BELLINI PASTA PASTA
No. 16, Sung Shou Road, 2F
inside Warner Village Theaters
(02) 2758-6096
website: bellinipasta.com.tw
hours: 11:30AM - 11 PM
$-$$
Kid friendliness: high chairs and kids' dinnerware available.
Visit reviewed: 4/26/2009
Previous review: 9/11/2006
Having not been back to Bellini Pasta Pasta in quite a long time (maybe a year, or two?), I was again pleasantly surprised at how it measured up to other Italian eateries I've been to since I first wrote about it. Although it's definitely more fusion Italian with a Japanese twist, there's a huge menu to please different tastebuds. This is evident by some of their options- a potato gratin with mentaiko cod roe appetizer or the spaghetti with "kinpira gobo," chicken and chili peppers or thin strips of seaweed atop a calamari, yuzu mentaiko pasta. But don't worry- those are just the extreme- there's still traditional carbonara, lasagna, seafood risotto, or pesto spaghetti.
My favorite is still the Bolgonese with two soft boiled eggs (NT$390) (and it disappeared quickly from the bowl) with the sauce being slightly sweet and the runny egg giving the noodles an extra slippery texture. Bellini also has a pizza with a soft egg in the middle (but I haven't tried it, though I've tried it at Primo).
I also really like that their serve the Caesar salad (NT$180) as a half romaine and is enough to share between four people. This time, they offered to cut it up for us. The dressing doesn't taste like standard out of the bottle dressing. For a little extra, you can add things like parma ham, smoked salmon or grilled chicken on top.
One cool thing Bellini does is let you have 1/2 portions of two different pastas (NT$480) for a popular few selections, in case you want to just give it a try. In this case, I thought the chili flakes made the clam spaghetti too spicy for me, but the pork cutlet pasta was good- maybe too little as a half portion.
The pizza was also better than I remembered- although it probably is best hot and not cooled down as it will if you get it as take-out. We got the number 5 mezzo e mezzo (NT$350) or half and half.
The crust was thin and there wasn't a ton of cheese on the pesto side, but the crust had a nice balance between crunchy and soft.
Bellini is a great option for a meal before the movie if you are Xinyi Vieshow or while shopping at Breeze Center. The atmosphere and menu works for a lunch date or a large group to share and taste a variety of different dishes.
View hungry in taipei restaurants in a larger map
Other locations:
at Future Center, B1
No. 12, Guan Chien Road
Zhong Jheng District
MRT: Taipei Main Station
(02) 2388-8558
at Breeze Center
1, Fuxing South Road
MRT: ZhongXiao FuXing
(02) 6606-0688
7 comments:
they seriously have the best caesar salad ever!
a nice place to have pizza.
The pizza looks interesting! Great hints, and nice to add the map functionalities.
Hello!
Visitor from Singapore! I just wanted to say that I went to this place on your recommendation here and my hubby and I LOVE the food here esp the squid ink pasta! We actually went back again for lunch on the last day before heading to the airport for our flight home.
Thanks for the recommendation! :)
I just moved to Taipei and am following your blog religiously! It has helped so much to be able to find good food here! Especially because I can't speak any Chinese yet!
I waited 40 minutes today at Bellini Pasta Pasta, because I was dying to try the spaghetti with the soft-boiled egg- you were right, it was SO worth the wait! It was definitely a surprise, I never saw this on pasta in Italy, but it made the sauce much better! Thanks!
hello beebs: i do like their caesar!
foodbin: i've really grown fond of their pizza this past year
florian: thanks! i'll try to keep adding maps to my posts
andrew boyd: thanks so much for your comment! and i'm glad the pasta was worth the wait. they also have a pizza that has a soft boiled egg on it! hope to hear from you again on other eateries you like from the blog
I tried their Bolognese with the eggs on top at Breeze Center today for lunch. It was ok, but at TWD400+, even with the giant 2-3 person portions, I didn't feel that it was worth it, especially with so many options for great noodles at around TWD100 all over Taipei. The place was nearly empty on a WED around 12:30 in the afternoon - not a good sign. Overall, when I go out for pasta, it has to be much better than anything I can make at home; this tasted only a little better.
I really miss Pasta Dona from Tokyo:
http://www.atre.co.jp/shop/index.php?sid=54&scd=2
http://www.towafood-net.co.jp/spaghettiya/menu/spa.htm
If you ever go to Tokyo, try them on the Yamanote line in Meguro. The quality of their pasta and sauces are definitely a notch above Bellini (I only mention this because Bellini bills itself as Tokyo Pasta - too bad there are no Spaghetti Dona in Taipei!).
Bellini's pizza did look pretty good though - if I go again, I will try them out.
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