Paisan's Italian Ristorante

Decent food, large portions, service was a little slow but it was Valentine's Day and slammed. W we not rushed even though they were very busy and service was good.

I was disappointed. We went on Valentine's day. I had made a reservation the week before for 2 people. When we arrived the host/owner asked the two people in from of us to select their table from 3 available. He didn't even escort them to the table. He then walked away without even telling us that he would be back. When he returned, he didn't greet us. He simply asked "name". He then muttered under his breadth that he was surprised so many of the reservation had actually shown up. Similar to the couple before us, he asked us to pick our table.

The waiter was very nice but not particularly good. After we ordered, our salads came out 20 minutes later. The salads were good, but upon finishing, the server asked me to keep my original fork and knife (covered in dressing) as there was no more clean silverware. At this point you are probably thinking, "well it was Valentine's Day. They were probably busy." This wasn't the case. The restaurant was full, but it wasn't crazy by any means.

After about 1 hour, the server came by to tell us the food would be right up, but after 3 times, it became kind of a joke. Our food arrived 1.5 hours after we were seated. The server finally came to apologize that the chef was crying because he was too busy. The food itself was very average (BTW, I like lots of different food and am not a foodie. The point being my expectations were proper for the area).

I believe the restaurant suffers from a variety of problems that were not unique to the night we went. It lacks friendliness. The food is average at best. The operations struggle. Personally I won't return until things have materially changed.

Great atmosphere and friendly service! Very prompt

This is the second time we have been here. I am not sure why they are on open table as they never recognize the reservations and don't seem very welcoming when you arrive. However, the food is good. I would have rated it a bit higher as our appetizer (crab dip) and dishes were very good. The Tiramasu was frozen though (reminded us of Sarah Lee).

I'd give this place a zero if I could. We decided to try it out because of the rating. But, it turned out to be very disappointing. I ordered chicken parm, which was a large piece of chicken, but so-so flavor. The bed of spaghetti it sat on had not been drained properly and there was about 1/4" of water in the bottom of plate/bowl, so when I went to stir the sauce around, it became very watery. The sauce had very little flavor to start with, so this made it even less flavorful. My friend had eggplant parm, and she felt the same way about hers as I did about the chicken parm. She also ordered a gorgonzola salad and didn't realize she'd get a creamy dressing on it. When she requested just oil and vinegar instead, it arrived with 99% romaine (which was at least very fresh), about a dozen (if that) small crumbles of gongonzola, and what appeared to be a couple of cherry tomatoes cut up. Again, very disappointing. My husband had baked ziti with sausage. He said thank goodness for the sausage, because the pasta had no flavor. When I tasted it, it tasted like wax. We were offered cheese and pepper, but had to remind the waiter to bring it. He appeared to have more tables than he could handle. We then ordered dessert, the tiramisu came frozen - couldn't even get the spoon through it - and cheesecake with raspberry sauce that was very bitter. The cheesecake itself was good, but most places order their cheesecake from other places, so guessing that's what they did here. We figured out of everything we ordered, we'd get one good meal and one good dessert, but we figured wrong. Save your money (they are not cheap). Go elsewhere.

We had a reservation for 8 people and were seated promptly when we arrived. The dinner went downhill from there. It was over 15 minutes before anyone took our drink order or even served us water. We mentioned our wait to the host (owner?) twice and were told "it will be just a minute". About 15 -20 minutes after our orders were taken, we were told that they were out of one of the specials we ordered was no longer available. When the food did arrive, half of the food orders were lukewarm, probably due to the delay in the order that needed to be changed. Besides food temperature, the chicken parm was almost all sauce and resembled tomato soup. We will not be coming back.

Over-boiled bland pasta with massive nauseating portions and no flavor. They need to hire a cook.

The food was very good and exactly what I was looking for- zuppa de pesce, fried calamari! The waiter, Sean, was also excellent, very knowledgable!

It's great! Always wonderful food and service. The environment is great!

What a neighborhood gem. REAL Italian food, cooked fresh, not frozen and reheated. Everything from scratch.

The food was delicious and the service was great! We've been there a few times now and always had a great experience. Would highly recommend.

Great food at a great price . Wonderful pasta . Service is excellent

This visit was our first and hopefully the first of many. We went for a Thanksgiving day romantic date and were pleased with the ambiance and quality of food and service. Every employee from our server to other servers to the owners were dedicated to making sure our experience was top notch. The food and wine selections were fantastic and the taste was extraordinary. Well done.

Wait staff bad, food awful and quite expensive. Don't waste your money.

The owner/host at the restaurant was so beyond rude. We had a 7:30 reservation at this small restaurant and as soon as we walked in, we witness constant confrontation between the owner and guests. We waited 30 minutes and never got seated. It is a small restaurant too and had plenty of open tables. The owner claimed they had a party of 35 that had just left and it was the party'a fault. However, he was just rude. This place needs to be voted for a restaurant nightmare makeover.

We had an amazing meal! We will definitely be back.

Great Service, Good Food

This restaurant was just OK. I had shrimp Scampi and it was very bland, not enough garlic. The bread was good and the caesar salad was Ok. I thought it was a little expensive for pasta. All in all I was disappointed. Probably will not go there again.

Food was very good but service was incredibly slow. The night we were in there (weekday, around 5:30 PM) there were about 12 people in the restaurant with two waitstaff and it took us an hour and a half to get through our meal.

