THE BEST GLUTEN FREE PASTA anywhere in Toronto! You won't believe it's gluten free. The chef had to prove it to me. It was THAT good! I've tried lots on the menu and everything is delicious! Wonderful and attentive wait staff. Patio dining on warm days during covid. Try the sangria. read more

Great little Italian restaurant in an easy to get to location. The lunch was fantastic and the service was exceptional without being intrusive. It's a great place to go for a customer lunch, dinner or an intimate celebration or date. I had the sausage penne which was prepared impeccably and delivered extremely quickly. Calvin, who was the server was great and truly understands how to be an excellent host. Will definitely recommend and return! read more

Paisano is a great all around place. The prices are more than reasonable, the service is great, and elegant enough for a date or a business meeting. I use this place for both. Great calamari, blackened salmon, and pasta. read more

Really inexpensive, that along with friendly attentive service are the two things that were good. Wine list is horrible. Pasta was drenched in sauce, more like a soup. I will not be returning. read more

This location seems to be more family-friendly than the other. It was quite noisy, but the piano player made it a more pleasing experience. The food was actually quite good. My husband said that the eggplant parmesan was better than at our usual go-to spot on Yonge Street! I loved the minestrone soup, and our companion enjoyed her mussels and seafood pasta. My pasta was flavorful, but there was more sauce than pasta. I managed to finish the whole thing, though! (As an aside to staff, both over the phone and in person, whatever happened between this restaurant and the other, there's no need to share the negativity with your customers. A simple "We parted ways" would suffice). read more

I was feeling like pasta, and I did not feel like cooking. So, I did a search for the "top italian takeout in North York" and was gratified to find that the #1 rated place, Cucina di Paisano, happens to be a 5 minute drive away. I had never heard of or seen this restaurant, so I was excited to try it. Needless to say, had I stayed home and made myself some KD, I would have been much better off! Let's start with the service. When I called, the person who answered inexplicably went radio silent in the middle of the conversation, not once, but twice! This was followed by no explanation or apology when she returned. Moreover, when I asked for my order - Penne alle vodka, with added meatballs - which was taken directly from the takeout menu on their website, for some reason it seemed to confuse her and her tone was rude and brusque. I could hear lots of noise and bustle in the background (a full volume conversation in the background during my call in fact), so it occurred to me that she simply had lost her composure because the place was busy. I realize that a restaurant experience is not solely defined by the phone call, and I was starving, so I headed in still looking forward to a great meal. I had been told that it would be ready in 10-15 minutes. When I arrived, I asked the host where to go for my order. He directed me to the cash to pay. I walked over and stood for a full 5 minutes, while employees constantly walked by and around me (it is beside the kitchen), and every one of them completely ignored me. This included a person who appeared to be the manager - he actually used the computer right in front of me and did not even acknowledge my presence; to be fair to him, he wasn't the only person to do this to me, as one of his colleagues had already done the same thing. I am respectful that there are many people to serve in a busy food place, and do not feel entitled to jump the queue, however trust me when I say that I am not shy and was making eye contact with anyone whom I could. FINALLY, someone got the message and asked, "is anyone helping you?" With relief, I told him what I was waiting for, but unbelievably, he then disappeared, and walked by me several times on his way to other tasks without ever assisting me! After another 5-10 minutes, I finally lost my patience and corralled someone and explained what I was there for and how long I had been waiting. She did not apologize (a recurring theme here apparently). My order seemed to confuse her, but she processed my payment and then went to speak to a cook, who also seemed visibly perplexed. Following that - you guessed it! - she did not engage me again, despite passing me several times on her way back and forth to the kitchen. After another 5 minutes had passed, I flagged another person. To give her credit, she was the only genuinely pleasant and helpful person whom I encountered during the whole ordeal. It took her a few minutes because no one seemed to know where my order was, but she found it and sent me on my way. Okay, so at this point, I was not in a good mood, but I was famished and a great plate of pasta would have been a saving grace. But alas, that was not to be, as apparently Cucina delivers a completely consistent end-to-end experience. The pasta was horridly overcooked - not just slightly, but very soft and limp - almost gooey. I should mention that my two room mates eagerly tested the pasta, had the same reaction and would not take a second bite. To top it off, I had paid $2 extra to add meatballs to this very subpar container of pasta (for a total of $16+tx), and this resulted in the addition of a single meatball plunked on the top of the pasta. It looked good, but the texture was oddly squishy, like soggy bread; the meatball itself was fairly tasty though. BOTTOM LINE: Very poor value for the money. Avoid this place and SAVE YOUR MONEY. I hear that PizzaPizza has some pasta dishes and they would be hard-pressed not to exceed the quality of this place. read more

