Paoli's Italian Kitchen
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Paoli's Italian Kitchen
I have beeen going to this place for years and let me tell you first hand it is a great family/date restaurant. The food is excellent the service is excellent (especially Becca). They are super friendly and will have a great Conversation with you which makes the experience 10X better. If you have heard bad things about Paoli's you need to try it for yourself and see what you have heard was wrong.

Again great experience and I will for sure be returning again. Make sure you stop by and see Becca at the bar in the summer! She will make you a festive drink! Thank you Paoli's!. We are a family owned and operated Italian restaurant since 1988. We serve authentic Italian creations from secret family recipes made daily with only the freshest ingredients.
Reviews (26)
Ryan B.
Ryan B.
Jan 23, 2022
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Food is well cooked and tasted great, staff is nice and pleasant. The prices are high, it's in a high traffic tourist area. Stick to the menu, I asked for certain kinds of pasta and they had no idea. If you are hungry, the pasta portions are plentiful, taste great, fresh made but high priced and they only have what's on the menu.
Truong T.
Truong T.
Dec 24, 2021
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I really enjoy the pizza here. Its one of my favorite things to eat while up in Big Bear. The pizza is pretty greasy but hey who doesn't love a good old slice of greasy pizza once in a while. I know I do. Excellent staff who were all so friendly. The wait can be challenging at times, but overall I think its worth it. I always come back here when I'm in town.
Jeremy L.
Jeremy L.
Dec 27, 2020
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Ordered for takeout and was charged $32.29 to take it home to eat! The food was awful, bland and a huge disappointment for a hungry crowd of 8. The one upside to our experience was the bartender, who was sweet and made great cocktails that we ordered while we waited.
Tarra K.
Tarra K.
Dec 25, 2020
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1. Disorganized
2. RUDE RUDE employees
3. We were over charged $24
4. Hidden 15% service charge for takeout and then have the audacity to ask for a tip.
5. Food was supposed to take 20 minutes but we ended up waiting over 45 minutes

If you're going to be open during a holiday, expect to be busy and staff your restaurant accordingly. Your customers shouldn't have to deal with that.
Jade A.
Jade A.
Dec 01, 2020
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This place was disorganized and understaffed for the Thanksgiving weekend crowd. We came in and it was a long wait, so we ordered take out. My brother ordered from a server, then when I tried to order from another she said I had to order online. Then another said I could order from her.

Was told there was only one cook and no manager to help. Everyone seemed frazzled and I felt kinda bad for them. One girl helping us was actually very sweet and was trying her best.

Now the food was pretty bland tho, unfortunately. I ordered the chicken parm, calamari, meatballs and pizza. The sauce for the calamari
Ellen A.
Ellen A.
Nov 03, 2020
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We stopped in to eat lunch at this place on Sunday afternoon around 12:30. We walked up to the podium/counter and waited. And waited. Every single server and staff proceeded to completely ignore us, walk past us, etc. It didn't look that busy but if it was, all you needed to do was acknowledge us as customers and let us you will be with us at some point. But that never happened so we just left.
Customer service goes along way.
Raechel R.
Raechel R.
Nov 02, 2020
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Let the pictures speak for themselves. I don't know what the bad taste of the ends of my salmon was.

However. Covid friendly. Dog friendly. Children screaming friendly.
Jessie G.
Jessie G.
Oct 25, 2020
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Pretty decent Italian food, not jaw dropping, but tasty enough. I had the lasagna and my husband had the chicken parmesan. Both were good! We had the fried calamari as an appetizer, I would definitely recommend.

The service here was extremely friendly and efficient. Super nice staff, very genuine.

We sat outside due to COVID. Wish they had heaters, it was pretty chilly and we ate quicker than we usually would since we were both so cold.

If you're in the area, this is a cute spot and nice family atmosphere.
Jeanette C.
Jeanette C.
Oct 12, 2020
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We went here Saturday night. First off let me say the staff was trying so hard to cover for whatever was happening in the kitchen. It was unfair for them and you could hear the constant apologies to all the customers. We ordered Minestrone. It was so bland we had to ask for lemon, salt, and pepper to season it ourselves. Drinks we supposed to be double and if you pay $30 for two drinks you definitely should taste the vodka... We didn't. Our food came up but the Calamari was missing or had a delay in cooking. The table next to us got Calamari and after that, we decided to cancel our order.
Debra F.
Debra F.
Oct 11, 2020
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This place was awful. Completely a disappointment. We came all the way from Arizona as this was our first date 15 years ago when we lived in CA. The owner today only had two servers and they were so busy! We waited 15 minutes to be seated and after being seated 20 minutes before water arrived. The silverware was dirty and we had to request more. Prior to our ordering our main course we used the restrooms and the urine smell was horrific as you walk down the hall! We paid $29 for a shared Caesar salad and bread. We will not be back. The silverware was sitting on a table near the urine smelling
Gloria A.
Gloria A.
Oct 03, 2020
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Perfect place for a nice, quiet, incredibly delicious meal! Thank you Mareena for the excellent service and recommendations! The food was hands down one of the best Italian we've had. Antipasto salad with the homemade Italian dressing had 2 kinds of olives, kidney beans, garbanzos, red onion, Italian meats, SO delicious! The manicotti was filling, the cheese melted out of it and it was topped with a scrumptious sauce and basil. For dessert, tiramisu!
We'll be back! Glo and Jim
Paulina Ruiz
Paulina Ruiz
Sep 13, 2020
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We started with the wrong foot, we should've known from the start. First off, they where out of most of the sodas and the ones they had were nasty. Then, it took about 45 minutes to get our order and when I went to check the status of my order they couldn't find my order. After a few minutes they found my order and guess what. . . I was missing stuff!!!. . . So I go back they gave me what I was missing. . . .and now guess what? My food was cold. The bread was so hard it so hard to eat (I threw it away). . .The lasagna was so cold (I got a refund for this) && the only thing warm was the fettuccine
Sharlene Igo
Sharlene Igo
Sep 07, 2020
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Paolis was good, nothing special. The decor and menu are very basic. They didn’t have a couple of the beers and drinks they were advertising. Overall, it was nice to sit down and have a hot meal with good service.
Tracy Gertz
Tracy Gertz
Sep 06, 2020
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Love this place! Best pizza ever! Great service, very friendly, and the new manager is very accommodating and she makes wonderful cocktails! We will definitely visit again.
Eileen C.
Eileen C.
Aug 21, 2020
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So my daughter and I decided to get away and come visit Big Bear. We stayed in Big Bear for one night. When dinner time arrived we were craving Italian food. We drove by this little spot in the Village and decided to give it a shot. My daughter ordered Penne pasta with Alfredo sauce and chicken. I ordered linguine with the Paoli sauce which is basically a combination of alfredo sauce and pesto and I added shrimp which in my mind sounded amazing. Their customer service was great but I'm sorry to say that our sauce had no flavor at all. My house salad was good. That was probably the
Alex K.
Alex K.
Aug 09, 2020
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First thing first, our waitress was very sweet and friendly.....

