Paolino Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Decatur

We had high hopes for this restraunt, but unfortunately this was a first and last visit for us for many reasons. This said, there were some nice things we enjoyed which we will mention as well.

Pros: •Decor is cute and the plants are really nice. They bring the outdoor/indoor together nicely. •Bathrooms were clean and nice. •Plenty of seating options indoor and outdoor. •Was able to get our daughter wheelchair in and out safely. •The food tasted pleasing to most everyone in my party.

Cons: •Breakable wine glasses were given to the children, despite other children in the restraunt getting lidded options. •Do not drink the sweet tea unless you want unsweetened ice tea; we asked for them to be taken away as they were not good and instead was brought sugar water to add to our glasses. It was still gross, and $10 for 4 teas no one would drink is just ridiculous. •Our waitress was not friendly and left us feeling rushed and like we shouldn't have come to the establishment; especially when she seemed offended that we didn't care for the "sweet" tea. •The portions were rather small, especially for the price; all the kids and my husband were still hungry when we left. •My teen stated he prefer olive garden regarding the taste. •Despite the flavoring of the sauce and cappers for the chicken dish my husband and I ordered, the chicken it's self was very dry. Very disappointing for $20 per plate. • After spending $100, 4/6 of us left hungry (one of which is tube fed and therefore didn't eat at this establishment), so we walked down the road to the pizza place. Money we could have spent at Paolino's, but we were leaving with a taste of never wanting to return.

All in all, I wouldn't eat here again.

*We do however highly recommend MOJO pizza and pub, they were amazing with customer service, the tea was southern sweet tea, and the...

Reasons for giving it 2 stars: They never attended any of my calls when called several times to make reservation in advance. Our server came with water & asked if we're ready to place our order. We requested her to give us 5 mins. She checked on us after 20mins. Finally when we placed our order, it took them 35mins to get it. I know there's a bit of a wait on a busy night & it's totally understandable provided your food comes out hot whenever it does. Well that was not the case. We ate 2 bites & packed the rest cuz our appetite was dead after waiting almost an hour (20+35). Asked for a cheque & waited for another 10 mins. Went to the receptionist twice to request my bill. The young lady at the counter said that she doesn't know what we ordered & that's why can't generate a bill, only the server can. So she finally got a hold of the server who again took more time to get the bill. I paid & left on an empty stomach. Last but not the least, not one single person who worked there wore a mask. Everyone from receptionist to all the servers were maskless. There were zero Covid protocols that were being followed.

Needless to say my experience was less than satisfactory let alone stellar. There was some free parking outside but not easy...

We decided to visit Paolino after seeing allergens highlighted on their menu (including an entire gluten free menu and statements such as “dairy free upon request”) and thinking we’d finally found an allergen-friendly Italian restaurant. I told our waitress immediately that I am gluten and dairy free. When ordering, I chose a dish off the gluten free menu and again specified that I needed it to be gluten and dairy free. She came back a while later and said the dish was not gluten free, but she could sub gluten-free pasta. I said that was fine, but thought it was strange since the dish was listed on their GF menu. I heard her telling the kitchen and I could tell she wasn’t conveying the DF part, so I had to get up and clarify. If it wasn’t for the manager who overheard what I was telling her, I’m not sure my dish would have come out appropriately. Scary for someone with allergies, but giving 3 stars overall since the food came out hot and my family enjoyed their meals a lot! Also be aware that they are doing a drawing for $500 as an incentive for anyone who leaves a review on their website, which may be influencing...