I posted this in the Avana thread also. This should be an interesting new addition to the Arts District dining options.

http://m.newsok.com/downtown-oklahoma-city-apartments-in-avana-arts-district-will-include-chefs-dream-restaurant/article/5379535


When work wraps up on a makeover of an apartment complex that has long been considered one of downtown’s worst design misfires, it will also be anchored by a new upscale Italian restaurant being opened by two newcomers recruited to Oklahoma City.
The name of the restaurant itself is inspired by a word DeCoste and Yaun saw traveling town to town in Italy – “patron saint.”

“It will be authentic Italian, not American Italian,” DeCoste said. “There will be a lot of pasta, dry and fresh that we will be making in-house, and only Italian wines.”

They applied for a $65,000 building permit last week for 1,300 square feet, which is very small.

Evening service only. I can live with that as I mostly work elsewhere in the day. I imagine some in the area would appreciate a decent day offering for Italian as well. Looking forward to this.

Floor plan for this restaurant:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/patrono.jpg

They're shooting for a late March opening.

I can't wait. This is something we need downtown.

Very close to opening. Waiting on health, fire inspections, and ABLE license. Probably 2-3 weeks.

109141091310915

Last picture is the view from the patio.

Totally cannot wait to try this place out.

Looks like they are getting close to opening:

https://scontent-lax1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10603581_1076547709042062_8450646308668022571_n.jp g?oh=a353f49636564b0ba8282d9cecac2e2f&oe=55EAA6EE

Opening is hopefully Wednesday or Thursday. I'll update the thread when I know for sure. Once the business is up and running, they'll start adding patio seating-probably in the fall.

Good news if you live in the avana apartments, they are considering delivering to the apartments.

Officially opens tonight:

OKCTalk - Patrono restaurant and bar opens today downtown (http://www.okctalk.com/content/190-patrono-restaurant-bar-opens-today-downtown.html)

saw folks in there the other night enjoying a soft opening and I was jelly... was anybody there? have a review for us?

saw folks in there the other night enjoying a soft opening and I was jelly... was anybody there? have a review for us?

I'll be there tonight! The owner is a client of mine & I did the lease for him there.

This should go a long way towards filling the Italian / West Downtown hole left by Trattoria Il Centro a few years back.

This should go a long way towards filling the Italian / West Downtown hole left by Trattoria Il Centro a few years back.

It's also a really nice place to grab dinner or a glass of wine before a show at the Civic Center.

That menu looks superb.

It's really really good.

I met the owner and the manager Saturday while I was apartment hunting. The manager even invited me to the soft opening that night but I already had plans. I promised to come by this week for dinner. They did a fine job with the remodeling and I look forward to eating there. I will post a review after I go.

I met the owner and the manager Saturday while I was apartment hunting. The manager even invited me to the soft opening that night but I already had plans. I promised to come by this week for dinner. They did a fine job with the remodeling and I look forward to eating there. I will post a review after I go.

Did you find a place? Looking forward to a review if it ends up being one of the new places.

Husband and I know the manager well. He's an asset to every restaurant he's touched. A talented guy!!

I did go to Patrono last night with my husband. I had a very nice experience. They only had a few empty tables the entire time we were there. Just be warned that this is not a place that you will have a quick bite before a show. Not that the service is bad, quite the contrary, we had very attentive service for the night with a knowledgeable wait person. It is just a fine dining experience with separate courses and very good food. My husband and I split a cheese plate before our dinner. You get to choose the cheeses you would like between 5-6 different cheeses. He had the gnocchi special and really enjoyed it. I had the gazpacho. It was very flavorful and a little spicy which I really enjoyed. I also had to try dessert. I chose the almond cake with cherries and it was fantastic. We also had a few glasses of wine and my husband had a cappuccino. The final bill was around $65 before tip so it is not an everyday kind of place for us. The bar is very nice and had quite the crowd all night. The only downside of the restaurant is it was a little loud. And I would love to see them put a patio out front in the future. Not a few tables but a full fledged patio with flowers boxes and a railing. We will definitely be back.

^

Thanks for the detailed review! Sounds quite promising if things were that good and organized at this early stage.

The owner (Robert) told me they have tons of room for a patio and want to add that later.

^

Thanks for the detailed review! Sounds quite promising if things were that good and organized at this early stage.

The owner (Robert) told me they have tons of room for a patio and want to add that later.

The patio will actually seat as many as the restaurant does. (40+, and has a great view of downtown) He just doesn't want to overwhelm the kitchen while they are still getting their groove.

While $65 is a lot it's pretty reasonable for Italian food.

Great news about the patio. I don't disagree about the price point for the quality but it is more of a once a month instead of a once a week place for me.

