Impasto by Terun — Restaurant in San Carlos

Impasto is not ready yet. It is like a teenager with massive potential to be great, but has rough edges and also needs to chart a path to realize its destiny. It is a fabulous addition to the Peninsula but as of a month into its opening, it simply isn't "great".

I won't pamper this review with great atmosphere, great and friendly service, breezy and crisp outdoor seating, etc. Afterall, we're in San Carlos. The fact that it is right next to a train station may have been trouble with diesel trains but now Caltrain is fully electric. All good.

The issue is with the food. The ingredients are top notch. The recipe is good and whoever is cooking, is really trying hard to follow. But the lack of maturity shows. Many dishes lean on the bland side - and I can absolutely tell that this wasn't the intention rather timidness or even a mistake. The dough is good as well as the burrata. So whatever combination you put out is a winner. But again, the salt. Everywhere it's just about 30% missing. Focaccia bread is slightly bland. French fries absolutely came out saltless. Carpaccio was saved by parmasean but the meat wasn't "rare" enough. Seafood risotto was hearty but also lacked character.

The gnocchi was rich and was perhaps the only dish that wasn't bland. However, something about the blend of sauce and texture made one quickly get bored with it. I cannot simply see one person scraping the entire dish of gnocchis.

Now the unforgivable part is the margherita pizza. Don't get me wrong - dough was great and so were the cheese. The problem was with the watery and bland tomato sauce. You do not want your Neapolitan margherita to drip of tomato juice and water. You just can't. Amateurish mistake I'd say.

It is absolutely clear that Impasto comes from the right roots and is destined to be great. It's just not ready yet. It needs to get it together. Grow up a bit. And not get overwhelmed when all tables are filled with those that are coming in with anticipation. Not too late. Just tighten it up and cook...

The host staff was nice and friendly, and she let us choose the table we wanted as it wasn’t too busy. The inside was very bright and elegantly decorated. You can see the kitchen with the chef making pizza through the glass window, and observe how clean and organized their kitchen is. We inquired about their ability to accommodate my kid’s peanut allergy, and the staff went to ask and came back to confirm with us that they don’t use peanuts in the kitchen. We really appreciate how proactive the staff are regarding the safety and food allergies. We ordered: Rigatoni bolognese ($18) from the kid’s menu. The rigatoni was al dente and nicely coated with the bolognese sauce. The quality of the sauce and the meat in it was top notched and the flavor was very well balanced unlike the overly salted sauce we usually get in the US. Terún pizza ($25): pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and spicy salumi. This pizza reminds me of my favorite Diavola pizza I got in Naples (but minus the olives—wish they had put olives on it too). The dough was cooked just right. You know it’s a good Neapolitan pizza when you fold it into a u shape and it stays without the crust breaking or the tip disintegrating. Caprina salad ($21): The salad portion was huge. The price tag of $21 is very well justified by the portion and the quality of the ingredients. The lemon dressing was nice and refreshing. I think this place has become our favorite Neapolitana pizzeria in the Bay Area. The tricky thing about Neapolitan pizza is that it has to be thin crust and well-cooked without being charred or dried like cardboard. The thinness of the crust does not have much room for errors, and Impasto nailed that. The services were very attentive, with the staff checking on us regularly to see if we needed anything or if my kid was ok with the food. All in all, this place is a keeper and we will definitely come back to try more dishes...

I think this place will be great in time, or at least I hope it will! Always love supporting San Carlos businesses. But it is definitely not ready yet. Took my family of 4 on Saturday night.

Food - Inconsistent. Kids pizza was watery and ravioli somewhat bland. Rigatoni and lasagna were fantastic. Cala Lager was cold/refreshing and Sangiovese was nice. Fries nicely crisped but low on salt.

Service - This is where it fell flat. The service was curt. The server sounded bothered when we asked about the specials and rushed us to order just as we were seated. One of the items we ordered was brought out incorrect, however we never had a chance to reconcile because the server didn't check on us ONCE the entire night. He just came back after the plates had been cleared our plates and asked us if we were ready for the check. My kids were a little disappointed they didn't get one of the appetizers we asked for, but at that point I just let it go. We want to Gelataio for desert instead.

Anyways, the place is beautiful and the ambience is great. Maybe we just had a one-off experience. But for $160 for 4 people, you do expect a basic level of service. I'll likely try it once more, but if it is a repeat, I won't be back.

I hope they work out the kinks! The place definitely...