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    Pastina Rustic Italian Restaurant

    3.9 (295 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed • 4:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    Pastina Rustic Italian Restaurant Photos

    Business Info

    PASTINA RUSTIC ITALIAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Pastina Rustic Italian Restaurant

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    Eggplant Parmesan
    Micaela M.

    Went here with a few friends for a dinner. It was my first time going here and the restaurant had a ton of seating with the tables that aren't too close to each other which I really appreciate. The server was attentive and nice, and the food was delicious. We all got wine, parm frites which were perfectly salty, crisp, and savory, and our entrees were incredible too. I highly recommend the eggplant Parmesan. My gluten free friend was able to get gf pasta which was a big plus for her. I will definitely be back!

    Beet salad
    Melissa M.

    I'm baffled that the rating is below a 4, honestly. Pastina is a standby for my family - on par with our family's Italian place :) You pay a little* more here for homemade pasta, sauces and pizza. The portions are PORTIONS. This isn't a dump a box of pasta on a platter type of place. The dishes are well thought out, delicious and the specials are pretty rad. We have ordered a ton of things we loved: bruschetta, pasta diablo, mushroom pizza, beet salad and more. We've had a few different servers and have ate at the bar as well. Once, we came in without a reservation and the manager/hostess met us halfway- we ate and drank and made a deal to leave before the rush. And we were not rushed at all. I loved the willingness to compromise when it's super simple to make a reservation online, I just failed to do so. The restaurant itself expanded and has a beautiful fireplace, booths, standard tables, etc. Pretty flexible. Pastina is solid anyway you slice it and I love that it's so close to home. Great local spot.

    Brooke A.

    special salad with buratta and peaches was amazing so fresh and fantastic flavor combination Butternut squash ravioli was very sweet almost felt like a dessert but delicious They have a rotating selection of local beers which the server had to check a couple times which were available Lots of sections off rooms we were in the room that felt more like a patio area and it was very loud but overall nice area

    Cannoli
    Ron S.

    First visit to Pastina on Tuesday evening. Did not have a reservation but seated immediately. Not crowded but was reasonably active for a week night. I am always on the lookout for good veal parmigiana and Pastina did not disappoint. The dinner came with some nice bread and oil. The bread was not your typical Italian and was just ok. My wife really liked it. The veal was very good, good-sized portion (had enough for lunch the next day) and came with a nice side of pasta. My wife got veal Marsala which she said was very good. Had a cannoli for dessert that was amazing. Had a pre-dinner cocktail called 'The Underdog' which is Bulliet bourbon, Drambuie and Gran Marnier. It was very good. Had a nice glass of Chianti with dinner that was very good. Service was good. Seemed like a family run business and my guess is that all the wait staff was part of family in some way. Nice enough and competent. Physical space was just ok. Fairly new and large but lacked a little character. Bar area look nicer, might eat at the bar if we go back. Definitely worth returning.

    Side of penne

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    23 days ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food made the day and was plentiful. A very popular place for all the right reasons, and the staff kept up with our needs.

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    7 months ago

    One of my favorite places to go to. One of the best Italian restaurants, even their decaf coffee is excellent.

    Business owner information

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    Maryann C.

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Love the pasta, love the bread dip, love the sauce! My go to for authentic Italian, my servers always attentive

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    1 year ago

    Love this restaurant its cute inside , its has great food, good wine, great desserts and staff I'd always good/nice

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    9 months ago

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    2 years ago

    Nice selection of vegan options. Good service and nice ambiance. We all loved our meals.

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    3 years ago

    Excellent service, food, and ambiance. I will soon be back. One of the finest establishments in Mentor, Ohio.

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    Page 1 of 8

    Ask the Community - Pastina Rustic Italian Restaurant

    How does the marinara here compare to Longo's..? I can't find any Italian restaurants with a truly flavorful red sauce, & Longo's is just bland I hate to say. TY

    I have not had Longo's red sauce to compare. Pastina serves their bread with a tomato based dipping sauce that is delicious and I've had the stuffed peppers app that comes with the same sauce I believe. It is a bit sweeter but compliments the… 

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Mama Roberto's - It tasted fine and it was very garlicky, so not the typical presentation or flavor found in Italian restaurants

    Mama Roberto's

    3.2(136 reviews)
    1.4 mi
    •$$

    Wish we could dine in for dinner but I do occasionally order pick up. Never disappointed, although…read morewe typically avoid the pizza. Only because their dinners and sandwiches are so awesome. Owner is really nice and very involved between being in the kitchen, taking orders and ringing people out

