From what I've heard from people who have worked there, Â they don't pay overtime to their employees, Â if their employees quit without giving a 2 weeks notice they won't pay them, Â the kitchen staff are worked up to 14 hours a day and the bussers are supposed to wash dishes, bus tables, stock beer and dispense water. Â Given all this, Â the little "investors" they are are all douches. Â Waitresses suck too, I wouldn't give them a q-tip. Â
The booze is sub par, Â the margaritas are watered down and the food is awful. Â They think they have a good thing going but they are on their way out.
Some friends and I decided to spend a Sunday afternoon here because they had tons of tvs with every football game on and an endless mimosa special. I wanted to keep tabs on my fantasy team (the best part about NFL) while watching the games, so I asked for the password for the network listed as "Paradise Cantina". Our server's response? "Sorry, Wi-fi isn't for customers". Jesus, management could make it an invisible network to at least give the appearance that they don't totally hate their customers. Later, my friend ordered her fifth mimosa on her endless mimosa tab. The server said they ran out. Seriously. There were less than ten people there. To make matters worse, my friend was charged for havng to substitute a cranberry vodka since their "unlimited" mimosas turned out, in fact, to be very limited.
It is with great honor that I bestow my rarely awarded "Fuck This Place" title to Paradise Cantina. Congratulations, you've earned it.
Great patio and nice server, but the food was below average (to be read: barely above taco bell level) at best and the manager wouldn't honor our <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate on a technicality...not a great first impression at all. Â Stick to drinks, though even the margaritas are weak.
Review Source:I wasn't really in the market for getting a drink last Friday evening after work, but I was driving by and my brother's girlfriend shouted out "BULLDOGS!!!!" so what the hell....we parked and made our way in there.
Bulldogs for 12 bucks....SURE I'm in. It was a big drink and I caught a buzz. I would come back for another one. They also had some other pretty decent drink specials and we ended up staying until about 11 PM.
I asked for chips and salsa which I thought was complimentary type stuff at most places and they brought me out some lackluster salsa and some horrible neon green/yellowish guacamole which was not that appetizing. It was $5.25. No thanks. Judging from that guacamole there is nothing on that menu I would probably want to consume.
Our waitress was very fun and attentive. My brother kept joking with her all night and she was giving it right back to him.
I would come back here just for drinks and sitting out on the patio, not food.
In the words of my new fav band, "it gets better, it gets better, it gets better.. will get better' ( FUN. )
So yeah, this place does not belong on this street or in this hood for that matter.. The closest place I could see it 'working' in the city is that section of Clark between Belmont and Addison.. Please leave our neat neighborhood alone!
Foods is overpriced and lackluster.. service has been OK ( since they fired this perv that used to jock the bar ).
Marg's are pretty good.. I did catch a buzz so although they taste a bit sugary.. the booze is in there..
Honestly, the reasons to go here are:
1. Its super nice out and you know big star, 50/50, small bar, innjoy, Jerrie's, that irish joint, and wherever else that seats outside will be much more slammed then Paradise.. and you just cant handle waiting for a table..
2. Margs for 10$ to get you a bit tipsy before moving on..
3. See 1 and 2.
I would give it a 2.3 and be back MAYBE for the reasons listed above..
Oh, and it does sadden me when I go here cause it used to be Aki Sushi, which was my joint.. I miss my little Aki. Â :(
What a disaster. I think this place only does one thing well: margaritas. Combine that with the wall covered in TVs, and you've nailed the target demographic for this place. The food is an afterthought. I tried to order a "fajita sandwich" (a torta), and was told 20 minutes after I ordered it that they were "out of those." So I switched my order to one of the two things on the menu the waitress recommended, a lame burrito drowned in enchilada sauce. I wouldn't be surprised if you found a better burrito in Saskatchewan. Someone else at the table got wings, which was probably the best possible choice.
The drink special du jour was leftover green Miller Lite from St Patty's day in an 80 oz tower. It was so flat I was surprised they would even consider selling it. It wasn't even from a keg: I saw the bartender uncapping aluminum pints and pouring them into the tower. It was only $12, but it wasn't even worth that.
At least Kansas beat the Buckeyes. (Basketball was the only reason we were there in the first place.)
