Barbican Pasta Bar in Plymouth

Weve been to the Barbican Pasta Bar many times over the years at various times of day, and i can honestly say, hand on my heart, we have never once had the slightest complaint. The food is always perfect, the staff are always knowledgeable and very helpful and the prices are very good, what more could you want. i really cant recommend this place highly enough.

As visitors to Plymouth from Oxford, picking a restaurant is often not so easy . We had great service and really good food at a reasonable price. The atmosphere in the restaurant was brilliant and our visit was very enjoyable. I would highly recommend a visit to this Pasta Bar.

We love visiting here...it must be monthly if not more 😂 always friendly staff and great food.

Went on a Saturday night and had to book a week in advance. We were a couple of minutes late but there was a table ready and waiting for us. For 5 people all having 2 or 3 courses, we were served and had paid in about 2 hours, which for a Saturday evening I think is quite good. Food was hot and delicious. For a first time visit, we will definitely be returning to this pasta restaurant in Plymouth in the future.

Pizza was poor, base was thin but seriously lacking lightness, more like crispy supermarket version. Hoped for something approaching Italian pizza. Other pasta meal was fine but nothing special, and the waitress was friendly and helpful. Else resteraunt a bit of a dull experience.

Not easy to park. Long wait for service despite booking. Food was very good.

My favourite restaurant ever! Booked a table for 18 people for my birthday meal and nothing was too much trouble. Easy to phone up and book and paid deposit over the phone, emailed over our food orders one week before no problem. All food came out together and was piping hot, all orders correct and cooked fresh! Amazing food, lovely attentive friendly staff who couldn’t do enough for us! Brought over the cake along with a knife, plates and napkins without a fuss, really such a lovely place to have a delicious family meal! Would recommend to everyone, such a lovely restaurant, definitely one of the best in Plymouth, 10/10! Thank you all so much x

My favourite restaurant ever! Booked a table for 18 people for my birthday meal and nothing was too much trouble. Easy to phone up and book and paid deposit over the phone, emailed over our food orders one week before no problem. All food came out together and was piping hot, all orders correct and cooked fresh! Amazing food, lovely attentive friendly staff who couldn’t do enough for us! Brought over the cake along with a knife, plates and napkins without a fuss, really such a lovely place to have a delicious family meal! Would recommend to everyone, such a lovely restaurant, definitely one of the best in Plymouth, 10/10! Thank you all so much x

Went in as the restaurant looked good from the outside, only to be disappointed with the food and the service. Wine glass had lipstick marks on it, when ordered a bottle of wine they just put in the middle of the table rather than serving it. Ordered the steak which was mostly not edible as I was chewing some bite for more than 30 seconds so left half of it. And didn't ask if we wanted any sauce with steak which is standard so had to wait extra time after we ordered it. Definitely not worth the price

Whoever is behind the phone attending to customers should stop sounding like they’ve got enough customers

Excellent. Extensive menu. Really good prices. Large portions. Real atmosphere. Staff really friendly. Really lovely meal.

Excellent restaurant. Extensive menu. Large portions. Great prices. Lovely atmosphere. Staff really friendly. Definitely recommend. Won’t go hungry!

Great service, great atmosphere, fantastic food

Super service, super pasta, super price. Will definitely visit the, Barbican Pasta Bar again.

We hadn’t been here for quite some time but had a voucher to use and decided to try it for lunch. There was a special lunch menu with plenty of choices, both really enjoyed our meals , the service was lovely welcoming and pleasant both from the waitress and possibly the owner. Good value would recommend.

Nice reliable restaurant. Good selections and value lunch menu.

Whilst the hype was intriguing, it definitely didn't live up to expectations. We did not book and as such were seated next to the busy bar, this I did not mind. The food was okay. Considering they specialise in pasta, I expected the pasta to be heavenly but it was average at best. I have made a similar dish myself but at a much better quality. Long wait on food. Underwhelming. Now, I ordered a vegan dish and at the time I hadn't eaten dairy for 4 years. I was sick for almost a week upon eating here, having developed a bad stomach shortly after leaving and again upon tucking into my doggy bag of leftovers - I am certain this food is what caused it. No other food has ever made me feel as poorly as the meal I had from Barbican Pasta Bar. If my dish did contain any dairy, this is highly dangerous.

