I have eaten here several times over the years. First the bad, the menu changes and you never know what you're going to get until you show up, or call them. They have a sample menu online but it doesn't reflect what they are currently serving. Usually the wait staff is descent but lately forgetful. The food is pretty good, but can be on the rich side. So if you are usually a light fare eater you might feel a little sick after eating such buttery/salty food here. I recently ate the pork shoulder and it was very fatty, the squash that came with it was very tasty but also very buttery and salty so much so I could not eat but a bite or two. I am a guy and I love my meat and potatoes but this was too salty/buttery for me and I grew up with a salt shaker in my hand. Prices are above average I'd say. Dinner for the two of us was around $125. Now the good. The location is nice, its right on churton street in Hillsborough, which has a lot of flowers/trees in bloom this time of year, the restaurant is a nice atmosphere and quaint. The wait staff was nice and knew a lot about the menu. I dont know if I would go back. I have been several times over the years, and in general the food is good, but a little too rich in taste for me and pricey. read more

Why do I give 3 stars, when the food is excellent? It is because the prices and portions do not match. Maybe I am not the food extraordinaire like the other people who left a review, but when I pay $100 for two people (without any wine!), I should not leave the restaurant hungry. Was the food awesome? Absolutely! It was like being the food taster on an iron chef show. Is it great to have a restaurant buy all food locally and support local farmers? Absolutely! But you can increase the portions 20% and have guests leave your establishment full. read more

One of the top five restaurants we've ever been to, anywhere in the world. Close your eyes, order anything. You'll be happy. Or ask the staff, they are wonderful and so proud of what they sell. Lovely, lovely lovely experience. read more

Here again, eating solo. Ok, I am biased - admittedly - but I have just fallen in love with a tempura broccoli. Pickle brine acidity at the bottom. Amazing. After 10 years, I am still in awe of Panciuto. Keep going Aaron and team! read more

Fine dining. Great service. Parking sometimes difficult to find. I liked the bouche amuse.

Panciuto's dishes were perfectly cooked. To the detail. Everything was fresh, basic, and creative. But it's one of those places that I ventured to, and once was enough. Perhaps if it was nearby in the Triangle, I would return. read more

We only go here for special occasions, because the food is expensive. But, it is also exquisite. Don't come here looking for loads of pasta drenched in cheese and tomato sauce. Do cme here if you want an increase meal with an original take on Italian food. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced, with the farms identified on the menu. read more

I went there over the weekend with friends. I can't describe how fantastic it was. Simply the best Italian restaurant in the triangle, and arguably one of the best restaurants in the best restaurants in general. read more

This is one of my very favorite places to go for a really amazing meal. Chef Aaron is astonishingly creative, and they proudly list what farms supply their ingredients. I'm a big fan of the farm-to-table movement, and Panciuto is one of the best places to find local ingredients highlighted and celebrated. Everything is fresh, complementary, and above all, totally delicious. Highly recommended. read more

We've been to Pancuito several times since they opened a few years ago - we'd go more often but they're a bit out of the way for us and sometimes are more of an after thought. This is our loss though as Pacuito is consistently excellent (although once I was less than impressesed with our server). Aaron Vandemark, the chef-owner, is a culinary genius. There's a reason he's been nominated for the James Beard award several times while being located in a small town... My husband and I have always been satisified with the portion sizes and we've never been disappointed in any of the dishes we've tried (we always have gotten three courses at Pancuito - sppetizer, main, and dessert). Yes, the prices are many people's idea of a "special night out" but you won't be disappointed. Also, Pancuito allows you to bring your own special bottle of wine or champagne for a corkage fee (which I believe was $20). read more

Nicely lit and perfect for a special night. Food is fresh and experimental for hillsborough. Wine was fantastically paired.

