Paisano's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Albuquerque

On its face, there was nothing about this quaint hole in the wall to indicate that it was not a family-friendly establishment. However, in hindsight, the signs were there from the beginning

Upon our initial arrival, much ado was made about the size of our BIG party-- 3 adults, a tween, a four year old and a 1 year old. Six people is a lot for a half empty restaurant to handle, I understand. It was after all a Friday night.

We get sat in poorly lit Siberia, a small little room in the back by the kitchen and are then informed that we cannot use one half of our table because hot food will be coming down the narrow walkway throughout the night and it is a hazard. So we all cram together against the one side of the table. Cozy. Hindsight leads me to believe this was punishment for daring to bring children to this bastion of childfree dining.

Now the server had the overly boisterous manner of someone who is putting on a show of exaggerated charm to conceal his contempt for a customer he would rather not wait upon. I didn't catch on to this until I asked him for a kid's menu, and he gleefully informed me that they Absolutely Did NOT have a kid's menu as they Do NOT cater to children. At this point, it was made abundantly clear we had made a major faux pas bringing our kids to this adults only establishment.

So on to the food-- Another reason to not bring your kids is that you will wait an hour and a half for your entree after you arrive. Other customers sat long after you will be packing up to go boxes before you have been served. Which will be your fault as you ordered the pizza and pizza takes 20 minutes to make... there's a complicated restaurant math formula there, I get it, kitchen's get backed up. But hey-- I'm just putting this part in as a warning that this is not a place you want to bring your small kids because they will have a really hard time making it that long. We all held on by the skin of our teeth as I had snacks, Ms. Rachel, and a bunch of toys at my disposal. Also bring sweatshirts and blankets because Siberia? It's freezing under the AC.

I had been looking forward to finding a solid, dependable gluten-free dining experience as there are so few places you can trust when you are someone who gets sick via cross contamination. Unfortunately, I must cross this place off of my list as a mother of three because I simply do not often have the luxury of dining without them.

I am writing this to those of you with small children who may make a similar mistake in thinking this place is a suitable option for you. I would like to spare you the exceedingly uncomfortable experience I had. I'm sure they will not miss our business as our children are merely excess people who take up the space that could be used by those who are buying bottles of wine and their very own $35 plates of lasagna. I hope that the proprietors of this restaurant can find a way to make it more clear that they are not a family-friendly establishment before others like me waste our...

Minestrone soup was fabulous! Best we have had in years. Bread was wonderful. Atmosphere and most of the staff was exceptional. Husband ordered the meat and cheese lasagna and I the chicken alfredo. We both wanted the smaller portion meals. I clearly thought that I pointed that out on the menu when we ordered. Again, let me point out that the minestrone was wonderful. Husband's lasagna was okay and didn't seem like it was the "large" portion although the sauce it was swimming in was more than ample. The chicken alfredo was all globbed together, much like a baked spaghetti or baked ziti. Separating the pasta strands from one another was difficult. It was one big clump of pasta. The alfredo sauce was not creamy at all. Of the 3 to 4 bites that I consumed the pasta was fresh, but had no flavor. The chicken was good but was the only thing I consumed. The only flavor was the cheese on top and that wasn't the flavor I was seeking. Shared this info with waitress and she offered more sauce or something else. I declined both offers. More sauce wouldn't unclump the glob. I didn't see anything else on the menu that I wanted to wait on, after all I wanted to eat at the same time as my husband. I appreciated the offer but I was past the point of wanting to continue with my meal. We we offered a dessert at no charge to offset the awful pasta. I wasn't interested but husband selected a lemon pudding cake. It was beautiful. Of the bite I tried, I did not like it. Grainy texture. Wouldn't recommend it. Finally received our check, at the register we realized we were charged for the larger size meal. At that point I just wanted out of there. 20+ dollars for each meal. Boy that felt slim shady. Upcharged. What a bummer. I am so disappointed and I paid for a larger unedible meal than I ordered. While the minestrone was wonderful, I am really upset with the rest of...

Amazing amazing, amazing. Since not being able to eat gluten I've been trying to find a place that has great pasta or something that is readily available. Well this place blew me out of the water, its absolutely amazing! The server immediately asks anyone before they sit down if they need to eat gluten free. Then they place a cute little flower by you and give you a whole gluten free menu with SO MANY OPTIONS I had the hardest time choosing for the first time in a while! Fluffy, delicious gluten free bread, and the pasta was SO good. For those curious, I had the gf fettuccine, amazing firm bite, the pasta itself seems to be a blend of rice flour and some starches, however its much much better than any other gf box pasta (I know we've all tried those, trust me). Obviously its handmade in house. And the fried mozzarella was the first time in years that I've been able to have some semblance of a mozzarella stick, sooooo good! The servers were INCREDIBLY attentive I don't think I had a single moment where I didn't have tea in my glass. Finally, each and every single dessert can be made gluten free. I got the lemon pudding cake and tiramisu to go. It felt like heaven when I bit into the cake, it was deliciously dense and airy at the same time. I couldn't stop myself from tasting the tiramisu, which they make their own in-house with their own espresso. This was amazing. I kept wanting to cry the whole time. Since celiac's got me, its been very difficult to eat out and I kind of just deal with whatever I can get. But this is the first time I've had such an experience since then and all I can say is that this restaurant is now my favorite. Its very sad I don't live in ABQ to be able to eat here often, but I'm honestly just glad it even exists in the...