Pasta Cucina

Always enjoy dining here. We always sit at the bar and Amber is the reason why we keep coming back… She’s behind the bar and is very interactive and always remembers us when we come back. The food is a 4 and service is a 5 ++. Have not dinned in the dining room.

The first time my family and I had dinner here last year, the food was great and service was also fantastic. With this in mind, my boyfriend said he wanted to try the place out when we were gaming that night. It was a holiday weekend so it was busier than normal. We did not have a reservation and they took his number to text us when our table was ready. Now, he grew up working in food service and was an assistant manager in a fine dining restaurant so his standards are much higher. He was not happy with our visit. I had a salad and it was wilted and brown. How does this happen? It was not even hidden on the bottom, it was on top of the dish. We asked for a second order of breadsticks four times. Four. They brought them when we had received our check which threw him over the edge and he did not have nice things to say to the poor girl that brought them out. In her defense, we never asked her for breadsticks during the fiasco, but how do three people, four times, forget a simple request? Besides that, our server was there to refill our drinks and glasses of wine. The entrée was ok but I should have ordered the chicken Marsala like I had last time. All it takes is one bad experience, and my boyfriend refuses to go back. Plus, we are moving out of the neighborhood so it will be out of our way anyways.

Just a really great meal for a super affordable price! I had a birthday dinner here and they served me a complimentary dessert (cannolis) which is always a classy thing to do for a birthday.
The atmosphere is very cool with lemon «trees» and a painted sky ceiling. The appetizer sampler we shared was very yummy and I enjoyed my veal marsala greatly! The sauce was tasty and it was a good sized portion for the price.
The Caesar salad that came with my entrée was pretty big and very fresh! I’m not a big fan of Italian cuisine and this place would be one that I’d return to. Their martinis are impressive and a good price at $ 6. Our party of 5 all had an enjoyable time and we all agreed we’d come back.

While I love Sunset Station, my recent experience here was not good! The food is very good, but the service was horrible! I took my friend to this restaurant for a nice dinner. The whole time we had to flag down anyone that would walk by our table for anything we needed as we saw our waitress maybe twice. We were never asked if we needed more wine, water, if we wanted dessert, etc. We had to flag someone down to ask where our wine was, where our salad was, where our dinner was. I will not be going back after this experience.
I see the review below about the waitress having someone skip out on the bill and apparently, we were there on the same night with the same waitress and my story is almost identical to hers! It was NOT a good night.

Strap in kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. We visit Sunset Station regularly and finally got around to visiting this restaurant. We arrived on Saturday night about 7 pm and the hostess said it would be a 15 minute wait for a table (not bad) and she took our name and phone number. Then she offered to seat us immediately at a high top table near the bar right then (yay). After we were seated, we got water served while we went over the menu but then it seemed to take forever for waitperson to take our drink and appetizer order. About 5 minutes later the «unlimited» breadsticks arrived (more on the later). A second waitperson showed up to take our order (WTH?), apparently the first waiter was helping the second waiter as she was chasing down someone who skipped out on their check (by the end of the meal, I could almost relate). There we sat with water and bread for another few minutes, watching the bartender running back and forth and kept coming out from behind the bar to expedite food to the patrons at the bar, but what he was not doing was making our drinks! At 25 minutes in, we did receive our calamari which were nice and tender but the marinara is AWFUL! It tasted of plain tomatoes and tin can. Was kind of expecting fresh made marinara and not pre-​prepared SYSCO food. The same marinara came with the breadsticks as well as an alfredo sauce that was also lack luster. But guess what we still don’t have? You guessed it! Our drinks! Now we are literally 10 feet away from the bartender, he ran past us at least a dozen times. We complained to our waitress, still no luck; it wasn’t until my hubby stopped the floor manager did we finally get our drinks after we were finished with our appetizer. The drinks were meh. Then the salads came out, I had a caesar that was barely dressed, hubby had the house salad that was swimming in dressing and half wilted. We did not finish them. So now, we are sitting there staring at one another, drinks finished, no breadsticks (what happened to the «unlimited»?), salad inedible only ½ glass of water left, when hubby’s phone rings. It is the hostess calling to tell us our table ready (if I’m lying, I’m dying), hubs informed her that she sat us a half hour ago. At 42 minutes in to this nightmare the hubby summoned floor manager over to inform him that we were walking out. Manager said he would get the food personally within 5 minutes, so we stayed and started a timer. He did get the food to us within 5 minutes, managing to bus away the nasty salad plates to make room but no one bussed away all of the other empties. BTW, no has asked if we needed another beverage or a glass of wine, including the floor manager. The entrees were lackluster and could be considered consistent with a cheaper priced chain restaurant, we did not finish them. We were credited for our drinks and appetizer but that was 1 hour and 20 minutes of our life we can never get back. The whole experience was so bad that if they said we’ll have you back for free, we would not go.