The worst customer service. My family (total 4 of us) came on a Sunday to try Paisano's for lunch at the new location in York Mills. I called a few hours in advance to ask them their hours and whether we could just walk-in for lunch at which time the person on the phone said yes, so I didn't think it would be an issue. When we arrived a few hours later, we were told by the hostess that this restaurant does not take any walk-in customers and only takes reservations. We could see many empty tables in a fairly sized restaurant- I guess all reserved. I had never come across a casual restaurant that works like this so I was surprised. She also informed me the restaurant was "running out of food". This was also the first I had ever heard of this happening at a restaurant. Thus, we were turned away. I gave the restaurant another chance on another occasion and called a few days ahead to ensure we had a reservation. After being put on hold for 5 minutes, the man on the phone informed me that they "only take walk-ins" for dinner as they were fully booked. That is fine, but it has just been extremely frustrating to try to eat at this restaurant and we were never treated respectfully or properly informed about the restaurant's policies as customers. I just feel if you are going to be difficult about getting a table at a restaurant and have all these policies just to get seated, to either publish them on a website or inform your customers if they take the time to call you on the phone. It's not even like it's some fancy fine-dining experience. I had the impression they were supposed to be a family-friendly casual restaurant. One of my worst experiences at a restaurant. read more

Mediocre food. The brushetta was over powered with garlic pieces and smell. The chicken parmigiana although fresh was very thick and had a monster thick layer of melted cheese on it with even thicker tomato gravy. Too much to eat for 1 person. I ate half and felt so sick afterwards. read more

The Paisano at York Mills used to be located on Willowdale but recently moved. This restaurant is exceptionally good and is not to be confused with the Paisano that is now located at the old Willowdale Avenue address. Cucina Di Paisano at York Mills near Don Mills, has beautiful atmosphere. Pasta I had was delicious. All three of us at lunch were pleased with the food. Service was very friendly and attentive. Price is very reasonable and food was plentiful. read more

The food was okay but the service was impeccable. My wife and I came to Paisano's for the 35th anniversary of our first date. I was studying in Milan. She came out of nowhere and knocked me over with her bicycle. She quickly hopped off and helped me gather my books. We fell in love right then and there. That's why we came to Paisanos. For some delicious Italian food around Don Mills. We were helped out in particular by a lovely young lady named Chelsea. She was kind, courteous, and laughed at all of my jokes. It was so refreshing. My wife is tired of my jokes but Chelsea certainly wasn't. I know a real laugh when I hear one. This was real. Unlike that boy, Jimmy Fallon. The only reason it's not 5 stars is because I wasn't enamoured by the food but the reason why it's 4 stars is because of the service. read more

The food here is very plain. Almost everything tastes like it could be made at home. I only come here as a last resort food emergency when no other italian options are available. read more

.We went here for dinner tonight while on vacation because the kids wanted Italian. It exceeded our expectations. Of the food was outstanding and the service was very very good. Our waiter Michael was very on point good with the kids excellent server. The food was outstanding as well no I've got the shrimp pastel something-or-other and it was really good. And I got a pasta dish with salmon and the smoked salmon that was in it was so good so well done nice Smokey with some saltiness to it excellent food would highly recommend it very good service or the visit read more

The service here was terribly slow. The waiter hardly came to the table. And when he did he was non-verbal. The food was very bland. I had the salmon salad. The salad was generic and had no flavour. I will not go again. read more

They sent out a coupon in the mail that clearly says buy 1 entree and get the second entree free at the same price or les from Monday-Wednesday (and we came on a Tuesday). The restaurant told us that that it was a misprint and they wouldn't honour it. Also they were rude in explaining their mistake as though it was the customer's fault. read more

Eat here often and have never had a bad experience. The portions are generous and always hot when served. Prices are very reasonable and you get full value for your dollar. Highly recommend!! read more

First time for us in this restaurant. VERY impressed! Excellent service, fantastic tasting dinner, wine, and dessert. We will surely be back again. Our server Angel was very knowable and very pleasant, made dining very likable. Highly recommend this place. read more

This restaurant has prices a bit to high and the only thing that makes up for that high pricing is the chicken Parmesan. The chicken Parmesan is so good and has so many flavours and the only thing that makes it bad is there's a little bit to much salt that makes you thirsty. It also comes with a side of pasta and vegetables with are both amazing. What also makes this place amazing is the service is impeccable and they are very nice hard working people. read more

Terrible customer/public relations. Went to redeem a coupon for a free appetizer and was told I had to pay for 50% of the value because it was too costly for them. There were no price stipulations on the coupon other than valid Monday through Thursday. I ordered from the takeout menu under the appetizer section. After years of spending family gatherings at this restaurant and spending well over $1000.00 last year alone, and having the manager on duty to ENCOURAGE me to leave a bad review because they didn't need my business anyway WE WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE RETURNING to an establishment that values $14 over a long term customer. Enjoy your $14 Paisano. Taking my $1k+ a year elsewhere. read more

