Just don’t call ’em noodles.
BEAU & MO’S
2924 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-771-3690, beaunmo.com.
This Chicago couple opened their old-school Italian steakhouse in Historic Kenwood back in late 2015, and quickly built a loyal neighborhood clientele on the strength of their classic dishes. While known more for their proteins and happy hour specials than their pasta, there are plenty of noodz on the menu, too. Vegetarians can go for the stacked eggplant, a meatless standout amid the steaks and chops, while fans of traditional Italian fare might opt for the pappardelle bolognese or linguine with clams. The best thing about the joint, though, is the way the owners love to meet and greet their diners personally, and take pains to make sure everyone is having an enjoyable time. —Scott Harrell
BELLA’S ITALIAN CAFE
1413 S. Howard Ave. #100, Tampa. 813-254-3355, bellasitaliancafe.com.
Do not call them noodles, alright? Bella’s makes pasta, plus zuppe, antipasti and entrees like the drenched-in-marsala Nate’s Chicken. The popular Italian cafe founded in 1986 once had a Pinellas location (and also serves Tampa International Airport’s international wing under the “Bella Veloce” moniker), but its mothership is based in SoHo. That’s where nine varieties of pasta have been handmade with the same three ingredients — semolina, eggs and water — by a handful of people for more than three decades now. Kids have literally grown up on longtime dishes like Confetti Spaghetti (tossed in creamy basil-tomato sauce with fresh tomato, bacon, garlic, onions, basil, parsley and green peas) and pollo Milano (roasted garlic cream, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh sage served over starburst pasta with a garnish of reduced balsamic vinegar and sage). Older folks defy doctors’ orders by eating the duck ragu (braised bird with a porcini mushroom blend and prosciutto tossed with fettuccine and Parmesan shards) or the pollo rosso (chicken breast reddened with hot spices and “blackened” in a hot pan, then tossed with scallions, mushrooms and that reduced basil-tomato sauce with fresh tomato and fettuccine). Real jagoffs like me eat two orders of the lunchtime spaghetti carbonara (ham, bacon, egg, cream and Parm) at 11:30 a.m. on a Monday. Here, the pasta is high quality, homegrown and served by a friendly staff composed of some servers, cooks and bartenders who’ve been there almost as long as Bella’s has been open. —Ray Roa
DONATELLO
232 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. 813-875-6660, donatellorestaurant.com.
Opened in 1984, the legendary fine-dining restaurant from owners Guido and Gino Tiozzo — recognized for the hospitality of its tuxedoed servers as much as the food, which puts an emphasis on northern Italian cooking — has been serving up authentic plates to the Tampa Bay area for more than three decades. One of the signature dishes at Donatello, headquartered along Tampa’s Dale Mabry Highway, is cannelloni — and, well, for good reason. First off, the pasta is lovingly rolled out by hand, then it’s stuffed with veal and mozzarella before getting the glazed treatment with besciamella (better known by its French name, béchamel) and tomato sauce. Chef Gino’s cannelloni doesn’t come cheap, but the dish is well worth it. Even better? Donatello, an obvious choice for regionites celebrating special occasions in town, is a serial winner of the Award of Excellence, which is part of Wine Spectator’s annual Restaurant Awards. So, yeah, you know what to wash all of that pasta, and tableside dessert, down with. —Meaghan Habuda
IL RITORNO
449 Central Ave #101, St. Petersburg. 727-897-5900, Ilritornodowntown.com.
Pasta, like many of the other dishes offered on the contemporary Italian restaurant’s ever-changing menu, I’m sure, is a labor of love for David Benstock. According to the chef and co-owner of Il Ritorno, lots of time goes into his pasta-making process in downtown St. Pete, and it all starts with great ingredients. “We source out some of the best durum wheat you can get,” Benstock told CL. “Two kinds: semolina and 00 flour.” Then the restaurant — known for its rustic, innovative cuisine since 2013 — gets to work, and, well, it has to, considering the kitchen pulls off nine kinds of fresh pasta on-site daily. (That’s on top of baking its own focaccia and ciabatta rolls, making its own ’nduja sausage and preserving its own tangerines. You know, the usual.) “It takes about eight to 10 hours every day to make enough pasta for dinner service,” said the chef. A house favorite at Il Ritorno is the short rib mezzaluna. However, Benstock’s go-to is the mezze rigatoni with lamb ’nduja, charred broccolini, crispy garlic and stewed tomatoes. Mouth not watering yet? The restaurant, led by the chef and his wife Erica, has another suggestion for fans of its pastas: a new limited-seating lesson. A first for Il Ritorno with a summertime date to be announced, the pasta class includes lunch and wine, and tickets cost $120 per person. Keep an eye out for it. —MH
