As the name implies, San Marzano Pasta Fresca serves fresh pasta. It has a clean, rustic, modern, simple vibe. Very light and airy. Always a crowd, never insanely busy. Mostly couples or small friend groups. When it’s a nice day, the doors and windows are open, so the restaurants gets in fresh air, and there’s also a bit of outdoor seating.
The menu at San Marzano is simple, but there are plenty of choices. Most people take advantage of the mix-match pasta options. 6 pasta choices, including one whole wheat and one gluten free option, all of which are made fresh and in-house, with 11 sauces to choose from. I cannot stress how awesome it is that each of the pastas are fresh and homemade. It makes a world of difference. There’s also one special, a pear & gorgonzola ravioli, that comes paired with a cream sauce (no mix and match there).
Pappardelle with Tomato Sauce – this was cooked to perfection. I normally cannot pass up spaghetti, but wanted something different, so I settled on pappardelle. Most people wouldn’t recommend such a light sauce with pappardelle, a wide noodle, as a heartier sauce is generally used to fully coat that type of pasta, but I loved it. You can really taste the flavor of the pasta itself, which was chewy and al dente. The sauce was very light, nearly a translucent pink, with just a hint of basil – definitely unlike the rich, thick tomato sauces that are often served with pasta. Though I love thick tomato sauce, this was perfect for a light lunch. The sauce has a bit of grana padano in it as well.
Garganelli alla Norma – garganelli is a fun, less common shape, and is a perfect compliment to a thicker sauce like the alla norma. The alla norma sauce is tomato based with roasted eggplant and lots of garlic. It’s topped with a few dollops of pesto sauce and mozzarella cheese. The flavors in this sauce are great, but the dish itself is a bit too oily with the addition of the pesto.
Portions are small, for sure. One pasta dish is not quite enough to fill up a person. Would really recommend getting an appetizer as well or splitting a panini with another person on the side. The paninis seemed a bit more substantial, but then again nothing beats a delicious pasta. And the price is fantastic, so perhaps just order two pastas each!
Definitely recommend.
