Pausing For A Delicious While At Pausa
A sampler of charcuterie (almost all house-made) on a one-of-a-kind plate at Pausa.
San Mateo’s new Pausa asks you to take time out of your busy life to hit pause.
For a bevy of Italian wines.
For house-made charcuterie.
For house-made pastas, pizza dough and breads — all made in a glassed-in dough room on prominent display.
Pausa, which is Italian for “pause,” entices with all of that sit for a spell and just enjoy. The restaurant, which just opened the first week of January, is a collaboration between Italian-born Chef Andrea Giuliani and Co-Owner Steven Ugur. The two first met a dozen years ago at the old Spiedo restaurant, which was owned by Ugur’s father, and sat on this same spot.
Crowds are already checking out the place, as I found out when I was invited in on a recent weeknight as a guest of the restaurant. Every table was taken in the modern dining room, with a focal wall sporting butcher twine woven into an art piece, tinged white and deep red, that is meant to mimic the topography of the Dolomites in Italy.
Chef-Owner Andrea Giuliani who hails from Veneto, Italy.
To imbibe on the lighter side, there are spritz cocktails ($10) that are meant to awaken the palate as you peruse the menu. I tried one of the more unconventional ones, the Bastardo, a blend of Amaro Ciociaro, pineapple gum, apricot liqueur, lime and Lambrusco, that was like a spicy, fruity sangria.