24-03-2025
Monday Munchies: Lovely pasta dinners at Mezzaluna
Bentonville's latest must-try dinner spot had me at mozzarella.
🇮🇹 The intrigue: Downtown Bentonville isn't short on good food or upscale restaurants, but there was room for Mezzaluna Pasteria & Mozzarella Bar, an elevated Italian restaurant serving pasta made in-house.
👏 Pro tip: Plan to go all out here. Take a date or bring a group of friends and order something off the mozzarella bar, shareable appetizers, pasta dishes, drinks and dessert. It's a special place where everything is worth trying, and you should.
🍝 What to try: The signature Mezzaluna Di Zucca ($25), butternut squash-stuffed ravioli in a brown butter sauce, was the star as the dish's slightly sweet butternut squash flavors shined.
A more classic dish, the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara ($25) with pancetta and parmesan, was comfort at its finest.
🧀 For starters: The mozzarella bar is featured in the restaurant name for a reason. A whole section of the menu is dedicated to small plates with fresh mozzarella front and center.
I went with the Prosciutto Di Parama ($19) and happily paired my taste of mozzarella with proscitto, roasted pear, arugula and pine nuts.
I really wanted a pasta entrée, so I was happy to see a smaller version of the gnocchi in a brown butter sauce ($15) on the antipasti menu for me to sample. Highly recommend if you need to feed your potato dumpling fix.
🍹 Onto drinks and dessert: There's nothing wrong with sticking with your favorite wine to accompany your pasta, but consider sipping one of Mezzaluna's speciality gin and tonics, like the blood orange or the Sicilian lemon.
🍨 End the night with gelato. Get three scoops of any of the nine flavors for $10. Yes, they have Nutella.
