Paesano

Had the stuffed bell peppers and a medium pizza. The stuffed bell peppers were watery and not that great. The pizza was decent and the people are nice! Not a fancy type of place but comfortable.

I’ve enjoyed the traditional Italian food here for more than a decade. Nothing too fancy. I usually get lasagna or meatballs & peppers. The house Chianti is served in a large wine glass, possibly 8 ounces worth. The décor hasn’t been changed since, well, I won’t even guess. The service is prompt and courteous, whether you’re dining in or taking out.

I love a good mom and pop restaurant and this was just that.
Down the street, a bit of a ways into North Park, you will find this little gem that you could easily drive past without noticing. You really should park and go here though.
Small, quaint, and a good reminder to support your local businesses because more often than not, they’re SO much better than a chain. My group of 5 sat right in the front and started with a pitcher of local beer. The menu was full of items I loved from pizza, to bruschetta, and pasta. We started off with the bruschetta. Flavorful and crispy. It came with 5 pieces so one for each of us. One couple ordered a pizza, one person ordered a personal pizza, another chicken and pasta, and penne for me. Check the photos. There were virtually no leftovers because it was so good. Hot. Oven baked. Made with TLC. I loved my experience and hope that more people check this place out. Thanks to my best friend Laura and her husband Oscar, I’ve found another sweet place when I’m in San Diego.

This place is what it is, which is a cheap mom n pop Italian place. There is way better Italian in SD, but if you want cheap and fast Italian at a good price, it’s not a bad choice. I got one of their pizza specials with an Italian sausage and arugula, which I thought was pretty good. Had their gnocchi too, not the best but it was decent, and also some of their garlic bread. Decent place, and i’d eat here again.

Let me be clear, to go to Paesano’s when I want a quiet resturant with a good ambiance and ok food. The food is a B. The staff is very friendly and sometimes I am willing to trade the food for the atmosphere.
The one thing all the food is missing is salt– would give everything more flavor.
The desserts (I’ve only had the nutella cheesecake and the triamisu) weren’t the best either.
However, their Ceasar salad is great.

We found this place on our first night in North Park; just a couple blocks walk from our carriage house. The food was very good (veggie pizza and sausage and peppers) and reasonably priced. The ambiance leaves something to be desired as it is dark, oddly decorated, and a bit depressing. There was also a weird smell in the place, but it didn’t persist for long. The staff was pleasant and responsive, but I would recommend ordering takeout and eating in a happier environment.

I came on a Monday. 1pm. Wasn’t busy which I liked. The service was great and my food came out in a timely manner. I was out by 2pm. The food, though it seemed fresh, just kinda lacked flavor. It didn’t taste bad or anything. I had the stuffed bell peppers and lasagna.

Value, value, value!
The easiest way to describe Paesano’s is a mom and pop version of Olive Garden. $ 7 plates of pasta, $ 15 large pizzas.
All sauces are homemade: pesto, alfredo, meat, marinara, caesar dressing.
The food is a solid B. Nothing mind blowing, but it doesn’t disappoint.
HIghly recommended.

Food was very very good. Keeva??? was our waitress. Excellent service. Spinach salad was a good hit for our veggie lovers. My ‘Works’ pizza needed some more mozz cheese but very flavorful. I think everyone at our table was happy. Spaghetti with meat sauce boy devoured his platter. We’ll be back. Packed house on a Saturday night.

I love going here! 3 people & the bill was all of $ 65 — we left stuffed with leftovers.
All of us ordered the dinner which includes salad and bread. We are stuck on the half and half where you pick your choice of pastas /​lasagna. + wine was drank by all.
See again next month!

