PASTA AMORE
Hoppen Hierarchy: ★★★
District: Southwest Omaha
Southern Italian Cuisine
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Date Night; Happy Hour; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Roman Carbonara Tradizionale; Focaccia; Rigatoni Arrabiata
It’s uncommon for a restaurant to stay in business for a decade, much less 4. But Chef Calgero Lillo ‘Leo’ Fascianella created something Omahans couldn’t get enough of after emigrating from Sicily in his youth and working at restaurants around the country. He opened Pasta Amore in 1986, and it’s been one of the city’s favorite Italian restaurants ever since.
Even though chef Leo retired and a new management team took over in 2021, the ethos that Leo created lives on. The restaurant makes many of its noodles, including the rigatoni and bucatini from scratch, and hand rolls gnocchi each day. It still uses pasta machines (imported from Italy) that were present on Pasta Amore’s first day, makes its sauces and sausages, and bakes its legendary focaccia bread.
The new management has added to the original and breathed life into the space, making small design tweaks and modifications to the menu. These changes have kept Pasta Amore a busy hub for pasta, lasagna, and other Southern Italian delicacies as it reaches an age most men have their midlife crisis.
Pasta Amore’s menu is vast, with risotto, veal, calamari steaks, chicken parmigiana, and several different seafood dishes joining an array of pastas, soups, and salads. Whatever you order, you can feel confident of two things:
- The dishes will be heavily sauced, which could be a pro or a con depending on your palate. The sauces are flavorful, but they can overwhelm the noodles and protein on the plates.
- You won’t go home hungry. The portion sizes are large enough to tackle a linebacker’s appetite, so either loosen your belt or prepare to bring home a doggy bag.
That second note is particularly important to keep in mind when the aforementioned focaccia arrives at the table. This complimentary bread is one of the highlights of the meal; it has a hearty, crunchy crust with a soft, spongey inside. The dough is ripe with olive oil, and the golden brown exterior has a beautiful buttery sheen.
And Pasta Amore doesn’t stop with mere butter for this delightful starter. Rather, the bread arrives with a ramekin of whipped fresh ricotta, which combines a smoothy, creamy texture with a funky combination of sweet and savory.
This focaccia is dangerous because your brain knows a big meal is coming and begs you to save room… yet your hands keep reaching for piece after piece. Your appetite stands no chance against this carb-y temptation.
Difficult as it may be, the entrees are worth saving room for, especially the pasta dishes. The Roman Carbonara Tradizionale showcases Pasta Amore at its best, as the housemade bucatini noodles are tender with just enough bite, and the hollowed out strands absorb all of the rich, egg-y goodness. The dish is swimming with chunks of crispy pancetta, guanciale, and and pancetta, and the yolk from the sunny side egg helps cuts the saltiness.
Southern Italy is known for its seafood, and Pasta Amore’s fish proficiency is displayed in the Salmon Greco. The salmon filet is excellent, perfectly flaky and tender. Balsamic vinegar adds some sweetness and feta cheese brings pops of sharp saltiness.
Pasta Amore also offers a “choose your own adventure option” allowing you to build your perfect plate from the ground up. At your disposal are 8 noodles, 12 sauces, and 8 add-ons, from meatballs to salmon, roasted garlic cloves, and grilled vegetables.
Let me provide an example with one of my favorite combos:
- The rigatoni is exceptional, as the ridges on these elongated pasta tubes grab onto extra sauce.
- The arrabiatta sauce, as all of Pasta Amore’s tomato-based sauces are, is heavy on sweetness, but it has some spice to balance the sugar.
- Housemade sausage links add a touch of sweetness and heat.
As if you’re not getting enough food already, each entree comes with a choice of soup or salad. The House Salad is fine, with a thick, zesty Italian dressing. I’d recommend sacrificing the $2 upcharge for the Belly Button Soup, which submerges supple, cheese-filled tortellini in a rich, savory brodo
Some of the dishes could still use editing. Again, the application of sauce could be a major barrier to some, especially with creamier alfredo and vodka sauces. These make the dishes heavy and indulgent, which can attract or detract depending on the diner.
Others, like the Ravioli Frito, are a few tweaks from being great. These squared filled pastas are fried to crispy perfection, but they need a bit more filling, and the accompanied marinara sauce is quite sweet.
But the overall experience of dining at Pasta Amore makes it special, regardless of what you order. This feels like what you’d get if you dined in the kitchen of an Italian family: the atmosphere is friendly, loud, and fun, and absolutely no one leaves hungry.
The servers are exceedingly welcoming and knowledgeable, and they’re capable of guiding you through the massive menu. They’re also very attentive to refilling water and drinks, and Pasta Amore’s bar has several well-balanced cocktails and dozens of wine choices.
Pasta Amore offers you two different atmospheres. You always have the option of dining inside, where a low-lighted atmosphere gives a swanky, fine-dining yet cozy vie. Or, during the spring and summer, you can relax on the shaded patio, which allows you to enjoy a beautiful sunset without being roasted by the sometimes oppressing Nebraska heat.
Omaha has some phenomenal Italian restaurants, and I can’t quite bring myself to include Pasta Amore among the best of the best.
But there’s a reason this restaurant has been around for so long. It combines a fun, friendly atmosphere with enormous portions, unique flavors, and focaccia bread that’s worth a visit alone. I look forward to seeing how the new management continues to incorporate fresh ideas into the tentpoles that made this restaurant beloved in the first place.