Marine Drive is home to many food trucks and Mr Pasta was among them. Now, they’ve decided to do a revamp and make a come back as a small resto, down the same stretch. We popped in for a First Look.
Food
They have a few starters, side dishes, rice & noodles, and of course pasta dishes with various spins on them.
We settled for two pasta dishes – Carbonara Spaghetti (Rs. 480), and Hot & Spicy Pasta (Rs. 350) as well as a plate of Hot Butter Cuttlefish (Rs. 675) from their side dishes.
For the Carbonara Spaghetti, we got served a mountain of steaming spaghetti and right off the bat, we noticed that the portion size was quite generous and enough for two. The spaghetti was a bit overdone but it wasn’t soggy, and had mixed with bits of mushrooms, green beans and carrots which all added to crunch, colour, and flavours.
The white sauce clung to the spaghetti providing some creamy and cheesy goodness. There was an okay amount of chicken pieces hidden in the spaghetti with a sprinkle of pepper scattered about. Mildly seasoned, we are glad that it didn't take away the creaminess. Even if this rendition might not be authentic, for the price, it was a pretty good deal.
The Hot & Spicy Pasta comes with penne pasta. Cooked properly, it was well-infused with a decent amount of spices which added a bit of heat to the meal. It was enough to give a mild sweat under your nose while being delicious.
The sauce took a quite apparent heat from the chilli powder, while its creaminess helped to keep things balanced. Sprinkled with pepper which added a bit more to the definition of being "hot" and depth to the flavour, we also found generous amounts of well-cooked, shredded chicken on this plate.
Aside from that, it was decorated with cherry tomato, green chilli and onions which made for the extra flavour. Quite frankly, this one would fit well with spicy loving tastebuds of us Sri Lankans.
With an eye-catching golden brown colour, the Hot Butter Cuttlefish was a decently sized portion for its price. The spiced up crispy batter layer hid the chewy cuttlefish underneath. It was a tad oily than we’d have liked and being on the salty side was a bit annoying too. It wasn't bad, but could have easily improved by decreasing the salty and oily levels.
All in all, we enjoyed munching on the cuttlefish and mixing and matching it with the pieces of dried chilli, capsicum and leeks.
Drinks
As for beverages, we went with the Chocolate Milkshake (Rs. 300) and and Lemon Iced tea (Rs. 150)
Pictured above: Chocolate Milkshake (left) and Ice Lemon tea (right)
The Chocolate Milkshake was a refreshing drink, and had a the chocolate-to-milk ratio was on point. We would have liked it to be a bit colder, and some syrup drizzle along the inner sides of the glass would have made this more aesthetically appealing. Overall, it’s a decent drink.
The Lemon Iced Tea came decorated with a slice of lemon, presented a delightful tea colour and a bit of pulp swimming about. They had kept the lemon and tea flavour well-balanced, which we appreciate. The drink was full of tea flavour with a delightful lemon zing to it. There was just enough sugar, which didn't harm the flavour combo.
But, one head-scratching issue with the drink was it that it was at room temperature. Don't get us wrong, the drink was really good but it was supposed to be Iced Lemon Tea but we got no ice/coldness in it.
Ambience & Service
The place can comfortably hold about 10 to 12 people, but given that there was only one glass separating us from the outside heat, it could get a bit warm in here. Still, it was clean and well kept.
We got good service here and the food came to us without much delay. One of the items we initially ordered was not available, and the waiter was apologetic while explaining and politely asking us to reconsider. We didn't see any glaring issue here even if they are quite new.
Conclusion
We appreciate how Mr Pasta serves up generous portions of pasta under a budget price without compensating on the flavours. Taste-wise, we wouldn’t say that it’s spectacular but it’s definitely good enough that you’ll want to devour it all, given you have enough tummy space for all the pasta. They do need a bit of improvement here and there but If you are in the area looking to get lunch or wanting to take a meal home, Mr Pasta is a good, wallet-friendly option.