Had dinner there tonight before the Thunder game.

Didn't think to make a reservation but they were packed so we just ate at the bar.

The service was excellent. Friendly, professional and well informed. A cut above most places in town.

I ordered the pasta special, which was fettuccine with sliced spicy sausage and vegetables. It was very well prepared and presented but not much flavor to any part of the dish. Pretty bland all the way around.

They have an extensive wine list but I noticed they had Coop Native Amber on tap so I had to have a pint. They also have Coop F5 IPA, another favorite and a few other local selections.

I really liked the place and it was great to see them so busy. My entree was okay but given the attention to detail and the sterling reputation of the chef, I will definitely give them another visit and try some different dishes.

I ordered the pasta special, which was fettuccine with sliced spicy sausage and vegetables. It was very well prepared and presented but not much flavor to any part of the dish. Pretty bland all the way around.



Any relation to Stella's? Sounds vaguely familiar to a dish I had there. I ended up picking a 20 pc up on my way home.

I wish we had more options near the Civic Center. I would really like being able to park near the Civic Center and have options for places to eat before attending performances there without having to park twice. The streetcar may help with that eventually if more dining choices don't open.

^

There will be at least one restaurant in the Main Street Arcade and 21c, Jones Assembly and the restaurants at the Residences at 21c should all provide options although none as close a Patrono.

The more that side of downtown builds momentum, the more of a bummer it is that Trattoria il Centro couldn't survive Project 180.

^

True, but Patrono is a great replacement.

A great food replacement probably yes, but Trattoria's location/space was special and now forever lost as restaurant space.

Here's my mini review. We had a table of 8 last Friday night and had a pretty bad experience - which seems to be completely in contrast to what others have had. So - I'm gonna have to try this place again before I make up my mind about it.

We went after an art show at the IAO around 8:30pm. Downtown was really busy and we couldn't get in anywhere else in less than an hour (if at all). Called Patrono and were told they had plenty of room. Sure enough, the place was empty except for maybe a couple of 2 tops along the edge.

Our server was really bad. Some younger guy from NY. He didn't know how to do bottle service and he refused to take our cocktail orders until he had completed the wine service. We said only three would be drinking wine, but he insisted on bringing us 6 glasses that just took up space. After taking the cocktail orders (just straight pour on the rocks drinks - JWB) we had to inquire if our drinks were actually turned in because the bartender was just rubbing glassware. Then, when our drinks were done, we had to tell the sever to please go get them as they'd been sitting on the bar for a couple of minutes (melting). The only other people in the restaurant (for the most part) was an additional group of about 6 that we knew from the art show.

Four of us had the same entree (at the servers recommendation) - Bucatini Amatriciana. Literally three of us took 1-3 bites and were done. The noodles were not cooked well, all but one dish had almost no sauce and the meat was almost non-existent and overdone.

I ended up eating off my wife's plate - Orecchiette Calabrese. Her's wasn't great, but it was worth eating and was a much larger portion than the other entree.

The bread service was untoasted bread cut into squares and piled into a ramekin and served with balsamic and oil. I much prefer traditional toasted loaves of bread served with roasted garlic in a plate with balsamic and olive oil.

We ordered cannoli's and almond cake for dessert. I've had cannoli's many times while in NY and these were the smaller variety and the filling was a bit lacking in flavor. The almond cake was fine.

Our group was having such a good time conversing with each other that we simply laughed the experience off - but all agreed it was "fair" to "unacceptable."

That said, I will probably go again if others want to try it.

Here's my mini review. We had a table of 8 last Friday night and had a pretty bad experience - which seems to be completely in contrast to what others have had. So - I'm gonna have to try this place again before I make up my mind about it.

We went after an art show at the IAO around 8:30pm. Downtown was really busy and we couldn't get in anywhere else in less than an hour (if at all). Called Patrono and were told they had plenty of room. Sure enough, the place was empty except for maybe a couple of 2 tops along the edge.

Our server was really bad. Some younger guy from NY. He didn't know how to do bottle service and he refused to take our cocktail orders until he had completed the wine service. We said only three would be drinking wine, but he insisted on bringing us 6 glasses that just took up space. After taking the cocktail orders (just straight pour on the rocks drinks - JWB) we had to inquire if our drinks were actually turned in because the bartender was just rubbing glassware. Then, when our drinks were done, we had to tell the sever to please go get them as they'd been sitting on the bar for a couple of minutes (melting). The only other people in the restaurant (for the most part) was an additional group of about 6 that we knew from the art show.

