GREAT EATS HAWAII: PAESANO RISTORANTE ITALIANO

Monday, April 14, 2014

PAESANO RISTORANTE ITALIANO - MANOA

PAESANO RISTORANTE ITALIANO

HONOLULU, HAWAII

PAESANO RISTORANTE ITALIANO

MANOA MARKETPLACE

2752 WOODLAWN DRIVE

HONOLULU, HI 96822

808-988-5923

HOURS: Monday thru Friday 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM (LUNCH)

Monday thru Sunday 5:00 PM - 9: 00 PM (DINNER)

RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED

www.paesanohawaii.com/home

Paesano in Manoa has been around for over 20 years and I have been eating here for all twenty. There are not many restaurants in Hawaii I can say that about. I can also say that in twenty years, I have never had a bad meal here. In fact Paesano is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Hawaii. For some reason our visits here have declined over the years and I don't know why. After eating here the other night, I realized that we need to come back here more often and bring friends and family when they are in town. My memories of Paesano run deep. Back in the day some of my favorite waitresses worked here. We used to come for dinner and stay until they kicked us out. One was Maile who opened her own restaurant called Maile's Thai Bistro in Hawaii Kai. Maile and the other gals at Paesano made us feel like family and we came back time and time again. Going back now we don't know any of the staff but service is always consistently good. When you arrive at Paesano you will be given a nice loaf of freshly baked bread with butter. The bread at our table disappeared rather quickly. It is delicious. We always begin our meal with the Cold Antipasto Salad ($10.90). In the past this was served with crisp Romaine Lettuce. They now use a mixture of Romaine and that purple crap that is bitter. I hate the purple lettuce and wish they would not use it. The rest of the salad is delicious. Love the pickled carrots, bell pepper and celery. That alone makes a great salad. Then you add the salami, cheese and anchovies along with a great vinaigrette and you have one of my favorite salads in Hawaii. My daughter ordered the Lasagna with Meat Sauce ($21.90). This is a large portion of Lasagna that she almost put away all by herself. She loved the Lasagna. The Veal and Shrimp Coriander ($29.90) was served with Pasta. My wife asked for half pasta and half vegetables and the waiter quickly said "yes" for an additional $1.00. The Shrimp were moist and full of flavor. My wife loved the dish. I enjoyed the Veal Scallopini ala Marsala ($20.90 Small Portion). The "small" portion was huge and I only managed to eat half. The Veal was cooked to perfection and the dish was full of Marsala flavor. The first few bites seemed a bit too salty but after getting into the pasta, mushrooms and sauce it all came together well. Loved it. The family shared the Chocolate Bomb for dessert. Vanilla Ice Cream covered in chocolate. Whats not to like about this. I could eat a dozen of these chocolate balls. They are awesome. Still love Paesano in Manoa. They have been doing it right for twenty years and I hope to be eating here for another twenty!

TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE!