Loring Pasta Bar

327 14th Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-378-4849
http://loringpastabar.com

Category: Italian

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 3
Service: 4
Ambience: 8

Recommendation: Poor. Ornate and old worldly décor make this is a great spot for a night out but the food is below average. Go here for a night out (drinks and dancing) and skip dinner.

We love the ambience at Loring Pasta bar…it has a very old worldly feel to it; dark, cozy, beautiful light fixtures and ironwork. The restaurant has high ceilings, exposed brick walls with interesting curves, hardwood floors and the overall look and feel of an antique store. The dining area has very ornate tilework and comfy booths. In the summer, they have indoor seating that opens up into the sidewalk as well as sidewalk seating, which is perfect for lounging with a drink. Located in Dinkytown, this is mostly a student hang-out and they also play live music almost nightly. It is located on a lively stretch that includes several other dining and shopping options. Loring is also a nightclub and regularly has salsa dancing nights.

Unfortunately, what we like about it stops here. The food and service are both below average and don’t live up to the expectations set by the décor. Service is inconsistent. Most times it is slow and the servers just don't seem to care. We can’t comprehend how an Italian restaurant can’t get Spaghetti Bolognese, one of the classic Italian dishes right. The sauce was watery and didn’t have enough of a meat flavor. The flavor from the chopped carrots overpowered the sauce. The Fettuccine Carbonara was tolerable. The Roasted Pepper, Crimini Mushroom, Spinach Papardelle was bland and lacked flavor. They also have entrees such as Steak, Chops, and Seafood but our terrible first experience didn’t warrant a trip back.

$$.