Paolo's Italian Restaurant in Kent - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Food and service were excellent, except the spinach salad Was saggy. Kids menu is perfect. Servicee was very good even though it was quite busy

Our visit started off great however it got worse throughout the night. First of all our server forgot our drinks and we had to ask 2 times until we finally got them. She did comp the drinks though. We started with the “prawns” wrapped in bacon. They were tiny and not at all prawns. I would call them shrimp instead. But they were $20 for some reason. When our food came out we were underwhelmed. The pasta sauces were extremely watery and it was very bland. Italian food should not be watery and bland. And for almost $80 it’s ridiculous. Throughout our meal, our server only checked on us once and when it came to paying we ended up having to waive someone else down to pay because our server kept walking past us without grabbing the payment. We were really upset by all of this because we picked this restaurant for its great reviews. Unfortunately it did not live up to it. We will not be returning.

The best restaurant in the area for sure. It is such a wonderful place to go. The food is amazing! The steak gorgonzola is the best. I have tried most of the menu and I have not been disappointed.

Our servers name was Marlene she was very sweet and provided excellent service. We ordered the bruschetta which was amazing, and for dinner he got a seafood pasta and I got a chicken mushroom risotto. I also got an Italian soda as a drink and we ordered the lemon cheesecake for dessert. Everything was good the best things were the appetizer and dessert. The meals were small and very overpriced. Both needed salt . They were also out of stock of quite a few items. We paid $140 including tip(we gave a 20% tip). My husband doesn't want to return because of the pricing, he just doesn't see the value for not so great food. So go if it's something you can afford it and if you want to try something new.

Ignored by staff. Too bad, the food usually is fantastic.

This is our Anniversary place..the food is excellent..staff are wonderful..love sitting at the counter and watch them cook..best Italian in south king county.

Diner not a restaurant as hard as they may try, ruined date night. Hard undercooked tortellini slow service great bottled beer

As a NYC guy coming to this rather incredibly tasty authentic Italian restaurant and being new to the area my son and I will go nowhere else. At once upon entering you observe the open kitchen. As we say in NY, food takes time and always worth it. If you try this place you won't be disappointed. BTW the desserts are addicting tiramisu home made. Cheese lemon cake. Oh wow!

Always great food! Friendly staff. Open kitchen so you can see the crew cooking. Usually there are dinner specials available in addition to the regular menu.

Just a great little restaurant with friendly fast service and fantastic food! I had seen this restaurant for 20 years and never went in... what a mistake! Great place to watch a chef at work.

Nice, comfy, clean little spot. Excellent food and service. I LOVED my steak gorgonzola, and my wife loved her shrimp scampi. We are really looking forward to many more dinners here, tons of excellent sounding choices on the menu!

Great food had salmon with side of fettuccine Alfredo and raspberry panna cotta for dessert. Coffee was good too. Definitely stop in for dinner it’s a great place

It had been nearly 20 years since my last visit and it was good then. Was part of a work party last night and it was a 10 the staff/chefs were on point on this small restaurant that was completely full on a Wednesday and I know why. Don't judge this gem by the parking lot. :)

VERY yummy food and sweet servers and chefs! Very family friendly! Will be coming again!

Had a great lunch and the ambiance was great.

Kent really has some hidden gems and Paolo's is no exception. Great food, service and atmosphere. You owe it to yourself to try it out.

Went for the 2nd time on Father's Day...glad we had reservations. Great leisurely 90 min meal. Alfredo was our server. Nice fine dining( so rare these days, on Kent's East Hill)

One of the best Italian restaurants in Kent. Chef Paul is THE MAN! I love the fact that this is local and family owned. It tastes more authentic this way. He makes delicious food and teaches you how to make it too (if you sign up for his cooking class that is). I love the atmosphere of the restaurant with open kitchen setup; you can watch the chefs cooking. Great choice with the marble tables and pink napkins! No cocktail, but there’s a good selection of wine. Most of the dishes are rich and flavorful! My only comment with the plating is I do not like parsley being sprinkled all over my entire plate. I’m perfectly happy with it just being on my food. The plate looks more clean, modern and photogenic that way imo.. but hey, not my call. Always the chef’s call. We like to come back here for either a casual dinner night or special occasions! Highly recommend.

