A Secret No Longer, PastaRAMEN Japanese-Italian Wafu Pops Up in Water Mill

Chef/owner Robbie Felice said that while his buzzy PastaRAMEN concept has become known for its speakeasy-style dining — think mystery locations that require an invitation to find and a passcode to enter — it will have a fixed outpost inside Kissaki’s Water Mill omakase room, and reservations are now open.

“In the past we’ve always kept the location secret till the day before, so this is the first time ever that you know where you’re going to eat, you know where you’re booking, and it’s not invite-only, it’s open reservation, and I’m really excited to see what the Hamptons has to offer,” said Felice.

PastaRAMEN’s Italian wafu, a word that means “in the style of Japanese,” incorporates Japanese techniques and ingredients into bespoke Italian dishes. Felice, who’s been nominated for a James Beard award and has worked with top chefs in Europe and New York City, said he learned the ropes of the cuisine through his own personal research and development, and hit on this little-known culinary sweet spot while traveling around the country garnering rave reviews for the concept. 

After successfully testing the pop-up in Miami, Seattle, Soho, and Los Angeles, among other destinations, Felice opened a flagship brick-and-mortar PastaRAMEN in Montclair, NJ, where he owns two other traditional Italian restaurants.

He said that his wafu-inspired cuisine, while mostly unknown to America, is developing a kind of cult following. Some of the popular wafu-style dishes in his tastings include cacio e pepe gyoza, truffle porcini ramen, and entrees featuring luxurious truffle and aged A5 Wagyu beef. 

“I feel like we kind of gave away all our secrets for this one, we’re not even hidden anymore,” said Felice. “My biggest thing with the Wafu cuisine is if you bite into a dish, you know that 7, 8, 9 seconds when people are trying to figure out the cuisine, well, I think that confusion is what people really like, it’s kind of unknown, and that unknown-ness about the cuisines is what makes people kind of dive in, so as long as I’m hitting that, I’m good.”

The tastings are limited to two 12-person seatings on Sunday and Monday nights and run $260 per person, which does not include drink pairings. 

“We’re not trying to scare people away, but we are using luxe ingredients … I don’t think there’s ever been someone who leaves PastaRAMEN and says they’re hungry afterwards. It’s a lot of food. We’ve told everyone eight courses, but I get too excited so I think it’s gonna be more like 10.”

PastaRAMEN is the latest Hamptons eatery to introduce a bespoke dining experience that builds on the growing popularity of intimate, luxurious, and secretive dining destinations that are disrupting traditional hospitality models. 

“I would say people are realizing that going out to dinner isn’t just about the food in front of you, it’s about the company, it’s about where you’re going, it’s the experience you’re getting there, all that good stuff … people are coming up with these cooler ways of doing it. Opening a restaurant these days isn’t exactly cheap. It’s definitely a lot of work doing these, but I think the reward is seeing how great an experience guests have.”

pastaRAMEN, open for dinner Sunday and Monday night, is located in the omakase room at Kissaki, 670 East Montauk Highway, Water Mill. Book reservations at pastaramen.com