The Pasta Bowl Reviews

I had the Conchiglie Gorgonzola and the Linguine Pesto. Pesto can taste bland, but it was really good here. The Gorgonzola on the other dish added a flavor I've never tasted in pasta and it was perfect with the cream sauce and other veggies. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. Would go here again!

My daughter and I were walking around the area after a college visit to DePaul and walked by The Pasta Bowl. After we finished our shopping, we stopped back in for lunch. Our server was friendly and attentive. From our booth we could see our pasta entrees being prepared. They came out quickly and were delicious. We both had plenty left over to take back to our hotel for a snack later. Prices were reasonable, especially for the portion size. If we end up back in the area, we would certainly eat here again.

The pasta bowl is an amazing place to eat and I recommend the fettuccini Alfredo because of the creamy delicious sauce with the cheesy pasta! The waiter was also very friendly and nice.

The food wad excellent. The portobello appetizer was to die for. Everyone loved the food even the kids. The prices were very reasonable and there was plenty of food. It will be a stop every time that I am Chicago.

I grew up eating pasta - since I was able to eat solid food. I've also sampled pasta dishes across the land. One of my favorites is a dish offered by Pasta Bowl called 'Farfalle Pollo'. Friends of mine refer to this as heart attack on a plate. It features bowtie pasta and grilled chicken served with sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, cream, pecorino cheese, mushrooms, and basil. It is warm, creamy and delicious. I've never tried anything else there - because the Farafalle Pollo is just that good.

Nice little restaurant, food it's top quality and you can watch the Italian chef cook it right in front of you! Portions are huge so be prepared!

After a busy day sight seeing, we returned to our hotel (Days Inn) and decided to order delivery. The food was delivered on time, hot, delicious, and reasonably priced. My husband and I had the ravioli with meat sauce. Awesome! I would highly recommend Bowl of Pasta.

Got the garlic cheese bread appetizer. It wasn't hot and the cheese barely melted. Then I ordered the gnochi with bolognese and that saved the experience. The service was decent, but the waiter was a bit distant. I'll go back, just probably not on a weekend.

My wife and I were looking for a place to take our friend that was visiting that was near the downtown area, but was not too pricey. I checked on Trip Advisor and saw the excellent reviews and menu, and decided to give it a shot. The food and service were excellent and all for under $60 for the 3 of us. We will definitely come again if we are in the Lincoln Park area.

Absolutely delicious! Best meal in Chicago yet! Service was excellent and our waitress frequently checked on us. I highly recommend this place!

The survive and the people are great, the atmosphere is not bad, but the food is not that WOW. Nice for a group of friends to enjoy the bar sections and light pasta, but not particularly great food.

If you like pasta this is the place to go,the food is good the service is great,my favorite place to go.

All the staff are Very polite and kind!! Also, teu have a Very Nice food with a good price! You can go out there and visit a lot of fun places

Had a great meal! Staff were friendly and the room was packed. Had to wait a bit for the food but it was well worth it.

Great food ! 2 visit in 2 years . Friendly staff small place with affordable food prices . Feels nice to be paying for the food and not the expense of a high class restaurant.

After a long day at the zoo, we needed food. There were four adults and 2 kids under 1. The staff scrambled to make accommodations for us. As a result the kids were happy and we were able to enjoy and very well cooked lunch. My Farfalle was fantastic and the Gnochi was great too.

I came up to visit my in laws. We went into the city for the lights and dinner. Great great place. Super friendly service. We got 3 different meals and every one of them was fantastic. The special that I got was perfect. The chicken parm was so juicy. The calamarie had the best fry on it. Little place GREAT food!!

The Pasta Bowl is located only nine blocks from our home so, in this era of the pandemic, we decided to order a takeout. My wife and I rarely order a large meal for takeout but these are rare times and we had a strong urge for what Pasta Bowl has to offer. Located at 2434 North Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, this is one of Pasta Bowl's three locations in the area. The others are at 1852 West North Avenue in the Wicker Park neighborhood and at 4343 North Lincoln Avenue in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. If you like pasta, try 'em all. The flagship on North Clark Street has been making great spaghetti and meatballs since 1996, three giant meatballs with marinara sauce and parmesan. You know what I ordered. Also a large portion of bruschetta with tomato, garlic, basil, parmesan, olive oil and house vinaigrette. And a chicken Caesar salad with Romaine lettuce, parmesan and croutons. My wife chose the house's signature dish, Farfalle Pollo, grilled chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic buttered mushrooms, plum tomato, fresh basil, pecorino and parmesan cheeses and house cream sauce. For dessert, we shared a portion of tiramisu with lady fingers, espresso, mascarpone cheese and powdered chocolate and a large slice of molten lava cake, chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate center topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Open from 11 to 11 Monday through Saturday and from 11 to 10 on Sunday, the Pasta Bowl with its neighborhood kitchen and next-door bar is a pasta lover's delight. I think the spaghetti and meatballs is as good as it gets in the city while my wife, who is half-Italian, highly recommends the lasagna and ravioli.

This is somewhere we order from an awful lot. It doesn't have a vast menu, however, what they do have is done really well. Have worked way through most of the dishes and not encountered one that I haven't liked.

