Restaurant Paradis at Rosemary Beach

Friends attended the Paradis opening this past Friday.....had very favorable comments.

Paradis/Rosemary...Awesome Restaurant, awesome food. Thank GOD there is a new restaurant on the EAST side of 30A................

....in terms of restaurant design>>> very understated, glowingly beautiful, warm and elegant, without being pretentious..
WHAT A BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i had a five course meal there last night while sitting at the bar. mike and gail have done a stunningly beautiful job building out this space that has sat around empty for so long. what a great location and great building. jeff and sarah at the bar gave me the most wonderful professional and friendly service and my food was really great. proper crab cake first - pure crab and a sweet corn cream and chipotle accents. second was fresh dry pack sea scallops with a spring pea risotto - fantastic. third was a tempura lobster roll with an intense lobster reduction - could be an entree - was very filling. fourth was a nice carpaccio with blue cheese and balsamic reduction and lastly was an escargot phyllo strudel. so basically i ate all the appetizers and im not gonna eat for a couple more days. had a j pinot gris the belle gose pinot noir and finished with some great locally roasted amavida guatemalan dark roast served in a french press. hung out with a couple of my old boss' - harriet form cafe thirtya and dave from bud and alley's. everbody loved it!! melvyn curley from augustan wine imports and mary charles - a server from fish out of water were next to me and they said the creme brulee was sublime! they are staffed up with a load of great hospitality professionals and the warmth that the ownership provides makes this place a can't miss!

congrats to mike and gail pair - you will be wildly successful!!

Mmmmm! Great review, JamBone! Where is it in Rosemary?

Please someone, please post a menu! Or at least give us more information! Us "East-Enders" need to know!!

sounds great! i am curious to see a menu, too!

i had a five course meal there last night while sitting at the bar. proper crab cake first - pure crab and a sweet corn cream and chipotle accents. second was fresh dry pack sea scallops with a spring pea risotto - fantastic. third was a tempura lobster roll with an intense lobster reduction - could be an entree - was very filling. fourth was a nice carpaccio with blue cheese and balsamic reduction and lastly was an escargot phyllo strudel.

OMG -- can I please have that EXACT same meal. YUMMY!!

diver scallops

Outstanding!!!

What a great addition to our family of quality owner operated restaurants on Scenic 30-A.

Paradis is wonderful; great food in a comfortable, stylish atmosphere. Great service too. I will dine there several times a month for sure. It's so refreshing to see another restaurant dedicated to excellence in our slice of paradise....Paradis. Welcome!!!

Dave Rauschkolb,
Bud & Alley's, TACO BAR, PIZZA BAR

What a great addition to our family of quality owner operated restaurants on Scenic 30-A.

Paradis is wonderful; great food in a comfortable, stylish atmosphere. Great service too. I will dine there several times a month for sure. It's so refreshing to see another restaurant dedicated to excellence in our slice of paradise....Paradis. Welcome!!!

Dave Rauschkolb,
Bud & Alley's, TACO BAR, PIZZA BAR

I heard the same raves over the weekend, and we are looking forward to a visit!

Restaurant Paradis expands dining options in Rosemary | rosemary, dining, expands - Local News - WaltonSun.com

Dining options have broadened at Rosemary Beach with the opening of Restaurant Paradis.
From its front and center vantage point along County Road 30A, the restaurant and lounge promises to be a high-profile favorite among locals and tourists.
Owner Mike Pair said the place has been hopping ever since opening March 25, a state with which he is quite pleased.
The Pairs are not new to the restaurant business.
In the business for 35 years, Mike and wife Gail came to South Walton in 2002 from New Orleans and opened Bistro Bijou at the then new Village of Baytowne Wharf. They are still partners in that venture, but left in August 2008 to throw their efforts into opening Restaurant Paradis.
"We thought the time was right and wanted to do a restaurant at Rosemary," said Mike. "Rosemary is a great community. There are no chains and locals shop and eat here. That's a competitive advantage."
The Pairs have expanded on the competitive advantage concept in their offering of options.
Fine dining is available in the quiet back of the restaurant in an elegant surrounding, where sumptuous filet mignon, Bayou La Batre shrimp, veal scaloppini, ahi tuna, red snapper and grouper can be enjoyed, along with quiet conversation.
Smaller dishes such as crispy calamari salad, she-crab soup, escargot, tempura lobster roll, diver scallops and crab cakes may also be enjoyed there or at the bar.
Pair defines the restaurant as contemporary coastal with a decidedly New Orleans influence.
He said he is committed to serving fresh food purchased within 100 miles along with seasonal ingredients.
The full-service bar/lounge located streetside, is warmly and simply decorated to create an inviting environment in which to meet and relax with friends and enjoy a glass of vino from the extensive wine list or a special in-house cocktail concoction.
"We wanted to evoke a warm, neighborhood feel and understated, wine country elegance," said Mike. "We established the restaurant as a service for the locals to give them options and the locals have been so supportive. They have been coming from all over."
Restaurant Paradis is open weekdays from 5 - 10 p.m., weekends until 11 p.m., and closed Mondays. Phone (850) 534-0400 for more information.

