Went to Pasta King a couple of weeks ago arriving at 11:50 a.m. for lunch. Asked for lasagna to give it another try as the last time it was dismal. The answer this time , " No Stock". That's it for us. Have tried it 4 times with the current owner. It is sad to say the least. Penny wise and pound foolish. Cutting quality, very noticeable, and serving size, not that we are big eaters at all but none the less. If they are trying to run the place totally out of business they are doing a good job of that. We used to go there often with the previous ownership.

 

Recently? NO
Shortly after it was opened. So long ago, I can't even remember what it was I ordered. I do remember tho, that I would NEVER eat there again and I have not. I left a one peso tip only because I did not have any centavo coins.

 

we gave up on pasta king long ago, too many other decent options now.

 

Personally, I like Pasta King and go there frequently. I do notice lately a change in some of the dishes, I don't know if it's a new chef or what? Particularly spaghetti con polpette used to be an absolute favorite ... I don't know if it was sun dried tomatoes or truffle oil or what it was they used in the recipe, but that sauce was one of the best I ever had. But, now it is still very good, but sadly just not quite the same as it used to be. I do also like the lasagna and carbonara. Most dishes are available in small/large size order, I always get the small size and it is generously more than enough to leave me very filled.

 

Went once while the old Italian bloke was in charge, fine, went once after he left, absolutely not fine. I vote with my feet, never again.

 

I was a more than frequent visitor of that place after opening in 2011. I do remember you even have to make reservations to be sure of a table @ your desired time of diner. After the Italian guy, Andreio, left and it was taken over by Peter from Munich, I did still like the place and its food. However after Peter went away, I noticed step by step a detoriatuion of everything. One time I did not give any tip, tip is not an automatically geste, but something to show you were content as a customer. The waitress dare to ask why I did not give any tip, like most foreigners do. I told her for you to find out the reason I did not. Any way to make a long story short. I hardly do visit the place any more. Sometimes as an escape when no parking places left on the boulevard @Why Not or Sans Rival, I just go there while my choice is limited to the salad and tomato soup I still can appreciate most of the time.

 

The purpose of a tip isn’t to augment anyone’s income either. It’s voluntarily given, not obligatory. If owners want to pass the burden of the staff’s salary to customers, then they should charge a service fee that will form a part of the bill. No one should demand for tips especially if the food is crap. In an ideal world, no one should demand for payment if their food is crap.

 

I fully agree. A tip should be reduced or not given only if the staff seem disinterested in serving the customer BUT in the case of Pasta King I found the staff there to be exceptionally pleasant and the service extremely good. I also have a policy of wealth distribution, where every tip or donation I make is to help improve the living standards of people who have very little. If we always want something back for every peso we give then perhaps we are not as kind as we think we are. In our own countries we would give a certain sum of money as a tip but perhaps here we reduce that level because the cost of eating out is low - but we still probably eat as much as we did before, so perhaps our criterion is wrong.