Pasta Cosi

I really enjoy heading to a place where the bar service continues late into the evening. Pasta cosi offers an upscale bar experience, often with great live music and dancing that pair well with the delightful cocktail list they offer. The staff is wonderful and Mary and Bria are always upbeat, friendly, and skilled bartenders. One less star because the food price is quite high for the quality.

Every dish I have had here has been fantastic! The salsicce is my favorite pasta dish followed by a regular special of creamy pesto with scallops. The burrata appetizer is amazing, pork chop and sea bass are also faves! Love going here for dinner! Always consistent…

Great service, savory, heart warming food, nice ambiance. I had the Panne Cotta, Salsicce e Finochhietto, the Cosmo and shared the Crème Brulee. The pasta is made by hand and everything has great flavor to it. We will definitely visit again.

Great Paleo menu… Broccoli rabe and seafood salad was excellent. Food was fresh and place was clean.

Have been to PCosi a number of times, and always are pleased. Servers Gigi and Molly are very friendly and knowledgeable about helping us decide on menu items when we’re undecided. (Gigi actually makes a number of the desserts herself!) Personal favs are Capricciosa, Bolognese, and Puttanseca. The hearty burrata app. is more than enough for 2! (who can go wrong with aged balsamic!?!) Lighter and gluten-​free alternatives with spaghetti squash are always available. Huge portions, often have left overs. The selection of homemade pastas are very nice as well. The place is small and has limited seating so make reservations in advance or go early before the crowds of main dining time. Don’t complain that you can’t get in just by walking up, it’s a popular place!

If I could give this restaurant NO STARS I would. I’m actually mad I have to give them 1 star! We made 6:30 reservations for 3 last week and when we arrived 10 min early we were told we would have to wait which is fine, we were early. After about 20 min since there is no where to stand we were told we could sit at a table until the people who reserved that table for 7 o’clock came! We declined because really??? Who wants to sit at a table only to be asked to get up in 10 min so someone else could sit there? When the 4 men in cheap suits arrived at 7:15 for that table we were still waiting! No apology no explanation! My fiancé expressed his frustration to the hostess who replied sorry I had to sit them per my boss. We were finally seated about 5 min later almost an hour after our reservation! No apology no explanation! The trashy hostess then proceeded to argue with me because she saw nothing wrong with giving a table to people who had a 7:00 reservation before she sat people who had a 6:30 reservation! She was actually smirking at us! I now know why someone who has the mentality of a coco puff couldn’t understand why she was wrong! I will never go back to this restaurant and I recommend you stay away from here too! Looking at the rest of the reviews it seems this is a common problem here! I think the hostess needs to get back on her stripper pole and give up being a hostess! If someone had at least apologized and said they screwed up I would have understood but we got absolutely NOTHING!

The sole florentine over spinach and spinach pasta was delicious. There were four pieces of fish, with mushrooms in a lemon butter sauce. The pasta was homemade and complimented the meal. I always enjoy the hard crusted bread with the extra virgin olive oil

This is one of my favorite restaurants. The Italian food is delicious and fresh. The pasta is homemade and there are a variety of amazing sauces. The menu has many choices all of which are wonderful. The service is professional and attentive. The atmosphere is lively and the lighting created a nice ambiance. We go w/​a group of friends often and always have a great time.

Came here a few nights ago with my boyfriend. We started with the zuppa di clams for an appetizer and it was delicious. I ordered the capricciosa pasta which was pretty yummy. My boyfriend got the NY strip special and thought it was extremely over salted. He also ordered it well and it came out very pink inside. The atmosphere was nice but there were a few loud guys at the bar right next to the dining room and that was kind of annoying. Overall the food was good and the atmosphere wasn’t too bad but I didn’t really think it was worth the price. We’ll probably be back soon for a second chance.

