I had an absolutely delightful experience visiting this gem of a store. First, the owner, Tony, his family, and staff are extremely kind and helpful. The food is spectacular! The owner prepared an espresso for me while I waited for my pans of lasagne to be prepared. I also enjoyed a Panzerotti and an Arancini ball, which were unbelieveably fantastic. Nice conversation with Tony, I felt like family before I left! I am making this my number one spot for fantastic food, service, and overall experience. I hope they are around another 30+ years!!!!! read more

Phenomenal little gem in the neighborhood for many years. Customer service at its finest is what you will find here along with fantastic homemade pastas and authentic Italian specialties. Family owned and operated. Highly recommend!! read more

Phenomenal homemade pasta and sauces. Just like being in Italy. If you cannot make it yourself, this is the place to go if you want to impress guests. The pastas, the sauces, everything is outstanding. Tony at the front is so fun! We chatted with him as we had just returned from Italy. Wonderful conversationalist and all around good man. Tina's smile lights up a room, and her pasta is to die for. Check them out, you won't be disappointed!! read more

The pasta here reminds me of the pasta back in Italy it is just so simple and delicious the sauce is creamy the pasta is unbelievably tasty and the chef should be rewarded this is the best pasta I have ever had read more

Fantastic food and the closest thing to home cooked pasta and sauce when you don't quite have the time to do it yourself!

The best pasta, bread, sauce....in fact the best of everything! I would give them 100 stars if I could. The owners are amazing--welcoming & friendly. The eggplant parmigiana is the best I have ever had. They also treat you to tastes of the food. I can't say enough great things about pasta fresh--and when you walk in and say what pasta you want they go in the kitchen and make it fresh for you. If you love Italian food run to pasta fresh! read more

The best homemade pasta and sauces. The family is wonderful and always offers samples of focaccia. I also love their selection of one of a kind imported Italian specialty items. read more

So glad I discovered this place! Fresh, made from scratch pasta and sauces available to take home. I ordered to go their homemade rigatoni and LIFE CHANGING vodka sauce!!! The noodles were cooked to perfection and had great texture, and the flavors of the sauce just took me on so many different levels. I added a few meatballs to my meal which were good for the most part; however, part of one was dryer than the Sahara desert (which is part of the reason I'm taking off a star). I'm also taking off a star because the arancini I ordered along with it was lukewarm on the outside and mostly cold on the inside. Good flavors and texture, but I like my arancini hotter than how it was served to me here. Everything else about my experience, however, was excellent!! Tony, the owner, was super sweet and welcomed me with open arms. The rest of the crew I interacted with were very friendly and hospitable as well. I hope to return soon and try their spinach & pancetta ravioli. read more

Pasta Fresh - Arancini - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Awesome place. Great service and food. I gO back whenever I am able !!! Prices ok too. read more

I have had fresh pasta and sauce from here multiple times and it is to die for! Finally made my way here myself, realizing how close it is to us. This will be a weekly stop for pasta nights. Who needs dry boxed pasta when Pasta Fresh is so close?! read more

Great stuff carry out and make at home. Really reasonable. Obviously everything is fresh and top notch quality tagliatelle, pepperdelle, gnocchi personal favorites. read more

I've been driving past Pasta Fresh on Harlem Ave. for almost a year now, and finally stopped in. It's a small store offering homemade pastas, sauces, and some premade dishes you can heat and serve. Not much help in deciding what was best, there's a small board with the noodle options, and I was told "everything's good". Okay...I was also told that pastas must be ordered by the pound. That's a bit much, since these pastas are fresh and expire quickly. I ordered the gnocchi, spinach fettucine, and got some vodka sauce for the gnocchi. The vodka sauce was incredible! The fettucine went bad in the fridge. Next time I'll ask for 1/2 pound and make puppy eyes at the Italian ladies working the counter. The hot pre-made sale dish when I went was a Pumpkin Ravioli, so I asked for that. But with only 40 minutes 'til they closed, they said they couldn't make it for me. So they suggested a heat and serve pumpkin ravioli in the deli case, with vodka sauce and mozzarella. Good enough! But why they didn't give it to me for the same price as the sale dish I wanted seemed like poor service to me. Pasta Fresh is Cash Only! The dollars in my wallet were just enough to cover my load of fresh pastas, made with molto amore! Many happy returns, but for this bachelor, one pasta at a time should be enough. read more

