Pasquale (Pat) Lamaara was born into the restaurant business. His parents owned multiple Italian restaurants in New Jersey, and it was where Pat felt at home. Wanting to carry on the tradition but forge his own path, he moved to Florida in his early 20s and opened several restaurants there with partners.
While this worked for a while, he decided once again to carve his own way. "I wanted to do my own thing without any partners and not have to answer to anyone," he says. "So, in October of 2019, I founded Pastaio Handmade."
The name Pastaio, which means pasta maker in Italian, reflects one of the key ingredients in the restaurant. "We offer handmade pasta that's made fresh every day in each location," says Pat. "Many restaurants say they have homemade pasta, but they're purchasing it. Sometimes it comes in frozen, sometimes it comes in dried."
All the pasta is made with Caputo 00 flour, which is the same type of flour used in Italy. "People who are sensitive to gluten often say that when they've had the pasta in Italy, they never had any issues. That's because it's not a high-gluten flour; it's more easily digestible."
Today, Pastaio has expanded from Florida into Metro Detroit and Grosse Pointe. "An opportunity came up for us to take a look at a spot in Royal Oak," he says. "It was a 15,000 square foot three-story venue with a beautiful rooftop."
Shortly after, looking for a neighborhood that was very similar to Pastaio's original location in Florida, Pat purchased a property in Grosse Pointe in 2023. The 3000 square foot, 90-seat type restaurant opened the following year and was a hit from day one, with some diners coming in six or seven days a week.
"The menu's very versatile. We have a small plate menu. We have half portions of certain pastas. People can come in and mix up that menu and never have the same dish twice."
At Pastaio, diners won't find that old-school Italian-American motif with murals on the wall. "What we do is a little bit more upbeat Italian, and we offer upscale food with everyday affordability," says Pat.
One of the restaurant's most popular dishes is the Langusto. "It's not on the menu; it's a house feature made with fresh pappardelle pasta. It has lobster, shrimp, scallops, and pasta with a lobster tomato cream sauce."
Another in-demand dish is the short rib ragu. "It's a braised short rib that we cook for about four hours," says Pat. "It just breaks apart and flavors the tomato sauce perfectly. We serve it with a pocket pasta similar to rigatoni that has a really nice mouth feel."
The octopus is also a highly requested dish. "It's very tender, and we serve it in a simple Mediterranean style with olives, tomato, garlic, rosemary, and other herbs."
Other key features include the extra virgin olive oil in all of its dishes and its homemade sauce, which is made fresh daily and is the basis of many of its dishes.
And, of course, no Italian meal would be complete without a hearty, delicious bread. "We have our bread shipped from Tribeca Oven in Northern New Jersey. It arrives partially cooked, and then we finish the cooking process here. We could make our own bread, but I stick with the people who have been doing it for over a hundred years."
Diners can also enjoy a cocktail made with premium liquors and developed by a mixologist at its flagship location in Florida. "He comes up with cocktails for all the seasons," he says.
Pastaio's reservation system even stores diners' dietary restrictions, birthdays, and other pertinent information to provide the most personalized experience. "It's like having Sunday dinner at your Italian-American friend's house."
Since Pat established Pastaio as a franchise, anyone who loves the concept is welcome to join the team. "I already have someone who wants to grow it in the Metro Detroit area," he says.
To find out more and see the full menu, visit EatPasta.io.