Restaurant Paradis a huge disappointment

We had looked forward to the opening of Restaurant Paradis at Rosemary Beach. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful albeit a little dark and overdone. The crab cake was advertised as 98% crab and 2% bread crumbs. It had no taste and it was soggy. The roasted romaine salad was really good except for one small error---they gave me the stem, hard part as part of the salad (it should always be thrown away--it can't be eaten). Our main courses were tasty but not great. The filet was seasoned and cooked well although very small (5 or 6 oz) but the sides were strange----blue grits. The blue grits appeared brown and the steak was brown so the presentation was dull and odd looking. A few pieces of broccoli did add some color. The veal scallopini was tasty but usually scallopini is thin not thick like a chop. The side of pasta was delicious but why did the chef pile a cup of argula on top---made no sense at all. When asked if the desserts were made in house our waiter said, "of course". They were not! The cheesecake tasted store bought---thin and forgetable. The chocolate cake was equally disappointing. Our bottle of wine was really good and the french press coffee was wonderful. Our $250.00 meal was disappointing. I hope the food improves or I am sad to say I don't think they will survive. Keep it simple and delicious and the people will come!

I would be disappointed I couldn't buy groceries for 2 weeks. To me, there's no difference in a $20 meal and a $250 meal...It all travels the same route and ends up in the same place. :roll: Sorry for your luck.

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w22taylor - interesting that you make this negative post your first. hmmm

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Really?

Wow, this is the first negative I've heard about Paradis. I have eaten there and thought the food, the ambiance, and the staff were delightful. The grits with the filet are blue because they're made from organic blue corn. Maybe you caught them on a bad night?

We had looked forward to the opening of Restaurant Paradis at Rosemary Beach. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful albeit a little dark and overdone. The crab cake was advertised as 98% crab and 2% bread crumbs. It had no taste and it was soggy. The roasted romaine salad was really good except for one small error---they gave me the stem, hard part as part of the salad (it should always be thrown away--it can't be eaten). Our main courses were tasty but not great. The filet was seasoned and cooked well although very small (5 or 6 oz) but the sides were strange----blue grits. The blue grits appeared brown and the steak was brown so the presentation was dull and odd looking. A few pieces of broccoli did add some color. The veal scallopini was tasty but usually scallopini is thin not thick like a chop. The side of pasta was delicious but why did the chef pile a cup of argula on top---made no sense at all. When asked if the desserts were made in house our waiter said, "of course". They were not! The cheesecake tasted store bought---thin and forgetable. The chocolate cake was equally disappointing. Our bottle of wine was really good and the french press coffee was wonderful. Our $250.00 meal was disappointing. I hope the food improves or I am sad to say I don't think they will survive. Keep it simple and delicious and the people will come!

I have PM'd several brand new local restaurants that have opened in the 4 years I have lived here--95% of the owners (or in some cases the managers) really appreciated my honest, private critiques and actually made approriate changes, most of which involved working through the "kinks" that come with opening a new restaurant.

Initially, I still maintain that the fair thing to do it to PM these owners (or mgrs)if you have any initial compalints, they usually advertising or sending out information on Sowal themselves (Paradis included), and new owners are usually anxious to please, especially the locals who are essential to any new establishment.

I am not a restaurantuer or restaurant critic, but I've had 2 excellent meals there so far. As someone who works in the design field, I found it to be one of the most attracive and functionally designed restaurant spaces to have opened in my 4 years here. The lighting and the interior design focus on the 2 most important items in any restaurant, the food and the people in the restaurant.

Bravo Paradis. Can't wait to go again!

Wow, this is the first negative I've heard about Paradis. I have eaten there and thought the food, the ambiance, and the staff were delightful. The grits with the filet are blue because they're made from organic blue corn. Maybe you caught them on a bad night?

No restaurant that produces a $250 tab for two should have a "bad night." Either the restaurant "makes it right" or the tab doesn't come to $250--the diner should have had a better handle on the situation and voiced his displeasure to the manager/owner at the time and give them the opportunity to make it right or admit that's the "best they do." If it was the latter, the diner had every right to walk away and offer to pay for the drinks/items they had already eaten and liked. As I view this situation, they should have stopped and given notice at the soggy, tasteless crabcakes and lettuce-butt salad.

It appears they wanted to play "food critic" and work their way through the entire meal...which is OK. I think from a "critic" standpoint, they made some pretty valid points.

