judging by the quality of pasta, it has a bright future ahead of it
Pastamia restaurant resides in one of Tel Aviv's most quiet and small streets, underneath an old 2-story building. It has been here for the past 19 years, and judging by the quality of pasta, it has a bright future ahead of it.
This restaurant offers a romantic, warm atmosphere with light chains softly illuminating beautiful pictures on the walls, personal decorative items and chandeliers taken from the restaurant owner's parents' house, and complimentary lovely music playing.
Pastamia's owner Giorgio, who comes from a long Italian tradition, still remembers the old home pasta maker his father gave him in 1989. Back then travelled to Italy to learn the profession, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today Pastamia on Wilson Street is a parent restaurant with 4 more restaurants located in Tel Aviv and the area. Every morning, fresh pasta is traditionally made in the Pastamia small factory, before it is delivered to these branches. Pastamia offers lunch specials, special weekend menus and a beautiful room for private parties of up to 16 guests.
Giorgio gets us started with focaccia Yolanda and feta cheese which is hot, crispy and smells amazing. It is topped with date cherry tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and of course – feta cheese. We continue with a bite from the daily specials – mushroom crostini –toasted bread with rich cheese spread, topped with mushrooms filled with cheese and green herbs and parmesan cheese. We also nibble on some arancini – risotto balls filled with mozzarella cheese and olives, served aesthetically at the center of the plate with delicate tomato and pepper sauce.
Giorgio decides it is time for our main courses, and we are served with spinach ravioli in cream sauce del Bosco which consists of cream, chestnuts, parmesan, cheese, and Jerusalem artichoke. It takes a minute to get used to the surprising taste, but once that I do, it is delicious. Another surprising yet precise dish is based on radiatori pasta made just right and served with an olive oil sauce with mushrooms, leaks, chili, white wine and parsley.
We finish this Italian meal with not one but two desserts. One is a torta di pere: pear cake made of crispy melting dough, home-made almond cream, and pears in marsala wine, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The other dessert is a beautiful tiramisu made of mascarpone cream and biscotti in coffee liqueur and amaretto. This cake is a wonderful ending to an inspiring Italian meal, not just because of its perfect layers and how it melts in my mouth, but also because of the way it preserves Giorgio's parent's legacy.