I have to begin my review with the people who work here....they are amazingly nice and so friendly and want your experience at the Pasta Bowl an out of this world experience! We went to the Pasta Bowl (from out of state) for the first time because our daughter was running in the Chicago Marathon...so it was BUSY beyond belief. Watching the chef's creating all the meals was amazing...like food theatre! But despite it being wild in there we were greeted warmly and didn't mind waiting for our food (take out). When we got home the food was OUTSTANDING...the meatballs were delicate and tasty, the chicken parm was just like my mom made it, and my daughter's "marathon special" with shrimp was perfectly cooked and so tasty. I give the Pasta Bowl 5 thumbs up for their delicious food and their friendly midwestern hospitality...The manager went OUT OF HIS WAY to make sure that all of his customers were happy even though it was a crazy busy night...you HAVE to go to the Pasta Bowl for outstanding Italian Food - you won't be sorry you did! We'll be back the next time we're in town!!

Really good choice of craft beer and excellent food. Nate who served us was brilliant! Would highly recommend the spaghetti meatball dish

While not fine dining by any means, the Pasta Bowl does what it does very well. You can walk in whatever you are wearing and have fresh pasta made before your eyes. Drinks are cheap, salads are great, and cheap cheap cheap for what you get. Their bar the "Other Side" has some of the best thin crust pizza in the city. This is easily one of my top 10 in the city.

I dropped in here for dinner having read the reviews on TripAdvisor. It's easy to find and has a cosy atmosphere inside. I had Caprese salad starter and the Gnocchi Aurora for the main. Both were very fresh and delicious and the portions were huge. I took the portion I couldn't eat at the time away and had it for lunch the next day. Good service and a delicious, fresh meal that was very good value for money. Would definitely come back if I was in Chicago again.

We were impressed by the speed of service and the incredible food. I had a whole wheat pasta primavera- the vegetables were incredibly fresh and the garlic cheese bread was to die for. My super-picky husband loved his shrimp alfredo- I sampled it and was jealous.

Very good food, friendly staff. The restaurant was busy but food come so fast. Salads are big and I loved my nhoqui with white sauce.

Ok. So i call it street food instead. This place is just great. I love the vibe and the food. All their menu items are great excepr the deserts. Im a big italian foodie. And the fact i live close makes it one of my fav local joint.

This is a nice neighborhood eatery. Have stopped here a few times when in town and strolling the streets. Pasta is consistently good and service has never been bad. Will be back!

We didn’t actually go here, but we ordered from here and the food was amazing. We loved it and plan on visiting it in person soon. We chose the Pasta Dinner for Two, which is a great deal. We had the Caprese Salad, the Cranberry Gorgonzola Salad, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Penne Puttanesca, and the Tiramisu. Large portions that were absolutely delicious and the entrees arrived hot! Haven’t visited before, but after this delightful taste we cannot wait to go there. This is a recommendation that you try it too!

I'd say the first 10 times I ate here I had the same thing because it was so good, Conchiglie Gorgonzola. When I finally tried other items they were also great but I kept going back for the Conchiglie. It's one of the few places in Chicago that I can say great food and great prices.

Was here on the lunch. Food is more like American-Italian, than just Italian. Spaghetti with VERY heavy souse, could't eat at all. Chicken in Cesar salad was made with a lot of oil. Very dirty, especially in the toilet. In the end we've found curvy hair in spaghetti. Manager was very nice and he removed them from our bill. Additionally very helpful and nice staff.

We went for dinner. Portions were huge and delicious. Godd and simple food. Service was very fast. Maybe too fast as we were in and out in 30 mins. Not restaurant to bring your date, more a fast stop after a day of sightseeing or a day at the lake while in Chicago. Very convenient if you stay in Chicago getaway hostel

We went in as a group of 12 on a Friday afternoon and were seated quickly. We each tried different dishes and the consensus was that with the great service and spectacular meal, that given the opportunity we'd be back. I had the gnocchi which was absolutely the best I'd ever eaten. Our service was some of the best we had received in our week in Chicago. Go here to dine inexpensively and deliciously.

It was delicious! Probably my best meal during my trip! If you are a pasta lover then it is perfect. About the same price as any other italian restaurant but loved the casual feel!

My daughter stopped in here on a whim and ordered wings and salads. They were very good. I also had a Coco Lopez drink that was extremely delicious. It's a cozy little bar/restaurant. The staff were very nice and helpful. I'd recommend it

Our first choice was over an hour wait, so we walked two blocks up Clark to find this narrow hole in the wall. No wait, seating at the bar or table; we chose the bar to watch the chefs in action. The goat cheese and marinara / tuffo saporito appetizer was rich, thick and creamy, almost too much food to share. Entree of rigatoni bolognese full of flavor, and could only eat half. The farfalle pollo, listed as the signature dish was another level above in taste. Perfect blend of flavors and I would order again on return. Price is very reasonable, and the service quick and friendly.

In town on vacation for the weekend and found this great little place for Italian food in the Lincoln Park area. It is near DePaul University, so the clientele is mostly college age and a little older. Don't let this dissuade you though. The group we dined with were quite and just out for a nice meal. Just a touch noisy, but nothing too egregious. My girlfriend and I are staying in the South loop and wanted to go up North a little for some grub. We hopped the red line for $6 total and rode to the Fullerton stop. 1 mile due East off the stop and 1/2 block North is the place. We had the house speciality appetizer: smoked mozzarella bread slices. At $4 for 6 pieces at 1" by 2" it is a little pricey. $0.75 extra for the marinara (not told of upcharge by waitress btw). App was good enough, but I would not order again. I had the house specialty farfalle with cream sauce and tomatoes. Wow I was impressed. For $10 you can't beat this deal. Large portion and cooked fresh (kitchen is 100% open to view). Definitely recommend this. Girlfriend had the meatball sub. Again fresh and homemade ingredients win. Good meatballs and good bread made this meal excellent. Shelby out waitress was top notch service as well. Never had to ask for a refill, it was just always done. Polite, courteous, and attentive. Best waitress we've had in Chicago thus far. This place is out if the way for most tourists, but if you like walking and seeing something less touristy I would recommend you come out.

