The Pasta Shop — Restaurant in Denville

Let me preface by saying that I have been wanting to dine here for the past couple of years, but only got the chance to recently for my birthday. My favorite pasta is squid ink pasta, having first tried it at an exquisite Italian restaurant in New York City about 6 years ago. Since then, I have been on the hunt, but luck has not been on my side. When I saw it on the menu at The Pasta Shop, I immediately informed my boyfriend that this was the restaurant we would be dining at for my birthday. I knew if it's popularity before going, having heard wonderful reviews from friends. Unfortunately, we arrived at 2pm only to be told that there was a 2.5-3 hour wait for a table. Having traveled over an hour to get there, we opted for take out to eat in the car. I excitedly ordered my squid ink pasta, their mozzarella sticks and my boyfriend chose the chicken Parmesan. We gave our number to the woman at the register taking our order and was told we would be called in about twenty minutes when it was ready. We visited Sergio's around the corner for some Italian bread to take home, came back and sat on the bench in front of The Pasta Shop to wait. At about 30 minutes and no phone call, I went inside to check on our order and it was sitting on a shelf waiting for pick up. I asked why we were not called and was not provided a clear answer. I let it go, the pure excitement of finally getting homemade squid ink pasta the only thing on my mind. We went back to the car with extra napkins and high hopes! I will be honest in saying that we were just a little disappointed. While everything was good, it did not produce the fireworks of applause I heard from reviews. They are extraordinary skimpy with their sauce. Five giant mozzarella sticks warranted a tiny cup of marinara, my boyfriend pasta with his chicken Parm came only tossed in a heavy amount of butter, his chicken Parm itself had a smear of marinara and my squid ink pasta had many dry spots. The flavor of everything was slightly bland. Being an amateur home-chef maybe I'm used to my own bold flavors when preparing any meal, but my boyfriend also agreed that there was a noticeable lack in flavor. Being an Italian restaurant with everything being homemade, we expected a certain richness as far as taste, which we were left yearning for. As for the squid ink pasta, I am used to a much more defined sea-food flavor, which sadly, was missing and a huge let down as this is my favorite. I understand the ease at which too much squid ink can become overwhelming, but too little can leave you with a basic pasta flavor with only a black coloring. The spice factor in my spicy Maine lobster was also missing. I'm not expecting a nuclear level of heat, but I was expecting more of a pronounced heat. The lobster was about 3 minutes overdone. While I applaud the use of claw meat, which I was excited to see, there were more than a few bites that were rubbery. The mozzarella sticks on the other hand could have used 1-2 more minutes in the fryer as they drooped and sagged heavily once picked up. They also come smothered in Parmesan cheese which may have added to the sogginess. The chicken in the chicken Parm was nicely cooked, but again lacked flavor. Overall, I am happy to have finally experienced The Pasta Shop for myself, and perhaps things may have been better had we dined in, but I'm unsure if we would make the long trip again. For a $56 bill, we were left wanting much more from such a highly recommended restaurant. I fully understand everyone's tastes are different, but if I'm craving authentic Italian cuisine, I have found other restaurants that provide that rich, hearty taste for a fraction...

Update: My wife and I recently revisited the Pasta Shop. The owner and manager each reached out to me after our “Valentine’s Day Massacre”. I was very impressed with their sincerity and felt like we owed it to them and ourselves to dine there again. I’m glad we did. The food was very good and the service was impeccable. For starter we shared a lovely bruschetta appetizer. I want to say it had goat cheese and tangerine. Lovely and creative. For the main course my wife had linguine with clams. Not only was it delicious, but it was the most generous portion of clams I’ve ever seen. I had the rigatoni ala pink vodka sauce with prosciutto and peas. It was a bit too Al dente, but just as I like it. It also made for great leftovers the next day! Considering we also enjoyed a bottle of wine, we had no room for desert. Overall, the restaurant is just a wonderful as everyone told us it was. My updated stars rating reflects this.

