Food Before I go to a restaurant, I usually like to look at Yelp for pictures of their food. It helps me decide what food I should try. Bruschetta I didn't see a picture of this but I felt like eating this. It came with 6 good size pieces. It looked crunchy but when I bit into it was soft in the middle. The tomatoes was good but I really wish it was crunchy. Fresh Clams Casino w/White Wine Butter Sauce I saw pictures of this on Yelp and it looked good and fresh. I ordered the regular size and it was a good size. The clams was fresh but the flavor was okay. The sauce was a bit soupy and not what I'm use to a butter sauce. There was bigger onions (dime size) in it which I thought it was different from other clams with butter sauce I've tried. The flavor was not I expected. I will probably try their marinara or alfredo next time. I forgot to take a picture of my dish. Love the ambiance of this restaurant. The first thing I notice is that it is a big restaurant. Table is set with cloth table cover and utensils wrapped in cloth. A few days have passed since I've been here but it is a nice place to come for a date or to celebrate something. Service I went with some friends and we made reservations. Service was great. They sat us right away gave us a few minutes and asked to take out order. They also gave bread before our meal. It was warm, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. After we ordered, our appetizer came in good time and soon after our meal came in. They were fast in their service which we finished our meal within an hour. We were able to sit for awhile to chat after our meal. We were full to have dessert. Ambiance IT definitely gave a nice sit down dining when you walk in. Tables are covered with cloth tablecloth and utensils are wrapped in cloth napkins. It's a big restaurant and they sat their guest on the left side of the restaurant. I've been her before with a big group and we sat on the right side. Food was okay back then also. read more

Paesano - Bruschetta - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

The location is convenient and there is ample parking. The wait staff is friendly and accommodating. The portions are good and the food is tasty. read more

It's nice big space restraint. Food volume is good. They use good ingredients as large shrimp, scallop, clam... Seafood special was really good but had sand Eggplant parmigiana's eggplant was too much panko flour. Caesar Salad was tasty and good. Servers are friendly and nice but he wiped his fingers by our tablecloths after he serve our glass-water read more

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Finally after years of wanting to try Paesano Ristorante, I got to. It is definitely a "classy" place with servers dressed nice and cloth napkins, but make no mistake, this is still Hawaii and you can go casual. The servers and waitstaff did great during Covid. They were attentive and pleasant and not overbearing. It's not cheap. So if you can't afford to tip your server please don't go. The menu is vast. So maybe go with a crowd and convince people to get other dishes you want so you can sample lol. Calamari- my pic was blurry so I didn't post. It's not the ring type. But still texture was good and it was tasty. Crab cakes- delish. Delish delish. My husband has the Shrimp and Scallop Alla Bolla? Regular portion. He couldn't finish it. But only bc he ate like all the calamari, a crab cake and prob a basket of bread. Chicken Anchovy Olio. So. Damn. Good. I used to get this at a diff restaurant when I worked downtown and got addicted. But this one was totes better and I never had a single anchovy bone. It was so garlicky. The chicken was tender. I gave my husband two pieces of chicken. I had several to eat and still had some in a doggy bag (I got the regular portion). Cannoli- the filling was on point with pistachio. I wish the shell was thicker but still tasted good. And who knows? Maybe this was more authentic Tiramisu- tasty but definitely authentic with liquor in it so if you sober... maybe opt for a different dessert. read more

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Food was excellent. Lots of good stuff on the menu. Although very busy the service was excellent. Cozy tables give the place some ambience. read more

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Service was excellent. Food was great. And the ambiance was just right. Will definitely go again.

I love this restaurant. My parents brought me here when I came to visit them before. My mother and I came here for dinner this evening, so I can write a review. First, I believe this restaurant is a chain restaurant here in Hawai'i. When you walk in here, it smells aroma of garlic which is so inviting! Inside is very, elegantly decorated. It's an upscale eatery. We decided to share a small Caesar salad which was so delicious with the home made Caesar salad dressing with anchovies. I decided on the special which was seafood(shrimp, scallops, clams, black olives, sun dried tomatoes)linguine. My mother ordered Rigatoni with bacon marinara sauce. My entree was absolutely delicious and my mother loved hers. Though we were full, we had to have dessert! We had vanilla and Amaretto gelato. I had cup of coffee which was very good. I'm so glad I was able to come here, so I can write a review about this place. I hope to come back very soon! read more

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Delicious food, quaint clean place. Staff is just as amazing as the food! Definitely going back!

