Nooi Pasta To-Go

I was visiting friends in NYC a few weeks ago and I had the misfortune of eating at Nooi. Where do I start?
The décor is hideous — the giant purple walls and red velvet chairs freaked me out. Not to mention that they have giant paintings all over the wall bragging about how healthy aldente pasta is. Really? Last time I checked pasta was terrible for your health.
The food was pretty gross. The pasta was hard, flavorless, and tasted like cardboard. Serving it in a Chinese takeout container only furthered the fact that the food looked and tasted bad. I took 2 bites of my pasta — including one of the cold meatball they had put on top — and threw it out.
When I was there I almost pulled the manager over to ask him to taste my pasta and whether he thought it was acceptable to server that to customers.
If you want good «fast casual» pasta in NYC try Vapianno. This is not «fast casual» its bad fast food.

Lots of food for a good price. Perfect for lunch! And don’t forget to check-​in on your Unilocal app on your smartphone… then you get $ 2 off your pasta order. I like the Light Combo: healthy, filling and perfect to bring back to your desk for lunch. I always get peas, mushroom, fresh tomato and green olives as toppings.

It’s kinda like going to a salad bar but with pasta. Choose your noodle, choose your sauce and add your mix-​ins. For less than $ 7 you get a huge container of pasta. While it’s not the best homemade pasta in the world, it’s decent for a quick lunch. And, it’s right around the corner from my new office. I’ll definitely be back when I want a hearty meal for lunch.

Nice ‘n clean, a simple and easy spot to get your pasta to go.
The guy in front of me mentioned Unilocal but the lady wasn’t going to give him the deal until I showed her it on my phone. Yet, when you also check in, it offers $ 2 FOR all pastas, but it also says $ 2 off all pastas. I told her there’s a difference in language but she didn’t believe me. Either way, it’s still a $ 5 pasta so I went with it.
I got the chicken with mushrooms and cream, and the guy let me put on as many extra toppings as I wanted. Although, most of those you can get at Two Bros-​ie cheese, red peppers, etc.
This pasta was plain, with little meat, and flavorless. It wasn’t even worth the cheap price.

I decided to grab dinner from here on the way back from the office one evening. It was dead empty, so it was easy enough to order the pasta (which goes in a box, Chinese food-​style) and take it on the go. With the $ 2 Unilocal coupon, the pasta was a very manageable sub-​$ 5 price. As for the paste itself — it was pretty average. I got the spicy Diablo sauce, which was indeed hotter than most pasta sauces I’ve had previously. The parmesan cheese was generic and barely added any flavor, which was disappointing. The pasta itself was slightly overcooked — it was a little too mushy, but given it’s fast-​food to some extent, I wasn’t terribly fussed about it.
All in all, a decent deal if you’re looking for a quick bite and don’t feel like making the pasta at home yourself. It’s not quite as hearty or as varied as the offering at Metro, per se, but it does okay in its own right.

Wow im actually shocked that a fast food pasta place would taste so good. Actually I’m extremely shocked. I expected a halfway decent edible meal but i was definately having a change of heart once i put those noodles in my mouth. The woman at the counter was very nice and smiley (I always love when place appreciates there customers). The place is cute in a pasta is cool kind of way. Had spicy sauce with pasta and chicken. Theres even lots of outlets around if u wanna plug a laptop in or a charger etc. Didnt feel rushed out whatsoever. Overall i would eat there again
Also i brought a gf with me and she said she didnt expect it to be as good as it was either
Highly recomended cute lil pasta joint

Yummy pasta at a cheap price!
I went to Nooi after reading the reviews on Unilocal and it totally lived up to expectations. I got the multigrain pasta, sz 26 with the le salmon. Totally delicious though there wasn’t alot of salmon. I added chicken, fresh tomatoes, & mozzerella. Total price (after Unilocal discount) $ 7.95!
I only finished about half of it. I’m excited to go back and try their tomato diablo, baconara, and vodkaya.

I think this might be my new lunch spot. I was looking for a place to go eat near my job and was browsing through places on my phone. I saw this place and decided to go in. I never been to this place so I didn’t know what/​how to order. I ordered the Lovster: minced lobster cooked with tomato, cream, and dry sherry. I added chicken which was $ 1.50 extra. you get two free toppings with your pasta. i chose mozzarella and parmesan. It came out to $ 8 and some change. enjoyed the meal very much. they give you this stamp card. for 6 stamps. u get one free drink or dessert. and 15 stamps, you get a free nooi.