Thanks to the Barbican Pasta Bar team for looking after us so well. Food, Service and Atmosphere were all excellent.

Following an unfortunate experience the management were extremely understanding and offered us back for a complimentary meal.Their attitude was nothing but professional and the meal and service was excellent. Highly recommend this restaurant.

We’ve been here several times as a family and it never disappoints. We all had different meals and all were excellent. No complaints from three courses.

We visited twice in October 2024 with family, both times for lunch. Seemingly always busy, the Pasta Bar came highly recommended, and lived up to its reputation. We booked a table both times, and we were expected. The menu is broad and we had the option of a smaller lunch menu, and a dedicated vegan menu, which was all to the good. Our server helpful, patient and efficient with just the right amount of attention paid. The food, all of us had variations on pasta, was really quite excellent. Brought to our table with little delay, it was hot and delicious. Indeed, all the members of our party said the same. Menu prices were very reasonable, and with wine and a good tip, our bill averaged around £25 per head, which is really very good for Plymouth's Barbican. We had a five star experience for both of our visits, and I can't recommend the Barbican Pasta Bar highly enough.

Excellent food, wine & service ! Garlic Mushrooms & Korma Pasta 😋😋😋👍

We visited twice in October 2024 with family, both times for lunch. Seemingly always busy, the Pasta Bar came highly recommended, and lived up to its reputation. We booked a table both times, and we were expected. The menu is broad and we had the option of a smaller lunch menu, and a dedicated vegan menu, which was all to the good. Our server helpful, patient and efficient with just the right amount of attention paid. The food, all of us had variations on pasta, was really quite excellent. Brought to our table with little delay, it was hot and delicious. Indeed, all the members of our party said the same. Menu prices were very reasonable, and with wine and a good tip, our bill averaged around £25 per head, which is really very good for Plymouth's Barbican. We had a five star experience for both of our visits, and I can't recommend the Barbican Pasta Bar highly enough.

Wonderful food in a lovely location with great service. Thank you.

Came as a group of 8. Had booked, sat at the higher level on a friendly round table. Very busy and loud. They had the main and extensive menu and two lunch menus offering two course deals at £15.55 and £14.55 or thereabouts. Puddings were extra, all at £7. I had bruschetta, followed by barbecued chicken salad etc. The stater was routine and the chicken distinctly chewy. I didn’t feel up to a pud. Not a relaxing setting or easy to hold group conversation. Can’t blame them for packing in the punters but the feel is a bit oppressive and there are better places to eat round here.

Amazing food and service. Portions are massive and the staff very friendly and accommodating.

We went in here for a late lunch and had a lovely experience. The food was so tasty and fresh we loved it. The service was brilliant even though it was busy. The pork medallions were great. Thanks

Very busy (early Saturday night). Excellent, very quick, service. Food was good without being brilliant. Seemed clean.

My wife and I enjoyed our visit at 8:30pm. It seemed chaotic, but was seated quickly, and the staff were very friendly and attentive. The food was excellent and served in good time. We will book a lot sooner for an earlier sitting and will definitely be returning. K

Booked a table for 7 of us. We all work together in customer service. My starters of potato skins were disappointing. Cheap plastic cheese. Burnt on one side. My pasta dish was nice though. Cordon bleu. Out of the 7 of us only 2 of our mains were acceptable. The pizza was prepared wrong then sent back twice. The chicken pesto was bland and the pasta was undercooked. The korma dish was also inedible. The carbonara was stodgy and bland too. Bought this the the attention of the owner only to be met with a rude aggressive response. Argued with our table about the food and this went on for the remainder of our time there. I WOULD NOT recommend this establishment at all. Disgusting behaviour. Over hyped.

Lovely food great service and reasonable prices ;what more could you ask for?

Impeccable service, thank you for accommodating my niece's mis-order, we'll definitely visit again.

Lovely place. Not much has changed in twenty years. Still great value and friendly local business.

