes it was magical. Just like the corny things that you here about …We decided to go out dancing in Seattle one night … our first date. After a great and very fun evening dancing at Pioneer Square we ended up here at the Trat. The food was delicious! We ordered chicken piccata and had a great conversation with the food server. When I look back at that evening, it was enchanted. Now, whenever we get a free moment and we’re in Seattle we make a point to spend a moment at the Trat."

"Way back in 1980 my husband and I weren’t married. In fact our dinner at the "Trat" was one of our first official dates. We were fairly poor at the time and couldn’t afford to eat out often. We loved our little Italian restaurant as we could actually afford a romantic evening out. So here we are on our date. We order wine and then some more wine. Those little glasses can be quite devastating. For some reason I felt compelled to order the chioppino I’d never had the dish before, but I was quite sure that it was very sophisticated and clearly demonstrated a lot of class. After all-I was on a mission to impress my date. The dish arrives in all its glory, brimming with fresh seafood.
As I stare into my dates eyes- I crack a crab leg and watch it (to my horror) slither out of my hands and rest underneath the table beside us. Unwilling to let my dinner go- I head to floor on all fours and chased the leg from between the legs of a complete stranger. My date and I married anyway and we still take our kids here and smile at the memory." - Karen

"The Pasta Connection
My name is Timothy J. and this is my Trattorria Mitchelli Story. It all began last March when my girlfriend Sara and I came to see the dinosaurs at the Burke Museum and later have dinner at the Trattoria. The extinct beasts in the museum however were tragically upsetting since this was the last night I had to spend with her before I shipped off to Kosovo with my army unit. Later that night we came to the Trattoria Mitchelli for a nice romantic dinner and I told her no matter how long I was gone I promised her I would come back for her. And in the candlelight we drank red wine and kissed.
My deployment to Kosovo turned out to be longer than expected and half way through, Sara was called to the Persian Gulf with her air force squadron. When I returned after four months her phone was turned off and I could not get an answer of when she would come back. Forlorn I went with my friend Rick to Trattoria Mitchelli vainly hoping to see her there but no luck. We had dinner and I told Rick my sad story and he had wine glass after glass. Vicariously drowning my sorrows. Eventually he insisted on driving home. So I convinced him to stay there and tell me about his part in Henry V which was playing at the university…. and with one hand holding a wine glass and the other holding the script he gave a one man performance of Henry V. We relocated to the Trat and at about 4 in the morning he started referring to Henry as Fergusson and soon after …his face sank into a plate of linguini. And at that very moment Sara walked through the door having just returned from the gulf. I gave her the biggest kiss in trattoria history and she gave us a quiet ride home. The End"

"My boyfriend John and I came here to eat one night. He is the boy that I am in love with but scared to tell him. I want to tell him but I am not sure how he will react. So we came here eat and it just confirmed how much I love him. Hopefully he will tell me the same."