I loved everything about Scratch pastifico. The interior is so cute inside. Cocktails were delicious and they have a good wine list. We tried the pork belly and octopus appetizers. For dinner, tried 2 of their pasta dishes. One had short rib, the other had prosciutto. The presentation of everything was absolutely as well. I can't wait to go back and try more of the menu! read more

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I wasn't quite a fan of their sister pizza restaurant, so I didn't have much expectation when we came. But surprisingly, great homemade pasta!! We had come a few times and left satisfied each time. Even my picky child would literally lick her plate if we let her. read more

A very interesting experience. The food was actually good. We had two appetizers. One was the focaccia bread with the rosemary spread and the other was the polenta fries with a spicy ketchup and a béchamel sauce. Both appetizers were very good and the portions were fair for the price. I found the main entrees to be another story. The meals that we all had were all good. No complaints about the food at all. The biggest gripes were the size of the dishes for the cost. All of the meals were somewhere between $17 for the read more

Scratch Pastificio - Tagliatelle wild boar in a white bolognese - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

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Stopped by on a week night for dinner with a friend. The restaurant feels spacious since the tables are not situated too closely. The server was friendly and helpful. I ordered the pasta with oxtail. It was delicious, full of tender meat and light pasta. I ordered the chocolate tiramisu to go. It too was full of chocolatey richness. If I was in the neighborhood I'd definitely return to try their other dishes. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Pasta with oxtail (4/5) - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

I came here for a birthday. The atmosphere was cute. I had the Planes of Paper as my pre-dinner cocktail and it was great! I didn't feel like it was overwhelmingly sweet-but couldn't really taste the alcohol. I must say it is very open and very loud so it felt like we were yelling at one another for a little bit. I also felt a little disappointed by my cacio e pepe. I just felt like the flavor wasn't there and it was a little salty. I also felt like for the quality of food the portions were smaller. I just didn't leave feeling like I would come back-maybe for a cocktail, but that was about the only part of the meal that stood out to me. read more

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Yesterday was our first time at Scratch. The people were very helpful, the place is very clean, and the food was beautifully presented, tasted great, and the portions were a good size. Between the six of us, we had four different meals. We shared tastes with eachother, and all of them were great! The prices are pretty expensive, and everything is al a carte for the most part. Unlike some restaurants that include a salad and bread, these aren't included with the entree, so we purchased 1 order of the focccia bread with butter. Although it was very good (very crispy on the outside), I wish it was a larger serving. It was $7.00, I think. I could have eaten 1/2 loaf on my own, but we split it 6 ways. As a whole, we all enjoyed our meals and environment. I personally wish that the meals included a salad and bread (Italian and foccia). Thank you for the great experience. read more

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We made reservations for 6 pm on Saturday. We started with some cocktails - the walnut old fashioned for my husband (he loved it) and champagne for me. I love the champagne coupe glasses. We ordered three appetizers - the burrata (delicious) the pork belly (crispy and delicious, served with creamy pea risotto), and the octopus (they sous vide this for 6 hours so it's very tender). We had a bottle of the mountain head red wine with dinner. I had the cacio e Pepe and he had the short rib pasta. Both were outstanding. We ended with the chocolate chip tiramisu. The service was truly fantastic and I enjoyed the atmosphere. We had a really great dinner. read more

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Handmade pasta and elegant decor, this place is wonderful and for an Italian it will satisfy your cravings for real pasta. Get the rigatoni or the hanger steak, you won't be disappointed. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Rigatoni - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

This was our first time at Scratch Pastificio and it was an amazing experience. Steven our waiter was super accommodating and providing key recommendations of the menu. For anybody in Barrington this is a unique experience with a modern interior decor. Food wise, it was out of the park, we had the burrata and rigatoni and it was great portion size and delicious. Looking forward to returning again. read more

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Food was good but it was a very small portion we ordered appetizers , salad, 4 entrees and drinks. We all shared. It was very pricey for what they gave you. If your drink is made with tonic this isn't the place, the tonic tasted like it has been sitting in the gun for awhile. I sent it back. Ordered a martini it was fine. Our waitress gets a five star very personable explained dishes to us was right on top of things. Very loud in the restaurant you had to talk very loud because there music was loud. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Crab cake - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

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Although on the higher priced side for local pastas it is well worth it. We have been wanting to try for so long and finally had a reason to go as we were celebrating a birthday. They did a good job renovating the space making the restaurant feel elegant complement the food they prepare. We started off with the shrimp and polenta as well as the pork belly both were delicious for the mains we tried they rigatoni, and the cacio e Pepe. Cacio e Pepe is the only one I've had which has competed with the ones I have had over in Europe. Will definitely be coming back. read more

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Best Italian in Barrington area, a shame more people don't know it's here. Cool vibe and good cocktails!

