When you think of a mall food court, you likely don't think "italian food!". Sure, there is Sbarro I guess, but besides that, what mall food court chain has Italian food?
Enter Pasta Moto, a fast food Italian concept, located in the Westfield Mall food court in San Francisco (they used to have a location inside the Metreon too, but it closed several years ago.
"Pasta Moto offers delicious dining, takeout and delivery to San Francisco, CA. Pasta Moto is a cornerstone in the San Francisco community and has been recognized for its outstanding Italian cuisine, excellent service and friendly staff. Our Italian restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and its insistence on only using high quality fresh ingredients."
As much as their branding wants to imply otherwise, Pasta Moto isn't really upscale in any way. It is mall food court food, no more, no less. You can order in person, or they are available on many takeout and delivery platforms.
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I ordered in advance through Delivery.com, and my order was ready right on time, and my special requests honored.
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| Food Court Location. |
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| Salad, Pasta, Entree Display. |
Each dish was clearly labeled, but, uh, not well. The penne pomodoro was labelled "pene" (and yes, correctly as "penne" on the actual menu), and the caesar salad labelled "ceasar".
The final item was the "Pasta del Giorno", which simply read "Shrimp" under it.
The next display was topped with bottled beverage choices (San Pellegrino, juices, bottled water, beer), all of which were also in buckets at the register.
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| Drinks, Panini, Pizza Display. |
The top shelf housed panini displays, with 4 (of their 6) different sandwiches. They were listed as "Panino" on the tags here, and "Panini" on the menu board. They need a copy editor.
The bottom row was pizza, 6 of their 7 offerings. These looked horrible. Don't judge a book by its cover!
The crusts seemed cooked, but the toppings were not? The cheese looked ... quasi melted, but mostly in a "shredded cheese left at room temperature for a long time" way, not, actually melted in an oven. And the pepperoni, ham, and raw veggies certainly didn't look cooked. The pizzas looked ... really quite awful in this form. I don't know what they were trying to show - the fully unbaked item I guess would also look strange with raw dough? But ... yeah, this did not help sell anything to me. Again though, luckily they often have samples.
"Endive, radicchio, goat cheese, pears, walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette."
I went for the Insalata Moto, as I really like endive and radicchio, but I was tempted by the caesar too.
Since I don't like goat cheese, I asked to have the goat cheese on the side (to give to my companion), and it came packaged in its own little container. I can't evaluate that, since I didn't try it.
I also asked for the dressing on the side, which I'm not sure if they just do normally, or if they normally toss it, but since I wasn't eating it right away, I wanted to be sure it wouldn't get soggy. I'm glad I asked for the dressing on the side, as I really didn't like it. It was very, very sweet raspberry vinaigrette, rather thick, and just cloying.
But everything else was decent. The base was mostly radicchio (and arugula, not on the menu), with some thin bits of endive. The lettuces were not super fresh, but they weren't wilted. The pears were thin slices, laid out on top.
The pear wasn't particularly flavorful, and was a bit hard, and one slice was a little brown, but, again, not awful.
The walnuts were a mixed bag. The sign on the display actually said "candied walnuts", although the menu just said "walnuts". These were indeed candied walnuts (yay!). Some were nicely candied, and quite tasty. I appreciated them for the crunch and the sweetness against the bitter greens. But others were just strangely bitter and maybe burnt tasting?
This was a half size, and it was large enough for two of us to split as a side dish. Full size is $9.95.
I brought it home, and split it in two. I gave my companion the goat cheese, and he was happy enough with the raspberry vinaigrette, so he basically enjoyed it as it was designed. But for my half, I used the lemon vinaigrette I loved from Pizzeria Delfina, and added parmesan. Basically ... I just turned it into the Delfina salad, just with some crunchy nuts. I enjoyed it this way, but would not have liked it in its original form.
The bottom row was pizza, 6 of their 7 offerings. These looked horrible. Don't judge a book by its cover!
The crusts seemed cooked, but the toppings were not? The cheese looked ... quasi melted, but mostly in a "shredded cheese left at room temperature for a long time" way, not, actually melted in an oven. And the pepperoni, ham, and raw veggies certainly didn't look cooked. The pizzas looked ... really quite awful in this form. I don't know what they were trying to show - the fully unbaked item I guess would also look strange with raw dough? But ... yeah, this did not help sell anything to me. Again though, luckily they often have samples.
Food
The menu at Pasta Moto is fairly equally split between salads, pasta, pizza, and paninis, plus one entree (chicken parmesan) and two sides (roasted veggies, garlic bread).
The pastas do not get very good reviews, and looked quite generic. Same with the paninis. I never tried any myself.
The pizza I have tried a few times, in sample form. Pasta Moto doesn't push samples nearly as often as the other places in the mall, but, every once in a while they'll have a fresh pizza sliced into small slices, and finally, my curiosity got the better of me.
The first time I tried the pizza I thought it was actually good. The crust was crispy. The sauce had a nice flavor, and a slight sweetness. The cheese was generous and well melted. I noted that it was "surprisingly not bad". But the next time, I wasn't as impressed. The crust I again noted was crisp, but, somehow doughy at the same time. The sauce seemed a bit too sweet. The cheese was fine that time though. Another time I thought it was oily. Subsequent times though, it returned to its former glory. The pizza won't blow you away, but, I really did like it.
The salads are actually why I visited Pasta Moto as an actual patron. I'd been on a strange salad kick, and one hot afternoon I decided that I wanted salad to go along with my dinner, to lighten it up. Pasta Moto has 7 different salads, ranging from the simple "insalata mista" with just mixed greens, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette, to a classic caesar, to ones with chicken and roasted vegetables. The selection is actually decent.
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| Insalata Mono. $5.95. |
I went for the Insalata Moto, as I really like endive and radicchio, but I was tempted by the caesar too.
Since I don't like goat cheese, I asked to have the goat cheese on the side (to give to my companion), and it came packaged in its own little container. I can't evaluate that, since I didn't try it.
I also asked for the dressing on the side, which I'm not sure if they just do normally, or if they normally toss it, but since I wasn't eating it right away, I wanted to be sure it wouldn't get soggy. I'm glad I asked for the dressing on the side, as I really didn't like it. It was very, very sweet raspberry vinaigrette, rather thick, and just cloying.
But everything else was decent. The base was mostly radicchio (and arugula, not on the menu), with some thin bits of endive. The lettuces were not super fresh, but they weren't wilted. The pears were thin slices, laid out on top.
The pear wasn't particularly flavorful, and was a bit hard, and one slice was a little brown, but, again, not awful.
The walnuts were a mixed bag. The sign on the display actually said "candied walnuts", although the menu just said "walnuts". These were indeed candied walnuts (yay!). Some were nicely candied, and quite tasty. I appreciated them for the crunch and the sweetness against the bitter greens. But others were just strangely bitter and maybe burnt tasting?
This was a half size, and it was large enough for two of us to split as a side dish. Full size is $9.95.
I brought it home, and split it in two. I gave my companion the goat cheese, and he was happy enough with the raspberry vinaigrette, so he basically enjoyed it as it was designed. But for my half, I used the lemon vinaigrette I loved from Pizzeria Delfina, and added parmesan. Basically ... I just turned it into the Delfina salad, just with some crunchy nuts. I enjoyed it this way, but would not have liked it in its original form.
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