Pastalini

Tucked away in a modest strip mall, Pastalini might be easy to overlook — but trust me, you don’t want to miss this hidden gem! The pasta bar concept is brilliant! Choose your favorite noodles, sauce, protein, and toppings to create a customized meal exactly the way you like it. With so many combinations, you could visit over and over and never have the same dish twice! My latest creation was tortellini with sun-dried tomato sauce and chicken. It was bursting with flavor and absolutely satisfying. Even the small size was a generous portion and came with a side of warm garlic bread. The menu truly has something for everyone, whether you’re craving comfort food, something light, or just looking to get creative with your meal. Pastalini is a must-try for pasta lovers!

An unexpected find. It seems that “red sauce” Italian places are not big here. There is one on every block on the east coast. After pursuing Italian in La Jolla and fining no parking we wound up here. It is unique and delicious. See the menu but aside from pizza, calzones, and salads you pick your pasta, your sauce, and your toppings. It is all combined in a stainless steel bowl, and then sautéed in front of you. I had potato gnocchi with shrimp and veggies, one (vegan) companion had pesto on spaghetti, and the third an order of meatballs. We did not get garlic knots included as others have said they had. The dishes were hot, tasty, well cooked and the “make your own” was unique and helpful. This would be a do again sometime. The staff was also great and accommodating.

After trying pasta at countless places and being let down by bland sauces, Pastalini was a revelation. I had the spaghetti w/meat sauce, garlic, parmesan, and mozzarella; simple yet executed with precision. The sauce balances acidity and sweetness perfectly, and the ingredients meld into a cohesive, flavorful whole. Proof that careful technique and quality ingredients can turn fast-casual pasta into something exceptional. Wish I had known about Pastalini sooner.

Great customized pasta dishes. Like Subway for pasta, only waaaaay better. They have a large selection of pastas, toppings, tasty sauces, and meats to add. The toppings are all good and fresh, and they have good quality ingredients. The service is very fast and friendly. Update: Got the spinach linguini with roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms, and added calamari. Also got the whole wheat fusilli, with artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, and mushrooms, and added calamari. We usually get shrimp, but this time decided to try the calamari. Big mistake, minus one star. The calamari was extremely salty; you only tasted salt when you bit into it. We will never order the calamari again. We'll go back to ordering shrimp from now on. The pasta and veggie toppings were very tasty as usual. Update: Went back to ordering shrimp with our pastas. Sadly the shrimp are now very small. Minus a star. Update: Got basil pasta with shrimp, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, mushrooms, and black olives; and spinach linguini with shrimp, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers. Both were very good. Update: Got basil pasta with meatball, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, and mushrooms; and spinach linguini with Italian sausage, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, Sun dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Both were very good. Update: Got gnocchi with Italian sausage, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, spinach, and mushrooms; and spinach linguini with Italian sausage, pomegranate red sauce, artichokes, Sun dried tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Both were excellent! Back to 5 stars!

I love Pastalini and come back to eat here all the time. They have plenty of options for the pasta, sauce, and toppings. Personally, I enjoy the baked pasta bowls, which include ricotta and mozzarella. Three garlic knots were also served with our pastas.

All their sauces were delicious. We tried their pesto and sun dried tomatoes sauce. Quantity was good. Staff is friendly and quite accommodative to vegetarians. They use separate utensils to make each pasta. Pretty decent seating and an affordable place. Vegan and Vegetarian friendly.

Came in around closing time, the staff are incredibly friendly! I didn't get their name but they were the closing shift front of the house on 11/2, if upper management sees this give him a bonus for his performance! Also back of the house too for excellently cooking the salmon (more on that later). My friend frequents this store and invited me to try it, the build-your-own pasta feature is reminiscent of Subway: pick your size, noodles, sauce, meats, toppings, seasonings, and watch them build/cook it right in front of you, so there's absolutely no way it's old or been left out! There's a decent variety of all the items, they even give samples of the sauces if you ask. They let me split the noodle types for more diversity, the sauce probably could as well but that might compromise the flavor profile of your pasta. All meals come with a few garlicky-cheese knots, they're small but pack a ton of flavor! You can even order them separately in a box to take home. I typically try to get the fish option wherever I go, so I tried the salmon. It adds a bit in cost, but it was totally worth it! The person grilling it seasoned it perfectly (lemon pepper for anybody asking), and was lightly raw - imo the most ideal way to eat and taste good salmon. From what I can tell this is the only location, which is surprising because it is a fun and delicious experience, plus I wish it was closer so I could visit it a lot more. Certainly a must-go if you're nearby!

4 person party celebrating my best friends birthday party. The staff let us bring in a cake we're extremely accommodating offered to turn off the lights for us. The food was delicious the staff were so kind. We gave them some cake and they gave us some extra bread before we left which was extremely appreciated 100/10 would recommend. Great service, Great Food, Great Atmosphere, Clean Restaurant. Best experience ever.