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Palio Paninoteca
Rating Details »
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset500 Parnassus Avenue
(between 3rd Ave & Arguello Blvd)
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 681-9925
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- None
19 reviews for Palio Paninoteca
A decent place to grab a morning coffee.
If you need a morning coffee.
And you're at UCSF.
And you don't want to go to Starbucks.
Don't expect wonders.
But hey, you've got your coffee.
And you're at UCSF.
Uh, in the hullaballoo (sp?) of UCSF lunch, Palio staff burned my panini. I ate it anyways and now I'm paranoid because...burned toast can cause cancer! Article by National Cancer Institute:http://www.cancer.gov/.... Duh why didn't I hesitate *before* eating it? I wonder if there's a way to undo it / eat something else to counter the little effect this panini will have on my ovaries...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
11/3/2009
Solid for coffee, morning pastries, gelato classico (about 10 different flavors) and paninis (many… Read more »
I liked the fact that they had a good and fresh selection of vegetarian and/or healthy paninis. I ordered 1/2 a Don Bosco, that's portobello, spinach, & cheese pressed on two thinly sliced crisp & crunchy pieces of bread. It was yummy! But, really... the size was more like a snack.
I also liked the fact they offered Dark Chocolate ice cream (gelato). Very yummy for a super HOT day!
However... I must agree... a bit pricey to incorporate as an everyday thing...
This is the tastiest food option at UCSF, but factoring in value for your dollar, I still like Bellini better. Here at Palio you can get froofy panini sandwiches that are good but not great. And they're not open on weekends.
Don't go there for the food or service, go there for the VIEWS.
$2.40 affords you a single foamy nonfat latte. Service is slow and blah blah. But a coffee from BearSnacks is sometimes Not Enough for Me.
On any (non rainy) afternoon, sit out on the patio and enjoy views of:
1. Golden Gate Park
2. The Golden Gate Bridge
3. The DeYoung Tower
4. Downtown Skyline
5. Marin
6. THE PARKING FIASCO which is level H of the UCSF Parking garage.
We sat there for a whopping 15 minutes and witnessed the most HILARIOUS attempts at squeezing into parking spots (a bird's eye view, I might add) I have seen in many many moons.
Oh, Ms. Honda Station Wagon- NO, you prolly don't want to... wait. omg you almost hit that car.... oh my... backing up now? ok... you do see that *BUMP* car next to you *BUMP* and behind you *BUMP* .... OMG do you even notice that we are laughing at this entire situation?
And O Look, Mr. Mercedes-Benz convertible... WHAT? You are going to try to put *that* WHERE??? NO NO, that won't work, you see, it says in nice white letters "COMPACT CAR ONLY".... oh, nevermind that there are five cars waiting behind you now as you attempt to squeeze into that spot that looks like a even a Scion xA would have a hard time getting into..
There are SIX other parking levels in that structure, B through G.
Feel free to try your luck there if you are a parking novice (or if you have a car larger than a Toyota Camry.)
HOLD ON, no. Scratch that. Keep trying Level H.
It keeps me entertained.
The cookies and brownies are decent.
The "real food," however, sound better and fancier than they taste. I got half a Tanaro Panini for $4. It was a VERY skimpy sandwich, consisting of thin slices of smoked salmon and 2 tiny vegetables between very ordinary tasting bread. The 2 pieces of vegetables weren't fresh.
I'm sticking with Segafredo and Subway...they're tastier, fresher, and way more filling.
Decent salads, but pricey.
I have to say, though, what is up with the quality of UCSF food? these people are SAVING LIVES (or at least learning how to) ... they need better food! and cheaper! do you have any idea what it costs to attend a UC professional school these days?!
Love the polenta with pesto, though they raised the prices too drastically. A plain polenta with parmegian cheese ($3.75) will cost $4.75 if you ask them to add one tablespoon of flavor (choice of: pesto, bleu cheese, bolognese meat sauce). I love the iced green tea and their (Mr. Espresso) cawfee! They began serving gellato last fall, but are overpriced as well.
Good food, but pricey.
