We choose this restaurant due to all the good ratings and it did not disappoint! Everything was really well done. The appetizer bread and dip was so good we licked the plate clean. The pasta I had was pappardelle with vodka sauce. Fabulous!!! My husband had chicken gnocchi (instead of rigatoni) with the spicy sauce. He really enjoyed it. The portions were quite large so we were not able to finished either meal. Can't wait to visit again to try something different on the menu! read more

Pastabilities is always crowded for a reason! The bread with dipping sauce is a great way to start the meal. They have an excellent selection of pastas and sauces, drinks and appetizers. The scrimp and scallop scampi with garlic lemon sauce was amazing. The atmosphere is fun and makes you feel welcome. Always a good time here! read more

Pastabilities - Shrimp and scallop scampi - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Over hyped. I don't know why people are crazy for this place. Either they don't know the Italian cuisine well or are clueless.

Lunch and dinner both have different vibes, but are both good in their own right. You will most likely wait (in line for lunch or for a table at dinner) but it's worth it. Parking is tough, it's downtown so not unexpected, but be prepared if you're not familiar with the area. read more

Food was excellent - except the carbonara. The carbonara tasted like straight cream. Prob worst I've had. Other than that we loved the food & can't wait to return. Host staff, server, timing, overall cleanliness, table cleanliness, restrooms, 10/10. (Call ahead/wait list program sucks, never could get anyone on phone) read more

Such an amazing experience! I'm so glad Yelp pointed the way out to these guys! We started with duck bacon pizza (sooooo yummy!!!), and calamari (I've had some of the freshest calamari in the country, and this was incredibly tender and tasty). We ordered sweet potato ravioli add grilled shrimp, blackened chicken alfresco, broccoli and Brussels, and would do every bit of it again! The only down side is they said we would get bread with the famous hot tomato oil, and we had to ask for it at the end to take with us. It ended up being a real treat we almost missed out on! read more

Pastabilities - Duck bacon pizza - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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Definitely a Syracuse classic. It is a bit crowded in there, but makes sense considering it is one of the more popular spots. I usually get the Hot Vodka and it always hits. Also can't miss their bread and Hot Tom. read more

Best pasta and sauce I have ever had not just in Syracuse but anywhere. I normally order the sauce from their website but having it at the restaurant tastes much better. read more

Highly disappointed. Sat at the bar. Said house wine I was given a premium wine. What do you like? Sure I'll take that one. Three glasses later cost me $42. The third glass was the bottom of the bottom and I was short three sips was asked what I wanted to order I said after my first drink, I'll place an order, just let me know what you want the food and sat in the window and the pasta was soggy and the chicken was dry and hard and rubbery. The portion size was decent but the cooking and the flavor and everything was disgusting overrated place. read more

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This was our second time here, hands down our favorite restaurant in Syracuse! Stopped for lunch this time as it was New Year's Eve and knew I'd be crazy during dinner service. Everything was truly fantastic, delicious food, overly attentive and positive staff, get ambiance... even the bathroom is top notch . Between the two of us we've now tried four different dishes during our visits and every one was fantastic. I wish this restaurant was on my hometown I'd spend every special occasion there! read more

The food was delicious, the place was packed to the brim, and the service was superb.

Great food and great service. Was visiting Syracuse U with my daughter. Called ahead, they said come right over. Restaurant just opened and we're the first seated. It was only 4pm a little early for dinner. But it worked because we were starving. Both our dishes were fabulous. Waiters were attentive and polite. 5 stars. read more

Coolest spot in Armory Square, great vibe and atmosphere. Love the beer selection, and the flexible and amazing pasta dishes truly show their abilities! It's a must-do if you are downtown. read more

The Tom oil and bread to start was to die for. We got an incredible burrata with mango chutney, Thai chili, mint and spiced peaches and the pesto/alfredo Campanella pasta Fantastic. Justin was our server and was super friendly, knowledgeable and had a great vibe. We will be back! Note: The waitlist is no joke, we called at 4pm and were seated at 7:45. read more

The food was delicious, I ordered a Bolognese. It definitely hit the spot along with the fresh bread and sauce. The service was excellent, our waitress was very polite and attentive to our party of 6 girls. The ambiance I think is my favorite! Love the decor and the feel of the space. They also blocked the cold in the front of the house. That's so nice for our winters in Cuse. I highly recommend going on a weekday. Otherwise you may have to wait at the bar for a while. That's fine if you want to drink a few. Or a bottle of wine to share read more

