It looks like chef Donato Loperfido is a witch doctor, too — with innovative thinking he is set to break the curse on Restaurant Row's 4A. It's the space that has housed Phillip Paolo's and Yanni's in four years, one of those restaurant Bermuda Triangles that every city has.

Loperfido has stripped down his Manoa Marketplace restaurant to a self-serve outfit and installed his longtime chef de cuisine, Jalemar Sagaysay, as kitchen overlord. What you get is hearty Italian food that is one of the best deals in town. And everyone loves a bargain.

Which is why the place is jamming at lunch, and increasingly at dinner, too.

The centerpiece of the space — redone by Loperfido, Sagaysay and manager Michael Barbera with butter-yellow and orange walls — is the wood-burning brick oven behind the counter. Pasta & Basta makes good use of it (much better than Yanni's did), turning out delectably thin-crusted pizzas. A simple margherita is a perfect combination of house-made tomato sauce, mozzarella and shreds of fresh basil sprinkled on top.

The menu is dominated by pasta — 21 kinds, plus two risottos — most of it made in-house.

There's something to suit every taste. Want meaty? Try the rigatoni with sausage ragout. Have rich tastes? The egg-and-bacon (OK, pancetta) carbonara classic is available. Like to keep it light — or as light as you can keep pasta? Try the extra-wide pappardelle ribbons tossed with olive oil and lemon and made creamy with goat cheese.

Pasta & Basta's panini are really pressed hero sandwiches — they're made with baguettes, and there's nothing wrong with that. The vegetarian, stuffed with roasted eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and asparagus, along with goat cheese, is full-flavored and filling.

In a town where it's not easy to get good salads, much less good salads to go, Pasta & Basta makes nice green compositions. The Nicoise salad is a boxful of organic mixed greens, red onion, olives, slices of hard-boiled egg, steamed green beans and grape tomatoes topped with a little filet of 'ahi scored with grill marks.

The best bargain may be the special of the day. At one recent lunch, pork tenderloin medallions in a basic white wine sauce with creamy risotto cakes was just $12; at another, you could get half a roasted chicken for $15.

At lunch, the food comes in plastic foam containers. This is one reason prices are so reasonable, but for the eco-squeamish, it may be a price too high. Still, half the people unable to finish their fettuccine Alfredo would ask for take-out boxes anyway.

Come dinner, the disposable stuff is replaced by real plates. And while the restaurant waits for its liquor license, you can BYOB for no corkage fee.

Because the kitchen operates as a real restaurant — everything is cooked to order — the fast-food setup in the dining room isn't as speedy as one might expect. At a recent lunch, it took a half hour for the stack of three pastas, a pizza and the special of the day to hit the counter.

This isn't haute cuisine, it's good everyday food in a relaxed setting, where parents can bring kids, surfers can come after a wave session or cheap dates can have a decent dinner. Judging by the growing clientele, there aren't enough places like this in town.

RESTAURANT NEWS

OPENINGS: Ed Kenney, chef-owner of Town in Kaimuki, has hit the ground running with his new Downtown @ HiSAM (536-5900) on the ground floor of the Hawai'i State Art Museum. In the quintessential bright-and-airy museum cafe, you can sit down to modern, casual food such as an addictive duck confit sandwich and Italian sodas (pomegranate is a sweet-n-tart treat). The ASAP takeout counter serves panini, quiche, soup and sides such as sauteed bitter greens and tomato salad to go.

You can never have too many plate-lunch options in cubicle land, and Tosh (537-4580), opened a month ago at Restaurant Row, is a good addition to the lineup. The classics, from teri beef to curry katsu, are fresh and cleanly served. Choose from brown or white rice, and as a side, in addition to macaroni or tossed salad, you can pick the nice sesame-onion poke. Tip: The spicy garlic chicken rivals Gulick's Delicatessen's sticky fried nuggets. Tosh is a sister to En Fuego Grill & Poke at The Marketplace at Kapolei.

Nobu at the Waikiki Parc Hotel opened on Monday. Dining reservations are being accepted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 237-6999. The restaurant hasn't had to follow the reservation policy of its siblings around the world in which tables must be booked exactly one month before the desired date.

CLOSING: On Jin Cafe on Kamake'e Street shut its doors abruptly last week.

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.