Nestled in historic Pioneer Square, our Italian-American café is a love letter to classic pasta dishes, housemade focaccia sandwiches, and damn good coffee & cocktails. We are a bustling lunch spot and the perfect pre-event hangout.
Expect your food and drink served up fast because we know you've got places to be—but if not, post up and stay awhile, loitering and shopping with Hometeam.
Chef Sean Russo
Debarking from the Bay Area, Chef Sean Russo was raised in the heart of Central California’s fishing and agriculture industries. From the squid and crab of Fisherman’s Wharf to the salt-kissed artichokes and sun-drenched stone fruit of coastal orchards, his earliest inspirations came from ingredients his Sicilian ancestors would have recognized as their own bounty.
His love of Italian cooking was born in his grandmother’s kitchen, where meatballs and braciole simmered low and slow, and the sizzle of veal and zucchini frying in olive oil was the soundtrack of every gathering.
Russo cut his teeth in San Francisco’s Little Italy, where much of his extended family lived, and where kitchens were packed with heritage, hustle, and pride. Since 2017, he’s called Seattle home, working under multiple James Beard Award-winning chefs and refining his craft. Now, as Executive Chef of Darkalino’s in Pioneer Square, Russo brings deep-rooted passion, sharp technique, and disciplined creativity to the cuisine he knows best—and loves most.