This place has decent food. Got the baked ziti. Was good. Had a perfect balance of sauce and meats. Also got the Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken. 4 stars for that. The bread is like Olive Garden bread but not as soft or moist. The Cesar salad looked terrible. Didn’t eat it.
The Mozarella appetizer was amazing. Def recommend that dish.
The dinner took WAY TOO LONG to come out after the salad. At least 20 min. We were full by the time the dinner came out.
But what really grossed us out and was MAJORLY DISGUSTING was our server coughed in her hands right next to our table right before serving our salad. She coughed for like 10 seconds and didn’t wash her hands right after but served our salad right away. Our table was like «we are not touching that!» Like how do you do that so openly and expect nobody to see or react to that? The experience really turned out whole stomach.
But we still ate the pastas since a good runner brought it not our server. I didn’t want to complain because I am not one to try and get free stuff and free load. I don’t want to mention her name because I know she didn’t do it on purpose or intentionally. And it is Christmas. So I’m not trying to put anyone on blast. But it’s still gross.
Plus she didn’t seem like she wanted to be here tonight anyway. I don’t blame her. We still left a 20% tip.

The Station Hotel Casino is the half way stop from Reno NV to Tubac AZ. this is the third time I’ve eaten at this restaurant within the hotel. It’s always been pretty good.
Today, however, we were given that you have no reservations look in an empty restaurant. That look really ticks me off. Then we were seating in «no mans land.» When waitress came she started to tell us she didn’t know this was her table then she apologized and took our order. She was then very polite and pleasant. However it took a full 65 minutes before we received our entrée, unfortunately no apology for the delayed food
Going back a few steps we asked if the clams were fresh or canned. She said a combo of both. Bummer, last year they were all fresh. So we ordered shrimp scampi that needed more garlic. And the llobster and shrimp ravioli had so much sauce you really couldn’t tell what it was. Too bad. Will think twice about coming again. The hotel has many options

The restaurant has great ambiance and great service, and the food is serviceable. My rating is more along the lines of 3.5 stars. I appreciate that they offer free breadsticks with two dipping sauces, and with your entrée you get the choice of minestrone soup, house salad, or Caesar salad.
The breadsticks were okay, they would be bland without the dipping sauces (marinara and alfredo). The soup came with lots of ingredients but lacked depth of flavor. I had the Fruitti de Mar pasta which came with 3 shrimp, 3 calamari, 5 mussels and about 7 – 8 clams. The seafood was delicious but the pasta was bleh. I wish the pasta sauce was thicker and clung better to the pasta.
It’s not a bad place, there’s just nothing to make it stand out amongst the hundreds of Italian restaurants in town.

Let me start off by saying if you’re staying in the Sunset stations hotel you gotta eat here. The breadsticks were perfection and the marinara sauce was the best I’ve ever had! You wouldn’t expect that from a restaurant in a casino but it was amazing! I got the special which was the surf and turf. The steak was under seasoned but our great server made me a «special sauce» and it was delicious. I also liked the way the restaurant was decorated.

My first dinner at Pasta Cucina in Sunset Station, not sure why it took so long to finally try dining here, but I will say it was very good.
Service was excellent and you never had to ask for more water in your glass. Empty plates were taken away promptly and overall the food was prepared perfectly.
I just realized from the other Unilocal reviews, that the red and white sauces on the table was for dipping your breadsticks, but since the bread kind of reminded me of the same breadsticks from Olive Garden and they don’t offer dipping sauces (that I am aware of), I didn’t put 2 and 2 together and just wondered what those sauces were for. I do like oil and balsamic vinegar for my Italian bread, but either it was too far away, not on the table or I just plain olé didn’t see them, I didn’t use them.
The red moscatto wine was very light and fruity, if there was ever a wine geared for children this would probably be it!
Ceasar salad was good, nothing to write home about though. The fried mozzarella looked store bought, but the reviews here say they are freshly made in house. Caution, they are very cheesy! I had cheese overload on my first bite and was headed for «gag city», but I recovered with no dire consequences. The bruschetta appetizer was crispy and very tasty as was the calamari.
I ordered the Shirmp Alfredo and it too was very good. 6 or 7 juicy shrimp and the pasta was cooked perfectly with it’s accompanying Alfredo sauce.
The serving was a normal size, but as I ate and ate the pasta seemed as though it would never end as it was the case with a few others dining at the table, some taking leftovers home in a box.
Overall a memorable dinner presented with classic Italian flare, great company, great food and great service! Entrée pricing is very reasonable with much of it below the $ 15 mark.
The restaurant is open air with all the surrounding casino noise flowing in, so if you are looking for a quiet atmosphere this probably isn’t for you.
Waiters are wearing casual Levis, with a black apron, white shirt and a tie. I’m not sure why they are wearing their street clothes pants, but I’ve never been to Italy so never mind.