It's a quaint little place, seats maybe 40, so you might need a reservation during peak times. Their menu seems to have all the norms. I had the Steak Gorgonzola with fettuccine Alfredo and a Cesar salad The steak was very tender and covered in their Gorgonzola sauce. WOW. It was amazing, However, their Alfredo sauce was bland, almost no flavor, big disappointment. Their house made Cesar dressing was just ok. My wife had the Chicken Marsala, she said it was delicious..

One of my favorite south end restaurants

DELICIOUS. Went on my husband's birthday and he got a free dessert.

Love the food at Paolos. I have been coming here for the last couple years. The food is delicious, the staff is great, and the atmosphere is nice. You might want to make a reservation on the weekends, they do get busy!

This man Paolo knows his way around an Italian dish. My GOODNESS! Two words: Steak. Gorgonzola. This spot has been a fave of our family for years, and we are devoted to dear Paul and his fantastic culinary creations. And don’t skip the desserts!! 💛

Great food. Very fresh. Intimate space in Kent. Cooks are on it!! Servers are very good and attentive. Paolo's special cab is wonderful. Highly recommended!

Always love coming here for great food and friendly great staff! Wait times can be a bit longer but it is because food is prepared with care and attention.

Family owned, small intimate feel, great staff.

Great food and nice place to have a date.

Lovely place.for a catching up lunch with friends.

We had our first Paolos experience the night before our wedding October 2023. We had Paolos again to celebrate the birth of our baby in December, and now again for my birthday. Paolos has become our favorite celebratory dinner spot. Dine in and take out have both been magnificent. We highly recommend Paolos.

Chef Paul Raftis creates amazing Italian food. Need some specific culinary care? He can easily make the change and it's still fantastic.

Unique and delicious food offerings. The scallops were amazing. Great ambience.

Authentic Italian food. Delicious

Theresa, our waitress, was phenomenal! She made our entire night simply spectacular. We were celebrating our anniversary with some friends. She helped me pick out a new favorite wine. We will come back for the wine, food and Theresa!

First impressions are an important element to any new dining experience, and this place had it in spades. With the owner in the kitchen as the inspiration for the menu, a clean look and attentive service, we knew we picked the right restaurant. The menu options were innovative, and my dinner choice was not a disappointment. I can hardly wait to go back and try something different.

Picked up catering for a ladies' dinner.

This is one of our favorite restaurants. Paolo's has been at its location for years serving some of the best food around.

Good food and friendly staff. But we waited an hour and a half for our food. Several groups of 4 (we were also 4) were seated after us, and served before us. It appeared to be a slower night as well, especially for mid week. I'd like to try other things on the menu, but I'll see if others have had issues with slow service.

Got the chicken Marsala and caprese salad and it was really disappointing. The Marsala sauce lacked flavor and seemed watered down. The mushrooms were over cooked and seemed like they had just been sitting in a pan for a while. The roasted vegetables that came on the side were pretty good. The caprese salad didn’t taste like it has any salt or olive oil on it and had a very small amount of balsamic vinegar on it. Seemed like it would be a nice restaurant to get food from but was closer to fast food quality.

Best Italian food in greater Seattle

The restaurant is very clean. And it's like a house made into a restaurant it's very neat. And the food was really good. No complaints from anyone.

Our favorite place for a romantic dinner or family from out of town meal

Service was excellent! Food was wonderful! However. Lacked salt on almost all the dishes. The garlic bread could of had more garlic also. Other than that the place resturant is Def a must try. Lived in kent for along time and this was my first time here! Will be back again for another experience! Btw, bathroom was extremely clean!

Fabulous food and the service was 100%. Each time I have visited - always great food and service

We used to live in Kent and went to Paolo’s when they first opened and went often in the next seven years while we lived there. We were visiting recently and decided to make the trip out there for an early dinner before we had to be at the airport. Food was just as delicious as I remembered it being. We shared the Steak Gorgonzola and it was melt in your mouth delicious!

