Pasta Connection — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Here’s my assessment, it will be fair - positive and negative explained. I am a foodie from a restaurant family, understand the customer and restaurant perspectives from a professional standpoint.

I came here years ago and it was primo, astounding. I will say about my delivery tonight what was needing improvement, what was good, what was excellent.

First, the side salad was offensively small really should be a fair portion for $5. The salad bag was separate — and when I took it from the delivery driver it was so light, I thought the bag was empty. It was 1/2 cup fluffy and 1/4 cup pressed down. So, I argued with myself, “well Maybe they it would fall out of the Bottom of the container”. Then I opened the dressing — and there was only half of a tiny container full, a tablespoon max, not enough to cover the salad. Really folks?

However, the greens themselves were fresh and tasted good in their natural form. You are not straining cost or cutting profit to deliver a bit more lettuce and dressing. It’s the first impression. Perhaps this is different when you dine-in?

Next, I ordered bolognese spaghetti with meatballs, gluten free. I think I got mostaccioli, and that was totally cool. The bolognese sauce was super good, fresh, flavorful, savory and I am foodie - so harder to win.. The 3 small meatballs were tasty, but small and the overall portion was small, not as severe as the salad/dressing. I would say go up to a medium size.

But I loved the flavor so much- that despite the small portion/meatballs on the pasta - on this I give 4 out of 5 for overall rating.

You forgot the plastic utensils I ordered, as I was eating outside, but a real fork from the house was better. I was starting to think you were perhaps cutting costs in a challenging time, and I have noticed some price hikes with some local restaurants, so I try to empathize that perhaps costs may have increased.

So, finally, I am reaching in the bag for a napkin and expect now to find one small napkin.

Instead I find 3 of the best, strongest, highest quality, multiple ply napkins I have ever received from a restaurant. They are hands down the best paper napkins of all time, still have two left.

So loved the pasta dish flavor, disappointed in the portions, On the downside, the tablespoon (at most) of salad dressing made the handful of salad double offensive. You won me with the napkins and it made me laugh.

The sauce was a winner, and as was your gluten free pasta (requirement for me) but overall the small portions and execution was less than hoped for.

I do plan to consider you again, but you could become a more frequent choice if you make a few small adjustments and or corrections..

As of now, I have a few alternatives that deliver the complete package in fair portions, attention to detail, and savory food. You are a few lengths back, but if you pull forward, I will bet on you and give you...

I eat lots of pasta as an Italian. I've tried lots of places and have made many recipes that I would consider the "best" representation of what the culinary side of my culture has to offer. Until I ate at this quaint restaurant.

The idea of serving both Italian and Argentinian is a very interesting one. The majority of the menu is going to be tailored towards Italian taste buds, but the items that are there from Argentina will blow you away. Despite the name, it's not just a pasta restaurant.

I had ordered the Taglierini Alla Puttanesca, a simple dish consisting of mushrooms, capers, olives and garlic. But the simplicity doesn't explain the complex and powerful flavor that came from it. Everything complimented each other so well, it left me wanting another serving. My partner has ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo and added Chicken, which happens to be the most tender chicken we have ever had. It falls apart in your mouth, no chewing required. The Alfredo was fresh and creamy, but not too heavy, so you didn't feel like you were turning into a bowling ball from just the sauce.

But you can't ignore their staple. The empanada. There are 6 options: beef, ham & cheese, spinach, eggplant, corn or chicken turnover. So obviously we ordered all of them. Our favorites ended up being the beef, corn and chicken turnover. The amount of flavor in such a small vessel blew us away. The pastry was flakey and golden and the filling was so fresh.

If you're looking for authentic Italian cuisine, this should be your go-to. The amount of effort put into each dish inspires me to try new recipes. The sprinkle of Argentinian allows people to broaden their horizon and try something new that they probably wouldn't have even thought of. Can't get enough of this place. Will definitely be...

This place is one of the most discussing “Italian” restaurants I have ever had the displeasure of trying. My party of 6 arrived and it started off just fine but when they started to take our drink orders is when it all started going wrong. The “margaritas” tasted like salt and the lime juice they used tasted like it had gym socks soaking in it for weeks. Seriously tasked like they didn’t use a drop of alcohol. Next, the waiter we had came out and acted like he had just bing drank 7 of those 5 hour energy shots and 4 redbulls, mouth going a million miles an hour, and would interrupt while we were trying to order. They had to make MULTIPLE trips to get our drink order right after having to force down those like waters they wall margaritas. So we order our food...3 chicken Alfredo’s, a lasagna, a pizza, and tortellini. The tortellini was amazing, the lasagna was watery, packed full of sauce, minimal layers of noodle, and no seasoning. The chicken Alfredo was the most disgusting food of them all...had absolutely ZERO flavor, was bland with no seasoning, and the chicken tasted like canned chicken you get from a grocery store. The pizza took almost an HOUR to get to us. When we tried talking the the waiter he tried to belittle our party and got very rude very quick. His excuse was “well we were surprisingly busy tonight”...being busy doesn’t substitute service or quality. We will NEVER go back and will NEVER recommend this place to anyone (even with the generic BS response from the owner spewing “we are a family owned open 35 years blah blah blah” that I have read on these reviews. Take caution when thinking about going...