Volterra has been dishing up delicious Italian food for nearly 20 years, but in all that time, they’ve never had a happy hour. I know, I’m shocked as well- I am a pretty firm believer that life without happy hour is just generally… unhappy. Thankfully, the folks at Volterra recently came to the same conclusion as me and introduced a brand new, deal-filled happy hour. Last week we chatted with them on Twitter and they invited us over to check out* their new offerings, and I must say, Ballard is definitely a much happier place every Monday-Friday from 4:30-6:30pm. Check it out!
Like all good happy hour patrons, we started out with drinks- and so should you. Volterra’s new happy hour menu features a rotating list of $4(!) specialty cocktails and red and white wine by the glass. And we aren’t talking cheap well drinks- we sipped on a White Sangria and a Limoncello Rosemary Drop with housemade limoncello. (Hate sweet drinks? So do I. But when my co-drinker insisted I try her lemon drop, I was totally swayed. These folks know what they are doing.) They also offer $3 draft beers and $5 well drinks.
Now, on to the food. Volterra’s regular menu isn’t exactly cheap eats, but you definitely get value for your money with their generous portions and focus on local, high-quality ingredients. Their happy hour food menu follows these same principals, but slashes prices on a rotating selection of appetizers and small plates. No dish on our menu was over $6, and we were definitely happy with what we ate.
Mascarpone, Sundried Tomato and Olive Tapenade Crostini. Cheesy, savory, salty, sweet deliciousness. On toast. $3
Roasted Porchetta Sliders. Think Italian pulled pork. $6 for 2.
Caprese. Totally predictable, but who can complain about good tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and summer basil? Delicious.
Roasted Romanesco in fontina cheese with pancetta. The real winner of the evening. We ordered two. $5
Sadly, the day we visited, they were out of their Steamed Mediterranean Mussels with Leeks, pancetta and saffron cream. Evidently, their supplier (Taylor Shellfish) was running low that day. I guess I’ll just have to go back.
So to make up for that disappointment, we had dessert instead. Not on the happy hour menu, but totally, totally worth it.
So next time you find yourself in Ballard on a weekday afternoon, go check out Volterra’s happy hour menu for yourself. It’s a totally delicious deal, and fully yay-today approved.
* The government says we have to tell you when we get something for free, so here you go: this was free. But I still think you should go back. I know I will.
