Pasta Garage Italian Cafe

I love this place! We were in need to «local» lunch spots in Lexington… A break from the chain restaurant places and the joints that are more upscale than what you’re typically looking for with a casual lunch. It’s refreshing to have a place like Pasta Garage that fits the perfect lunch price with an upbeat atmosphere, welcoming staff and local, fresh food. I highly recommend this place as a lunch spot or even a dinner spot for that matter. Fresh pasta is their specialty and there are plenty of choices for creating your own dish or enjoying a house favorite. You can also sign up in advance for a pasta class which is a nice event they offer outside of the regular restaurant experience.

I’m glad that I don’t live in Lexington, mainly because I’d be about 600 pounds, eating pasta ALL THE TIME. We were in town over Derby weekend & heard so many people talk about Lexington Pasta Garage. We put this place on our list & luckily for us, able to stop by on the way back to Nashville.
We had lunch around 12:30pm on a Saturday. The location was too busy, a couple people in when we arrived & when we left. The parking lot isn’t too big. They’ve got a little patio area for outdoor dining, however the view across the street isn’t the best. The building is large. They actually have a big almost factory in the back, which you can see through a couple glass windows.
The menu is located on the wall, & also on some little brochures at the counter. We were greeted by the owner who was very nice & helpful. I ordered the fettuccine carbonara ($ 9.99). He asked if I was okay with a duck egg on top, because it ‘came with it’ but the duck egg is $ 1.25 extra, but worth it. We also ordered the gnocchi stuffed spinach & cheese ($ 6) with pesto Alfredo ($ 4) & grilled chicken ($ 5). That’s a little pricey for gnocchi if you ask me, $ 15. And we ordered an order of bruschetta ($ 6.99) & a 32 oz bottle of Gents natural ginger ale ($ 12, however you can the the bottle to the farmers market in town and refill it for $ 7 I’m told).
The soda cups are small but I was happy they had Pepsi over Coke. Anyway, enough with the drinks. Let’s talk about the food! The bruschetta was so fresh & flavorful. The right amount of balsamic on it & the plate. I even used some of my bread that came with my pasta to scrape the drippings on the plate. The pasta was a nice portion. The carbonara was creamy & stuck to the noodles. The pieces of bacon were a good size. I loved it. I tried the gnocchi & it was great. The outside seemed like it had been seared a little to give it texture. Sometimes gnocchi can be a little too mushy. This wasn’t the case. We loved the lunch, but with quality comes $$. I think the 10ish price tag is good, but 15 bucks is a little high. Will be back again (when in town).

I came here to eat lunch — VERY good pasta. I ordered the Fettuccini Carbonara. It cost about $ 11 and came with a drink and a breadstick. I chose not to do the «build your own pasta» due to the lack of prices on the menu. But I was very satisfied with what I had ordered. The portion was the perfect size for lunch. I also tried my friend’s gnocchi and it was amazing. I highly recommend this place if you like Italian food.

Very good. The atmosphere is awesome. The food was delicious and great portions. They even have organic tea.

Super expensive pasta for regular noodles and the Italian sausage is so dry, $ 40 for cheap pasta «make your own pasta», and plastic fork and plates.
It’s a rip off. The sauce is slightly sour. It’s not worth it.

First visit to pasta garage tonight. I must say that it was not what I expected. As others have mentioned, you order and then pick your seat. Tonight our food was brought to our table, but I am not sure that is the norm. We were one of two couples in the restaurant. The food is served on disposable plates and you eat with plasticware– giving it a Fazoli’s type feel. I feel that this cheapens the effort it takes to make fresh pasta. I’ve done it, & it’s not the easiest thing!
Now onto the food, I had the gluten free fusilli with pesto and chicken. The pasta was so good. I almost gave 4 stars for the pasta alone. The pesto was lacking in flavor, which I found strange for a pesto, and the chicken had too much black pepper on it, but was tender and seemed of good quality. My grandma really enjoyed her pasta primavera. The portions were smallish by American standard, but I thought it was just right.
I would go back because the pasta was so good; but I might just go back to buy some of the gluten free pasta, and fix it at home (it’s nice that they sell it there)!

