Paesano Restaurant
| Address: | 3411 Washtenaw Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA |
| Phone: | +1 734-971-0484 |
| Site: | paesanosannarbor.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 12–11PM 12–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Jessica Rosenberg
Ive been so curious to eat at Paesano for *years* now, and we finally went for dinner tonight. First, I was surprised by the size of the interior. Being used to eating in downtown A2, Paesano was just so big! We were seated by the window and got to look around. It was cozy in ambiance, though a little chilly in temperature. We split the escargot appetizer. There were two small pastries positively soaked in butter with maybe 6 snails placed on top of them. Not much for $12. We each ordered an entree, and they came with soup or salad. I got the minestrone soup, my fiance the sausage soup. Both were quite flavorful, and came with a big bread basket. The bread had less flavor, but was very hot and pleasant. As a main course, I had the chicken parmigiana. The chicken didnt taste like much, but the pasta was really soft and I liked the tomato sauce it was in. Very tomato-y. My fiance got the veal scaloppine and said it was "eh." He said that "after the first couple of bites I was wishing Id ordered something else. It may have been good, but I wasnt into the caper-like taste." Id be curious to come back here, but do feel the prices were QUITE high. Most dishes were in the low $20s, with a few lower than that and a few higher. Our meal came out to over $70 (with tax and tip), and we didnt even get drinks! Service was fine. Lots of water refilling.
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Joseph Damiani
Having eaten and enjoyed the atmosphere and food at Paesanos many times over the years, my wife and I decided to take friends there, for dinner, last evening. We ordered wine, which was excellent. The antipasto, enough food for four, consisted of deep fried olives, single serving pepperonis, and Gorgonzola cheese all very good. Also included were two American cheeses, white and orange, both of which were all but tasteless. Since this is an Italian restaurant, some form of very good Italian bread could have been served, but wasnt. The bread was the soft white hot roles served in any American menu restaurant. Three of our party ordered chicken parmigiana; I had veal scallopini. The meals came with house salads. There was universal agreement that all of the main dishes were uniformly bland, almost tasteless, the pasta was overcooked, and the salads were made of several varieties of chopped lettuces without tomatoes, onions, or other common Italian salad ingredients; the Italian dressing did not have the full flavor of good olive oil, it too was bland. There were two standouts in this meal, the desert, a ricotta lemon cheesecake that had a mild semi-sweet ricotta flavor accented by a fair amount of lemon zest, and an attentive and pleasant waitress. While we have had many very good meals at Paesanos, this was not one of them.
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A Private User
As a person with Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance), I have to say that Paesanos is quite a rare finding! In addition to the great service despite being super busy when I went, there was an ENORMOUS number of gluten-free options including bread (the only place Ive found that serves gluten-free bread with dinner), pastas, meat dishes, salads, etc. Make sure you let them know to get the bread started when you walk in, because the gluten-free bread is made extra carefully and takes a bit longer to prepare. My meal was good, but not great. I had the rigatoni with sausage and hot peppers and it was definitely delicious but it didnt blow my socks off. My favorite part of the meal was dessert...gluten-free cheesecake with a gluten-free graham cracker crust. It was the most decadent cheesecake Ive ever had...I think Im going to go back weekly just to have the cheesecake. The wine list is impressive as well, and my server was knowledgeable about every glass I inquired about. Just to remind people, an Italian restaurant does not have to be entirely "authentic" to be good. The dishes at Paesanos are inventive, which makes it unique. You can find an entirely authentic Italian restaurant wherever but not the "Italian-inspired" dishes at Paesanos.
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Debra Sullivan
Great food- awesome creativity, hard working chef- romantic surroundings. As a creative chef myself, I really appreciate the wonderful combinations she has made for us all to pan over.... different each time I come, with some old favorites that stay around. For the hit and miss issue- talk to the waiter or waitress. They know whats good. Its the secret of getting great food everytime. Ask whats most popular, then ask what the chefs favorite is. If they dont know, ask what THEIR favorite is, or the general staff favorite. If you get a couple responses, try to order a two of them between your date (or friends) and enjoy! However, I have to agree as well that the tables are a bit close... I always feel like Im on top of another couple, and I can hear everyones conversations and everyone can hear ours... If there were children (loud ones) there would be issues. I personally think that families with kids should do other people a favor and know if their kids can handle a classy restaurant where people are paying $80 and more for their romantic night out. There are PLENTY of family friendly restaurants! Save this one for your night out with your special someone, or with other mature adults...
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A Private User
It pains me to review any place negatively, but Paesanos struck me as so mediocre and overpriced that I feel compelled to make a note of it. I am not an expert on Italian cuisine, but nothing about this place stood out particularly positively. The food was very bland and underwhelming. The service was perfunctory and a little sloppy--our waitress forgot our bread, served wine with cork bits, etc. I didnt notice anything creative about the dishes on the menu or the four dishes we ordered. I was slightly excited about a pear dessert layered with amaretti and (if i remember) mascarpone, but what arrived was a pear of variable temperature (chilled in some places, room temperate in others) with insanely sweet but nondescript filling. The two wines we had by the glass--a pinot nero and pinot grigio--were also really bad. Im confused why this place is so popular. It strikes me as thoroughly mediocre comfort food in a pretty hokey ambiance... prepare for doilies, laminated dessert menus, servers who give you tickets for a Vespa raffle, etc., and good luck tasting anything special or fresh.
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Brian Bower
Stopped by in the very early afternoon (about 4-4:30PM on a Saturday) with my wife, 4 year old son and my parents. The restaurant was basically empty, but the hostess, waitstaff and manager all seemed put out that we had our 4 year old son with us. He was very well behaved (as usual, we eat out a lot) while we were eating, yet it felt as if the staff was giving us the stink eye for having our son out with us. It was to the point where we felt uncomfortable and considered just paying for our drinks and leaving. We held out thinking our experience would improve, but after our food came the manager made us feel uncomfortable as well. The food was good, not complaints there. After leaving it was decided that we would never return to this restaurant as we have eaten at both Gratzi and Palio downtown during much busier times with our son and were never treated rudely at either of those Italian restaurants.
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Abby Podufaly
This restaurant was good, but not spectacular. The wine selection, while good, was quite pricey. The house chianti was mediocre. Normally I eat far less than half of any dish I order, but I ordered an "entree" sized salad that was tiny even for someone with a small appetite like me. That said, the salad was flavorful and the ingredients were very fresh tasting. My dining partner ordered a pasta dish that was more al dente than either of us prefer (and I typically like somewhat al dente pasta). Overall, neither of us were impressed, but Paesanos isnt someplace I would avoid eating in the future either. In short, this place is pricey and under-whelming, but not bad.