Food is very pricey, but I would have to say that their smoked salmon sandwich (TANARO) is REALLY good! Ask them to toast it. Trust me, half of the sandwich is not enough! ($6.95 for the whole sandwich)
Their assortment of cookies is also great.
So...a sandwich, a salad, a cookie, a drink....you'll definitely be paying more than $10. -- if you don't have more than $10...head downstairs to Subway or the ATM! haha
http://www.paliopanino...
Even though Palio is totally overpriced, I can't seem to stop going there for lunch. I get the same thing everytime: small/normale soup of the day (usually a pureed vegetable soup of some sort. Yesterday was asparagus something, and let me tell you, it was delicious!), and the Mediterranean salad, normale size. Total comes to $8.30.
I wouldn't give the place five stars, but it deserves 3 for it's dependability. Plus, the staff humors me by letting me try the soup before ordering it.
I ordered the chicken salad - which was overpriced - $11 - for something that is sustainable for only for a couple of hours. (also, it costs $2.50 extra to add chicken) For some reason, I didn't like the texture and the dryness of the salad (though it wasn't altogether not fresh). The salad was enhanced by the combined flavors of feta cheese, olives, and balsalmic dressing. The gelato is fantastic- I always get fresca (strawberry) and creme brulee and the view out on the patio is worth experiencing.
Stupid UCSF. Why is it only for med students? This is the sweetest possible location for a college campus. Proximity to Inner Sunset, the Haight, GGP...and of course the views. Case in point: the deck at Palio. As Mia K points out, you can see all the way from Seacliff to downtown, with the parking lot circus in the foreground. If only Caltech had been on this spot...
Perhaps that's why I've poked around here so much (update: that and the fact that I now live 1 block away), and discovered Saunders Court, Medical Center Way, and the labyrinth of trails atop Mt Sutro. But I doubt very many others have voluntarily traveled to UCSF just to eat. After all, who wants to deal with the parking situation around here just to get an overpriced panini? ($7 for a full sandwich, and even that is barely filling). On the other hand, if you *are* stuck here, you don't have a lot of other choices (unless, of course, you're a Panda Express fan).
As for the food, I've had various paninis and they've all been respectable (though never as hot as they should be). The Mr Espresso coffee is definitely worth getting as well.
The paninis are good, but be sure to tell them to cook them thoroughly. Very basic gut-grenade breakfast pastries. They just added a gelato classico freezer; great idea.... some of the best pistachio ice cream anywhere. Service is super-slow; you can forget about going there during lunch time. They don't have a good system to take orders quickly, so you wind up waiting forever.... not worth it.
the food is pricy and somewhat bland...
the coffee is lukewarm at best...
who cares! the view is ridiculous!!! just sitting out in the patio area is possibly the most amazing coffee shop view in san francisco.
if u don't go to ucsf, it may be hard to find...usually a resident/doc hangout and not open late, but great for early morning study or quick coffee break.
I only had an espresso here, never any food. The espresso is simply very good. The aroma is delicious, strong but not too bitter, it reminds me of my travels in Italy. They can serve it in a ceramic cup; espresso in a paper cup just doesn't do it for me. And the price was very reasonable, cheaper than the coffee stand outside of 400 parnassus.
This place is one of the few locations to get fresh food on campus. Although the salads are fresh, they are overpriced. The best fault of this place are the workers that seem to NEVER smile and or understand their customers orders.
I get my breakfast here every morning.. I eat so much of it, sometimes my stomach gets tired of it.. but, I always get the chocolate chip muffin and my mouth melts when I eat it.. It might be a little too sweet for some people in the morning, but being a chocolate tiger, this is to die for.. even though I just got up half an hour ago..
Their lunches are pretty good.. sandwiches are ok.. pricey tho...
Good place for coffee and sandwiches only while at UCSF Hospital. The menu is quite extensive and the view of San Francisco from the dining room is good.
WAY over priced, but the food is wonderful. This is why I only give three starts. Love the Mocha Latte gilato. I need to get used to these S.F. prices....I was spoiled living in Phoenix.
