promising panini place
The advent of regional chain Panini Cafe to South Park affords Downtown residents a much-needed reasonably priced option for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Although cosmetic construction is not yet complete, the restaurant has opened for business, and locals have flocked to the eatery in droves. Nearly all tables were filled around noon on Saturday.
In summary, the food is satisfactory and service is friendly and attentive. One can only hope that the restaurant continues to improve, so it can serve Downtown for a long time.
A quick run-through of South Park’s overnight hit:
The side patio is flanked by wall fountains and ventilated by outdoor ceiling fans.
Design-wise, the interior of the restaurant is not particularly impressive, but is shiny, new and comfortable.
Breakfast is served until 3:00pm on weekends. The orange juice is fresh-squeezed and delicious.
The food is nothing extraordinary, but it is prepared quickly with quality ingredients and comes in fairly generous portions. A create-your-own-scramble with bacon, spinach, tomatoes, bacon and brie ($10.95) needed more seasoning.
Accompanying roasted potatoes also suffered from the same blandness. A few dashes of Tabasco, however, easily solved this problem.
Similarly, a create-your-own-omelet with chicken, spinach, feta and mozzarella ($11.95) could have had more flavor.
The bread that comes with dishes is very good, as would be expected at a place called Panini Cafe.
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23 comments
Had a chance to eat there on Friday night. I left with mix thoughts …
- The staff were tripping over one another. They seemed to be hovering over all the tables wanting to say or do something
- No air conditioning=open doors=numerous bugs inside while trying to eat
- Ordered a pasta dish that came with salad and bread. I didn’t like that it all came together; I would rather have had the salad come out first
- Portions were a good size
- Visually it’s a great addition to the area
I ate at Panini on Friday for lunch and again on Sunday for brunch. Both experiences were memorable and awesome. Highly recommend the chicken wrap and breakfast wrap…delicious. On Sunday I went with three others and everyone enjoyed their meal. One of my friends who lives on the westside but works downtown was amazed at how busy the restaurant was. She couldn’t get over the amount of people walking the downtown streets…and where all the people came from to eat at Panini Cafe! Downtown is definitely suprising people!
I agree that the staff may appear to be tripping over one another but I’d rather that then never see my server.
Two thumbs up for an establishment that has only been open a few days.
My husband and I ate at Panini on Saturday for breakfast. The food was great, and I agree that for only being open 2 days, they were very organized.
“I agree that the staff may appear to be tripping over one another but I’d rather that then never see my server.”
SO true. One of our complaints about Pete’s from time to time is that our server will take our order and disappear for a LONG time until they bring us our check. I felt that the service at Panini was very attentive. Our drinks were constantly refreshed, and they checked on us often.
Portions are very large and with that in mind prices are fair. Hasn’t been confirmed officially but a waitress mentioned that they are now BYOW (wine only - no corkage). They do expect to do away with BYOW when they get their LL in a month.
was there thursday and went again for dinner saturday. while we enjoyed the paninis thursday, on saturday we tried the persian offerings and we were really impressed. the salmon kabob, chicken kabob and koobideh were all absolutely delicious.
per above comments on service, on thursday our wait staff was “hovering”- looked like they didn’t know what to do with themselves. but on saturday the situation had already improved, our server was very attentive, but knew when to swing by and when to leave us alone.
Finally it’s open! Panini Cafe has filled a major void in this section of Downtown. As the first day of business finally arrived, i decided i would go for lunch. I am a vegetarian, so its always interesting to see what sort of veggie sandwiches are on the menu.
Thankfully there are several options available. I decided to go with the Eggplant w/ hummus panini. The quality of the Panini was very good, portions are nice, and service was very good. I believe my iced tea never reached half glass.
Prices are ok, i’d like to see lunch specials, but i guess i must come to a realization that we are in the year 2008, and the days of the $5 lunch no longer exist unless a child’s toy and a cardboard box is involved. With tip, you can probably walk out paying $12 for lunch.
UPDATE - Panini Cafe’s first weekend approaches. I initially wanted to try their breakfast rather than lunch on my first visit. Since that didn’t pan out the way I intended, I took the opportunity to take my wife for breakfast over the weekend. I was happy to see a comfortable crowd, readily available tables both inside and out with no wait were both available.