You come to Pasta Fresh when.... You don't feel like making pasta from scratch. Your trying to impress someone for dinner. Your looking for a little 'pasta excitement' cause your bored with dry. You want to see how old-school Italians spend they're day - talk, shoot the sh*t, etc. etc. You need an espresso. Tony has owned this store since I was a little girl. I remember the first time I had a panzerotti here. Omg it was so good, not surprised I can still envision it. Dough is still as tender and filling as fresh and yummy as I remember. Not only has he been making pasta for decades, but homemade Italian specialties as well. His small market inside expanded once his brother Gino, formerly of Gino's Imports closed. Tony took over the space next door and included a larger market, seating area, and even a freezer section full of Italian goodies. You may recall Gino's Imports. They were KNOWN for their homemade sausage and deli selection of imported meats and cheeses and various Italian staples. You could even find a stove-top espresso maker here. In fact, Gino's store was written in the Tribune for his sausage. It was a happening spot back in the day and always, always filled with customers. Gino and Tony are still as lively and animated as ever. As soon as I walked in, I introduced myself - They know my family and I hadn't seen either in forever. Tony immediately offered me an espresso (I really wasn't planning on staying) and of course I couldn't resist, not to mention - that would just be rude. Gino walks in and we talked for awhile. They are THE nicest men - so hospitable. Tina is a doll and usually found in back making pasta. You feel like your in Italy just being in his shop. Very reminiscent of how Italians will treat you in Italy...kind, sarcastic and generous.. Just come here for laughs and the experience alone.. But no, really - I did come here for pasta. I ended up with 1 lb of uber fresh Pappardelle and ricotta gnocchi. A panzerotti too. Yes, even a fresh focaccia. AND home made Taralli. Tony makes THE BEST taralli. A few selections, mostly savory - Anise is my favorite kind. If you even think about going to Caputo's for these - you'd be committing a mortal sin. Their like pretzel shaped crackers, but taste nothing like one. Crunchy, flaky layers that don't disintegrate in your mouth. You want that hard crunch. It's an Italian snack and a damn tasty one. I will drive here just for these. Fettuccini, potato and ricotta gnocchi, cavatelli, tri colored pappardelle, squid ink pappardelle. Cannelloni, Manicotti, Stuffed shells - and more pasta. Whole sheets available too. He offers so many types of ravioli. 15 to be exact. Fillings are endless. Some ready made dishes like lasagna, and various sauces to compliment your fresh pasta to take home. You can grab a bite, have a seat and stay for awhile...arrancini, panzerotti, salads, or nice bowl of - yes pasta. EVERYTHING is made fresh to order... There is nothing like homemade pasta. Boils beautifully and only takes about 5 min. to cook al dente. Ricotta gnocchi was unbelievably light, just melted in my mouth. Tony does a lot of wholesale business and sells to many restaurants. They make it everyday in back so you know its fresh. Pasta is a little over $5/lb. Filled might be more. You are fine freezing it. Just do it the day of if you don't plan on cooking it all. CASH ONLY. CASH ONLY. CASH ONLY. (signs are posted everywhere). Come and see Tony and treat yourself to some delicious pasta. You'll have a good time and a complimentary espresso too.. Tell him "Pizza" sent you ;) read more

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Pasta and pasta sauce are the best. I only buy their products! It is worth it to try if you haven't yet!

Absolutely the best fresh pasta in Illinois. Quality pasta for a fair price. Service is outstanding. Tony, Ricky, Ida are fabulous people to do business with. Pasta Fresh is A+ business ! read more

