Pasta Viva
In Irvine, an opportunity to try Italian cheese wheel pasta – and chocolate noodles with Nutella sauce
At a moment when food price inflation seems to have peaked – and forced many people to cut back on eating out – it’s now possible for any pasta lover to experience ruota di parmigiana, a relatively luxurious Italian cheese wheel take on fettuccine alfredo, for only $10. In Irvine. Pause on that thought for a second, and you’ll understand why a small restaurant named Pasta Viva has been drawing crowds at The Square plaza near John Wayne Airport since soft opening in December 2025.
Realistically, you’re probably going to spend more than that at Pasta Viva, but yes, this young restaurant’s most bare bones “build-your-own” pasta bowl starts at that price. You can keep it simple or add additional sauces ($3 to $4), toppings ranging from chili flakes to proscuitto ($1 to $8), and switch from traditional fettuccine to gluten-free/vegan ($4) or keto ($8) pasta; seven pre-designed recipes include toppings for the same prices you’d pay to build them yourself ($14 to $19). Foccacia sandwiches ($16 to $22), salads ($13), bowls ($13 to $15), and several desserts ($6 to $15) are also available; Tractor-brand fountain drinks are self-serve next to a handful of tables in the small dining room.
Simply ordering a bowl of pasta here without seeing it made would be a gigantic mistake. The restaurant’s star attraction is a huge and likely very expensive wheel of imported parmigiano reggiano cheese, a groove in which is used to swirl alfredo-soaked fettuccine in a circular motion before it’s placed in a bowl, mixed with additional sauces, seasonings, and toppings, then handed off hot to enjoy. Our impression – unlike versions that mix pasta thoroughly with softened cheese – is that most of the flavor and creamy coating on Pasta Viva’s fettuccine is coming from its alfredo sauce, rather than melting off the typically hard, salty parmigiano wheel. But even a basic version of this pasta is pretty good; we also tried a version with extra ingredients including chicken and basil pesto ($18), both more than adequately portioned and essentially just as expected.
A standout item on this menu is The Closer Chocolate Pasta ($15), the most expensive and distinctive Pasta Viva dessert. Served just as hot as savory pasta, The Closer is a smaller bowl with cocoa fettuccine – yes, a seemingly wheat-based noodle with cocoa mixed in – with mascarpone cream, Nutella, and bright green crushed pistachios mixed in to multiply the flavors and textures. Although we enjoyed the bowl and found its contents substantial enough to overlook that price, the pasta’s cocoa-to-flour balance was a little too flour-heavy to stand apart from the savory pasta we ate before. We would have enjoyed it more paired with a non-pasta entree (say, pizza from plaza neighbor Mr. Moto), or reconfigured as a more chocolatey noodle, but as a standalone concept, it’s very cool that it exists.
That’s similar to our overall thought on Pasta Viva – the very presence of a ruota di parmigiana cheese wheel shop in Irvine is noteworthy, and though we would personally prefer a more parmesan/less alfredo-heavy recipe, fans of fettuccine alfredo will likely love this place. If we revisit, we’ll likely try different items and update this article with additional details.
Stats
Price: $-$$
Service: Counter
Open Since: January 2026
Address
17933 MacArthur Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92614
949.932.0157
Instagram: @eatpastaviva