Paesano in Waimalu is an Aiea area staple for your fine(r) restaurants and has been around for many years. I've been here more times than I can remember, and the quality of the food is always on point. It seems as though the prices have gone up quite a bit, but the quality remains. On this particular occasion I had the Eggplant Rolltini (an appetizer) as my entree as I was looking for lighter fare today. While the dish was a bit pricey (at $17.95 for an appetizer), the quality was excellent. The complimentary bread was also quite good, and the servers kept the bread coming without being asked. Overall the service was as decent, but nothing amazing. The ambiance was quite nice and matches the price, but you could also show up in a t-shirt and not feel totally out of place which is nice too. Throughout the years Paesano has consistently offered quality food and a classy feel, but at a (now slightly steeper) price. As long as they're open, I have a feeling I'll continue to come back for years to come. read more

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I really like Paesano. When I'm craving Italian food, I like coming here for some pasta. I usually come with friends or family and have a nice time. There's a lot of parking available in the Waimalu Shopping Center. The people are friendly and inside is nicely set up and clean. It's spread out right now also because of covid. I always get the shrimp and vegetables with rigatoni pasta and pesto sauce. It's really good. They have a lot of options though as well as small or regular portions. The small portion is perfect for me. I've come here often and will continue to come here. read more

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Always great food, service and best atmosphere to celebrate something special or a holiday luncheon!!! Tiramisu always hits the spot!!!

We liked the atmosphere; it reminds us of our time in Rome. Bread was great enough that we got a second basket and there was only two of us! For main course, we got the Chicken Forentine and Chicken Alla Sorrentino. Food was very potent, even the mushroom was flavorful. Service was quick even for a Friday night with a lot of diners. read more

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A safe and pleasurable dining experience! Retirement party for 9 in a private room away from the crowd. We felt safe and most importantly, being in the health field, we felt the dining crowd were safe too! Osso Buco:- Beautifully done with tender meat and marrow. This dish has a lot of garlic. NOT a date dish! The seafood special for the night was ordered by 3 people and they only had good reviews. We all enjoyed our food and drinks and were served in a timely manner and we had constant service for water refills and drinks. Service was just great! read more

Paesano - Osso Bucco. Delicious and garlicky. I would order this again! - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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Great Italian food in the Waimalu area. Tried to call to reserve a table for my wife's birthday, but they were busy each time I called. Went in and was pleasantly surprised they had a table available and was able to take us right in!! The server was apologetic about the location of the table, but it was fine, as I was grateful they took us in immediately. The ambiance was nice as it was not too loud or too dark. The food was amazing and the cost was fair. This was our first visit and we plan to visit again to try the many things they offer. Mahalo for the great food and service. read more

Nice ambience and friendly service. Food was mostly good. My lunch mates had the seafood pasta and calamari piccata which they said was very good. I had the veal scallopini saltimbocca which I didn't care for. It had like a sliver of veal and the sauce too buttery for my liking. I usually order fish or chicken alla pomodori but thought I try something different. Still it was an enjoyable lunch and I would go back. read more

