La Pastaia

This was my second visit, and this time I asked for a manager’s recommendation—couldn’t be happier! She chose some of the new menu items for us, was incredibly friendly, and served each table with a smile. The portions were generous and satisfying. I love that most of the staff are Italian, yet the place feels modern. It’s clean and has a great vibe.

We had dinner on Thursday at 6 pm; it was quiet at first but got busier after 7 pm, which is nice for a weekday. There’s plenty of parking in the plaza, too.

Hey mambo! Mambo Italiano, hey mambo! Who doesn’t love Italian food!? Haters that’s who. This restaurant took over a former brunch place that my wife and I went to a few years back, and boy are we glad they did.

The restaurant is located in a strip mall on Clairemont in the northeastern corner. There is a decent amount of parking space near the restaurant but the lot is quite big, so you should not have any problems finding parking.

The restaurant itself is well lit and decorated with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. It has a fancy casual vibe to it, more casual on the patio. The chairs for the inside dining are a little springy, but still comfortable enough to sit in for over an hour.

We went around 4 PM on a weekday for happy hour during restaurant week and we were seated immediately. Service was fast and our server along with the wait staff were very attentive. We ordered from the restaurant week menu as well as their happy hour menu, which is 4-6pm daily, and ended up with more food than we could handle.

We were first served toasted bread with marinara, after that, our first course came out within 15 minutes. Our subsequent courses came out 20 to 30 minutes later.

The truffle fries were super crispy and had a good truffle oil and Parmesan flavor. The pizza pesto e prosciutto was piping hot and was delicious! The dough was light, chewy, and elastic. The pesto sauce and cheese was flavorful and the prosciutto was not too salty. I only wish that the crust was a little bit crispier on the bottom.

The calamari fritti was tender, lightly battered, and fried to perfection. It wasn’t too salty or oily. My wife’s salmone pistachio risotto was delicious. The salmon was moist and the risotto was creamy. The Rigatoni carbonara was perfectly cooked al dente and the sauce was so creamy and decadent. The Guanciale was very salty but balanced well with the sauce and pasta. Lastly for dessert we had a limoncello cheesecake which was good, it tasted store bought, but was still good enough to round out an amazing dinner.

For 6 items, we paid about $70 before tax and tip and we had enough leftovers for another meal. This is hands down one of the best value Italian restaurant in San Diego. We will be back!