*Local’s perspective*
This little gem in the back of the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino is a must try! My girlfriend and I were hungry after not eating all day due to running errands and were in the area. We’d never been into this casino so we wandered in and it’s a good thing we did!
First, the place is very well decorated! The «patio» area has faux lemon trees with string lighting over head making you feel as though you are truly dining under an open sunset. The furniture and décor only add to the feel of being in a «upscale» Italian restaurant.
Second, the service… PHENOMENAL! The hostess was very sweet and courteous and sat us immediately. Our server, Russel, was AWESOME! He was on top of everything. He knew the menu and gave us great recommendations to try (which were all great). We needed new silverware, boom he was there with it, new plates, boom he was there with it, more water, boom ice water in my cup. Couldn’t have asked for better service. The food runner and busser were both great as well. Didn’t get names but were great!
Third, the food. Now, I know this isn’t an upscale Italian restaurant or a mom and pop one, but man the food at this price point was good. Nothing over the top and nothing «decent», just good quality apps, food, and wine that hit the spot.
Overall very satisfied and would not hesitate to go back!

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to Pasta Cucina. My sister celebrated her 24^th wedding anniversary there. I wanted to surprise her with flowers so I called the restaurant and the hostess said I could bring them. I asked because I wasn’t sure about bringing large tall vases. The reservation was at 6:00pm and I showed up at 5:30 with my flowers and vases to find that the table was already set up for our party of 20 people. The manager (didn’t get his name) approached me and right away asked if I needed to fill the vases with water. They were very helpful and I decorated the table in no time. Our server Kari gave us outstanding customer service. She was very attentive from the moment we got there. Thank you so much Pasta Cucina Team we had an amazing time. We really enjoyed ourselves.

I was too tired to drive to find food and this seemed like a better option than the night before working the sunset station.
I order fried mozzarella cheese, spaghetti bolognese with minestrone soup: needless to say I had half of everything. Portions are substantial. I hate wasting food.
Fried mozzarella: made fresh on site: yummy but I old age two knowing how many calories they are!
Soup: fantastic but thicker than I’m used too. I think there was oil or butter when usually minestrone is light and fresh. Still tastes good.
Spaghetti: exactly what I was craving. Toooo much. Oddly whatever was in it made me burp the rest of the night. It tastes great but I didn’t care for the after affect.
Next time I’m back for work: I might eat here is its a I’m falling over tired night but other than that I’m going out oh the hotel for food!

I don’t know why this place gets all the hate and bad reviews. I’ve been here quite a few times and never had a bad meal here or bad service. Yes it isn’t 5 star Italian food but the dishes are always tasty. Ten times better than Olive Garden and for the price they give generous portions. We usually opt out of appetizers because by the time we get the breadsticks and the soup or salad that comes with your entrée were basically full. I like that they serve marinara and Alfredo sauce for dipping the breadsticks in they’re kind of boring on their own. I usually order chicken and artichoke pasta but my last visit I ordered the chicken piccata. I have avoided this in the past because I make a mean chicken piccata at home but the fiancé doesn’t like capers so I rarely make it. It was actually quite good but I prefer mine better. Mine came with sautéed spinach but they made a mistake. It’s supposed to come with pasta. When the server brought it I asked about the pasta and she said it came with spinach so I ordered a side of angel hair. When she brought the angel hair she informed me they made a mistake so I wouldn’t have to pay for the pasta. I liked it with the spinach and sauce and pasta it was actually a good combination. The fiancé always orders frutti di mar which is a generous portion. Comes with mussels and seafood. Other than the slight hiccup of the pasta missing from my dish service is always alright and the food is good in my opinion. The fact it’s in the smoky casino kind of sucks but we like Pasta Cucina.

