Paesanos

Reviews 9

RU

Ruby Nguyen

If youre looking for good quality Italian food and dont mind the wait, look no further. I came here on a Saturday night with two friends after we were unable to get to the Sacramento location of Paesanos. We tried to make a reservation earlier but they only allowed reservations for large parties. Fair enough. We arrived at the restaurant and were quickly given a restaurant pager to notify when our table was ready. We were told the wait was going to be thirty to forty minutes so we decided to just wait instead of leaving, even though we were dying of hunger. Unfortunately, Paesanos does not provide seating if youre waiting so we ended up standing inside the restaurant hoping for our pager to go off. It took over an hour to finally get seated despite the promise of "thirty to forty minutes." To be honest, it even seemed like parties that came after us got seated before us even though they were of similar size and didnt have reservations, though Ill give the benefit of the doubt that they checked in beforehand and that I just didnt see them. Needless to say, the wait was horrendous so I was glad to finally be able to eat. When we were seated we were told that our waiter would be with us shortly. We finished deciding what we wanted and had to wait even more time for our server to come take our orders, which was just added insult to injury. Im normally pretty patient, but the waits that we had to endure made me want to just leave and get In n Out. Eventually, our waiter came to take our orders. Even though he took long, he redeemed himself with exceptional service. We never had to ask for him but he would always come by to make sure we were accommodated for. Iced teas had unlimited refills and he was constantly making sure ours was never empty. We also were given complimentary bread which was a nice touch, though that wasnt specific to just our table as everyone gets it. Our food arrived fairly quickly. I ordered the baked pasta and was fairly satisfied with it. The portions werent the greatest but it was still very delicious. I managed to finish the whole meal, plus the bread and the bocce balls even though Im a small guy, if thats any indication of the portion sizes. My two friends had trouble finishing their meals, however. They did say their meals were delicious as well, though. Overall, I may come here again, but only if I manage to make a reservation. If youre looking for a quick bite, this definitely isnt the place to go. However, if you dont mind waits, I think the experience here will be worth it.

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AN

Anu Mahendran

On A Friday night, I went with my friends for a late dinner to Paesanos. Al though they said that the expected wait time is about 25min, the buzzer rang in 5 min and we excitedly took our seats and immediately started looking at the menu because all of us were ravenous. The complimentary warm bread and olive oil is absolutely delectable. For starters, we ordered Gnocchi Gorgonzola and I thought it was mediocre. Most of the entrees that we ordered were delish. I loved my Fettuccine Arrostiti and also tried out some of Tortellini Formaggio from my husbands plate; it was too good! The portions were pretty good, so we didnt have room for dessert, bummer! The ambiance was trendy and there is outdoor seating as well, facing the Davis downtown. Parking is on the streets, however we found a free parking lot somewhere near F and 3rd street (dont exactly remember), so we parked the car there and walked to this restaurant. Loved this place; would certainly return when I pass by Davis sometime.

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ST

STEVEN VONG

Decent Italian dining in Davis thats slightly above average but honestly Id prefer Olive Garden. This place has super slow service (every meal takes at least 1.5-2 hrs) and is not really worth a simple pasta or pizza dish. The pasta here is well seasoned and there is a lot of salt. Ive tried the scampi and the creole pasta, and both were good but heavy on the salt. The scampi was slightly lighter but still substantial on the sodium. The creole had a fair share of meat but was also just loaded with salt. Most of the pasta comes with a nice crisp piece of garlic bread. I also tried a piece of the mushroom pizza and it was really good- the cheese had a great melted and oozing texture and it was only slightly too oily and salty. For a more cozey Italian experience Id suggest Caffe Italia, but sadly for upscale this is one of the few places in Davis.

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MA

Marcus Gainer

Great place for dinner in davis. Being as davis is a college town, there arent many nice restaurants with waiters in davis, but Paesanos has all that while at the same time not being too expensive. The food is pretty good, and waiters are nice. Having lived in a city as diverse as davis, its slightly odd that most the staff are white and blonde, just a bit weird considering the surrounding demographics, but other than that the place is delicious, gotta try the pork fusilli absolutely amazing. Great environment, but the tables are a bit close and it feels like youre shoulder to shoulder to everyone else. Its a definite must-go to if youre up in davis, but having lived in davis its not a place I would regularly attend.

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VE

Veronica Slaton

Seriously, how are there only 3 reviews on this place!?! It is phenomenal!! Complimentary foccacia and dipping sauce is brought out. Like this could be a meal itself. However.. you HAVE TO, get an order of Bocce Balls. Mmmmmmmmm. Fried dough balls tossed in garlic butter and basil!! The pollenta fries were also another amazing dish!! As far as main dishes we had the Baked pasta and Tortellini Formaggio dish. They were both out of this world!!! So creamy, so flavorful....like it literally puts you in a food coma! We got a Tiramisu to go to eat later, because we were too full, and it too was just amazing! Awesome service, fun funky decor, and unbelievable food....this place has it all!!!

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CA

Carrie Alexander

We have been coming here for years. Lately they do not want to make any accommodations. For instance, just now, I wanted a house salad with no dressing for $4 with my entree. The waitress informed me that this was not possible and that if I wanted a salad without dressing I would have to order a main salad, and the cheapest one is $7. As a grad student and single parent, it is already a bit expensive for me to come here, so I said, "Cant you just put a little lettuce on a plate for the $4?" And she said no, and that she would get in trouble for asking the cook if this was possible. This is absurd. I think we will go elsewhere from now on.

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MI

Michelle Cale

I had dinner here with a group of 12 people. We had a reservation for 8pm. We were seated at 8:20pm. Drinks were served promptly but we didnt get food till 9:15pm. The food was pretty good and the young man serving our table was friendly and helpful, but the long wait was a killer. Also there was insufficient silverware on the table for our group - we had to request some additional knives and forks.

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JO

Joshua Stoops

Really good Italian place (maybe the only Italian place in Davis... Is that right?). Portion size is appropriate (not huge). Everything Ive ordered here has been good. Sometimes a bit of a wait, but usually not long.

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DA

Dave Collins

Good food and good service, gets a little crowded and once took 2 hours to get a calzone but that was only once. The pasta is really really good and they have a full bar, but their beer selection is below average

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