Well, our group of 8 decided to visit Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo on opening night. The area was swamped and restaurants full with 3 hour waits at 5pm. We found Pasta Bowl online with its deserved excellent reviews. We all wanted just to sit somewhere with good food and good drinks. Everything we got was delicious. I loved my lobster ravioli. The prices were extremely reasonable as were the adult beverages! Service was helpful and friendly and the atmosphere was warm- a family restaurant not a sterile, fake chain.

probably the best italian value in the city of Chicago. There was a time when I ate the Rigatoni Bolonese 3 times per week.

Loved the white beans on the salad and the menu offers some interesting pastas. Atmosphere is pretty low key and the bar next door is fun.

Great pasta and garlic bread. The seating was a little tight. Service was excellent. Great, authentic pasta for a little joint. They have a huge beer selection also.

The wife and I met Pasta Bowl when it was the only restaurant open after the great snowstorm of 2011. We are hooked for life. Small, unassuming hole in the wall gives it quaint ambiance. Have tried just about everything on the menu and it is DELICIOUS! The price is right too. Around $10 for most entrees and portions are huge. Our out of town guests are shocked by how amazing this little place is. Only complaint: limited seating when it's busy. Recommend Gnocchi Aurora and substitute the Rosemary Gorgonzola sauce.

The restaurant is more a pub than actual diner. The food is excellent and we highly recommend the daily specials. Seating is limited and not suitable for large crowds or children. All in all, great food.

Nice staff and good value. But both our meals came smothered in parmesan that wasn't needed. Food was only ok so wouldn't go out of my way to go here

Food was very good but we went specifically because the website has a full page advertising the 6 buck lunch specials. We got there and lo and behold typical bait and switch,no lunch specials,no explanation as to why. We enjoyed the food but that is besides the point change your website!

Got a coupon from Restaurant.com for this restaurant because I knew we'd be nearby and the Pasta Bowl had good reviews. I used it to order take out and so got a great value. The food was very good (though they had run out of panini bread when I called relatively late in the evening so I had to choose a different entree.)

This is my kind the place, inexpensive food but great flavor. Try Pollo Farfalle..This is my favorite dish! I don't get tire of eat it. Also you can go wrong with the specials. They are usually under 12 dollars. The area is nice with a lot of beautiful people walking by. They have a bar next to them. I think belongs to the same owners but i haven't try yet.

We visited the WickerPark location and from the minute we made our reservation we were glad we went. The staff followed up with us prior to arriving to ensure we knew which location we booked at (as there are two in Chicago), to remind us it was BYOB (awesome!) and to see if we were celebrating any special occasions. We were a party of 8 and celebrating a few 50th b'days. Maria and the kitchen crew made us feel welcome from the beginning. We took our time and had lots of great Italian food. The Bolognese sauce was a huge hit and everyone loved what they ordered. Great service, prices and food will definitely have us visit again next time we're in town! Thank you!

We walked in off the street with 14 soccer players and 3 adults...Robert waited on us and did an amazing job, as did the cooks. Rob was the only server, and not only did he handle us, as well as other tables, our seperate tix, meals, drinks, were perfect and never empty. Kudos to our fantastic server, AWESOME kitchen cooks, and HUGE portions!! Our girls were starving and couldn't finish their meals. PS...tje strawberry, walnut, pear salad was OFF THE CHAIN!!!

My girlfriend and I came to Chicago for a meeting, and were staying downtown at the Wyndham Grand Riverfront. Nice hotel, but the eateries in central Chicago are of the $80 per person and not that amazing sort, so we wanted to get out to somewhere more interesting – and cheaper. The concierge at the Wyndham recommended Lincoln Park, specifically the corner of Clark and Fullerton and points north on Clark. We went with it, and ended up picking the Pasta Bowl for dinner. What a wise decision! The restaurant is probably a converted bar, and still has that same layout (narrow width and deep, bar converted to the kitchen). It also connects to the bar next door (called, cleverly enough, The Other Side), so there is full drink service. Their "in house" wine list was tasty and modestly priced: we picked up a bottle of very decent Chardonnay for $18. I suggest not even bothering with by-the-glass. But the star was the pasta. We had the Sphagetti Frutti Del Mare and the Cochiglie Gorgonzola, and a Calamari Fritti for starter. The calamari was in a delightfully delicate coating, probably a dusting of seasoned cornstarch, and the "cocktail" sauce was low or no horseradish, more like a bourbon-seasoned ketchup with darker notes. Unusual, but very nice. Try. The Frutti Del Mare was in a strongly seasoned marinara, but not an overwhelming one. All of the sauces are spot-reduced and built in the kitchen in sizzling-hot pans, then pasta added and married just before service. It really worked for the marinara, lots of flavor and _tons_ of seafood. Leetle teeny scallops, bunch o' shrimp, and six very fresh mussels. Much more than I expected, much more than you'd get for $35 at a downtown eatery, and only $11.50! Unbeatable! I was wary of the Cochiglie Gorgonzola, as the blue cheese would seem to be overwhelming. However, it was deliciously blue, blue all the way through, but just blue enough. The sauce never crescendoed to that bitter bite that says "BLUE!" and overwhelms the rest. I was highly impressed. I'll be back. Maybe not this time, but next for sure. I want to try a few other items, and that bottle of Pinot Grigio . . .