For a fast and inexpensive meal at the Sunset Station, Pasta Cucina is the place to go.
This cute little restaurant boasts their complete meals. Pasta dishes comes with a soup or salad and unlimited bread sticks with marinara AND alfredo dipping sauces. Also, the prices are right with dishes ranging from about $ 9 – 20. The only thing I ever order has been the pasta bolognese ($ 10.99) and it was bomb. Rich and meaty sauce smothered over perfectly cooked spaghetti. Yum!
The restaurant is in open view of the casino but you won’t even notice all the people outside. I love the quaint European feel with the ceiling painted to resemble the sky and fake lemon trees around the establishment. Feels like you’re dining al fresca but not because you’re still in a smokey casino lol.
Reasonably priced, decent food, and friendly service. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

ITALY IN 15 MINUTES
Baked Penne: meatball, Italian sausage, marinara, mozzarella, Parmesan. Marinara sauce was subdued meaning not very zesty. Plenty of sausage but the few marble sized meatbals prompted Yu-​go to start wondering if the kitchen had forgotten something. Would had preferred more marinara sauce and much less mozzarella. Chose the Minestrone soup to start.
Eggplant Paremesan: spaghetti marinara, mozzarella, Parmesan. The thin large slices of eggplant coated with seasoned bread crumbs and prepared crisp that went well with the not so al dente spaghetti. I choose the house salad to start.
Dinner includes either:
Minestrone Soup: ditalini pasta, beans, potatoes, tomato, peas, spinach, squash, cauliflower. Not spicy but packed with the listed ingredients … was served lukewarm.
House Salad: Choice of mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, house dressing; or romaine, parmesan, croutons, caesar dressing. Went with the romaine, served with a lemon based dressing. A full salad could be an ideal meal in itself.
This restaurant is more than romantic and mimics an every day dream like perfect Italian courtyard filled with lemon trees. Waitstaff is very cordial and constantly monitoring their diners. Now that we’re aware of their cooking style, we can ask up front when ordering for more marinara sauce and less mozzarella.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Ciao baby.

I’m the first to admit to not expecting great Italian food inside the a Station casino (though I do like Sunset Station for many reasons), but last week I had a coupon for $ 10 off any meal $ 20 or more at a selection of Sunset Station restaurants, & decided to try Pasta Cucina.
It’s hard to choose which one Ambience option that Unilocal gives you — Pasta Cucina certainly isn’t Divey, Hipster, Tourist or Trendy, but to me, it could easily be considered Casual (I was dressed very casually), Intimate, Romantic, and Classy, thanks to the layout & decore. The trees & artwork on the ceiling really start to give you the feel of being somewhere peaceful in Italy, and you tend to forget you’re at a mid-​tier casino.
I arrived solo on a Tuesday evening around 6PM and was greeted & seated promptly. I was offered a seat at their bar, but chose a table instead. The bar area looked somewhat ornate, and had a TV showing a sports game, with the sound muted. It looked to be a nice place to get a drink & maybe watch a sports game while having a conversation, but not the place to watch if you’re a sports nut that wants to hear the game & yell & scream at the action.
Right after I was seated, a very friendly waitress introduced herself & took my drink order while I looked at the menu.
I ordered Fried Mozzarella as an appetizer, then Eggplant Parmesan, which came with a salad.
Complimentary breadsticks, accompanied by Alfredo & Marinara sauce were delivered along with my iced tea. The breadsticks were slightly on the hard side, as if they’d been sitting under a heat lamp for 10 or 15 minutes, but the marinara sauce softened them up. I eat plenty of things with Marinara sauce, but Pasta Cucina’s was outstanding — full of creamy, rich flavor as if they make it fresh each day.
Next came the Fried Mozzarella, and it too really stood out in a positive way — not greasy at all, and tasted fresh, as-​if they cut it up, bread it & fry/​bake it themselves. As good as it was, it too was improved a little by dipping it in the Marinara & Alfredo sauces.
The side salad was perfect, as the Italian dressing provided a savory counter to the sweetness of Fried Mozzarella dipped in Marinara or Alfredo sauce.
In perfect timing, (probably about 20 minutes after placing my order, but just a couple minutes after finishing the salad), my main course arrived. The Eggplant Parmesean was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of cheese, pasta and my beloved Marinara sauce on it.
Often, but not too often, my waitress or another staff person came to check on me, clearing empty plates, refilling my water & iced tea, and asking if they could get me anything else. Even the manager stopped by to ask how things were going.
Pasta Cucina really raises the bar in terms of a relatively inexpensive, nice but non-​pretentious Italian restaurant. As much as I loved everything I consumed there, I’m hoping I will explore other menu items when I go back.

