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Il Pastaio

4.4 (598 reviews)
ModerateItalian
Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

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IL PASTAIO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Il Pastaio

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Interesting but where's the sauce!
Peggy P.

Authentic Italian gem hidden away in Boulder. We've dined there dozens of times. The freshly made pasta and sauces are excellent. However this week their special was veal, cheese, ham in a square and fried. Sort of French wannabe looking like a waffle Just no Stick with what you are SOOO good at: Italien heaven. We'll be back!

Chantel S.

This place has been around for a long time and I have heard so many recommendations, finally got a chance to try it and I understand the hype! A total hidden gem around the corner from 29th street mall, there are a total of ten tables inside and it's a squeeze but well worth it. We were able to call ahead for a table, but they do take reservations as well. All of their pastas and sauces are made in house, and every single one we tried was delicious. Great portion sizes for the prices, and entire plate is dedicated to the entree such as chicken in lemon sauce and chicken parmesan and another entire plate for the sides of pasta. Butter sage was good, the Alfredo sauce was amazing! Authentic, quaint and homestyle, come hungry and leave happy!

Aurora Papparadelle

Staple Italian spot!! So homey inside and the servers are the best. Delish homemade pastas and amazing sauces.

Matriciana linguine
Mary Jane C.

Home-y restaurant with food that reflects that. I keep coming back here when I crave pasta. The food: They make everything from scratch. The pasta is a perfect al-dente texture. The sauces all have a distinct flavor and very well done. Some favorites are Aurora, butter & sage, and pesto cream. The ravioli is stuffed with the right proportion - love their mushroom one. You can buy the pasta and sauce in bulk to take home. The dessert: Tiramisu is decent. The limoncello iced dessert in a glass is my favorite. Lunch vs dinner: Lunch is different where you pick a lasagna, plus sides up by the register. Dinner entrees options can be ordered al a carte any time during the day. Service: Average - nice and polite. It's always packed in there for dinner. Lunch is more relaxed.

Back of menu
Mike S.

My friend was celebrating a milestone birthday and invited me to gallivant around Boulder for the wknd. I booked this little Italian ristorante as a surprise dinner for the two of us and it was a grand slam home run. I searched numerous reviews from amongst my fellow Yelpers in Boulder and this gem was repeatedly a top-5. And also because my friend loooves Italian. Pro tip: they take reservations and they are strongly encouraged. Also, this little family-run restaurant is only open M-F, closed BOTH Sat/Sun (if that doesn't tell you how good they are)! We arrived five minutes early for our Monday 6:30p reservation and all 10 tables in this small establishment were packed. We waited at one of their two nice outdoor tables for less than 10 minutes before being seated - it merely provided just the right amount of time to get familiar with the menu. Staff was incredibly attentive and good-humored to boot. The general process is you pick from among a dozen sauces, from a half-dozen noodle types, and an optional protein (at additional cost). Recommendations were enthusiastically provided by both the experienced host and our waiter. We ultimately went with those recommendations: Verdicchio Pignocco white wine; Mushroom ravioli paired with Alfredo sauce and the Fusilli pasta with the Pesto Cream sauce and added chicken (+$6). The pesto was incredibly fresh-tasting and was a good pairing with the short/twisted ficilli to grab all of that delicious green sauce. But the real hit was the mushroom ravioli. We are both carnivores but so glad we heeded everyone's advice to get this particular ravioli. INCREDIBLE, especially with the alfredo. For desert, we were again recommended the top three items on the menu as those are all made in-house, including the chocolate mousse and tiramisu. We opted to split the mousse and it was equally divine - not too sweet, not too whipped, and with good amounts of cocoa bitterness. Parking is free/easy in this little strip mall. This is hands down the best pasta I have ever had (despite having previously enjoyed a handful of other homemade pasta joints) and with entrees running around $25-30, it was also reasonably priced. I can't wait to come back... some day.

Mushroom ravioli with Arrabitaia sauce

From the outside this place doesn't look like much, but I'm SO glad I went inside! It's set up like a cute little Italian bistro (max occupancy of 30). The real star here is the food. All pasta and sauces are made in house. I ordered the mushroom ravioli with arrabitaia sauce. It was incredibly tasty!! The sauce had a little bit of a kick which was nice. I also ordered the arugula salad which had a slice of a tomato, a pepperoncini and two marinated sliced peppers in a light vinaigrette. The complimentary bread, also made in house, was tasty, too. It was fresh with just the right amount of crispness. There were ample waiters for guests and the owner filtered around asking guests if our food tasted good, etc. Another cool thing is they sell pasta and sauces in bulk!! If I weren't flying out in two days I would have grabbed some of that, too!! Don't let this little gem pass you by when you're in Boulder!!

