Jessica S.
Yelp
I'm so glad we found this restaurant! Having settled in at our hotel, we started chatting about dinner. There were a ton of options literally within a block or two of our hotel but we decided to brave the cold and wind to walk a bit farther for Pastini. It was a great choice.
Immediately upon entering, we were enveloped in a welcoming hug of warm air and garlic. There was another couple in front of us, and the young man working the host stand acknowledged us and told us he'd be with us in a minute. He came back a few times to update us on the table he was clearing for us, and apologizing for the wait. In reality, we were only standing there maybe three or four minutes, but I did appreciate his friendliness and kept telling him apologies weren't necessary.
I knew immediately I was going to order the Linguini Pesto Pollo ($16.75) and a beer to warm me from the inside out. My husband ordered the Spaghetti Siciliano ($16.75) and added a meatball. He also ordered the inside-warming beer.
The restaurant was busy, so it took a bit of time for our food to get to us, but we were okay with that. We were in a warm restaurant that smelled of lovely garlic and cooking, our waiter (Michael B) was friendly and helpful, and we were sipping some delightful beers. We were in no rush (though the restaurant was close to closing, the staff never made it feel like they were pushing us out, which we definitely appreciated.)
The food was so worth the wait! Not only were the servings massive, the pastas were freshly cooked and the sauces bursting with flavor. The plates were served with two small pieces of bread, which was a bummer, but I really did *not* need more bread for my face at that point. Really.
The pesto pasta was so delicious. The sauce was a bit nutty, which was enhanced by the freshly grated parmesan loaded on top. I loved the slight tangy bite that the artichoke hearts provided, and the chicken was perfectly cooked. I didn't notice the red peppers so much, but that's okay.
My husband was making yummy noises over his plate of pasta, which came with Kalamata olives, a mix of fresh and sundried tomatoes, capers and feta cheese. We did share a chuckle over the meatball (it was much smaller than expected), but he said even that had really good flavor.
Michael was attentive, offering beer refills when we got low, and answering questions about the dessert menu when we expressed curiosity (we ended up passing on a shared dessert, being fully full of the pasta, bread and beers).
Definitely would recommend this restaurant! We're looking forward to dining here again on our next trip to Portland.