Pasta Bene

Awesome place! The chicken marsala, salmon, and bruschetta are among my favorite.

Excellent Italian food in the heart of Berkeley. This is our go-​to place for good comfort food at reasonable prices. You order at the counter and they only accept cash, so be prepared and bring CASH! They give you a number and bring your beverages and food to your table. The pasta dishes are very, very good as is the calamari. We have not had a bad dish yet or been disappointed!

I made a reservation here for New Year’s Eve. And when I showed up I was the only one in the restaurant. Not the best sign but I still decided to try the food. Tried the calamari which was more like frozen and only given the rings no legs. Also tried the spaghetti and meatballs and the rustica which was chicken and artichoke pasta. Nothing was bad but nothing was memorable either. Came with bread but the toast was kind of soggy. Good portions for the price.

I got take out from here and was hugely disappointed considering all the positive Unilocal reviews. This is definitely fast food. The food here doesn’t taste like it is made with quality ingredients. Nothing tastes fresh, definitely not authentic in the least bit and overpriced. Not coming back

I’ve only had this once, but I had the Chicken Marsala and it was delicious!!! Those that helped me out were also very nice. Did I mention it was only like $ 10? Will definitely be back :)

Great food, clean, super friendly staff and owners! Will be back to try other menu items.

The only Italian spot I frequently go to in Berkeley. It might be a bit out of the way for students when compared to Gypsy’s in asian ghetto, but the walk is definitely worth it. Their pasta is consistently yummy and their garlic fries are great too. Is it the best italian food I’ve ever had? No. But it’s a great location for college students who are looking for a (cheap-​ish) bite to eat.
On top of that, I especially love the outside seating! My roommate always brings her corgi and the servers provide water for dogs.

I’ve been here once and got the chicken parmesan, which was a solid pasta dish with big portion sizes (my sister and I shared and it was the perfect size for two). It also comes with two pieces of garlic bread on the side.
We also got the tiramisu, which was pretty good, but I thought could have used a heavier coffee/​marsala wine flavor. This is definitely a cost efficient place for students and fast enough to be convenient if you’re on the go.

This place is fantastic! I got the Tortellini Primavera, and the Lord rejoiced.
5 Stars and 3 Thumbs Up!

Meat ball pasta is a good choice if you don’t know which to order! It’s pretty good with the price! Also the dessert is great :)

Delicious! The salmon pesto fettuccine was by no means low fat, but worth every bite (we shared… so you know, a little less guilt) :)

The restaurant is clean, spacious, warm and inviting. We walked up got the menus and seated ourselves, within three minutes the waiter brought us water, he was polite. My boyfriend had to walk up to the counter to place the order.
The garlic bread tasted like the garlic had burnt.
The fettuccine Alfredo was okay. Nothing special, it tasted pretty bland.
The ravioli was not good. It was supposed to be cheese, yet it had greens. I did not eat it. The red sauce on the ravioli was good, it tasted like tomato soup.
Would i recommend? No, go to macaroni grill, pasta pamadoro, or olive garden for a better quality pasta that is still inexpensive. Although it was cheap, we didnt enjoy the meal and wont be coming back.

to be honest, the pasta here is okay. A bit pricy, but I guess it’s worth for the amount.
The plating is pretty, and I like how they serve bread to the side of the plate.

My favorite Italian restaurant in Berkeley. Great quality and affordable. Service is superb! Pasta, salads, and soups are all properly seasoned and served at the right temperature. You never go wrong with any of their plates.
My favorite combination: chicken salad, minestrone soup, pint of Boontz amber ale. Glorious!

Priced like a hole in the wall, but isn’t. Being a student goes a way near UCB, where you’ll get a myriad of casual dining options for value added prices. One of them is this place.
The dining room is full of mahogany tables, spacious with a cozy patio area. Well lit, but not too bright and situated in a Quiet space, an escape from the urban backdrop of downtown Berkeley.
I wasn’t hungry but had a concert to go to at 8pm. We decided to go in and order some food so that we could bring it to the concert. Little did we know that this place has really great food and a friendly staff. I ordered the beef lasagna and it exceeded my expectations. The only thing I didn’t particularly like was the frozen spinach. I actually don’t mind any spinach but it had a goat cheese taste which I didn’t like. I’m not sure if goat cheese is added to enhance the flavor? Not a big fan of goat cheese. Otherwise the lasagna was fantastic — the marinara sauce was tart and hearty, and exactly balanced the way I like. Most Italian places make the marinara too sweet or too salty, which is why I avoid Italian restaurants like the plague. I am really picky about my lasagnas but I am surprised that this place did a good job at it, despite its one shortfall of frozen spinach and goat cheese.
The chicken Alfredo was nothing to brag about. Tasted exactly as imagined. It was good.

Made the walk here from campus at the urging of some students we were visiting. Worth the walk. The food is amazing, and the prices are as low as it gets in this area, especially for the lunch special. I got the pasta bene, and it was a really hearty vegetarian pasta option. So good! A little spicy, but not too spicy. A friend got the garlic fries, and I couldn’t help but snacking on them. They were amazing. Seriously. Could not stop eating them.
The staff went out of their way to help my group of 18 (yes, 18) get seated together, even though it is a small place. They made it work. They are awesome.

