Buona Tavola

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Review

747 reviews

#4 of 198 Restaurants in Paso Robles₱₱ - ₱₱₱, Italian, Tuscan, Central-Italian

+1 805-237-0600+ Add website

Hours

Sun

5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Mon

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Tue

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Wed

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Thu

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Fri

11:30 AM - 2:00 PM5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Sat

5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

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Ratings and reviews

4.5

747 reviews

#4 of 198 Restaurants in Paso Robles

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Italian, Tuscan, Central-Italian, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

“The food - pasta & risotto - was good but not remarkable.”

“The saffron agnolotti was good, a unique flavor, but maybe over creamy.”

“Our party of four had different pasta courses and risotto and all were quite...”

“... in separate plates for us) Agnolotti de scami and enjoyed the Teneroni Po...”

Location and contact

943 Spring St, Paso Robles, CA 93446-2513

+1 805-237-0600

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Does this restaurant serve Lombard food?

Yes

Unsure

Details

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CUISINES

Italian, Tuscan, Central-Italian

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.5

747 reviews

Excellent

455

Very good

200

Average

Poor

Terrible

Dale B

5 contributions

Excellent Italian food, fantastic service

Jan 2020 • couples

Excellent Italian food, fantastic service and 50% off bottles of wine up to $100 on Wednesdays is a nice value add! Portion size is generous as well. We had reservations, arrived 30 minutes early but they graciously seated us despite the fact that the place was very busy. We’ll come back on our next visit to Paso!

Written January 2, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michelle J

Irvine102 contributions

Northern Italian cuisine in Paso Robles

Sep 2020 • none

My husband and I decided to dine here for our anniversary. With COVID we were worried about the outdoor seating as the restaurant is next to a busy street. But they were able to seat us under the awning. The food here is very good. We started with the eggplant appetizer of thinly sliced eggplant with mozzarella baked inside with a fresh tomato sauce. My husband had the pasta seafood combination and said it was one of the best pasta dishes he has ever had! I had the salmon special which was cooked perfectly. The service here is exceptional - our server made our meal very special with her kind and professional attention. The supporting serving staff is also excellent - knowing when to clear plates or refill water. You feel like you are a guest at someone's home !The restaurant is very busy you must have reservations. If you go on Wednesdays you can order any bottle of wine for $100 or less and get 50% off. I would definitely come back here. It reminded me of all my northern Italy trips where my mother's family is from.

Written September 13, 2020

BonvoyJunkie

Peoria46 contributions

Charming, Authentic, Classy

Mar 2020 • couples

We snagged the last available reservation for Saturday night. 5:30 PM is not our usual dinner time, but after an afternoon in the wineries, it was perfect for us. Trisha served us and her consideration was genuine. She’s a long tenured employee and we could just tell she loves her job. She always spoke with a nice smile. She explained the specials and even asked us questions to coach us through ordering. We started with the eggplant parmesan appetizer. Perfect. My wife said The minestrone soup was the best she ever had. I had the mushroom soup special. Better than my grandmother’s. My wife had a shrimp risotto. Top of the menu — cannot miss it. Home run. My entree was veal scaloppine and it was served with the sweetest carrots and an appreciated very small portion of mashed potatoes. Trisha served the wine we brought with us. There is a $20 cork fee per bottle. The end of our meal was a little rushed. We had time for the apple tart a la mode, but our server did not present our bill. One hostess presented it to us and another one processed my credit card and brought our receipt. That was just a little odd, but I suppose also efficient. We would definitely return.

Written March 8, 2020

John M

Santa Cruz4464 contributions

Actual experience does not live up to the hype.

Apr 2021 • none

We were seated out on the street and had the best views of seeing everyone come and go. AS IT SHOULD BE, locals who probably eat here every week, have the nice seats inside, and tourists with reservations receive what is left over. Maybe the new young hire wait staff with no restaurant experience only serve the tourists outside, as we did see some more experienced looking employees inside. Food is prepared well, and to their credit, the plates were hot enough to keep food warm at the very cold and windy outside tables. Food that we eat and saw at other tables was traditional fare, for those diners less adventurous who do not want any surprises. My review reflects the fact that the advertisements for this place and other reviews made us expect more, and it is not just a Paso Robles thing. In a restaurant like this, the wine should arrive before the food and I should not have to ask for silverware. The teenager acted like the bread that finally arrived was a special favor, and we had to ask for that, too, after seeing other tables with bread during the wait for dinner. We were very pleasantly surprised at less expensive restaurants where the food and service greatly exceeded expectations, and so you don't always "get what you paid for"!

