We had always wanted to visit Pastaria since we heard it opened in Clayton, and when friends from church suggested that we meet there for dinner, we knew it was time to try it out. The first part is figuring out the parking. Pastaria patrons can use the Centene Plaza parking lot which has an entrance on the south side of Forsyth just west of the restaurant. We arrived at about 5:20 pm on a weekday, and there was a steady stream of Centene employees leaving at that time at a rapid velocity, so be careful! The lot is also rather tight with rather small spaces. From a distance you might think there is a bunch of street parking on the south side of Forsyth, but it is actually all valet parking spots so just use the lot.
From the lot there is an entrance that takes you down to the sidewalk where you can enter the restaurant. The space has an open raised ceiling with a lot of pictures on the walls. Interesting looking space but it was a bit noisy. We met our one friend from church who had our table for four and we waited for the last person to arrive as we looked over the menu. As we were seated the waiter brought us over a single piece of bread, and it was some very flavorful bread. It had a very hearty, tasty crust, and the inside was slightly denser than typical bread. They did not provide butter or margarine, only olive oil for dipping, but it was an excellent start to the meal.
For entrees the four of us selected the Pistachio Ravioli, the Margherita Pizza, the Lamb Ragu, and I selected the Pappardelle. They were fairly busy on a Monday evening, but it did not take more than 15 minutes or so before our entrees arrived. The pastas were all served in reasonable but not giant portions, but the Margherita pizza was fairly large and thick. My wife was expecting it to be thinner and crisper but she still thought it was pretty good, but not exceptional. She actually reheated the leftovers for lunch today (Tuesday) and thought it was better today with a crisper crust. I thought the Pappardelle was excellent. The pasta was definitely freshly prepared and cooked that day and the smoked pork, mascarpone and apples blended very nicely with the pasta, not too overcooked and not overly flavored. Our two friends are regulars at Pastaria (one works at Centene) and they both thought their entrees were excellent as well.
The service was also very attentive with different members of the wait staff coming by and asking us if we needed anything. My wife appreciated that they brought her an extra glass of just ice since she likes lots of ice in her drinks. They let us sit and talk for a while after dinner and took away our plates as we finished up and also boxed up what was left for us to take home. One interesting thing we noticed on the bill was that the Margherita Pizza was only charged at $10 when we thought it would be more. Was it a Monday night special? Anyway, we thought it was a nice place to eat on a weekday evening. Don't forget to get your parking ticket validated before you leave!
Food Quality, Flavor and Service
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