Food was amazing, came out nice and hot, cooked to perfection! Our server was amazing, and took amazing care of us, constantly making sure our drinks were full! read more

Pastabilities - Chicken Parmesan - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

4.5 stars. Here I am, at the end of the year catching up on reviewing all of the places I've eaten at. I had takeout from here. Wait times were long (about 10 minute hold to order) and it takes about 40 minutes to go pick up your food as an FYI. Food here is pricey. But that being said, everything is wonderfully delicious. We got the hot tomato oil with bread appetizer which was delicious. Crusty freshly baked bread and a delicious sauce (though we could have used a little more sauce to bread ratio). I can see why they bottle this stuff up and sell it! Also tried the chicken riggies. The sauce and noodles was very delicious (one of the best sauces I have had). The chicken in itself wasn't anything special and I could have done without it. At over $20 for this entree though, it felt like a splurge coming here. Will definitely be back when I am in the area and want some good pasta. read more

Pastabilities - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

First, not ADA compliant. We waited an hour. My mother is clearly using a cane and then after an hour they were going to put us in the back room that you need to go up stairs. When we asked for a table on the first floor. The attendant stated she would have to be put us back on the waitlist and it would be another hour wait. Completely disappointing experience. Shameful how we were treated. read more

OMG!!!!!! I came up to Syracuse to work at the State Fair and numerous people have told me to come to this restaurant and I am so glad that I drove towards Syracuse to try this restaurant. Everything is housemaid and you can taste it. The one thing I do recommend because this restaurant is so amazing is to call ahead!!! We did arrive on a Thursday evening about 45 minutes before they closed based on what the website hours. We ended up sitting at the full service bar but they were told that we won't take any more names and there's 25 names on the wait list that is how amazing this restaurant is. Full service bar delicious cocktails according to my friend and we ended up ordering an appetizer and they did bring fresh baked bread and their housemaid marinara sauce. The only thing I didn't care for was the bread but it wasn't warm it so it was cold but you could definitely taste that it was freshly baked. We also got the burata cheese. Which was topped with pesto and sliced almonds. For main course I ended up ordering out of their intense menu with all sorts of pasta dishes I ended up going with the baked manicotti. I must admit this was the best manicotti I've ever tasted you can taste that they use the freshly made pasta and house and the ricotta cheese stuffed with fresh spinach just fluffy and melted in your mouth. My friend ordered chicken alfredo and my other friend ordered the seasonal short rib. Anytime I'm in the case I will definitely be stopping even if it is for takeout!!!! read more

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I was truly looking forward to trying this restaurant, however experiencing the mass chaos that accompanies getting a table was not worth it. You cannot book a reservation for under 8 people. Call ahead is the only option. The phone lines open at 4. After calling at 4 we received a seating time of 2 to 2.5 hours. We were not told that there would be a text notice with a 1 minute window to accept the a table is ready in 5 minutes. Literally. So we missed our window by showing up at 6:15. We got put on the "next available table list". It was so overcrowded by the hostess with people picking up take out and so many others probably all in the same situation. So we wasted 45 minutes waiting in a crowd when we were there at 6:15. I even called to say we were almost there but there was no grace given. No one explained these "call ahead" rules so we were blindsided by it. I also took offense to the joy and condescending tone of the hostess as she now explained this policy. We were first timers, impression is everything. Will not go back. We were celebrating a division one meet day; our college student was starving and exhausted. We traveled 5 hours to Syracuse. After a long day this is not the experience you want to have. Solution: take reservations. If your getting inconvenienced by no shows, hold a credit card to ensure people hold their reservations read more

this cutie little spot in downtown Syracuse is just great! the atmosphere here is great, candles at the table, pitcher of water, the works. the food was good. are you hungry for che? if so, this is the place for you! all the fancy pasta dishes can't leave the kitchen without an unhelpful helping of the stuff! the service was subpar, but that's just because our server was weird. also, one of the servers have my name so they kept calling it. read more