Four of us had the same entree (at the servers recommendation) - Bucatini Amatriciana. Literally three of us took 1-3 bites and were done. The noodles were not cooked well, all but one dish had almost no sauce and the meat was almost non-existent and overdone.

I ended up eating off my wife's plate - Orecchiette Calabrese. Her's wasn't great, but it was worth eating and was a much larger portion than the other entree.

The bread service was untoasted bread cut into squares and piled into a ramekin and served with balsamic and oil. I much prefer traditional toasted loaves of bread served with roasted garlic in a plate with balsamic and olive oil.

We ordered cannoli's and almond cake for dessert. I've had cannoli's many times while in NY and these were the smaller variety and the filling was a bit lacking in flavor. The almond cake was fine.

Our group was having such a good time conversing with each other that we simply laughed the experience off - but all agreed it was "fair" to "unacceptable."

That said, I will probably go again if others want to try it.

I've been twice now and had two completely different experiences.

First time was on a Friday 2-3 months ago.. the place was absolutely packed, the food and service were great (had a gnocchi special). The only complaint was the ramekins they serve the olive oil and balsamic in were kind of awkward and resulted in some spilling.

We went again on Thursday at 7:45 and were the only table in there (aside from a loud, drunk couple at the bar). It sounded like we had the same server... he was awkward. I ordered a bottle of wine and he asked how many glasses we needed (for two of us)? Just weird overall. He recommended the bucatini, and while the noodles were cooked correctly, the portion was small and lacked a lot of flavor.

I will try it again on a weekend, but I was pretty disappointed, especially for how good it was the first time.

I've been once and I must have had the same waiter. He was very bad. Other than that, I enjoyed everything else.

I had a great service experience sitting at the bar.

The bartender / server was excellent all the way around.

Enjoyed my one visit when we went in November. The quality of the food was very good,though the portions seemed a bit small compared to the prices (admittedly not terrible, and it's nice to be able to eat everything in one sitting). I do believe we went on a Friday or Saturday.

Enjoyed my one visit when we went in November. The quality of the food was very good,though the portions seemed a bit small compared to the prices (admittedly not terrible, and it's nice to be able to eat everything in one sitting). I do believe we went on a Friday or Saturday.

I'm not expecting giant portions, this time was just a lot smaller than the last time we went. Regardless, I will be back as the first experience still has it high up on our Italian list for OKC.. hopefully it was just an off night.

When I went a couple of weeks ago, my pasta portion was plenty generous.

Didn't finish it all.

When I went a couple of weeks ago, my pasta portion was plenty generous.

Didn't finish it all.

They must like you more ;)

Again, I'm not saying they were terribly small. But compared to the "average" restaurant, one would expect a larger portion for the price. Perhaps 15% more portion, or 10% less price, so not unreasonable.

I really like the Museum Cafe in that area. I think it's an odd name for such a classy, fine-dining restaurant.

That said, I will probably go again if others want to try it.

Keep me posted, if you were serious.

Also museum cafe. It's a cafe in a museum, I do agree that its under rated though.

Finally went earlier this week, and wow, we had a really great experience. The atmosphere is weird, in a good way - small, a bit loud, not upscale, but not dingy either. Feels like a place in a much bigger city, where a cool little restaurant has fit into a tiny little space obviously built for another purpose.

Food and wine were both phenomenal. Service was good, not great, but the waiter clearly had a passion for food and made some great recommendations.

One of the more impressive new restaurant experiences I've had in a long time. Will certainly be going back.

Any news on if Patrono will stay open? I hope it does. We love it!

This question comes a day after 2lanez' review. Did you hear something?

Last time we were in it was really good, but there were only two other tables seated for the 2 hours or so we were there. We need to make it back, hopefully it's still doing well.

They seem to do very well when there is an event at the Civic Center or a Thunder game, but the other nights seem pretty thin.

Went on a Thursday evening. There was something at the Civic Center, but we were there during the performance. Restaurant was maybe 2/3s full.

Now open for lunch per their FB (https://www.facebook.com/Patronookc/?fref=mentions) page.

Now open for lunch per their FB (https://www.facebook.com/Patronookc/?fref=mentions) page.

That is really good news.

They really care about food and it shows.

Great news since it gives me another great option within walking distance for lunch.

Have been many times, and it's always been a great experience. Good for them!

Excellent! Definitely will put this on my rotation.

http://newsok.com/patronos-perspective-more-than-pasta/article/5571118

http://newsok.com/patronos-perspective-more-than-pasta/article/5571118

Did not need to read that article, haven't been in a while, need to go now!

Here's another article about them that I read in the print version of Territory (similar to the newsok one, but the newsok one made me hungrier than the Territory one):

http://territoryokc.com/post/patron-saint-of-italian-cuisine