Pearl Street Pasta — Restaurant in Natchez

I cannot believe the reviews that Pearl Street Pasta has as our experience was the complete opposite. Pearl Street Pasta is recognized as fine dining. It compares to a higher end pizza place.

My husband ordered the blackened scallops as an appetizer and the rib eye and risotto and I ordered the pasta primavera with shrimp. The scallops were large and blackened but were covered in pre-made risotto and shredded parmesan cheese. I did not try them because they were so inundated with contrary additions.

When his meal came out the ribeye looked amazing and was perfectly cooked but the dish was so overwhelmed with another scoop of pre-made risotto and gobs of shredded parmesan cheese.

My pasta primavera looked OK but once again was overloaded with parmesan cheese (enough so you would need to be careful not to choke)and basically flavorless. Apparently the kitchen knew the food was over all flavorless and assumed that covering it in cheese would remedy the tastelessnes. In addition, I was surprised that their pasta was not homemade and of a boxed variety.

Perhaps what added to the lackluster dining event was our server. No personality whatsoever and we felt that we were burdening her, even though the restaurant was very slow and there were at least 3 other servers.

The menu consisted of multiple pasta dishes with 95% of the menu being served with white sauces. Although, you may still order spaghetti and meatballs in a marinara.

When we finished our meals the check was immediately brought to us with no questions of coffee or desert, which we had wanted to try the Creme Brule.

I understand that Natchez is slow this time of year but I would be embarrassed to be the owner/chef of this restaurant.

The ambiance was pleasant but there are a few changes that could improve the quality of this restaurant without costing an arm and a leg for...

When I was first invited to meet a friend at this restaurant, I was naturally hesitant. How in Mississippi could Italian Food compare to the bright lights, big city that I hailed from. My concern was immediately eased the moment I walked through the door.

Their staff was professional, welcoming, and well dressed -- and quickly got me to my table. The vaulted open-beam ceiling allowed high brick wall interior to lend warmth and character to the non-crowded dining area and well-appointed bar.

When handed the menu -- my eyes immediately leapt to the Salmon Salad with Goat Cheese -- but then flashed over to the lasagne. Which should I choose? Oh, hell! My wife and I ordered both -- and since the portions were large, we split them evenly and, with the aid of a bottle of nice Chianti and a side of steamed vegetables. Perhaps fava beans, I cannot remember.

We decided to expand our waistlines a bit -- split an order of their tiramisu -- sipped a glass of their desert wine (Orange Muscat)?

My wife and I have travelled the world, and dined at some very upscale establishments from NYC to London to Bad Durkheim to Melbourne -- and I found Pearl Street Pasta to be exceptional! The only thing missing was a white-jacketed maitre d' writing his hands and commanding about the staff -- which was, as you can guess, appreciated.

A+! And we...

We stopped in for desert one evening last week with plans to have dinner there the next night because the place came highly recommended by two different friends. (We stayed 3 nights in Natchez.) We were seated promptly. Our party of 4 each ordered a dessert. We got the distinct impression that our server (Shannon) was not happy (maybe because the tip would be less than for a complete meal?) so she almost immediately passed us off to another server also named Shannon. We were not in a hurry and the restaurant was not really busy, either. We realized we had been waiting for right at an hour for 4 desserts (cheesecake and brownies with ice cream They were out of crème brûlée..). No one had checked on us, and we had decided to leave when we looked up and the server was approaching with our desserts and a half hearted apology about having to wait on the kitchen. (All of the desserts were cooked well before we got there- so what were they doing in the kitchen?). The cheesecake was delicious, but not worth the wait…It was sad because we were looking forward to dinner there the next night. We elected to go elsewhere. I hate that, but the ambivalence of the waitstaff (and seemingly no management presence, either) left an overpoweringly bitter taste in our mouths. (And that server lost out on what would have been a VERY nice tip the next...