Before heading to the Jo Koy show we decided to eat first rather than after. After some discussion of where to go we decided on this place. Venue - pretty typical of a high end Italian Restaurant. Well dressed wait staff & hostess, linen tables & napkins. Low lighting but not to the point you had to use a flashlight to see the menu. I was surprised by how casual many of the diners were dressed but in this current economy, no one can afford to be that picky. Service - was excellent. Polite and eager to offer recommendations. No complaints of anything. I had ordered a Plantation Ice Tea and thought that there were free refills. It was apparently only on my husband's soda however our waitress brought me a complimentary second glass. She explained that they normally don't offer free refills for the tea but she brought it anyway. Excellent service. She practiced that age old edic of "Under Promise and Over Deliver". Food - was delicious. My husband had one of the Specials, Chicken Parmesan with Cheese Ravioli. He said it was really good but they give a lot ( 2 pieces of chicken and 5 large ravioli). I had the Chicken Piccata. It was a difficult decision for me because I LOVE Chicken Marsala and always order that but I wanted to try something different that night. It was delicious and came with some angel hair pasta. Oh, and we did order an appetizer - Crab Cakes. The crab cakes were amazing. The little pico that came with it made the dish complete. We told ourselves that we were going to come back just for the crab cakes and each have our own order. The complimentary bread was hot and delicious too. This was our first time to Pesaro and it met all expectations. We will be going back too! As we were leaving a man on the next table ordered the Marsala. Not sure if it was the Veal or the Chicken but it looked Amazing and a must try! Which I will Sorry no pictures, we were so hungry and it didn't seem appropriate. read more

Service and ambiance are nice. A friend and I ate dinner at Paesano's in January. We ordered the bell pepper appetizer. it was tasteless. tasted like the jar peppers you get at the grocery store. We both ordered the eggplant parmesan. The eggplant was like rubber. Looked like it was boiled but I bet it was frozen. I don't know how the cook thought this stuff was OK to serve. I tried calling several times over the last two weeks during their lunch and dinner service. By the way they have a wrong number listed on their website. I didn't want to complain in front of my friend so I waited to call, no I can't get through on the phone, they don't answer. I have tried to contact them over 15 times to be fair to them. read more

There used to be so many Italian restaurants with Asian owned chefs trained by Cass Castagnola. They pretty much had the same menu. And to be honest I don't think anyone would have been able to identify which restaurant cooked any pasta dish in a taste test. Surprisingly there are still some of them around - Verbano, all the Assagios and Paesano. Went to dinner a couple of Sundays ago at the Paesano in the Waimalu Shopping Center. Haven't been there in years, probably before the pandemic. It's almost like stepping in time. Nothing really has changed. Except for the prices the menu is the same. This is not meant as an insult. It's kind of comforting, like seeing an old friend. It's still a gathering place for the neighborhood, most often to celebrate. The night I was there I believe there were three large (5-8 people) groups celebrating birthdays. It's not La Mer but it most certainly not Zippy's so you might go there for a 35th birthday but maybe not a milestone like the 80th. The restaurant has white table cloths, food nicely plated and of course the bread. When I was younger we use to devour at least three or four but alas we are older and could only finish one despite the waiter bringing a new loaf with our order of clam casino. I'm glad Paesano is still around. In a time when so many restaurants seem to be shuttering their doors it's nice to know it is still around. I'm sure the one in Manoa has the same type of crowd and business. I hope to go back again soon. read more

First time my husband went here, second time for me. The service was fantastic even though it was a bit busy. The food was yum and the selection was pretty large. I had the shrimp scampi, the shrimps were huge. Taste of everything was on point. Restaurant was a lot bigger than it looks like from the outside, very clean and inviting. If you haven't been there you need to give them a try. read more

It was a breath of fresh air to come here, we seldom go out for dinner dates since the pandemic. I'm glad my husband wanted pasta for dinner. The restaurant's customer service as great, our server was so nice and welcoming. The food was good too! read more

Paesano - My hubby's dish - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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My Birthday 2020 Dinner celebration with Fellow Yelpers. Thanks Nadine C, Dan O and Jace T joining me to celebrate my birthday early. As the 2nd lockdown was about to be set and the social gathering was set to 5.. We had a small dinner. Garlic Anchovy Chicken Aioli is what I got and man it was so good! I love garlic haha. The regular portion was a lot of food. read more

