Pastaria Abate – Craig Road

Craig Road seems to be seeing quite a lot of changes for their tenants of the late — Pastaria Abate is the newest tenant to have moved into the street right after Hustle Co. , which moved in rather recently.

Pastaria Abate takes over the unit formerly taken by now-defunct Fordham and Grand. The space is furnished almost like a mid-tier restaurant; modern-chic, with yellow walls and white shelves and tables that feel slightly more upscale. Unlike what would be expected of restaurants of such nature, the restaurant operates on a self-service basis — patrons are expected to make their orders at the counter and collect their food after the order number is being called out; all these are being told by the staff at the point of entry to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. According to the staff, this helps the restaurant to keep their costs low — the prices of the food items (even for the mains and pasta) are below $20; a pretty affordable price point. The menu features a number of appetisers and a few mains, as well as a few house-made desserts such as the Tiramisu and Profiteroles. They also offer quite a wide variety of pasta noodles — all of which are freshly-made in-house as well; patrons would first pick their choice of pasta before settling for the sauces available, which includes red sauce, cream sauce, and white sauce options. It is noted that while they Pastaria Abate does carry a good list of beverages and a decent variety of spirits, wine and aperitif cocktails, they do not serve tap water (patrons can, however, purchase bottled still water).

(Fried Mozzarella)

We settled for the Fried Mozzarella for the appetizer to be shared. The fried batter was crisp on the exterior, while the inside reveals dense, chewy and stretchy cheese within. The Fried Mozzarella originally comes with Strawberry Sauce on the side as a dip as stated on the menu; we had ours with Marinara sauce instead as they had run out of strawberry sauce on the day of our visit. While we are not certain if the strawberry sauce would have been a better accompaniment to the fried morsels of cheese, but the Marinara sauce provided a tanginess typical of tomato-based pasta sauce they complimented the cheese pretty well.

(Prawn & Saffron Pappardelle)

For the pasta, we decided to try the Pappardelle and opted for the Prawn & Saffron sauce which is being categorised as a “cream sauce” on the menu. The dish came with grilled prawns, while the pasta that is tossed in a light butter sauce that carried a light hint of saffron. Overall, the entire pasta dish carried a light flavour profile; perfect for those who generally prefer items without too many distractions flavour-wise. The pasta carried a bite, while the prawns were absolutely fresh and bouncy.

(Martini Grilled Pork)

We also tried the Martini Grilled Pork from the “mains” section of the menu. Essentially just two slabs of pork loin glazed in their Italian Martini sauce served with a salad dressed with balsamic on the side, the dish packs the punch especially with the mellow sweetness provided by the Italian Martini sauce. It compliments the tender slabs of pork loin really well, which was easy to cut and chew and did not carry a porky stench. In fact, this was a dish that we just could not get enough of; certainly something we would not mind ordering again.

Overall, the food from Pastaria Abate was actually pretty enjoyable; the Martini Grilled Pork was the dish that left the strongest impression on us with its flavour and texture. That being said, the wide range of sauces and types of pasta available is something that would be able to draw return visits for patrons who had visited Pasatria Abate before; there is just so many possibilities of combinations that would be bound to satisfy the most specific pasta cravings. Service is generally pretty sincere and helpful; despite being a self-service restaurant, the staff do at times bring out the food if they are able to while calling out the order numbers. Details are also taken care of, such as informing the patrons about the self-service nature of the restaurant upon walking in. Pastaria Abate would probably be a place suitable for both casual meals as well as for dates for the price range sits pretty comfortably for the wallet while being in a seemingly posh environment; a hidden gem at Outram Park

Pastaria Abate
43 Craig Road
Singapore 089681

Web Page: https://www.pastariaabate.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/PastariaAbate/