Papapavlo's Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Stockton

I rarely leave reviews but this was one of the worse service experiences I’ve had in my life. Being half Greek my friend was excited to take me here. I’m also pregnant so I was really looking forward to some hearty food. We came in and sat down at 3:20. Restaurant was not very busy but there were a lot of staff on hand. They dropped bread and water at our table then no one stopped in to take our order for another 30 minutes. When our server came he told us it was because he wasn’t sure if we were waiting on the other two in our party to order (we were not).

We ordered a kids meal for her son, moussaka for me and a gyro pita for my friends husband. My friend ordered iced coffee and 15 minutes later the server brought back a hot coffee without saying anything about the switch. For whatever reason it was so terrible she couldn’t finish it and I ate my side salad while waiting another 20 minutes for my moussaka plate that never came. My friend’s husband and son came to join us and we were still waiting, to the point where our window of time to eat was fast disappearing. By this point it was over an hour since we walked in and there is no food and our server is nowhere to be found. Finally I find him, flag him down, he disappears for another 5 minutes, comes back and says he’s going to check on the food. He doesn’t check back in with us after talking to the kitchen so after another 5 minutes we go to leave. At this point he comes back and says the food’s on its way, but when we tell him we’ve been waiting over an hour and need to leave he brushes it off as if it’s nothing, telling us “no worries!” as if the reason we’re leaving is our fault.

Honestly just so disappointed. My friend left $20 on the table for us to have some pita bread, a side salad, half a coffee and no apology. I had to go order to-go at another restaurant while they went to their next...

Since they didn't care to respond to their email... My husband and I have been going to your establishment for many years now. It's easily been our most favorite place to drive and recommend to others. A jewel of Stockton really.

There are many lovely new changes recently. The new vases with the olive trees/ lights, beautiful. The new plate ware, love. The new menu, clean and simple.

The not so nice changes would be the prices and changes to the loved dishes/proportions. It is painfully obvious to us all these days that inflation has affected every aspect of life; but the recent experience and charges we had Wednesday night are still bothersome to me. Large hummus at $11 ok sure, $37 for almost no pistachio crusted salmon (which online says $31) makes no sense, I personally have always felt it is skimpy on the burr blanc sauce and always ask for extra on the side which now costs me $1.50 seriously? Then when did the side Ceasar salad go up to $4? How are the ingredients that much more expensive than the included entree salad? How does such an expensive entree not include a small salad?! Then to top it all off $12 for the skinniest piece of silk mouse cake we've ever been served. We feel so ripped off. It feels so stingy and greedy. Despite the food tasting good, it's left a terrible taste in our mouth.

If this is going to be the new normal, we may have to find a new favorite place to eat. We work hard for our money too and definitely don't want to feel ripped off when we decide to splurge on a...

My husband and I took a friend to Papapavlos in Stockton for her birthday this past Wednesday. We had an early dinner and were one of several tables seated quite close together in an otherwise empty restaurant. It would have been nice to be spread out a bit more for privacy. Although the servers were nice, they were obviously inexperienced. Our water glasses were set in the middle of the table instead of directly in front of us. While eating our salads a server came to the table with four knives and asked if we wanted them, then handed them to me instead of placing them on the table for each of us. When my husband ordered a drink, another server handed it to my husband over the pony wall instead of coming around to our table to place in front of him. He had to ask her to do this. I would expect this in a dive but not a higher end restaurant. As for the food, our salad, a Caesar, had limp lettuce. The lamb brochette was bland. For what we have always considered a high end restaurant in Stockton, we were disappointed. We feel that when we come to a restaurant such as yours, experienced servers and exceptional food should be a given. Although the servers were sweet girls they definitely need training and are not high end restaurant caliber. As for the food, fresh ingredients and more flavor , again, for a restaurant such as Papapavlos, should be expected.

Hopefully you can remedy this situation and our next experience at Papapavlos...