Pastaria had the most diverse and unique menu of any brunch place the Globe visited, and each item we tried tasted exceptional.
Pastaria
★★★★☆ | 7734 Forsyth Blvd
One of Clayton’s most popular dinner locations, Pastaria also offers brunch over the weekends. The restaurant was empty right at the opening, but tables quickly filled with people looking forward to the popular menu.
Pastaria has the most unique options of any brunch place we visited; instead of the classic eggs and pancakes, they offer oven-baked eggs in a cast iron skillet, huevos rancheros, and a breakfast pizza.
Recommended by the waitress, the oven-baked eggs are poured over a layer of toast, then baked with tomato sauce and cheese. After it cooled down, we found the dish to be extremely flavorful from mixing many different types of foods, but it was difficult to get all of the layers in a single scoop. This was one of the most unique dishes we tried, and it was enjoyed around the table.
Bread, pomodoro sauce and eggs are layered into a small skillet and baked in a wood oven to create this unique breakfast dish.
Pastaria’s breakfast pizza combines egg and bacon with tomato sauce and cheese to capture the Italian theme of the restaurant’s other menus. The runny egg at the center makes the first bite too flavorful to enjoy, but the rest of the pizza provides a well-balanced savory taste. The bacon chunks are surprisingly fatty, which makes the pizza better or worse–depending on the brunch-er.
Combining the Italian theme with brunch, Pastaria offers a pizza topped with egg, pork belly and various spices.
Sides included bacon and fingerling potatoes, both of which were disappointing compared to the flavorful main dishes. The thickly-cut bacon is overcooked and dry, and the excessive meatiness makes it tough to chew. The potatoes are an improvement, but still remained bland and lacking a distinct enough flavor to qualify as delicious.
The only sweet dish on the menu is the semolina waffle, a crispy, walnut-covered waffle with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Despite this seemingly-excessive sugar, the waffle has the perfect amount of sweetness, especially when paired with some melted butter.
Pastaria’s only sweet entree was a crispy, sugar covered waffle with candied almonds.
In the end, it was one of the sides that gained the most attention: the doughnut. Rather than the traditional size for the pastry, each glazed donut is twice as large as its counterparts in other bakeries. The huge rings come with a slightly over-sweetened sugar coating, but the buttery inside helps make it better than almost any other doughnut in the city.
The biggest concern with Pastaria, however, is the price. Especially for high school students, dishes costing upwards of $15 each ― without any sides ― can be financially draining. Regardless, we agreed that the cost fits the quality of the food; while it was expensive, Pastaria’s brunch was definitely a cut above the rest.