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Dinner (before the second shutdown) in Waimalu, Oahu, Hawaii... Originally, we were supposed to meet at this location of Paesano on Friday. However, the second StayAtHome Order for Oahu takes effect on Thursday, so we scrambled and changed our reservation to Wednesday, August 26, 2020. The restaurant was very understanding and accommodating towards our group of 4. I called and asked if they could refrigerate a birthday cake if I brought it at 5:30pm when our dinner was scheduled for 7pm. No problem! When it was time to serve the cake, they plated it and brought it out with a lit candle! They took it back to the kitchen, cut out 4 slices, and served it to us on clean dessert plates! They brought out the remainder of the cake in the original box and package! Thank you! Yes... we celebrated Lora's birthday early. The birthday girl chose this location because the Manoa one was closed. I actually liked this Aiea location better. There seems to be more parking and it feels as if the interior is bigger and brighter than the Manoa one. Service here is efficient and professional! Our water glasses were filled promptly and our food arrived quickly and with beautiful presentation. I had the Portobello Shrimp Pasta. It came with sauteed onions, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and sugar snap peas. It was colorful, fresh, and delicious! The complimentary bread was warm and yummy! The butter was excellent on the middle of the soft bread, surrounded by crisp crust! I ate too much of it! Good choice, Lora! I sure enjoyed our foodie adventure! Best wishes for a Happy Birthday! Wishing yuh ou many more healthy, successful, and prosperous years to come, full of good luck and longevity! read more

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Made a reservation for my bf's bday. The food was extremely good, the service was good. I will be coming back here for special occasions. In terms of how they handle covid. The seatings are pretty much far apart, you're not really near anyone. The utensils remain the same, metal forks and spoons, glass cup without straws. read more

Paesano - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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The new normal, eating out during COVID19. Was in Aiea because we had some errands to run. Since we were here, we decided to look for a place to grab some dinner to take home. Jumped on my handy dandy Yelp app and found Paesano! I used to eat at the Manoa location often, never tried the Aiea location. So, I checked their website and called in our order. We decided to get the Tomato Bruschetta ($9.95), Chicken portabella (small $20.95) and Veal Scallopine Saltimbocca Romana (small $26.95). Minus points because they forgot to add chicken to the Chicken Portabella -___- So it was only a mushroom pasta. Everything else was good. The veal was delicious. And they gave generous portion for the tomato bruschetta. A huge MAHALO to Paesano for operating during this pandemic. read more

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Paesano Italiano Ristorante located on the Kai-side corner of the Waimalu Plaza Shopping Center, Pearlcity, is without a doubt a superb Italian Cuisine and probably one of the best on Oahu. The food is fantastic! My favorites that I normally ordered are Hot Antipasto, Hot or Cold Carpaccio, Caesar Salad w/ anchovies, Ribeye w/ Jumbo Shrimp Scampi and ... the fresh homemade loaf bread is to die for! So Ono! Customer Service provided by the Manager Mr. Min is world class. The man is professional, friendly and Min knows fine Italian cuisine. Can't decide on what you want ... just ask Mr. Min! Wow! The ambiance and the interior design/showing is very eye pleasing indeed. Much credits go to the Owners (Nila and Billy) for their good taste and attention to details. If you are in the mood for some great Italian food and dining in a family friendly atmosphere ... give Paesano a try. You will not be disappointed! Lastly, I just want to say "Mahalo Nui Loa" for feeding me and my Family. Aloha! read more

Paesano has onolicious Italian food for reasonable prices. The atmosphere is pleasing to the eye. Not overly busy which means faster better service. Definitely Recommend!!! read more

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Love everything but must admit we were crestfallen to find the clams "86" Apparently, seafood arrives Tuesday and Friday and we did Monday. Despite our mollusk-tastion we had a great time and found some new favorites! But next time we will make a call before we book. read more

The feel and parking were good. No complaints there. Service was good but not the best I will explain later. But the food was subpar. Bread to the appetizers were fine but really overpriced, not worth what you are paying for. Tasted the Veal, which was very tasty to my surprise. When having the tomato or marinara sauce for the price we were paying it tasted like it was from the can. To make it worse I ordered the Chicken Puttanesca and tasted no anchovy or garlic but a burnt sauce like it was used in a previous dish and recycled the tomato sauce. I lost my appetite told them to just take it off the bill which they kindly did. However we had a party of 20 people and it is understandable that they would charge gratuity. When adding up my subtotal they were 20 dollars over and used that grand total (taxes included) to get the gratuity amount. That totally changed my rating from that incident. They didn't even apologize for making the mistake. Why do I have to check if the restaurant is overcharging me? Also, what seemed to be one of the managers said they normally take the gratuity percentage after taxes from the grand total. That is totally unethical and forever lost my respect. It just seems that they care about making the most amount of money than taking care of the customers in store. I am never coming back. Happy Mother's Day to my Mother too. She was not pleased that this happened. read more

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. Will return. Love the Carbarnara and fish salad.

