Attorney and foodie Mallika Margherita has elevated the garage of her home to a welcoming restaurant that serves a fresh, simple and personal take on Italian cuisine. Ring the doorbell and slip into the cozy yellow interior, decorated with posters of Italian cultural icons and even a portrait of the diminutive Corsican tyrant, Napoleon Bonaparte. The friendly and polite service could be a bit more attentive, but the staff’s gracious demeanor makes you feel right at home. The menu is five pieces of paper stapled together—again, no pretense there—and prices are just as modest, with pasta dishes only B160-180. A new dish, the recommended pasta d’estate, is rich with high quality ingredients: plump tomatoes, huge black olives (although pitted olives would have been better) and incredibly flavorful mushrooms. A constant favorite is their spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chilli and bacon, and we can see why. The bacon is cooked to crisp perfection and the garlic comes in thinly sliced pieces simmered to a beautiful brown hue. For something a tad more sophisticated, the ossobuco hits the spot thanks to hearty morsels of veal braised into tender delights and robust tomato flavors. The presentation was a bit unorthodox, with the meat having fallen off the bone, but these things happen with home cooking. Pasta 54 also does pizza, but the results are dismal. Sitting on an airy, doughy crust slathered in a tangy tomato sauce, no topping can build on such poor foundations: in short, avoid the pies. For dessert, the must-try is their strawberry yogurt ice cream, which is creamy splendor and perfectly sweet. At these prices, we forgive Pasta 54 for its occasional missteps and hope it will remain true to its homely, unpretentious charm. Corkage B100.
