Pastaria — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

We attended a retirement dinner, which had been set up by reservation, held here on a Sunday afternoon at 5PM. They were not very busy. The decor and atmosphere is warm and inviting. A friend joining us had been there before and had said how much she enjoyed it.

20 of us were seated at long tables, 10 on each side, in an alcove that was sort of cramped. Made it hard to move around and visit with those we weren't sitting close to.

We had one server and she was not very attentive at all. It's unclear if she was new and inexperienced but she did not help make this a good experience. She served drinks and took orders from one half of the table before she ever came down to the other end. Half our party were almost done eating their meals before the other half even ordered appetizers, drinks or meals. My husband's and my drinks ran dry and did not get refilled. Fortunately the tables were set with water pitchers and glasses so we drank that. But we paid almost $5 for our nonalcholic drinks with refills included. That was very disappointing.

Our friend had told us bread would be brought to the table and it would be really yummy. Our server never brought house bread to the table at all. Also very disappointing.

The pasta and pizza portion sizes were large and provided us with leftovers the next day. We both got the Pastaria Chicken Parm. These meals came with two large chicken breasts and spaghetti. Several in our party got the pizzas. They were large portions and received well.

As for appetizers and shareables, several in our party got the Crispy Risotto Balls as an appetizer. It was almost $13 and only came with 6 silver dollar size cheese balls, making them over $2/each. Our friend who had visited previously got the Burrata again as a shareable. It only came with three pieces of focaccia bread, not very shareable. And the pieces were burnt. Not a good deal at almost $15.

As per their policy, we were charged 18% gratuity for the large group, which was fine. Our dinner for two was $84.

Parking is in the garages on site, and 2 hours is supposed to be complimentary for Pastaria patrons. My text alert said I was parked for 1 hour & 58 minutes. I was charged $5.99 even though I scanned the QR code provided for complimentary parking.

After this experience I feel we will not return unless we have another work event here. The service and portions did not reflect what we paid and being charged for parking after being told it was complementary was another disappointing mark.

They do host a full bar and their wine menu seemed to be fairly large. And maybe in a smaller party things would have been different. But this experience really turned us off from this...

Where do I begin I have followed Pastaria for a while on IG. Daily they would post pictures of amazing dishes and pizza. Now that I have enjoyed the food let me tell you the pictures do not do this place justice. This is as fresh as it can get, the pasta is made fresh daily. The pizza oven is beautiful wood fired oven, the open kitchen allows you the customer to see the food being prepared. The staff are amazing , friendly they can guide you through the amazing dishes. The wine and beer selection provides a variety that should cover any one's taste.

Ok, I think I have covered all of the basic review requirments.. on our first visit our server Darius was great he shared his favorite choices along with guiding us through the menu. We started off with the Crispy Risotto Balls OMG!!!! They are a 5 star (editors note why are places limited to 5 stars.. ) I mean these crispy cheese balls of heavenly flavor are a must have! Moving on to the main courses.. The wood fired house made pepperoni pizza that has a full flavored red sauce on a crisp light crust. My choice was the Bucatini Rigatoni with an amazing red sauce with lamb. Not let me say, this is also a must try. My partner in food crimes got the Chicken Parmigiana with fresh pasta and 2 large chicken breast with a loving layer of cheese on top. This meal is a shareable for sure, so find someone you can share this with. The desserts yes we are still going they have house made gelato, pudding along with many other choices that also include seasonal cakes.

Wait I am not done yet, later in the same week we made reservations for a party of 12 to celebrate a 50th birthday. Nate one of the managers was great to work with to accommodate our large party. The party ordered one of every appetizer they all were loved and enjoyed. Some if the dishes ordered were the favorites listed above. Others that were enjoyed was the 15 layer lasagna that had amazing flavor with a smooth texture. The seasonal mushroom dish was rich and buttery with smooth light noodles.

Nashville has so many restaurants but Pastaria is a must visit it is off the beaten path but well worth the adventure.

By now if you can not tell we love this place will be a must visit everytime we...

We had a party of 7 on a Monday night. We were seated right away.

The bread was delicious and fresh, crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside.

Here’s what we got: Crispy Risotto Balls ($10.25 for 6!): $10.95 for 6 fried balls of risotto is ridiculous. We also asked if they could do one extra ball since we had 7 people and they would not. Crispy Eggplant ($8.95): They have chicken parm on the menu. Why not eggplant parm? We asked if they could just make it and they said no. So we had to order their Crispy Eggplant side and the Chitarra al Pomodoro and then we had to put the eggplant on the pasta ourselves. Roasted Brussels Sprouts ($8.95): Tasty, but very oily. Chicken Parm ($22.95): Fine, but very cheesy. Chitarra al Pomodoro ($16.45): It’s pasta with tomato sauce for $16.45. Just make it at home and save the money. Canestri Cacio e Pepe ($18.95 + $5.95 for chicken): It was described as adult mac and cheese. It was not. Very disappointed. It wasn’t even that cheesy. Lasagna ($18.95): Good. Pistachio Ravioli ($19.95): Very oily. Only came with 12 raviolis.

For drinks, we got wine, the Red Sangria, and the Santa Lucia. I wish there was more presentation with the Santa Lucia. Disappointed.

I’m giving 2 stars because the food was not that good and the prices are absolutely outrageous. Adding in meat is an absurd up-charge. I understand they make their pasta in-house, but that doesn’t justify their ridiculous prices.

The service was great. Samantha was our waitress and she was wonderful and...