Some of Thurston County's best restaurants, establishments that define the art of the county's cuisine, are participating in the inaugural Olympia Restaurant Week. Ten unique Thurston County eateries will offer special prix-fixe menus with dishes sure to impress all types of palates. The special menus will dinner options - and a free lunch options - priced at $25 and $15, respectively, for three courses - with many options per course.

The Weekly Volcano constructed a nifty Olympia Restaurant Week flipbook of the menus. Click here to flip.

For ambiance, it's hard to beat Swing in Olympia. It's located in a cute bungalow perched above Capitol Lake. The wine list includes a balance of local choices with international ones, and the menu is large with a definite ritzy air to it. Entrees can be ordered as small plates, which is a nice touch. Wednesdays bring live music.

Swing was voted "Best Creative Cocktails" and "Best Wine Selection" by Weekly Volcano readers in the 2013 Best of Olympia. The Weekly Volcano named it "Best Seat to View Capitol Lake."

Swing Wine Bar & Cafe is one of 10 restaurants participating in Olympia Restaurant Week, which means it will offer three courses for $25, Sunday-Thursday April 7-18.

To reserve your space at Swing during Olympia Restaurant Week, call 360.357.9464.

Below is Swing Wine Bar & Cafe's Olympia Restaurant Week menu.

Most people desire food prepared at a locally owned restaurant where the proprietors had some role in creating what they're hawking. At a barbecue place, you should be able to smell the smoke and picture the manager toiling over the coals in a sweaty, stained wife-beater. At a French restaurant, the host should be so snotty that you want to punch him in the mouth, even though he'll probably surrender before you can. And at an authentic Italian joint (not one named for the infamous Olive Garden crime family), the owner should be from Italy - but also know that you're in for a hell of a meal, just because the ownership so damn passionate about the food. Pellegrino's Italian Kitchen is one of those joints.

Owner Sam Pellegrino is 100 percent Sicilian from the town of Palermo. Although semi-retired, his big personally is always there - whether in the photographs leading up the stairs, Italian dishes passed through generations of Pellegrino's or via his daughter and house manager, Jennifer Pellegrino.

Pellegrino's is one of 10 restaurants participating in Olympia Restaurant Week, which means it will offer three courses for $25, Sunday-Thursday April 7-18.

To reserve your space at Pellegrino's during Olympia Restaurant Week, call 360.709.9020.

Below is Pellegrino's Italian Kitchen's Olympia Restaurant Week menu. The cozy Italian joint in Tumwater offers more than the required three options per course, including a Tour of Italy entree.

There's something appealing about viewing the cut of meat before it arrives on your plate, especially when you're dealing with prime cuts of Wagyu beef and dry-aged, marbled slabs of steak. Ricardo's Restaurant in Lacey, which underwent a transformation a few years ago when they started focusing less on pasta and more on meat. The Bone "in" Fillet, one of the chef's favorites, will leave carnivores wiping tears of joy from their eyes and if that's not enough, the delicate Maytag Blue salad with just enough dressing and the ideal amount of pistachios will definitely complete the picture perfect meal. Read the Weekly Volcano's review of Ricardo's here. You'll read why Ricardo's was no doubt voted Best Steak in the 2013 Best of Olympia issue.

However, this is Olympia Restaurant Week, which is about three courses for $25 — a chance to dine at Ricardo's for much less than you normally would be allowed. Nice.

To reserve your space at Ricardo's Restaurant during Olympia Restaurant Week, call 360.413.9995

Below is Ricardo's Olympia restaurant week menu.