The best homemade Italian food on the west coast! Chef Paulo is magnificent. I had the seafood fettuccine! The absolute BEST sauce, presentation, pasta, flavors!

Valentine dinner was nice. Service was on point and the harpest that was playing took requests. Paul was working his tail off that night. Make sure to make a reservation if you want a weekend authentic Italian dinner

Love this restaurant but it’s the second time on an event night where things just go very wrong. The kitchen staff is beyond slow and we could tell they were under a lot of stress. When we got the food, the vegetables were not roasted, they were rock hard. Told our server who we always have good experiences with and he didn’t offer to bring us new veggies and he only deducted 15.00 off the bill. The other thing is he kept passing by our table saying it should be right up over and over. People that were sat the same time as us had already finished and left before we even got our dinner. I don’t think we will be returning on an holiday event. Speaking of the event, we came on the night before Valentines which in the email it showed a special menu and live entertainment and the dates were 2/10-2/14. I guess that was only for 2/14 but why was it advertised as such? I was really looking forward to that.

Excellent food and good service as always. This has been one of our favorite places for years. Most everything on the menu is good but often the specials are the best.

4 ⭐️ for food and service, but it was very cold at our table.

Im from the East Coast and here on business. I stopped in for lunch and had the Chicken Marsala. Very good. Nice place, friendly staff.

Special place with consistent good food and welcoming atmosphere. We were celebrating our anniversary. Feb decorations— tasteful hearts. Love that such a nice place is nearby, easy parking, and a family business. We look forward to eating there again

Wow absolutely amazing Italian restaurant. Open kitchen with the Head chef cooking many nights. They are busy and dinner can run long but very good.

We love Paolo's. Best Italian around without a doubt!!

Always a treat! The steak Gorgonzola is a MUST HAVE. Service was kind and attentive even though they were super busy! The side fettuccini Alfredo was the best I’ve ever had. Big hunks of roasted garlic mixed in! YUM.

Extremely poor service. Excellent food! My family of four arrived at 5:15 for dinner to celebrate my 79th Birthday. Those attending were my wife, son and grandson. We had a reservation at 5:30 P.M., but there was no one there to receive us. We finally stopped one of the people walking around and got seated at about 5:50 P.M. The service from that point was poor. Evidently our server had not reported in yet. So, I tried to find the manager, who was not there yet. Finally, after effort on our part a man, perhaps the manager, showed up and we were attended too. The food, as always was great. The service was terrible!

Foods and wine were very excellent as always. Servers were very attentive and smiling.

Seemed a big over priced for the serving sizes. Service was great though

We all had the 4 course price fixe menu. I started with the clams and pesto minestrone soup. Both were incredible. The entree was the Chicken Gorgonzola. While it tasted good, I was less impressed. It wasn’t the smaller size that put me off, I didn’t care for the segmentation of the plate. There was the chicken breast with the sauce, a small mound of pasta with marinara and some roasted vegetables. It should have been the chicken breast on a bed of pasta with the gorgonzola sauce on that. It felt like it cheapened the entree. I wouldn’t order that again. I had a Kailua chocolate cake for dessert as they were out of tiramisu. The cake was so thick and heavy, it was almost fudge like. I wouldn’t order that again. There were better looking desserts at the table. Overall, I enjoyed the place. I will return to give it another chance and order off the regular menu.

Great steak cut it with a butter knife home made pasta

Paolo’s is constantly very good. The food is delicious and very well done. Our favorite Italian restaurant.

This is one of our favorite places to eat! It has some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. If you have not tried their place yet you’re missing out.

I love Paolo's, and go as often as possible. Usually I'm there on weekend evenings. This time I went on a weeknight. The food was wonderful as always, but the restaurant was quieter than it is on weekends. I had no trouble conversing with my husband. Service was to notch too. I think I like the mid week dinner service better than weekends just because of the lower noise level.

I've been coming to Paolo's for years! The food is fresh & delicious. The choices are wonderful! Best Italian food around...

Local favorite. Reservations are a must with limited dining space. Dishes could have had more herb seasoning as they have had before.