Like Mike O, I must have driven by this place 100 times and never ventured inside. I dont know why either, I am usually a pretty adventurous person! Well, OK, maybe its because the building is cracked-out. Really dark and uninviting and reminiscent of someone trying to be "fancy" with architecture back in 1968. The building just sucks, sorry. That, and the parking lot is very, very small. But when you enter is when the magic begins. On the one side you have a little market, with some great choices for staples like canned tomatoes and cheese. Things are not cheap, but I feel that they are priced fair. On the other side, in a tiny side room, is where all the pastas and sauces are. The people in there are super friendly and love talking about their products. The pastas can be made with a variety of flavours, like tomato or spinach, or you can order them plain. I ordered a pound of fresh fusilli for $3. Thats a lot of pasta! Pasta was SO great and I am totally going there any time I need pasta from now on, but the reason this review does not get 5 stars is for 2 reasons. One, the foccacia I bought, while tasty, was a massive grease bomb. It looked and felt like someone had thrown the whole thing into a vat of melted butter. Yikes - THAT cant be good for you! And two, the braciole I bought was tough, and thats a damn shame. This meat should basically require almost no chewing, instead I was hacking away at it with my knife. The sauce it was in was absolutely superb though. Definitely a must if you are out that way and want some authentic, yummy, homemade goodness. Oh and CASH ONLY! read more

Pasta Fresh - Italian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

One talk thread told me that this place existed. Another gave me an insatiable need to seek it out, thanks a lot Rob L! ;-) My mom tagged along with me when I ventured into this place, of course she already knew about it. She seems to know about most little hole-in-the-wall markets; especially those of the Italian variety. I was a bit concerned that I might zip by the store since Harlem is a such busy street and traffic was a bitch, but never fear the ginormous Italian flag was like a beacon. When I parked in their lot I noticed two 1980's Caddy's out front; one was just normal so far as I could tell, the other had Al Pacino a la Scarface airbrushed on it. Of course it was the gun-toting "Say hello to my little friend" Al (words and all), very cla$$y touch. The shop is small; there are a few boards letting you know what varieties of pastas they sell and a bakery case filled with pastas and ready made items. There's dividing the front and back of the store, you can see the pasta making area from the front of the store. My mom got a pound of spinach & meat ravioli, my dad has a borderline obsession with spinach, and I got a 1/2 pound of gnocchi and a 1/2 pound of spinach & cheese ravioli. Both orders ran us each $4 and change, very cheap for quality freshly made stuff. I haven't made it to the ravioli yet, but the gnocchi was divine. They sell about 8 different varieties of ravioli and also sell a variety of sauces too. I had wanted to get a spinach and cheese mini lasagne, but they were out. ::pout:: The only thing causing me to knock a star off was the service. When we entered there was a guy hocking sweatshirts and "luxury" watches (think Polex and Novado) to employees and a guy who appeared to run the show. The guy was loud, aggressive and monopolizing the attention of all, but one of the employees including the guy in charge (manager/owner?). Instead of asking him to leave or noting that there were people waiting to be helped, the manager/owner just strolled next door, leaving the employees to deal with him. It was a turn off, not one that would cause me to write the place off, but really shouldn't the customers come before a guy selling stuff that fell off a truck? If you love pasta bring lots of cash, you'll want to buy everything and they don't take plastic. read more

Love Pasta Fresh! A great place to stop and get some fresh pasta or ravioli for dinner. The ladies here always came out with samples of the soups and stuff. read more

Fresh pasta.....what is not to love??? They make it for you fresh while you wait.. make sure to take cash since they don't accept credit or debit cards... they have tons of fresh sauces..alfredo...marinera...vodka sauce etc.. fresh garlic and olive oil.. they also sell mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese... and their foccacia bread is Delish.... will be going back... read more

Wow ! Wow !! Wow !!! Best home made I've ever had period !!! Fair prices , good service and a fun place to visit all add up to a must visit place !!! Bought a few items and can't wait to return and buy more . Great job folks read more

I was wavering between four and five stars. The only fly in the ointment was the sauce on the cheese lasagna. I found it to be a little bitter for my taste. The noodles in it however were excellent. As was the cheese ravioli that I purchased - a pound and a half for six bucks - two servings for me - maybe three for most people. The ricotta in it was simply robust. Truly fresh as well. Stores like this are few and far between anymore - so refreshing to be able to access such outstanding food at a reasonable price. I plan to return for more - maybe I'll even try the restaurant for lunch or something. read more

Some people always have something to complain about. Pasta Fresh does an excellent job of COVID-19 best practices. Oh, the food's delicious by the way. Here's five stars. read more

Good selection of home made pasta and sauces, parking lot available, family owned it's cash only.