Paisanos has moved here recently. Big mistake. This little plaza is 99% restaurants and parking is a nightmare, especially on weekends. I went there last night, with a reservation for 6.30 and was seated in a private side room. Then the room filled with a big, very loud group of 2 big tables. We couldn't hear each other and we're very uncomfortable. We couldn't be moved. Dinner was ok but I will not be back. Too many great Italian restaurants in this city. Also, menu has been pared down and portions seemed smaller. read more

Having been there a few times now we are impressed by the consistency of the food and service. I had duck the last visit and it was as good as can be. Just booked for another visit. read more

Oh boy, did they ruin Family Day dinner for us. This place is not professional for many reasons... So much so that I felt compelled to finally make a yelp account just to post this. We arrived 10 min to 8 pm as we had made a reservation for 8 pm. They did not have our reservation in their system. The girls doubted us and were hesitant to give us seats. We did not want to turn back as we had coupons so we waited in the hall while they cleared some tables. We were seated and had their bread basket, which had 4 pieces of bread in it. As the other Italian restaurants I know refill their bread basket for free, I asked for a refill to the girl server who came to fill our water. Strangely, she said "We only give one bread basket per table." and I thought it was just their slightly weird policy until the male server then came to give us our food and asked if we wanted more bread. Hmm... Somehow some of their staff were not trained properly or the girl just didn't feel like giving us more bread upon request. At least the male server was trying to be friendly and apologized for the delay in bringing the food. He came from time to time to ask how things were and we smiled and let him know the food was fine. We had two of their chicken entrees and one dish of pizza. The portions were quite good. The couple next to us had an entree on the house in addition to the dish they were having due to some mistake that their server was apologizing for, and I was thinking that might be quite filling for them. Our night would have been fine if things continued like this. Our coupon said "Free Dinner, Buy one dinner entree and receive the second entree FREE!" and "Must be equal or lesser value". As our chicken entrees were each $19 and the pizza was $15, we wanted to use our coupon for one of the chicken entrees but the server brought a receipt where the pizza was taken off the total. We inquired about this and the server brought the manager. The manager said this is their policy and the equal or lesser value just means lesser value automatically. There was nothing written on the coupon that indicated this was their policy. I asked why they cannot consider just the two chicken entrees for the coupon as even their own website does not list their pizzas under their "entree" section (but their chicken meals that we had are part of their definition of "entree"). She said "everything in the menu is an entree" and said "this is not for the customer to decide". She impatiently said "you are getting a free meal." and only repeated the same things. I wanted to ask more about their policy but she stormed off even before I finished talking. I was astounded by the rudeness of this manager. Because of how we were treated from the time we set foot in this place to the time we pay the bill, I was not going to give them tips, but I knew it wasn't the fault of the male server so in the end we paid what they asked plus tips. My family was quite upset and I thought it better to just leave and try salvage what was left of the night. Normally a $5-$7 difference would not make me so disappointed but they managed to be unprofessional in every aspect of customer service I came across that single night within a span of an hour - not keeping their reservation in their system, a girl server claiming that they cannot refill the bread basket despite another server being able to, and the manager insisting that their policy should make sense to customers when they do not have their policy written anywhere on their coupon. This ruined the rest of the night for all of us on Family Day, and we regret going to this place. We should have headed straight out the door when we saw they couldn't keep their reservations straight, so I suppose there were warning signs. We will not be returning to this place. read more

I used to go quite a bit to the old Willowdale location (takeout and dine-in). I've been to the new location once and food was still pretty good. However, takeout today was disappointing. The tomato sauce they had before was outstanding. Tonight it was slightly burnt and bland. I'm not sure if it's a once off as they are too busy with their recent promo, but I hope it improves next time around..... read more

Was there yesterday .. had salmon salad .. it was so good too bad they did not have jalopenos .. also had veal aglio E olio pasts .. was also very good .. portion sizes were enough to satisfy .. service was a little slow but overall it was a pleasant experience read more

Calvin was great. First time at this restaurant and the food was outstanding! Seafood creole was delicious, as well as the grilled calamari and Caesar salad! Will be back soon. read more

My family has been going to this restaurant for years now, and the food is simply delicious!! Last night we payed a visit for my mother's birthday. We ordered the cheesy garlic bread, which was phenomenal; fresh, melts in your mouth. I remember before, at the old restaurant the bread they used to serve was just bread from the grocery. They have come a far way from that! As they now serve fresh, homemade bread. I ordered a chicken carbonara as my entree- which I always order. They never fail to make it so delicious. My mom has been to Italy many times and she always says that the pasta from Paisanos is better than the Pasta she had in Italy! Whenever we come here, the staff is always so nice. Our waiter last night was very kind. The new place is never too busy, and there is always space- unlike the old place where you had to wait twenty minutes on a weeknight to get a table. Overall I love this restaurant, and so does my family. Thank you Paisanos! read more