A fast-casual Italian restaurant serving customizable pasta bowls has a new timeline for its Ballston opening.
Scolapasta has been in development across from the Ballston Metro station since February. While initially hoping to open this past summer, owner Burak Temel said the restaurant now expects to open its doors this spring.
Scolapasta offers build-your-own pasta
- The restaurant serves five different pasta types along with seven kinds of sauce, from bolognese to cacio e pepe. Everything is homemade, Temel said.
- Toppings include meatballs, chicken and burrata cheese.
- While most meals are build-your-own, the restaurant also has a few “Chef’s Favorites,” including squid ink shrimp scampi and pesto chicken radiatori.
It’s at 4219 Fairfax Drive
- The restaurant will open in the space formerly held by Pizza Roma, which closed earlier this year.
- It’s located in the same strip where Hunan Gate recently closed.
- Temel previously hoped for a June opening. Now, Scolapasta is expected to open in March.
It takes a fast-casual approach
- Scolapasta was inspired by Temel’s experiences with Italian street food. On a trip to Rome, he often saw homemade pasta offered in fast-casual settings.
- Temel once referred to the restaurant as the “Chipotle of Italian food” for its quick service and personalization.
- “[The] internet went wild with [that quote], so it was actually pretty funny,” Temel said. “What I meant by that was, being able to customize pasta the way you want.”
It debuted in Tysons
- The restaurant opened its first location at the Tysons Galleria late last month, FFXnow reported.
- Scolapasta is located on the mall’s third-floor food court.
- The location offers the same menu as its planned Ballston counterpart.