Pastabilities - food - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

This place was a welcome surprise during our trip to visit our daughter at Syracuse University, during the long weekend. My daughter's birthday was coming up and she had mentioned that she was going to spend time at this place, because of how much she loves pasta, so we decided to celebrate early with her and check the place out, since we were not going to be there for the real event. The place was already thriving with people, even though it was a bit early at around 11:45AM, but lucky for us, they had seats at the time. The place looks like an old tavern with many booths along the walls and a full bar with any drink that you can imagine on the other side. Besides were we sat, there were also table top options for a more romantic setting, but we preferred to sit at the booth. The place is pretty casual and you could order food ahead of time using the QR Code, which we did, because we had skipped breakfast and we were starving. It was really hard to select from the 42 pasta possibilities, which I guess is where the name came from. I would say that I was a bit disappointed, because they did not have our classic favorites, like Amatriciana, Puttanesca, Carbonara, but upon request, they were able to make a Carbonara for us, which we greatly appreciated! We ended up ordering a Hot Vodka, Carbonara and Bolognese. The pasta was "al dente", which is a requirement in our opinion and the pasta was freshly made as well, which added to our satisfaction of our plates. We all tried each other's out and our clear favorite was the hot vodka, which is not overwhelmingly powering and has the right kick and sweetness on the sauce to have a very enjoyable flavor to your palate. The Bolognese came in a close second and you could tell that the meat sauce was freshly made at the restaurant and complementary to the ones you can taste in Tuscany, where we have enjoyed some of the best of it before. The carbonara did not have some of the thickness that you would expect from the place and was a little bit bland, but given that we had received an accommodation and it is my daughter's favorite, she enjoyed it, which is what you want out of a good experience. Bathrooms were clean and parking can be found all around the block, but they are all parking meters, but reasonable at $4 per a 2HR parking. We will definitely come again, after all, there are still more than 40+ plates that we can try, plus it was fun to see the place packed with people enjoying a great meal at a very, very reasonable price for a great pasta dish. read more

Pastabilities - This is the front of the restaurant - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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Pastabilities came highly recommended by a couple colleagues working in the neighboring area so of course we had to give it a shot. A coworker and I stopped over for dinner; we paid $5 for Parking at the nearby Atrium Garage. To start, we received a complementary order of the Spicy Hot Tomato Oil & Stretch Bread: I imagine the bread when fresh out the oven is great, ours was fine, but the spicy tomato oil had both great flavor and kick and was a nice compliment to the bread. I ended up ordering the Chicken Riggie Turn Down as my entrée. You could definitely taste the freshness of the pasta, and the combination of alfredo & spicy tomato cream sauces ended up being a pleasant mix. For dessert, I ordered the Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta. While I'm not too familiar with Panna Cottas, I enjoyed this one despite the unfamiliar texture. It came topped with almost like a Strawberry compote, so in a way it was strawberry shortcake-esque. With this being their only location, I'd advise those in the area who aren't familiar to give it shot, but I wouldn't say it's worth travelling all the way to Syracuse for. The prices are higher than most, but when you can taste the difference in the freshness, it's kind of worth it. read more

Pastabilities - Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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Literally one of my FAVORITE spots in downtown Syracuse. Whenever friends or family come to visit this is a must stop for them to eat. I've been here so.many.times and the food does NOT disappoint. I always love to see what their specials are at the time and one of the best right now is their sweet potato ravioli because it is mouth watering. Their drinks are delicious as well! Definitely go early on the weekends since they do not take reservations, but trust me... this is worth the wait! As always you have to get the stretch bread with hot tomato oil and take some to go (you won't regret it!) read more

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I made a reservation for 7 people for 6:15, we arrived about 10 minutes early, I checked in with the hostess, she asked if all 7 people were present, I said we have one person parking and will arrive any second ,she then completely ignored us. We all sat in the cubby area for another 30 minutes , she never looked at us or even acknowledged our existence, meanwhile sitting multiple people. Finally at 6:35 she announced my name and asked me if all 7 people were now here, I said yes we have been since 6:15 .. and she replied that she was waiting for me to check in .. and they had sent me a text .. ( she never gave us that instruction ) and why send a text when we are literally 4 feet from her the entire time .. she was being condescending and passive aggressive .. it really started our bday celebration off bad, luckily the food service and food quality redeemed our experience , but not sure if I want to go back .. the vibe seems like we are lucky to be in their establishment,plenty of other places to spend $500 read more