Do yourself a favor and give it a try. You won't be disappointed. So yummy. A true gem in this neighborhood

A surprisingly nice and quaint Italian restaurant that was very enjoyable. The appetizers and dinners were tasty, and the staff were quick, efficient and friendly. We will be back.

Excellent Itailian food. Friendly Staff. We love this restaurant

Over priced for the amount they give you. I paid about $35 for a large chicken and shrimp Alfredo and they barley give me any meat and a little noddles

Hidden Gem with Delicious Pasta and a Cozy Ambiance My book club recently hosted a dinner here and I was pleasantly surprised by the hidden gem we discovered. I used to live nearby and walked past countless times, never realizing the warmth and culinary delights inside. The antipasto appetizer was a fantastic way to start, offering a generous selection of Italian favorites. My seafood alfredo was rich and flavorful, with an abundance of seafood. While I thoroughly enjoyed my dish, I confess to a touch of envy when I heard about the special: braised short rib pasta. The description alone makes my mouth water, and it's firmly on my list for next time! We couldn't resist trying all the desserts (insert embarrassed emoji here), and the bread pudding stole the show! It's an absolute must-try for any dessert lover. Some of the other desserts leaned towards the store-bought variety, lacking charm a or anything special. While they were enjoyable, they weren't the highlight of the meal. It's worth noting that they don't offer cocktails, but their wine selection proved impressive. We especially enjoyed the Pinot Noir from Oregon and the Pinot Grigio from Italy, both high-quality wines that perfectly complemented our meal. Overall, this place exceeded my expectations. The delicious food, cozy atmosphere, and friendly service make it a perfect spot for a book club gathering or any casual dinner. I'll be back, especially to chase that elusive short-rib pasta dream!

I have lived in this area for 6 years and I never knew I was so close to such a gem!! The Steak Gorgonzola was literally the best steak I've ever had. So good!! Update: I've now been to Paolo's a few times and every single time is perfection. The meatball sampler is one of my favorites, best meatballs I have ever had, and that alfredo sauce? To die for. The lasagna? Perfection. Lemon cheesecake? Heavenly. Chocolate Kahlua cake? I'm not even supposed to eat chocolate but I risk it because it's that good.

Great little Italian spot. Great food, great service, great prices. Definitely looking forward to coming back. They were busy, and my friend made a reservation, probably a good idea for a weekend night. Highly recommend.

Restaurant was a little loud but nothing that interfered with our experience. Food was amazing.

Alfredo was great, food was amazing! Great date night spot

Always amazing and never disappointed! Delicious food and great service.

Lovely and clean with delicious food. Take your time and do not plan a quick meal here. You will be glad you did. Calamari was cooked very well and quite tender with good flavor with a bit of warmth onset by some cooling greens. Scallops had a tasty slightly sweet (fruit tone) sauce, and came with well seasoned roasted vegetables adding a savory herb base tone to complement. The Alfredo was the disappointment of the evening as it was bland and watery. Added salt, pepper, and all the parmesan remaining from my child's meal; all that helped. Kids meals made it accessible to take the kids to a nice meal to practice their table manners, and came with a drink and desert. All big hits. Overall, bold flavors, well combined for an enjoyable evening.

Enjoyed our dinner. Quality, taste of food was really good. Restaurant was clean and pretty quiet. However, portions were smaller than expected for the price paid. I realize that costs have gone up but customers still need good value to entice them to return.

Paolo’s is our favorite local Italian restaurant, it’s always a winner. This being NY Eve, their standard menu was supplemented with an optional 4 or 5 course fixed-price special menu (appetizer, soup or salad, entree or pasta dish, dessert). My wife had Fettuccine Paolo’s plus house salad, I chose the Tortellini Gorgonzola plus Caesar salad. Everything was tasty & done perfectly.

We enjoyed our dinner. Everyone's food was very good. Service was good.The wine complemented our food. We will be back.

Paolo's never disappoints. We have been a customer since they opened and celebrated many special occasions. Our favs, the Steamer Clam appetizer and wonderfully fresh bread to start. Pasta dishes are full of flavor. My favorite the Ravioli with walnut cream sauce. The hubby loves the Seafood Fettuccine. For something different they always have specials that will satisfy the palate. A dessert menu that satisfies the sweet tooth. A wide range of wines. Customer service is great. Very attentive. Pricing fair.

