Il Palio

Just beautiful. I’ve driven by the Siena Hotel many times and found the architecture really lovely. So one rainy night decided to check it out for dinner — not quite sure what to expect and discovered a formal Italian dining experience.
The hotel is small but stunning — apparently (and I might be wrong about this) a North Carolina couple traveled to Italy and decided they wanted to recreate what they found back in Chapel Hill.
The style of the restaurant is more typically modern and not as traditionally beautiful as the lobby — but still lovely. We started with octopus and calamari. I found the the octopus a bit over-​charred and the sauces to be too salty. But the rest of the meal was great — the whole grilled sea bass was delicious. The herb chicken was also good and the portions were unexpectedly huge. Also loved the arugula salad and the roasted cauliflower reminded me of tapas from middle eastern restaurants.
Service was excellent — wonderful people throughout the hotel. Glad I made the effort to visit Il Palio.

It has been a while since I had been to Il Palio, probably since Adam Rose had left as the executive chef. However, since his departure the entire menu and feel has shifted back to that of a more traditional Italian Trattatoria than the previous fine dining experience that chef Rose offered. That’s not a bad thing as it presents a more traditional appeal to the Italian cuisine.
We started our meal off with a mix and match off the crostini list and also shared the meatball appetizer. This was something we did frequently in our recent travels to Italy. It was on point with the best we had in the old world. We then each had a pasta dish that was perfectly al dente with rich, flavorful sauce (can be served as small or dinner portion depending on appetite).
The wine list offered various domestic and imported Italian wines to fit each dish and every budget. We finished off the dinner with port, coffee, and a dessert — which was also typical of our travels. The offerings were of the modern unique and traditional Italian desserts.
The food is not the only highlight of the experience, either. The servers and atmosphere are both great, giving that feeling of being at the center of their world and receiving very attentive service during the meal. It is a bit dark (especially if you leave and it is still light out) but that adds to the romantic setting of the restaurant.
Il Palio is a place that needs to be experienced, as it is a true tour de force on your senses. However, that sort of experience comes at a price. You can get in and out of there for a very reasonable price point — but if you go all out then you need to be prepared to pay appropriately for the experience. I never felt that it was unfair or overpriced — but keep in mind that for most people this will be a special occasion or date spot. Either way — however you get there you need to get there and experience the new vision of Il Palio; it is the finest Italian in the triangle.

Definitely an expensive restaurant, but perfect for the special occasion. Service is outstanding and so was the food. Creative menu with a multitude of options for appetizers and entrees.

Everything you could ask for and more! Friendly and attentive staff, delicious food, and cozy atmosphere. Definitely pricey, perfect for a special occasion.

What an amazing chef and staff at this world class restaurant. Just a bit of context; 1) my wife and I dined there celebrating our 15^th wedding anniversary and 2) we’d lived in Italy for 9 weeks the prior summer. So. .. a lot was riding on this meal being spectacular and they did not disappoint. We started off with a chilled bottle of Le Dolci Colline DOC, Prosecco Brut a deal at $ 38 and served beautifully by the manager/​sommalier, Hunter. We had the Proscuitto appetizer and garden salad with local goat cheese. Both were delicious and accompanied by house baked focaccia bread. Our primi was Paccheri pasta in marinera and a risotto with parmegiano reggiano, english peas and black pepper. I am a fan of risotto, ordered it all over northern Italy (Milan, Tuscanny, Pisa, Lucca). This is the best risotto I’ve ever had. Between the primi and segundi, we were offered a fresh blended strawberries. Not overly sweet and a wonderful palette cleanser. We ordered the Swordfish and Beef Short Ribs for segundi and the swordfish was incredible. Perfectly cooked and seasoned. Dessert was Panna Cotta, don’t even think of coming here without ordering it and coffees. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. The staff was professional and personable, not always an easy combination. Now, it wasn’t without a hefty price, but you’re buying a first class experience and four diamond rated food. Absolutely worth it for a special event.