Great food but very pricey if you order the specials. $ 16 for a very small crab arugula salad. We (my boyfriend and myself) did not have reservations but I would advise to make them since this is a very tiny restaurant on the Branford Green. Parking lot in back or on the street. We found a spot right away on a Friday night. The wait was about 30 minutes and we had drinks at the very crowded bar. Everything was excellent but the Server Greg was not very friendly, made us feel rushed, and did not explain the specials very well. Instead of having the servers stating the specials it would be a good idea good idea to have them printed out with prices because they are double to triple the price on the menu and half the portions. Staff does not take likely to walk ins.

Very rude manager that was hosting at the front door. Our waitress did not introduce herself, messed up our drink orders and my boyfriends clams were over cooked and rubbery. The manager did compensate us for the clam entrée however was not impressed the the service!!!

Go somewhere else.
At 630 PM, my boyfriend and I walked into Pasta Cosi without a reservation. The «manager”/host (guy in glasses) greeted us with an absolutely miserable attitude. He stared at us until WE asked him about how long the wait would be for two, to which he responded with a shoulder shrug and told us he had nothing for the rest of the night. We asked if we could wait for bar seats until someone finished. With condescension, he responded, «I wish I was psychic!» Who in their right mind would respond like that if you’re the face of a restaurant?! The only people waiting were two disgruntled women who also chimed in by saying the people at the bar looked like they were there for the night! Bad crowd and worse service.
Spend your money and time at the restaurant Home, right down the street.

Delicious food, and sure to be a place I will go out of my way to visit again. We ordered off the Paleo menu as a recommendation from some friends, and were not let down. Great place to go with friends, or on a date. Great wine selection as well. This place is as 5 star as it gets!

Disappointing! Bad attitudes. Tables too close together. We won’t be back.

Have yet to have a bad meal at this place. I have been here 12 times and have had, paleo lasagna, pork chops, pasta of all variety. In addition the prices and appetizer options are great. The service has stepped up based on Tom’s attention to detail. Great wine list and the cocktails are fairy priced. The wait staff makes the neighboring Resturant HOME look like collage students on break. A bit small inside but if you are looking for a lively Friday night in Branford this is the place to be.

Had a very nice first visit to PC last night and will certainly be back.
Very busy as one would expect on a Saturday night, but seemed very under control.
The décor is nice and everything seemed very clean.
Bread and olive oil were an 8
The Zappa di clams was a 10
Carpaccio was an 8
Saltimbocca a 9
Steak with Gorgonzola an 8.5
Some of the best asparagus I’ve had, coming from a non-​fan
Service was an 8
Lots to like here and I can’t wait to try more of their paleo and non-​paleo cuisine.

After being told there was a 30 minute wait for dinner tonight, my wife and I went to the bar and had a cocktail, but after waiting an hour I was told it would be another 15 to 20 minutes. The Maitre de was kind enough to inform me that he had to take care of his Resses before walk in customers. I could understand a busy night had anyone decided to tell us throughout the hour, but no.
Don’t bother now, plenty of great places nearby that make you feel appreciated.

Service was excellent. Wait staff extremely pleasant and food first rate. The only reason I can’t give it five stars is upon arrival the place had an odor that can be described best as «two day old ASS»

We made the mistake of returning to this place after a past bad experience !
We sat @ the bar and ordered wine and 1 app
About an hour later still no food we finally said something
(There were tables that had sat and finished there meals)
They must have forgot to place the order shortly after it came out
This ONLY 1 problem or issue with this place
Some manager or assistant Tom is the major problem and issue
He happened to pass us by and wasn’t happy that we (a couple) were laughing thinking it was @ him turned made comments about «tonight’s crowd» and even took a waitress aside and proceeded to talk about us and glare over @ us.
I am nothing short of annoyed and disappointed.
Avoid this confrontational place
So all in all:
service ZERO (thanks Tom !)
Hospitality ZERO
Food Average at best
Value average

Pasta Cosi is a solid Italian restaurant on the Branford green. The location is great, parking on the street is touch and go, and we were able to get a table as soon as we walked in on a weekday evening.
The menu is an uncluttered list of your favorite pastas and standard italian dishes. While Pasta Cosi doesn’t wow, it does serve up consistently good comfort food. The food came out impressively fast, and the service was outstanding.