I can tell this is a local favorite. The food was plentiful, nice, big serving sizes. And the prices were very reasonable. I would recommend for a quick lunch or easy dinner. Good atmosphere for two people (like us), families with kids or small groups. We enjoyed it very much and will visit again .

This place was so excellent. 5 different dishes, 4 apps and everything was excellent! The lobster ravioli was awesome! The bruschetta was not warm but cool, caprese awesome, antipasto great and walnut salad to die for! You can not go wrong here!

Heavy in Italian tradition, Chicago is home to some of the best red sauce restaurants in the United States, from timeless classics like spaghetti and meatballs and chicken Vesuvius and pasta e Fagioli. So I continue my current quest to find the best spaghetti and meatballs in Chicago. On my recent survey, Pasta Bowl was one of only two restaurants that received more than one vote. Located at 2434 North Clark Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, it has been an Italian staple since 1996. Pasta Bowl also has locations in Wicker Park at 182 West North Avenue and in Lincoln Square at 4343 North Lincoln Avenue. The Clark Street address is closest to our home on the Gold Coast. My wife, who is half-Italian and always wonders why more Italian restaurants don't feature meat ravioli more often, has taken a great taste for Pasta Bowl's lobster ravioli, six lobster-filled ravioli in a white cream sauce with steamed broccoli. I was hooked when I saw the colorful picture of Pasta Bowl's version of spaghetti and meatballs on its website. Three giant meatballs with marinara and shredded parmesan. Pasta Bowl is big on panini, salads and pasta. We started with bruschetta with toasted French bread, tomato, garlic, basil, shredded parmesan and olive oil vinaigrette, a bowl of minestrone, Chicken Caesar salad with Romaine lettuce and garlic croutons and Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella slices, basil, Kalamata olives, plum tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. For dessert, we shared slices of tiramisu and New York-style cheesecake. Love that website picture.

Had two meals here before the marathon. Had both as takeout. Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone. Very friendly

The food is relatively cheap, with the most expensive pasta being $18. Since I’m a vegetarian, they were able to take off meat and take off food with Parmesan, and clarifies so on the menu. 10/10 recommend.

Pasta serving is huge. Taste wise is average but the service ranges to who serves you. My first time in Pasta bowl was awsome. The server let me feel the freedom to build my own pasta. And he really did a great foolow up and outstanding service. The second time I visited was okay. Pasta was amazing but a little bit bland but workable with condiments available. Server was so-so. No time for follow ups and was concentrating on one table but the rest of us got just average service. I just like how the team work works there cause my stay there was still good since someone carried over the table and made up for the lost time for great customer service I had for my first visit. Over all still recommendable for good pasta.

Went to pasta bowl on a sunday night with family. Everyone really enjoyed their meals. Place was very busy but they were able to get us seated right away. Seemed to get lot of take out business. Seating inside was tight but food was great and would definetly visit again next time we are in Chicago. Lots of good pasta choices for kids and family. Only frustrating part was finding parking in this area. Very busy and we drove around blocks for about 20 min looking for a spot.

Stopped here on the way back after visiting Wrigley Field. The food was good and well priced. There was a good vibe to it, and also there were alot of people eating here, which is usually a good sign. the food didn't take long to be delivered to the table. The staff were friendly and very efficient, I would maybe return, but not so soon after as there are more places in Chicago to try as opposed to keep returning to the same venue.

It is wonderful if you are looking for a small space with very fresh pasta It is unpretentious My daughters have lived it for years and years

Food and service are both excellent! They always accommodate my needs and requests in regards to dietary restrictions or tastes. Relatively inexpensive too! I've been to this restaurant the most since moving to Chicago and I eat out A LOT

Not fancy, and a little hard to find, but the food comes fast and is really very tasty. Surprisingly good for such a small place. Service is also quick and friendly.

Great pasta and very good bread. My wife and two sons went the other night and it was an overall great experience. Will be back again.

The Pasta Bowl is a neighborhood restaurant in Lincoln Park, right next to The Other Side Bar (the bar and the restaurant are sister properties and you can take advantage of the bar specials in the restaurant). The place is very casual, you will seat yourself at either the high top tables near the window (for people watching on Clark Street), at the bar, or in the booths in back. The menu is nothing fancy, fairly standard appetizers and mainly pasta entrees (some burgers, salads, and sandwiches as well). We noticed the food flying out the kitchen as we sipped our wine, so we ordered (and ate) the fried calamari before ordering a couple pasta entrees. The calamari was lightly breaded (almost all rings, if the tentacles creep you out). The accompanying sauce was a bit sweet I thought, but the rings themselves were good (not oily at all). The pesto linguine (with chicken added for $2), and the farfalle pollo, both arrived very hot and very quickly, with one slice of chewy Italian bread. Both dishes were excellent and very moderately priced, especially for Lincoln Park. Unless you are carbo-loading, you will be taking home a doggie bag for sure.

We arrived in Lincoln Park late and wanted a quick bite, and The Pasta Bowl was perfect. The house salad was awesome - with lots of white beans and olives! And the puttanesca was really wonderful! Would definitely recommend this to anyone in the area!

So delicious! Highly recommend the bolognese and the meatballs. The service is super friendly and even though it's busy you can usually find a spot.