Ready meals, just heated up.. 🤮🤢

Always great food and a lovely atmosphere 👌

My family and I went to this restaurant to celebrate my daughter GCSC results. Didn't book a table so probably that's why not have nice table and privacy at all as we was given the table right next to the bar where everyone was walking next to us. The weirdest thing in there was a man (the manager) standing in the middle of the room and looking on the staff and the door all the time with a not very nice face. He looked like he is angry and stressing the staff and guests or at least we felt that way. Food was OK but just ok, my daughter ordered a cannelloni but there was no flavour at all and the cannelloni tubes had barely any meat in it. In general very disappointing. Will not recommend

This was a beautiful meal as usual the staff are very professional and an extremely comfortable atmosphere.

the food lacked seasoning but the overall service was very enjoyable and the the atmosphere was great

The atmosphere and staff are both pleasant but the food was average, albeit with great, large portion sizes. It’s not a bad place by any means but not particularly great either.

Since leaving uni, I haven't eaten here for 12 years. On a return trip to Plymouth with my family, I had to book. Quality food, quality service and a lovely place. Couldn't fault it at all! Just like I remembered. Thank you!

I visited the resturant with my team, Battel Bonfire Boyes (BBB Firework crew) the night before we set up for our display for the British Championships. The staff were excelent and as able to cope with nearly everyone (we had a table of 16) all having different meals. The staff kept checking we all had drinks and was happy with our meal. Food was delicious and had no complaints (which is very unusal for the boyes I was with, they usually find something to moan about). I would 100% reccomend this resturant.

Forgot to book but was lucky enought to get a table for 3 early Friday evening. Lovely welcoming atmosphere. Seated promptly. Waiting staff were really lovely. Tasty hearty portions with freshly cooked produce served on warm plates. Would definitely recommend.

I've been coming here for years and never had a bad meal. The portions are good and flavourful. I love their spaghetti matriciana.

Nous avons mangé des pizzas et elles étaient bonnes. Le rosé italien que nous avons bu était également bon. Le personnel est sympathique et souriant.

Amazing food and great choice. We're not local but we'll definitely be going back. Friendly staff, great service and delicious food. Thank you.

Beautiful food and great service

Great value, great staff and great food. A busy week in Plymouth as the firework championships are on. They took it in their stride. I would highly recommend

Lively place, friendly staff and separate vegan menu.

This is our favourite place to eat in Plymouth- we’ve been coming here for years. Friendly staff, feels like a family business, relaxed - and super food. Wide ranging menu, their pasta is superb. Never had a bad meal here. Great value for money too.

Service and price are spot on, food was superb and generous, highly recommended, the Pizza was the best I've ever had.

Had a bad experience with service in the past (being rushed) tried it again, food has gone downhill fast, very bland definitely microwaved my lasagne, I recommend Positanos if you want great Italian food!

Enjoyed the food, cannot say there was an atmosphere though. BUT staff very accommodating and friendly.

Very tasty food with good selection. Most meals can be made into child size portions and quite a few were able to be made gluten free. Very helpful staff

Great restaurant on the Barbican, been coming here for years and always good. Definitely worth booking especially at busy times like the weekend. Mainly Italian food cooked perfectly and good portions. Good wine selection too. Would definitely recommend 👍🍷

Been visiting the Pasta Bar for years. Never been let down, however, today's experience was a little disappointing. Usually good food and great service. Today's food wasn't its usual good quality. Considering that this was the only small dip in enjoyment over many years, I would still highly recommend the Barbican Pasta Bar.

Cozy place with good service. The food is top notch and at reasonable prices. We will come again.

Although we waited an hour for our food. It was worth the wait. Fantastic food, great service and what a great atmosphere

Great restaurant and wonderful staff. Last time I visited was very busy but staff were amazing and quick. The food was delicious and great portion sizes. Amazing place!!

Very friendly staff, very welcoming. Make you feel at home. The food was great, like in Italy. We sat upstairs, because downstairs was packed, luckily more people came and it added to the atmosphere. Mediterranean pasta was really good, the sirloin with veggies as well! Best food I’ve had in England in the last two weeks of holiday!

Lovely place in a quaint part of the town. Food was top quality, ordered multiple starters and shared like tapas. Service was very helpful, efficient and friendly. Excellent prices for the quality and quantity of the food.

