I'll be honest: I almost drove past this place. Tucked into the Livery & Mercantile in Danville, The Great Impasta doesn't scream "look at me" -- but once you sit down and the food starts arriving, you completely forget that. I got the spicy chicken Mexicana -- not what you'd expect from an Italian spot, but they pull it off. The heat builds on you in the best way, and the pasta itself has that fresh, made-today quality that you just can't fake. The cheesy garlic bread was dangerously good -- the kind of thing you tell yourself you'll save for the end and then demolish before the entrée arrives. And the meatballs on the side? Tender, well-seasoned, and substantial. Not an afterthought. The vibe inside is casual and comfortable -- the kind of place where you actually want to linger rather than rush out. Service was warm and unhurried without being slow. This place has been doing its thing since 1992, and you can feel that quiet confidence in every dish. read more

Great Impasta is such a great spot for casual Italian dining! The pasta is reasonably priced, especially for the quality. Everything tasted fresh and well made without the higher prices you often see at some of the fancier Italian restaurants in the area. The service was also great--friendly, attentive, and welcoming. If you're looking for good pasta without the overly fancy atmosphere or price tag, this is definitely worth checking out! read more

Dropped by recently for a quick lunch. The family that runs this shop is also really nice and hospitable. Though the restaurant is a smaller space, there is both outdoor and indoor seating; outdoor seating is beautiful, but it might not be the best spot if you are weary of insects that are also hanging around (just as they would at an outdoor picnic area). The shop also sells fresh made pasta and pasta sauces to pair and there is a good variety. I ordered the small smoked chicken sandwich and was pleasantly surprised that the sandwich was so tasty with lots of fresh ingredients, and it also came with a delish and generous portion of a pasta veggie salad. We've also tried a pasta dish here a long time ago and they give generous portions, but it was a bit dry. I would like to come back and try their pastas again. read more

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Delicious and fresh pasta! Tons of menu items as well as choices for kids too! You can build your own or choose a special. The bow tie with chicken and mushrooms is my favorite! The restaurant also sells fresh pasta to be cooked at home. The staff is great! Seats are limited but it is worth eating the fresh pasta right there on the spot. read more

Just Grubhub'd this and this was the WORST pasta I've ever had. Asked for marsala sauce and it was this sweet heavy, buttery sauce. Threw it out. Ravioli was quite thin as well. $30 thrown out. read more

Good food plus friendly and attentive service. Not fancy but good. Family run. Surrounded by very busy restaurants. I've tried the seafood pasta, and the linguine carbonara garlic bread with melted cheese. Very tasty but kills my diet to go here too often. read more

I was googling Italian restaurants in the area and found this hidden gem in Danville. The food was delicious. The staff were amazing. The portions were large so we had leftovers forlunch the next day. So glad I found the Great Impasta and will definitely return. read more

The food at this restaurant was well made, full of flavor, and filling. This is a small indoors seating venue and is more designed for take out. There is actually more seating out side then the insides. I wanted to try their jambalaya, but I chose a sandwich as I knew I could not finish a whole meal. A good choice as the sandwich plate completely filled me. read more

The Great Impasta - Limited indoors seating. Pleasant but Limited. - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

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As a first time customer, I was impressed with not only the friendly service but the deliciously sized portion. I wasn't too adventurous as I chose spaghetti with meatballs & it definitely didn't disappoint! I'm looking forward to trying more items on their extensive menu. read more

The Great Impasta - Spaghetti with meat sauce & two large meatballs. - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

There pasta is meh. I got the chicken Alfredo and after I ate it I felt very sick. It took the food almost 30 mins to come out. They gave huge portions. My little sister got a Lasagna and it was bigger than her head! read more

Great place and wonderful portions. The inside is very homey and the service is wonderful. I got myself garlic cheese bread, a drink the cashier recommended, and potato gnocchi with pink Alfredo sauce The garlic cheese bread is delicious and pairing with the gnocchi had my stomach happy. I liked the gnocchi, it was like eating savory butter with a good sauce. No complaints here, definitely coming back to try other sauces. read more

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We were looking for a place to eat in Livery and ended up here. The restaurant is small and unassuming, but don't let that fool you. They make their own pasta, sauces, and bread in-house, which really shows in the quality of the food. I also liked that they offer some of their items frozen to take home. Service was friendly and attentive. Definitely a solid find read more

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Food: Portions were amazing, almost everyone in my family had to get to go boxes. Tasted delicious and had so much flavor. I had the Tortellini with garlic marinara and it was phenomenal. My dad had the chicken garlic pasta and it was rich in flavor and cooked to al dente perfection. 5/5 Service: Bread was at our table right after we ordered. I drink water very fast and my water cup never went empty. Our server was great! 5/5 We went around 1:20 pm on a thursday and the place was empty other than us. There is limited seating availability, but it was very pretty inside and smells amazing Overall a great place to go if you're craving italian in the Dublin/Pleasanton area! read more

It was take out & the food was all good. The pickup was already to go & order was accurate. We came later in the afternoon so it wasn't busy & the inside was clean & organized. read more

A little spot with a walk-up ordering and seating. Some deli and other condiments for sale. Daughter had Cheese Tortellini with 5-cheeses sauce. A tad salty, but prepared good. Wife had Chicken Olio. Needed some seasoning, but again, prepared well. read more

The service was really good also the location was great the lasagna was the best I ever had.