«We have known each other many years, but this is the first time you’ve come to me for counsel or for help. I can’t remember the last time you invited me to your house for a cup of coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let’s be frank here. You never wanted my friendship. And you feared to be in my debt… I understand. You found paradise in America. You had a good trade, you made a good living. The police protected you and there were courts of law. So you didn’t need a friend like me. Now you come and say „Don Corleone, give me justice.“ But you don’t ask with respect. You don’t offer friendship. You don’t even think to call me „Godfather.“ You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you ask me to do murder — for money.» — Don Corleone, The Godfather 1972
Paesano, since 1967, is a real old school Italian restaurant… traditional Italian dishes and pizza, no fancy schmancy modern experimental dishes… go to Little Italy if thats what you’re looking for… but this was the perfect place for the Bromance date I was on.
$ 5 House wine glass… they do an 8oz pour, not a wimpy stingy 5oz pour like they do in Little Italy
$ 17 large «The Works» pizza: Bell Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Pepperoni & Sausages… they allowed me to sub the Onions for the Capicolla ham, which is really made the pizza tasty, and its really enough for 3 – 4 people. Its not fancy, but solid and filling.
$ 10 medium White Pizza — Fresh garlic, olive oil & mozzarella cheese… pretty good, not my sort of thing. Bromance Date ordered this and said it was good, but he’s had better.
$ 7.50 half order of meat Ravioli… delicious!
«Leave the gun, take the canoli»…indeed…Bromance date and I had lots of leftovers to take home to our ladies.

The food we ordered was awful on every level. We ordered over the phone for pick up. I ordered a full order of spaghetti with marinara sauce, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and it comes with a side of garlic bread. What I got was watery spaghetti with meat sauce, a salad with ranch, and burnt bread (no garlic).
We ordered pizza bread which was also burnt and really just a waste of money.
My husband said his ravioli was good but really not worth the price.
Overall, this place was a real let down. I’m surprised the rating is so high. Maybe tonight was an off night but since everything was pretty horrible I doubt we’ll be back and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it, unless I seriously disliked someone.

This will be quick and painless, came here with the family for some good ol’ Italian. Upon arrival we were greeted & seated pretty quickly.
It was the evening & the restaurant started filling up rather quickly. With what seemed as only one server on duty it took quite a bit to get drink orders & food.
What was ordered:
Chicken Piccota
Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Parmigiana
Pizza Paesano
All the food. And all means all. Needed one key ingredient. Salt. Marinara sauce did not have any flavor & seeing as most of the dishes that were ordered had marinara sauce it was clear they would all be bland on that end. The chicken piccata was way too oily. The chicken was soggy and the lemon was overpowering. The pizza had potential, but again, without a good sauce you can’t have a good Pizza.
Chef Ramsey, I wish you were here. I can only imagine.
I always hope to support mom & pop shops but unfortunately Olive Garden takes the crown on this one

The pizza is the bomb! Love the homemade crust! Definitely recommend this place!
We had a Living Social deal (which they were totally cool with:)) The service was great and our waitress was so nice! It’s such a cozy and home-​y atmosphere!
We will definitely come back here again! :)

Went here recently, I ordered the lasagna and stuffed shells (dinner special) in both full dinner so it came with a soup. First off, the stuffed shells were very delicious, no complaints there. The lasagna on the other hand was a bit dry. The first bites were great, but as you get to mid point and the sauce is really less it just becomes bland. As for the two soups which were minestrone, they were a good start to the meal.
Finally, the desert. We ordered a new york cheese cake, but it was awful. Took a bite and tasted as if it was straight out of the freezer. It wasnt just the top layer or side layers either. So it mightve been just a week old or something. We contacted the waitress and told her the taste was off and she let us order some other desert. So we got the cherry amaretto which was a lot better.
Service was nice, but we were still a bit unhappy. Especially after it came to the check. For some reason they over charged us with something like 20%+ tax. We didnt want to deal with asking them again so we just payed it. Watch out!

I’ve been going to this North Park Landmark since the 80’s. Back when My grandfather Roy, brought us in to enjoy Authentic Italian food made by his friend and Owner. I’ve been away from San Diego for over 15yrs. I even went to eat a large Spaghetti with meatballs, my favorite, since my childhood, on my R&R during my tour of duty in Afghanistan.
This family owned establishment will always be a place to enjoy with my family in the coming years and beyond.