I had spaghetti and meat balls for the first time in years last week. I wanted a second pass at another place. This is another place. It has been here for decades and is open because the food deserves it. The waiter, Colton, had good advice on menu choices. He said that the coffee and house salads were good and he did not lie. They were very good. I wanted spaghetti and meatballs but it was listed with regular spaghetti. They list cappalinni as a dish. Colton said that he could substitute it for me. He did and it was wonderful. They serve a good sized portion for a couple bucks less than other places with food this good. This is a good place for fans of Italian food.

Went with my granddaughter for lunch. She wanted a seafood pasta and was thrilled that her request was accommodated even though it wasn't on the lunch menu. She LOVED it and ate it all. I had the farfalle with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. Delish!!! We both shared the cheese bread with marinara sauce as an appetizer. Everything we had was very good and the final bill was even better. $28 for both meals. Say what???? Great find. Definitely recommend.

My sister took me to the Pasta Bowl during my recent visit to Chicago (March 08). I had the Conchiglie Gorgonzola and it was AMAZING. It's been a week and I'm still craving it. The restaurant was crowded but they got us in fast and the service was great- prompt, polite, and correct. The prices are great too- I think my dish was $7.50, and the portion size was just right. I can't wait to go back on my next visit!

Had a lovely meal here last night, amazing value for money and our waiter was brilliant. Greeted with a warm smile and friendly staff! Hopefully be able to return while in Chicago.

All of our pasta dishes were delicious but the gnocchi with gorgonzola and rosemary was outstanding!

stop in here on my monthly trips to Chicago, has a great lil vibe, fab location, and the staff are super LOVELY...the Drinks are great and priced well...FAB beer secession and the food altho basic american italian is great to line the tummy and or just have a snack to get you thru till the next meal...I did really enjoy the STUFFED MUSHROOM...a grand lil bar food item...but must again say always a delight to walk in and be greeted by their SUPER ATTENTIVE and FRIENDLY bar/waitstaff...thanks Pasta Bowl Bar for always making my first cocktail in Chicago go down with a smile or a laugh..Cheers!

We picked this restaurant by chance. The place looks more like a bar that sells food during the lunch hour. The service was good, but the food was very blah at best. Given the numerous alternatives adjacent to this place, try something else.

We happened upon this restaurant while near the Lincoln Park Zoo, and can't wait to go again. What a find! This is fine food for a fair price. Perfect bruschetta. They use Italian bread, so it is much softer than a baguette. It comes with four pieces. The large chicken Caesar fed four. The dinner portions can be easily shared, but they are so good that you won't want to share. The signature dish is the Farfalle Pollo, which was superb. The Conchiglie Al Fuso had so much cheese on top that it was wonderful. If you love pasta, then this is a must for you. It reminded us of a wonderful Italian restaurant in Venice, Italy.

We enjoyed our dinner at the pasta bowl. It's small and a little loud because it's connected to a bar but the food was very good. Not a romantic date place:)

Friendly staff. Some really good pasta dishes. Salad was fresh and delicious. Portions are generous.

Pasta Bowl is a little hole in the wall but the pasta dishes here are superb!! All the pastas I have tried on the menu have been excellent and every night they have a pasta special which is always unique and delicious!! If you are ever here when they do their lobster macaroni pasta dish then make sure you get it! It's awesome.

Family of 8 wanting to try a local pasta place. Flavor of the sauces are terrific and authentic. Order was messed up but service remedied the problem with excellent service and free dessert. Recommended for a very casual dinner.

Have loved this place since I lived in Chicago in 2005. Great good and a good value. Fresh pasta made right behind the bar. My kids are picky eaters and they cleared their plates.

Good Price, excellent quality. The staff are great. You can also customize the dish. It surprises us because it is not usual but we were just looking for a very healthy pasta before a Marathon race and we got it here.

Wonderful, home style Italian at a very reasonable price. All dishes are put together fresh when ordered. The tastes are complex and spectacular. This has become a go to favorite in Lincoln Park. Yum!!!

Was not disappointed by this local hangout. My boyfriend always gets the clam pasta and I tried the shrimp pasta. Good portions and one of the best values in Lincoln Park!

So I am very "Anal" when it comes to clean utensils at a restaurant so I will be quick to point out that I had an issue in that regard with this place. The plate had remnants of grease and so did the fork. I I was hungry and determined to get over it...Hence, after getting fresh plates and plastic forks I had no further issues. The crab cakes were a bit too breaded but still very tasty. Pasta.....Lovely!!! A bit challenging to eat with a disposable fork but got over that as well. In all honesty the waitress was very pleasant and willing to address our concerns. There is a bigger one closer to wicker park but I understand they haven't gotten their liquor license as yet...but should soon. I would probably try that one next time around.

We heard about the Pasta Bowl at 2434 North Clark Street, north of Fullerton Avenue in the DePaul University neighborhood, from friends whose son is a DePaul student. They had enjoyed dinner and the unique atmosphere and wonderful Italian food at the Pasta Bowl and tipped us off. It isn't the kind of place we'd normally visit--at times, we thought we were in the midst of a fraternity party and maybe we were--but the longer we stayed, the more we enjoyed the experience. We have been to restaurants with open kitchens before but this was genuinely fun. And we don't spend time at bars--I don't drink and my wife, except for a pre-dinner Vodka, doesn't either--but the Pasta Bowl's "The Other Side Bar" is a popular neighborhood attraction. We loved the food and were entertained by watching it being prepared. Opened in 1996, Pasta Bowl specializes in authentic pasta dishes made from scratch from fresh ingredients in its open kitchen. If you have time, sit at the counter and watch the show. We started with bruschetta (toasted French bread topped with diced fresh plum tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil and olive oil) and the house speciality appetizer, smoked mozzarella bread slices. For an entree, I chose the Spaghetti Al Polpette, spaghetti and marinara with three giant meatballs and fresh parmesan cheese. My wife opted for ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and served with marinara sauce. Her only regret? How many times do you see ravioli stuffed with meat instead of cheese, which she prefers? Pasta Bowl offers a lobster meat -stuffed ravioli but that's too rich for us, like crab cakes. Another option is B.V. Pescare, linguine served with bay scallops (which she loves), lemon, basil, peas and plum tomatoes. It's all good and, even though the portions are very generous, you don't get the feeling that you are stuffed.

