Uneven experience Uneven experience (September 02, 2005)

The pasta's fresh and cheap at Pasta?, but menu is inconsistent

by Jennifer Aquino

There's a question mark in Pasta?'s name for a reason.

Although the recently renovated Italian trattoria is constantly packed and inexpensive, the food and service are inconsistent and the ambiance can be good or bad depending on where you sit.

Pasta? is a family-run business that opened its first location on University Avenue eight years ago. It's one of several spots where you can eat on the avenue and people-watch. In warm weather, the front windows open like French doors onto the sidewalk, extending the dining area onto the avenue.

In October 2004 the restaurant underwent a renovation, adding a bar. Since reopening in December, the location is almost always packed with families, business people and a large contingent of tourists.

There are reasons to visit here. It's quick, easy, cheap and family-friendly, and the pasta is fresh. But it's also noisy, spotty on food and service, and can be uncomfortable.

The restaurant's full bar features a bigger-than-enormous television and an expanded drink and wine list. The dining area is long and skinny, flanked on one side by a tiled bench and tables and on the other by mirrors and more tables. The décor is modern Italian -- brightly painted red walls, dark wood and simple design. The tiled bench is as uncomfortable as it sounds.

The restaurant's rectangular shape also makes it noisy. At lunch one afternoon, I could barely hear my dining partner over the clatter of dishes and chatter. Outside there are four small, if not tiny, metallic tables and chairs. The outdoor tables offer a great view, but are wobbly. That said, this is a great place to bring kids. They have a kids' menu and activities for kids, and it's noisy enough so that no one will mind when your adorable tot uses a spoon and fork as drumsticks.

The pastas at Pasta? are unquestionably fresh. In every pasta dish, no matter the sauce, the noodles are firm to the bite. Pasta? makes its own gnocchi, ravioli and fettuccine.

The best pasta dish I tried was the fettuccine ($7.95), thick-cut fettuccine noodles tossed with a creamy sauce. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the sauce was buttery and rich with a hint of nutmeg. Another good option is the ravioli della casa ($8.95), house-made raviolis filled with ricotta cheese and spinach. The raviolis were al dente and a nice shell to the mild ricotta cheese and spinach filling.

Most of the pasta dishes come with a choice of sauces: tomato, pink (tomato sauce mixed with cream), or cream sauce. All the sauces are made fresh each morning. The tomato sauce is simply tomatoes, garlic and basil.

The pink sauce, which I chose for my ravioli, had the bite of onion and garlic tempered by the richness of the cream sauce. The tomato sauce, on the other hand, was so acrid that it tasted like a tin can. The spaghetti and meatballs ($10.95), a special, was particularly acidic. The meatballs were gamy tasting, but the noodles were perfectly cooked. The rigatoni bolognese ($8.75), tube pasta in a tomato meat sauce, was mediocre. The meat was salty and lent a rich flavor to the sauce, but the sauce was a touch bitter and unremarkable.

Pasta? offers a host of salads and appetizers, as well as a basket of ciabatta bread that is constantly replenished on your table. The insalata alla cesare ($4.25, small; $5.75, large) is a traditional caesar salad with croutons and parmesan cheese. It came dripping in a creamy caesar dressing with a slight anchovy aftertaste. It was good, but nothing special.

The insalata caprese ($6.95) -- sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and olive oil with mixed greens -- was a bit of a disappointment. A caprese salad is entirely dependent on the quality of the tomatoes. In this case they were mushy and flavorless. The cheese was soft and creamy, and the basil and olive oil were pureed together and used as a dressing drizzled atop the tomatoes and cheese. Sharp and peppery, the dish could have really come together had the tomatoes been good.

The prataioli al balsamico ($6.25), portobello mushrooms sautéed with balsamic vinegar and served over toasted bread, was good. The mushrooms were earthy and had a strong flavor of fresh garlic and vinegar against the toasted, buttery bread.

Perhaps the most disappointing entrees, but not surprisingly so since they don't center on pasta, were the pollo sandwich ($7.50) and the bistecca alla griglia ($12.75). The pollo sandwich, a thin strip of chicken with two paper-like slices of zucchini, sliced tomato and mayonnaise between thick ciabatta bread, had great ingredients but was overwhelmed by the bread, making it dry and flavorless. A better alternative to mayonnaise, such as pesto, would have made a difference. The bistecca, flat iron steak with mushroom sauce, was the biggest letdown. The steak was dry and overcooked, the roasted potatoes were parched and the spinach was tasteless.

For dessert, we tried the tiramisu ($4.75), ladyfinger cookies soaked in espresso and layered with whipped cream and Kahlua liquor. The whipped cream didn't have much flavor and the ladyfingers were a bit over-saturated in espresso. It was topped with a chocolate sauce that tasted like Nestle syrup.

The service at Pasta? is a bit rushed. The first time our waitress hurried to our table before we'd even opened our menus. When we told her we'd just been seated, she disappeared for half an hour. She dropped my dining companion's knife on the floor and never replaced it.

On my other visits, the service was better. When we were seated outside at a wobbly table, our waitress got down on her hands and knees to shimmy a sugar packet underneath the table leg.

Pasta? is nothing special, but it does have its place in the dining world. It is consistently packed and recently opened restaurants in Fremont and Mountain View, with plans to open in Sacramento. It's a good spot to people-watch or grab a quick, inexpensive bite to eat. Just don't expect much.

Pasta?, 326 University Ave., Palo Alto; (650) 328-4585
Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday
Credit cards: yes
Parking: street
Alcohol: yes
Takeout: yes
Highchairs: yes
Catering: yes
Outdoor seating: yes
Noise level: loud
Bathroom cleanliness: average

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