Outstanding service and the food was unbelievably good. We were treated so well. I can’t remember when I’ve had such a delightful experience and meal. Go and enjoy!

Went for a company dinner. We shared the Dry Aged «Bistecca Fiorentina» steak. It was grilled to near perfection and was actually a pretty good value. We agreed the, salads and pasta were all very well prepared.
Service was good and it was quiet, which was good because we didn’t need to shout at each other to be heard.
The place is certainly worth its price.

We had previously gone here but it had been several years, when there was a different chef. It is a special place for us as it was where we got engaged eight years ago. We started off the evening in the bar. The waiter there, as with all employees who talked to, was friendly and professional. It is what you would expect at a place like this. It was very though deciding what to order. I knew I wanted a pasta but so many interesting options. I asked the waitress and she recommended one with lamb sausage. It was to die for. Absolutely amazing. Even though I got the larger portion, it was relatively small. That is the only complaint of the evening. We also had a salad and a side of broccoli, both of which were amazing. My wife enjoyed her pasta as well. The dessert tort was delicious too. We can’t afford to go a place like this regularly but will definitely be back sometime.

Im not impressed. Service was poor and the food was even less impressive! I would not recommend!

Ate here last night with the hubby and his aunt.
Service: outstanding.
Food: oh my, the best Italian in the area
Drinks: these folks can make some drinks. Made our aunt’s drink to order. First time in forever that’s happened. And been done correctly.
Expect to spend money here. But remember, it’s worth every penny

Went for the Valentines Day prefixed menu:
First: Yellow fish Tuna– delicious! Very fresh with the peppercorn adding saltiness and crunch.
Second: Risotto– Meh. It was salty and cheesy. Not bad but nothing spectacular
Third: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna– THIS. How can an Italian restaurant serve the saddest lasagna I have ever eaten? The whole thing tasted so bland… the spinach was overlooked, the mushrooms had no texture, and the pasta was a sad mushy mess. Even the baked cheese around it couldn’t save this dish.
Fourth: Olive Oil Cake– pretty interesting cake with balsamic glaze. Tasted pretty good.
The service was AMAZING. Super attentive waitstaff and the Old Fashioned cocktails were delicious.
Overall, would probably come back to hang out at the bar but won’t be spending money on the food again. They should never serve that lasagna to anyone.

We went here last night for an early Valentines dinner. It was a fantastic dining experience. Everything was great from the attentive service to the extensive wine list to the most authentic beefsteak Florentine I have had in America. For that brief moment in time I was transported back to Florence having the biggest and best steak of my life (it weighs over two pounds so is best to share).

The butter lettuce salad to start was great. The chestnut soup was very interesting and delicious. I’ve never seen that before. The whole fish was great too but there wasn’t much fish. The pasta carbonara was not great. It was heavy on the cream and not enough flavor from the pancetta. The grapefruit gelato had an incredible amount of pepper on it!!! This made it Disgusting and inedible! The chocolate soufflé was nothing special. Definitely not incredible. For the price definitely not worth it. Also the atmosphere isn’t great. It’s pretty bland/​blah in terms of the vibe. Wouldn’t go here again.

