Eataly, Valley Fair Mall
Over the weekend, we went for a quick lunch date at La Pizza & La Pasta in Eataly, Valley Fair Mall (Santa Clara/San Jose). Its brand spanking new and sparkly inside! The menu boasts authentic/traditional Italian cuisine reminiscent of my honeymoon to Florence, where I first encountered an Eataly shopping center.
This location is 3 stories high (prob because lack of space in SV). First floor has Roman style street pizza, a cafe, and small gelato stand. The second floor is my favorite, VINO! Third floor is the Italian style market, Terra restaurant, and La Pizza & La Pasta Restaurant. There are Eatalys all over the US, such as in NYC, Chicago, L.A., Boston, Las Vegas.. for some reason the Bay Area always gets these kind of attractions behind everybody else (bad zoning laws and NIMBYS?).
There are always complainers on Yelp but I’m so grateful we have Eataly in SV! It seems that the fun stuff in SV (looking at you Great America) turns into some business park for tech companies or housing for tech workers. Eataly makes living here less b-o-r-i-n-g!
Inside Eataly Market
Hubby’s favorite, the cured meat section
Cheese from Italy
Fresh shellfish and tons of olives
This is the only place I have seen fresh langoustines! Would make a good Valentine’s meal once inflation stops eating my paychecks.
In-house made fresh pasta
Olive Oil Wall
Canned tomatoes from Italy
My favorite, the chocolate bar
There’s also a small bread bakery with focaccia, a butcher, fresh produce section, a dried pasta aisle, a condiments aisle, and an aisle dedicated to biscotti. I’m surprises they don’t have a sweets bakery but they do have a cold to-go section with in-house made tiramisu and mousses.
La Pizza & La Pasta Restaurant Review
Menu
Dishes are in the $20-25 range. This is a large menu considering that restaurants in Italy like to master in one specialty.
Appetizers
For starters, we tried the complimentary bread with the Polpette, braised beef and pork meatballs. The bread was not good at all. It was cold and a little stale, I called this jail bread. The meatballs were just OK. Maybe its because I prefer my meatballs a little chunky? The meatballs have a very smooth texture but could’ve used more salt. The tomato sauce was bomb though, you could tell it was freshly made.
Next time, I will try the fritto calamari. In Florence, we had the fritto misto with sardines which was so delicious, I haven’t found anything like it again. I tried to replicate it at home but was not successful. Fritto misto translates to frying something in batter.
Main Courses
“A Ruota Di Carro” Margherita Pizza
This is the house specialty pizza with Mozzarella Di Bufala. Very yummy pizza and authentic. My MIL said the sauce was a little sour but my FIL said when he was living in Italy during his junior high days, the pizza tasted exactly like this.
Chitarra All Carbonara
Carbonara is a difficult pasta to make. I attempted it once but failed because my eggs ended up slimy and didn’t combine well with the cheese and pasta. Knowing what a bish this pasta is to make, I wanted to see how Eataly performed. Their version uses freshly in-house made pasta. The guanciale was cooked to a crispy and salty perfection! I think they did a good job but I prefer dried pasta to fresh.
Overall Impression- 3.5/5
I love the ambiance at La Pizza and La Pasta! It’s clean, bright, and modern. The food is fresh and authentic. The service is….lacking. Everybody on Yelp complains about the bad service. They complain it takes a long time for the food to be served and that the servers don’t time the dishes correctly. It’s understandable that you expect good service when you go out to eat at a nice restaurant, but in the current economy (worker shortage and the high cost of living in the Bay Area) I have lowered my standards. In other words, the slow service has taught me to be more patient and eat at a slower pace (European style) instead of scarfing my food like an uncivilized pig.
My future meal at La Pizza & La Pasta
Next time I would like to try their lasagna and my favorite, Bucatini all’Amatriciana to see how it compares to my homemade Bucatini.
Cost
We paid ~$150 with tax+tip, a Negroni and a glass of pinot Grigio. I can see why my age group and younger say it’s expensive to go on dates but it was worth the experience!
What do you recommend to eat at La Pizza & La Pasta?