Lovely little restaurant, lively atmosphere but a bit loud for me. Very busy when we visited so a little slow

Great service, staff so friendly and helpful. Massive selection of starters, mains and deserts and the food was amazing. If you’re looking for a proper Italian then this is definitely one to visit. Will definitely be visiting more often 😊

Disappointing experience. Despite good Google reviews, we were poorly received and not accommodated. Given an arbitrary 1.5 hour wait time at 16:30pm for lunch when we are there at 15.00 ..Over-hyped. Waitstaff was inattentive and clearly didn't care about customers. This pasta place is completely over-hyped. For far superior food and service, try Trattoria next door instead.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Our whole dining evening was perfect. If you are in the mood for Italian then this is your place. Comfortable surroundings. The food was delicious. We had multiple courses which were delivered to our table with perfect timing. We look forward to returning.

Even though it was really busy staff went above and beyond to create a dish just for me. Food was absolutely delicious. Thanks xx

Amazing! The best carbonara that I’ve tried in UK!

Great little place, my niece really enjoyed her 21st. Shame an ex date turned up with a new date! Ghosted, why can't some people just give you the truth? 🤣

Ate here after reading reviews and passing through Plymouth. The service was good from start to finish. I made an error with the date of our booking and staff were keen to help. Upon arrival we were greeted well. We were sat upstairs which has a completely different vibe to downstairs, for us it was very loud which is probably just down to the old building and acoustics but when you can't hear each other over another table then it's not enjoyable. The food was ok, I don't think it was anything special or lived up to the reviews we read here. Yes the food was a big portion but the quality of the chicken in our pasta was questionable and £10 for two large cola's, that is on the hefty side for us. It was a mixed bag for us, sadly we wouldn't return.

My family used to go here years ago on a regular basis, it was very good. Food was bland, not presented well this time and just felt that the effort wasn't there like it used to be. Disappointing.. 🤔

Got recommended this place by a friend, great service, lovely food massive portions! Excellent quality Lovely atmosphere and friendly staff

Tasty food and excellent service, an absolute joy. For someone on a low car diet it's a delight to find a pasta restaurant that doesn't skimp on the sauce ingredients; chicken Cajun pasta was full of chicken, peppers and mushrooms. Heavenly

Very hearty, tasty meal - great service, comfortable ambience! Best value for money in Plymouth. Pasta carbonara and Mediterranean pasta were both excellent

Had a great meal and the service was excellent.

Took my Niece & her family here on Thursday 11th April. First time for us as well & we were greeted by lovely, friendly staff. The Bruschetta's are amazing..full of flavour, the Spaghetti Bolognase had loads of flavour, it was very very nice..two of us had that & would recommend it 100% my Husband had Lasagne & he said it was lovely & creamy, full of flavour & the best he had ever had in a restaurant ! My Niece, her two kids & Husband said they really enjoyed the food & it was very tasty, nice size portions as well. We will 100% be back when more family visit us.

Birthday Treat... group of 7 ladies Fri night out. Great choice great food lovely staff and fab atmosphere. Be back again very soon.

Had my sons 21st meal tonight the staff and food was lovely. Thankyou for all you did.

The atmosphere is lovely as is the decor, however the food is neither! The pasta dish the party of us were served (all different sauces) was like being served soup with some pasta in - it wasn’t good. The portion sizes are huge, the service is okay; though there is little care from them when served - they sort of just plonk it down on the table and walk off. The sauces were very rich - too rich and very little care has been taken for presentation. It’s almost like a bar type service (as it says in the title), but don’t expect any personalisation or personality from any of the workers.

I called in on a Tuesday around 9.15 pm. The service was excellent as was the meal. Can't fault the food or service at all. However. When paying by card, It's intimidating when your prompted "and being stood over watching you" to add a percentage on as a tip. I don't like that. I like to leave cash.

Lunch was very tasty and arrived quickly. The waitress was helpful with the menu choices. However we returned a few days later for an evening meal and had the same dishes again, my dish was exactly the same but my husband asked if he could have no cream in the dish to which the waiter said that the restaurant had never put cream in the dish that he wanted. My husband and myself said the dish was served with a creamy tomato sauce at lunch the other day but the menu said a tomato sauce no mention of cream. The waiter was adamant that they never use cream in that particular sauce. However myself being a chef I know when cream has been added to a sauce. This didn't affect the dishes but we both thought that the attitude of the waiter was a bit snippy. We will return again but at lunch hopefully he won't be there.