Chef Teddy Diggs really knows what he’s doing in that kitchen. ll Palio recently reopened on Sept. 25^th after their first renovation in 28 years. I was invited for a media dinner and had a chance to try many dishes on the menu. This is fine Italian food at it’s best.
The restaurant itself is beautiful you walk by a large wine wall and into a dimly lit restaurant with a bustling kitchen you can see from the dining room. A cheese table sits in the center and large round booths and wood tables provide plenty of seating. I love the round table booths many people might not notice a round table in a restaurant but I find it to be the best way to dine with a group of people. My father won’t even eat at a restaurant that doesn’t have a round table to sit at since it’s hard for him to hear.
Let’s talk about the food. The menu consists of pasta, wood grilled meats, and fish. They make their focaccia in house and I don’t care if you don’t eat bread you are going to want to take a bite. The pockets of olive oil in the focaccia are amazing. They also import their olive oil from Italy and you can buy a bottle at the restaurant. As the dishes were coming out of the kitchen I couldn’t help but notice the tuna carpaccio, I didn’t have a chance to taste it but it’s on my list for my next visit. I started my meal with a Sicilian style calamari, there were so many unique flavors and a nice bit of spiciness to the dish it was one of my favorites of the evening. Next up was risotto I love risotto it’s one of those comfy dishes when the weather starts getting cold that I just crave. At first glance this dish didn’t look like much at all but after it touched my lips that all changed. Don’t be fooled by appearances this creamy cheesy risotto was cooked perfectly and you get a little crunchy bite of green apple in the dish too. The wood fired dishes are simple and perfect. I got a chance to try the 10 oz pork chop and there was no way I could finish that huge portion it was cooked just write and went great with the buttered potatoes and cauliflower. You have to order the sides the buttered potatoes and cauliflower I’m still dreaming about.
You can end an evening at ll Palio without dessert. I had the olive oil cake with olive oil gelato it was so good I probably won’t order anything else again. I love desserts that aren’t too sweet and this was the perfect ending to my evening.
If you are looking for a memorable dining experience you must try ll Palio, The GM and the Chef will make sure your dining experience is superb. My sister and I are already planning a girls night at Sienna Hotel and ll Palio before the end of the year.
Don’t miss their 2^nd Annual Truffle Feast — Thursday, December 3, 2015 7 p.m. — Featuring a Piemontese and Le Marche-​inspired menu, each dish will celebrate the white truffle – one of Italy’s most elegant ingredients – complete with hand-​selected wine pairings.
& Feast of the Seven Fishes — Thursday, December 17, 2015 — Thursday, December 24, during dinner hours — A traditional Italian celebration that features a tasting menu of seven courses of luxurious seafood.

Simply Outstanding!!! Normally when I visit a new city I go off the reservation and check out the local haunts. I was tired… it was dreary outside and I didn’t feel like slogging through the rain. I jumped on Unilocal and read the reviews of Il Palio and smartly decided to belly up to the bar for the night.
The service… impeccable…and this was just sitting at the bar. Great friendly staff and so professional. It was a Monday when I was there and they had a large party that reserved the entire restaurant so the menu was limited. It didn’t matter… everything I tasted was delicious.
I ended up ordering a couple of The Crosini’s, a Flatbread Pie, and The Meatballs. All were fantastic! I can’t wait until my next visit and dive into the extended menu.
Honestly…if you are staying at The Siena Hotel… do yourself a favor and at least have one meal at Il Palio…

5 stars for food; 6 stars for service.
Our family travels a lot and we are foodies. We love good food and we love trying new restaurants everywhere we go. We don’t do chain (unless at home in Colorado) and like to support and tryout local restaurants. After reading many reviews and researching, we decided to try this restaurant (Friday ¹⁰⁄₂₃). We had a reservation at 8pm but got there half hour early which gave us an opportunity to start with a cocktail at the bar. Bartender was Excellent! Super friendly and nice. Makes excellent martinis. From restaurant manager to our busboy (who was more of an assistant server — because he refilled our water, cleaned our plates, brought new silverware and plates, and constantly checked on us), the service was one of the best we’ve had. And I’m saying this having dined at several Michelin 2– and 3– star restaurants. We were treated like royalty. For food we tried — mussels, soup, liver mousse crostini, beefsteak drippings crostini, yellow tuna carpaccio, salad, sea bass, chicken, beef tenderloin, and lasagna. We finished everything, delicious, great presentation, well balanced meals. For deserts we had chocolate torta and tiramisu — not the best we’ve had. Highly recommend this beautiful, cozy restaurant inside a boutique hotel. 5 stars definitely. Thank you for making our dinner and experience so special!