I have no earthly idea how this place has 4 stars. Maybe we just caught them on an off night or something. In one word, the experience was lurid.
It started off with at least a 20 minute wait before a server even approached our table. I’m like what is going on here? This isn’t college where you give the professor 15 minutes grace, Dr’s get 20 mins grace, etc. Which always made me wonder do Friars that teach classes get more or less time than Professors and Dr’s? Anyway, they were usually prompt so it didn’t matter but nevertheless was troubling in concept alone.
I digress — at any point where i’m waiting for 20 minutes to get waited on, I have a feeling that the experience is going to be Butt Illustrated, and this was no exception.
The first thing that you’ll notice on the dinner menu is that these prices are not low. I would range them between medium to high — about $ 13 – 15 for a small pizza. Definitely understandable if you’re at URBN or some place where the ingredients are all fresh. At this dump, all they did was open cans of food and dump them on the pies, so it couldn’t have cost them that much to do that. If those were fresh ingredients, then i’d be shocked. The food just tasted low end and we definitely were suffering the consequences the next day from this low-​grade experience.
I have to give credit where it’s due though. The vibe in the restaurant was pretty legit. People were laughing and having a good time and there was a nice buzz about the place.
At the end of the day, there are so many places in a short radius that are such better options — URBN, Lefty’s and Pizzeria Luigi to name a few. Try those and pass on Paesano unless you have an iron stomach or a burning desire to recreate an episode of Fear Factor.

Old school Italian restaurant on the outskirts of North Park. I came here because they were offering a $ 15.00 living social coupon for $ 30.00 worth of food. I’m a sucker for coupons.
This restaurant isn’t your typical Italian datey restaurant. It’s got a very nice family appeal and «old school» feel. They don’t have alot of fancy choices on their menu and I’m pretty sure I didn’t see any seafood either. Pretty simple with pizza, salads, and pasta.
We started off with the stuffed bell peppers for $ 8.00. I do have to admit this was a little steep in price for one bell pepper. It was stuffed with rice and italian sausage but the highlight of this dish was the marinara sauce which was so flavorful tasting I found myself almost licking the plate. I don’t know how to describe it, but just go and try it!
Large Paesano pizza for $ 17.00. Chicken, pesto, and artichoke. The crust is made fresh there and the pizzas are made to order. The crust wasn’t oily, had a chewy texture and just enough wood fired taste. Good amount of toppings. I had actually thought it was a pesto based sauce but instead it was marinara with dollops of pesto on top. Note: their pizzas have tone of cheese on them too.
Sausage and peppers pasta: $ 14.00. Came with either a side salad or soup. We got the minestrone which was filled with veggies.
I’m not sure if I could order this pasta again. It came with a very generous portion but it was almost like eating a the filling of a philly cheese steak on top of spaghetti. Don’t get me wrong the flavor was great but there was so much sausage and bell pepper to pasta ratio.
Service: It seemed like everyone who came through the door knew the owner who kindly greeted everyone. They also had some organic tangerines for people to take.
Come back again? For sure! Just bought another living social coupon

Great old school, family-​owned feeling to this place.
The white pizza is amazing — get it. I also dig the meatballs and peppers, eggplant parm and gnocchi.
Give it a go.

My 1^st update was my 1^st review.
1^st time eating lunch here even though I have been coming here since before I could eat solid food.
$ 4.99 Lunch Specials:
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Cheese Manicotti
Lasagna (vegetable or cheese)
Ravioli
Includes soup or salad and garlic bread
1^st I had the caprese ($ 9) and ordered the cheese manicotti with alfredo (+$ 1). The caprese has a great aged balsamic, fresh chopped basil, and plump red tomato. Next was a small green salad with the house italian (simply olive oil and red wine vinegar). The manicotti came out sizzling in a ceramic oven dish. The manicotti was tender and the ricotta added a touch of sweetness to the buttery alfredo goodness it was lying in.
Satisfied with my belly warm, and my pockets still full too.
Choose Old School Italian 1^st :0D