THEY ARE THE BEST! my favorite items are their house salad, the dressing is unreal.then I'd recommend the creamy bell pepper sauce w any pasta. life changing, you gotta try them. read more

The Princess has just gotten a bath and we needed to re-energize. Looking for an open restaurant on a Sunday afternoon that offered outdoor seating, we found The Great Impasta on Yelp. Just the name alone tickled my fancy. We looked over the online menu and didn't like the layout but when we checked the location, we were so close, we decided to drive by and take a look. Online, we found the "Build Your Own" a bit confusing. Looking at their paper menu, it was much easier to understand. We sat outside at the back end of the tables because there was a young woman with three dogs sitting at the table at the front end. She was only sitting to use her cell phone, but we were already settled when she left so we didn't move. My partner went inside to get a paper menu and then to place our orders and pay. She came out with our drinks. A server came out later with set-ups and my bread and butter. He later returned with our entrees as well. I ordered the Seafood Plate with Prawns and Scallops in a sherry cream sauce, substituting Linguine for the Fettucine. It was absolutely delicious, better than I've received in some "fancier" restaurants. The Prawns were cooked perfectly. The Scallops were okay but would have been better if they had been pan seared first. The two slices of bread were warm, but the whipped butter came straight from a refrigerator and was hard. She enjoyed her Italian Sausage Sandwich and Pasta Salad. The salad ingredients were fresh, chilled and tangy. The garlicky marinara sauce combined with the sausage softened the bread to make for a wonderful blend of textures and flavor. We will definitely come here again when in the area. read more

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I'm a pasta lover. A savory sauce paired with perfectly al dente pasta is a dream. I read through a ton of fantastic reviews for the Great Impasta, but was unfortunately disappointed. We came for a late lunch and sat outside with our dog. It's a super casual spot, so order at the cashier and they'll bring out your food. Each pasta dish was around $27- while the portion was sizeable, the price was pretty high for such a casual shop. The pasta itself had a great bite, but the flavors were just all over the place. The Alfredo was so bland that I wish I added salt. And the Mexicana pasta was loaded with Tabasco, so that's all it tasted like. Perhaps other flavors would have been a better hit, but neither of these tasted worth it for the price. read more

The Great Impasta - Chicken Fettucini Alfredo, Spicy Prawns Mexicana - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

Very tasty pasta. Great service. Cozy ambiance on the inside, open on the outside. Located in the heart of town. Plenty of parking. Very reasonable prices. We come here often. read more

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Simply put, the best chicken piccata ever. My past reviews still hold true. Highly recommended. read more

Food is good for a pasta shop. Ambience is ok for a small casual restaurant. Service is fine as well. This place can do a lot better if they rethink their pricing strategy. They seem to price their dishes as a higher end restaurant. It is a good pasta place, but prices don't match what's being offered/expected form a small, casual restaurant. It is not bad, but not ~$20 per dish kinda place. This would have been a 4star if not for the price. I think the pricing was a lot better under prior owners. read more

Amazing customer service, great ambiance and great food what else can you ask for!! They also sell pastas to make at home. read more

The Great Impasta - Garlic Cheese Bread - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

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Pro: Easy, convenient, tasty. Great Caesar dressing. Yummy potato leek soup. Con: Pricey. read more

Pasta is fresh from a pasta shop in Oakland that makes great fresh pasta. Their Caesar salad dressing is pretty good. It's our go to for fresh pasta in the area. Soups are good.. that's all I've tried. For that mentioned it's very good read more

We got a pan of lasagna for a Christmas gathering, and it was incredible, super delicious. Very friendly and helpful with pickup, etc. Definitely recommend. read more

Although the restaurant's ambiance isn't luxurious, the quality of the food and service makes it deserving of all five stars.