This place was one of the best we had while we visited Chicago. We stopped in to have dinner because after peeking at the menu, it looked really good for a cheap price. We stayed for dinner with our total with drinks costing $28! which was impressive since it felt like we spent $100 everywhere else. Then after dinner we went to the "Other Side" of the bar which is a Bar owned by the same people called the "other side" which was also super fun and was a really good environment for our vacation.

If you're looking for an upscale, fancy restaurant that happens to serve italian food, The Pasta Bowl is not what you are looking for. However, if you want good service, great italian food and reasonable prices, The Pasta Bowl is for you. There are 2 rooms in this establishment. One is the main casual dining side and the other is the bar side. However, you can get bar drinks on both sides as well as food. The choice is yours. We had eaten at another italian restaurant in old town earlier in the week. Food was good, white table cloths and the whole 9 yards. However, we paid for the price and the setting. Nothing wrong with that. At The Pasta Bowl, which is easy to get to from old town by bus, we ordered similar if not same menu items, were seated promptly, sat at a clean table with booth seats and had drinks. Tab didn't break the bank either. The Pasta Bowl wins my vote for future returns.

I'm a good snob, not gonna lie. This went above and BEYOND. I got the Lobster ravioli and it was so clean and fresh I was in awe. I got a lemon tart as well and it was the perfect texture and amount of bite....wow. There's also a bar next door and I found myself there with some friends literally the next day. Such a good combo of fun and chill and everyone's really nice. 5/5. MUST see

Here you don't get what you pay for - you get MORE! The food is simple but good for the price. The service was nice and fast when I was here. I was alone and thus got talking a bit with the staff. They were very helpfull and sweet. I would recommend the place if you want good value for your money. Also it is pretty nice that the kitchen is open, though it gets a bit warm sitring in the bar

The food was very good! Tasted amazing. It was a little pricy, some pasta's were about 20$, others were better priced at around 13$. Service was good although our waitress did mess up two out of the three orders. I ordered Gnocchi without mushrooms, however I got my food with mushrooms. Did get offered a new plate, but I hate wasting food so I just picked the mushrooms out of there myself. My friend ordered a burger with caramelised onions and a fried egg and he had to wait for about 10 more minutes while we already had our pasta's which was kind of weird. Would expect a restaurant to plan for the food to be ready at the same time. When it arrived the egg was missing, so we had to wait for another five to ten minutes while they got the order fixed. WOuld normally give three stars because of the inconvenience but the pasta was so good I'll give it four.

Went here before an event at Nature Museum. Good menu, good prices. Service not bad. Nice drink specials daily. Could use some GF options.

Great food cooked fresh. Fast, friendly service. Good price! Highly recommended! Try anything with the house cream sauce, yum!

Very convenient takeout. Servings are a good size, quite tasty, and a good size. If you are in the mood for pasta, you've come to the right place.

So obviously, the portions are American style... big eaters will be happy. Otherwise ? Well, it's very, very average. Very fatty pasta, covered with bad grated cheese (which only has parmesan in name) like in the canteen. My guest had rigatoni al ragu (called “bolognese”, certainly to enrage the Italians 😏), decent. I took the caballo blanco, the only dish that looked a little ambitious on the menu, with pan-fried shrimp, broccoli… clearly a bad choice. Greasy, no taste - and made me regret it all night. Served with a glass of pinot gris in a mustard glass, but not too bad, all the same. Apart from that, the setting is nice, the service is good… it was during the week and not many people in the room (we should have been wary)

Probably the cheapest and one of the best meals we have a had in the USA with good service. Walter was our server and he was really helpful and friendly. 100% eating here again whilst we are in Chicago!

Really good pasta!! I enjoy the pasta dishes every time! I like the chicken fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs,Chicken Parmesan, and Farfalle Pollo. This is a great dine in or take out dinner option!!! Really good italian pasta dishes!!

While staying in the Lincoln Park area we had lunch at the Pasta Bowl. The service was excellent. The waitstaff was very helpful not only in the menu choices, but adding fun things to see while in Chicago. We each ordered a meal, and then had enough to bring home for another meal. Food was delicious!

It's my favorite local restaurant for pasta and italian in the quaint Lincoln Park neighborhood. We always go home with goodie boxes and we always have a good meal. It's nothing fancy and you will probably wait for a table. But if you are hungry for old fashion flavor and service, this is the right place for me and for you. I tried a place across the street but i came back to the Pasta Bowl as the best. Thanks for being consistant.

My friends and I stopped here several times while staying at the nearby hostel. The bruschetta and ravioli apps were flavorful and filling. I also had the spinach salad--everything was fresh and delicious. The staff was attentive and courteous, and the prices were reasonable too.

