Pasta and Pizza / Pizza and Pasta Fantastico

Pasta and Pizza
32, Barnov Str.
Tel: (995 32) 98 29 82
11:00 a.m - 10:00 p.m

Pizza and Pasta Fantastico
3a, Napareuli Str.
Tel:(995 32) 29 46 75
10:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Tucked away in an easy-to-miss courtyard in Vera, Pasta and Pizza is a supremely pleasant, unpretentious place to eat. The restaurant is set back from the street, and has a long, narrow courtyard — lined with tables with Viking-capacity benches under broad umbrellas — leading up to the entrance.

The menu here is surprising in its scope and playfulness, with a good selection of entrees running the gamut from Italian and Alsatian pizzas, pasta, quiches, Turkish dishes, and a list of meat platters and vegan items.

Italian Bread Balls (available with or without garlic) — piping hot boules of baked dough, with a dab of olive oil and seasoned minced garlic inside — make a good appetizer. The Italian–style pizzas are delicious, with a good crust and a very flavorful marinara sauce under–girding their generously applied toppings. The Capri pizza (GEL 12.80) — with field mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, peppers (listed as ‘paprika’), and olives — was especially good. The Alsatian (white) pizzas are a bit under–dressed. We tried one with sour cream, onion, garlic, and bacon (GEL 6.80), and while it was good — the topping was thick with bacon, and the onions had a gentle caramel aroma —l it didn’t compare to the Italian-style pizza vying for space on the table.

The restaurant has serves pasta straight up and al forno (baked). We tried the gnocchi with pesto (GEL 5.80) and the ‘lasagna legumi’ (vegetable lasagna, GEL 12.80). The gnocchi were freshly made — so much so that they didn’t hold their form. The resulting boiled dough balls were surprisingly edible (the dough was light and airy), but the pesto was made from dried basil, and on the whole the dish would have been very disappointing as a main course. The lasagna legumi, on the other hand, was fantastic, with layers of pasta and cheese thickly interspersed with a decadent cream and vegetable filling. Mushroom lovers especially will enjoy this dish.

Pasta and Pizza’s menu also features so-called “international khachapuri” (for GEL 6.80 a piece), which include French (spinach, onion, garlic, and Roquefort cheese), Turkish (minced lamb, paprika, pepperoni, garlic, onion, sheep cheese), and Dutch (pickled pork loin, onion, edamer cheese). Turkish dishes — including moussaka (GEL 12.80) — comprise a major section of the menu, and there is a respectable selection of unusual meat entrees (roasted chicken breast with spicy walnut sauce and fries) as well as vegan dishes (there are many vegetarian options throughout the menu). It’s easy to miss, but at the back of the menu fondues (cheese or chocolate) are available either as single (GEL 14-18) or double (GEL 25-35) servings.

Wine, beer (draught and bottled), spirits all available. There is usually an “open” village wine available in half liter and liter carafes — on the evening we visited, this was a honey-colored tsinandali with a moment of intense dryness on the tongue, and a mellow, creamy mouth-feel.

Our decadent dinner left us no room for dessert, unfortunately, but we will be back to try the “whipped wine foam’ and the Tiramisu. The waiters were prompt and attentive — and English-speaking — and we continued to enjoy the smells from the dishes wafting by to other tables even as we exhausted our appetites.

Menus are available in English.

Very decent pizza can also be had at Pizza and Pasta Fantastico. True to its name, this small pizzeria makes oven-fired pizza and pasta, as well as a handful of other entrees such as eggplant parmesan. The pizza here is a bit pricier than that at Pasta and Pizza, with small Pizzas for GEL 7-10, mediums for around 15-18, larges 18-22. Lots of possible toppings are available, including ham and pineapple. The small pies are quite substantial for one person, while a medium makes a good meal to share between two people. We tried one pizza with paper thin-slices of ham and layers of rich musky mushrooms, and one pizza with bell and pickled jalapeño peppers, olives, tomatoes. Both were excellent, with crisp and chewy crusts.

The eggplant parmesan is heavy on the marinara sauce and melted cheese, with thin slices of breaded baked eggplant swimming in there. Gnocchi with pesto was not a very generous serving, and the gnocchi were gummy and a little tough. The pesto was quite good, with a bright emerald color. (Perhaps pesto on another pasta would be better than on gnocchi.) At other tables plates with ravioli drenched in cream sauces seemed popular.

Lots of cocktails are available, and from the looks of it there is a serious espresso machine behind the counter. A narrow selection of Georgian wines cost around GEL 18 per bottle, no house wine is available. More extensive are the Italian and European wines can be ordered by the glass for around (GEL 7 per 200 ml). The restaurant is small, and fills up quickly. Menus are available in Italian, Georgian, English.

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Published in Georgia Today, 22 June 2007