Pastabilities

I’d like to update my review to share that I’ve eaten gluten free food here and I had no trouble whatsoever! I love their food so much. They now have gluten free eggplant parm and my husband got it so that I could try a bit (without committing to the whole thing). SOOOOO good. I’m going back again for sure! Yum!

I loved this place. Whether it’s for a bowl of soup or pasta dish I’ve never been disappointed. Been coming for years now and plan to continue for the foreseeable future. Also by the way, the best kept secret is the friendly staff.

Everything I’ve ordered here has been really good. I recommend the eggplant parmigiana and carrying out. The food reminds me of a quality Italian restaurant but the dining room is very much like eating at a fast food restaurant.

If I could give this «establishment» less stars, they would be in the negative. I tried to order, what you would assume would be a pretty basic order for an Italian «restaurant.» I called ahead and attempted to place my usual order of chicken parmagain. I have lived in Buffalo Grove, and faithfully ordered the same exact meal here at the least once a week for at least a minimum of 10 years. For some reason this evening, the girl who answered the phone argued with me for over 5 minutes that what I was ordering was not on their menu. I asked if their menu had suddenly changed, of course, her response was no. I explained once more, this is 5he exact same thing that I had been ordering since I was in high school. She continued to argue and then actually had the nerve to hang the phone up on me. Since I was already in the parking lot, I went in and asked for the manager, who of course was not there. You would think that a business would have some sort of acting manager on duty when the owner isn’t present. Of course, at this hole in the wall, they had nothing but cashiers that hardly spoke English. They refused to give me the name of the girl who answered the phone, and then in addition, I left my number requesting the owner to contact me and when he did so, his exact words to me were «f* you!» If this is the way they speak to customers, I would hate to see what kind of spit and feces they mix into your food.

Location. Meh
Décor… Meh
Food. As good as it gets!
The eggplant parm is the best i’ve ever had. Will keep coming weekly!

I’m relatively new to ordering pasta dishes, but this place has a great combination between taste and affordability.
We didn’t dine in, so I can’t speak to the dining experience.
However, the food was great, and the price was pretty nice.
My only gripe is that the portion size can be a little bigger for the price.
Otherwise, this is a great place.

One of my favorites! Love everything on their menus. Fresh and fast service. If you love italian this is your place. You have to try it.

This is my new favorite Italian place, it’s not a fancy sit-​down restaurants but it has some unbelievable food. This is about as close as I can get as my mother cooking, and I love my mother’s cooking. I live an hour away and I purposely find a reason to head out that way so I can get some of their food. They also have jars of sauce that you can take home and I bought some. I have not tried it yet but I assume it’s going to be fantastic. I would recommend this place to anyone that is in the northern West burbs. The last time I was there I had a chance to meet the owner and his wife and they were very pleasant and down to earth. I haven’t tried a whole lot of things on their menu but their meat sauce is to die for.

When I craved for pasta on a rainy day, Unilocal helped me to go to this place with its reviews. When I stepped inside, there was no any other customer except me! So just thought of giving a try, I ordered a mostacciolli with pink sauce (marinara+Alfredo) and spinach tortilloni with alfredo. Mostacciolli and pink sauce were good but spinach tortilloni was excellent. It came with 2 pieces of bread. I loved the food and will definitely go back.

Super friendly service and amazing choices! Comes out hot and fast with lots to eat! Favorite place to get pasta.

Boy, were we surprised when we walked in this place. Formica tables and ordering at the counter. The food was another matter. Quite good, made with great care and attention to detail. We had eggplant and chicken parmesan. Both were just about as good as we have experienced. Lovely marinara. Nice pasta. The grilled chicken was perfecto. The bow tie pasta with chicken, mushrooms and parmesan was amazing. The only weak spot was the minestrone. Fresh as could be, but lacking herbs and distinction. Prices cannot be beat. These people are nice!

Food is excellent. Mark prepares a team meal for the Buffalo Grove football team every Friday too. Love the pink sauce.