Really good Italian place. Excellent food and service. Pricey but worth it. Drinks were good as well.

Very elegant. Scratch everything. Had the FRIES. Not gonna spoil what they are but delicious. Another meal with enough to bring home. I had fish and he had lasagna. Both very good excellent service. Elegant place. read more

scratch was such a cute place in downtown barrington for some good quality italian cuisine!!! the ambiance was beautiful, very modern and nice cushioned seating. there were multiple types of pasta on the menu i was gravitating towards but the ravioli was just amazing. portion sizes are decent but i think the quality is more important which was clearly there. our waiter was such a knowledge and accommodating person so 10/10 service too. i would recommend getting the tiramisu for dessert it was some of the best i've had. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

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Interesting menu, all inhouse-made pasta. The Caesar is delicious, the pork belly appetizer is a revelation, and able to convert even the staunchest vegetarian to a carnivore. Waiter Brody is attentive and good-natured; all the staff is wonderful. read more

Pasta here is delicious! The restaurant is nicely decorated and seems like plenty of seating. Service is wonderful.

Happy to meet up with my Bride & Children here at Scratch Pastificio (SP). It's been open for over 8 months. We selected the early seating for 5. Joe was our Tour Guide (Waitstaff). Introduced us to many options and recommendations. Made sure that we were not being rushed and could increase or change the tempo (never was given this as an option- Cool). We started out with cocktails: Old fashioned, Montenegro Margarita, Excuse me Honey, Smoke Show & a Lemonade. (Check out the list and see how these drinks are curated by SP! ) Appetizers were the following: Crispy Potatoes, Crab Cakes, Porkbelly, Burrata, Octopus. Joe was attentive without being overly protective; truly a professional. We placed our orders for the main course. The selections were well chosen without having a menu that's over populated. Focus on your quality dishes. Main Course was the following: Cornish Hen, 2 Hanger Steaks, 2 Fazzoletti's. Please check out these dishes with all its preparations, well planned. (Gordon Ramsey would be proud.) Portions were quite plentiful. We ordered their Pinot Noir from California. A truly nice compliment to this meal. We made room for dessert, once my daughter heard the Chocolate Mouse, we shared a Cannoli like dish, which was light but tasty. All along, a wonderful gastronomic experience. Good to occasionally enjoy what life offers. SP is an off shoot of Neoteca, another spot to try (positive reviews). The Chef at SP is also Co-Owner. The attention to detail truly shows. Looking forward to returning back. Overall a 5 Star Rating. Kudos, Mangia & Cheers! Next day, we felt great, sometimes when you go out you feel the residuals, like bloated, full, queasy? None of those! Another perk for Scratch! Quality food & preparations. read more

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Outstanding food. Service was top notch and the ambience is very elegant but comfortable.

We came on a busy Friday night for a birthday gathering. The location is right in the heart of downtown barrington. It's walkable from the train station and right across the piano bar if you're not ready for the fun to stop. The aesthetic reminded me of restaurants in the city. I tried my friend's paper of planes cocktail and it was so good I ordered one for myself! I also really enjoyed the focaccia. Skip the potatoes in my opinion. They weren't bad, just nothing special. I was wasn't blown away my carbonara, but I LOVED my boyfriends pasta with chili vodka sauce and couldn't stop eating off his plate! read more

Scratch Pastificio - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

Food and the ambience was great! Our server Monica was nice and friendly as well so make sure to ask for her for the best overall experience. read more

No pictures of the food because we ate it all. Pork belly, fazoletti, spaghetti - all delicious! Manga! Manga! They also do have a kid's pasta option with just plain butter noodles or with marinara. It's not on the menu but you can ask for it. Wine list is affordable and the cocktails are great. Decor is minimal but crisp, clean and cute. Service was a little stretched thin but that's the best case scenario these days. I definitely recommend this place! read more

