Saratoga’s sleek new pasta bistro
Pasta Armellino is a modern, casual Italian eatery from the Michelin-starred team behind Plumed Horse
When a famed South Bay chef opens a casual pasta eatery across from his Michelin-starred restaurant, you can hardly contain your culinary curiosity. That’s why we bolted over to Saratoga’s Pasta Armellino as soon as it opened to the public.
Located across the street from Plumed Horse, the new counter-service restaurant is Peter Armellino’s first departure from highbrow, French-inspired cuisine in 30 years. Inside a totally transformed 1850s-era house, Armellino and his team are working in a bright, blue subwaytiled kitchen, crafting Italian dishes using top-notch California ingredients.
THE VIBE >> Industrial chic. Peek through the windows in front to catch a glimpse of the pasta dough prep, then make your way to the entryway, done up in white subway tiles, and the shiny metal bar with matching stools. The focal point of the 12-table dining room is the graffiti art, by San Francisco’s Chris Kondo, which covers the entire main wall and is illuminated by an overhead skylight. (Be sure to check out the restroom, too. It’s white on white and stunning, with a sterling basin and distressed whitewood floors.)
HOW IT WORKS >> Grab a clipboard and order at the counter by checking off items on a paper menu. Choose from six pastas ($12-$18), two soups ($8-$10) and two salads ($8-$10) plus house-baked Parmesan sourdough bread ($5) and a solid selection of beers ($5-$9) and wines by the glass ($7-$14). Chefs — including Armellino himself — deliver dishes to your table, so feel free to chat with them.
THE FOOD >> High-quality ingredients in small portions are the focus here. Think cubes of braised beef short ribs tucked into al dente orecchiette and topped with broccolini stems and melting ricotta in a broth of lemon agrumato ($14). The Pasta Armellino dish ($18) features ribbons of slippery, black pepper-tinged tagliatelle topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano and a few tender clumps of crab and uni. Every dish we tried was wellexecuted and palate-pleasing, but small. Get the bread and order more food than you think you need, including your own pasta and salad.
PERFECT FOR … >> a casual dinner without the kids, perhaps a double date with fellow Italophiles. Come spring, the front patio will be a great spot for sipping wine and sharing pasta with friends.
FINAL THOUGHT >> Pasta Armellino is the modern, casual eatery that Saratoga desperately needed, from the town’s top chef, no less. Just remember that casual doesn’t necessarily mean affordable. Two pastas, two salads, bread and two glasses of wine will run you about $75 before tax.
DETAILS >> Open for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. daily, plus lunch on weekends, at 14560 Big Basin Way. Saratoga; www. pastaarmellino.com.