We hadn’t been in quite some time, and went this evening to check things out after a change of chef several months ago. Yes, this place is firing on all cylinders.
The service is nothing shy of top-​notch. My wife ordered a soup made with, of all things, stinging nettle. I was gloriously good. She had osso buco with polenta that was creamy and delicious.
I had a smoked salmon appetizer, which is a «must» if you appear in this restaurant. It features beautifully sliced salmon with olive oil, salmon roe, and thin slices of white cheese. I then had the filet mignon, which was cooked perfectly and which featured ridiculously decadent potatoes.
For dessert, we shared the panicotta with strawberry. It is a celestial combination of the subtly sweet, the unctuous, and the savory.
The wine steward is great. Now get here and savor. We will be making more frequent visits here. Bravo!

If you want to impress someone or want to find somewhere to go for special occasions, this is it! The food is simply stunning, we’ve eaten here a couple of times for dinner as well as breakfast and just can’t fault it.
The service is exemplary from start to finish, and the wait staff is very knowledgeable about all the food and wine, and what sort of wine pairs well with the different entrees.
Really can’t wait to go back!

I’ve eaten here a few times on business. Let me say, it’s very easy to get people to come to this restaurant for a business dinner. And when people can’t make it they get upset! Everyone I know who has come here raves about the amazing food. People who have not been here are dying to go.
Is it worth it? Absolutely.
I’m not sure what I can add to the reviews that others haven’t already written. The service is exquisite. I wanted a glass of wine with my meal but didn’t feel like picking it. I asked the server to pick it for me describing what I liked in a wine. What I got was divine and matched my meal well.
On my most recent visit I got the crostini as an appetizer. It came with house made ricotta cheese. That’s really the reason I got it. I wanted to try the house made cheese. It was perfectly soft and the bread was perfectly crunchy with a touch of honey drizzled across each piece.
For my main course I had spaghetti which is not listed in their current online menu. It came with a duck egg for me to mix in with the pasta. The pasta was rich but perfect in every way. I received a rather generous serving and was able to take some home with me (but to be honest I tried to shove it all in me it was so yummy!).
I was with a part of six, and everyone raved about their meals. Another popular meal at my table was the pork and veal ravioli. Several people ordered it and said it was amazing.
I was full when dessert came around but ordered a piece of chocolate cake to go. Sadly, the next day I was hit with the flu and never got around to eating it. I passed it on to my significant other who reported that it was fabulous.
If you’re looking for a nice evening out, and want something a bit different, I highly recommend Il Palio.

Went to Il Palio with a $ 100 credit from the Siena Hotel as part of the date night package. We booked an early reservation because we were heading to a show at DPAC that night.
I’ll start with the service. Chris was our server and took excellent care of us. A server seemed to be omnipresent to refill water, refill wine classes, bus the table, etc. We had plenty of people come to check on us that it was borderline too much but at this price point I will appreciate too much over too little.
We started with some wine and were served some bread. The bread was delicious as was the olive oil that was offered for dipping. We both ordered a starter pasta. For me the roasted pumpkin agnolotti. I enjoyed it wasn’t terrible pleasing to the eye. There just wasn’t much color on the plate. The Pork and Veal Ravioli were delightful.
We shared the the Beef Steak Fiorentina. The whole thing was an experience. They brought the steak out after it was done cooking and showed us the massive cut of beef. Then returned it to the kitchen to be sliced. After presenting it, they drizzled it with olive oil and we went to town. Due to the thickness of the steak there were sections that were well done and sections that were very medium rare (which was great). The dish is served with roasted garlic and a bowl of flaky salt. The salt.. .. yum.. .. just really enhanced the flavor of the steak. The chickpea salad was also delicious though it wasn’t our focus.
Our experience at Il Palio was fantastic.
Of note, we had breakfast there as well. A lovely experience. Get the bomboloni! Little doughnut holes with lemon ricotta cream and pistachios. Awesome!