Fresh Pasta in Orlando

Pasta the Way It Should Be

There is a difference between pasta that comes out of a box and pasta that was made by hand a few hours before it lands on your plate. The difference is in the texture. The way the sauce clings to every fold. The bite that is tender but never soft. At Ciao Italia Ristorante, fresh pasta is made in-house every single day, the same way the Navarra family has been making it since they opened on Westwood Boulevard in 1991.

The kitchen works with flour, eggs, and time. No shortcuts. No frozen sheets pulled from a walk-in. The pappardelle is wide and silky. The ravioli is filled and sealed by hand. The gnocchi is light, pillowy, and nothing like the dense grocery store version most people have suffered through. This is what fresh pasta in Orlando actually looks like when someone cares about the craft.

The Fresh Pasta Menu

The Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragu is one of the most talked-about dishes on the menu. The wide ribbons of pasta are draped in a slow-cooked sauce that has been building flavor for hours. The Lobster Ravioli is delicate and rich. The Tortellini Brasato is filled with braised meat and finished in a sauce that balances savory and sweet. The Sacchetti, little purse-shaped pasta, are stuffed and served with seasonal preparations.

Then there is the gnocchi. Ciao Italia's Gnocchi alla Sorrentina comes baked with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce. It is comfort food elevated to something worth driving across town for. The menu changes with the seasons, and the kitchen regularly introduces new preparations that showcase what fresh pasta can do when the person making it actually trained in Italy.

Why Fresh Pasta Matters

Most restaurants in Orlando serve dried pasta. Some of them serve it well. But dried pasta and fresh pasta are fundamentally different experiences. Fresh pasta absorbs sauce differently. It has a tender, almost silky bite. It cooks in minutes and carries the flavor of the eggs and flour used to make it. At Ciao Italia, the difference is obvious from the first forkful.

The Navarra family brought their recipes from southern Italy. The techniques have not changed in over three decades. The restaurant is located at 6149 Westwood Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32821, with free self-parking. Open seven days a week from 5 PM to 10 PM. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (407) 354-0770.