Delicious Delarosa

Locals are raving about Palo Alto’s new rendition of the well loved Italian chain, Delarosa, which is perfectly situated in a large bright orange square building in Stanford Shopping Center. Intrigued by all the positive reviews, a few friends and I ventured to the restaurant one Sunday to see if Delarosa is really worth the hype.

The restaurant had a bright, upbeat and colorful vibe. It was relatively full of mostly young families and couples, conversing happily over their food, with trendy pop music playing in the background.

We were greeted at the door by a friendly hostess standing behind the counter, and were shown to our seats almost immediately after telling her of our reservation.

Moments after we sat down, our waiter arrived offering us water. His friendliness stood out to me, and he made me feel welcome and comfortable with his smiling and enthusiastic nature.

The menu was also a pleasant surprise. Each item’s price ranged from $6-$25, which was a very good deal considering the relatively large portions of food. The menu kept things very concise; each of the categories of food had very limited options but with a wide variety of foods. We ended up ordering the cacio e pepe fries ($8), the cauliflower ($14), the vodka sauce rigatoncini ($20) and the margherita pizza ($18).

Our whole decision-making process only took about five minutes, but during those five minutes, two separate waiters came by twice each to ask us if we were ready to order. They always offered to give us more time to decide, but the urgency made me feel slightly rushed.

However, this fast paced service is a part of Delarosa’s legacy. Delarosa emerged from the fast casual Italian restaurant chain, Pasta Pomodoro, which aimed to bridge the gap between fast food and fine dining.

The owner, Adriano Paganini, sold the company in the early 2010s to form Delarosa. Palo Alto’s location is the fourth of four identically named restaurants across the Bay Area, the first one being on Chestnut Street in San Francisco. Samantha Amoroso, the manager of Palo Alto’s Delarosa, explained Delarosa’s unique mission.

“What really stands out for us as a restaurant is that we are a perfect mix between a fast casual place and somewhere that is fine dining,” Amoroso said. “We want to provide fine dining service, fine dining food in a more casual setting.”

And this they did.

Not even five minutes after we ordered, a waiter came by with a hot pile of golden-brown cauliflower smothered in oil and spicy peppers. The cauliflower was smooth, tender, crunchy, oily (but not greasy), and had a slight kick of spice.

We were still working on the cauliflower when the cacio e pepe fries arrived. Served in a silver bowl with a side of calabrian aioli and a generous heap of pecorino cheese, the fries were thin, crispy and fresh. However, this dish was likely my least favorite out of everything we ordered. This was not because the fries were bad by any means, but simply because it wasn’t very special. It lacked the same flair and originality that some of the other dishes and I was a bit surprised to see fries being offered at an Italian restaurant. To me it felt more like theme park concession food rather than a reputable Italian dish.

To no one’s surprise our next plate came by our table almost immediately after the fries. This was the rigantoncini with vodka sauce, the pasta that had our waiter thinking a trio of teenagers was trying to order alcohol. Fortunately, that misunderstanding was cleared up before the police were called, and I’m grateful it was because I would have much preferred to get a bowl of delicious, saucy, indulgent pasta than a bottle of liquor. The pasta was served piping hot in a large bowl for us to share. The sauce was creamy, tomatoey and addicting and the guanciale had its own distinct flavor and perfect chewiness. This was easily the best vodka pasta I’ve ever tasted.

Continuing with the trend of food arriving quickly, the margherita pizza arrived when we had only finished the cauliflower. Out of all the dishes, this was the most visually appealing. It looked like a pizza straight out of a highly photoshopped advertisement, as everything down to the last piece of cheese looked carefully and intentionally placed. When I took a bite, I was caught off guard by how thin and crispy the crust was, but I grew to love the contrast between the crunchy crust, thick sauce and chewy cheese.

After we finished our mains, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake ($10) for dessert.

The cake was the highlight of the night for me. It was pretty large with an even larger scoop of vanilla ice cream drenched in chocolate and caramel sauce and covered in pecans. When I took a bite, I was immediately blown away by all the rich, decadent and clashing flavors. This was exactly what I was looking for in a cake: moist, creamy, comforting and warm. 

Our total for this meal came out to be $89.65,_ which is a pretty respectable price for the five generously portioned dishes we ordered. The only issue we had with the price was the $9 sparkling water, which we ensured was fully consumed down to the last drop.

Overall, my experience at Delarosa was a positive one. The staff were all welcoming and friendly, the vibes were bright and happy, and the food was incredibly delicious. So next time you’re in need of a quick and delicious meal on par with some of the finest Italian restaurants around, check out Delarosa; you’ll thank me later.