Pausa (San Mateo)

[honkman]

Another great dinner at https://www.pausasanmateo.com/ in San Mateo

Beet salad, sunchoke puree, blood orange, fennel, caramelized sunchokes

milk-ved veal tartare, truffled parmigiano, sauce, crispy egg yolk, chicories, bone marrow demi-glace

Charcuterie board - prosciutto di parma, porchetta, wagyu bresaola, salame oregano, salame cotto, tigella, cunza, pickles, whole grain mustard

Tuscan kale spaetzle, pork pancetta, controne beans, crispy spigarello, pecorino romano

Saffron casarecce, braised pork sausage sugo, crispy lollipop kale, grana padano

Confit pork ossobuco, sunchoke puree, crispy truffled sheep ricotta gnudi, pork demi-glace, lollipop kale chips

Passion fruit & banana parfait, roasted banana gelato, caramel cayenne, chocolate crumble, passion fruit foam, sponge cake, chocolate tuile

Apple cinnamon financier, cinnamon mousse, financier sponge, almond cookies, poached apple, apple sauce, apple tuile, white chocolate snow

[honkman]

Another visit to Pausa https://www.pausasanmateo.com/ in San Mateo. Still an excellent restaurant for the peninsula or Bay Area anywhere. Their fully home made charcuterie plate continues to beat pretty much any other charcuterie plates we have gotten anywhere else.

Burrata, red carrot puree, baby rainbow carrots, carrot top & pistachio pesto, spiced honey, candied pistachios

Arugula salad, roasted corn, polenta corn bread croutons, cerignola olives, peaches, peach vinaigrette

Charcuterie, prosciutto di parma, porchetta, duck pate, lonza, salame cotto, tigelia, cunza, pickles, whole grain mustard

Saffron casarecce, braised pork sausage ragu, crispy lollipop kale, grana padano

Wagyu beef bistro tender, vidalia onion puree, chickpeas, snap peas, polenta fried green tomatoes, veal demi

Butcher’s ravioli, sheep ricotta, yellow tomato sauce, pearl onions, poppy seed crumble, crispy spigarello, pork demi-glace

Limoncello semifreddo, lemon and hazelnut mousse, hazelnut crumble, lemon curd, lemon foam, hazelnut caramel

Strawberry pistachio roulade, pistachio sponge cake, strawberry compote, whipped strawberry-lime ganache, pistachio “nutella”

[PeonyWarrior]

Cheese plate was good.

Malloreddus pasta was bad. Overcooked pasta, overcooked vegetables, watery sauce, icky taste. The worst pasta dish I’ve eaten in memory. So bad I cancelled a third dish.

[honkman]

Surprised to hear about the pasta as it is normally really good (but from your posts, it sounds like you prefer very al dente). Not sure why you picked the cheese plate which is rather boring when the charcuterie is completely made in-house

[PeonyWarrior]

I thought the charcuterie plates looked great. I’m not a big meat eater, and unfortunately they wouldn’t let me do a combined cheese and prosciutto plate.

The cheese plate had great selections, like a 48-month parm and robiola. I chose it because it sounded more appealing than the appetizers.

Pausa clearly has high-end aspects that make it worth visiting, namely the charcuterie and cheese. I just felt that the chef who designed my pasta dish couldn’t be trusted.

[honkman]

Another great night at Pausa https://www.pausasanmateo.com/ in San Mateo. We yet to have a disappointing dish over the last 7-8 visits. Charcuterie board, octopus ragu pasta and iberico pork chop as some of the highlights - still one of the best italian restaurants in the bay area for us.

Korubata pork belly, controne bean puree, quince apple mostarda, pork demi, saba, chicharron

Butcher’s board, prosciutto di parma, ciccoli, salame al ginepro, salame del doge, coppa, tigella, cunza, pickles, whole grain mustard

Kabocha squash, endive, grapefruit vinaigrette, monte veronese fonduta, prosciutto di parma crumble, citrus segments

Saffron spaghetti, baby octopus ragu, controne cicerchie beans, bluefin tuna heart

Red wine conchiglie, braised pork sausage ragu, crispy lollipop kale, grana padano

14oz iberico pork chop, chicories, pine nuts, raisins, apple puree, sage chicherron, buffalo blu fonduta, pork demi

Bomboloni, sheep ricotta donuts, white chocolate yoghurt cream, persimmon-pomegranate compote, rice crisp

Zuppa inglese, cheesecake gelato, lychee foam, sour cherry compote, chocolate sauce, graham cracker crumble