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Pausa Bar & Cookery, San Mateo, CA
Award-winning

Pausa Bar & Cookery

4.7
4.7
1880 Reviews
$31 to $50
Italian

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 p.m.
Booked 69 times today
  • Good for special occasions
  • Good for groups
  • Neighbourhood gem
Pausa, a bar and cookery in San Mateo, calls for guests to take a recess from life and enjoy a dining experience that transports them to a place of leisure. With a strong focus on modern Italian, our menu will consist of house-made pasta, wood-fired pizza, wood-fired grill, and house-cured meats. Our friendly and knowledgeable team will ensure your pause is a memorable one.

We are now taking reservations for our patio tables, bar, and indoor tables. As we practice social distancing with our new limited floor plan, we ask that you and your guests limit your dining to 2 hours to accommodate all reservations.

When checking table availability, if outdoor seating is not an option to select, then your reservation will be for an indoor table as the outdoor may be booked.

Thank you for understanding.

Additional information

  • Location
    223 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401
  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
    2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2022
  • Phone number
    (650) 375-0818
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Farm-to-table, Contemporary Italian
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu 4:30 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 4:00 pm–8:30 pm
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Andrea Giuliani

Featured in

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 1,880 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.2Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

  • Peninsula

    Hot spot

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Pausa Bar & Cookery is a vibrant Italian gem in San Mateo, renowned for "great food, great service, great cocktails." The innovative menu features seasonal pasta dishes and "phenomenal" Margherita pizza. Despite occasional noise, the "attentive, professional" service and delightful ambiance make it perfect for special occasions or casual outings.

1,880 Reviews

  1. MichelleB

    VIP

    San Francisco

    17 reviews

    2.0

    17 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    Horrible front desk person. So unfriendly and not accommodating or hey welcomed to Pausa!

    Is this helpful?

  2. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    19 reviews

    5.0

    19 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Had a great dining experience, food was top notch and service even better.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Boris

    San Francisco

    15 reviews

    5.0

    15 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    This place is hoping. It is a little pricey, but quality of the food and service is superb.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Carmen

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on February 26, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Standly was outstanding—a great guy! He was patient, friendly, and highly professional.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Parker

    VIP

    Denver

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on February 22, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Pausa is one of the best Italian spots on the peninsula.

    Is this helpful?

  6. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    3.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on February 20, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    I do like this restaurant and come here regularly. (We need more restaurants in downtown san mateo with this great vibe! )My experience recently was very frustrating however. I inadvertently made a reservation for four instead of two. They were quite booked that night and then would not seat me at a table, even though I made a reservation a week prior because of that mistake. I was forced to sit at the bar with client. 

    1 person found this helpful

  7. Karlette

    VIP

    San Francisco

    52 reviews

    4.0

    52 reviews

    Dined on February 17, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    We arrived far before the time of our reservation. They were still able to seat us right away. We sat outside, but the heaters kept us warm. Service was warm, efficient, and friendly. We started with beets with burrata and toast and then a pizza (great crust!). We thought about dessert but we were already plenty full with just these two dishes.

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  8. Janet

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on February 17, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Friendly servers with good information on dishes. Price as all others quite expensive.

    Is this helpful?

  9. Michele

    VIP

    New York City

    26 reviews

    4.0

    26 reviews

    Dined on February 14, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Service was great and the food was delicious and served an acceptable temperature.

    Is this helpful?

  10. Arthur

    VIP

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on February 11, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Very good authentic Italian food. Noisy but but otherwise good environment. We’ll go again.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Pausa Bar & Cookery offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (650) 375-0818.

Pausa Bar & Cookery is rated 4.7 stars by 1880 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 p.m.
Booked 69 times today
Google Map for Pausa Bar & Cookery

223 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
    2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2022
  • Phone number
    (650) 375-0818
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Farm-to-table, Contemporary Italian
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu 4:30 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 4:00 pm–9:30 pm Sun 4:00 pm–8:30 pm
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Andrea Giuliani

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