Review Paesano Ristorante Italiano - San Jose

One of the best Italian restaurants in the Bay area. Everything is great. Favorite appetizers include the mussels, the mozzarella in marinara, and the Calamari. Some of our favorite mains were the pesto gnocchi (so soft!!), and honestly any of the pastas. Some of the creamy pastas they make with a tasty bourbon sauce, which is amazing, but really any dish will blow you away. 10/10, would definitely go again!

The food is delicious and the service is even better. My wife and I ordered a salad, pasta, and a main course. They offered to serve our order as a 3 course meal which we loved. The service was very fast and they made sure to check on us during our meal. Ask to see the dessert tray!

I've dined here before for my birthday and thought this place was amazing! So, I made reservations here for my parent's anniversary. They absolutely loved the food. Staff was super friendly and incredibly kind and helpful in coordinating with me about paying for their dinner. Dad loved the seafood plate. Practically licked it clean! Would be coming back for sure!

This might be the best gnocchi I have EVER eaten. The most melty pillowy potato puffs. We sat on the patio which was made extra cozy by greenery and heaters. Service was immaculate. Will hopefully be able to return next time I am in the area for work. Thank you!

The vibe of the place is amazing for a date night. The service is great, everyone was soo welcoming! We enjoyed the burrata with figs, Gnocchi alla genovese , Penne santa rosalia and chocolate hazelnut cake for desert. Highly recommend - Gnocchi alla genovese 5/5 star and, Chocolate Hazelnut cake - 5/5 star. Penne Santa rosalia was also our favorite the sauce was soo different and creamy and delicious! Definitely would love to visit again!

Amazing Italian food!! 😍 highly recommend the vegetarian gnocchi and the santa rosalina! We avoid got the bruschetta and fried mozarella appetizer which were good. Cozy place, would recommend reservation. Server was super polite, food came very quickly even though the restaurant was full. Highly recommend!

The food was good, service was great and atmosphere was good. Our waiter was super attentive which I really appreciated. The food was good, but I feel like it could have been better for the price? The friend mozzarella on marinara sauces was delicious though.

First time here! My roommate ordered Spaghetti Tutto Mare and I got Spaghetti Porticello. We also got Calamari, Carpaccio, & Tortellini in Brodo as appetizers and soup. We loved all the dishes as it wasn’t heavy on the sauce. The appetizers were on point too. 100% will come back again!

Good solid Italian food. The fettuccine is a must. Sit outside because inside is really loud. The acoustics are not great inside, but the porch is nice. Nice wine selection. Thank you

I really enjoyed visiting here! The service was good, and even though it was in a small house, it didn’t feel crowded. As far as I can tell, everything was made in house even down to the mozzarella sticks. They are definitely not those reheated microwave kinds, they’re bigger and really good. I will say it’s a little pricey, but if you know that it’s going to be amazing and very high quality, then it isn’t a problem. Lasagna came right out of the oven piping hot, and the Spaghetti Porticello was so good! The Black Forest cake was the best I’ve ever had. Wish it had a few more cherries, but still the best.

Loved the pasta here and will definitely come back again! I’ve been to this restaurant twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. I would definitely recommend to make a reservation for dinner time. The parking nearby is limited but not impossible to find. For the food, we ordered a few pasta dishes: 1) Pappardelle Alexandra (10/10). This is the broad ribbon pasta with crab meat. This dish is unique, full of flavors from the crab, you can taste the chewy noodles that are hand-made. Everything about this dish was wonderful and we ate every last bite of it! 2) Penne Santa Rosalia (9/10). This is the eggplant penne dish. The sauce had a strong tomato + ricotta cheese taste. Typically the ricotta cheese creates a heavy taste, but the tomato sauce balances it out perfectly. The eggplant was crisp on the outside and soft in the inside. We really enjoyed this dish too! 3) Gnocchi Alla Genovese (5/10). This dish was not quite what we expected for gnocchi. The dumplings were not chewy and had an extremely soft texture due to the fact that they were made from potatoes. We ended up returning the dish and chose something else. The waiter was very nice and helped us return this dish. 4) Lasagna Rustica (7/10). On the first bite, this dish was full of great flavors; the sausage and fennel seeds (I think) really stands out. However after eating half of it, the taste got a bit boring.

This quaint little Italian restaurant packs a big punch. Located near downtown San Jose California at the entrance of Little Italy. Coming from Southern Italy is a region called Calabria well known for their amazing little red chilies. I had the lasagna that was prepared way different from other regions in Italy. The sauce was more of a light puree, the filling was a mushroom and Italian sausage layered with their homemade pasta. Let me tell you, I don't think lasagna ever melted in my mouth quite like this one! You have to experience it for yourself. My husband had their daily special that was the Orecchiette pasta with a sauce made with Calabrian chili and their Italian sausage dripping (not sure how else to explain that, but Wow was it amazing! My daughter had the veal parmesean with roasted potatoes and veggies and it too was amazing! I recommend making a reservation to ensure you have a seat. Paesano's is a must try if you are in or visiting San Jose. Wait, I can't forget to mention the staff. We lacked nothing while we were there. They were on top of our drinks and making sure our visit was perfect. Thank you for such a wonderful experience. I have to mention one thing that was a little bothersome though, it is very loud in there and making it hard to have a conversation, however there was a large party which could have been the culprit otherwise perfect in every way!

A local-favorite Italian restaurant in San Jose! I came here to celebrate a birthday and decided to try a good variety of dishes on their menu. The staff are so friendly and gave us great recommendations! I recommend the Tortellini Capricciosi if you'd like a simple pasta dish that anyone would like. Meat-stuffed crescent pasta that is perfectly cooked. The cream sauce is standard. The asparagus was sort of random for this dish, but I enjoyed it regardless. For appetizers, the Fried Calamari is the way to go! Dessert-wise, the Limoncello Cake is delicious and surprisingly very filling. I have never been so full after an Italian meal. The food coma was real! Some downsides... Parking is a pain! Good luck finding street parking. It's $1 per hour for the meters. The menu is a bit on the expensive side, but comparable to other Italian restaurants in the area. The interior is cozy, but also a bit cramped inside. Noise travels very easy and it can be difficult to have conversations.

Very good food and service. Pasta was super good. May be a little pricey but worth it