I saw the reviews on Unilocal and brought my extended family here. «Real fine dining,» my cousin joked when we walked in. This place has the aesthetic appeal of a Subway sandwich place. I chastised myself for forgetting that you can’t trust Unilocal reviews of strangers who might have very different standards for «4 stars». How embarrassing. This side of my family is more accustomed to eating at places with… y’know… tablecloths and a wine list. They’re good sports though.
After we ate, y cousin apologized for giving me a hard time. «That was really good!» She said. I’m fact, everyone agreed that the food was all really good. My diavola («hot and spicy pink sauce») was better than most of the fancy places I’d been in Highland Park. My wife’s eggplant parmesan was fantastic — light, crispy, flavorful, not oily. The minestrone soup was good too.
It was also quiet so we could all hear each other.
They also have gluten free pasta which is nice for some folks in my family.

To think it almost didn’t happen. I had read numerous extremely favorable reviews on Pastabilities but when I pulled into the shopping plaza and saw it was a vanilla looking store front eatery I had serious doubts about all those reviews. I almost turned around.
Wow! What a find. Best in class! This is my first review ever… mainly because the quality was off the charts so I feel compelled to share this culinary experience with others so they can enjoy this gem.
The minestrone soup was made from scratch and was delicious and generous in serving size. I also had the mostaccioli with red sauce and meatballs. It was to die for! If you love Italian food they will make your favorite dish just the way you want it!
Definitely will be returning.
Enjoy!

I think I have found my other go to place for a quick dinner. I tried their pesto and I also tried their pink pasta sauce. Both were super delicious. I also had the I spaghetti and meat balls. Everything they make is fresh and ingredients are bought that day. That’s what my co-​worker told me. It’s a family owned restaurant. The owner is a very nice personable man. I will be coming here more often than more.

So everyone raves about this place but I didn’t think it was amazing. Spinach ravioli is pretty good could be better if it was spicier, the only have red pepper flakes as an option. Also their bread is horrible, it was hard as a rock. The service was good though.

One of mine and my family’s favorites! (In fact, I rarely made pasta dishes much after discovering this place. They just did it so much better!!)
Eat in (smaller eating area — but still plenty roomy) or Carry out. The dishes are delicious and the prices are EXTREMELY reasonable. All of the dishes are customizable.
For lunch or dinner… YUM!
The owner also does occasional lunches for the kids in the area schools (the ALL eat hot lunch on a Pastabilities day!!), and he is known to work with groups in the community and charities. THAT matters!

Never really been into Italian food but this by far definitely has to be one of the only places I wouldn’t mind going back to over and over again! You can make your own pasta and choose whatever toppings or pick from the selections. Their «pink sauce» is amazing which is a marinara and Alfredo mixed sauce. My personal favorite is bow-​tie pasta with pesto sauce, mushrooms, chicken, and spinach. Their garlic bread is hands down thee best I have ever had! They give you a good amount of food along with bread. A bit pricey if you add toppings but nonetheless definitely worth it!

The food is decent. I can make better pasta and I don’t cook unhealthy meals… I know how to use spices and flavors. This place is just so-​so to me.

I’ve lived in Buffalo Grove for the past seven years, and I’ve never gone into Pastabilities. Frankly the décor leaves a lot to be desired and maybe that’s why I’ve never ventured in. However, looking for a quick meal last night, I decided to give them a try for carryout. I ordered a gluten-​free pasta with oil and garlic and added chicken, an eggplant parmesan, and a kid’s ravioli with pesto.
For a place called Pastabilities, I was expecting better quality pasta and sauces. The gluten-​free pasta is now changed to rigatoni instead of spaghetti (which was fine), but the texture was just okay and it had virtually no flavor. We had to basically drown the pasta with cheese to make it edible. It was a similar experience with the kid’s ravioli. It was several dollars to upgrade to the pesto sauce, and I’ve had better pesto purchased from Sam’s Club in a jar.
Wait — so why am I giving a 4-​star rating if everything was meh? The eggplant parmesan. It’s REALLY good. It’s not cheap at $ 8.99 which comes basically a la carte other than with a piece of french bread. But it’s not just a piece of eggplant with sauce. They make it into a layered casserole masterpiece with plenty of cheese and sauce. Texture is spot on, flavor is great, everything about this dish is perfect. There’s also no breadcrumbs for those looking to do low-​carb or gluten-​free.
I think this place is somewhere between 2 – 3 stars for pasta alone. But then they get 4 – 5 stars for the eggplant parmesan. We’ll average out to a 4 star overall.