Il Corvo, One of Seattle’s Best Pasta Restaurants, Closes Permanently After Nine Years

Incredibly sad news for Seattle pasta lovers. Il Corvo, the highly-acclaimed daytime Pioneer Square Italian restaurant, has closed for good after nine years in business. Chef and owner Mike Easton made the announcement on Instagram late Wednesday, explaining that the spot — which has been shuttered since mid-March due to Washington’s stay-at-home order — would not reopen even after dine-in services resume in the city. “Seriously, it’s been fantastic, and exceeded our wildest expectations, but sometimes good things must come to an end,” he wrote.

Since opening in 2011, Il Corvo became one of the most sought-after spots for homemade pasta in Seattle, with a rotating menu of dishes such as pappardelle bolognese, calamaretti, and fiore that drew long lines and sold out quickly. The restaurant was only open Monday through Friday during lunch hours, and never took reservations. It also earned Easton two James Beard Award nominations in recent years and plenty of critical praise. “Easton’s mastery and affordability have propelled Il Corvo to local cult status,” Eater’s Bill Addison once wrote. “He deserves it. This is the kind of animated, community-minded restaurant I wish for every neighborhood in America.”

Last spring, Easton opened Il Corvo’s larger sibling in West Seattle, Il Nido, to much fanfare. Since the stay-at-home order was implemented, the new restaurant has transformed its Alki Homestead dining room into a pasta market and pantry, but the chef promises that it will return to its regular service “once it is safe to do so.”

As for the fate of Il Corvo, Easton tells Eater Seattle, “Maybe in a few years, when things are back to normal, we will revive it.”

• Il Corvo [Instagram]
• Every Neighborhood in American Should Have an Il Corvo [Eater]
• All coverage of Il Corvo [ESEA]