Reviews & Ratings for Paradou

AVOID THIS SCAM DONT GET TRAPPED

by sandra111a

Lots of BAD points about this dive called Paradou in NYC!

- They dont tell you there is a time limit of 1 hour on the unlimited champagne

- The champagne is an unknown brand headache in a glass

- The owner Vadim I think his name is, thinks he has hit a gold mine by getting everyone drunk and his sleazy jokes

- The staff are scruffy and rude

- There is only 1 flea infested toilet

- The outside area is way too HOT nowhere to stand, literally a sauna

- I bet most people who have given this a good review got wasted there!

- This place is a big AVOID!!!

- My food had a hair inside it, probably the moody old looking lady waitress

- The staff hardly speak english

- It is one big CON

Have some class and decency and AVOID this flea pit of a restaurant!

wow amazing!

by eaterfoodie

This little french restaurant was recommended by a friend who often goes to their brunch. What can I say: WE LOVED IT. We came for dinner during bastille week, on a thursday. The restaurant was PACKED! they were offering an unheard of deal: $17.80 for three courses dinner.

We didn't take advantage of this deal and went for the regular menu! WOW. So delicious! we split their delicious plate of foie gras (their hostess pointed it to us as soon as we sat down that its a unique recipe of their chef and that it's made 5 different ways!! am I glad she did! I entered foie heaven and didn't want to get out. We also shared an entree and another appetizers (lobster appetizer which looked and tasted perfect) and duck entree. By the way, at the table next to us I saw a couple order a big prawns plate which looks and smelled so good - I saw them polished it super fast haha!

I am sorry for the lengthy review but I am salivating just thinking about this place, and can't wait to go back.

They were so sweet, so accommodating, our server was a delight and very knowledgeable. when we were leaving, the hostess didn't forget to say goodbye and wished us a wonderful night (many places forget about you as soon as you get served a check and pay your tips), and we loved that special attention.

What a great night!!!!

Poor customer service

by cmbcmb

Never even got to eat here! Wasn't able to reach to make a reservation and when I arrived was treated rudely and then got rude response from management! See below

EMAIL CHAIN

Thanks for your reply. As I stated was not offended my reservation was not in system simply that it was implied I did not call and was only offered inside seating as we were leaving and requested it. I understand humor is needed however clearly I was offended enough to send you an email 2 days later so its something to consider.

Agree to disagree especially that pastis is inferior.

From: Vadim from Paradou [webmaster@paradounyc]

Sent: 07/18/2011 11:27 AM MST

Subject: Re: Poor customer service on 7/15-16

hello catherine,

im sorry happened. unfortunately we occasionally have problems with our voicemail system. generally most customers do not assume that if they left a message, that that means they have a confirmed reservations. we are extremely diligent in returning calls and confirming reservations. unfortunately sometimes these things happen. im mostly sorry that you had to go to pastis for what is certainly an inferior experience on every level.

i also know my staff. especially the staff who was there on saturday. rudeness is definitely not a trait they share. if a reservation is not in our system, it does not mean we are accusing you of lying. its simply not in our system. i understand that you wanted to sit in our garden, which considering the reservations we had confirmed, was not possible. abi, one of the staff present, offered to seat you at the round table in the front. you refused. i have no reason to think that his version of the events is not accurate.  

we always do our best to accommodate customers. sometimes it requires flexibility, understanding and a bit of good humor on both sides to make that happen...but that can be said of most things in life.

best,

vadim

On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 10:24 AM, wrote:

Good afternoon-

ON Friday 7/15 at 256pm I left a voicemail with my name, phone number and party details asking for a reservation for Saturday at 11am.  When I arrived at the restaurant my reservation was not found and I was rudely and blatantly told I was more or less lying and had not left a voicemail.  I had and repeated myself twice on your machine - I have confirmed the details on my caller ID.  

Upon arguing with your 3 male hostesses in the front and insisting I had indeed called and if my reservation wasn't possible should have been notified, we were again treated rudely.  Your front room was empty and as we were leaving my father said as an after thought you could have offered to seat us here vs garden.  Shockingly at that point we were told we could sit there and that room was open, however this was after multiple times of being told I had made a mistake and you'd been booked for a few hours.

This would have been my first time at your establishment, however with fabulous places like Pastis in the area with great service I am shocked at the actions and treatment of customers by your staff.  My parents and I were appalled by your restaurants attitude towards me and I do not appreciate being called a liar - clearly an oversight was made.

I think you need to give an overview on customer service at your next staff meeting.

excellent food and terrific wine list

by 1nycfoodie10014

Once, on a chill March night, I came by Paradou. It was quite full, for a week-night. There was no hostess, and a waiter approached me, asking me politely where I wanted to land. He quickly gave me a tour of the restaurant, and I chose the front room which reminded me what it was like when I was back in France. (don't get me wrong, the garden is adorable, superbly romantic and cozy). I sat at the table by the wall with a long bench, overlooking the room. It was just me, and so I needed some entertainment, and this place is just great to people watch.