If you want to drink and have Mexican, you're better off going across the street to Picante and around the corner to Rainbo.
2.8
"We serve our tables in rounds, so we'll get to you when we get to you" was what we were told after 15 minutes of nobody coming by and finally physically stopping a waitress asking her "when you get a chance, could you ask our waitress to come by." Â After 30 minutes we still hadn't been greeted, gotten water, or had our order taken. Â At 35 minutes my bf went to the bar and was helped by the wonderful Melissa, the saving grace of this bar. Â
Melissa was quick, nice and made good drinks, despite all of the crabby people that left their tables to order from her since the waitresses apparently weren't helping anyone at all. Â
We ended up waiting another 20 minutes or so before returning to her to order our food as well. Â The food was decent and the bus boys were extremely helpful. Â
Listen, I know it was one of the first warm days of spring, and that it was probably busier than it had been in a long time, but there were three servers and 18 tables (I had a lot of free time since we weren't being served). Â I just can't give this place more than two stars since in the 2.5 hours we were there not a singer server came by. Â However! Â If the powers that be are reading this, Melissa is so wonderful. Â She apologized for the inconvenience without throwing her coworkers under the bus. Â She filled orders efficiently and actually came out from behind the bar at the end and took our plates and gave us a shot. Â I give this bar a 2 and Melissa a 5.
with an area as dense with bars as this, i wouldn't recommend coming here. it's not a terrible place but it's pretty awful to be inside and have to look at the walls. i only got a chance to try the chips and salsa/guac and the jalapeno poppers. the poppers were hot and good like you'd expect and the salsa and guac were terrible. just super super bland.
the beer buckets were really cheap, but you can only drink so much coors (about one). the plus side is that it's a good place to go if you have a big group and maybe don't want to be anywhere too crowded. though our waitress seemed pretty annoyed with us so maybe it's not a good place for groups? i've heard good things about giant margaritas, but i don't do tequila so i can't say for sure.
Was super excited about the endless tacos for something ridiculous like $8. Â Was also super excited about the 32 oz margarita special - again, some ridiculously low price. Â Excitement did not last long. Â Tacos were pretty terrible - and I tried them all. Â Dry, flavorless. Â And the margarita tasted like sugar water with a little lime. Â Not sure the tequila even made it in there. Â Won't go back.
Review Source:This place makes t.g.I.f look romantic, cheeseball cantina... I think the owner who's a big tall man was on his laptop and eating nachos while we sat in the empty restaurant. I think he even said welcome to paradise....shoot me.. Then the food came ....u ever ate bland chicken in a newspaper ...me neither but its prob better than there tacos.
The waitress was super nice but I could tell she was bummed out to be in there. So that just made me feel worse.
Imagine this whole time , the friends theme song is playing loud enough to make you insane.
This has to be a front for some other business because no manager or owner could really care this little about there establishment.....
I actually feel bad reviewing this place. It feels too easy.. too obvious how bad this place is. All you have to do is LOOK at it to know everything there is to know about "Paradise" Cantina.
Friday night I walked by with my boyfriend and a friend. There was a woman on the street that practically begged us to come in (that should be a sign right there), and because my boyfriend is too nice for his own good, we were soon seated smack dab in the middle of their nearly empty outdoor patio. Oy.
We came in under the impression that this place would be hilariously ironic. Paradise Cantina looks like it belongs in the Wisconsin Dells or in a strip mall in the burbs. The tacky neon sign, the hula grass awning, the spring break crowd airbrushed onto the wall (seriously.), oh man.. I could go on and on. We came in as a joke, but the joke was on us from the get-go.
We were handed menus that had the strangest font.. almost like you needed 3D glasses to read them. Prices weren't listed for many (or any?) of the drinks, so that was obnoxious.
The waitress was so clueless, I felt bad for her. She didn't know what the specials were and had to keep asking other people. After stumbling her way through that, the guys settled on a beer bucket, budweiser, and the waitress took the menus and left. Without ever asking me what I wanted. So right there they missed out on a $10 margarita order. Their loss. I decided to just have a beer out of the bucket.
