Paesano Ristorante Italiano

Amazing food at this quaint restaurant.

Cozy, elegant, great food and excellent service! Our server was delightful, attentive, professional, fast and with great suggestions. He is clearly experienced! Their rabbit was delicious! Their selection of desserts are just perfect along with their wine selection.
I would strongly recommend this place to anyone seeking for a great meal in the heart of San Jose's Silicon Valley.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

The menu is varied and authentic.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

ITALIAN SPLENDOR ! My wife and I flew into San Jose on Tuesday for a 2 day stay on a work related trip. I looked up Little Italy in San Jose and this restaurant came up trumps by a mile. I had to pick my wife up at 5pm from her workplace on Wednesday and I made a reservation for 6pm enroute thanks to lovely Ingrid who answered the phone in a very welcoming manner. This restaurant re-opens week days at 5pm for dinner. After we parked our rental car in the street nearby and fed the parking meter we walked over to Paesano which is inside an historic house......it looked lovely with all the flower baskets on the patio. Sure enough friendly Ingrid greeted us when we stepped inside the entrance. It wasn't yet busy...I was very worried getting a table at short notice given the fantastic online reviews. Ingrid showed us to a table for 2 in the center of the restaurant......a very authentic feeling Italian restaurant I might add. I have never been to Italy nor has my wife but we felt we were in a genuine Italian restaurant IN ITALY. Ingrid looked after us perfectly with fancy glasses of cool refreshing water and I ordered a simple Peroni Beer. We wanted to try their desserts because I read they have a great selection so no tempting appetizers this evening. The pasta menu here is nothing short of expansive. I had read some very good reviews about the Shrimp & Scallops Spaghetti. My wife chose the Fettuccine Alla Moda and... hello I had to have the Spaghetti Porticello ( Shrimp & Scallops ). My ice cold Peroni Beer arrived in an elegant Stella Artois tall glass and tasted fine. Our dinner meals arrived precisely together and looked amazing.....as good as we have seen anywhere. I loved my meal.....the Shrimp and Scallops were cooked to perfection..so delectable. My wife was making all sorts of facial expressions which told me she was in gourmet overload enjoying her fabulous pasta dish. I had a taste and the delicious creamy Porcini Mushroom sauce permeated the incredibly delicate Fettuccine...as good as anything on the planet. Are we in Italy ? So as much as my wife wanted to finish her meal...it didn't happen because she wanted to leave room for dessert. Now in my online research I did not find a dessert menu for Paesano even though reviews said their desserts were fabulous. I asked Ingrid about dessert and she returned with a huge tray which featured frozen examples of their dessert offerings. There was a nice looking Mousse, a Black Forest Cake, a lovely looking Salted Caramel Cheesecake, a huge Chocolate covered Spumoni Gelato and some others. These were not the actual desserts we would get but simply frozen examples.....cool idea ! In the meantime a classy looking dude who the whole time we had been sitting at the bar was now standing behind the bar. I strolled over and asked if he was the owner. Yes came the reply from Pino. I introduced myself and said I loved Spumoni......particularly Spumoni Ice Cream Cake which is hard to find at most Italian restaurants. I then mentioned that back in Australia we used to have something called Cassata.....very similar to a Spumoni Ice Cream Cake.....Cherries, Chocolate Chunks, Cake etc...just amazing ! Pino then said.....I have some Sicilian Cassata out the back for you. So my wife decided on the Black Forest Cake and I got the Cassata. Within a few minutes Ingrid our server brought out our desserts. My wife liked her Black Forest Cake and I had a taste and it was pretty good but not as heavy as my wife usually likes. On the other hand my Cassata ice cream tasted sensational...I think it had been over 2 years since I had enjoyed something similar. We spent a good portion of our evening chatting with 2 lovely guys at the next table...Greg and David who gave us a great tip for a new restaurant to try on our next visit to San Jose. We had a fabulous time here.....our meals were as good as it gets, the service was so friendly and the restaurant is beautiful inside and out. We thanked our talented server Ingrid & Pino the owner and went on our way !

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

PROS:
* If you want a taste of Italy and Sicily then this is the place.
* My favorite Italian restaurant.....PERIOD!
* Try the negroni, you won't regret it!
* The gnocchi knocks me out of the chair every time.

CONS:
* Absolutely nothing negative to say about this place. It's perfect.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Absolutely hands down the best customer service and food. Victor the server was sensational. Dinner on the outside patio. Vodka martini. Pasta and desert....Finally good food Sanjose. I SEE YOU LITTLE ITALY

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Cute little dining area outside.

Loved the atmosphere and the pappardelle was AMAZING 10/10. Would return for just this dish.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Authentic and delicious Italian food in a cozy Little Italy setting. The gnocchi is fantastic, like little fluffy pillows

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had the pasta with crab and pancetta. Really good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good Italian restaurant.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Clean flow and natural pace made the visit feel complete.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great hidden gem with delicious authentic food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very noisy restaurant, food was ok but a little expensive for the portion and quality. Good and attentive wait staff. Not much on decor, didn't have the Italian flare!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

Authentic and delicious Italian food in a cozy Little Italy setting. The gnocchi is fantastic, like little fluffy pillows

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Calamari is among top3 in bay area!

Food: 5