Ristorante Paoletti — Restaurant in Highlands

This was hands down one of the best dining experiences I've ever had.

The vibe - perfect. Lighting is spot on. Background noise and conversation carries energy but isn't overpowering. Felt busy but also cozy.

The beginning - best experience with a Somm I've ever had. He commented on my watch (he has a similar watch), and we talked about watches for a few minutes. Shifted to wine. I was wavering between Macon by the glass or a bottle of Chablis. He reminded me that Chablis typically does not touch oak. Duh, I forgot. Perfect choice given that my wife wanted something closer to Sauv Blanc (i.e., higher acid, less round and curvy than an over-oaked Chardonnay). Ordered the bottle. Great choice. He was the PERFECT balance of 0.0% pretentiousness, excellent approachability, great conversationalist, and clearly an expert in his field. PLEASE keep your Somm - he is the man (we were there at 8:30pm on Monday 10/3).

The food - knockouts all around. The lobster ravioli was the best dish we had. Such a harmonious pairing of flavors. Pasta was perfectly al dente. Nailed it. Caprese salad and carbonara pasta were also exquisite.

The service - our server was wonderful. She was energetic, passionate, patient, and VERY on her game. The time just flew by as we enjoyed our lobster ravioli and salad with Chablis... and only 20 minutes until 10pm when our shuttle to Half Mile would arrive! We told our server and she made sure the food arrived promptly, brought us our check in a timely but unrushed fashion, and really took care of us to make sure we squeezed every ounce of enjoyment out of our time at Paoletti's, while still making it to our ride how.

You guys have a great thing going. All around. From the vibe to the food to the people. PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING!!! We will be back, and we will spread the good...

First visit to Paoletti and I don’t even know where to begin!!! From the moment we walked in, it felt like coming home for a family dinner. Give me a great atmosphere and I’m happy. But this was so much more…. My friend and I sat at the bar. The bartender, Heather, was absolutely delightful, so knowledgeable, and incredibly attentive. The owner, Mama G, stopped to chat with us for a while and she is the real deal: authentic, caring, professional, and someone you wish could just stop working and join you for dinner. The sommelier actually read our minds and brought the most beautiful bottle of wine. And I could have left at that point and given a glowing review…but then the food came and it somehow got even better. I have NO WORDS for how great this meal was. We have both traveled to New York, Chicago, and Italy multiple times and this dinner blew us away!! My husband’s family is also Italian so in short, our bar is set high! We split everything: Bread, herbed butter, olive spread. Then ravioli special appetizer size. Then a half portion of the bolognese. And we finished out with the lemon chicken. We were taken care of, guided through the menu, and made to feel like VIP guests by every single person we encountered: owner, bartender, and sommelier, but also the food runners, the hostess, the bus staff - you can tell that these people are a family with one common goal: to make your night an unforgettable one. And this was an extremely busy weekend for Highlands. Many places were, understandably, overwhelmed. So to have such a perfect experience from the front of house AND kitchen staff, especially on such a crazy night, is unheard of. Thank you, Mama G! You should be incredibly proud of yourself and the people around you. We can’t wait to come back. 🩷 With love, your...

Very nice atmosphere white tablecloth great Decour very pleasing nice lighting inside.

We were there for dinner and I ordered the escargot and Caesar salad appetizer and the elk steak for dinner and my partner had beet salad and penne pasta of the day for her entrée.

The reason for the three stars versus five I would’ve given them was because of the delay in getting our entrée. An hour and a half into our meal while others who sat down when we did we’re done with their dinner. I had to go back in the kitchen and ask where our food was.

I was told that the to go orders backed up our order. To me a to go order should never ever be ahead of or get a priority over your dine in patrons especially in a five-star restaurant.

Then when we finally got our food the pasta was cold and the potato slices with my elk steak were way undercooked. I suspect what really happened was they just messed up and forgot to do the elk steak so the pasta sat under the heat lamp while they made my elk steak - that’s why it was cold not sure what happened to the potato slices.

It’s really too bad because the appetizers, elk steak and cold pasta we’re all delicious but by this time it was over an hour and a half later so we were done with eating there.

The waiter was great, awesome, and very attentive and apologized but he’s not the chef so it’s not his fault. The manager apologize to us as well which I appreciate.

Woud I go here again? Absolutely because the food was delicious they just messed up our order so they get a three star for me on this one. Maybe next time they will make it up.

It’s on main street so parking is limited they also take reservations which I highly recommend they were packed while we were there and people were waiting outside every night when...