    East side and west side - which don't talk to each other (2 of 2)…read more I happened to be in this area on the east side (far, far east) and found this Italian restaurant - Mama Roberto's - that was open for lunch. I saw that the reviews were mostly good, but something on the menu was staring at me in the face: AGLIO Y OLIO I'll get to that part later. Between checking the menu prior to arriving and walking in to be seated, I got a feel for the lay of the land and how this might play out. They brought out a basket of bread, which was a larger knotted roll of garlic bread. You wouldn't see this in Italy. The bread would be far more understated. The salad was very good and substantial, with tomatoes and cheese as well as your choice of a few dressings. I then looked over the main dishes they had for lunch. A few seemed okay and they had the veal and chicken parmigiana and marsala. I was tempted to get the latter, but, with only one chicken breast, I ordered the lasagna, which was only found on the dinner menu. I should not have done so. As soon as it arrived, I noticed its presentation. It was a big slab of lasagna sitting in a sea of tomato sauce. This sort of presentation is Italian-American. It's not the more delicate presentation with less obtrusive pasta sheets that you'd see in Italy or in more upscale Italian restaurants on this side of the pond. I finished it off and it sort of bogs you down, such that you can skip dinner. The service was excellent. There is a "can do" spirit in the service. Since they aren't featuring Coke Zero, which I like because it tastes more like original Coke, they mixed up some regular and diet Coke for me. Let me talk about its decidedly Italian-American leanings. The word "mama" is something I noticed. New York had a long running Italian restaurant near the theaters named Mama Leone's, except that the literature and memorabilia also shows it as Mamma Leone's. Mamma is the bona fide Italian spelling. However, I'm sure that Italian-Americans might say, "I hope your mama is doing better" or "Your mama is a good cook." (Note that it is definitely not "yo mama.") America seems to have defaulted to this Jersey Shore Italian-American spelling. Now, let me get to "AGLIO Y OLIO." Do you put together a menu and not check your spelling with "real deal" Italian people? The "y" means "and" in Spanish! The correct Italian spelling would be "AGLIO E OLIO," which means "garlic and oil." What's also happening that many Hispanic cooks have cut their teeth at Italian restaurants that lean Italian-American and, if that's the case, then the food reflects that. Summing it up, Mama Roberto's gives you a lot of food, the prices are very fair, the service is customer focused, and the restaurant is pleasant and clean. On the other hand, the food runs on the heavy side, it is way more Italian-American, and they have the credit card use upcharge which is becoming more common as businesses shift this normal cost of doing business to their customers. It could have been that one of their meat, chicken, or veal dishes would have been a more manageable portion and been more to my liking. Perhaps one of the white sauce pasta dishes might have also been more up my alley. However, they should revisit their lasagna recipe and use another benchmark for both its looks and taste. I hated writing this review because Mama Roberto's is a mix of positives and negatives. If you are fine with Italian-American food, and lots of it, this might work for you. For me, Mama Roberto's is but a 3-star restaurant.

    Photos
    Mama Roberto's - This is the interior of the restaurant

    This is the interior of the restaurant

    Mama Roberto's - This was similar to a big brick or slab of lasagna and I wasn't crazy about the ground beef and pasta sheets as I pulled it apart

    This was similar to a big brick or slab of lasagna and I wasn't crazy about the ground beef and pasta sheets as I pulled it apart

    Mama Roberto's - This is the exterior of the restaurant and some of its parking lot

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    This is the exterior of the restaurant and some of its parking lot

    TJ's On The Avenue - Canolli!

    TJ's On The Avenue

    3.9(141 reviews)
    3.9 mi
    •$$

    TJ's on the Avenue is a true staple. It's one of those local places you know you can count…read moreon--reliable, consistent, quick, and always filling. The portions are generous, the food is savory and satisfying, and there's something about it that feels genuinely old-school. It tastes like the kind of recipe that could have been passed down from someone's grandmother and never needed much changing because it was already right. What I appreciate most is the trust factor. You know what you're getting, you know it's going to be good, and you know you're going to leave full. In a town with plenty of options, there's real value in having a place that's simply dependable. A longtime staple for a reason.

    Came back to this hometown, Italian restaurant and really enjoyed it. This time around I indulged…read morein a pizza as well as their lunch size chicken marsala which both were fantastic. I will say it did take quite a bit of time for the Pizza to come out so if you're going to order a pizza for an appetizer order it as soon as you walk in. The chicken marsala was great and came with a side of any type of pasta you wanted, I chose Angel hair with half meat sauce and half Alfredo, which was perfect. The appetizers were fantastic as well and totally worth it. Probably could've just eaten the appetizers by themselves and been full. Definitely ordered too much! Don't miss this place!

    Photos
    TJ's On The Avenue - Dining room

    Dining room

    TJ's On The Avenue - House salad with cheese and black olives

    House salad with cheese and black olives

    TJ's On The Avenue - Side Salad

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    Side Salad

    Pastina Rustic Italian Restaurant - italian - Updated September 2026

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