Arrabiata
Carbonara
Bolognaise
Pesto
Salmon
Napolitana
Amatriciana

etc

Most interesting pasta dish I had was pear tortelini with cheese sauce, served in a hotel restaurant we were staying at on lake Como.

Lovely.

So are we talking pasta sauce? Or just pasta? Because anything with homemade gnocchi is my favourite

How could you not list Puttanesca (whore sauce)!

Best pasta sauce ever. And one you def go out for if you don't have an Italian mamma. And no, I don't mean go to the whore house.

I'm a fan of Salmon.

But a very good Bolognaise is also *heaven*

Mainly tasty sauces

Have a mod change the title please. Thanx!

Something with a huge amount of white truffle shaved on it.

I almost never order pasta in a restaurant, but might have a black truffle and cream sauce on spaghetti as a starter. When I was younger I used to order:

Putanesca
Smoked salmon and cream
Meatballs

There are very few places where I can honestly say the quality of the pasta justifies the price. If you find me in an italian restaurant it will almost certainly be with a Pizza in front of me!

Culture is something that grows on Yoghurt

Spagletti alle Vongole please

I'd also order a pizza before a pasta, because I believe I can do better pasta than many restaurants, and pizza is really tough (impossible) to do in a home oven. Having said that, I love italian fish/sea food and the antipasti so that's what I order. Nothing better than a plate of bresaola, parmesan and rucola.

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola...

1 gnoccho is great, the rest sits in my gut like a lead brick.

Make that two

Pasta - best done at home in my opinion. But something like a Vongole is hard to beat from a good restaurant. My personal favourite is open seafood lasagne - but then, I make that at home and it is the dogs danglies

Risotto? I tend to avoid north of the Alps - but there is a cracking restaurant in Ticino which does one 1 dish - Risotto with Funghi and Gorgonzola - stunning

Polenta? Good at home - but can get some stunning stuff in the right restaurants. Although I am sucker for the down and dirty sliced stuff you get in work canteens

Pizza? However nice the ones my wife makes are - they aren't the same as a good restaurant pizza. But it has to be good. Thin, and made with a dough that has some flavour - arguably the best I ever had was in the EUROHOTEL in Monza.

Vapiano at Sihlcity Nord makes some very interesting pasta sauces that are really good. Some are very seasonal which is quite nice for a change. Normally I would order a carbonara or arrabiata. I've given up ordering lasagne because I am ALWAYS disappointed with restaurant lasagne.

P.S. Vapiano makes it's own pasta on site which is always much nicer.

Restaurants are too expensive here to bother with ordering something I can very well make myself... which is to say, your poll options are far too limited / commonplace. (Sorry!)

Now, something like this on the other hand, I would order if I was at a restaurant because I don't see my hubby eating it (too spicy) so making it would be a bit of a waste for just me.

Fiery Hot Shrimp Alfredo

One of the most memorable pasta dishes I had was a Pappardelle dish with 4 hour-braised veal cheeks and porcini mushrooms & shaved black truffles. Normally I stay away from pasta dishes but this sounded to good to pass on.

Have you tried a pizza stone? They help to make a great crisp pizza crust.