It's a Saturday afternoon, so trying to find a place for food was like a needle in a haystack. They're plenty of restaurants but getting a table. That's a different story. All the restaurants that we walked by was basically full
with at least 45 min wait time or longer. We happened to walk this this place. We've been here a couple of times years ago for dinner. But now it's under new management. Tables were all taken but there was only a few people waiting so we put our name down. Still 20,30 min. Staff
Zoltan P.
Zoltan P.
Aug 03, 2020
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I've eaten here many times years ago and everything was good.
We ordered togo last night, no pizza???
So ordered calamari, some pastas, garlic bread ect.
Sad to say that it was horrible. Absolutely zero flavor.
Ayla G.
Ayla G.
Jul 30, 2020
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First off, our server was very nice. She was a bit scattered because she said she's usually in take out... so she was overwhelmed. But, that wasn't an issue. She was very attentive and sweet.
Going forward with the food... we were so hungry and excited because every other place around had a long wait. This one had none! We thought we hit the jackpot.
I love Italian food also (so i was extra excited for some Alfredo!)
For starters, we got breadsticks, mozzarella stick, and calamari. They were all delicious. The breadsticks was a bit underwhelming but hey, if you stick a slab of butter
Lolita M.
Lolita M.
Jul 22, 2020
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Have been here a few times for pizza and was really good. Was disappointed that they didn't have any drinks I really liked. I ordered a salad , it looked good with the olives and cheese. This salad had too much cheese and I love cheese. The mozerella sticks were more like a mozzarella patty and it was very greasy.
Jason R.
Jason R.
Jun 26, 2020
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Really good spot for lunch or dinner. Super friendly staff that took great care of us. We are new in town, we asked a few questions about recommendations for things to do and the staff gave us great advice. There food is incredible, made fresh and have a good flavor. We got Baked Artichoke which was amazing! I got the BBQ Chicken Pizza that was top notch. This place has a nice vibe as well. Check it out and you won't regret it
Sarah W.
Sarah W.
Jun 13, 2020
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The best part was the quick seating...it went downhill from there.

Drink orders took 15 minutes to arrive. I understand the need for plastic cups during the pandemic, but my kids' $2 lemonades were served in 6 ounce cups with 50.% ice. I was charged full price for refills. I won't complain about the $20 bottle of Robert Mondavi wine, but just know that's what you're going to get. The wine list certainly won't spell it out for you.

Our waitress "didn't have time" to take our orders when the food was delivered, so it took another 5 minutes to put our order
Damara Netzel
Damara Netzel
Jan 26, 2020
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Our first time here, to celebrate my sister in law's birthday, and it did not disappoint. Our server was excellent and the food even better. We had Hawaiian pizza, pepperoni pizza, lasagna, fettuccini alfredo, mozzarella sticks and garlic bread. The pizza is Chicago deep dish and oh my gosh so good. It says the drinks are not refillable, when you order one, you'll understand why. They're huge, almost as tall as compared to my 16 year old son's forearm. If you're in the area, find your way here and bring your appetite, you won't be disappointed.
Sandra C.
Sandra C.
Dec 31, 2019
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I have been here a couple of times and it has been good both times the service was not that good today don't know if the waitress was how to make because she was tired or what but other than that the food was great. The pizza is delicious I love that light crispy crust. Yummy...
Maureen Orey
Maureen Orey
Feb 01, 2019
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Enjoyed our dinner, decent environment - it's not quite as much of a crazy mad house as many restaurants in the village.
Unfortunately no vegan options besides salad, it seems that all of the pasta and bread are made with eggs.
Given the choice between a stressful long wait at Saucy Mama's or here... I would choose here, unless you are a vegan.
Shorter wait with equally good food!
Marina V.
Marina V.
Jul 08, 2017
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Lovely summer patio. Very friendly service. I liked the food but didn't love it ( I really really wanted to love it). We had Fettuccini Alfredo & half a Caesar salad with salmon.
Albert Baloiu
Albert Baloiu
Sep 17, 2016
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The garlic chips were the only thing deserving of 2 stars (no idea why it's called this, it was cheesy bread and this item was good). The pizza we ordered must have spent 5 minutes in the oven. It literally was playdough with toppings. The service was very, vary bad and I think it was due to an over stressed staff. This place has potential but you have far better options in a walking distance.