Ten minutes after we ordered drinks, our Bud Lights came. Oh, what's that? We ordered Budweisers? We didn't even mention it because we didn't feel like waiting another ten minutes. We just wanted to get out of there. The horrific music selection was starting to melt my brain. And I couldn't possibly stand to sit there any longer, listening to the woman trying to wrangle people to come in, telling everyone "Hey, you look thirsty.." HOW. AWKWARD.
Bottom line: Don't go here. Even as a joke.
This place is great! Late night food AND cheap drinks!
I have been in a couple of times and have really enjoyed it every time. It always brings me back to spring break in Florida! It's nice to have a place in Chicago that is laid back and relaxing. The staff are also really great and Ricky, the manager always comes by and makes sure everything is going great. Â Try the tortilla soup, it's amazing!
Started on State street tonght. Â Figured it was best to get closer to crashing grounds. Â Found another Paradise Cantina. Â Had a good time earlier today, why not keep it going. Â Smaller than gold coast. Â I don't know if the other reviewers just don't get it or what. If you've been to Mexico, you'll get it. Â Good music, cool bartender, cheap drinks. Â Maybe I don't get hipster cool, I just like to relax and drink. Â This place was good for that. Â Second Great time at Paradise with friends in one day.
Review Source:I really wanted to like this place but it let me down. Â Me and my BF went in for an early dinner one hot day, sat kinda outside ordered coronas and I had Fajitas, he had Tacos....ehh, not good. Â It could have been sooo much better. Â Coronas were good tho... Pricey too, service was good but I'd really like to get back there and show them how the cooking is done...Not planning on going back unless I stumble by one night and it's the only place open and I'm starving...
Review Source:Need a taco in the middle of the night? Â Want to sit in the "almost outdoors" and eat it? Â Then Paradise Cantina is your place.
We wandered in after hitting a number of bars on Division (like every other patron there, I'm sure!) and took a seat at a high top near the front. Â Made us feel like we were outside- even though we weren't.
The service was quick, the margaritas were not bad (but that might have been because they were our last drinks of the night!) and the food came up quickly and was also okay. Â Although- how bad could a basic taco actually get?
We were in and out with barely enough time to take a look at the cheesy graphics on the wall or to spend any time in bathrooms that smelled like they were located in a bus station. Â Probably the best move we made all night.
Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. Â I was actually surprised at how pleasant and perky our server was at this time of night. Â She alone got this place an extra star!
Bummer, dude.
The BF and I went there for our second trip this weekend for dinner after waiting over an hour for a seat at Big Star. We had dined in before on the fourth of July....once again after not being able to get a seat at Big Star. (see the trend?)
We were sat quickly outside at a very wobbly table. Our sever was very nice and the wait for food was not long at all. Positives.
Here's the negatives.
-I go to mexican restaurants so I can gorge on free chips and salsa. Well, not here. Chips, salsa, and guac will run you $6. They give you a healthy amount, which I appreciate, but I still go to have some complimentary or super cheap ones.
-The food is crazy crazy crazy expensive. For three fish tacos (because you HAVE to get three...no ordering taco by taco at this place), it will run you almost ten bucks. The fish tacos are incredibly tasty, I will give them that. Fried tilapia, cabbage, salsa, plus this great ranch sauce. But man. I can't eat that much and I don't want to spend that much.
-The giant margs are 10 bucks...fair price, yes. And they let us split one which was cool. But they are some of the most sour margs I've ever had. I wish I could taste more alcohol in them, especially when they give you a marg guzzling straw.
For the two of us the bill was $40 for one drink, some chips, and some fish tacos. That's outta control.
If we can't get sat at Big Star next time...we're going to Tecalitian.
I am kind of surprised to see all the not so great reviews of this place. I headed there last night to meet some friends and it was absolutely perfect for what we wanted. They had ample outdoor seating and we got a great spot where we could watch the soccer game but still enjoy the great summer night. They also had very large $10 margaritas and $10 buckets of beer. The service was good and the atmosphere was really nice for a summer night. I would definitely go back.
Review Source:I was pretty excited to sit outside and sip a margarita on the street but unfortunately I was never afforded that opportunity. After being ignored by all three waitresses for 10 minutes, one finally approached us, or so I thought. She looked at us and as soon as I opened my mouth, she turned on a dime and walked back inside. No human being deserves to be treated like that, let alone a paying customer. We promptly got up to leave andWhen we got up, the busboy, not one of the waitresses, asked if we needed anything but by then the damage had been done.