While visiting Syracuse I have to visit Pastabilities because who doesn't want fresh, made from scratch pasta with unique sauces?! This time I had the Hot Tom Alfredo with pappardelle pasta and it was amazing! Last time the Hot Tom oil was a bit spicy for me alone but the Alfredo balanced it perfectly so it was a great blend of flavorful, Alfredo with a kick. I'm honestly wishing I had more right now! The fresh pappardelle was amazing, I couldn't stop eating it and the Locatelli cheese - yummmmmm! My husband ordered the cheese ravioli with bolognase sauce and he enjoyed the flavorful sauce but it appeared to be several layers of pasta and very little cheese. In regards to pickup, they tell you to wait until you get a text but I'd recommend just going to the host because the last two times we have waited and our food has already been ready. Overall smooth pickup and everything was well packaged for carry out. Sorry for the not so pretty picture but that's what happens with carry out while staying at a hotel ‍ read more

Pastabilities - Hot Tom Alfredo Sauce Combo - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

Pastabilities has it all Homemade pasta, beautifully seasoned sauces and great deserts Great meal at a relaxed pace We never felt rushed and our waiter's suggestions were all spot on If you're in Syracuse don't mis this read more

Can't understand the fuss about this place. Wouldn't last a year in a cosmopolitan city. It shows the complete lack of awareness of people's idea of Italian food. Rubbish place serving cafeteria food. read more

Superb experience all around. Unfortunately we arrived without a reservation and the place was packed. We were just a party of 2 and ended up sitting at the bar where they offered full service. Our bartender was out of this world. Not only was he friendly and made great drinks but incredibly knowledgeable about the full menu. Made many great suggestions and I overheard him doing the same for other guests around us. I think his name was Jace, he was great. Bread and sauce with hot oil as a table app is incredible. Pasta was fresh and sauce was packed with flavor. Would 100000% return if we're in town again. Thanks for the great food and wonderful service! read more

It is so good every time we come here! Decided to try their seasonal entrees and I got the short rib stroganoff. It was incredibly delicious - so full of flavor. My boyfriend got the homemade ravioli with meatballs. Probably the best ravioli and meatballs I've had. The drinks were really good and strong! Our server was so nice and friendly. Super attentive. The vibes were great, very intimate and perfect for date night. read more

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I had the breakfast foccacia as carry out and it was fantastic. It was even better dipped in the hot tomato oil. Every bite was very flavorful and the texture of the foccacia was crispy and chewy. read more

Haven't been to Pastabilities in some time. This used to be my go to when I worked downtown for lunch. Food was as good as I remember but the sauce this time was a little over powering but still good. Both of us got the Ravioli which was good. All pasta is homemade but the best part to me is the bread they make at their bakery across the street along with a side of hot oil which the hot oil you can find now at a number of local Grocery Stores. I would highly recommend reservations as the wait can be long but the food and service were worth the wait. Last night our wait staff were great and very attentive. The place is decorated for the Holidays and is worth the trip alone for that. Highly recommend read more

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Wonderful lunch and great time at a place we heard about from DDD! The dipping sauce is amazing. We ordered 3 pasta dishes and 2 salads. One glass of wine and a local root beer. Space is clean and orderly. Staff was very helpful and kind. The only "be aware" issue you should know is that you can order on your phone or at the bar for lunchtime (not sure if this is the same for dinner) and sometimes the order doesn't click through. We ordered but it didn't complete. A wonderful server came over and saw the issue and quickly it was taken care of. We always prefer a person over a computer! The meals were fab. Orders are quite large so keep that in mind. A split pasta dish might be a good choice. Salads were large and tasty. The Mac and cheese was fab! Recommend highly. It was so delicious. read more

We love love love Pastabilities! That being said, takeout and dine in are not made the same! We didn't receive any hot tomato oil was included in our order (arguably the best part), and the portion size was probably 1/3 of a dine in portion of pasta. It was still $20. Aside from that it was delicious as always. read more

Pastabilities - Pink vodka cream with Rigatoni - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

I hadn't been here in a few years and always remembered it as very good. My most recent visit left me wondering why I don't visit this place every time I'm in Syracuse. If you've never been, try to go for lunch because this place is PACKED for the entire night any weekend night. They don't take reservations because they don't have to. Their bread and spicy tomato sauce seems to taste better at the restaurant than it ever does when I get it in the grocery store. Extensive wine and beer list. Something for everyone. As an entree, I got the garlic oil, broccoli, and walnuts pasta. Wow! What a flavor and texture combo. I was doubly excited when I had the leftovers as a second meal. Service is always top notch here as well. During my most recent visit Cristen waited on our party of 6 and made we never ran out of wine or bread! What more can you ask for? read more

Pastabilities - Alfredo Garlic Oil, Broccoli and Walnuts - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York

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We reconnected with Pastabilities on our way through CNY. It was part of our vacation plan through an area we lived in for a long time. Unfortunately, the kitchen was late on delivering food which was not mentioned by our server until I mentioned it. When the dishes arrived, bolognese and stuffed manicotti, the food was outstanding. The pasta perfectly cooked and the sauce spiced to perfection. The manager arrived soon after and apologized for the time it was delayed and said it was their mistake. As a consequence the manager discounted the bill 20%. read more

Always away, but that is because it is so good. It's a fun place to go with good service and fantastic food.

