Barnelli’s Pasta Bowl

One if my fav pasta/​salad places. I come here mainly for their salads. I’ve tried them all and have been constantly ordering the bbq chicken salad, the chopped salad and the chicken pecan salad. Those are the 3 best ones in my opinion but the other ones are good as well. I just keep ordering those 3 all the time. I used to come here for portillos dogs but now I just order from barnelli’s.

Barnelli’s, I hate to break it to you, but you just don’t cut the mustard anymore when it comes to your pasta. :(This makes me really sad because you used to be much better. What happened?!
I ordered this alfredo dish, and it was really, really bad, I only took about two bites of it. The bread that came with it was good, though. That was really the only saving grace. The pasta dish had practically NO sauce. And I am not saying that I need things drowning in sauce and butter or anything, but geeze, this was SO dry!
I wasn’t really impressed :(

I was pleasantly surprised.
One day, my boyfriend wanted to go to Portillo’s for a burger and fries. Even though I had been to Portillo’s many times, I wanted to try something different, so I decided to try Barnelli’s. I hadn’t eaten at Barnelli’s before, and I decided to order the baked spaghetti. Being a fast-​casual place that shared space with a hot dog joint, I wasn’t expecting gourmet pasta dishes. It took a while for my order to come up, but the employees were very friendly and accommodating, so I didn’t mind. I took one bite of my baked spaghetti, and I have to say, I was blown away. I was pleasantly surprised by the baked noodles and cheeses with meat sauce on top; flavorful, hot, and filling. I even preferred the taste of this dish to any pasta dish I have had at Olive Garden. I definitely know where I’m going for my carb-​happy pasta fix! Thanks!

I crave the pasta primavera (and the yummy bread — thank you, Barnelli’s, for not covering it in butter and/​or grease like so many other places do!) a few times a week. Ohhhhhh…

Umm… I’m not sure IQ has ever been here at lunchtime. For $ 9 a bowl for pasta, I have to fight my way into the parking lot (Schaumburg cops will be stationed there on Fridays to direct traffic), wait in a loud, harried place and try to understand the mumbler who calls my number?
Yes, the pasta is good but it isn’t worth the cost or the hassle. Go somewhere more civilized with a lunch special and save yourself the aggravation.