Il Pastaio

Went to Il Pastaio on a date. We'd planned to meet in Eataly and just find a place to sit down and have a drink. Looking at the menu, we decided to get food, and shared a couple appetizers (bread and a peach kale salad) and then got a mushroom risotto. All the food was really good, and the wait staff were pretty attentive and able to answer any questions we had. You can probably tell in advance when you get Il Pastaio that the prices on food will be high. They were, but it didn't feel unfair given the high dining vibe they maintain. Just know you can't go here expecting a cheaper meal. Still, the food, service and ambience were all great.

The food was awful. Everything was way over-salted to the point of inedible. This includes the tomato salad, buffalo mozzarella, and two pastas. I took about three bites of the pasta and pushed it away. Service was all smiley before the food came, then disappeared. Over $100 for a flat-out terrible meal.

The atmosphere is terrific. Vibrant and dynamic. The food is good, I think they can do better (lots of people behind the kitchen).
The service is horrible (Laura is the exception- Kudos), you are in "Italy" but the service is very New Yorker. Take it or "fu#$in@) leave it.
As a New Yorker, I felt ashamed from our tourists getting these kinds of experiences.

The service was good. Everything was very clean. The pasta we ordered was very disappointing. My wife and I both got the tonarelli cacio e pepe. Although a simple recipe, the cheese sauce is tricky to make. If done poorly (like mine) the cheese separates into big clumps and everything gets very gummy. It was very disappointing.

Such incredible pasta dishes! The portion might look a bit small at first, but it was actually the perfect amount. We were sat right in front of the guy making all of the pasta which really added to the experience. Both sauces were super deep in flavour and complimented the pasta shapes we chose. We also had a lovely white wine each to go alongside and overall this was a great experience, not just because of the food, but because of the sensory dining experience too.

Disappointing. I stopped for a quick bite and a glass of wine. The person that “helped” me to get my order was so not hospitable. After I was asked to pay earlier so he can go home ( no problem) and I got the bill with a charge of $8 for sparking water… when I sit down I was asked for still or sparking water and I choose still. When I asked why I was charged he explained that both waters are the same price… well should he asked me do I want a mineral bottle water or regular ? He should have been more present at his job to try and sell another glass of wine to me instead of just adding to the bill( and when you sell a bottle of water/ wine can the label at least faces you so yo know what are you drinking? Well this is basic skill !!!) He took the water from my hand and pour it in the sink… so not professional and not even replacing it with a regular water. I asked him why he dod that and he was so not a pleasant person!!! Do I want to go back and spent money in a place like this? I don’t think anyone will do. Sorry but you better train your employees… I work in a hospitality business as well and this is unacceptable !!!

We loved this place! We had no idea what we were getting into as they didn’t have a website we could find and it is a bit unassuming inside an Italian market but food and service was fantastic. It is all bar seating but the were accommodating of making space for our stroller as well. We had 4-5 different pasta dishes and unique salads as well. Everything was great and they make all the pastas fresh in house.

The garganelli I ordered was simply pasta perfection, the server was not joking that they had the best pasta in the place. The ragu could see some improvement, considering it didn’t emulsify the dish well enough whilst it was in the verge of being salty. Would come back to try the other dishes though.

An entree will go for around $26-$35.