Try Pasta Casalinga for a new lunchtime obsession
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Pasta Casalinga at Pike Place Market has casual seating. You can usually find a spot quickly. Photo: Melissa Santos/Axios
I have been longing for a good pasta lunch spot in Seattle since Il Corvo closed early in the pandemic. (R.I.P.)
- I don't know how I overlooked Pasta Casalinga, a casual spot that has served fresh pasta in Pike Place Market since 2018.
Why it's awesome: Unlike Il Corvo, which was only open for weekday lunches and had long lines, Pasta Casalinga is also open weekends.
- And I've never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table, if at all.
Zoom in: The menu changes regularly. During one recent visit, I had ricciutelli (a curved, ribbon-shaped pasta) dressed with mussels and 'nduja (a spicy Calabrian salami).
- My husband and I also shared a plate of gnocchetti sardi (shell-shaped ridged pasta) with lamb ragu and pecorino, plus a house lasagna that featured peas, sausage and house-made béchamel sauce.
Of note: If you think Italian food is a bland world of carbs and mozzarella, try 'nduja — spiced with Calabrian chilis — and you may change your mind.
Plus: Most days I have gone to Pasta Casalinga, I have seen owner Michela Tartaglia hard at work — sometimes breaking down boxes, sometimes overseeing the kitchen.
- Tartaglia grew up in Torino in north Italy, but spent summers on her family's farm near Naples. You can taste her knowledge and appreciation of both northern and southern Italian ingredients in her food.
The bottom line: I'm taking everyone I know here from now on, and trying to find an excuse to eat here myself at least once a week.
Details: 93 Pike Street #201 (go south past the fish tossers). 11am–4:45pm daily.