I'M NOT AN ITALIAN FOOD AFICIONADO BUT I THINK THIS PLACE IS AWESOME !!! We ordered the cioppino, osso bucco, seafood pasta (combination with the osso bucco, house tossed salad (which came with an excellent dressing), bread (complimentary with lots of butter), tiramisu and the cannoli. The osso bucco was super-tender with a good amount of marrow. The marinara was perfect for me ... not too tangy and not too sweet. The scallops and the shrimps (for the seafood pasta) were perfectly cooked ... not at all overdone. The cioppino was a little sweet for me but my friends thought it was good. The dressing for the salad was exceptional !!! A little sweet but a nice balance with the vinegar. The bread was ok but I'm partial to sourdough especially when it's with Italian food. The parmesan cheese they include tastes like they added a little goat cheese in the mixture. The cannoli and the tiramisu were excellent ... especially the cannoli. My favorites were the osso bucco, the dressing for the salad and the cannoli. I ordered at the Manoa restaurant for a Saturday pickup around lunchtime but they informed me that they weren't open for lunch Saturday and Sunday so I arranged for me to pick up at the AIEA location which was around 1:30pm. My order was perfectly packed and there weren't any issues. I had a nice chat with the owner when I put in my order ... he was very pleasant and friendly. read more

Dinner for 5 adults and 2 kids on a week nights. Not too crowded but enough where you got to smell everyone's food coming out. MMM. Food is always consistently good enough at the chain. The small portion is big. And salad was super yum. Food is fast too so especially good since we all just pau work and were hungry. Kicker...the service. Our waiter... SO NICE. SO NICE. SO NICE. And everyone after that was helpful and nice. read more

Came here for my pre birthday celebration and enjoyed my meal here. I actually been here before a couple of years ago and the food seemed different this time around. I probably didnt like it and thats why i havent returned since. This second time around, i didnt pick the location and im glad I didn't. I was very impressed with the service. Service was great and the food was delicious. The restaurant was clean and not noisy. The prices was reasonable as well. I liked their house salad dressing, must try! The restaurant follows cdc guidelines. Lots of free parking in the front, very nice and spacious between tables and the staff is nice. I'm sure to put this place back on my restaurant list of places to eat at. read more

Paesano - Breaded chicken with eggplant , cheese and mushroom - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

The 2 stars are for the ambiance and free birthday cake. Otherwise this place is completely overpriced and the food is mediocre at best. I usually do not eat at anywhere with less than 4 stars on Yelp whenever I can help it, but we went here for my hubby's birthday dinner because he insisted (he trusted Google which gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars). So under his directive, we met his parents here for dinner. Appetizers- Eggplant stuffed with cheese- the eggplant was underseasoned and undercooked. Cheese and sauce was nothing special. Fried calamari- one of the worst yet. Thick pieces, almost like fish sticks were tough like leather and breaded with thick boring breadcrumbs. Marinara was like watered down jar sauce. Actually, can quality... jar sauce is better! Entrees- I ordered the shrimp francese. The sauce tasted like it was thicker with cornstarch and I couldn't tell the difference between that and the scampi sauce (I think they were the same). I got 4 pieces of breaded shrimp for $21. I got it with sautéed veggies instead of pasta. The veggies weren't cooked nor seasoned to perfection. The veggies also tasted like they weren't great quality. Definitely not locally grown or high end. Hubby got the shrimp and NY steak and the steak was overcooked (he asked for it medium rare but it was bowline well done). The potatoes were not seasoned with anything. The sauce was ok. Their pastas are not homemade, definitely out of a box and overcooked. They gave my hubby a free piece of birthday cake (chocolate mousse) so that was nice. Our server was also nice although we had a communication problem over one dish which the other server corrected. Wine selection was limited and overpriced. They sell a $12 twist off cap merlot for $40. Definitely not going back. And I hope my husband will trust me in the future when I try to steer away from poorly rated Yelp places! Saving grace- The bread and butter was good tho! read more

