Spaghetteria

Last weekend, Hayden and I celebrated 3 years of love, laughter, drinks and food. How we celebrated? Naturally, with more of all of the above, but mostly with all sorts of beers we could find throughout Amsterdam Noord – a gem we both just discovered. Our visit at the Spaghetteria later that week was not necessarily linked to our anniversary, but we’ll take any occasion to stuff our faces with pasta.

Now, the Spaghetteria is a classic that I’ve been meaning to visit for a while – there’s one of them everywhere you look in Amsterdam, the food is good, the price is cheap. Technically, everything I’m looking for on a lovely Tuesday night.

The venue is quite unique as a concept – medium sized, with large tables. Everyone shares this space, so it’s a no for any sort of romantic dinner you may have in mind. It’s a quick in and out place. No reservations possible, but waiting times are rarely an issue. You get your drink, you eat your pasta, you pay the bill, you go back to your life. Ah, there’s Tiramisu though, if you’re interested.

Spaghetteria does one thing and one thing only – pasta. Different shapes, sizes and colors, but only fresh, homemade pasta. The menu usually has 6 choices and it’s rotating. At least 3 items change daily. However, there is always a vegetarian version, a cheesy one, a fish / seafood one, a meaty one (usually with some sort of sausage) and a “wild” one – this time, it was wild boar.

I was really curios about the black spaghetti (squid ink) with baby octopus, green peas and capers. They came with a red, tomato-ish sauce. It’s definitely a combination I would not have thought about before, which I liked. The pasta was perfectly al dente, to my taste. The overall dish however lacked flavor, in my opinion. I did not really taste any capers, if they were there. Would have expected a bit more, a spark that should have probably been in the sauce. It was light and easy to finish.

Hayden had the stuffed ravioli, with gorgonzola and ricotta. The pasta was covered in butter and ricotta salata. I liked this one. The cheeses mixed together perfectly, creamy and overall delicious. His portion was significantly smaller than mine, but of course, all the cheese and butter make up for the size and he was not hungry after finishing his meal. He did eat my bread though.

As we were already planning to visit one of our favorite pubs after for beers, we stuck to beers at Spaghetteria too. Never had an Ichnusa before – very drinkable Sardinian lager, goes well with the pasta.

I’ve heard good things about the wine pairings. I had no idea what the white, fancy looking drink everyone was sipping was. I am now aware that was a Sc(g)roppino – check it out here if you have no idea either. Suddenly craving creamy cocktails. Is it Friday yet?

I would return to Spaghetteria for a quick, cheap and casual dinner, with friends or SO. It gives what it promises – fresh pasta and a pretty good value for money. I don’t believe the food was something to write home about. The rotating menu is something I love about Spaghetteria and I’d love to see what else the place has to offer at another time. Maybe during summer?

Value for money: 7

Food Quality: 7

Location: 9 (Van Woustraat 123, Jan Hanzenstraat 32, Pretoriusstraat 72, Olympiaplein 176, Daniël Stalpertstraat 93)

Service: 8

Website:https://spaghetteria-pastabar.nl/

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