JOHNNY’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT
2907 State Road 590, Clearwater. 727-797-29940, johnnysitalian.com.
My family started eating at Johnny’s in the 1980s, when it was much… cozier. At the time, you’d dip into the Italian restaurant in a strip mall on Drew Street, but it disappeared from there a while ago. This was, of course, pre-internet, so it wasn’t that easy to figure out if the place had closed or moved or what, which is why stumbling onto its new (back then) location after college was a delight, as if I’d rediscovered an old friend. After I was diagnosed with celiac, learning Johnny’s — which has been in business for 30-plus years — offers a myriad of tasty gluten-free options was a godsend, and although I live a solid 45 minutes away, I’m all for making the trek north for a plate of something pasta-ish. Unlike so many of the region’s Italian dining destinations, Johnny’s doesn’t do “fancy,” yet he (yes, he’s a real person) does do simply great Italian-American food, and plenty of it for a more-than decent price. Favorites include anything with pasta, especially the fra diavolo. For those of you craving a decent lunch on the cheap, the restaurant offers traditional dishes on special; $7.45 gets you eggplant Parm, fettuccine alfredo, stuffed shells or one particular fave: linguine and clam sauce. Johnny’s also features a full bar, but honestly, everyone knows that a dry red or a nice chianti is a never-fail with a huge plate of pasta. You’d think, too, that since this little gem by and large flies under the radar when it comes to food critics and columns, it wouldn’t be crowded, but you’d be wrong. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations unless you have six or more in your group, which means it can be a long, hungry wait on weekend nights — but totally worth it. —Cathy Salustri
LA TERRAZZA
1727 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa. 813-248-1326, laterrazzayborcity.com.
This Ybor City restaurant has offered classic northern Italian cuisine for more than two decades, and a look at the menu reveals a wide variety of tasty pasta options. There’s seafood, veggies and plenty of pig — in both prosciutto and bacon form. Personally, we’d go for the spaghetti ai frutti di mare with mussels, shrimp, clams and scallops, or the ravioli with either lobster and crab or spinach and ricotta. Whatever you choose, you can expect it to be made with care and love, something of an anomaly in a nightlife district often known more for hip or quick food (hi, pizza!) than old-school favorites. —SH
PIA’S TRATTORIA
3054 Beach Blvd. S., Gulfport. 727-327-2190, piastrattoria.com.
From its origins as an outdoor-only dining area under a funky, big-ass tiki hut to its full-service wine dinners inside one of the neighborhood’s most historic buildings, Pia’s has evolved along with the Gulfport food scene. Actually, the comfy, romantic Italian trattoria has led the charge. Co-owner Pia Goff is not only a culinary force, but she’s also one of the driving forces behind the annually sold-out charity dinner, Chef’s Table. Don’t go expecting chicken Parm, either — her eating house does Italian food, not Italian-American. And yes, there’s a difference. And yes, it’s amazing. While you won’t find pasta in every dish, when you do find a pasta dish you like, it bears coming back to eat it over and over and over. Might we suggest the pesto verde? Like all of Tampa Bay’s best Italian spots, Pia’s makes its own pasta on-site. “Daily in-house made is the only way to ensure the pasta is fresh, made with good ingredients and isn’t stored long or frozen. And our growing vegan customer base appreciates the absence of non-vegan ingredients,” Goff said. “With the high amount of pasta sold on our premises, it only makes sense.” She’s right about demand, as anyone hoping to snag a table during Art Walk on the first Friday of every month can attest. The trattoria accepts reservations, which we can’t suggest strongly enough, and if you’re feeling like bringing an entourage, ask to eat your pasta in “The Godfather room.” Goff won’t even make you kiss anyone’s ring. —CS
PICCOLA ITALIA BISTRO
2140 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa. 813-348-4912, piccolaitaliabistro.com.
Known for offering a small lineup of classic pastas that hail from Abruzzo, Rome, Bologna and Naples, this intimate, well-reviewed eatery — which feels more like you’re sharing a meal at a dinner party with close friends than a local restaurant — takes diners on a no-frills taste trip through Italy. Chef William de Ingeniis, a native of Pescara, Italy, cooks each dish at Piccola with a special house-made sauce — and shows those who sign up for his pasta-making class the process behind the West Tampa restaurant’s specialties (they even get to enjoy dinner afterward). What’s more, the chef’s Nonna Maria passed down her traditional chitarra pasta cutter to him, so you know the food here is fire and in expert hands. Bolognese is a standout on the small menu, composed of fettuccine, ground beef, sausage, basil and tomato sauce. But there’s also everything from puttanesca and amatriciana to carbonara and primavera, to which diners may add their choice of sausage, meatballs, chicken or shrimp. By the way, in case you go: A majority of the pastas are affordably priced at $9.95, which is a delight in itself. —MH