Capellini arrabbiata, pesto cream gnocchi (they have gluten free available), and mushroom ravioli in their aurora sauce. Red bitter soda
Keenan A.

Great family owned business. Our meal was all pasta: Fresh homemade pastas with your choice of sauce. Incredible service, you can tell the staff and family are proud and invested. Clean, Cozy small space with only a few tables and feels so nice and authentic. We felt special to have to opportunity to be present and welcomed. Reservations recommended but not necessary.

Flan

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26 days ago

Amazing food Amazing staff. 15 years of living locally and just now finding you. Thank you.

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11 months ago

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

Delicious sauces. I got the eggplant parm this time and very happy with it. Pasta is homemade.

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5 months ago

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1 year ago

Overpriced. The service was friendly but the food left a lot to be desired. My sauce tasted like Febreze.

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6 months ago

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1 year ago

Always so delicious, their choices of pastas and ravioli to bring home and cook are also incredible.

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I'd give more stars if I could. Genuinely French crepes. It was his grandmothers recipe. Fresh and…read moredelicious. I was $1 short and he gave me the money! This place was on diners drive ins and dives. Well deserved.

I'd heard that this local French crepe place was good and because of transportation issues had not…read moremanaged to get here until now. But I am glad we had time today and went shortly after they opened for brunch and really enjoyed ourselves. We decided to share one savory crepe and one sweet. They are very large yet delicate and we barely finished them. Our savory was the Parisian and the sweet was the classic lemon. They were perfect in every way. Order at the counter when you arrive and choose a seat in the dining area. It's classic white walls with art and wood tabletops and metal classic cafe chairs. The food was excellent, the French chef owner made the crepes and delivered them to the table. We had picked up our drinks as we paid before choosing a table. It's usually been full when I've seen pictures in the past but it was a very cold day and students at CU as well as other families just getting back from the holiday season. They also offer Build Your Own Crepe and we probably will next time. For a sweet crepe next time I would do one with Nutella but without any banana as many of the standard choices had. For savory next time I would take the Normandy. We chose quickly today as a line started forming behind us. I had looked online at the menu though my husband had not had time. A plan would be good. It appeared that the counter staff may also be family. It is such a welcoming place with really good food, not found elsewhere in Boulder. And very good pricing for quality and portion size. They opened in an unusual little spot, almost downtown but not quite, in the stretch along Broadway between CU and the Pearl St Mall. They have a small parking access to 4 shared spaces with the shop next door to it and the access is on Arapahoe. If you are staying at the large new hotels on the Hill it's an easy walk, the equivalent of one long block. If you know Boulder well and need to easily park, there is paid parking in the library lot across Broadway and an easy flat walk both ways.

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Came here for a late lunch on a Monday and it was pretty disappointing. We had the fried pickles,…read morethe Cuban sandwich and the orchard chicken wrap. Our server didn't seem too happy that we showed up today, the food took about 30 minutes to get to us and the fried pickles and the Cuban weren't very yummy, we didn't finish either. Disappointing. However the French fries WERE very yummy! And the wrap was unique and pretty good. It's a large space and it was easy to find a seat. The artwork is beautiful. Luckily we found street parking so that was easy too. It's a cash only restaurant (or local personal checks) and while it wasn't a problem, we had cash, we probably wouldn't have come here had we known that beforehand. Credit card sales shouldn't be the consumers issue.

New Yorkese - The warm pretzel plate and the fantastic nutella cannoli

New Yorkese

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Such a fun place with terrific food and service. I really like all of Avanti but you can count on…read morethe food , the view and the all around good time on the top floor to be a great experience. We have a favorite pizza order, a salad and dessert we almost always face. It's gotten to almost be joke status when I walk in. They know my order , it's so perfect I dare not change. There are so many toppings I cannot have, I always go with the basic B and a Caesar salad. The basic B is for basil, an herb I adore. So this is really a simple but tasty Margherita with classic char on the crust. If there is no char, it's not NY pizza. The salad balances it perfectly. My husband always gets the Telluride Redfish amber ale. Not easy to find in Boulder. Tonight I had the Stem Cider Off Dry because they did not have the Hibiscus or the Chile Guava in stock. But Stem is local and my favorite brand and Off Dry the most common at bars. After such a nice meal on almost a holiday. We topped it off with a house made cannoli. Prepped fresh at service time so it won't get soggy. We can come here every few weeks , no matter the weather and enjoy it every time. The view is great and there are always people out on the deck getting pictures with the Flatirons backdrop. So glad they built to maximize the view.

We went back and forth on what to get and ended up going with the Basic B. We are NY pizza snobs…read moreand thought this was pretty good. We thought the crust was the best part. Nothing revolutionary, but pretty solid! Would come back and try a different pizza

Il Pastaio - italian - Updated May 2026

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