Solid Italian Food and outstanding service! Our first time to Paisan's, we've talked about going for 2 years and finally did. Our waiter Francis was knowledgeable, friendly, had a great personality and truly added to the evening. We ordered the gorgonzola salad, the spinach ravioli with chicken in marsala and the the spaghetti bolognese. Everything was well cooked, hot, had great flavor and portion sizes were big. Great meal, nice place, nice staff we will certainly return and soon !

Don't let the strip mall location fool you - this was authentic Italian food served in a friendly atmosphere. I would definitely go back if I was in the area again and my daughter, who has Celiac's really appreciated the fact that they had gluten free pasta and other GF options.

Had a wonderful dinner at Paisan's Italian Restaurant. Our food was absolutely amazing and the portions were huge!!! And the service was excellent!! Definitely going back!

Great service. Great food. Will definitely go back.

Made a reservation on open table for 7:00 pm on Mothers Day. When we arrived at 6:55 we were told that it would be a 15-20 minute wait. 45 minutes later we were seated after a promise that our wine would be on the table. Our waitress apologized for the delay in getting drinks because the bar was slammed. Another 20 minutes before we got our wine. Eventually we got bread. Food orders came out individually with some of us never getting what they ordered. Bottom line was that we arrived at 6:55 and left after 10:00 pm.-- they accepted more reservations than they could handle. The owner of the restaurant never apologized for the delays or offered any compensation. Our server was visibly upset by the end of the evening. Come to find out she's the owner's granddaughter. We were upset that she was hung out to dry due to the mismanagement of the reservations. Sadly the food was good it we will never be back due to the poor management.

By the numbers: 7PM reservation for 4 (83YO grandmother, pre-teen daughter, my wife and I); arrived at 6:55, and were told to expect a 15 minute wait and were strongly encouraged to eat at the bar; we were seated an hour later at 7:55; ordered appetizers on first-waiter-contact at 8:00, they arrived at 8:25; ordered entrees at 8:15, they arrived at 9:05; we were finally out at 9:30. Other visit-enhancing features: essentials such as water, bread, and silverware required at least 2 and sometimes 3 requests of our waiter. Upon arrival and in explaining to expect the "15 minute delay" in seating the owner complained aloud that there were no open tables and that "these people just won't leave!". His wife tending bar that nigh complained to all patrons that she "HAD a full time job, she was a mother and a grandmother, and didn't need to be doing this". All waiters sang a chorus of "it's the kitchen's fault!" as they moved from table to table. At 9:15 the somewhat panicked owner came by trying to insist we have their specialty drinks on him... or dessert... or wine. We were pretty much done by then, and it seemed more like he was checking the box of offering something rather than demonstrating any real concern. No comps. The food was generally good, but two identical specials came out dramatically differently in taste, portion, and presentation. We've enjoyed this place in the past, but this was not a good night.

I had the veal sorrentino. This was the worst veal I have eaten, prosciutto was terrible, pasta was not drained when put on the plate so my meal was swimming in water. Stuffed mushrooms were tasteless. Would not recommend this to anyone, especially if you are looking for good Italian food.

So I should have guessed going in there on a Saturday night and it was empty, but the people were nice and we were able to sit outside, always a bonus. It was extremely disappointing. I wouldn't say bad, just not worth going back.

Excellent pizza, meatballs, lasagna! Shawn very friendly server, everything well timed.

Great service from Francis

Had great time at Paisan's. Restaurant was tucked away so we were glad to find them on OpenTable since we were out of town. Very attentive service and great food.

We often select Paisan's for special occasion dinners. Even though it was the night before Valentines Day and they were packed, service was excellent and food came out fast. Only complaint was that I thought the special Valentine's desserts for two were overpriced.

We have been to Paisan's before and always loved the food. This time, we were disappointed. I'm not sure what happened, but we will try it one more time.

Fantastic service, obviously owner was helping waiter on a busy night. Superb recommendations, wonderful food---very tasty, generous portions!

Tried the ziti for the first time and it was awesome. Mandy is the best, always great food and service.

Mandy is a great server and is very personable. Knows her job and is hard worker. Takes great care of you.

Service was good, slightly disorganized but I think that's because it was New Years eve so of course it would be busy. I was really happy I spent my new years eve here with my boyfriend. It was very romantic! Food was great and prices were reasonable. For dessert we had tiramisu and it was good except I think it would be better if they had more coffee liquor in it like the classic way it's made. It just brings out more flavor. I will definitely come here again!

My husband and I were in town for the weekend and ate at Piasan's. Sean our server was very attentive and personable. The food was very good and I would go back again next time we're in Cary. The only disappointment was the owner, who was in Piasan's the entire time we dined there. Not very engaging at all. Maybe it's me but boy would I sure bend over backwards and visit each and every table just to say "hi" to my customers!

...That this little restaurant is as good as it is, tucked into a small shopping center. The food is very good, they offer gluten-free pasta, the service is great, and the wine list is full of good choices.

Always good food, nice people , local Always good food, nice people , local Always good food, nice people , local Always good food, nice people , local Always good food, nice people , local

We made the booking on the Paisan's website. Clicked the reservations button which took us to OpenTable. When we arrived at the restaurant, the owner asked us why we used OpenTable because it costs him $2.50 a person and bent our ears for 10 minutes on how OpenTable, advertising coupons, etc. are eating up his profits. Asked us to call him directly next time we wanted a reservation. He preferred his profits over my convenience.

The restaurant was nice, food was good, waiter was excellent. Alas, the owner made such a poor impression on us, we will never go there again.