Paisan's Italian Restaurant

Good portions of food. Great service. Cannoli was cold and hard. Penne rustica was very tasty and full of veggies. Definitely two meals in one. Bar area in the back but not noisy. Comfy booths.

Cozy little neighborhood Italian restaurant with full service wine and spirits bar.

The menu has all of your expected appetizers, soups, and salads.

In house freshly baked hot bread with olive oil and spices came out first.

The fresh greens and tomatoes Mediterranean style house salad came out next.

Veal parmigiana with spaghetti was done nicely with a rich tomato sauce and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano added on top at the table side.

The shrimp scampi with lemon, garlic, butter sauce was sauteed well.

We received a complimentary cannoli for dessert.

Recommend and we will definitely come back.

It's only been open a week, but from the number of people I've seen carrying out food, I decided Paisan's must have something going for it.

The menu is a manageable one. It's two pages with the usual appetizers, salads and then a page of entrees. It's the same menu for lunch or dinner. The wine list is pretty small, but it has a nice variety of reasonably priced choices.

I stopped by late on a Saturday afternoon and there were only a handful of people already seated. The hostess, who also happened to work as the bartender, was quick to greet.

Because it was late afternoon and I was tired, I opted for panino rather than a full meal. One of the choices was a classic caprese with the mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil. (It was a tossup between panino and the piccata.) Since I happen to like caprese as an appetizer and make it at home, this was the good choice. And as a panini, it was nearly ideal : An Italian grilled cheese sandwich. It was warm and crispy on the outside. The basil was fresh and in just the right proportion. It came with home-made chips that arrived hot and crispy and very lightly salted. Even though I was full, the waitress convinced me to try a dessert as well and her recommendation of the cannoli was a good one. Its presentation made it almost too pretty to eat.

During my lunch, one of the owners stopped by the table to make sure everything was okay. The waitress was very forthcoming with information, and shared that the owners have three pizza places in the Raleigh area and this is their first venture into the restaurant scene. That pretty much explained the name that showed up on the door during construction before it became Paisan's. In even more information sharing, I learned the focus of the owners is to keep things small to make it easier to ensure everything is home-made. Their chef shares that view.

Paisan's is still finding its rhythm, but it's off to a great start.

I live in NYC and ordered dinner for a friend of mine in the Raleigh area who has been having a rough time lately. I don't know how it tastes, but the pics sure look good! I feel like I can smell it through the phone! And delivered in less than an hour. I give this place an A+!!

First off its important to know that they are now open on Mondays, Not sure when his changed but I saw it on the door today.

They have alot of specials that sounded awesome and they are a small italian place tucked away in a strip mall thats easy to miss.

We got the clams casino and veal saltimboca. The veal dish was enormous and more then enough for two people so id recommend splitting that which was also recommended by the waitress.

I cant recommend the clams casino, they werent even what i would call clams casino as they werent baked and just steamed clams with some cheese and vegetables on top.

The veal was ok although the dish seemed a bit boozy like they added too much wine and didnt cook it off.

Our waitress was really awesome though and im definitely inclined to go back and try some other stuff on their menu.

If you are looking for quiet and professional, this isnt the place. I was there early so not many people were there yet. The staff was loud in the back. If you are looking for cute with very frienly staff, this fits it. Don, the owner, is a great guy and the server acted like we were old friends.
The food was average. Im not sure ill have the spinach ravioli topped with chicken marsala again, but turns out im not huge on marsala.
Ill go back again for the friendly company, if nothing else. And definitely recommend it.

I wish I could give more than 2 stars, because I really liked the food. In fact, the food is the only reason Paisan's isn't getting a one star review. I got the vegetable lasagna. The marinara sauce was fantastic, the portions are huge and everything tasted fresh. My compliments to the chef! :)

If only the service was as good as the food! I was there with a large group. We had a reservation, so they knew we were coming. We had about 18 people. The first mistake was having just one server for a group that large. There was another server trying to help out, but our main server, Sean, didn't seem to want her help. He snapped at her when she brought someone a cup of ice, saying that HE was just going to get it. He really needed to chill out! He generally had a bad attitude the whole time. Large groups can be difficult, so I get it, but in a customer-facing role, you shouldn't let that show. The meals came out staggered, so I was practically done with my meal by the time others were just getting theirs.

