Too often, dining out with kids requires choosing between enduring nasty looks from staff and guests at a “fancy” spot, or visiting the kind of mass-market family restaurant where “Italian food” means overcooked pasta and soggy filets of over-fried chicken.
That’s ironic; Italian culture is all about family, and the country is famous for its love of both children and food, so it’s odd that so many places seem averse to sharing real Italian cuisine with even the youngest diners.
One delicious Italian spot down in San Jose does things differently. It serves incredibly authentic Italian food, while still maintaining the kind of casual atmosphere that’s perfect for families.
That spot is Eataly at Westfield Valley Fair–and specifically, Eataly’s La Pizza & La Pasta restaurant.
If you haven’t been to Eataly before, and you love food, it’s absolutely an experience worth having. The food hall and market has three floors of Italian cuisine–carry out food and gelato downstairs, wine and spirits in the middle, and a full-scale Italian market up top.
It also has two Italian restaurants on site. Because Eataly imports so much food directly from Italy–and sources much else from local suppliers around California–it’s basically starting with farmer’s market quality ingredients every day.
That–combined with a commitment to Italian authenticity–makes for a great spot to dine.
My wife and I recently took our three kids to La Pizza & La Pasta for a big Sunday meal, as the restaurant’s guests, to try the food out. Specifically, we wanted to see what it would be like to eat there with a big family–and to try out the restaurant’s annual Restaurant Fest menu.
The Food
As the name implies, La Pizza & La Pasta is a restaurant devoted entirely to pizza and pasta. That’s a concept I can get behind!
The restaurant has a lively energy. Decked out in light wood and lots of red and orange, it’s filled with servers darting about carrying steaming hot pizzas, and is anchored by a gigantic pizza oven and a bar.
We sat at a big table in the front of the restaurant. For families, one advantage of La Pizza & La Pasta is the fact that it’s huge. Again, Eataly occupies three floors. There’s plenty of space for bigger parties to spread out.
La Pizza & La Pasta has excellent kids’ options, too. Keeping with the restaurant’s simple premise, kids get a choice of pasta (in the form of simple noodle dishes) or pizza.
The pizzas have a fun twist–you can get a normal round one, or one in the shape of a bunny or a heart.
My middle son specifically remembered the heart shaped pizza from a previous visit, and made sure to order it again.
My youngest got a bunny.
La Pizza & La Pasta’s attention to detail–and steadfastness in insisting on serving good food–comes through in the kids’ meals.
Again, many family-friendly Italian places give kids what basically amounts to microwave pizza–lifeless, soggy, and with clearly lower-quality ingredients than the stuff fed to their parents.
La Pizza & La Pasta clearly feels that one should introduce kids to good Italian food early. The kids’ pizzas are just as good as the ones for adults, and featured the crackly, blackened crust and tasty, homemade tomato sauce that’s iconic of Naples-style pies.
Even the crust is light, balloon-like in its airness, and pleasantly glutinous. I know because my youngest gave me the “bunny ears” off his pie!
To try out the Restaurant Fest menu (a two dish Prix Fixe served for $26), I started with a kale salad. It was excellent–a serious salad, not the Americanized kind that’s basically an excuse to eat a bowl of dressing.
The greens were fresh, the dressing minimal, and the extra add-ins used sparingly. My second dish was a gnocchi with butternut squash–Gnocchi Di Patate Con Zucca E Fonduta.
It was well prepared, but not my favorite item. I like gnocchi to be covered in something unctuous and buttery. These were more rustic and minimal.
During Restaurant Fest, you can still order from La Pizza & La Pasta’s full menu. And order we did!
If you’re going to visit, I consider it pretty much mandatory to get the restaurant’s version of fettuccine alfredo. Why? Because it’s served in perhaps the most creative fashion possible for pasta.
When you order, a server brings a gigantic wheel of Parmesan Reggiano cheese with the top cut off over to your table on a cart. They then pour out the hot and butter noodles into the cheese wheel, and carefully roll them so the melty noodles pick up a thin coasting of Parmesan that entirely covers them.
It’s a theatrical way to prepare a noodle dish! And the noodles come out absolutely delicious.
We also tried a spaghetti-like noodle dish with burrata. Most pastas at La Pizza & La Pasta are made in house, but this one is imported from Italy. The al dente texture of the pasta was a nice contrast to the more tender fresh noodles in the fettuccine.
My oldest son eschewed the kids’ menu and got a Bolognese pasta. It was excellent and also featured fresh noodles.
For dessert, my youngest kids had a simple gelato, and we all shared a Copa Gelato Fragolosa.
This was one of the standout dishes of the evening, with layers of sweet cream and strawberry ice cream, topped with housemade whipped cream and slices of strawberry.
Although our mains took a bit to arrive, La Pizza & La Pasta got the kids’ pizzas out extremely fast. In fact, there was a man whose job seemed to be waiting by the pizza oven, ready to whisk fresh pies off to hungry diners, sometimes with three or more balanced on one arm.
I liked something about his vibe enough to snap a photo of him at work.
The Verdict
La Pizza & La Pasta is worth a drive. It’s rare to find a restaurant that feels lively enough for a big celebratory meal, yet also casual enough to bring the family, or to drop by on a random Sunday.
Up in the East Bay where I live, Piatti fits the bill. And La Pizza & La Pasta manages it too.
No one will bat an eye if you bring your kids. In fact, they’ll simply serve them excellent, Napoli pizza.
But you could also come here to celebrate a birthday, or impress an out of towner. The throughline that makes this possible is the quality of the food.
It’s not flashy (well, maybe the stunt of rolling noodles atop a wheel of cheese is a bit flashy). It’s just traditional stuff, done simply and with obvious care–the kind of thing that brings a family together around the table.
Adults will appreciate that, of course. But even a four year old knows good pizza when he sees it. And not a single bite of our bunny pie made it home.
A great review of one of my favorite restaurants.