My 2 friends and I made a day of locating this Pasta Fresh store. Really excited to try their products.... Well......This is very disturbing to me, because after seeing this store on Channel 11 TV, we expected special. The special we got: was Rice Balls (never had before) supposedly filled with sauce, meat,mozzarella.and fresh peas. Surprise!! Surprise!!! Only ingredient in my rice balls were Two (2) peas!!!... Kindof sounds like we definitely got scammed!!! I hope the two men working there, had a nice laugh on us!!... Todays world is difficult enough....for something as this to take place!!! Obviously.....All 3 of us DO NOT RECCOMMEND! AND, THE GUY IN BACK MADE THEM AS WE WAITED!!!! read more

This is the real deal. Super nice people working there and just solid food. In these crazy times it's just so refreshing to interact with real people. I live in the city and will make the trek out hear whenever I'm in the mood for fresh off the charts pasta. Thanks Pasta Fresh !!!!!!! You rock read more

I scored some fresh white truffles and needed some fresh egg pasta to make a dish worthy of them. Enter Pasta Fresh, the only place I know that cranks out egg semolina pasta to order. I finally get to the front of the line and "Mama" takes my order. Gimme 2 lbs taglietelle, 2lbs pappradelle, a pound each of meat and cheese ravioli, and some gnocchi. I'm waiting, waiting, and I thought fresh was this stuff was already cut and waiting in the kitchen for pick up. Nuh uh. Fresh here is they roll it out of the machine and cut/make to the specs upon taking your order! Then "Papa" saw that I was patiently waiting after 5 customers passed me by and asked if someone took my order. I nodded yes and he smiled. Then as my order was being bagged, I told him I got some fresh truffles. He says oh, you're lucky. Then he says we got these great mushrooms from the food show a few weeks ago and the quality and taste is really good. They're grown in this small town in Italy, very rare. Then he asks Mama what's a good recipe for the mushrooms. She says soak them for 15 minutes. Cook your pasta for 3 minutes. Then saute the mushrooms with some garlic until golden in some extra virgin olive oil with some red pepper flakes. At the end, toss in some cherry tomatoes and the pasta and you're done! Well, I finished all the pasta today for a number of dishes with the family over the holidays. Totally DEELISH! Thank you Mama & Papa Bartucci and Happy New Year! read more

Yum! Just finished eating the gnocchi, meat ravioli and focaccia I picked up tonight. Very fresh and delicious. There is a large selection of ravioli fillings - and a good selection of other pasta. I topped my pastas with the vodka sauce which was also delicious. The pastas are all $4.95 a pound (or at least the 2 I bought both were). Very reasonably priced for fresh pasta! They also has pre-made trays of lasagna and ravioli that were I think $9.95 a pound and looked like they would feed 2-4 people. Friendly service, clean shop. Has a wonderful experience and will be back to try more of the pastas and sauces. read more

Wow. Since I've stepped into this place I knew that it will be one of those places that you will live with. And in one point it will be the part of family. If you want to try real Italian pasta, if you want to understand Italians and Italy, if you want to taste the difference you need to visit Sir Antonio and his family place. If you felt that passon in Sopranos, passion for pasta, calzone.. espresso and cannoli, this is the place. And the top of the top you can bring the piece of heaven with you. There is fresh made pasta from premium ingredients made for home cooking. Everything that I've tasted bring me back to the place where I used to live and found my peace. Stop by people it is more than worth. Ciao! read more

Can't recommend this little place enough. The owners are so sweet and helpful. The pasta is amazing...seriously the best pasta I've had in Chicago. Super simple, no fuss, super authentic pasta. We had the arancini for appetizer, my mom had the spinach panceta ravioli with vodka sauce, my husband had the spaghetti and meatballs and I had the gnocchi with vodka sauce. Every single dish was amazing. It was hard not to eat the whole thing but we wanted to save some for later. We also bought some of their frozen ravioli and vodka sauce and a couple of other things. Pro tip, get some Mama Francesca olive oil, it's so good read more

