Pasta and...

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Story Rooted in Piemonte

The story of Pasta and… begins long before the restaurant opened its doors in Margate, Florida. It starts in postwar Piemonte, where Chef Luigi Marenco was raised by his father Piero — a native of Trisobbio — and his mother Bruna, a chef originally from the Veneto. In the hardship of postwar Italy, Luigi learned two crafts that would define his life: cooking from his mother, who worked with whatever the land provided, and winemaking from his father, who tended the family's vineyards. Those early lessons carried him through stints on cruise ships and eventually to Cassine, where he opened a pastafresca e gastronomia — a homemade pasta shop — near his hometown.

In the 1980s he met his wife, Chef Esperanza, who shared the same passions. Together with their son Gian Marco, the family made the leap to Florida in the 2000s, recreating in Margate a small, warm room they are happy to call Casa — home.

La Cucina Piemontese in South Florida

The kitchen at Pasta and… is built around the traditions of Northern Italian cuisine: fresh stuffed pasta made by hand every day, risotto, polenta, truffles, game, mushrooms, and aged cheeses. The menu honors the breadth and refinement of Piemontese cooking — a regional tradition the restaurant describes as "one of the most refined, royal and diversified cuisines of Italy." Pasta is paired with a variety of meats and seafood native to the region, prepared with what the Marencos call, simply, "Passion and Heart." A dedicated white truffle menu signals how seriously the kitchen takes seasonal ingredients.

Gambero Rosso has recognized Pasta and… with a Fork in its 2025 guide — a mark of quality that places the restaurant among a select group of Italian tables worth seeking out in the United States.

The Wine Program

Gian Marco oversees a wine list that has grown to over 600 Italian labels, all temperature-controlled and selected with a deliberate balance of traditional, rare, and interesting bottles. Kushtrim Kastrati, a Master Italian Sommelier from Florence, is on hand to guide pairings and elevate the dining experience. The list spans multiple regions of Italy, built specifically to complement the Piemontese cooking at the table — making wine pairing less an afterthought and more a central part of the meal.

As Federico Fellini once said, and as the restaurant quotes with quiet pride: "La vita è una combinazione di magia e pasta." At Pasta and…, that combination feels entirely genuine.