Pasta Cucina Rustica, 2086 Foothill Blvd. (at D), La Verne

Opened in 2010, Pasta Cucina Rustica is owned by the same family that has Aruffo’s in Claremont, an Italian restaurant I like. The La Verne location, which has a different menu and a similarly upscale casual vibe, is in a storefront in the Stater Bros. center, one of the city’s string of shopping centers along Foothill. It replaced Gambino’s.

The interior has wooden tables and booths, tile floors and vintage Italian advertising posters. It’s a little fancy but not off-putting. I was there for lunch with two friends and their baby and they immediately liked it (the baby’s reaction could not be determined).

The menu has pasta, seafood, sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas, desserts, wine, beer and coffees. They also have items in smaller portions for seniors. Entrees top out at $17.

We had the parma rustica panini ($10), a ham and mozzarella sandwich on cheese-encrusted bread; a salsiccia pizza ($11) with sausage, peppers and sweet onions; cheese ravioli ($9); and a child’s portion of cheese ravioli ($7).

We all liked our entrees to greater or lesser degrees, with the sandwich being the highlight. The small loaf of rosemary bread they brought out was also delicious. The pizza had a barely-there crust with a cracker-like rim; it was unusual, but the one who ordered it liked it. My cheese ravioli was about what you’d expect.

My ravioli lunch portion, incidentally, was exactly the same size as the child’s portion, but $2 more, leading one person to joke that a budget diner might want to order child’s portions to go. Who would know? Also on the child’s menu: Nutella and red raspberry jam sandwich, provolone and mozzarella grilled cheese and chicken parmigiana strips. You know, that’s not a crazy idea…

Service was friendly and understanding of an infant’s needs, not to mention adults’ needs. We enjoyed ourselves.