At the end of the meal, a few people in our group ordered coffees and I guess he brought an extra decaf. After asking around, he just slammed it down in front of me, like it was somehow my fault he brought an extra (Note: I didn't order coffee).

I was going to hold off on leaving a review until I gave them another chance, but I was chatting with grandmother today. She lives nearby and had gone to the restaurant the night before with another relative. She told me she had the same server, with the same attitude. She also noted that the service was slow. The food took a while to come out for our group, but I just assumed it was because we were a large group. My grandmother was there with just one other person! Any restaurant that makes my grandmother unhappy doesn't really deserve another chance, so it's doubtful I will go back, despite the great food.

Wow, I ate here the first time tonight and really like this place. Wife and I started with a Mediterranean Wedge salad. It was as beautiful as it was delicious, with a dressing that was killer good. The ingredients were as fresh as if they had grown it out back, and you should have seen the care they took with the preparation; everything sliced and prepared beautifully.

We had a dish I had never seen done before, large spinach ravolis with chicken on top in a pesto sauce. The flavor was incredible! My wife and I split this and it was enough for both of us. My son had a cheese pizza and said it was really good as well.

The service was remarkable. The server was great at describing the specials and answering our questions. We took up a lot of his time but he didn't seem rushed or annoyed at all. He was very pleasant, professional but not at all stuffy. More like a really good bartender. The owner was well engaged and spent a lot of time in the dining room, visiting the tables, making sure his guests were well taken care of. They treated us like we were guests in their home.

Decor is nice, and the bar area is very friendly and inviting. Lots of nice little touches, like wrought iron accents.

This is a great place for when you want to take a date to a place that's nice, friendly, but not expensive, formal nor stuffy. I'll be back, for sure.

I really liked this restaurant, even though it's in a strip mall, I feel like I'm in Italy! It's small, cozy, and quiet. Perfect place for a date, or a family dinner. I really liked the food, with the exception of the bolognese sauce I chose. It had some kind of smoked meat in it which was a bit overpowering. But my wife got the calamari, it was a huge portion and tasted better than any I've ever had! We'll definitely be back!

As we are hungry most of the time, Brett R. and I decided to get some eats at Paisan's to try something new in Cary. They have a good location next to the Kroger on Maynard (at Maynard Crossing Shopping Center), so I'm sure they get their fair share of traffic. Walking in, the décor is nice and inviting, done well for the location and setting. They have a fair sized full bar in back and a good amount of seating including large tables for groups.

Going over the menu and in the mood for an appetizer, I was a bit disappointed that nothing really stood out for me. Half of the apps list is seafood based, with a large amount of that being clams of some varied preparation (not a big seafood person here). So I decided on their main soup, the Pasta Fagioli and a Caesar salad instead. The soup was good stuff, thick enough to be filling and great taste as well. It was definitely the highlight of my meal. The Caesar salad however was pretty lackluster and generic, disappointing for 6 bucks to be honest.

Looking to get away from the usual Chicken Marsala I find myself getting most of the time at various places, I decided on their Italian Meatloaf for my entrée. I love meat and cheese, so it was a no-brainer. It had fairly good taste and was not dry, but it wasn't a big portion or slice. I know I have a larger appetite than most, but I feel even the average of appetites would have appreciated a bit more of a serving size. The potatoes that accompanied it were bland, but the Italian Meatloaf taste itself was good.

Bottom line: Looking at my experience at Paisan's as a whole, I'll give it a 3 star A-OK for this visit. The high point was the Pasta Fagioli soup. Good taste with the Italian Meatloaf but a larger portion would have hit the spot. Would I go back, or will I go back? Probably sometime in the future.