Paesano Restaurant & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

Paesano's has become a favorite place of mine to frequent. With that said, not all meals are the same and some experiences are better than others, but overall I keep returning for some fabulous food and learning a little more about my Italian favorites!

The first time I went to Paesano's was with my husband during COVID shutdowns. They were only able to have the outdoor patio open and it was cold, but we braved the weather because I wanted a night out for a dinner date. The staff were very attentive to the customers and offered blankets and seating next to the heaters.

We ordered our drinks and il pane was brought out to the table. Seriously, the bread is an addiction for me, soft baked rolls that tear apart and with the butter they have it just melts in my mouth! Then came the salads which we both agreed had some great local vegetables. My husband ordered a shrimp pasta that he really enjoyed and I ordered the chicken parmigiana. The plate was filled with pasta and two delicious pieces of chicken! I could barely eat half (I desired to try dessert too!). Once finished with our salads and the main plates, I ordered the Tiramisu Brownie and maybe should not have, but I ate the plate by myself! I also has a Spanish Style Hot Chocolate which was delicious and a great pair to the Tiramisu Brownie!

The second time I went I decided to attend the Women & Wine Event, but they said not to come with an empty stomach since we would be enjoying some very fine wines. I decided to head over a little early and asked for a salad with grilled chicken (and the bread, oh my gosh! Took some with me to the event after!).

One of the reasons I keep going back is because of the Women & Wine Events (they also have Wine Events that go offsite to some farms in Michigan, transportation provided. I have yet to attend but have seen pictures and it looks like fun!). The first event I went by myself but didn't feel alone. The guests were seated at tables but the hostess Lori Moss from Little Guy Wines would always come and check in with each of us during the event to get our feedback on the wine. Bridget is hilarious but also informative when including her own personal experiences of her family in Italy, such as her father dunking pieces of pears in wine and that led to tasting a biscotti dipped in wine. Her daughter would even come and check in to hear our reviews.

My first event was wine and desserts, and I always overindulge on the desserts at Paesano! I'm new to wines, but it was good to learn about some different types, what particular region of Italy they come from, stories behind the wine and personal stories from the owner. We tried items like a flan, cranberry orange biscotti, chocolate cherry truffle and a pear tort. Bridget taught us how we should take a sip of wine, take a bite of our sweet and then take another sip of wine because each time we would get a different experience. They were all delicious! My favorite wine was the last one we tried, a sweet wine called Sourgal Moscato d'Asti. (I'm more of a sweet wine taster but the wine events have opened me up to trying new things!)

I have ordered items to go. Sometimes I need to double check my order to make sure I have everything and there are times I feel the food doesn't compare with what you eat at the restaurant but each time I bring it home to share with family, they agreed that it tastes sssssoooo good! They also would have Wednesdays where you could purchase pasta to take home and make yourself! Cut pasta (you have to boil), marinara sauce, baked bread! Yum!

My most recent trip I took my oldest daughter to lunch. She loved looking at the pictures in the restaurant. Our waitress truly was amazing and had such patience and compassion responding to my little girl. My daughter asked for the chicken vegetable soup and for once tried something without hesitation. She had spaghetti, I asked for the Tortellini di pollo. We finished with chocolate gelato for the kiddo and I had a European Cappuccino with cherry almond biscotti's.

Thank you everyone...

Have dined here many times in the past 20 years. Has always been good enough to come back. Our last visit a month or so ago. We sat at the bar as usual. I was unfortunate to encounter this bartender the visit before this visit. It quickly crossed my mind to turn around and leave when I saw her but giving her the benefit of doubt, perhaps she was just having a bad day our last visit. Nope! This bartender just has such a bad attitude. She has no personality what so ever. We didn't come here to be entertained but expect to be greeted and respond to our questions about wine selection and food. When I asked her if they had Amarone wine, she shrugged her shoulders as she looked at selection and that was that. No yes, no, let me check. Just looked at us. It's chicken, was her response when asked about the pistachio chicken. My friend and I looked at each and literally laughed at the absurdity of this person. I know we should have just walked out but I took this situation on as a challenge to see if we could possibly get a positive response from this person. Never happened. We both ordered the pistachio chicken and it was very much edible as it was something to put in your mouth and chew with absolutely no seasoning or flavor what so ever. Even the garlic mashed potatoes had no flavor. This along with the attitude of the bartender is detrimental for Paisanos. The soup was delicious. The manager is so unfriendly. I've seen her there before. She brought our meals never said a word. The owner was even there that day. As for not sending the meal back. I, as a rule don't send it back, I just don't come back. I've worked in this industry and know what can happen to the food of dissatisfied customers. As for the very out of touch bartender. I very much hesitated leaving this rude unwelcoming person a tip. But I did, 20%. I ended up feeling sorry for such an unhappy person that apparently doesn't understand the business she is in. Not sure, but maybe this establishment has changed ownership and per inexperience doesn't realize the importance of a friendly positive employee even if they are...

We came in to celebrate my wife’s birthday with family of 8 we liked the wine selection. We were sat at 2 four tops merged together but with a half wall separated us which felt very awkward as we passed tables that suited are party better but we we’re going to try to make do. We ordered our food my mother ordered the salmon special my father in law my wife and I ordered the sirloin steak with bernaise sauce our som ordered the veal piccata my brother in law ordered the rack of lamb sister ink law ordered pasta primavera nephew ordered chicken parm. The food sounded delicious from the menu and recommended by the server. Some of us upgraded to signature salads and some stayed with the house when they came to the table we all received are salads except my sons the server said his was coming but it took a lot longer than we expected as if we thought it was coming maybe because she didn’t have enough space on her tray 10 minutes go by and our son is watching us eat our salad we felt guilty for eating in front of him so we shared ours with him until his came not a gods start. The entrees came luckily they were all there, excited to try them noticed the mother in laws salmon was dry the sauce on the steaks were broken my mother in law expressed her concern about the salmon we felt uncomfortable about bringing up our concerns about the sauce being broken because the server seemed inconvenienced about the salmon. My mother in law ordered the chicken marsala instead and was told to eat what she can of the previous dinner until the replacement came which we were impressed with that at the time. We received the bill and paid we noticed afterwards my mother in law was charged for a salmon that died twice instead of being charged for the chicken marsala which happens to be less expensive gratuity was added to our bill so the server managed to squeeze an extra few bucks from that. My wife’s birthday celebration was a let down from this experience and the food definitely did not meet the price I feel guilty for recommending this place to my...