I’d never had fresh gnocchi. Only frozen from a bag which were dense and hard. At Pasta Garage I tried the gnocchi stuffed with spinach and cheese. WOW! They’re soft and fluffy and with pesto so freaking good.
My husband thought the fettuccini carbonara with duck egg was good but not amazing. He loved the gnocchi too though.
I agree with the other reviews about the awkward ordering. When we walked in an employee (maybe owner?) handed us a menu and explained how to order on the tablet. Ok, got it. When we were ready to order he stood over us and told us which buttons to push and basically explained it again. Yeah, dude, I still got it. He’s trying to be extra helpful but it comes off a little annoying.
Despite the ordering I loved it and can’t wait to go back. The unique disposable plates are a nice touch too. What are they, corn husks!?? I dig it.
UPDATE: they now take your order but still have an iPad on the counter. So if you’ve been before it’s still confusing when you try to order. The menus don’t have prices. You previously saw the prices on the iPad when you order. Now that someone takes your order it’s kind of a surprise at the total cost. Also, they now have styrofoam plates. Maybe they were temporarily out of the more Eco friendly plates?

Not super fancy, but no complaints
The serving sizes are a little on the small size if you are very hungry, but the food was good
Some of the best gnocchi I have ever had!

Though the location is slightly hidden away down Delaware, it is absolutely worth it. I chose the bruschetta and the lasagna which were both full of exciting flavors and different textures. They use an 18 yr old balsamic on the bruschetta which was a delight in itself. If you love Italian food, like I do, Pasta Garage is a must.

Great little neighborhood spot. Wonderful pasta dishes and bread. Service and atmosphere very fun.

I was debating between a 3 and 4 star rating, but their food is really good and that’s what carries the most weight for me, so a 4 it is!
I was able to purchase the Dealsaver vouchers, which gave us a great excuse to try this place out without spending much money. A couple of negatives: the location definitely lives up to the «Garage» part and there is certainly nothing scenic out the floor to ceiling windows of the dining room. Also, the ordering process is SO weird. You order via a tablet while an employee hovers over you. If an employee is going to help with ordering, they should just take the order rather than waiting for customers to fumble through. It took much longer than it should have to order.
As far as pricing, the «design your own» bowls end up being really overpriced in my opinion, but the set menu items are fairly priced. If you want something that includes meat, you can expect to spend $ 11 – 15 per entrée. There are a few options for $ 9. We tried a few different dishes and the lasagna was the best. All of the items are well made, seasoned, and generous with the meat, cheese, or other non-​pasta components which I appreciate. A slice of lasagna ($ 10.99) was more than enough lunch for me (my son ate my breadstick and my husband finished off the last several bites when I hit my limit. The appetizer of caprese stuffed gnocchi was good, but I don’t think it is quite worth the price ($ 6 or $ 7), entrees were great, and our tiramisu for dessert was fine, but not exceptional.
Obviously I would expect them to excel with their pasta dishes and they do. Also, take the time to walk down the hallway where the bathrooms are: they have some cool pasta tools on display and you can watch them making pasta at the very back which enthralled my son (my husband and I thought it was pretty cool as well).
If the location were more pleasant, I think this would become a fairly regular spot for us to grab a meal out, but I would probably stick with just entrees.

Don’t go… it was really dirty inside and really expensive.
It looked like they just walked off and went home the night before without cleaning anything

DELICIOUS gnocchi. Soft and perfect. The owner spoke to us as soon as we came in and helped us through the ordering process, and checked back once we got our food. Seemed like he sincerely wanted us to have a great experience. Everything my friends and I got was seriously perfect. I can’t wait to go back

Top notch fresh pasta professionally prepared with Mama’s special touch. A great place to have your noddle and eat them too with friends, family or both!
Simply:
1) Pick your salad
2) Pick your pasta, sauce, and any topping
3) Pick your «D» — drink and/​or dessert.
Whole wheat linguini is available as well. The Sauces are freshly prepared bolognese, vodka, and other traditional sauces are all delicious and appeal to the omnivorous and vegan alike.
Bön Appetito!

Great place to enjoy very casual dinning. Food excellent.
Ordering food a bit odd. Added a tip prior to getting my food was a mistake as it is a self serve. So I just gave the owners a 20% increase for my meal. Will not make that mistake again.
Great food… no tipping required.