We love the great impastas food. Our family has eaten here for over 20 years. The original owners were phenomenal so kind , friendly and generous. Minus a star due to the girl at the counters attitude. (I say girl because she looks young) She is the complete opposite of how the old owners were. Not a friendly person at all and definitely should not be the person you want to greet here for the first time. My advice is stick to doordash or order pick up so you won't really need to interact with her. That would be a turn off for me if I was a first time customer and didn't know how good the food really is. Another reason I took a star off are the prices. They are ridiculous even for Danville. Every time you add anything to a dish it costs an extra $5-$10 even to add mushrooms. So be prepared for that. Other than that... the portions are huge so you can definitely share a dish & food is delicious so it's worth a try. read more

Everything I've tried is amazing and the lady at the counter is so nice!! My go to is the spicy Mexican or the linguini special but i sub the sausage for prawns! read more

Got the Spicy Prawn Mexicana via door dash, pretty pricey, but man was it delicious! I had to save the left over sauce because it was so good. read more

Reliably good every time; we tried multiple different pasta dishes and highlight the butternut squash and cheese tortellini as two high points read more

We'd bring our sons here since mid 90's. I recently visited. I needed soup because I was sick, probably the new mutation. When I attempted to enter to order, she stepped in front of me blocking my path without explanation. I stopped, she wasn't near but walked fast towards me. Took me by surprise but....typical 30 year old. No respect. I was then told I couldn't enter due to COVID. Well, she doesn't know that I travel states and it wasn't obvious. For example, Oregon you can enter every restaurant (wear a mask). I had my mask on already. Fast forward, they are the most recent owners of an Italian restaurant. ITALIAN. Based on reviews I searched after pouring out my soup at home....I get it. It's not because of food prices, a pandemic because dozens of generations before you started restaurants. My grandparents owned and managed restaurants. I worked in them. I had more tasteful soup in the military. Sell it to someone who is polite, understands restaurant business and won't do what your negative reviews state (long time customers like myself). The prior soups had taste (not salty) and fresh ingredients. I'll never be back. read more

Wanted a quick and easy pasta takeout for dinner instead of taking the time to make our own pasta. I phoned in an order and it was ready earlier than they quoted so pickup was immediate. We ordered a smoked chicken artichoke pasta, seafood pasta, and side of garlic bread. Both pastas were nothing special and lacking sauce. I say lacking sauce because the bottom of the to go container was just a pool of oil and butter. My poor fiancee got an upset stomach from all the grease. The seafood pieces were great though, I was surprised how good the scallops were and that scallops were even offered! Granted, they were mini scallops and not ones you'd expect from the grocery store but still! Lastly, the garlic bread was ROCK hard. Could barely chew it. read more

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It's an order in spot only but the fragrance of these when they came in were divine! Leftovers kept well in the fridge and also held up well in the reheat! Would recommend for a nighttime pasta craving! read more

Great Impasta is GREAT! The owners are friendly, the food is not only delicious but hot; portions are very generous. My husband had the minestrone soup and penne pasta with the marinara sauce, yummy. I had the house salad with blue cheese as well as the lasagna, there was enough for two meals. We definitely will be back. read more

One of my new favorite pasta spots now! Love how unique and perfectly flavorful their dishes are We got 1. Lemon Caper Prawns in a cream sauce over linguini 2. Spicy Chicken Mexicana in a creamy tomato sauce with garlic, red chili flakes and basil over rigatoni 3. Garlic Cheese Bread 4. Passion Fruit Beverage 5. Berry Splash Beverage read more

The Great Impasta - Spicy Chicken Mexicana in a Creamy Tomato Sauce Pasta - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

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A hidden gem in this shopping center, all the employees were so sweet, they asked us multiple times if we had questions or wanted recommendations to ask and they're more than happy to help. The inside is a little smaller of a restaurant but the food is so worth it and it's so cute and cozy. Our food came out literally in under 10 minutes, everything! The cheesy bread was fresh, hot & so good. The Caesar salad was huge we were able to split it between all 4 of us. The Pastasssss were to die for. Everyone loved their dish a lot and the portions were huge!! We were all able to take home our leftovers basically as a second meal! The menu is pretty big and you can mix and match or add things into your pasta, we loved it. Definitely will be back! read more

The Great Impasta - Caesar Salad, Garlic Cheese Bread, various pastas - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

Love this small business! Walking distance from my work makes it a great lunch spot. The dishes are great portions and ticket times are really fast. They have seating inside and outside and offer dine in. The staff are super friendly and it's a chill spot for a quick bite. read more

The Great Impasta - Rigatoni with creamy garlic and shrimp - Italian Near Me - Danville, California

Fabulous food !!! Very convenient for take out. New ownership has made this restaurant The Great Impasta.

This was my first time dining insidethe restaurant. (In the past, I've only occasionally gotten food to go!) While the ambiance is not the most impressive, the food, portion sizes and service made up for it. Owner Alex was very attentive and made sure our visit was satisfying. In terms of entrees, I had the Spicy Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya and my son the Lemon Caper Chicken Pasta. Both meals arrived hot, plentiful and delicious! (They also brought warm bread and butter to the table while we waited for our food.) We couldn't finish our entrees (this speaks volumes for my 19 y/o son who is always hungry!) and enjoyed leftovers the next day. I think The Great Impasta will be included in our rotation of "where do you want to eat" restaurants in the future! If you're undecided, I think you should check it out and see for yourself! read more