The $10 Pasta Trend Taking Over the East Village

The Chipotle effect has come for pasta: The East Village is now the nexus of a $10 takeout pasta trend that’s drawing lines down the sidewalk, six years after the hyped Pasta Flyer opened then closed; and Forma Pasta Factory, now with two Brooklyn locations, rolled out in 2019.

The openings point to a shift to pasta as fast-casual food versus a leisurely trattoria or red sauce experience. And there are more to come, with Pasta Night on its way to Prospect Heights from Renato Poliafito who owns the bakery Ciao, Gloria across the street.

On First Avenue, stake a claim to a piece of sidewalk outside Pasta de Pasta (192 First Avenue, at East 12th Street) and watch as a worker by the open window swirls and grabs bundles of fettuccine alfredo from inside a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. The most basic option is a to-go bowl of creamy pasta for $9.90: It’s a compelling offer when even chain fast food prices are creeping up.

As with the now-typical fast-casual model, you can build your bowl, adding sauce (Bolognese, arrabbiata, Neapolitan, or pesto) or toppings like caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and baby mozzarella. These incur additional costs: up to $4 for creamy chicken or shrimp in red sauce. Another worker plops these on top. The menu also offers arancini (one for $2), lasagna ($12.80), and tiramisu ($5).

I stopped by Pasta de Pasta around 6:15 p.m. on a recent weeknight and found a line of about 12 people ahead of me. It’s a tight, busy spot with little seating inside and out. It feels like a slice shop: Scarf down your food, then free up the space for someone else. By 6:30 p.m., I had ordered the basic pasta with pesto, $14 — and got my food at 6:45 p.m.

The pasta, which I ate while walking down the street, had a pleasant chew and came in a decent portion. It would have been quite bland if I’d gotten it plain, but mixing in the pesto helped. Still, I couldn’t help but do the math of what it would have cost me to buy a box of fettuccine and a jar of Ragu.

If I’d ordered pasta from any takeout Italian joint, I’m sure it would have taken a similar amount of time, if not less. And Forma Pasta Factory slings more complicated pastas for a similar price. But this concept — specifically, that image of the wheel of cheese by the window — is undoubtedly made-for-TikTok: One recent video of Pasta de Pasta has over 746,000 views as of this writing.

The fast-casual pasta concept worked better at the nearby Gnocchi on 9th (315 E. Ninth Street, at Second Avenue), which, since April, has been selling paper takeout boxes full of its namesake for only $10. It’s also a TikTok star, with one video that got over two million views. The storefront is clean and cute, more reminiscent of a coffee shop than a slice spot (there is no seating apart from a bench out front). Its menu is slim: The gnocchi comes in pomodoro or vodka sauce and can be topped with burrata for an additional $3 or truffle burrata for an added $5. It also offers Caesar salad and tiramisu. A few months after opening, Gnocchi on 9th already has taken a leap of faith in the concept with an additional outpost now open on the Lower East Side.

Given my experience at Pasta de Pasta, I readied myself for a long wait. Despite Google’s assessment that Gnocchi on 9th was “busier than usual,” only one other person was in the tiny store when I popped in. I ordered my gnocchi in vodka sauce with a burrata add-on. Within a minute or two, the container of gnocchi was in my hand, ready to be eaten while I walked.

Was it good? It was fine — also a little bland and with a too-watery sauce. But it was affordable, fast, and filled me up enough that I brought leftovers home.