Paesano - Shrimp Alla Francese, 4 shrimp and veggies for $21 - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

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STILL OPEN FOR TAKEOUT phone ahead or walk in and order first time trying this place, but i got my usual order of italian sausage on linguini with alfredo sauce. large chunks of sausage on top a bed of linguini, with just enough alfredo sauce to coat everything. alfredo sauce was good. garlicy and flavorful, not just cheese and oil! caesar salad was traditionally made with actual oil, egg, and anchovies. a little bit too much dressing though as the lettuce was all wilted by the time i drove home. but still tasty! garlic bread was good too, but their house french bread was better. FOH staff was very helpful and friendly, and asked if i had any questions while looking over the menus. he told me there were two different menus. basically the same, except the dinner menu has a large portion of their dishes, whereas lunch only had 1 size. i would definitely go back and order the same thing, minus the garlic bread (only because i dont need both breads) read more

Paesano - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

Let me start off by saying this is not authentic Italian food, BUT it is still good. The staff was attentive and made the experience worthwhile. The pastas were not overly heavy so even though it was filling, it wasn't sick to your stomach kind. Recommend any of the seafood dishes and don't eat all the bread lol! read more

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My friend wanted to get some Italian food for dinner and I recommended that we go to Paesano in Aiea. Since it was just the two of us, took a chance and didn't make reservations and walked in. We were able to get seated right away. For appetizers we got the melon and prosciutto and calamari. For entrees, I got the chicken puttanesca and he got the seafood combination with garlic sauce. Our food came out pretty quick and as usual, it was delicious. My favorite appetizer is the melon and prosciutto. Yummy!!!! The chicken puttanesca was full of flavor even though I got the small serving, I could not finish it. This is a good Italian restaurant to head to if you don't want to go to town. read more

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The staff was great. But the food was horrible. It was bland and I even added salt and pepper. The chicken was all dark meat and it tasted like it was boiled instead of sauté ....the vegetables were cut huge and not cooked....for $75 I would rather go to Zippy's ! I will never go back. We couldn't even eat! The quality has definitely gone down. It use to be one of my favorite places to go. read more

Omg sooooo ono! Took the kupuna for a lunch date. Quiet ambiance, looks like a nice place for a date. Food is more flavorful than Assaggio's and that's one of my favorite places to eat! Would def recommend. read more

Celebrating my dads bday at Paesano I found this place to be simply mediocre. We had a party of ten, made reservations and was seated promptly. The first person to approach our party was the busboy filling up our water glasses. He said absolutely nothing to us! Even tho he's not our waiter a hello would be appropriate, he then left two water glasses empty and just walked away. We figured his pitcher was empty and he would return, well that didn't happen. When it came to ordering, the waiter didn't ask us if we wanted to start with appetizers , basically we ordered everything one time. So of course all the apps and main dishes arrived at the same time. Food arrived it was decent, I ordered the Fish Piccata, fish was over cooked and waaay too much capers. It was a funny vibe for me, it felt like they're just trying to turn tables. read more

Paesano - Fish Piccata, I like Capers but this was a bit much. - Italian Near Me - Aiea, Hawaii

3.5 rounded up for the benefit of the doubt. Edible is how I'd sum this place up. Caesar salad to start off...adequate. The jumbo shrimp cocktail and carpaccio were underwhelming. My entree was the rigatoni arrabiata and I absolutely did not like it. The sauce was watery and it tasted like I was eating a pepperoni pizza. I asked for another entree since I disliked my first. Ordered the Calamari Scampi which was MUCH better. If someone invited me to eat at this place, I would most likely accept the invite. Picking this place as a dining venue maybe not so much. read more

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