Despite it being right across the street, me and my coworkers didn’t try Nooi until their groupon deal. We’ve been back quite a few times since though. Their pasta is delicious and with their lunch deals at 6.95 and $ 2 off for mentioning Unilocal you cant beat the price for lunch at this location. The staff are also really nice, which is hard to come by here.
The only downside is the salads are pretty bad. Stick to the pasta.

If you’re on a budget, Nooi is a great option for a low cost, great tasting meal. For under 7 dollars you can get a huge amount of pasta that is guaranteed to fill you up. Added BONUS — mention Unilocal and get $ 2 off.
My only complaint is they tend not to give you enough peas. I know that’s a weird complaint but as peas are very small, I expect to find more than 2 in a 26oz portion. Also, the décor is a little bit too trendy and reminds me of a kids play area.
Overall, Nooi gets the job done at an affordable price. As I’m usually getting takeout I can let the décor slide, but seriously, give me more peas next time!

I bought a Groupon, so I had never been to Nooi ut decided to give it a try. When we walked in, there was a couple ahead of us, but the employee greeted us and let us look over the menu. She asked if we wanted to sample any of the sauces, which was a nice touch.
My friend was very indecisive, trying a few sauces and generally taking his time, but the server was very friendly and patient, not rushing us at all. After we settled on what we wanted, she quickly heated the pasta in the boiler and made our dinners.
The serving was generous (we both had some left over in the 26), so I think 2 people could easily share a 32, if you can both agree on the same sauce! I had the Baconara and it was excellent, with actual bacon in the sauce. I added cheeses for free, and a soda.
The seating is nice, but be warned if you sit by the door when it’s cold outside, you will be freezing whenever anyone comes in! The seats by the door, though, are cozier and more intimate than the café-​like tables in the back.

I stumbled upon Nooi on my way home today. Its adorable. Nommm

I love the Pasta To-​Go concept. The person who took my order was super friendly. As I stood there debating on what to get she started explaining how the process work. I picked alfredo and it was ready in minutes. I added all sorts of spices and herbs. It was not bad, decent, satisfies your pasta cravings. They have a few seating and the Chinese takeout type of container was just adorable and that goes for their décor too. Mainly purple and they got a couple of colorful pictures on their walls. Their logo looks like it’s smiling at you.

Outside of Manhattan, perhaps outside of the US, this type of shop may be common. They have premade pasta (one type per day) and several sauces to choose from. They’ve also got toppings and additions available to jazz up your dish further. The Italian pasta comes in chinese takeout type containers, available in three sizes: 16, 26, 32.
For my weekday lunch, I tried the baconara sauce (size 26) w/​peas. The pasta was penne, one of my favorites. The sauce was good, but they were a little overzealous with the peas. I think they always serve the pasta al dente, it came out hot and chewy.
This is a nice little addition to midtown eating. Food was cheap (sub $ 10). And the music playing is from one of the employee’s iPods (he has a good ear). Give it a shot if you need some carbs at lunch.

I love the idea of a pasta version of Chipotle. However, this place is a massive fail.
Pro :
–Cost
–Pasta was cooked al dente
Cons :
–only option is pasta shells, would have preferred spaghetti or fettuccine
–very limited options for people that don’t eat dairy
–the add ons are essentially useless — croutons and fried onions? Who eats that on pasta? What about eggplant, artichoke, sun-​dried tomatoes, meatballs, pancetta (I’d even settle for bacon), broccoli rabe, fresh herbs (instead of dried ones), stuff that actually goes with pasta
–The bolo (bolognaise) was bland and boring
–They have 2 sizes — extra large and ridiculously big. I don’t see the point in getting a vat of mediocre pasta. I’d much rather have quality over quantity.
All in all, unless they shut down and completely re-​do the whole concept, one time was one time too many for me. I’ll just go to one of the 20 other places in the neighborhood that offer a «pasta bar».