Not a big menu, but simpel delious bowls of pasta. Eat at the Pasta Bowl once and had take out from them once. They have also extra sides to go with your bowl of pasta.

I ordered the lobster ravioli and loved it! Truly amazing. A lot of cream sauce and plenty of ravioli to share with the table.

My wife and I had the bruschetta appetizer and Fanfare Pollo for dinner, their signature dish. It was delicious! The Tiramisu for dessert was amazing hit the spot. This was our second time there and plan on going back more often. Now the place is nice to go out with some friends for some drinks and a quick delicious meal if need be.

Nothing fancy but clean! We will take a day trip from Grand Rapids mi just to come eat here! We always go to the zoo and work up our appetite to head over to this small, delicious and awesomely priced food. We like Linocoln park area very much. It's a nice break from the busier areas to have a day to visit the area and again eat this great food!!

Do you like conversation-prohibitive rock music in your Italian restaurant, with competing rock music from the adjoining bar? If so, this is the place for you. We were told the volume couldn't be turned down because "the general manager" wants it that way. We live in the neighborhood and used to look forward to eating here. The food is very good, and if we crave it we will call ahead for takeout.

chicken Cesar salad...very bland and old lettuce. Have had before and very tasty but, very disappointing this time.

Love the Pasta Bowl. The pasta is great, quick, and cheap. Its a laid back atmosphere and enjoyable. Apps aren't anything speacial but the pasta is great. I get the gnocchi rosemary gorgonzola and love it.

Grandma & I (Grandpa) took our 4 year-old grandson here for dinner. Our grandson had the kids Mac and Cheese. It was more than enough for him and Grandma and I also had a few bites. The Mac and Cheese was very good and Cheesy. Grandma had the Toasted Ravioli and she said it was ok. I had the Rigatoni Bolognese. The sauce had just the right amount of spice that made this dish outstanding! Our waitress, Jessica, was very attentive and accommodating and is the reason the rating goes from a 4 to a 5!

Stopped at this little gem after an appointment for a quick lunch. The service was friendly and the food was satisfactory. I recommend this place!

I've visited The Pasta Bowl Lincoln Park a few times, and it has become one of my favorite spots for pasta on the North Side. The dishes are HUGE, so I usually get 2-3 meals out of one serving, and the prices are incredibly reasonable. The signature dish here is the Farfalle Pollo, which is a cream based basil sauce with a hint of tomato, farfalle pasta, grilled chicken, sun dried tomatoes, basil, and mushrooms. Each dish is also served with a slice of italian bread. The restaurant is on the small side, so probably not ideal for huge parties, but is on a very social street (Clark St.) and has a very friendly staff.

Wonderful pasta with fresh ingredients. Service was prompt and attentive. The atmosphere is casual, neighborhood restaurant. Recommend highly!

The Pasta Bowl is the best place to satisfy a craving for pasta in Lincoln Park. The food is always delicious and comes in large portions. And it is priced very well (less than Olive Garden pasta entrees) for in the city. The Pasta Bowl has a fairly small seating room, and it can be a little noisy. However, we went on Saturday night at 8 and got in within 2 minutes. There is a bar if you have to wait, and this pasta is definitely worth the wait!

This is truly a hidden gem! My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to meet up with one of his friends that live in the city. They let us pick. I randomly found this place while searching for restaurants in Lincoln Park. I am a picky eater, and I usually am not the biggest fan of pasta. I decided to try something different and stray from my normal pasta dish and it did not disappoint! It was absolutely delicious. Everyone in my group got a different dish and everyone loved what they got! The portions are large, and the service is great! I can't wait to go back and try a diffferent dish! For eating in the city, this was probably the most reasonably priced place we ate at all weekend. You get so much food for the price! We were meeting with friends and didn't feel rushed out of the restaurant like you sometimes do. We will be going back!

The food is amazing! The portions are huge, and pretty cheap. Stuff is friendly and helpful. I recommend Farfalle Di Polo - pasta with sun dried tomatoes and grilled chicken - you gonna love it! If you like Italian food, definitely you have to visit that place - especially for pastas.

I went here with some picky friends and my husband and everyone loved their food. The semi classic semi inventive dishes are above average and prices are fair.

It’s no secret this place is one of the better pasta places in the city. I am currently training for the Chicago Marathon next month, and I order from here every Friday night to carb load for my Saturday morning long runs. The place is small, but amazing. The food is just done right. If you are looking for a great pasta dish, look no further.

Went to the Pasta Bowl after hearing positive reviews from friends. The food was delicious, prices were more than reasonable and the portions were large. Cant want to go back!

This is a favorite place for the people I was traveling with. They have a long bar and high top seating in the front, with a few booths in the back. It is a pretty casual place. They sent us to seat ourselves and none of the booths had been bused yet, but once we sat someone came by and took care of it. The special was a great deal and came with a soup or salad. We all got different meals and everyone was happy with their food. It was plenty of food at a good price and quick. If you sit up front you can watch them make your food.

Pretty small spot but good salad and pasta dishes. Everything is very fresh too and at a small price.

Everytime we're in Lincoln Park, we eat here. Not a big place & no reservations needed. LOTS of to-go orders throughout our time eating in. Posted pics of them cooking food to order. They have a great menu with daily specials. Small, but mighty! Did I mention you can get Chianti, among other options. Family friendly.

The menu is limited but the pasta was delicious and cheap. Good for a quick meal on the say to somewhere else.

Neighborhood feel, friendly staff, good food. We did not have a lot of time to eat, came here for an early supper and were served quickly by waitress who really seemed to enjoy her job.

