Hey, what's your favourite pasta? Is it spaghetti, tortellini, gnocchi? I'm sure you have a preference and so with a broad choice of 11 different pastas and 11 different sauces you won't go hungry here - promise! Last time we dined here, with a group of 10, we all literally rolled out after our meals.
Pasta da Panza is helmed by second wave young Italian Chef Lucio Panza and silently strong and lovely sous-chef Gena. Lucio is one of a few emerging local chefs that are taking Italian cuisine into the modern world by drawing on the best of the past, each their own way.
Here you'll find classic Italian homemade pasta and sauces with a slight modern twist. My favourite is Gnocchi with the vibrant and bright tomato sauce (no meat please), second is Pappardelle with Arrabbiata sauce, aromatic with just enough of spiciness, that you can easily kick it up with a side of spicy oil, and third is Linguine Carbonara, which is incredibly creamy despite the fact that there isn't a drop of cream in it - amazing!
Here's a shortlist of pastas and sauces so you can build your 121 possible combinations:
Spaghetti
Tagliatelle
Fettuccine
Pappardelle
Fusilli
Rigatoni
Cavatelli
Gnocchi
Gnocchi (sweet potato)
Ravioli
Tortellini
Cannelloni
Fazzoletti
Bognese (beef, veal, pork)
Tomato
Cacio e pepe
Rosé (Cream, Tomato, Parmesan)
Arrabiata (Spicy Tomato)
Shrimp
Pesto and Basil
Aglio e Olio
Mushroom Ragoût
Carbonara (bacon, eggs, parmesan)
Amtriciana (pancetta, onion, tomato
What's special here is the fact that Pasta is freshly prepared right on spot from scratch, flattened, cut and cooked on order. One more thing, do try the amazing polpette (meatballs) and ask for the flatbread with olive oil and balsamic reduction - yummy!
Although the atmosphere is atypical from what you'd expect in a classic restaurant, meaning no Italian music, no pictures from the country nor other memorabilia, the spectre of the silver-haired Nonna still haunts everything that comes out of the kitchen. Call it the 'umbilical cord' factor, where ties to old world, such as simplicity, direct, honest flavours are present in every dish prepared with a whole lot of love.
Note: this sparsely decorated, unassuming restaurant is located at the far left of a tiny strip mall and is easy to miss - keep your eyes open or have a spotter while driving. It's literally a real hidden gem in all of its meanings.
Come and try it for yourself, order take out or have it catered and tell me about your experience!