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A GREAT TREASURE of the Chicago area, try a freshly made Panzerotti or Arancini. Get the pasta sauces to go, you can freeze the tomato based sauces until you use them, at which time they'll provide a tasty boost to your homemade spaghetti. His fresh pasta ranges from the best in USA to even better, as good as you can find in Italy. Our favorite is his giant mostacciolis: unbelievable with a simple sauce of fresh clams, olive oil, salt & fresh parsley. Fantastic pesto (without cheese) that lasts until you go back: store in fridge and, when there's only about 1/2 remaining, top off with your favorite olive oil & mix. Excellent dried-tomato foccacia. read more

Let me start by saying the staff is very kind and helpful. Let me continue by saying that I make my own fresh pasta at home. I eat fresh pasta wherever I can find it. The panzerotti and arancini here are excellent. The fresh pasta, unfortunately, is not very good at all. The short pastas are like chewing gum even after cooking for ample time. Truly fresh pastas made with 00 flour and fresh eggs should cook in 6-8 minutes maximum if not less, and be incredibly digestible and tender, although not mushy. Pasta Fresh pasta seems to cater to those who are not very knowledgeable or experienced eating fresh pasta as it is made in Italy. I found their "fresh" pasta to be a gut-bomb. I'd return there for the panzerotti and arancini, maybe to shop for a few Italian specialties, but I will leave the pasta behind. With respect for the kind owners, but with honesty! read more

Bring Cash! Excellent everything! The soups - the homemade Raviolis- the pasta is made on the premises- the parking lot is small so be prepared to circle but it's worth squeezing in that spot or going around a couple of times! I love their sauce ! read more

Love this place ... Every time I stop by they have huge selection of fresh pastas . They also have Italian dishes ready for oven . Cavatelli with braciole soo good Eggplant with prosciutto and raisins, Raviolis and sauces vodka ,marinara and more. Little deli serving espresso and lot off Italian speciality's. Anthony the owner is super nice always making sure every client leaves happy. This place located on Harlem ave is True gem !!! Must try mushroom panzarotti read more

Best homemade pasta in Chicago. There I said it. I go to this place for their daily lunch special at least once a week.

We enjoyed our visit, pasta was great. My issue is the inconsistency in pricing. This must be why there are no prices listed anywhere. Not online, or on menu board at counter or chalkboard for lunch special. Items are marked in refrigerator, but not pasta by the pound, that's was $5 per pound. We dined in for lunch and purchased items to go, totaling $85. I was disappointed being charged $13.95 for each lunch portion (only pasta, no drink or salad). Other recent review stated they were charged $10 for lunch special. Maybe Sunday is more expensive? Worth stopping in to grab pasta to go, but not dine-in. read more

Pasta F-f-f-fa-Fresshhhh!!! Have you ever won the lottery? Has anyone every given you a DeLorean?Have you ever made out with Kirsten Dunst?Have you ever played a show while 60,000 people chanted your name? None of these things have ever happened to me but when I tasted the fresh spaghetti from Pasta Fresh I experienced a feeling that I imagined was close to an emotion I would feel if I were to experience one of the aforementioned situations. And thats just the spaghetti. Don't even get me started on the meatballs and raviolis. The people that worked there were also amazing. Tell everyone you know about this place. They will all thank you. read more

My boyfriend is the chef amongst us two, so a have little influence on our menu and a lot of influence to where we eat out. We both love Italian food, and this is definitely a place that has fresh pasta at reasonable prices. They offer a case full of ready-made Italian dishes for heat and serve. The chalkboard on the wall states the various types of raviolis and I recall about 10 of them including mushroom, cheese, spinach, butternut squash and lobster to name a few, all ranging in price from $4.95- $8.95 pending on the ingredient. The tortellini's come in 2 flavors, cheese and meat. After reading some recent reviews, I nominated mushroom raviolis and meat tortellini's to come home with me. The eggplant parmagiana was also an easy choice as well, to go straight to the oven as an easy dinner. The service is excellent, and as I waited for the sweet lady to package my pastas, she gave me a piping hot piece of focaccia. I'm not a fan of the stuff, but I will say that it was probably because I've never had focaccia like this before! This focaccia was the "game changer". Come to this wonderful mom and pop business, you will not regret it! read more