Calamari, clams cappellini, sausage and pasta all great and tiramisu the best we have had. Nice service and not too noisy for us. We sat at bar for dinner and watched the chef cook up the dinners which was fun. We took the brown line from the loop and got off at Fullerton stop, then about a half mile walk or so to restaurant, which we enjoyed because we got the neighborhood feel and atmosphere. LOVED this place.

Fast service, delicious, and perfectly priced. A must see spot in Lincoln Park! I had the clam pasta and it was amazing. My girlfriend had the gnocchi, which her grandmother used to make, and she absolutley loved it. I will definitely be back.

We love Pasta Bowl: consistently excellent pasta, generous portions, and always pleasant, fun, nice waitstaff. We’ve phone ordered go orders a few times too - order always ready quickly, correctly, and with someone ready at the counter. What I genuinely appreciate is their “no problem” willingness to swap out cream sauce (on their wonderful house special pasta) for red sauce.

Such reasonable prices for fantastic food. We are a family of 6 here on vacation and this place made the day! Every entree and appetizer was just super. If I lived here I would find a place close to here because I would eat here everyday. So fresh. So hot. So balanced. So good!

edible

Wife and I just finished the day at the zoo and decided to use our restaurants.com coupon at The Pasta Bowl. It was a longer walk there than we expected, but helped us work up a good appetite. We saw the cool mural and I took a photo of it. The place is narrow and deep. You walk into a section with a few tables in front, past the bar, and more tables/booths in the rear. We stayed in front by the window. I had lobster ravioli served with a cream sauce, and my wife had another dish (I can't remember now). We enjoyed our beer and wine while we waited for the food to arrive. Good choice of beers here. We really enjoyed our dishes. Portion sizes were sufficient and we just wish we had some bread to go along with it. We shared some tiramisu for dessert, and felt the price was right for this very good meal.

Quick easy and good food - pastas, pizzas and salads to eat in or take away. Close to our hostel (chicago getaway).

Every time I meet my daughter in Chicago she heads for the Pasta Bowl. She is now Gluten Free and this restaurant has kept up with the times. We had delicious pasta with our choice of any (and MANY) of their delicious sauces and toppings. It was so good we ate there twice within 4 days. Prices are good and the portions were very generous, as was the service.

Very well served Italian meal for 20/25 dollars. Spectacular flavor and very attentive service from Michelle. It is close to Getaway Hostel. Enjoy this nice meal

I lov lov lov his place....great pasta...they cook it rite in front of u....they hav different types of pasta....so so good.....so so tasty sauce is amazing......great location near the l.......staff is realy polite and it is very clean....cant wait to go back to chicago...

Had a very enjoyable bowl of pasta with shrimp and mushrooms for dinner. Good sized servings, friendly staff, and delicious pasta!

I was visiting my daughter in Chicago and took her, my son-in-law and their infant daughter to eat here. It did not disappoint! The food was fabulous, fresh with large servings that were reasonably priced. The servers were lovely and the manager was walking around the restaurant and chatting with guests. They were more than happy to accommodate requests for vegetarian dishes and switching sauces in dishes. It was a wonderful experience overall and we will definitely go back. Highly recommended.

Pick a seat in the middle of the counter and watch the coordination of four cooks tending all their fry pans. Warm service. Many delicious pasta dishes. Street parking. Free WiFi. Neighborhood bar attached next door. Open late.

When feeding a large group of your child's college friends , the ideal Is to find a place that's inexpensive with large portions and will please everyone. This place did the job. Our waitress was absolutely lovely and right on top of everything. The food was perfectly adequate and a good time was had by all.

Had the Pasta Bowl for dinner Saturday night. I was staying in Lincoln Park at a friends house and didn't know the area. Google directed me here for delivery and it did not disappoint. I ordered crab cakes and Totellini Crema pasta. The crab cakes were good, but would have been better if fresh (delivery made them a little soggy and cold). The pasta was great. Very creamy and cheesy. I loved it. Only down side was the delivery wait. 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was convenient though, so I'll let it slide. Definitely recommend. $31 including delivery charge and tip.

On a day visit with family in Chicago, we decided to try someplace different for dinner. Stopped here to enjoy dinner, wine and dessert over conversations. Service was excellent and the variety of food and wine was agreeable to all. We ended up trying just a few types of pastas and a bottle of wine. Dessert was great and the evening was fun with conversation.

My boyfriend and I had a late dinner here after a long day of travel. We were walking down the street trying to find a place to eat and the smell lured us in. We were able to score some $5 Moscow Mules (drink of the day) and two plates of large, delicious pasta. We were not disappointed in the pasta, it was amazing! The only reason I gave it four stars versus five is it's not the type of place that serves fancy, out of the box pasta, it is the ultimate place for hungry people to enjoy a large plate of Chicago style pasta at a good price. No complains at all and would definitely recommend.

I went here and it was amazing....food was so great.....i liv here in nyc...i wish they had this place here....i tell everyone about it....service is great....staff is great...always friendly...very busy place....great location...thank you....

Staff was friendly and helpful, food was cheap and very good. Nice large portions, we didn't leave hungry or broke. I highly recommend this place.

This is an excellent little Italian place with very friendly staff and a decent menu. All food is simple, fresh and made in front of you. Portion sizes are big so it's also great value in addition to being very tasty. This is a great little place for quick lunch or dinner, though the seeing is a little tight so it isn't ideal for long stays or very large groups.