Barnelli’s Pasta Bowl

Reviews

• Garrett Y.

  star star star star star 1 June 2026

  Barnelli's is one of two "fast food" pasta places that are the best, in my opinion. I usually only order spaghetti and meatballs, which makes it easy to compare across restaurants.
  
  Barnelli's shares a space with Portillo's on Clark Street in River North. What I love about the spaghetti here is that it is GOOD! The portion is sizable, and perfect for carbo-loading before a long run. The meat sauce is pretty meaty, and there's a lot of it--best get a side of garlic bread to sop all that sauce up. The meatballs are okay, for what you pay for them.
  
  I've eaten here as well as gone through the drive through. The drive through line can get pretty long, but they are pretty efficient.

• Elaine D.

  star star star star_border star_border 17 May 2026

  Our first time in Chicago! We came by for the Portillo's hot dogs and wanted to try something else. At first I thought the pasta was part of Portillo's but they are not! They share the same store but are completely different restaurants.
  
  I ordered the Pesto & Chicken Pasta and the girl at the counter did not know what I was trying to order. She kept looking at the menu searching for what I wanted and was still confused. It took her a while to place the order. The wait for my food was LONG.
  
  I waited about 15 minutes just for one bowl of pasta. There were many other people waiting too and it just seemed like nobody had their orders called for the time.
  
  Pasta was alright. It came out hot so that was a plus. Also came with a side of bread. Pretty big portion. Maybe a bit pricey.

• Andrew M.

  star star star star star_border 10 May 2026

  Not necessarily the place you come to if you want an authentic Italian meal, but definitely the place you should come to if you want delicious pasta. I've tried the Fettuccini Alfredo and the Chicken Al' Diavolo and both were quite tasty, but a little too greasy for my taste. The Garlic bread is delightfully crispy and buttery but again, a little on the greasy side and sometimes too salty.
  
  The food was served pretty fast given that the restaurant was packed.
  
  I would definitely come here again!

• Lord H.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 7 May 2026

  Service is bad they were rude somewhat incompetent they took forever to make the food but it was good. The cashier was getting impatient while I was finding my card. She was just tapping her finger impatiently.

• Cyndi G.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 5 May 2026

  I placed an order through GrubHub Sunday night at 6:56PM for 2 pasta dishes at Barnelli's pasta bowl.  The estimated time for delivery was 40-50 minutes.  As I traced my order the delivery time moved progressively later and later.  When it reached 10 min post the 5th delayed delivery time I phoned the restaurant.  I was told it was a buy night and my delivery arrived 2 hours after my order was placed.  I will never order through GrubHub again.