Jacklyn Pellegrino

The paccheri alla siciliana from Pasta Eataliana Trattoria Napoletana is a thick tube shaped pasta, paired with grilled eggplant in a red sauce presented in a metal serving dish.

People line up daily on Wooster Street in New Haven for some of the city’s most famous pizza from Sally’s Apizza or Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, but just a little bit further down the road is another Italian restaurant that deserves to be recognized.

Pasta Eataliana Trattoria Napoletana opened in 2020 and is located right on the corner of Wooster Street. Its menu ranges from a variety of classic Italian appetizers, pastas, main courses and desserts.

Inside, the restaurant has a quaint atmosphere filled with a few tables that were all full when I went on Saturday. Although I didn’t eat in the main dining room, I had the opportunity to eat outside in a fully-covered and heated enclosure that provided the restaurant with extra tables.

Here’s what I thought about the dishes I ordered:

APPETIZERS: ARANCINI NAPOLETANI & LA BURRATA

Arancini is also known as a “rice ball” to some. In addition to the rice, it was filled with ground beef and peas. The arancini were plated with a red sauce and freshly-shaved parmesan cheese. The rice wasn’t overly cheesy and heavy inside the arancini, and there was an adequate amount of filling in each of them. The shell was lightly fried and added a light crisp to the dish.

The burrata was plated with fresh arugula, tomatoes, artichokes, shaved parmesan cheese and balsamic drizzle. It was all very fresh and the accompanying garnishes made the dish almost like a salad, instead of just the burrata itself.

MAIN COURSE: PACCHERI ALLA SICILIANA

The paccheri alla siciliana is a pasta dish in a red sauce with grilled eggplant and mozzarella cheese. The red sauce was very flavorful, yet not too thick and overpowering. The eggplant was lightly grilled and it mixed well with the sauce. I think fried eggplant would have made the dish too heavy. My only critique would be that the paccheri — which is a thick, tube shaped pasta — was al dente, meaning that it was a little bit hard.

It was also plated in a metal serving dish that sat on top of the plate, which gave the dish a unique touch instead of just serving the pasta on the plate itself.

DESSERT: TARTUFO

The tartufo is a classic Italian dessert that includes a hard chocolate shell filled with vanilla and chocolate ice cream and a cherry center. There were also other flavors of ice cream available. The dessert was plated with chocolate and caramel drizzle, as well as whipped cream. It wasn’t too rich and I liked that it included multiple flavors of ice cream inside.

FINAL VERDICT

Everything I ordered was delicious, fresh and included a variety of flavors that complemented each other well. The staff was also very attentive and came over to the table regularly to make sure that no one needed anything else.

Next time you visit New Haven’s Little Italy, give Pasta Eataliana Trattoria Napoletana a try.