My wife and I went for an egg and cheese crescent, an egg scramble with mushrooms and cheese, as well as 7 grain toast, fresh squeezed orange juice and an iced tea.
I was equally as happy with the service, the food, and was at peace with the price. Hopefully Panini Cafe will maintain the level of service and quality put forth in its opening week. They should have no problem keeping their seats warm.
Oh, plenty of street parking is available, as long as you don’t mind walking a block or so.
I passed by over the weekend and the outside seating is very nice.
I ate here all the time at their Beverly Hills location. I rightfully excited to have one open up a few blocks away. This place was packed by 11:30, so I’m sure they won’t have trouble building a strong client base quickly. More importantly the three hostesses/waitresses working during my visit were amazingly HOT. I would go here even if the food tasted like garbage.
Damn It!! I’m so jealous of you South Park folks- this is exactly the kind of place I wish I had near me in Old Bank District/Gallery Row- at least the menu looks great- and HOT waiteresses rule :-).
I really hope the place does well and maybe considers opening another place downtown…
I had lunch there today with a friend. Good food, wide selection, vegi- friendly, resonable prices, large portions, A+.
Great people watching if you sit outside.
This has got to be the most exciting restaurant to open up Downtown since Daily Grill. The location and setting is absolutely perfect being on the ground floor of Skyline, across from Ralphs and Grand Hope Park. I can’t wait to eat there myself soon!
I’ve got to agree with you, Weezermonkey, about the blandness of some of the dishes. Their goat cheese and roasted pepper bruschetta was to die for, though. Their breads are definitely above average.
Unfortunately, my falafel was sickeningly mushy and “wet.” Chicken panini was decent.
I also echo the comments about the attentive service and great prices. I’d probably go back to try their breakfast menu, but there’s better options out there in Downtown.
FYI - they seem to be doing a ton of business during the lunch hour (I can see out my window down to the patio) and decent at dinner.
Rich, do you mean there are better options for breakfast or better dining options in general?
now if only Tranquility Base would change their menu/prices/services comparable to Panini, and reconfigure their place to make it a good place to people watch, I will start going back there again.
I know people who had already been multiple times to Panini in less than a week. I have been to Tranquility Base only 2 times since they opened.
Stephen/Rich…do you think David of TB reads these comments?…I want his business to flourish, he’s a really nice guy…if only he would listen to people’s suggestions and do something about it.
David: I meant to say there are better options for falafel (specifically: Lula Kabob, Falafel Express). I haven’t tried all their menu, though, so I’m going too reserve my judgment on the rest until I do.
I’m glad they’re serving breakfast and can’t wait to try it.
Guest: David does read angelenic occasionally, so maybe we’ll be able to relay your suggestions. I know many people have suggested that he replace the frosted glass with clear glass.
And while the food is awesome, I’ll agree with you that some of the portions should be larger.
Bridget and I walked by today at lunch time and the patio was PACKED. The food looked tasty too, but I didn’t see any doggies on the patio…. does anyone know if they’re dog friendly?
I’ve appreciated everyone’s posts on Panini. I tried it myself today for lunch. The chicken kebob and its skewered vegetables were cooked perfectly! The chicken was cooked thoroughly, but still very tender and moist. The quality, portion, and presentation of the food were great, and the service was fast and friendly. However, I do agree with one of the posts that the food was bland. Because all other aspects were a +, I will go there again and try something else on the menu, hoping that it won’t be as bland.
ooooohhhh noooooo!!! i was walking into Ralphs tonight at around 8:30 and the place was dark. i saw a couple walk up to the door and peer in, turn around, and walk away. they’re supposed to be open until 10p 7 days a week.
they seem to have been very successful in the evenings. i hope they’re not rethinking their hours. i don’t get home til 8 and i liked having it as an option.
I called early in the evening yesterday and they told me there was some problem (undisclosed) which caused them to close early and they would not be open for dinner Monday. They said they would reopen today. Not to worry…anything can go wrong with a new kitchen!
Walked Carter last night and saw all the staff hanging outside. Later in the evening I looked out our window to see the place in darkness.
On the front door was a note (tough to read because it was dark and there is a small gate type thing to keep you out) …. anyhow, it said they had electrical issues and would reopen the next day at 7 am as usual.
As of this morning’s walk they are back open and things seem to be normal again.
Problem with the electrical system… they are open today.
Phew, Bryan! For a split second I had flash backs to Mode.
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