The wine list was fabulous. Not too big and just enough choices to get me curious. I got me a bottle of Pomerol, and it was a perfect and not too pricey bottle of excellent red. I started with steak tartar which was one of the best I've ever had (ask the waiter to mix that for you with all the accompanying spices right there at the table for you). The portion was very generous. The entricote that I ordered for my entree was perfectly prepared and came with the most delicious, super fantastic potato gratin - best I've ever had. I also had a side of haricot vert which was excellent.

I am telling the whole world about it. This is going to be my new permanent spot for weekday dinner.

Thanks, Paradou.

Makes Me Feel Home!

by NYCGirl2000

Since I am originally from the French countryside, I really appreciate this restaurant. It is simply superb! The wines are lovely, and the food makes me feel like I am home. We will come here as long as they will have us!

How many ways can you say aweful?

by In My Opinion

I made a brunch reservation for myself and four friends for a birthday celebration. Four out of the five had arrived and were were not permitted to sit until the fifth had arrived. The hostess was quite rude. They made us stand and wait even though our table was right there waiting for us. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but the place is so tiny there was no room to stand. After about 3 minutes of standing our friend came and were were seated.

The waitress came over, gave us menus and told us that we could have unlimited champagne drinks for 2 hours. We ordered a few appetizers to start and placed our entree orders as well. The appetizers came quickly but were nothing special. After they cleared the appetizer plates we then waited over an hour for our entrees. We didn't have a problem waiting. After all we were enjoying our Mimosa's and conversation. The entrees came and were below par. Our dishes were cleared and now it was time for dessert. The birthday girl had gone to the ladies room so it was a prime time to tell the waitress it was her birthdaya nd to please put a candle in whatever dessert she orders. The waitress said well I need to take the order now. I said okay, well she should be back from the ladies room in a minute. The waitress said, I need to take the orders no. I said, "why"? She said becasue you have 25 minutes left. I said, "until what"? She said you only can stay for 2 hours. Initially she told us we could drink for two hours but never that we had two hours in total! We ordered dessert and it took 15 minutes. that left us with 10 minutes to eat our desserts and drink coffee. If it weren't for the great company I would have really been ticked off.

Yum!

by Nadia H

Ohhh, I love Paradou!

Always good food, good ambiance and great vibe. It is a little bit expensive, so I can only go on a special occasion, but still. Great cheese collection, amazing confitures, my favorite is a pineapple lavender, oh my!

Champagne is always tasty, and since I am a vegetarian, the chef makes me a special, I am so lucky! Great grilled veggies, couscous, goat cheese and what not.

The deserts are awesome, had an apple crepe which was so delicious, and once a white fluffy soft meringue with white peaches...

Well will go soon!

N

Top Quality; Low attitude

by StevenComfort

Paradou and I share some important values:

- High quality, authentic French fare

- Seasonal menus

- Low-to-no attitude from the staff

- Casual environment with it's own flair (not a knock-off)

- Fairly priced

If the weather is nice, make sure you ask for a table in the garden! I have been to big parties at Paradou that went down without a hitch; and I've been there on dates while big parties (~ 20 people) were on -- they do an amazing job of making everyone feel at home...

Love their online marketing

by yaelleah

I've heard it said that it would be impossible to ever try every single one of the city's restaurants even if you ate out 4 meals a day; there are just too many. Now that's heavy competition.

One of the things I love most about New York is the originality that abounds. A restaurant must be creative if it wants to get people in the door. This was the case with my Supper outing a couple of days ago, and this is the case with a little French bistro called Paradou in the West Village. Paradou is super creative in that I have never even been there and I'm already hooked.

It all started with a Grub Street posting I came across. The owners of the establishment had been advertising that after 9 years of running their business, they were in need of some honest to goodness feedback from the people who really mattered, their customers. For those who email their comments in, a $20 coupon will come their way.

So I decided I had to check out the restaurant's website. Since I'm a sucker for contests, the first thing I noticed was "Sign up for our newsletter and enter our weekly drawing to win a $100 gift certificate." So of course I sign up. The next nice surprise was an email in my inbox thanking me for signing up and offering me a complimentary glass of wine. But that's not all! On the restaurant's Yelp page, it lists a "Free Wine Mondays" special - just mention "Wall Street" when making your dinner reservation for a Monday night and you get a free bottle of wine with your meal. At this rate I'm going to have a feast on the house!

But you know if it's good, I'll go back. And so will others. That's why they are smart cookies in my book.

So if you're looking for a new cute little French place to call your own, I'd definitely check it out.

Brunch Brilliance

by kierahannigan

We enjoyed a great brunch on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The staff were absolutely lovely - totally friendly and happy to let us know where to visit and what to do on our trip.

The meat and cheese platter was divine - and the champagne cocktails didn't go down too badly either!

All in all - the perfect afternoon spent in a Provencale corner of Meatpacking!

• Pros: Champagne cocktails, food platters, outdoor garden