Paradou

I took a friend who was visiting from out of town to this restaurant and we were very disappointed. The food was ok - albeit way overpriced. The service was subpar. And the "garden" was not really a garden. Overall, just a poor experience.

I went to Paradou on a Sunday night – the special that includes one appetizer, entrée, and desert for the price of one entrée can not be beat. But that is the only positive thing I have to say. While ordering dinner, someone in my party asked for their entrée to be well done. The waiter rudely told us that the chef does not take requests on how the diner wants their meal prepared. This same message was communicated to each person at the table - rack of lamb, duck, and pork were all cooked to the chefs liking – not the patrons. When the entrees arrived, 3 out of 4 dishes made it to the table. The waiter apologized and said the 4th entrée will be right out - 35 minutes passed before the fourth entrée arrived at the table. There was no explanation for the delay - this is unacceptable. Finally to top off this “great” experience, when the check arrived there was a 20% gratuity automatically added to the bill. There are plenty of great restaurants in this area with much better service – avoid the attitude and go somewhere else.

If you sit in the garden in the evening, surrounded by tiny red candles, in a company of a friend(s) or a lover, and sipping excellent French wine, you don't even notice how you forget that you are in the middle of Manhattan (Meatpacking craziness), and you relax. When friendly and experienced servers bring you your food you realize you are dealing with professionals. Everything was perfect. Two thumbs up. Thank you, Paradou. I (we) can't wait to see you again.

As a Chelsea resident, I feel like I can be picky when it comes to where I dine for brunch, given the number of brunch places at my disposal. This is why I will never return to Paradou. My friend and I arrived, with a reservation. After being seated we waited quite a while to give our order (which was for the brunch with unlimited champagne cocktails) and then waited even longer for our drinks to arrive. We had to practically beg for refills on our drinks throughout. The tables to our left and right were extremely intoxicated and disturbing. Our waiter spent more time fiddling with the stereo, and turning the music up so loud that we couldn't hear each other across the table, than he did attending to our needs. To add insult to injury - after sitting for only an hour and a half at our table, we were told that we would have to leave because the table was needed. Never mind that the couple that was seated before us was still sitting uninterrupted! I will never return to Paradou.

I have no clue what the person under me is talking about , I went to Paradou last week and had such a fantastic time! The hostess was very accomidating and caring, as was the rest of the staff. Our waitress was very helpful and reccomended some great dishes. The short rib bourguignon was so tender and the truffled mash potatoes were out of this world! We also had the Jarret D'agneau which was very tasty. While the front dining room is kinda small, the garden in the back is lovely and certainly makes up for it. I would certainly go back again, and I really want to try their champagne brunch.

I chose this restaurant because it was rated well by NY mag and it was in the Meat packing and overall looked good. Upon arrival the Hostess made my party of 4 stand over 2 tables and wait to be seated while the 3 others members of our party had arrived. On top of that it took her a few minutes to get of the phone and even speak to us. Once seated we had this aroggant waiter who didnt even speak french but spoke with a french acent. Very weird, he talked us out of getting the wine that we wanted and up sold us on a somthing worse. Now lets talk about the food. I was optimistic about everthing hoping that you know what the food must be great if everything else about this place stinks. I orded the chicken and it was dryer than a plain piece of burnt toast to say the least. I returned the dish and the waiter took it offensively. Then i was forced to sit for 10 min while they brought me out a arugula sald that I had to eat by myself because everyone was done with thier meal. Then ontop of the the bus boy took everones plates before I finished. Overall I would say do not go to this restaurant unless you like dry food, and pompus servers, and expensive check.

My husband and I were entertaining out-of-town guests and we took them to Paradou, we couldn't have had a better experience. Our waiter was terrific, he was knowledgeable and attentive, while not being intrusive. We began with the beef tartare, which was indeed delightful. The cassoulet, was the best we have ever had…even better than many we have tried in France. The cheese course was wonderful served with several different types of confiture. The chefs visit at our table made a truly extraordinary evening. Superior food and service will bring us back here time and time again!