Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson
Is your mouth watering yet?! Mine is and I am honestly sitting here, as I write today’s post, reminiscing about my meal at Pastaria Nashville a couple of weeks ago. To say it was good is an understatement…it was SOOOO GOOD!
I’m excited to write today’s dining experience review because I honestly would tell anyone who lives here or is planning to visit to try Pastaria! I’m already planning my second visit and this time, I am taking Peter along to enjoy the experience. We both LOVE Italian food…pretty certain it’s at the top for both of us.
Pastaria is located in an up and coming area. It was great to see so much being built around Pastaria…it just goes to show how quickly our city is growing and how many amazing restaurants and experiences we have to offer!
When we arrived to Pastaria, I could tell that it would be adorable on the inside just by looks of the outside and it was! The restaurant takes on an chic yet old world feel and definitely showcases many nods to what would be an authentic Italian eatery in Italy. It is a very charming space. You can dress casually for lunch or get dressed up a bit more for dinner!
We started with the crispy risotto balls, which were so yummy! Think cheesy risotto rolled into a ball, lightly deep fried, and served hot with marinara sauce. A fancy and even more delightful twist to something like a mozzarella stick.
Next up…their Caponata Bruschetta! WOW…just WOW! This was one of my absolute favorite dishes that I tried at Pastaria. Grilled bread, lemon and basil ricotta, eggplant caponata, and mustard greens…need I say more?! These flavors were perfect together and we just raved and rave about how much we loved it. I could have eaten that just for my lunch!
Because we dined in for lunch, we then tried items from their lunch menu which included their lunch size Shaved Kale Salad and their Mixed Greens salad. Both salads were really good and we especially loved the kale salad. I’d recommend ordering both if you go with another person and sharing so you can experience both salads!
Finally…PASTA! After all, isn’t that what we came for?! All of the other dishes leading up to the pasta dishes were great compliments to the entire experience but I was definitely looking forward to trying their pasta and they did not disappoint! Their pasta is made fresh on site so you know you are getting a very authentic Italian experience.
Funny enough I had been stalking their Instagram feed before dining in and I had my eye on a certain pasta dish. I showed the picture to our Waiter and he immediately knew which pasta I was talking about…Papardelle with smoked pork, mascarpone, and apples! I’m guessing this is one of their most popular dishes because it was a homerun The sweet with the savory was such a perfect combination so it was easy for me to clean my plate. No shame.
The other pasta dish that we tried was Canestri Cacio e Pepe with pecorino, grana padano, and black pepper. This was also very good and reminded us much like an elevated macaroni and cheese! Although we did not try their pizza’s I’m certain that they would be just as good as their pasta.
I’m excited to return to Pastaria and try some of their other dishes and maybe even try a pizza! Everything on their menu sounds amazing and after our personal experience with the dishes that we tried, I am certain every dish would be a winner in my book! They are also able to switch out regular pasta noodles for gluten free noodles!
Pastaria is a great spot for lunch but also perfect for a night out! I love that they have a bar area overlooking the wood fire oven/kitchen and they have plenty of space to serve both small and large parties! Not to mention Pastaria is very family friendly too, which is so important to me and I would totally take my family there!
Have you tried Pastaria yet?! What did you think?! If you haven’t and are looking for a new place…give it a try and let me know how your experience was! I think you will be as pleased as we were.
As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!
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