Trendy Restaurants Are Using Wine Glass Trickery To Serve Pasta, But Why?

It can be hard to stand out in an age where Italian restaurants are plentiful. Yes, menu adaptations with reasonable prices can encourage guests to walk in. Yes, that exclusive wine-and-dessert room in the back may do the trick. But what about the overall presentation when the meal arrives? How can one restaurant differentiate itself from another, especially when being filmed or photographed for social media?

Presentation is everything for one restaurant in Brooklyn, down to the last noodle. Forget your classic rigatoni, penne, and linguine – Pasta Louise specializes in crafting oddly shaped pasta noodles each day of the week. Allison Arevalo, the owner of Pasta Louise, stated she wanted to bring something fun to guests dining at her restaurant. So, she decided to focus on the noodles to craft a unique customer experience. 

Other restaurants have heeded the almighty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese wheel, including any of Divieto Ristorante's three locations in Florida. Here, the wheel is presented as a tableside experience and a culinary tool to infuse extra flavor into a creamy Alfredo dish, also known as Ruota de Parmigiano. It is crafted from a large hollowed-out cheese wheel that becomes melted on the inside from the boiled noodles and rich sauce. 

Still, nothing can quite compare to one restaurant in Belgium that has become widely recognized for its simple (yet effective) presentation. No cheese wheels or oddly shaped noodles can be found here, but you can expect to see your pasta served in a wine glass.

Beyond its grand pizzas, La Sicilia is known for its unique (and so far unnamed) pasta presentation. A serving of pasta fills an overturned wine glass, and freshly grated cheese rests on the foot. A video of the unconventional dish was uploaded by Alexandre Nejma, La Sicilia's manager, and has since been viewed almost 17 million times on TikTok.

Nejma was inspired by an Instagram photo that showcased cheese in a wine glass and wanted to bring a similar idea to La Sicilia. After filming his 'pasta à la wine glass' creation, Nejma sent the comical video to his sister, and she then suggested he post it on social media.

"She thought it was funny and advised me to post it on TikTok. I just tried it, but we never thought it would spread like this," Nejma told Nieuwsblad, a Blegium-based newspaper.

The 13-second video shows Nejma lifting and twirling the upside-down wine glass, allowing the pasta to spill out before dumping cheese on top. A few confused guests in the background watch the presentation unfold, but neither the customers nor Nejma says anything. He then abruptly walks away. He was shocked by how much attention his video had received shortly after it was uploaded. However, the majority of it wasn't what he expected. 

Although Nejma admitted that his video was comedy-based and that La Sicilia's pasta is served in a more engaging manner, many viewers took to the comment section to showcase their disapproving thoughts. 

"Everybody so creative," TikTok user @matt_._green wrote, using the popular phrase to show his tongue-in-cheek support. The comment was first coined by @tanaradoublechocolate, famously known on TikTok for her backhanded narrations of odd or unappealing food. 

"Keep the glass on the table for the wine," TikTok account @Mendel joked, leading to the repulsive suggestion of "Spaghetti Noir," or the combination of pasta sauce and red wine.

However, it was TikTok user @sophiaaniela who asked the question on everyone's mind: "now what was the point of all that?" While some chalked up the experience as a gateway to price increases, others theorized that it would lead to fewer dishes. The real reason? To make the meal more fun for customers.

"I do my best to make videos now and then, although I prefer to focus on the food and to do my job well. In our restaurant, we always make it as fun as possible for the customer," Nejma said. He considered taking the initial video down after its poor reception but embraced the cynical comments. Now, he tries to post regularly about his pasta presentation, with one recent video even suggesting a tiramisu-filled coupe glass. 

"[Tell me when] the meme becomes self-aware," one user reacted.