A few more room dividers would make this restaurant quieter, otherwise it was a great place for a family lunch.

Wonderfully fantastic as always ❤️ love the interaction between customers and staff, makes it feel homey.

We ordered the Scallops Tuaca and it was SO good that we wanted to lick our plates when we were finished! Our server Alfredo even brought our Coke refills in a carafe 😃

The food and service was wonderful, as usual. A friend and I were there for lunch. ALL of the tired, over worked and ill used holiday decorations should be burned. PLEASE get rid of everything and start again!!!

Paolo's is a different sort of place. If you plan on visiting during busy hours, make sure you have a reservation! It's a small place and we had to wait 30 minutes to get a table for two. The place was too cold. We saw numerous other patrons having to put their coats back on, like we did. We also waited for quite some time for our food order--much longer than it probably should've taken. The portions of food appear much smaller and a lot less, I guess, "vibrant"(?) and lacked that visual "wow" factor when they brought it out to us. My immediate thought was it was way overpriced. ...BUT, after all of that, we tried the food. It was AMAZING! And the staff was SUPER friendly! Our water glass never got empty, and we were constantly checked on. The deserts options looked amazing, and the 2 that we got were DIVINE! We'll definitely be going back--only this time, we'll have a reservation and dress a lil warmer.

Excellent meal and service as always! Paolo's is our favorite place to get a quality meal!

Love the food & service! One of my top 5 favorite places to eat.

The food at Paolo's is always wonderful and the service was very timely.

We had an excellent dinner. The food was delicious and the service great!

Doesn’t get much better, special place last 30 years

Husband's 60th bday, never been but had lots of people tell us to go. Just the 2 of us on 11/29 and had the most wonderful fantastic experience. We will be back.

Warm and inviting... food is so delicious

The food here is amazing, but the wait times for staff is unacceptable. I'm sure they're understaffed, but that's no reason to ignore our table for nearly 20 minutes. We shouldn't have to flag a waitress down for nearly everything we want to order.

Our waitress was wonderful. It’s a cute spot. The lights could be a little dimmer for better ambiance. My salad was good although it was missing croutons. My pasta entree was flavorless and disappointing. It was supposed to be a signature dish. Overall I would probably not return which is sad because I like supporting small businesses.

We've never had a bad dining experience here. The food is always prepared fresh and the staff is friendly and accomodating.

This place is close by our home. Less than a 5 minute drive. We decided to take my daughter and her husband here for dinner to celebrate their recent marriage. Unfortunately, it was a horrible experience. This was the fourth time I had extremely slow, terrible service and this was the last time. The first time it was beyond slow. After waiting an hour and a half and given a salad, offered more bread, and offered dessert, the waitress told us that she forgot to put our order in. The second time, we had reservations at 4pm but were told that we needed to wait for the server to arrive. The third time my husband and I went there with my mother, and it was nearly 2 hours with a very inexperienced server named magenta. This last time, with my daughter and her husband (tonight) we waited over an hour for our dinner, had to flag someone down for water, flag someone down for bread, and then all of that to get the wrong check brought to our table. At this time, we had to walk to our server who was very avoidant even with eye contact, to personally hand her the check. We noticed other people also standing up trying to get their servers attention. Also, to add, we saw multiple door dash drivers come and go before we even got our appetizers. Never, ever will be back again which is sad because the food was very good.

Great Italian food. It was busy so we’re glad we had a reservation. Highly recommend the gnocchi and the peppercorn dressing for salad and bread dipping. Also the lemon cheesecake!

Great food but very slow poor service. The last four times of being there with the same outcome. The restaurant seems more interested in filling orders for door dash than serving our food. Won’t be back sad to say because the food is really good.

I love the food at Palo’s. Especially the lemon cheesecake.

This is the best Italian place I've ever been to. Nice home like atmosphere, and Paolo himself was cheffing last night. Our server was excellent, and I had the best steak I've ever had in my life.

Amazing food and excellent customer service. I love that the restaurant is almost set up, like you're in an Italian kitchen/home.