Absolutely amazing! I love that they support local agriculture and the food is simply head and shoulders better than anything I have encountered. The chef is an absolute artist. Brilliantly planned and executed menu from start to finish. The menu is fairly limited but I don't see this as a negative. I'll take quality over quantity every time, and they certainly deliver quality. Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time. read more

I honestly went in thinking I was out of my element. Then the food came out. Hill cow amazing. Everything was delicious. The pulled pork couldn't have been better. read more

A wonderful dining experience. Very unique menu items and nice wine list. They specialize in locally sourced ingredients which results in delicious offerings. This is not a place to go spur of the moment as I have often been shut out, so get your reservations early in the week. Someone will always return your call in a reasonable time to confirm your choice or offer an alternative. Always save room for their deserts. read more

The food here is okay. However the staff is a bit cocky and rushes you. However, the food herenis extremely authinitic. Loved the experience. Would come back. read more

Being Italian, I struggle to pay big money for a pasta dish....but at Panciuto...IT IS WORTH IT. My wife and I have made it our celebration restaurant since it has opened and we have not been disappointed(4x) with the food, ever. Of course, they serve more than pasta...it's all great. The atmosphere is quite nice and service good, though the servers do not add to the experience. They are very operational. The only way your trip to H'boro could get better is if Panciuto (and Tupelo's) would open for a post dinner bar scene. read more

What a wonderful restaurant. The unique seasonings they incorporate with fresh ingredients plus the service make this one of the best restaurants that I have ever been to. What a delight to eat there. Limited menu, but outstanding atmosphere and dining experience. read more

Wonderful! Doesn't matter what you order, from start (amazing spinach salad) to dessert (excellent chocolate cake), each meal was delicious. And the service is superior. We were so impressed!! read more

Delightful food. Ambiance a bit stuffy, but the food was excellent - the best Italian you will find in Hillsborough or Orange county. A bit pricey, but worth it. read more

Great food. Great atmosphere. Great wait staff. The locally sourced food options were great. Did i say it was great already? We loved the ravioli and wild mushrooms. Totally worth the drive and made for a indulgent culinary evening. read more

Panciuto is exactly what I want all Italian food to be. I have eaten here twice, and the food and service were absolutely amazing, and are well worth the prices. If it was not such a nice place, and wasn't socially frowned upon, I would have literally licked my plate clean. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants some high quality and delicious Italian food. read more

This place was pretty good. The food we had was cooked well and presented nicely. I found the winter menu to be a little heavy for my taste, but the chef is obviously very imaginative with his flavors. I liked that. Not the same lump of fried something with a lump of mashed something else that you normally get in the south. I also liked the locally sourced aspect of the place. Everything tasted very fresh. The restaurant is nice, and the staff was friendly and helpful. We will definitely give it another try sometime. read more

Food was in the top two or three restaurants in the triangle---very good and fresh. The Fried Green Tomatoes were the best I've had and the ravioli was cooked perfectly. read more

This restaurant grasps the concept "everything matters ". Of course the food has to be great, and it is, but they get it all right from the crafting of their cocktails, to perfect bread, and on and on. We had the sea bass and butternut pasta and I can't imagine then being prepared more deliciously. If you live in this area or are passing through you shouldn't miss it. read more

This place is IMHO the Best Italian restaurant in the Triangle! The chef has won several awards. My BFF took me here for my birthday, & she lived in Italy for a few years, & is a Foodie, so her opinion has credibility. She felt the same way & plans to bring her husband ( they live in Holly Springs). The servers were professional but friendly & every dish we ordered was superior. Hope to return often! I hope YELP changes the description to put "Italian" first, since now "Southern" is the only word people scanning see! read more

