The first thing you need to know about Pastaria, a pizza and pasta joint that opened six months ago in the Shida night market (師大夜市), is that a reservation is pretty much mandatory during lunch and dinner hours.
Fifteen minutes after I sat down, 21 university students sauntered in, single file, and took over the second of the restaurant’s two floors. Ten minutes later, in walked another dozen for the same party. In between, groups of four and six were turned away because all the seats on the first floor were either occupied or reserved. It was Tuesday just before noon and my server said it’s like this every day.
This is somewhat of a mystery because the decor, with its maple-colored paneling, dark brown laminate tables and orange-backed chairs reminded this reviewer of the worst of 1970s kitsch. So why the crowds? It probably has something to do with the all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta menu. At NT$199, Pastaria obviously fits the bill for large parties wanting to save a few bucks while increasing their waistlines.
Needless to say, my party of one looked a little out of place. But I tried to get into the spirit of things by diving into two orders of pizza and two orders of pasta. Patrons have two choices when it comes to how their pizza is made. The first is to order one of the menu’s 10 varieties, the second is to choose two varieties and go half and half. All pies are 6 inch.
Credit must be given to Pastaria for its creativity. I couldn’t decide whether to order the tuna fish, corn and onion pizza or the pie consisting of banana, apple and cherry tomatoes, so for my first order I just stuck with the more pedestrian pepperoni, black olive and onion on one half, and barbeque pork, sauteed onion and green peppers on the other. For my second order, I combined a Hawaiian with the supreme (ground pork, onion, green peas, bacon and mushroom).
The pizzas that arrived were somewhere between Pizza Hut and 7-Eleven, which considering the price makes sense. With a moderate amount of toppings and even less sauce, much of the flavor came from the artery-clogging amount of cheese. The barbeque pork and sauteed onions tasted of teppanyaki, which wasn’t half bad, and I must admit that the thick crust, obviously of the frozen variety, was cooked to a palatable crispy brown.
The two pasta dishes that I ordered, spaghetti with chicken in spicy marinara and pesto chicken, barely deserve mention. Served without garnish, there wasn’t even a rudimentary attempt to make them look palatable. And the chicken tasted like it was the deep fried variety sold at night market stalls.
Pastaria is banking on its cheap prices, and with quality that’s similar to Dominos or Pizza Hut, it’s a solid bet for those not looking for a gourmet pie. Single orders for sit-down or take out are also available. Six-inch pizzas are NT$69 to NT$79 and 10-inch pizzas are NT$158 and NT$168. Pastas range from NT$89 to NT$150.
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