I really enjoyed lunch here today. The gnocchi was superb: light and fluffy. The ever-​charming, Lesme, explained that they import a special flour from Italy and take great care with the other ingredients to strike the right balance, resulting in a fabulous end-​product.
The interior is really nice: quirky and industrial.
Can’t wait to go back for more.

Every time I have come here the food is amazing. I have been to Italy and the quality of this pasta is comparable to Italy (which says a lot). You can’t go wrong with the pesto, stuffed gnocchi appetizer and carbonara sauce with prosciutto added. If you’re daring then the squid ink pasta is great too!
My only problems with this place are the cost and the staff. The cost is a little high, but I understand since the quality of the pasta is so great. And the staff has always made me feel a little awkward.
Overall this place is amazing.

Came here based on a recommendation from a friend. The place itself is very modern and stylish. It’s a self serve type of arrangement. The menu is on the wall, and you put in your order on an iPad. The food was delicious but the portion size didn’t match the price. I came with a group of 4, and all of us thought the same in regards to the price vs portion size. Two of us ordered the squid ink pasta and it was tasty but didn’t taste like the squid ink was freshly inserted in the pasta as I’ve had it before. Overall it was a great experience, but maybe if the portion sizes increased, we would return here again.

Cute new place on Delaware. The inside has long tables and has a super chic industrial feel.
All the pastas are made in house and you have quite a few options. You can have one of their pre-​set meals (lasagna, bolognese, fettuccine Alfredo, etc) or you’re able to build your own bowl– pick your pasta type/​sauce/​toppings.
I opted to make my own pasta today! I wanted orecchiette, however they were out so I tried the shells instead with bolognese sauce. The pasta was so soft and delicious! You get a garlic bread stick on the side and the drink is included in your meal price. They have cokes, sprites, organic sweet tea, ice tea and ginger ales !
Can’t wait to go back and try many more combinations! Make sure to take photos of your food and share on Instagram! #lexingtonpasta #sharethelex #eatlocalKY

Excellent food, bizarre setup.
There’s a long line at the register that wraps around the tables where people eat. There aren’t many tables, so it’s a little cramped. The reason the line is so long is because the point of sale is bad. There’s an iPad where you pay and it’s a self-​service setup, but they still employ a lady who stands there and asks you «have you ever been here before?» and has to guide you through their iPad to buy your food. It seems like a poorly thought out cost-​saving measure. «We’ll just let the customers order themselves, then we won’t have to pay a cashier!» Except they do, because it’s not a nice ordering system where you see pretty photos of the food you want and tap through it. It’s a complicated system with no pictures and poorly labeled options that was intended for trained employees to use.
No prices are listed on the menu. I could see that at an upscale restaurant, but this is just a lunch place. They need to tell you the price. It should also be made clear that every menu item comes with a drink.
So once you check out, you go forward to the drinks. There’s water and tea, and the tea is excellent Integritea. Sweet and unsweet black are the options; it’s all good. There’s no ice because this Kentucky restaurant is being pretentious and trying to do the hipster European thing. If you want ice, you have to ask for it from the same lady who is helping everyone at the «self-​service» checkout. When she gets a break in the line, she can get you your ice. So you stand awkwardly taking up space in an already cramped aisle while people are trying to get at the drinks and also waiting to «self serve» themselves.
Once you get your ice in your tiny cup with the way-​too-​long straw and no lid, find a table. They call your name when your food is ready and you go back to the cramped area where your drinks and utensils are found to pick up your order. The portion was just right for lunch and the food was delicious; I had the ragu alla bolognese.
Because the cups are so small, I had to go back to refill my drink three times during my meal. There’s a lot of traffic in the drink area because that’s where people were 1) picking up their food, 2) picking up their drinks and utensils initially, 3) trying to find an ice dispenser on their own before realizing you have to ask for it special, 4) getting refills, and 5) trying to find lids. It’s a big mess.
This restaurant could easily have 4 – 5 stars because the food is great. I feel like some good cooks decided to open a restaurant with no knowledge of how to do so. As it is, I’d almost rather buy the pasta from Lexington Pasta myself and make the food at home because it would be less of a hassle.