Written April 26, 2021

Curiosity234346

1 contribution

Bad table and that was the good part!

Jan 2020 • couples

After making a reservation for our anniversary we arrived and were given a table next to the kitchen and in a high traffic area. Food was lousy and the wine tasted like the bottle was open for a few days. Rude hostess and slow service. Don’t waist your time and money here.

Written January 11, 2020

Deborah C

Huntsville184 contributions

What a fantastic experience!

Feb 2020 • family

What a fantastic experience! The restaurant is very cozy and the wait staff is superb. We ordered a lovely bottle of red and shared the caesar salad. It was served with fresh Parmesan and anchovies dressed in the perfect amount of dressing. Our main entrees were handmade pastas. One was a spinach ravioli and the other capellini pasta with arribata sauce. Perfection!!

Written February 4, 2020

Dan R

Morgan Hill849 contributions

Just a block south of downtown on Spring - free parking in front

Dec 2021 • none

With the new paid parking in downtown Paso, we wanted to find a restaurant outside that paid parking area. Buona Tavola turned out to be the right choice. The Italian food was very good, mostly pasta on the menu, but we both had other choices. The service was very good. Corkage fee $25, we enjoyed spliting a pasta dish (served in separate plates for us) Agnolotti de scami and enjoyed the Teneroni Portobello and the pork. chop. With Corkage, and before tip $141. The restaurant was less expensive than our favorite Italian restaurant in town, Il Cortile Ristorante, but they were closed on Monday and Tuesdays.

Written January 4, 2022

Scotalot

San Francisco32 contributions

Good food and service

Jul 2020 • couples

My husband and I had a wonderful dinner here last night. Outdoor seating only due to COVID. Servers and cooks were wearing masks so it felt safe. The service was attentive and friendly. We started with appetizers - mushroom soup (special of the day) was creamy and delicious. The watercress salad ala Caesar was also very good. I had the sausage Oriechetta pasta. It was very good, a bit sweet for my taste but not overtly so. My husband had the linguine with clams, mussels etc. the sauce was a bit creamy vs the usual white wine. Very good. Gelato for dessert with caramel sauce. Yummy. I highly recommend this place and will return next time we are in Paso.

Written July 26, 2020

abacusz

Thousand Oaks107 contributions

Fantastic past and risotto dishes.

Dec 2020 • family

We stopped in to place a takeout order to be picked up in 45 minutes. As a courtesy they gave us some bread so we could start dipping in olive oil and balsamic vinegar reduction and sip some wine at home. The order was ready on time, and was among the best pasta I have ever had (mine was tagliatelle with duck, chicken, veal and beef Sauce). My wife’s risotto was delicious and plentiful with succulent shrimp. A face off with the best meals I had in Italy. I was surprised.

Written December 28, 2020

unlevin

55 contributions

Very good food with very bad attitudes!

Apr 2022 • none

We saw that this restaurant had good reviews and we booked a reservation. It was quite busy when we arrived and had to wait a few minutes for the server to come to the table. We told her we had never been to Paso Robles and could she recommend a bold red wine. She recommend a bottle from a winery, which we found out later has no bold reds. It was a nice wine but not what we asked for. We ordered a Caesar salad to share and although tasty, did not taste like a traditional Caesar. The pastas we ordered were excellent. Our server was busy and she did not come to check on us much. When we ordered dessert, she recommended the custard that was similar to Creme Brulee according to her. I took a couple of tastes and could not eat it. It tasted sour to me, not bad but not like creme brulee. We told her and she basically told us she was sorry and walked away. We should not have been charged $10.00 for something we did not like. Once the bill came, my husband paid with cash and the hostess returned the change, but shorted us almost $2.00 and when my husband inquired about that, she rudely said "Oh you really want your change? " My husband asked to talk to the manager and was told she was too busy to come to the table. We liked main courses, but can find another restaurant that treats its customers with more respect.

