From the team behind Staple Dough and Bella, Cantina is bringing fresh pasta to the neighbourhood of Taman Desa with the kind of poise that can only come from those who’ve done it before, and know that they’re good at it. From two versions of carbonara to gochujang cream tagliatelle, the menu covers enough to keep everyone happy.

Basic Theory is all about ravioli. Pick a filling, pick a sauce, and build your own plate. Combinations range from beef with a seaweed Sichuan mala sauce to spinach ricotta with a classic yolk carbonara. Everything is made in-house, and the cocktail list is a nod to the founders’ bartending days. It’s a small, cosy space inside Millerz Square and a little tricky to find, so take the escalator on the right side up to the first floor.

Staple Dough started during MCO, when founder Tan Zhen Yi began making pasta at home and selling it online. The response was so good that a restaurant followed shortly after. Taman Megah is where it calls home, and it has grown into one of KL’s most reliable handmade pasta spots.

The Pici Carbonara was the one that sealed the deal for us. Thick, hand-rolled strands of pici, affectionately nicknamed “the Tuscan fat spaghetti”, coated in a rich egg yolk sauce and finished with guanciale, Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano, and a generous crown of 63-degree sous-vide egg yolk. Sarawak black pepper finishes the whole thing off. Every ingredient earns its place on the plate and together they are very hard to argue with.

Francobolli Pasta is the city’s new parlour for fresh pasta by Italian-Malaysian founder Luca, making its own rigatoni, tagliatelle, and other pastas in Wisma Cosway, each partnered with the perfect sauce and served with soulful simplicity that channels a nonna’s homestyle comfort. Their Cacio e Pepe was an easy favourite for us. The rigatoni has serious chew and every ridge is coated by their Pecorino Romano sauce. But it’s worth noting that Francobolli operates for lunch only three days a week, with just three pasta dishes on the menu at any one time. Come early though, the early birds get the pasta, the rest get… better luck next time.

Timothy Cafe sits inside a 100-year-old heritage building on Jalan Tun H S Lee, and its handmade pasta takes a distinctly Malaysian turn. The Salted Fish Seafood Aglio Olio, with salted fish, tiger prawns and clams, caught us off guard, and we ended up loving it. The masak lemak pasta is another crowd favourite. Italian purists might raise an eyebrow, but hungry Malaysians will be very happy. It’s open late every night, and it brews its own kombucha too.

Rebel Pasta in Mont Kiara doesn’t follow the Italian rulebook, and it’s proud of it. The menu is playful with a strong Japanese streak, serving both fresh hand-rolled and dried pasta. You can even buy the dried pasta to cook at home.

Try the Salmon Belly Tagliatelle: house-made tagliatelle cooked to order in a pomodoro cream sauce, topped with seared salmon, ikura and a dusting of Grana Padano. It’s pork-free, and it gets busy, so book ahead for dinner.

Aposto is led by chef-patron Chu Wei Sin, who spent 20 years in kitchens in the US and New Zealand and at Babe in KL before opening this modern Italian restaurant in TTDI. The name comes from the Italian phrase tutto a posto, meaning everything’s all good.

The pasta is made by hand, and the Miso Chilli Vongole Aglio e Olio is where to start: tender clams in a light miso broth over hand-cut linguine. The Mushroom Agnolotti is another one regulars swear by. It’s on the pricier side, so save it for a special night out.

Vin’s Restaurant elevates Italian flavours by using local produce. We’re talking artisanal cheeses, seafood flown in from East Malaysia, and local kampung eggs, all in their freshly handmade pastas made daily. Their best seller Duck Bacon Garlic Pecorino is the perfect example of that approach. Fresh tagliatelle coated in a garlic pecorino sauce, layered with crispy duck bacon, shallot confit, pumpkin purée and cashew nut salsa for a bit of texture. It sounds like a lot on paper, but comes together in a way that’s surprisingly balanced.

Mauceri started as a home business. Sicilian chef Paolo Mauceri, who cooked in London before moving to Malaysia, began selling fresh pasta from home with his wife Yan. Now they run a small, family-style restaurant on the first floor of KLoé Hotel, just across from the pool. The pasta is extruded through bronze dies, which gives it a rough surface that holds sauce beautifully. Look out for the handkerchief pasta, shaped exactly as it sounds, and the Beef Tortellini, filled with beef slow-cooked for five hours. Save room for the tiramisu.

This is a place that sets the mood before the food even arrives. Dim lights, the occasional hum of a piano performance in the background and the moody intimacy of a Parisian wine bar are what are what earn Bella Pasta & Wine its reputation as a date night staple. but the one on our must-try list is the Crab & Ricotta Stuffed Ravioli. Pillows of crab and ricotta lemon butter sauce that lifts without overpowering, pickled chili to keep things fun, and good ol’ Grana Padano to tie it all together.