Fasta Pasta

Always great choice of pastas, with a lovely atmosphere. The staff are always friendly and always checks to see how your going with everything. Always recommending friends to go there for a great night out with a good price.

I have always enjoyed Fasta Pasta, from the first time i tried it in Gawler and it is always the kids treat to go to Fasta Pasta, and my daughter loves the Minestrone soup and i love the Ravoli Milanese, love it and always will, and always fast and always friendly

It is what it is - a fun family friendly place serving very good freshly cooked delicious pasta. I've had two of my birthdays here already (and I've only lived in Cairns three years!).

Service has always been friendly and quick, even when we turned up unexpectedly with 27 hungry triathlon runners one Saturday night (and they didn't miss a beat!)

It sure is fast. In fact my partner and I tried it recently, needing a quick meal before work. We were surprised when the waitress came out with one entree and one main. Then came straight back with the other entree and main. So we were sitting at the table with all our meals facing us at once. So if you dont want to eat your meals all together maybe you have to order them seperately (order and pay at counter). The minestrone soup tasted like it cane from a can, but the pasta was quite good.

My fiancé and I eat here all the time, it's our restaurant of choice in Cairns. Beautifully made pasta dishes that don't burn a hole in your pocket, with friendly staff and the quickest service I've ever experienced in a restaurant, I would recommend Fasta Pasta to anyone for any occasion from a quiet romantic meal with your loved one, to a fun night out with a bunch of your mates.

I work at fasta pasta as a waiter and I think that this reviewer must have gotten a pretty bad first impression at the store he visited, because on the whole, I and all the waiters I know try to be really friendly and courteous

On a recent trip over to Australia, myself and a group of friends went to FASTA PASTA and the food was excellent and not only that but there was 15 of us and they served all the food within 15 minutes it was excellent service and I would recommend anyone to try this restauarnt ,with it's cheap prices and good tastey food, you cannot go wrong.

david mckeown ,England

The food was great!

Is it fasta or pasta?
Reviewed on: 2003-03-21
Reviewer's rating: 2

Your reviewer was recently invited to eat at Fasta Pasta by some friends for a quick meal before hitting the town to pickle ourselves in fine broth. I was told the restaurant was great for "what it is."

Ah ha, I thought. What a lame attempt to describe a fine restaurant in Cairns! I must embark on a journey to discover what kind of restaurant, exactly, Fasta Pasta is.

Fasta Pasta is both restaurant and take-away shop. It's a strange concoction, but perhaps that's part of the appeal. I'll start with the food - it's good. All the pasta is fresh, which dramatically cuts down cooking time and also produces richer flavours and textures. The meals are simple, but satisfying and very tasty. They exceed their $10 to $12 price bracket considerably.
So far, we're experiencing the restaurant side of Fasta Pasta.

But the television tuned to "A Current Affair" in the corner of the room, the waitresses who appeared as though they'd rather have been somewhere else, and the loud racket created by other diners (which is completely out of their hands I might add. The wooden floors and solid walls create a chamber that becomes loud as people delve into their conversations) detracted from the classiness of the restaurant.
Now don't get me wrong, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It certainly works for a lot of people because Fasta Pasta is extremely popular. But it's causing me a conundrum because I don't know how to class it. If it's great for "what it is" then what is it?

All the favourite pasta dishes are on offer: napolitana, puttanesca, carbonara, lasagne and spaghetti bolognese. The servings are quite large, and a main was all I required. Vegetarian pasta is also on the menu to cater to the growing crowd of cow avoiders, and other dishes include steaks, chicken and a selection of fresh salads.
Fasta Pasta says they are not in the fast food business. But by crickey, the food I ordered came quickly. I hadn't even downed my first beer by the time the food was plonked in front of me by a sour-faced waitress. I can forgive the waitress though, because the Ravioli Fiorentina she delivered was copious and delicious. The meat-filled pillows of pasta tossed with bacon, spinach, white wine, tomato and cream was a real treat.

So when it comes down to the verdict, your scribe must admit a firm decision has not been reached on the fast food/fine dining debate. The best I can come up with is that Fasta Pasta is an innovative concept that blurs the line. The good food, inexpensive prices, and family atmosphere are sure to make Fasta Pasta a big player in the restaurant/fast food market in Cairns. And it deserves it.

- Diner Diller