07/17/09

Great Food, Low Prices!

by UofODucksFan23

This was my first visit to Pastini and I enjoyed every minute of it. Not only was the customer service delightful but the food was awesome! I ordered a pasta dish with seafood and loved every bite of it. The portions are HUGE and I left Pastini stuffed, while paying a very affordable price. For the low prices and large quality and quality of food that you receive, I highly recommend Pastini to anyone on the fence of which Italian restaurant to visit. Our waitress was friendly and helpful with the menu considering it was my first time eating at Pastini. I can't wait to go back there again.

• Pros: service, quality of food, portions of food

07/01/09

Great Food at a Great Price

by thedrumman84

I went to Pastini for a quick business lunch last week and had a good experience. The service and food were both great. Our server was both knowledgeable and attentive. I started off with the Roasted Artichoke spread with Bruschetta. This wasn’t Olive Garden style Bruschetta…the ingredients were obviously fresh and not frozen, making for a great appetizer. For my main entrée, I had a Tomato & Mozzarella Grilled Panini. Just like the previous mentioned item, the Panini was piping hot, and the Mozzarella was fresh. It was a taste of Italia in Portland! I highly recommend Pastini and I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

• Pros: Attentive Staff, Price, Food
• Cons: None!

06/02/09

Not good

by norcal1

Went in here on a hot afternoon and ordered salad - I know it's a pasta joint but it was too hot for pasta. Was seated at one of the raised booths along the wall, the table was so insanely wobbly we dared not drink our water. Requested another table which was met with much tutting by the staff; moved to a regular table with comments from same staff about moving us back to the wobbly one once it was fixed . The restaurant was empty apart from 3 other tables so I don't understand what the big deal was. Salad arrived, seemed old, the lettuce was limp and soaked with dressing like it had been standing un-refrigerated for some time. Bread accompanied the salad, a piece of which appeared to have been previously half eaten by someone else. Not my kind of place.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Many

03/04/09

Great food, service and location!

by LuDog

I went to Pastini for lunch and had a warm welcome from the server. The atmosphere is always warm and inviting, and the food is great comfort food at a reasonable price, and less than other pasta places. I had the Capellini Pomodoro with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil. The Insalata Vedure has a delicious roasted tomato vinagrette. This Pastini is close to Lloyd Center, so a quick trip to the mall is easy before heading back out to work. I highly recommend this spot to anyone looking for service, great food and value.

01/12/09

Pasta-rrific at Pastini!

by Malky

Pastini has great pasta choices at a great price! We go to the Broadway Pastini and love the inviting atmosphere.The lasagna has a hearty meat sauce with mushrooms, and plenty of cheese. There is something for everyone with lots of vegetarian options, and you can substitute wheat free or gluten free pasta, too! This local eatery even serves up local Pearl Bakery bread! Pasta plates are about ten dollars, which is a real deal!

08/12/08

They charge for bread!!!

by s12

It's nice and the food is good, but charging for bread?? How hard up are they to make a buck? This just seems wrong.

07/23/08

Great food for a great price

by bzeemom

We love Pastini's! You can get a great meal plus appetizers for two for under $30. Our favorite is the Rigatoni Bolongese and the Ensalade Verde. The service is usually fast, food is hot and fresh. They have great desserts too.

• Pros: Good Italian food for a fantastic price
• Cons: Parking around Broadway is a pain, this location is one of the smaller Pastini's so can be kind of a tight squeeze--not recommended for a large group.

01/25/08

They live up to their name - authentic Italian bistro!

by kwdesigns

My husband and I tried the downtown Pastini?s for the first time last night and we were quite impressed. We prefer to support local restaurants and don?t particularly care for the chains. Come to find out, Pastini is locally owned & features bread from the Pearl Bakery! (And they even have a Pastini MySpace page).

Their menu & wine list were extensive. I tried the baked ziti with sausage and my husband had the spaghetti & meatballs, along with some Chianti. Yum! Both dishes had sauces that were rich & flavorful and the meatballs were nearly the size of baseballs. They do live up to their name ? authentic Italian bistro.

• Pros: Fresh & authentic, very affordable

12/14/07

They aren't even trying

by catherinekeeton

I'm not an Italian cuisine snob, but I know what is good Italian and when they aren't even trying. We tried this place out a few weeks ago and were not impressed with the sauces or the service. We decided to give it another chance this week thinking it might have been a fluke. This time I asked for a suggestion of a great dish with rich creamy sauce. The waitress had no suggestions. I went ahead and ordered a chicken pasta dish that was described to have a creamy Alfredo sauce with sun dried tomatoes. The chicken was processed cubed chicken, there was so little sauce that I asked the waitress if they had forgotten to put it on. She said, " oh no it's there." I then asked for a side of a little Alfredo sauce. I was brought a small watery cup of scorched milk. No apologies, no discount. The other 3 folks with us had similarly awful dishes. None of us were able to gag down even half our entree's. Why is this place often packed with customers? We will not return.

• Cons: Very limited parking

12/09/07

They don't skimp on the scampi :)

by tekshow

It was hard at first to decide on a Recommended rating for Pastini. Then I realized I would only be docking them points because they're a chain restaurant, a tireless machine of pasta slinging bliss. Yet, they accomplish their mission with deft organization, varied dishes, and most of all low prices. My wife got a shrimp dish and I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara. The latter of which is a white sauce with peas, peppers, and bacon. This is where their value is, even though it was between 8 and 9 dollars for each of our plates they were hearty portions. Not just a plate full of pasta, I had a succulent mound of bacon with my creamy noodles. I ate every last bite so completely that the dish washer must have been beside himself pondering whether or not the plate had been used. The only fault on Pastini's part tonight was being a chain, they do seem to cater to the standard American palate. Entrees and salads are flavorful but devoid of any kind of spice. Caesar salad was lacking in any evident garlic or sardine aroma, and my pasta which boasted of pepper on the menu was sublime in heat. I'm a Thai food enthusiast by nature and love some soulful spice. The waitress was kind enough to bring me some crushed red pepper when queried and our food was relished. The value continues when you take a peak at the wine list. They have one of my favorites in the Cascina Castl'e --- a bottle that retails between 16-20 plus at your favorite grocery store, for a 23 dollars on the menu. Glasses range anywhere from a meager 5-6.5 and they usually do a pretty deep pour. Even with a packed house, we received a 10 minute wait. We'll definitely be going back, it's somewhere ahead of Olive Garden and Romano's--- yet not quite as polished as some of the "real" Italian food in town like Nostrana or Gino's. Then again, you're probably looking for Italian inspired on the cheap, and it doesn't get any better than this.

• Pros: Good value for good pasta. Quick seating. Generous portions for the price
• Cons: Italian food that hides in the closet from spice. Still retains flavor.