I came here this past weekend for the second time, and I was not disappointed!
Although it did take awhile for us to get our food, I didn’t mind since I wasn’t that hungry.
I had the potato gnocchi with sausage and mushroom, and this has been the go to dish every time I come here. The gnocchi was soft and when you bit into it, you could just taste the potatoes and it was amazing. The sauce wasn’t too heavy either. The mushrooms were perfectly sauteed so that you could taste the natural flavors of the mushroom. The sausage was good too, but it was on the saltier side, so I didn’t like it as much since the sauce had a good amount of flavor already.
My dad had the chicken marsala, and he said it was the perfect amount of flavor and not too salty. My uncle said had the spaghetti and meatballs and he said it was slightly salty.
Overall, the food was pretty good and it’s a good place to come get something quick and there isn’t usually a wait which is nice.

I don’t really like this restaurant and it makes me kind of sad. I adore Italian cuisine yet this place is a dud. Gypsy is much better.
My friends told me about this place and two of my friends have opposing views: one thinks it sucks and one loves it. I came in with an open mind but left with a broken wallet.
I ordered the potato gnocchi, garlic fries, and a soda for a Thursday dinner. Almost twenty bucks. Lots of money for mediocre food.
The garlic fries were yummy and the portion was huge with just enough garlic to make it garlic fries. I shared it with some friends and it was something to order again.
The gnocchi was such a disappointment. The potato was nasty– like it tasted like fake potatoes. Also in my picture the gnocchi, you can’t tell when the gnocchi ends and the potato begins supporting my theory these aren’t freshly made. It was just mediocre and for twenty bucks I can go to belli osteria with fresh pasta. I spent 30 bucks on a meal– pasta, a drink, and I split dessert with a friend. And I was infinitely more satisfied.
I think though the pizza must be good since people rave about it so maybe I’ll try that next time.
Fyi: order at the cashier and they bring your food. Not much service.

Stopped by this place on the way to looking at an apartment in Berkeley to pick up some lunch.
First of all, i really dont like pasta too much on the carb side for me, but i had hopes because they had other favorable options available as well.
I debated between their turkey sandwich and chicken pesto, ultimately ended up going with the chicken and grabbing a side of garlic fries (carbs dont apply to garlic fries for me :).
Ordered at the counter and they brought out my water along with garlic fries shortly afterwards. As shown in the picture these things were seasoned amazingly well! Garlic was fresh on top and all together with some parm cheese this was delicious!
Then came my chicken pesto sandwich. The sandwich had the perfect amount of pesto to not give it an over powering effect on everything else. Not sure what the orange sauce on top consists of, but completed a solid taste of everything all together. Only regret is that i wish i could of been spicy, just felt like that was left to be desired with the sandwich (likely my fault i could of found something im sure.)
Value for my meal? 15 bucks. Not bad! They also have monday through friday specials on any beer in house for less than 4 bucks! Not bad!!!
Definitely recommend as a little quick hitter lunch spot. If you do like pasta they have large portion specials for around 8 bucks. Once again thats just not my thing.
Enjoy!

Yum! Italian food made by Italians!
*Parking meter is free after 6PM ($ 1.50/hr normally)
*$ 2 beer all day Monday-​Thursday
*Gnocchi Sausage (SO GOOD)
*Small and large portions available for a very reasonable price
My family came here for dinner during a weekday in July, wasn’t busy, so we were able to get a table. Usually for family dinners, we would go to a Chinese restaurant. But luckily (nice to a have a change), a fellow family elite Unilocaler suggested this place and took us here. Summary in the bottom.
PARKING: In the city of Berkeley, there’s pretty much only metered parking, but since we came around 7PM, it was free! Wasn’t too bad looking for spots. Just had to park one street down since all the parking spots were taken in front of the restaurant. $ 1.50 for a hour parking! Not that bad.
AMBIENCE: Judy W. had mentioned that it has been super crowded that past times she came. Not surprised since it’s not an expensive place to get authentic Italian food. There were only two small parties there when I went. They gave us menus and water. Friendly staff! Cute place, able to have a private conversation. Oh, there is patio seating too.
DRINKS: Wine is a given at an Italian restaurant. I was DD so I didn’t bother to look. They have $ 2 BEER ALL DAY (Monday-​Thursday). The people that got the Blonde Black Diamond on tap enjoyed the taste. They only had 3 different ones on tap.
FOOD: When I think of this place, I’ll think of the Gnocchi Sausage dish, soo good! ORDER THIS. It’s a chewy texture pasta. We got a Hawaiian style pizza, and I was so stuffed after a slice that I wasn’t able to eat much of the other dishes. It was good though, I think it was prosciutto that they used. There was pesto, chicken marsala, marinara, other pasta dishes too. They were served with toasted bread, which I heard was good too. Can get overwhelmed with the carbs though. I did.
TL:DR? SUMMARY: Italian food made by Italians. Cute place for first dates, dates after the first, friends, hungry college kids, families, business lunch, etc. Get the gnocchi sausage dish. $ 2 beer all day mon-​thurs. Friendly customer service. Would come back and recommend this place to my friends.