Barilla Pasta Opens Restaurant In New York

Barilla Pasta isn't just about the little blue box anymore. Recently, Barilla pasta opened up an Italian eatery in Manhattan on West 52nd St. This is the company's first venture into the restaurant business, and with only three stars and 23 reviews on Yelp in the couple months it has been open, Academia Barilla appears to be  having some trouble taking off. Most of the reviews are pretty "meh" about the whole concept, saying "I honestly expected better from a pasta company."

The restaurant is an Italian fast-casual eatery, popular during lunch, and obviously with plenty of pasta options like the classic pasta puttanesca (olives, capers, and tomato sauce), and tagliatelle Bolognese, along with pizza, panini's, and soup.

"After nearly 140 years of delivering quality pasta meals to family tables all over the world, Barilla wanted to bring its Italian culinary expertise to its first restaurant," said Luca Uva, president of Barilla. "The Academia Barilla Restaurant offers all on-the-go New Yorkers the delicious taste and texture they have come to trust from Barilla, whether it is for a quick bite in a comfortable contemporary Italian setting or an easy take-out meal."