I went here recently with my parents for my Dad’s birthday. He had been waiting to take me here since he really liked it. The ambiance they managed to create inside a bustling casino was impressive. The string lights and trees made it feel like we were eating in a courtyard somewhere, not in the middle of a gamblers paradise.
The wait staff was friendly and professional. They had complimentary unlimited bread sticks and sauce (alfredo and marinara). The bread sticks reminded me of Olive Garden, but it was nice they didn’t charge extra for the alfredo like OG does.
The salad that came with my pasta was overdressed, I had to leave some leaves behind because they were encased in dressing. The linguine and clams I ordered had so much potential! The pasta was cooked well, but the sauce was so liquidy it was like soup. Also, I’ve never seen so many little itty bitty clams before in the pasta… thank you for the generosity? My parents noted that the sauce was too soupy, but I didn’t want to complain since I knew my Dad liked the place.
It’s a cute place to eat if you’re looking for basic Italian food.

If I could eat one food everyday for the rest of my life, it would be eggplant parmesan. In my mind eggplant parmesan is a tasty food that is hardly possible to ruin. I am attracted to eggplant parmesan as a duck is to water. With that said I have good things to write about Pasta Cucina.
This is actually my second dining experience in a Pasta Cucina. It is an accidental dining experience. I was in Boulder Station bound for Feast Buffet. So were hundreds of other people. I passed over an expected blah meal in the Grand Café. I tried Pasta Cucina. I was very satisfied. Fast forward to a couple of weeks later and I was dining in the Sunset Station Pasta Cucina.
What is surprising is that Pasta Cucina’s prices are relatively the same as the Grand Café. An example is that spaghetti and meatballs is $ 7.99 at Grand Café. At Pasta Cucina’s it was $ 9.99 and INCLUDED bread sticks with dipping sauces plus a salad or Minnestroni soup. Where Grand Café has a decent atmosphere, Pasta Cucina borders on the elegant with the Sunset Station Medditeranian motif. You could say Pasta Cucina is a borderline classy restaurant with Grand Café pricing.
When I stepped into Pasta Cucina, which is to the right of Feast Buffet; I observed that the dress code was casual and the noise level average. Throughout the meal, the Waiter was professional and attentive.
A few minutes after ordering, the Waiter placed the warm soft bread sticks on the table. They were served with both mozzarella and ranch sauces. I enjoyed every bite being careful to save my appetite.
The salad with ranch dressing was a taste of the food to arrive. Meanwhile the Waiter was on top of the Pepsi refills. If I was up to an alcohol beverage, the menu features a decent selection of cocktails for $ 6.
The serving of the three slabs of eggplant parmesan over spaghetti was moderate yet delicious. Although the eggplant parmesan is levels below Chef Mark and Chef Olds, it was slightly better than I remember Olive Garden and Long Island (NY) diners. I had zero issues with the eggplant parmesan and spaghetti. They could of added an additional slab of eggplant parmesan, but I would have little appetite for the cannolis.
After savoring every bite of eggplant parmesan with spaghetti, I treated my tastebuds to desert. It was two cannolis with a cup of coffee. The delicious taste of the cannolis complimented the quality coffee.
If you are in the vicinity of Sunset Station and enjoy Italian food at Grand Café prices, I recommend Pasta Cucina. You live once, why not enjoy delicious Italian food at a price that won’t drain your wallet.

I had a $ 10 off coupon for Pasta Cucina from Station Casinos that come in the mail. My husband and I decided to give it a whirl.
I called and made a reservation ’cause It was a Friday night and I wanted to make sure to get a table. We got there at our scheduled time of 8pm. After waiting for a good 5 minutes for a hostess to show up we were seated, but I asked to be moved because they sat us right next to a very large group of people that included several small children. (I love kids. I just don’t want to hear them scream while i’m on a date with my husband.) It took the waitress about 10 minutes to even come over to our table and then another 5 just to bring us water. Finally, she took our drink and appetizer orders. I made the mistake of kicking things off with one of their «Specialty Cocktails» an Italian Margarita. Yuck! Too sweet and to sour all at the same time.
For our appetizer we choose the Antipasti which came with fried mozzarella, bruschetta and calamari fritti. Everything was surprisingly tasty. I really enjoyed the calamari fritti.
Well, I managed to finish my drink and they brought us some bread in the meantime. It took forever for the waitress to come back to ask if I wanted another drink, which is when I switched to their house white wine. We also got our entrée orders in around the same time. I ordered a pasta seafood medley that is no longer on the menu. It had shrimp, mussels, scallops in a marinara sauce over linguini. Mussels were a bit over cooked, but still was good. My husband ordered the Baked Penne. He said it was pretty basic and nothing to write home about. We both definitely have had better!
If it wasn’t for the really bad service I would have scored this place a three star. Their prices are decent, but I wouldn’t go back without a coupon. Especially if i’m going to have to wait sooooo long for my drinks and food.