Pastavino — Restaurant in New York

Pastavino is very aesthetically pleasing, where once you walk into the restaurant you feel as if you're transported into a relaxing and elegant atmosphere facing the waterfront! The service is also very professional, attuned, friendly, and warm. Our server, David, was very patient and kind, taking the time to explain to us certain ingredients we weren't familiar with, which we are very appreciative of! He also helped us find a seat that was warmer (in the terrace), which made our experience a lot more comfortable because today was definitely quite chilly, and the indoor dining was definitely colder due to it being air-conditioned. I want to take this moment to thank David for being so considerate and for demonstrating exemplary service!

Now given the amazing service by David and the amazing ambiance, why the low score? Unfortunately it boils down to the food. We started off with the Polpo, which was the Spanish octopus with crispy potato and garlic aioli. The sauce was very mild in flavor, which did not enhance the flavor of the octopus by much. The octopus was also not cooked consistently throughout, where some parts was incredibly soft up to the point of having a raw texture, and some parts was overly charred leaving an intense bitter taste that overpowered the taste of the octopus. As you can see in the picture, the char was not consistent which left some areas tasting more burnt than charred.

For our main, I got the Chittarra and my wife got the Bucatini Neri Vongole. My chittarra was overly al dente, which diverted my energy to chewing rather than savoring its taste. The owner, John, was kind enough to explain to us that due to their pasta being all homemade, it is often not possible to make them any softer than al dente due to it not having time to dry out to reduce its water content. The owner was kind enough to replace my dish with a different pasta which I appreciated. Would be helpful to highlight that on the menu in the future since not every diner will know this fact. However, although the remade pasta was softer, the dish itself was overly salty and the pork pieces were a bit burnt, which altogether detracted from the dish's creaminess and richness.

My wife's bucatini was also very al dente, but she enjoyed it due to its generous amount of clams (although more shells than actual clams), which you can see in the pictures.

Overall, I want to emphasize how amazing the service is from David; he really worked hard to ensure and provide diners with the best experience possible. Unfortunately this time it was a miss for us, but it could likely just be due to the selection we chose that was subpar and underwhelming. This is their autumn menu and will likely change depending on when you read this review, so good luck! (:

Lastly, there was this little fly that bothered us the entire meal, so just keep that in mind if you dine in the terrace!

P.S. John, one of the owners, was kind enough to reach out to inquiry about our negative experience, which shows that he is dedicated in addressing issues diners have and trying to improve the restaurant as best as they can during these challenging times. However, the rationale he provided for the charred octopus was that it was typically served charred, and the saltiness of the Chittara was that it was simply how it is typically made in Italy, which was dismissive and highlighted only one issue without addressing my other concerns regarding the dishes (e.g., what about the inconsistent texture of the octopus, etcetera). Nonetheless, the important note to keep in mind is that if your experience is not optimal, do your best to speak up at the moment for David and the other friendly servers appear willing to remedy the situation as best as they can. I have not experience any rude waiters or waitresses as highlighted by other reviewers, but I have experienced the heavy handedness of the saltiness of the food that others have wrote about. If your dish comes out too salty, bring it to your servers' attention and I am sure they will do their best...

Where do I begin? Michelin Star prices for the underwhelming local cafe fair. Mediocre food, reasonable service, and unreasonable prices.

On the plus side: Our server Skye was very sweet and helpful.

Now on to the rest of the experience: We chose Pastavino when we decided to stay local after dinner for a dessert and drink for our wedding anniversary. When I say the place is loud, that's an understatement. We had to really raise our voices to be heard across a small table for two. We placed an order - a cheese board, a cocktail (Paper Plane and it was good), two double Jacks ($72?! It is not on the menu, so it would have been nice to let us know ahead of time that a single shot of Jack is $18), two desserts, and 2 coffees. The total bill came to $172. Having just had a 3 course lunch (yellowfin tuna starter, wagyu steak for main and a dessert) at Le Pavillon with coffee, chef's compliments, and atmosphere and service that are top notch at $100 per person, this check at Pastavino really threw me off. The first order of DOUBLE Jack neat came in, and I raised my eyebrows but kept quiet. It did not look like a double by a long shot. The second one was a little better but not quite there either. When the cheese board arrived, it was placed in front of us without any explanation which cheeses were on it or which "seasonal condiments" accompanied them. It came on a plate, not a board, so the aesthetics were non-existent. Cheesecake was alright, but the passionfruit puree tasted nothing like passionfruit and everything like lemon curd. I love lemon curd, but it wasn't what we ordered (just had passion fruit puree accompaniment at Le Jardinier this week that tasted like passionfruit). Olive Torte was ok. Lemon curd was bland, and whipped cream was far too dense. Underwhelming was the word of the evening. Coffee was next, a latte and a capuccino. Capuccino tasted like a latte. And latte tasted like milk. There was virtually NO espresso in my cappuccino. To sum it up, I don't believe this place deserves my business. If pastas are what they are good at, maybe the rest should not be offered. Without exaggeration, this was the worst dining...

I would give no stars if I could… I’m very disappointed because we’ve been here many times and have always have great food and good service! However tonight was not a good experience at all!

First off the host is always pleasant sweet girl

The waiter came to our table I wish I had his name but he was wearing black plastic glasses ….

He asked what we wanted to drink we said we know what we want to start with as far as appetizer or food …

He asked what we wanted to drink twice I said not sure yet mind you I didn’t want an alcoholic beverage and or eve twin drinks alcohol…

I told him what we wanted to start with and he said okay what would you like for your main course?

I said I’m not sure yet but we can start with the appetizer and we will let you know when we make our choice for the main course…

He said that the chef usually prefers a full order I explained we are not sure what we want yet and we have been there plenty of times and we have never been told we have to put in the full order at one time.

We were still deciding and would like to at least start with the meatballs …

He continued to says we had to put a full order in …

We felt so pressured and this just wasn’t great service..

We are paying shouldn’t we decide if we want a main course and what that is we literally had just gotten there and we felt so rushed and pressured.

We just decided to get up and go to Seppe in the same lot.

Sad because we really loved Pasta vino but we won’t be coming back!

As we were walking out a young guy noticed we were a bit upset and trying to ask the host for the waiters name ..

He asked if we needed help and we explained to him the experience ..

He said unfortunately that’s what the chef said .. just not good customer service and shame on the chef for rushing people to order …

We usually pays a bill well over $150-$200 for just two with drinks and food … and it’s sad we won’t be coming to pasta vino anymore! Bad enough Staten Island doesn’t have a lot of...