Maialino (Brunch)

If you are the type of person who thinks it is never too early for pasta, you'll love brunch at Maialino!  I'm still itching to check out the dinner menu, but I did go for the brunch scene and was pleasantly surprised. 

Brunch at Maialino has a very relaxed feel; there were tables with people reading the paper over fresh-baked bread and coffee, and groups of friends lingering the afternoon away over wine and good food.  It didn't seem like the restaurant was rushing people out the door, which is very appreciated when you just want to be lazy and catch up with friends on the weekend.

While waiting for our table, we sat at the bar and ordered two cocktails, the Caterina de' Medici and the Claudia ($12 each).  The Caterina was bubbly and not too sweet (which I prefer!), and the Claudia was refreshing - the Limonata in it had us craving summertime.  Great start to the meal to come...

The menu has a variety of brunch and lunch food to choose from - eggs, pancakes, salads, sandwiches, pastas.  It was perfect as some of us were craving breakfast food, and others of us were drooling over the pasta.  

First, we started with a basket of their house made pastries.  You could just taste the freshness! They even have a whole counter in the middle of the restaurant for bread.  Oh, and we tacked on a bottle of red wine (just as it's never too early for pasta, the same goes for wine!).

Among my group, we ordered the Ricotta Pancakes, Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, and Bombolotti all'Amatriciana.  Thumbs up all around! The pastas were cooked nicely al dente.  I had the Cacio e Pepe and it was definitely on par with the best I've had in the city (Eataly makes a delicious one too).  As all of us left barely spots of sauce on our plates, it's fair to say we all thoroughly enjoyed our choices! Their pasta dishes left me wanting to come back for dinner and try out the full menu.

Ricotta Pancakes (with Cranberry Compote & Fresh Ricotta)

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (with Pepper, Guanciale & Egg)

Tonnarelli a Cacio e Pepe (with Pecorino & Black Pepper)

Bombolotti all'Amatriciana (with Spicy Tomato & Guanciale)

We wrapped up the meal with Tiramisu, which was very light and airy.  I thoroughly enjoyed Maialino for the relaxed atmosphere, the varied menu and great food, and the service which was spot on.  It's too bad I'm on a 'healthy eating' kick these days, because I really can't wait to go check out the dinner menu.  Perhaps I'll have a cheat day...?  Or maybe I'll write it off as a "piggy" duty to report back to you :)

Piggy says yes!

Piggy KL