La Pastaria

Wow, very disappointed with this place after two great prior visits.  Server spoke little English and when asked if I could have chicken instead of veal piccata was told no.  When I asked twice to speak with someone else I was ignored.  After saying I would just eat bread he went to ask about my simple request.  They said the chef would make an exception. So, food comes out and it is chicken piccata with greens vs risotto. Arrrrggghhhh.  When asked why, they said they didn't do the dish on menu, but a "special dish for me," like this was someone's home vs a restaurant where we were paying customers.  
So then, the staff of several decide to talk about my order FIVE FEET FROM ME.  As I am not one to bite my tongue, I as graciously as I could informed all what I had initially asked for.  The manager then said, "oh,you should have asked me!!!!"  Seriously?  She should have gotten involved when she heard the commotion when ordering.....
We have yet another restaurant in Summit marked off our list. Glad to see a new place is going up around the corner.

The restaurant was always recommended as a good place to go for italian food. Being that NJ is the capital for Italian food, they have to be on point.... Well I was generally disappointed with this place b/c the dishes sounded great on the menu and looked good coming out, they didn't have the flavor to back it up. All show and no go...

The menu is HUGE, there are so many dishes it almost makes it hard to choose b/c everything sounds so good.

C
Service:

Was very good and attentive but the waiter didn't know the menu to well and wasn't sure if the kitchen could accommodate a simple special request. As a waiter his intentions were good but lacked experience which is fine but a heads up.

Food:
Cappellini Broccoli Rabe Di Gamberetto  14.95 17.95
Broccoli rabe and shrimp sauteed in olive oil, garlic, butter and white wine

This dish pasta and broccoli rabe were cooked well, garlic were raw and flavorless, but the shrimp really were gross. Tiny little cheap shrimp that had a off texture. I would never get this again. The garlic should have been cooked more to infuse the garlic flavor into the oil, the quality of the shrimp must be improved, they should also use a better wine to give it a better flavor.

Cappellini Angelo  13.95 16.95
Pink cream sauce with peas, sausage, shitaki mushroomsand parmigiana cheese

This dish was ok but the sauce had a off taste to it. As if they used dried mushrooms that have that "off" taste. Also the sausage wasn't very good in my opinion.

As for the other dishes we had at the table, everything was presented very nice on the plate, the issues were with flavor which is obviously critical b/c its food you eat the next concern is the quality of the shrimp/meat etc. Its as if they have 90% of the idea correct but need to just have that little extra finesse to pull off a good meal by sourcing some better ingredients and having the chefs taste the food so they realize its bland or off.

Overall with all of the good places in NJ to get good italian food, I would say this is not a go to place for me at all. I would avoid if possible but I would go back to talk to the manager and ask them what dishes are they known for or what is the best dish on the menu and try it. So if you are reading this, I would say try them out but I would definitly ask for some guidance as to what they do good and give it a shot.

The portobello panini (I tell them to add chicken to mine) is one of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten in my life. I get it at least once a week. I have tried other entrees from here but for at least a year this is all I've been getting.

Do yourself a favor and get the portobello panini (with chicken).

And that's all I got to say about that.