Il Pastaficio in Westport: Artisanal Pasta Market Launches Dine In Restaurant...And It's Outstanding

In 2018 I headed to Cos Cob to meet Frederico Perandin and his wife Anissa Nouhi at the location of their brand new restaurant, Il Pastaficio, adored by all in the Greenwich area. 

Born and raised in Padova, Italy, the founder of a successful Italian advertising agency, Federico Perandin moved to Greenwich in 2016 where he immediately fell in love with the town, the scenery and the lively international community.

In 2022 Perandin and Nouhi found a second home for Il Pastaficio in Westport. Initially it was to serve as a market of sorts with its take out menu, but that changed when, after closing for a month over the summer for some light construction, a new sit-down eatery was born. The new restaurant is best described as rustic chic. Its elevated casual atmosphere offers guests a comfortable setting dressed in pale yellows and woods in which they can linger comfortably over Frederico’s authentic recipes, steeped in tradition alongside a healthy serving of Prosecco and conversation.

Il Pastaficio’s artisanal pastas are made from natural grains and are all imported from Italy to further embrace authenticity. Il Pastaficio’s talented chefs have all worked in Italy for restaurants with multiple Michelin stars. In addition to its well-known fresh pasta selections, the Westport location now offers a variety of delicious appetizers and main courses; all paired to a curated list of Italian wines and cocktails. 

I was delighted to return and see Frederico and Anissa again all these years later, and equally as thrilled to try some of their new dishes. We began with Le Polpette di Melanzane. Here we have what Anissa described to me as an elegant deconstructed eggplant Parmesan – but it’s really so much more. A stunning deep-fried eggplant ball sits on a bed of fresh pomodoro sauce with basil and Parmesan chips. The balls were delicate, melt-in-your-mouth tender and brimming with flavor. I loved the concept and presentation of the deconstruction.

This was followed by the “Gnocchets” – Gli Gnocchi Fri tti de Il Pastificio, the result of an experiment conducted at their home kitchen. “What would happen if you fried a gnocchi?” Pure delicious decadence is what! We loved these small tender potato-filled bites with their newly-found crispy exterior. This is a great and fun appetizer to get the table. Everyone grab a fork and dig in! Next on to the Mains. “Il Vitello Tonnato Sous Vide” This classic and unique dish features thinly sliced veal cooked sous vide, delicately arranged on a plate with fried capers and a special sauce made from Italian Tuna which is then poured onto the meat. The sauce’s saltiness adds a wonderfully distinctive flavor profile to the subtly flavored veal. We thoroughly enjoyed this dish with its traditional and complex flavors.

Courtesy Food Network

Did I forget to mention that Il Pastaficio was featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? The program which now focuses on a greater variety of restaurants and Frederico and Anissa were delighted to have their restaurant showcased. Guy Fieri joined Frederico and Anissa at their Greenwich location and Frederico prepared the Bigoli con Ragund d’Anatra for him to try. This dish is one that’s quite common in Veneto. Bigoli is a coarse, rustic, spaghetti-like pasta and here it is combined with a wonderful duck ragu.

Another dish that Fieri particularly enjoyed was the Lasagna al Tartufo. This is an Il Pastaficio original creation, made with truffles and mushrooms and is absolutely out of this world. It’s decadent, rustic in the way that lasagnas tend to be, but it’s also refined with an elegance that would make it perfectly acceptable to serve at an elegant dinner party. Watch the episode if you can, and you’ll see how clearly (and genuinely) Fieri enjoyed these two dishes. 

We were privy to something incredibly special that Fieri wasn’t – the Linguine al Limone con Caviale Siberiano. Here we have an incredibly special linguini made with lemon zest, dressed in a divinely fragrant black tea Alpine Butter punctuated with Siberian Baerii Caviar – an entire tin of caviar. The caviar arrives to the table, unopened and on ice. Then the beautiful pasta arrives, the caviar is then opened and you can add as much of the delicacy you want to your serving of this spectacular dish. Yes, this dish does come with an elevated price tag, but considering the uniqueness of the dish as well as the fact that you get an entire tin of caviar, it’s certainly well-worth it. It truly is divine, not to mention the experience of it alone…

Frederico emphatically suggested that we end our visit on a sweet note. A little dish of gelato would serve as the perfect palate cleanser. We tried the pistachio as well as the strawberry. The pistachio was nutty and velvety and the strawberry tasted like fresh strawberries and cream and both tasted like I was wandering through an Italian piazza in early June! It seems as though pasta isn’t the only thing pumping through Frederico’s veins… it seems as though this man makes a mean gelato as well! But that might just have to wait for another story. The good news is that you can find his gelato, Figo, in Westport. 

Want to catch the episode of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives featuring Il Pastaficio? It’s called “From Chicken to Noodles” and you can find the air times by clicking on the link. There, you can also find Frederico’s recipes for the Bigoli con Ragund d’Anatra as well as the Lasagna al Tartufo.

Il Pastaficio

35 Post Rd E, Westport, CT

(203) 557-6299

@il.pastaficio