Do you follow Grossy Pelosi (aka Dan)? If you don’t, you should. His recipes are bomb and he seems to rarely lead me astray. That’s why when he mentioned Raffetto’s, I immediately made a plan to visit this Greenwich Village pasta shop. And now I must scream at myself for a moment because HOW DID I NOT KNOW RAFFETTO’S EXISTED?! Considering it’s been around for 115 years, I have no excuse.
I love the wall of dried pasta behind the counter and they’ve got you covered if there’s a specific shape you’re looking for, but it’s the fresh pasta where they really shine. When we went, there were 13 different pasta flavors on offer, many of which, like chestnut, are seasonal. There’s even chocolate pasta – not mad at it. Knowing we were serving it with a pork ragu that weekend, we chose the parsley-basil flavor because it would compliment the sauce ingredients nicely. It was then cut to order (we went with wide fettuccine).
There’s also house-made ravioli in tons (maybe 20?) of flavors. We got the lobster and the roasted red pepper/mozzarella/basil varieties. I can’t wait to pull those out of the freezer for a Sunday Supper sometime soon.
There’s also a refrigerated section with house made sauces and cheeses to you can complete your Italian meal.
Four generations strong, Raffetto’s manages to remain old school while also adapting to the wants and needs of a 2021 group of pasta-loving New Yorkers. The shop may be cash only and no-frills, but they’re branching out with a pop-up dinner series called Petite Pasta Joint where they host family style meals in the store and pasta, wine, and friends are in abundance. I may have found a new fave downtown spot.
Peaches to Apples 