Written May 3, 2022

BRIGUYinWI

38 contributions

Unexpected surprise

Sep 2021 • none

We accidentally ended up a restaurant that we thought we would never eat at again. We ate here 5 years ago and it was poor on many levels. You can read my earlier review. We did not remember the name and it came highly recommended from the locals in Paso Robles. Once we were inside, we decided to give it another try. We called for a reservation 2 days in advance and they were completely booked however we found a table easily on Open Table. (That made no sense to us). Party of 4 this time. Quickly seated, and served by Jilani who was an excellent server. The menu has not changed much, pricy salads however they were all delicious. (15 for a caesar salad). Different take on any caesar that I have had in the past and was excellent!! Trying to stay low carb is not easy here; as before almost all dinner items on the menu are listed by their pasta, and then what it includes. That being said, I found an eggplant dish in the appetizer section that was more than enoug', and was excellent. We all enjoyed our meals, service was great. During Covid all staff wore masks however seating was pretty closely arranged. So, we would definitely come back here and will recommend this restaurant! 4/5 only due to high prices and mostly-pasta-menu. Expect to spend $50 per dinner, not including alcohol.

Written September 25, 2021

Anthony Kjenstad

Fullerton176 contributions

Little Italy in Paso

Dec 2020 • couples

We have been frequenting Paso recently and trying to get to as many good eateries as possible. We actually stumbled across this place as it is about 2-3 blocks off the main area of Paso and we typically have not ventured from the main square. We had a reservation at another place in town but choose to pivot and change to this place and boy are we glad we did! AAMAZING! If you want authentic, amazing tasting Italian this place is a must! Seriously great authentic food. No chicken parmigiana here😂! Wine list was exceptional as well with local wines es and many Italian options! If you go in December during the pandemic bring your jacket it gets cold outside but they do an amazing job with heaters. Service was great as well!

Written December 6, 2020

sunshine_susan

412 contributions

Top of the line place in PR

Mar 2020 • none

The decor, menu, and ambiance of this place all shows amazing attention to high-quality dining. The charcuterie (with homemade salumi), to the shaved fennel salad, to the pasta entrees could rival anything in San Francisco. Very creative. And don't miss the half-price Wednesdays for bottles under $ 100. This place was completely full by 6:30 pm - not unsurprisingly.

Written March 7, 2020

DrMFoo

Fremont14 contributions

Best Italian food in our lives!

Jun 2022 • couples

This charming restaurant in Paso Robles is an absolute gem. We came here for our anniversary on a Thursday night. The place had great reviews and the online pics showed green veggies, not just meat. We reserved for 6 pm, walked into the restaurant and it was packed with happy diners and families. I don’t think one table was unused. We loved our meal of the special salad with white beans and shrimp, special of veal chop and the fresh pappardelle with shrimp. Fantastic! Melted in your mouth! You can tell they care about the quality of their meat and food in general. The place was very busy so service was slow ( along with post-Covid staffing shortages, I imagine) but it was so worth the wait. Who knew Paso Robles had a place like this, with absolutely stellar Italian food? I think we’ll travel through here more often! 😄 Parking was easy on the street. The staff was friendly and very busy. Diners were dressed casually. The restaurant decor was upscale but not fussy. Everything was lovely. We would have split a celebratory dessert but my husband was impatient after 25 minutes of waiting to order dessert. Plus we’d already been there 2 hours. Overall it was a memorable meal.

Written June 27, 2022

Michael F

Antioch80 contributions

The food was delicious. I

Feb 2020 • none

The food was delicious. I had the pumpkin stuffed tortellini in a white sauce (to die for) and my wife had a ravioli dish, both were excellent. We shared a caprese salad and some very good wine. They have an extensive menu and wine list, quite impressive. We live in the San Francisco bay area and visiting Paseo Robles involves eating at this restaurant a must! Two drawbacks, it’s very loud when most tables are taken and it’s really congested. The tables are about 30” apart, conversations can easily be heard. The staff is as good as the food. Despite its drawbacks I highly recommend this establishment for a great Italian meal.

Written February 3, 2020

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