Everything about this place was amazing. Food service and atmosphere exactly what I hope for.

Amazingly my wife and I never got to actually sit down in this restaurant in our entire time living in Syracuse. We ordered takeout once during the pandemic, a helpful and appreciative employee running our brown paper takeout bag out to our vehicle in the rain. That experience was good but was hard to decipher if the food was merely good or exceptional, given the transport and temperature change that is inevitable with takeout. So, off we went again, this time traveling up to couple a special belated birthday meal with a (eventually cancelled) Stapleton concert. Damn you, forest fires! We had an early reservation and called to tell the hostess we were stuck in traffic and would be a little late; she was more than kind and accommodating. We were greeted by (presumably this same) hostess and what may have been a trainee; the hostess was as warm and kind as she had been on the phone, the trainee not as much. Our waitress seated us and took our drink orders; we were quickly served stretchy bread with "spicy tomato oil", the restaurant's signature product, and the first generous basket of bread is on the house (unheard of, and appreciated). The environment is sparse with dark woods, stylish metal and wood cafeteria style chairs, and large, spotless mirrors with patinated frames. The mirrors were so clean I for a moment thought I was looking through a large window to the "back section" of the restaurant, until I realized I was looking at myself. D'oh! Their point I am sure is to create the illusion of space, and the decorative touches do that very well. My wife was quickly served a generous pour of Prosecco and I tried the "green belt" margarita, which was tasty and served in perhaps a rocks double. I also followed that up with a second margarita, a blood orange variant with my meal, which was equally tasty and potent. We had the "pasta-cini" appetizer which was like an italian, delicious fried ball of amazingness, angel hair and mozzarella in a gooey crispy orb. Full marks for taste and flavor, middle marks for only two of the smallish balls for a full appetizer. Fine for our party of two but would have been not shareable for a larger group. Our meals followed quickly after, angel hair with the spicy tomato oil for me; carbonara with fettuccine for my wife. I will add here that I have noticed for years that even very appetizing pasta photographs very poorly, so please know these dishes looked much better than I feel they look in the photos. These were top notch pasta dishes that were plated nicely and tasted amazing. Hand made angel hair has a mouthfeel that is totally different than store bought pasta and it is amazing. I ordered a sausage on the side of my pasta, and while truly excellent, I was a little disappointed it was not integrated into my spicy tomato oil dish; instead it came in a small dish of its own, very different tomato sauce. Probably nothing to complain about and my oversight, but I was excited to have a sausage to mingle with the "hot tom" flavors and was a little bummed with the plating/presentation. Stuffed to the gills, we took two desserts to go. If they don't meet the high culinary marks of the rest of this experience, I will update- but I expect they will. In summary: Hostess: 4 (5 without the trainee) Cocktails: 5 Appetizer: 5 Meals: 4 Waitstaff: 4. My only negative comment on our waitress is that in a quiet restaurant that seemed relatively slow, there were none of the personal touches or conversation that make a restaurant experience go from good to great. She was friendly, efficient and fast. Maybe too fast. In conclusion, a "special occasions" restaurant that is often one of the most difficult reservations to get in Syracuse- and it lived up to its hype. We will be back the next time the spicy tom and stretchy bread craving strikes. read more

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Solid choice for an Italian spot. The meal starts with bread and a "spicy tomato oil" to dip the bread into. It's basically tomato sauce with oil. It didn't taste overly spicy to me and the flavor was great. Not too sweet or acidic. I ordered bolognese. The noodles were cooked al dente and and the sauce was similar to that of what was served at the beginning of the meal. They had quite a bit of meat and the serving size was also large. I also ordered the Chianti wine which paired well with the meal. The service was a little on the slower side, but they were pretty busy. The venue has several tables and they had loud live music playing for the majority of the meal. read more

Pastabilities - Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Syracuse, New York