I do NOT understand the high ratings for this restaurant? The food was not just "meh", it was actually just plain bad. You look at the menu and think "wow, sounds very different and interesting", but when your food comes its weird, bland and uninspiring. Arrived around 7:30 PM, they said they were booked and we had to sit near the bar area that is first come first serve, but the place was pretty empty (and stayed that way the duration of our meal). The bread (which is extra) was bland (no spice even though the menu said it had rosemary), just plain ciabatta that was grilled, no flavor and nothing special. I had the Monkfish (which they informed me they were out and substituted with some other fish (bass I think?). The actual piece of fish was fine (tasted like fish), but the rest of it was just plain weird and not a good flavor profile at all. It was "crispy fried polenta, cucumber juice, twice fried broccoli leaves and shoots" the polenta is sitting in the cucumber juice which is just a briny mess and the polenta cake was soggy. There was random mint leaves which was just plain weird and not good for this dish, there was little pieces of turnip (I think it was turnip), with no flavor, overall the dish was as if an amateur tried to make something that sounded cool, but none of the flavors worked together and it was bad. Just plain bad. My friend had the "Cavatelli, grilled pork sausage, saffron whey butter, cucumber mash, Danish rye breadcrumbs" and we were originally going to split everything, but I found her dish so repelling, I couldn't stomach eating it. Three HUGE sausage that tasted like just normal old cheap packaged sausage, very little pasta, and the pasta was chewy and the sauce did nothing for this dish, and the danish rye breadcrumbs was actually just as if you scraped the bottom scraps off a fryer and put it on top of your meal. They say this if fine dining... if you have never been out of NC, maybe it is for you, but this was in no way any kind of fine dining. At a price of almost $90 with no appetizers and a diet pepsi, this was an overpriced bad meal that I wish I could get a refund. Service was a little slow getting our drinks but other than that was uneventful, they served, smiled enough, so no complaints there. I don't care if they claim to have "home made pasta" there pasta is just not good. read more

Food: 5/5 Panciuto's menu allows you to go somewhere between small plates and the standard appetizer/entree offering, with appetizers of various breads/meats/cheeses, or the vegetable board, which has small portions of 9 different pre-selected vegetable dishes. We ordered the veggie board and loved it - while not all items were appealing to my personal tastes, there was a lot of variety and it forced me to try some things I would not usually order. Then for the entree I ordered the goat cheese tortelloni with green garlic butter, sunny duck egg, bacon, pea tendrils, pepper jelly syrup, and breadcrumbs - highly recommended!! The goat cheese was lemony and savory, and the bacon was thick, fresh, and chewy in the best of ways. We then ordered the dessert plate which, similar to the veggie board, had 9 pre-selected items. Every single one was amazing, particularly the strawberry panna cotta. Overall, this was easily the best meal I've had in 2018. Service: 5/5 It wasn't very busy, which was odd given that we came in on a Saturday at 6:15, but the service was everything you could want it to be. Our waitress was helpful and quick, and the food and drinks came out in rhythm. Ambiance: 3/5 Nothing special. There's a giant window at the front but not much of a view, and the inside is fairly standard. Didn't feel too cramped, but you'll definitely hear your neighbors' entire conversation. read more

Talented kitchen. But overpriced for the quality. Local is a green washed marketing scheme not an actual act of sustainability/purchasing integrity. Antonia's ( a block away) is just as good for half the price. read more

I had two very high recommendations for Panciuto so I had to try this restaurant and I was very disappointed. I am on a Salt Restricted and Gluten free diet, so I called in advance to confirm they would work with dietary restrictions. They said yes, so we made reservations with high hopes. Unfortunately, the chef would not work with my diet restrictions once we were there. The chef refused my request for diet changes such as any kind of veggies instead of pasta and no added Salt. The waiter said we would ask the chef about my requested changes but that the chef was very particular about his "creations". The waiter returned with the answer of NO, from the chef. There were to be no changes, no substitutions, and they didn't even get my order correct. Huge disappointment, particularly when we had called in advance. It's so sad when Chefs decide after some success that their "Culinary Creations" in their own minds, are more important than their customers palate, much less dietary restrictions. An exceptional Chef is one that is not so rigid and can create for the customer and not for his own mind and ego. Otherwise, the restaurant has nice ambiance and is of tasteful decor. Too bad..... read more

My friend who lives in Hillsborough, told me about this place when I moved to the area. This weekend I came to visit her so we stop by to eat. food was DELICIOUS!!!! big dishes in a fair price. read more

