Food Review: Pastagina

Published: Thursday, February 12, 2009

The question to ask about a fast food pasta restaurant is not whether you should go but when you should go. The same goes for Westwood’s new pasta bar, Pastagina, a place promising gourmet Italian food and “unmatched speed, taste and quality.”

Should you go there on a lunch break? If you’re in for a quick Italian fix, then the answer is yes. The selection is limited but adequate with favorites like primavera, chicken pesto, and alfredo well represented. Each dish comes with your choice of pasta, including spaghetti, fettuccine, fusilli and the like. For a short lunch, anything on the menu is quite appropriate. Even the seafood plate was ready in less than five minutes. If you’ve got to eat and run, then Pastagina is your Italian headquarter.

Should you go there on a date? Unless it’s a lunch date, the answer is almost assuredly no. The pre-processed bread that comes with every meal is wrapped in plastic and not worth keeping unless you peel off the crust to clean up the plate.

Imagine demonstrating your chivalry by tearing open the plastic container, then looking all over for non-existing butter so you can use your knife. The Parmesan cheese in a plastic container came out clumpy too.

The atmosphere is civil but not hip. The only bright spot is the wall in the back that shows photos of movie stars like Sean Connery and Sophia Loren eating pasta. That can be a conversation starter, but I can’t imagine going much further than “Oh, they do love their spaghetti.”

Should you go there to talk business? If you’re trying to impress, not such a good idea.

But if you are like me, a starving student whose business is to survive the next midterm, then it’s not such a bad idea. Although the pasta was a bit undercooked and colder than preferred, the service was fine. There’s even cheap gelato for $1.50 a scoop.

You won’t impress the high-powered executive here or the potential reviewer of your research grant, but bringing your friends to talk shop over frozen yogurt might be just as good.

Should you go there just to hang out? Unless you’ve got nothing else to do on a Friday night, I’m guessing no.

Should you go there to grab a quick bite? The verdict is a resounding yes.

– Ray Luo

E-mail Luo at rluo@media.ucla.edu.