Meet Chef Jimi Brahimi
Pastaio — Italian for "pasta maker" — is more than a name. It's a window into an old-world craft, made fresh every single day in the heart of Middletown. Every piece of dough is rolled, cut, and shaped by hand, built on fine double-zero flour and relationships with local suppliers who bring true market-to-plate freshness to the table.
Chef Jimi spent nearly two decades sharpening his craft with the Max Restaurant Group, working high-level kitchen and sous-chef roles across some of Connecticut's most celebrated dining rooms. In 2017 he took the leap into ownership, co-founding Division West Bistro & Bar in West Hartford Center, where he built a true scratch kitchen from the ground up — house-made bread, hand-cut pasta, nothing shipped in.
Pastaio is the distillation of that journey: serious Italian technique, delivered with a laid-back, family-style welcome.