Original review: For Valentines Day my wife wanted to try a new Italian restaurant in Denville NJ. She heard really good things about the restaurant, especially their homemade pasta. I’ll preface my comments by acknowledging that valentines is a major dine out night so my experience may have been tainted. We got off to a bad start when we were seated in the first table as you enter. As a result, every time the front door opened we got smacked with a blast of frigid air. The table was also immediately in front of their takeout racks which were exceptionally busy that evening. We started by sharing a burrata with fig on an arugula salad. Nice, but other than plating there’s no cooking involved. When we asked for bread, the waiter’s response was just short of the response Oliver Twist got when he asked for “more please”! It was a very nice first course. For main course my wife ordered the pasta bolognese which she enjoyed. I ordered the pork Cacciatore with high expectations. Instead of a tender pulled pork or pork loin medallions it was made with two slices of a pork medallion that wasn’t tender and quickly became shoe leather. Thankfully I ordered a side of linguine which was the best item we had that evening. When the waiter asked me how I wanted the linguine I asked for it aglio e olio (garlic and oil). He had no clue what I wanted, but the creamy sauce they used was very nice. For dessert we shared the cannoli. My wife liked it, but I found the filing a bit watery and the house made shell not as tasty as the more traditional type. Overall the meal wasn’t so bad, but with really good Italian restaurants in every town in NJ, I expected much more. If we go back I would stick with pasta and pass on dessert. I believe their ratings would be much higher if I skipped the al...

What an amazing experience. While part of me wants to dock them for the absolute PAIN it was to dine with them, the experience itself trumps all else. (For those trying to get in, you will need to be local because you physically have to go there to put your name on their list. Call ahead and ask when their busy times are and about when you should come by. They’ll put your name on a call list and text you with a 15 minutes lead time when your table is ready. They told us about 2 hours and they were ready for us in about 1 hour 10 mins).

Now on to the good stuff! What a bang for your buck. For three of us, we got FOUR appetizers and THREE entrees and it was a total of $109. WOW! Not just the price but the quality. So without further ado - Appetizers: Meatballs (4) - filling while being light and fluffy. Amazing flavor where you just want to keep dunking in the red sauce and hope you never run out. Mozzarella sticks (5) - these are a restaurant favorite that were highly recommended. They were as expected but absolutely wonderful and a table fav. Lemon and Black Pepper Caesar Salad - WOW. Yes actually wow to a salad. Perfect balance of all the flavors - sour (but not too tart), salty (but not overly), crunchy, not overly dressed, and trust me. Get the sardines (don’t fret, there are only two). Special Cacio e Pepe Tater Tots - large portion, super rich but not in an overwhelming way. For those of us that couldn’t finish the whole dish, they reheat well too!

Entrees: (remember this IS a pasta shop) Rigatoni alla Vodka - add the prosciutto and peas. Plus, since they had bucatini, I was able to swap in place of the rigatoni. WHAT A DISH. I ate and ate and ate, and it was as if I hadn’t eaten anything. For those who love a great vodka sauce and are hungry, this dish is for you. Pappardelle Bolognese- classic, flavorful, great dish. Overall it could have used even more sauce (we’re a tons-of-sauce table) but absolutely thrilled with the meal. Chicken Parmigiana- the chicken was perfect (thin and crispy while still somehow moist) and uniquely was paired with garlic linguine in a white sauce. Absolutely FANTASTIC and perfectly executed.

Best part of all - the staff. They were welcoming, kind, and extremely attentive without being overbearing. We cannot wait to come back and dine with them again.

NOTE - for those that can’t get in for a reservation, DON’T FEAR. Outside the restaurant there is a long retaining wall lined with picnic tables. When people came to pick up their food, they were asked if they were eating outside or home; if it was outside, the were provided paper plates and utensils. So while not in the shop itself, they ensured their patrons could enjoy their meal...