If you love carbs as much as me, walking into La Pizza & La Pasta is like settling into a blissful wheat-filled heaven. There is no wondering what you’ll find on this Eataly restaurant’s menu, their name says it all.

Which is precisely why we decided to share a margherita pizza ($16) amongst the table as a starter – when you can’t decide between pizza and pasta, why not have both? The middle of the pie was paper thin, covered with an ample amount of the San Marzano tomato sauce but not overly soggy. They didn't skimp on the mozzarella and it was well spread so that each bite had a bit of the mild gooey cheese. The crust was soft and chewy, toasted enough for the aroma but not overly blistered and burnt. We were off to a good start.

The house-made tagliatelle in the Bolognese ($24) was also spot on – thick enough to give the fresh pasta some bite but not too thick to become doughy. I just wish there was more of the beef and pork ragu, even if it meant there was less of the pasta, as there was just enough sauce to cover the strands but no extras to swirl the pasta or a piece of bread into. On the plus side, La Pizza & Pasta makes their Bolognese right: the sauce being meat focused rather too heavy on the tomato. There was just so much pasta that they could have decreased the portion size by 10% and people would still leave satisfied.

In fact, it made me wish I had forgone the slice of complimentary country bread that made its way to our table after ordering. I simply wouldn’t have ended the night so stuffed. But, when you’re hungry, you can’t think so far ahead and that golden pool of olive oil was simply too sunny to say no to.

Aside from the carbs, when in season, truffles grace their menu and can either be added onto a dish ($25 for 3 grams for the black winter truffle) or is featured in seasonal plates. It’s a good option for those who like to indulge in fresh truffles and give their dish a little bit of je ne sais quois.   

There are a couple of annoying things to keep in mind – by no means deal breakers, but still good to know:

• If you have a strong sweet tooth, opt for an earlier visit. La Pizza & La Pasta makes a limited amount of desserts (tiramisu or castagnole) so if you visit for a later dinner (our reservation started at 8:45pm) they will likely be sold out.
• While they can split bills for the table, they cannot split individual dishes within a bill (say if you share an appetizer with friends), which seems very pre-turn of the century.

Essentially, La Pizza & La Pasta likes to keep operations easy to manage, not an unfair way to run a business. In the end, it made dinner an efficient and attentive affair. I was ending the night in a blissful food coma - no dessert and a bit more coordination was the least of my worries.