Scratch Pastificio - Bar area - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

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Great ambience, delicious and fresh food, love the cocktails and wine list. Give it a try

We came here on a date night to try some delicious pasta. It was a bit of a venture since it wasn't in our immediate area but we were up for a mini-adventure. An adventure was definitely had. I was surprised to see how busy it was as soon as we walked in. We made a pretty rash decision to go out, so we didn't have a reservation and the hostess told us it would be a 30-minute wait. Not bad for a full house, so we sat at the bar and discussed which drinks we were going to try. Luckily for us, there was a last-minute cancellation and we were seated a few minutes later. Still, considering how busy this place was when we arrived and even until closing, I wouldn't recommend winging it like we did unless you like to wait. Make that reservation in advance. When we were seated we put in a drink order and decided to try the burrata appetizer. It was delicious! Super creamy and fresh with a tasty apple-fennel slaw and a side of toast. We loved it. Once we put in the dinner order is when things got kinda messy. It was a really busy night and our order got deleted or misplaced. It was quite a while until our server was able to check in on us and confirm that we did not yet get our entrees, and then with the confusion forgot my second drink. Eventually, I got my drink and the entrees started to come out...but to my dismay, they put in the wrong order: I ordered the spaghetti carbonara but they brought out the rigatoni. So although my boyfriend got to try out his delicious mushroom agnolotti, I was stuck waiting on my entre. I picked at the rigatoni for a minute and it was pretty tasty, but too spicy for me. The manager or another staff member offered to pack it away for me to go, which was nice. Once I got my spaghetti, I did enjoy it, but the dish was a bit off probably because it was rushed. To start, no egg on my carbonara! I was so disappointed because that's an essential part! Everything else tasted pretty good, but without the richness of the yolk the entire entree was way too salty - between the pancetta and the cheese, there was nowhere to hide from the salt. On the other hand, we did end up trading dishes to try both, and I thought the agnolotti was amazing. Super savory and mushroomy, although there definitely wasn't enough of it. Overall, the outing was really nice despite the mishap, and I liked the food. Our server was very nice and super apologetic about the confusion, and the house ended up taking off some of our drinks from the bill to make up for it. I never did get the promised rigatoni to go, but at that point, I didn't want to make a fuss. I think it's somewhat expensive to make a regular trip here, but I would definitely come again. I think it's worth the expense to have a nice night out and enjoy some delicious drinks and pasta, but keep in mind that portions are kinda small for what you pay, the place is quite busy and there's a wait for walk-ins, and the food isn't entirely flawless. Still, looking forward to another try with this place, hopefully with less adventure next time. read more

We went here Friday night at 7 with a reservation. Not sure if the reservation was needed since it wasn't completely full but it might be a good idea on saturdays... Had a great meal here - really enjoyed the pork belly starter and the two pasta dishes were delicious as well. We got the white bolognese and short rib pasta. I think my wife and I both preferred the white bolognese one but honestly both were up to par. Just depends on the style of pasta. I was worried from previous pictures that the pasta dishes were going to be small - but surprisingly there was plenty of food per serving Service was good even though it's loud - the server did his best to communicate. I'll for sure be back read more

Scratch Pastificio - Pork belly app - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

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We went here last night and had a wonderful experience the staff there is friendly and helpful. They want to make it a great experience for you and they did. The food was amazing. We all had different dishes and each one of them was unique and delicious I would recommend this highly read more

Scratch has only been open for roughly one month and it appears destined to be around for a long time. This restaurant has downtown Chicago vibes and some of the dishes are truly excellent. Nice bar with roughly 12-14 or so seats. Nice glasses, nice mixology, and four beers on tap, all local microbreweries I believe. Great apps, a fine selection of rich pastas and maybe 3 - 4 main protein entrees. However, most of the pasta dishes are terrific and filled with meat and are more than enough richness. Overall an outstanding addition to the Northwest suburbs. read more

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My friend and I had an awesome time. The inside is super cute and everyone was so nice. Food is delicious. The only thing is that it got loud at one point of time. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Rigatoni - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

Had my birthday dinner here right when the place opened about a few years ago. Food wise it was OK. Ambience was industrial/modern feel, exposed parts which made the acoustics in the place too loud. Servers were still learning their ways around, which we don't mind. Food wise it was decent, you could get a much better pasta dishes somewhere else. Price was too expensive for the quality of the meal and area. Honestly, everything felt too displaced and assuming. Did not feel welcomed from the start and left unsatisfied. read more