After having Panciuto bookmarked for a couple years now, I finally made it over and I'm so glad I did. We started things off with their bread, which you had to pay for, but it was some of the best few dollars we spent. Delicious buttery goodness. I'm not sure it means a lot to go into our menu choices in detail since the menu changes pretty much daily. Having said that, it's amazing how much thought seems to go into finding a perfect balance of flavors. For instance, I ordered a pork shank that had a very sweet glaze on it that was almost cloying on its own. But when eaten in a single bite with the radish and brussel sprouts it sits atop, everything just melds perfectly together. Similarly, I got a steak tartare appetizer with fried oysters. Trying the fried oysters by themselves, I was a little overwhelmed by that fishy, briny taste, but combined with the steak with some mixed greens in a citrusy vinagrette, it somehow came together for another perfect bite. There are plenty of interesting flavors you won't find routinely elsewhere. For instance, we tried a celery ice cream that was eerily strong in the celery flavor. I have to admit, it didn't really work for me, but it's also something I doubt I'll see again. The food is a bit pricy (although basically what you'll pay at similarly regarded restaurants in the area), so definitely a special occasion restaurant. But I'll definitely be back. read more

This place is fantastic! Warm atmosphere, charming staff, delicious, artful and well-crafted food. A little on the rich and decadent side. My only complaint would be that the wine selection was very limited. But we used the opportunity to sample their cocktails and we were not disappointed. read more

Amazing meal on Saturday night. Won't comment too much on specific menu items because they change them often, but if gnocchi is an option, order it because they were fluffy pillows of heaven. Their dishes seem to have a lot going on in terms of ingredients, but they all work together so well in each dish. Also worth paying for the bread! Can't wait to go back! read more

Not sure why this restaurant has so many high ratings. I had high expectations when I went for the first time last night. I was very disappointed in the food. Mediocre at best for the two of us who dined. The wine list was minimal and we opted not to have cocktails or wine. Everything is a la cart, we even had to pay for the bread. The ambience is nice, but does not make up for the poor quality of food. I usually give places a second chance, but will probably not go back because it is expensive and my first visit was so disappointing. read more

Eaten here twice. Drinks are very good--imaginative and interesting. But, the wine list is VERY limited. Food was better the first time than the second. Super Salty. Ambience is lovely but getting a reservation can be a challenge. I've called no less then 5 times and have never been able to get a table when I want. This last time, we finally got a table but had to eat at 5:30 to accommodate a party of 5. At the end of the day, the meal for 5 was $400. Not sure it was worth it. read more

Wait staff were rude and unhelpful. Not able or unwilling to discuss menus items. Pork chops were undercooked and parts raw. Other dish was better prepared but did not live up to reviews of past. Overall an unpleasant experience Wait staff could use lessons in how to interact, smile occasionally and simply how to interact with diners read more

The wine selection was excellent. But the food was incredibly mediocre! Maybe even bad. Appetizers were nice, but the rest was surprisingly bad. We got an order of bread while we waited for our food. It was pretty much burnt wonder bread in baguette shape with butter. The pasta made with squid ink was good, but the bolognese could have been picked up from a store shelf for all we could tell. Another past dish someone else had was just as mediocre. For what we paid, it was totally not worth it. read more

This is my favorite restaurant in Hillsborough and holds its own against the triangle's best, which is saying a lot because the area has strong culinary appeal. I love the atmosphere, which is intimate and friendly, and the food. There is always a lot of variety, with new ingredients and everything sourced locally. The menu even tells you how far away the different foods came from. There are always a couple of vegetarian options, which is important to me, and the desserts are out of this world. The grapefruit panna cotta and the potted chocolate are my absolute favorites. Perfect place for a romantic dinner, catching up with an old friend, or to go for a special family event. You can also just go for a glass of wine or small plates (like Tapas) on Wednesdays and Thursdays. They also were the first ones in Hillsborough to do "community dinners" showcasing area farms, writers, etc., which is a great introduction to other members of the community. read more

Amazing food. Pronounced flavors yet perfectly balanced. Nothing overpowers, yet very vibrant. Small portions on Thursdays and Fridays is the way to go. Slightly larger than tapas, yet small enough so you can try several items. Delicious and light. Luved it. Wish it was closer to Wake Forest, but this place is well worth the drive. read more

Absolutely fabulous. All dishes were unique with special flavors. Great service. Have so many favorites in the Chapel Hill area but this is worth driving to Hillsborough. read more