Haven't been here since being diagnosed with gluten and dairy allergies. The pasta was absolutely delish. Best glutenfree pasta,I've tasted . Whilst the others were tucking into their delicious desserts. I ordered a coffee. Soya,milk or oat milk,I don't mind. I was told,they only did normal milk. I was quite disappointed by this.

Busy - a good sign we thought - but they still found us a table even though we hadn’t booked. Great food and good vegetarian options too :)

My wife and I have been regular visitors to this venue for a number of years. Recently, we found out that we could bring our dog in as stated by the owner. On a few occasions we encountered rudeness from two members of the staff with regard to our dog although we did try to arrive when there weren’t many other customers eating. The final straw was when we left after finishing our meals, one of the staff (who had been rude to us on a previous visit) told us that we couldn’t bring the dog in because some snowflake had complained. We didn’t believe that story because of the fact that the staff had been rude to us on previous occasions. We wrote to the owner via email but we have yet to receive a reply. I conclude that obviously our custom is not appreciated.

We managed to get a last minute booking at 9pm as we had forgotten to book anywhere for a Saturday night! Not the best idea. But greatful they were able to get us in. The staff were lovely, and the atmosphere was great as well. A charming place with delicious food, that is well worth the price! We had spaghetti marinera that was chock full of seafood and a lasagne that was delicious and filling. Both very generous portion sized. The garlic bread was the perfect side dish to mop up all the sauce! Will definitely visit again.

We managed to get a last minute booking at 9pm as we had forgotten to book anywhere for a Saturday night! Not the best idea. But greatful they were able to get us in. The staff were lovely, and the atmosphere was great as well. A charming place with delicious food, that is well worth the price! We had spaghetti marinera that was chock full of seafood and a lasagne that was delicious and filling. Both very generous portion sized. The garlic bread was the perfect side dish to mop up all the sauce! Will definitely visit again.

Nice Italian food,good service, good location near the Harbour.

Great restaurant for a casual meal. Extensive menu. We all enjoyed our meals - superb food. Reasonably priced. Friendly atmosphere. Always busy.

Myself and seven friends met for lunch. Everything was lovely good choice of menu and very reasonably priced.

I love pasta, why have I never tried this place before, quality and quantity of food is good for the price however it’s not cheep as pasta goes

Unfortnately we didn't have a great experience. The chicken in the dishes we ordered was overcooked and rubbery. The lemon chicken dish had a very strong taste as if the lemon juice had been knocked over in the dish by mistake. There was a long waiting time and people who ordered after us were served first.

A very popular venue with all ages. Food always excellent, hot and nicely served. Very good fare at a very good price.Staff as always friend, polite and very helpful and always no rush and able to chat.

This is a fabulous restaurant with yummy food !! Service was amazing and the food came out really quickly ! 10/10 would recommend to family and friends

Very busy restaurant so booking is a must. Food and service was great and prices reasonable.

We came here for lunch on the Thursday of half term and the place was full but we only had a short wait at the bar before a table was found for us. The food was excellent and the service was very good too despite it being busy. We had the two courses for £14.95 and there was plenty of choice. Would definitely recommend.

Booked the pasta bar for a date with my boyfriend to celebrate valentines day. The staff were lovely and very attentive. The food was delicious we had Carbonara and garlic bread for a main meal followed by tiramisu for dessert. Both dishes were fresh and very tasty!! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a lovely place to eat around the Barbican

Really nice place not far away from the busy Nandos and Zizi. Lively food as well

The food was lovely and generous portions. Our waitress was very helpful and friendly. The food took a long time to come out but they were very busy with several larger parties there. However they acknowledged this and gave us a free drink!

Seated quickly, excellent service, varied choice from menu, food fantastic and very tasty. Very busy place seem to oblige any new customers and fit them in very well organised.

Very good pasta, feels real authentic Italian. Bet Italian in Plymouth for me.

Always love coming here well worth the visit

Fantastic service, food, atmosphere...as a large party, we all ordered differently and everyone was over the moon with their food...see you again soon 5 🌟