Hmmmm. Well, it is edible, but I’m not a fan. The first weird thing is that you choose your sauce, but not what type of pasta it goes on. Is there only one? I’m confused. I had the Bolo (their special, according to a sign on the wall) which is advertised as tomato, beef, carrott & onion. In reality, it was oil, beef mush and a little tomato flavor. You get to pick two toppings, which sounds appealing, except for the fact that the topping choices are abysmal. Three types of cheese, two kinds of olives, tomatoes, and herbs. First of all, tomatoes claim to be in the majority of sauces, but had I known there would be no actual tomato content in the sauce, I might have understood why that was an add-​in. As far as herbs, if your sauce was prepared properly, people shouldn’t want to add herbs, right? I opted for cheese & black olives, and wound up with an olive pit. Nice.
The pasta was cooked just about right, it was fairly fast, and it was warm. It’s also in my office building, which will be appealing when it’s snowing out. That’s about all this place has going for it.

lets see how this review goes.
I showed up and to my surprise everyone is friendly and eager to help you. thats great, if i knew how to order what i was getting. lol i know it should be simple but i have never seen the food or place before so i needed to read the menu and options.
I ordered the Bollywood pasta 26oz, more than enough for a grown man. (chicken white Filet in curry sauce). the pasta was delicious, but i could not find any chicken. i found two grain of corn size pieces of chicken. WTF i said. where is my damn chicken.
Since the pasta and flavor are good and price is great, i will give it one more chance… if i dont get my meat with my pasta, all hell is gonna break loose.

Nooi is better than I expected, and the fact that I found my way back here for a second time says good things about this place.
Both times I’ve been here, my pasta has been ready in 3 minutes or less, which as you know, will usually only happen if the pasta’s been sitting out in a chafing dish for half the day. Not my thing. That isn’t the case here, as you’ll end up with al dente pasta that’s genuinely pretty good.
The 26 and 32 ounce pasta sizes are both enough to satisfy you. Go with the bigger one if you’re a little hungrier. They’re served in a carton, which is easier to eat out of than it’d seem, but the folds of the box get in the way once in a while. Still, not bad.
There’s a nice variety of pasta sauces. So far, I’ve had the Lovster and the Bollywood (curry based sauce), and both were pretty good. It would be nice if there was more meat in these, they do skimp a bit.
The best thing about Nooi is the price. For the speed and the quality of what you get, this is some of the best priced pasta you’ll find. The pastas are somewhere within the $ 5 – 7 range, depending on what you get and the size. Really fair, and a couple dollars less than Hello Pasta, the other new kid on the block.
There’s a seating area in the back if you feel like staying with your food.
Friendly staff, but was a bit overstaffed the last time I went and the idle workers were a little louder than workers should be. I did get my food quickly, and I guess that matters most.
This is a cool spot that seems to be doing well for something brand new. Whenever I walk by, there are a decent number of customers inside. I can see why this chain apparently does really well in France.
3.5 stars food
4.5 stars value/​speed
Ambience doesn’t matter for a takeout place, but it’s clean and bright.
4 stars overall. Welcome to the hood, glad to have you here.

Round 2 and I’m still a fan.
This time around, I went with the Chicken Champi. Shreds of chickenand mushrooms with bowtie pasta. Delicious!
Service seemed a little frazzled this time because of the higher volume of customers but it they’re still very friendly and will definitely get better over time.
As it turns out, the COO, Chris, directly runs the place and is there to hear out any opinions or suggestions. He’s very approachable so don’t hesitate to let him know what you want!

Seriously. Meh. I’ve experienced better.
Taking the whole base product + toppings that is common with salads and applying it to pasta sounds brilliant and if executed properly could be great.
The pricing is relatively inexpensive but pasta is cheap and so are the toppings that are going on so when it’s limited to just 2 toppings (of which are pretty mediocre) it just doesn’t seem like all that great of a deal.
I’m sorry but when you have the different cheeses and tomatoes and olives as individual topping choices, you get some severely limited options.
This place is new in town so maybe it has room to grow, but seeing that it is a chain/​franchise you’d think that the training and processes they already have would easily transition.
Much like how you can get a better deal and more customized options with your salad from many of the area delis in comparison to the similarly structured «Just Salad» further up the street, it would seem you can get much better options at the local deli for your pasta options.
My bland pasta that seemed to offer no bang for buck will definitely see me bringing my business elsewhere until they add more options for my $.