05/15/09

Mediocre at best

by atshannon1

I live in the Brady street area and have been to the Pasta Tree twice now. The first time was enjoyable, as I was seated in their small outside area and had a friendly waitress. My most recent experience lacked many of the things I would expect when eating at an upscale Italian restaurant.

My fiance and I arrived around 9:00pm for a late Friday evening dinner and were seated at one of the two nice window tables. Throughout the meal I wouldn't consider our server bad, but maybe tired and a little unwelcoming. The atmosphere is generally fine, however around 9:30 the staff had their meals (normally I wouldn't care) and started socializing. It wasn't obnoxious, but definitely negated any "romantic atmosphere" that might have otherwise been present. The hostess also sat while wishing people a good night, which seemed tacky/lazy.

We shared the caprese salad, which was interesting with pesto and balsamic, but nothing special. The bread seemed to lack some freshness. I ordered the smoked salmon with spinach noodles and would not order it again. In fact, the taste was moderately unappetizing and the sauce turned into a heavy mush about half way through. My fiance loved the shrimp with vegetable cream (5 very large shrimp) and says she would recommend it.

Overall, for $18 a plate (average) the Pasta Tree is mediocre in my opinion. There are probably worse Italian places to have a nice meal in Milwaukee, but with the combination of ok service, hit-or-miss food, and a so-so atmosphere, this place is by no means going to wow you into raving about your experience.

• Pros: central location
• Cons: food just ok, little pricy

02/07/08

Worst Service Ever! What a disappointment!!!

by EricAndAlexsMom

After years of hearing about this place, my husband and I finally went to check it out. We went on my birthday, and were planning to see a movie afterword. Big mistake! We were seated promptly, but then the waiter didn't come to help us for nearly half an hour. When we finally flagged him down, he said that he thought another waitress was helping us. There was no other waitress in the entire section! They were out of everything that I wanted on the menu. I finally settled for some bland, tasteless ravioli. It took another half hour for us to get our food. The waiter was rude and couldn't have cared less that we were unhappy. We missed our movie, even though we were so anxious to get out of there we scarfed our food down. I was very disappointed because I've lived on the East Side for 10 years and always heard good things about it. We will never go there again!!!

01/09/08

best fresh Italian ever.

by dorisah

Enjoyed a lovely supper on a Tuesday evening. The food was fresh and well prepared.

The Cioppino (House Specialty) was so large it could have fed two people. The prices compare to chain restaurants but not in quality. Pasta Tree's freshly prepared to order meals were super. The bread was the best we've had in a very long time. I ordered a scallop dinner and was in heaven. They melted in your mouth. My husband had the Cioppino and I have to admit the homemade pasta warms up very well as a leftover. There is also a very nice wine bar as you enter. The servers, Andrea and Mike, were great and very welcoming. Thanks for a great experience and hope to return soon. So if you read this - stop in, sit back and relax. You will have a great time.

• Pros: top notch food cooked to order.
• Cons: parking, but worth looking for a spot!