Paula's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in New Bern

Being fairly new to the area wlooke had been to the old location only once (a week before they moved) and had a pretty poor experience service wise so we chalked it up to the move and decided to give them another shot at their new location. New building with a lot more square footage and seating but the decor was pretty much the same including many of the old tables. The parking lot is bigger but only one way in and out so a little tricky. My wife ordered the veal scallopine and I had the veal spinaca. Both came w a house salad. The veal was not especially flavorful and my veal spinaca had a couple of tablespoons of spinach. The salad was a non event with lettuce, onions, chopped olives, shredded mozzarella and a single slice of tomato. We asked for the wine list and were handed a single wrinkled piece of paper which included several bottle prices which had been crossed out with the new (higher) price next to it. (Time to print a NEW wine list, maybe?) Service by Hannah was hit or miss at best (the only reason I know her name is from the bill) and we never got the extra napkins or butter we asked for. The bread came w 2 butter patties. Overall the night was a 1 out of 5 but since so many people had told us this was a good place to go we decided to give it ONE more try which we did tonight. The place was nearly full when we got there so we weren't expecting much but we were seated in under 5 minutes and were warmly greeted by Matthew. Matthew promptly took our orders (and reminded us of the night's special) and was on top of things all night. My wife had the Pasta w White Clam Sauce and I had the Ziti Carbonara, substituting spaghetti. When I ordered the Minestrone Soup Matthew advised me that I could get that in place of the house salad for a slight up charge. Much appreciated. Both of our dishes were tasty and plentiful. The Minestrone Soup was tasty although I was really craving Pasta Fagioli which is not on the menu. Matthew brought out extra bread as well as butter without us even asking for it. The salad was still the same sinle tomato slice lettuce plate as the previous evening. All in all a MUCH better experience than Thursday night - both service AND food! We hope that Paula's continues to improve and we plan on coming back again. One suggestion though (besides a new wine list). The nightly specials are 50 cents off the menu price - NOT...

We are regulars at Paulas. But today was a different experience. My fiance is allergic to olives. I even stated that when ordering our food. When he started to eat his salad he quickly stopped when tasting and seeing an olive. We quickly said something to the waitress who then never apologized. At this time my fiance gets to itching all over. We finish up our lunch after the waitress gets us a new waitress and we talk to the manager. Manager then just made excuses about the kitchen staff. Once needing to leave bc he was getting worse with the itching I got our bill to pay. They charged us full price for my fiances food. I feel that this was total disrespectful as they are all about the money and not their customers safety. Then when I spoke with another person about all of this, was then told I can talk to another person. Which at this time we had to get home so my fiance could get medication and a shower due to his allergic reaction and trying to hopefully not end up in the ER. We have loved this restaurant since moving to New Bern in February but we will no longer be supporting a business that has no remorse for when the employees mess up when things can become a life and death situation. If you have allergies dont go here they will not accommodate, be remorseful when employees mess up, nor do they show the customer any apologies for it happening. They will just charge you for everything and expect you to...

We were sooo disappointed! After finding this wonderful little place in a strip mall years ago, and finally being able to return.....it has moved into a stand alone, albeit much more attractive, space! It seems they've traded in the quality and quantity of their food as the price of having new digs! The calamari took forever only to taste meh and have the rubbery texture that results from microwaving seafood. One of our party ordered the veal parmigiana and could scarcely find the actual meat! It was shaved thin like paper and the breading had to have been at least 1/4" thick. They brought him a chicken parmesan plate in exchange and it wasn't very impressive either. The pizza we ordered, that they made an error in ingredients on, may have had 2 to 3 small pieces of grilled chicken on each large piece. Customer good will could've been met if the waitress had even attempted to ingratiate herself and the restaurant by reducing our bill due to the mistake in the kitchen and our discontent with the food, however she happily delivered the check without adjustments. I'm sorry to say that this is par for the course whenever a great "hole in the wall treasure" goes big time! We have put this one on my our...