In LA’s westside, Culver City is where many new and exciting restaurant concepts appear. One of the latest is Pasta Sisters, a fast-casual Italian restaurant that makes their pasta fresh in-house. They pair the pasta with quality Italian sauces and offer them with an optional fresh ball of burrata cheese.
Pasta Sisters first opened its doors in LA’s mid-city district. There, they occupy a small footprint in a strip mall on Pico Blvd. From the success of that venue, they opened a second location in the historic Beacon building in Culver City. My wife and I recently visited their Culver City location.
Their concept is extremely simple and yet they provide many different choices. Once diners select a pasta they decide on the sauce to pair it with. By far, the most popular choice is their pappardelle with bolognese sauce. A number of people ordered that dish while we were there.
One of the keys to Pasta Sisters’ success is due to chef Paola Da Re’s great grandmother. In her recipe book were a number of classic Italian sauces such as arrabbiata. Paola Da Re’s family is from Padua, a city in the northeast region of Italy, west of Venice.
Due to their name, pasta is the main draw, but they also have entrees, sandwiches, and salads. Entrees include Beef Stew and Polenta and Roasted Salmon. I was debating about ordering the Porchetta Sandwich. It consists of Italian style roasted pork belly, pecorino romano spread, and arugula.
Fast casual restaurants typically don’t serve wine and beer. I was delighted to see a nice selection of Italian wine and Italian beers. I selected a prosecco as my beverage and my wife selected a Birra Moretti, an Italian lager.
Two signs hung on the wall near the register. Titled “Off the Menu”, one was a Salmon and cream sauce with a choice of pasta for $14.95. The other sign featured an Italian Black Truffle Sauce also available with a choice of pasta for $16.95.
Another surprise was to find out that their pasta is made fresh in-house. My wife happened to see their second floor from our table. After glancing upward, I happened noticed staff feeding dough into pasta machines.
I love the taste of truffle and I selected the Italian black truffle with tagliatelle pasta and added the burrata option. My wife selected the pappardelle with bolognese sauce. We were both very happy with our selections and would definitely order them again.
Desserts are pre-made and include tiramisu, Nutella Pie and various cookies. We selected a tiramisu to go and were delighted at the quality. In addition, they provide a small plastic cup filled with cocoa powder for us to dust on our dessert.
Pasta Sisters was a delightful surprise. The pasta is fresh and the sauces are top quality. The fresh burrata was an option I did not expect. Pasta of this caliber commands a much higher price at other Italian restaurants. The only drawback is that the place gets busy and there isn’t a host that can provide you with a table. Still, Pasta Sisters is definitely worth a visit.
Pasta Sisters, 3280 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90232; 424.603.4503
or 3343 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019; 323.870.5271
pastasisters.com