Just tried this new restaurant in Barrington. Minimalistic decor and a bit loud but the bar is cute and the tables are nice. Service was excellent both from the kitchen and the server. The food was fantastic. Very innovative, flavorful, and homemade fresh pasta. Definitely planning on returning. read more

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We recently moved to the area from Chicago. Finally found our go to Italian place! Started with the crab cake, pork belly and burrata. For our mains we had the Rigatoni and the Hanger Steak. Everything was delicious and I recommend everything we tried!Service was great and our waitress was awesome (sadly can't recall her name... she recently got engaged) We will be back! read more

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Food was very good and service outstanding. They went above and beyond to work around food allergies, even made fresh bread to avoid egg contamination. Not many diners as this place is new and tucked away. Give this place a try! read more

I write this review with great sadness. My local book club tried this restaurant when it was new. As it was tonight, the food is excellent. On our first visit, we asked the manager about the noise level. It was very hard to hear each other. We were told that plans were in the works to put sound absorbing panels on the ceiling. Another visit, noise level still bad. Tonight, TGIF, we made a 7pm reservation and planned to celebrate with cocktails and good food. We found a lively group at the bar and had to yell across the table. Instead of celebration after a long week, we quickly ate our meal and felt incredible stress. We spoke to Nick the manager who pointed out the sound absorption panels on the ceiling. He admitted they hadn't worked and agreed the noise echoing off the bar was excessive. The group at the bar would have been fine in virtually any other restaurant. Nick mentioned the owner was aware. The food was outstanding. I hope the owner will take this noise issue seriously. The 4 tables near the front/window would easily be improved with room divider screens at a low cost The screens could be moved or removed during quieter times. It's a shame that the most important aspects of great food and good service were undermined by an intolerable atmosphere. Unfortunately, we won't be back. read more

Hmmm. Admittedly, I am not a foodie, but I found this place pretty meh. The atmosphere is very industrial. When we arrived, they placed us at a table next to other people. Kind of weird, as there were only three tables filled in the restaurant, and they put us all together. How about a little space? We could hear everybody's conversations. While the wait staff was reasonably efficient, some training in basic table setting protocols and serving, clearing etiquette were in order. The food was OK, but I wouldn't rush right back. Also, serve bread. This is an Italian place and we Americans expect it! read more

The flavors of the pasta dishes were very good. The atmosphere was updated but industrial but cute. I thought it was a bit overpriced and had a limited menu. Probably wouldn't come back but it was a nice meal. read more

Scratch Pastificio - Wild boar white bolognese pasta - Italian Near Me - Barrington, Illinois

My Bookclub has gone twice. The last time was a Wednesday night and it ended up being packed with one server but they still made great food and took good care of us. It is always clean and inviting. Would totally recommend. read more

The food here is amazing! Fresh pasta is always good. Cocktails are also great! Some of our favorites are the pork belly appetizer, shrimp appetizer, house salad, cacio e pepe and the wild boar white bolognese. Never had a bad meal here! read more

Incredible food, incredible atmosphere with decadent dishes you cannot find elsewhere in the suburbs. Drinks made to perfection with unique expertly crafted spirits. Be sure to try the octopus along with the fazzoletti. read more

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Excellent food! Came here with several friends and we all shared dishes. I can't pick a favorite because they were all amazing. Our server had some great recommendations and she knew the menu well. We will definitely be back. read more

Went here after work assuming it was good food because of the reviews. The ambiance: super cute, I'd say romantic, good for date night. 4 stars Service: greeted with a smile and enthusiasm, the waitress was amazing, took my order accurately and gave me a water while I waited for take out. Her alone was the reason this didn't get a 1 star. 5 stars. Food: granted it was take out, food was hot. Tried it in my car. The fazolleti and the hanger steak. Hanger steak was stringy, potatoes were too salty over powering the dish. Fazoletti: pasta cooked well, missing the crispy onions on top (yes it needed this because this had no texture, it was one note), short rib and sauce were too sweet not something I'm used to when eating pasta. 1 star. Overall 3 stars because of the ambiance and staff. Other than that I would not be coming back. read more