Pastalini — Restaurant in San Diego

We stumbled upon Pastalini during our kitchen remodel, and let me tell you, it's become our absolute favorite go-to spot for a reason! It's our little ritual now: tackle the tedious kitchen design choices, then reward ourselves with a wonderfully relaxing and delicious date dinner. This place truly is a special find.

The pasta at Pastalini? It’s simply exquisite and takes me right back to my childhood, reminiscent of those beloved local Italian restaurants from my New York days. You know, the kind of place where the food just feels like a hug. And the best part? It's incredibly affordable without ever compromising on quality – truly amazing food that won't break the bank. But what truly elevates Pastalini to the top of my list is the phenomenal staff. They are consistently friendly, incredibly helpful, and genuinely fun. As someone with dietary needs, I was particularly thrilled by how extremely gluten-conscious they are; it makes dining out such a breeze and a joy. They make you feel so welcomed, almost like part of their own family. It’s that kind of personal touch that makes a place truly shine, don't you think?

Now, let's talk about the ambiance. While the decor might not win any awards for modern design, honestly, in this case, I'm absolutely willing to overlook it. The warmth of the staff and the sheer deliciousness of the food create such a wonderful atmosphere that even for a romantic date, it works perfectly. Plus, their unique bar-style setup is fantastic! It's like those build-your-own bowl places where you see all the fresh ingredients and customize your craving right in front of you, but with pasta! It’s a truly engaging and delightful way to dine. You simply have to...

Great customized pasta dishes. Like Subway for pasta, only waaaaay better. They have a large selection of pastas, toppings, tasty sauces, and meats to add. The toppings are all good and fresh, but the portion sizes could be a little more for the price. However all in all, they have good quality ingredients and fast, friendly service. Update: Got the spinach linguini with roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms, and added calamari. Also got the whole wheat fusilli, with artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, and mushrooms, and added calamari. We usually get shrimp, but this time decided to try the calamari. Big mistake, minus one star. The calamari was extremely salty; you only tasted salt when you bit into it. We will never order the calamari again. We'll go back to ordering shrimp from now on. The pasta and veggie toppings were very tasty as usual. Update: Went back to ordering shrimp with our pastas. Sadly the shrimp are now very small. The amount of toppings has also decreased, plus they are no longer fresh. At 6pm, except for the fresh spinach, the toppings all looked like they had been sitting out since they opened this morning. It was not an enjoyable meal. Minus another star. Update: Got basil pasta with shrimp, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, mushrooms, and black olives; and spinach linguini with shrimp, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers. Both were very good. Update: Got basil pasta with meatball, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, and mushrooms; and spinach linguini with Italian sausage, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, Sun dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Both...

Came in around closing time, the staff are incredibly friendly! I didn't get their name but they were the closing shift front of the house on 11/2, if upper management sees this give him a bonus for his performance! Also back of the house too for excellently cooking the salmon (more on that later).

My friend frequents this store and invited me to try it, the build-your-own pasta feature is reminiscent of Subway: pick your size, noodles, sauce, meats, toppings, seasonings, and watch them build/cook it right in front of you, so there's absolutely no way it's old or been left out!

There's a decent variety of all the items, they even give samples of the sauces if you ask. They let me split the noodle types for more diversity, the sauce probably could as well but that might compromise the flavor profile of your pasta. All meals come with a few garlicky-cheese knots, they're small but pack a ton of flavor! You can even order them separately in a box to take home.

I typically try to get the fish option wherever I go, so I tried the salmon. It adds a bit in cost, but it was totally worth it! The person grilling it seasoned it perfectly (lemon pepper for anybody asking), and was lightly raw - imo the most ideal way to eat and taste good salmon.

From what I can tell this is the only location, which is surprising because it is a fun and delicious experience, plus I wish it was closer so I could visit it a lot more. Certainly a must-go if...