"You bet your sweet culo I’m Italian" was printed on the Italian flag on the back of the T-shirt worn by the bartender. We were settling in getting ready to order. In years past, we’d passed by Paoli’s many times, walking up State Street from the beach and back. The gleaming white, modest two-story building with red-tiled roof had always looked inviting, with dining indoors and on the sunny patio beside. But somehow, we’d never tried it out before now. This time (May 2005), we got wind of "everything half-off Mondays" on Santa Barbara.com. Too good to be true, I figured. And if it is, the prices are probably sky high to begin with. NOT SO!!!. We arrived at 5:30pm at Paoli’s, and sure enough, signs advertised everything half-off, with the exception of shelf drinks. Paoli’s could very well be the best restaurant deal in Santa Barbara. It serves great Italian food in a homey atmosphere for pennies. We decided to sit inside, as everyone else had, due to an unusually windy day making the patio almost uninhabitable, despite its being sheltered and enclosed. Taking a table near the front, with sun streaming in the west-facing windows, we began to look over the menu. The front of the menu tells you three important facts: Your beautiful mother is my only competitor. Best Pizza in Santa Barbara. Late Night Dining. Another page in the menu gives a bit more insight into the Paoli way. Not into fancy stuff, Paoli’s is proud of its good, solid home-cooked meals, flowered tablecloths, and wine served in kitchen glasses.
The menu is divided into pizzas, pastas, chicken and seafood dishes, and sandwiches for lunch only. There’s also a whole page of appetizers, soups, and salads, including a minestrone bowl for $3.95. Many of the entrées looked tantalizing, but how could we NOT order the best pizza in Santa Barbara? Our half-price deluxe was topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onion, and green pepper. It was served to us bubbly hot in a well-used baking pan, with a medium crust and deliciously seasoned sauce. The veggies weren’t overdone, and everything was in perfect proportion. Our Firestone beers were half-priced as well, so we didn’t care that they don’t serve pitchers. Cost pre-tip: $14.81.
I don’t recall we’ve been anywhere else for pizza in Santa Barbara, but I’m ready to believe that Paoli’s does make the best. You also can’t beat the friendly, comfy, homey atmosphere. It’s obvious this is a locals’ favorite. The bar, festooned with tiny Christmas lights, looks inviting, with laughter and conversation among the guys sitting on flowered barstools (matching the flowered tablecloths).
You don’t have to come Mondays to get a delicious meal dirt-cheap. Every day, early bird meals are served for $7.95, and discounted drinks at happy hours daily between 4 and 7pm. Lunches, all under $10, are almost half the price of dinners, with the same entrées, but without the salad or soup choice. Paoli’s has one other restaurant in Big Bear Lake, California.