McDonalds and Chili's have "bad nights"

No restaurant that produces a $250 tab for two should have a "bad night." Either the restaurant "makes it right" or the tab doesn't come to $250--the diner should have had a better handle on the situation and voiced his displeasure to the manager/owner at the time and give them the opportunity to make it right or admit that's the "best they do." If it was the latter, the diner had every right to walk away and offer to pay for the drinks/items they had already eaten and liked. As I view this situation, they should have stopped and given notice at the soggy, tasteless crabcakes and lettuce-butt salad.

It appears they wanted to play "food critic" and work their way through the entire meal...which is OK. I think from a "critic" standpoint, they made some pretty valid points.

McDonalds and Chili's have "bad nights"

I agree that negative comments should be sent as a private message to the owners, and preferably done at the time of the meal so that the owners/staff can figure out what happened and fix it. It helps the owners give customers what they want, avoid things like this happening again, and helps businesses stay in businesses on 30A which is what we want for everyone involved (customers, employees, community). If you told the owners in a productive way (I guess even in a non-productive way) that that the dinner wasn't very good and they didn't make it right or gave you a hard time, then it's worth reminding owners/staff that word of mouth travels very quickly in a small community like this (though I still wouldn't post anything scathing on SoWal.com. There are other ways to make your point that come across as credible which means your comments are more likely to be taken seriously.) As for me, I'll go eat there and taste for myself since I'm now even more intrigued and since most of the reviews were excellent. But I would certainly let them know (kindly) while I'm there if there seems to be a pattern of "inconsistency".

Although I don't post on Sowal.com often (and rarely on others) I do keep up with the comments and subjects on this forum. I have lived in this area 35+years and I've seen restaurants come and go. Some of the best didn't make it and some of the worst are still around. No restaurant in this area has ever been closed (or even affected) by a negative review (in particular those posted anonymously online) . Reviews of restaurants in this area just don't have the power to make or break a restaurant. Print reviews in our area tend to be thinly-veiled advertisements. Real reviews would possibly alienate potential advertisers. Some of the worst places to eat in our area have glowing "ads" placed everywhere touting the buzzword promises of local, fresh, sustainable, philosophy on life and food, etc..... . Part of this is actually true and some is just old-fashioned marketing. Most restaurants don't just sell food, they sell you an experience. Experience and taste are best left to the individual to decide. Restaurant Paradis will have a difficult time making it, but our dinner there over the weekend was superb and I wish them the best. I'll be back (especially for the tempura lobster roll).

Basically I read the "review" and thought more poorly of the reviewer than the restaurant - some of the comments were quite odd IMO and made me think they didn't really know what they had ordered or what was typical in a fine dining restaurant.

It's funny you say that scooterbug44, I thought the same thing. I know for a fact, on this forum, fake "reviews" by family, friends, and also enemies are the norm. I never call them out. It's not that important.

In my above post I may have used the wrong words by saying "fake "reviews" are the norm" on this forum. I do not think it is the "norm", but I do know it happens.

( I have lived in this area 35+years and I've seen restaurants come and go. Some of the best didn't make it and some of the worst are still around. No restaurant in this area has ever been closed (or even affected) by a negative review (in particular those posted anonymously online) . Reviews of restaurants in this area just don't have the power to make or break a restaurant.)


SO TRUE! Restaurants will thrive or not based on so many variables...the least of which is a negative blog or two. Obviously we all wish Paridis well and any other locally owned 30A restaurant. Haven't
been yet but looking forward to it. "White cloth" is tough in this environment and presents a unique
set of challenges in regards to expectations. Its a challenging business...but a blessing if it all comes together. I love restaurant owners (am married to one....out of the box thinkers, creative, high energy. Congrats on your opening, we're glad you're here and we wish you the best, Paridis....we'll
be in soon!

Paradis is great!

I have eaten at Paradis 3 times and had 3 great meals there. The place is very well designed, the service is excellent and the owners a delight. 3 meals, 3 thumbs up. My wife and I consider ourselves regulars already.

Dave

Although I don't post on Sowal.com often (and rarely on others) I do keep up with the comments and subjects on this forum. I have lived in this area 35+years and I've seen restaurants come and go. Some of the best didn't make it and some of the worst are still around. No restaurant in this area has ever been closed (or even affected) by a negative review (in particular those posted anonymously online) . Reviews of restaurants in this area just don't have the power to make or break a restaurant. Print reviews in our area tend to be thinly-veiled advertisements. Real reviews would possibly alienate potential advertisers. Some of the worst places to eat in our area have glowing "ads" placed everywhere touting the buzzword promises of local, fresh, sustainable, philosophy on life and food, etc..... . Part of this is actually true and some is just old-fashioned marketing. Most restaurants don't just sell food, they sell you an experience. Experience and taste are best left to the individual to decide. Restaurant Paradis will have a difficult time making it, but our dinner there over the weekend was superb and I wish them the best. I'll be back (especially for the tempura lobster roll).

You get a negative review on SoWal you better tighten up. Luckily, a few diners followed up with positive reviews. $250 seems steep. How many people were eating I wonder?