Scala Pasta Bar: Not Your Mama’s Pasta!

1 min read
Scala Pasta Bar

Scala Pasta Bar may be a better place for you if you want traditional Italian pasta. This underground New York-style pasta bar is revolutionizing how we eat pasta, offering a sharing-plate dining style that allows customers to taste multiple dishes and experience various interpretations of Italy’s famous staple.

The Vibe

The vibe at Scala Pasta Bar is energetic and urban, featuring black walls, tan-leather booths, seats, an open kitchen with spotlighted action, and a bustling bar producing a sparkling raft of signature cocktails.

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The Menu of the Scala Pasta Bar

The menu at Scala Pasta Bar was created by consultant chef Luciano Monosilio, Italy’s youngest chef to earn a Michelin star for his former restaurant Pipero al Rex in Rome. Monosilio also made Scala’s signature dish, the king of carbonara, a creative refinement of the classic, with a smooth, rich golden sauce, added salt, and crunch from crispy morsels of guanciale (pork cheek).

The pasta, including the durum-wheat semolina ones, is made in-house at the pasta lab. The single oven-baked pasta avoids clichés and offers unique flavors. The small plin packages of slow-cooked beef shin served in a jus are excellent. Meanwhile, the paccheri stuffed with ricotta and basil in a rustic tomato sauce are served in vertical pasta pillars, taking you to the south of Italy in flavor.

Antipasti and Cicchetti at the Scala Pasta Bar

It is important to start with an antipasto or two; the sharing-plate format makes this easy. The beef-shin meatballs with salsa verde and sweet mustard are hearty, while the raw prawn and tomato consommé confection with burrata foam is delicate.

Scala embraces the spirit of the Mediterranean with fabulous pre-dinner aperitivi and cicchetti. The dedicated cicchetti (pronounced cheek-etti) menu features burrata with focaccia croutons, chargrilled seabass with hummus, and many more delicious bites. As for the aperitivi, there are three different negronis, some rather seductive spritzes, and several more cocktail classics with Italian twists.

Desserts

Remember to save some room for Scala’s tiramisu, a hidden layer of chocolate, becoming the secret of a visual surprise, sweet, rich, and a joy to chocoholics who need more than a sprinkle of cocoa to satisfy their craving.

Contact Details for the Scala Pasta Bar

Scala Pasta Bar is at 81 Church St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. You can reach them by phone at +27 21 424 7204. They are open Monday through Sunday from 12 pm to 10:30 pm.

Meta: Scala Pasta Bar offers a unique twist on traditional Italian dishes, with a sharing-plate style and urban vibe. Made in-house, the pasta is accompanied by aperitivi and cicchetti. Don’t forget to try the king of carbonara and tiramisu!

Isabella Schmidt is a Cape Town journalist who chronicles the city’s evolving food culture, from Bo-Kaap spice merchants to Khayelitsha microbreweries. Raised hiking the trails that link Table Mountain to the Cape Flats, she brings the flavours and voices of her hometown to global readers with equal parts rigour and heart.

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