On the northwest side's Little Italy along Harlem Ave., I finally visited this place because it has received acclaim from other Yelpers. Though I used to live less than a mile from here, I never stepped foot into Pasta Fresh. It is crammed in a tight, little strip mall between Cornelia and Roscoe, alongside a few other Italian shops. Let me sum it up in a single sentence: This is fancy Italian restaurant food that you can serve up at home. Being parents of an eternally hungry 21-month old boy, going to a nice Italian restaurant would be a nightmare. The mere sight of pasta on a plate would provoke a blood-curdling scream of "NUNOS!!!" with lots of head-flailing and crying, which would result in us getting thrown out of the restaurant, high chair and all. Yes, it is cheaper elsewhere but the quality is that much better. I had a craving for arancini, and sure enough, they had the best ones I've ever tried. The rice was not too dry and not too mushy either. I've been eating the baseball-sized Italian specialty from Butera and Shop-n-Save all these years. Boy was I wrong! The arancini balls I bought were still warm and left a lingering aroma in the car. Pasta Fresh has a bakery-style glass counter that displays freshly made pasta, ravioli, tortellini, marinara and assorted pasta sauces. They even had crab ravioli as their special item of the day, which I now regret not buying. You can even buy a foil tray of freshly-made meatballs, mostaccioli, manicotti or lasagna, topped with cheese and sauce, ready to pop in the oven and enough to serve 3-4 people or a hungry Joe Viterelli (fat mobster Jelly from "Analyze This"). There is a window that lets you see the back room of the store where they make the products. It's pretty big considering how small it looks from the street. On the wall there's even the obligatory picture of Joe Pesci and another Italian guy standing next to him. Their menu board listing of Italian specialties runs quite long, just for their sauces alone. I also bought a doughball to make my own pizza. I warmed it up during my 20-minute ride home and it was nice and pliable to put in a round pan for my own large thin-crust pizza. I will close this review with an unconventional doughball warming suggestion: If you want to make a pizza the moment you walk in the house, put the bag with the doughball on your dashboard and turn on the window defogger or heat. The warm air from the vents will heat the doughball. Every time you come to a stop at a red light, flip over the doughball to warm it evenly all around. Twenty minutes later, stretch it out and make your pizza! read more

Thanks Yelpers for helping me find this place! Awesome just like everyone else said. Things you should know: take out only (cook at home), take cash as they don't accept credit, and if mama Tina gives you a recommendation for what to order...buy it. To expand, Mama Tina is the sweet lady behind the counter most of the time. As far as I can tell she is also the owner and helps make all the pasta. She recommended we try a ravioli stuffed with cheese and bacon with the vodka sauce. We cooked this for family at our house warming party and they were so impressed. My mom is even making the drive from her house in the burbs (1 hour away) to pick up some pasta for a dinner party my parents are having with their friends. read more

This review is basically for their dine-in lunch offering. I awoke to Pizza Pizza Nancy's fresh (pun intended) and enticing review of this place, and being the flexible chameleons that we are, it kinda changed our schedule for the day and we decided to come by here for lunch. The place looks really awesome for takeout of pasta and other Italian goodies, but all we took out was a tasty lemon cookie ($0.78 for the little guy). We did stay for lunch here and chatted a little with the friendly folks - Tony the owner, his nephew, and the lady in charge - all of the same family. Their main business turns out to be wholesale pasta supply to restaurants, and retail customers like us are just a side business. They've been at it for 27 years. They had 5 pasta offerings listed for lunch (for a verbal $8.99, as prices were not marked, and which practice I really did not like) and it included a starter salad and foccacia bread. In the end, they can mix whatever pasta with whatever sauce though. Wife had fettuccine with vodka sauce, and I had papardelle with their meat sauce. The pasta and sauces were fresh and delicious. The two lunches with a couple of bottled waters totaled to $25, and for basically dining in a grocery, I'd have to say it was average priced and not cheap, but you do get fresh here for sure. They also had some nice mello music playing out of a music box for the clean dining space that was comprised of 4 tables. Overall, something a little different, and worthy of a try. Also, avoid Harlem if at all possible, as it seems to be jammed up no matter the time or day (we used Cumberland most of the way)! read more

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