Please do not support this business! Â It goes out of business asap! This place is not worthy of such a quality location.
One stall bathrooms? Â REALLY? Â I'm sure the fact that it was Do Division didn't help, but the lines were ridiculous. Â Friends of mine had to pee in the alley. Â Also it was super loud.
This is a cranky review, sorry. Â But the bathroom situation was horrible. Â I'm not sure how any bar thinks it's okay to have only one toilet per gender.
Food is really weak, the margarita that I ordered was disappointing.
The decoration is not either is a combination between a baech and a sports bar with multiple flat screens. Service was OK. The only good thing about this place is the $10 beer buckets.
I hope that they could improve their menu that is very limited and week.
I only went there because Picante's credit card machine was down. Â I should have taken the ATM fee hit. Do not do it. Â Everything we ate was bland. No seasoning or flavor what so ever. Worst salsas ever. Using the word salsa is insulting to actual salsa. Tomato water is more accurate. The lighting inside felt like I was at a Sportmart (are those still around?). Â The service was friendly and I get the decor and cheesy music (think beach volleyball scene from any 80's movie) but the food is a definite zero.
Review Source:The only reason they got ONE star is because I had to put in something.
My boyfriend and I wanted to try somewhere new last weekend for dinner, and figured we'd hit Paradise Cantina since it'd just opened up. Â I was fairly excited for a pina colada (to go with the BEAUTIFUL weather!) and he just wanted some food, beer, and to relax.
I wish we could say we got any of those things. Â
We sat for 15 minutes without any acknowledgment. Â The server walked by countless times and we tried to flag her down to no avail. Â People AROUND us (one group of which came in after) got served. Â Nope, not us.
We figured we'd give her the benefit of the doubt. Â It was pretty busy, she looked like the only one. Â I managed to count 2 others before we said screw it and went somewhere else.
I agree with everyone else about the decor and the smell. Â Wish I could give a comment about the food...
This place is tacky as all get out.
It's like a Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville. Loud music, lots of tvs and scantily clad airbrushed spring breakers cartoons on the walls. Because that's a thing- if it were still 1980 and this was Miami, not Ukranian Village.
But, $10 domestic bottle buckets and $10 huge margaritas. So there's that.
This is the perfect place to walk into if you're already drunk. Â The blaring cheezy music, the hundreds of LCD TVs covering every flat surface, the buckets of cheap beer, that dirty bar smell of old spilled beer mixed with urine... Â
Totally doesn't belong in the neighborhood. Â This bar deserves to be by DePaul, or up by Wrigley, or maybe down Division a couple of miles east so it can be adequately populated and loved by tools. Â Personally, my experience here wasn't bad at all. Â Service was actually really good - very attentive, and though we only stopped in for drinks and some churros, the churros were great and the drinks were cheap enough (and not PBR). Â I know the hipsters have to HATE HATE HATE this place with a capital H, so I'm giving it a solid 3 stars. Â Keep it up Paradise Cantina and I'll stumble back in one of these days.
A cute little addition to the wicker park/ukranian village.
FIrst I'd love to say I'm a huge fan of the garage door front, it's wide open and so inviting. On a nice day or night you feel the breeze flowing in and makes you want another margarita and stay for  awhile. Speaking of the margaritas you must get the 32oz margarita! For $10 you can't beat that! They have a wide range of adult beverages, a little pricey but worth it.
The food seems pretty run of the mill, I have not tried it yet, but in competition with picante it seems to be a better quality. Its a great hangout spot with tons of TVs
**finally tried the food! boneless buffalo wings i like! pulled pork tacos are the bomb!!! and the churros....DON'T GET ME STARTED!!!! they are AUHmazzzzzzzzing! you MUST try them! OR ELSE!!!!
The good: there are dozens, if not hundreds, of new TVs on every surface. There isn't a seat in the place without a direct view of at least 3 different TVs. Also, the service was pretty good (though it wasn't crowded).
The bad: the drinks were mediocre and overpriced, and the food was just bad. I got the steak Paradise burrito: the steak itself was okay (nothing to write home about), but the rice and beans in the burrito were fantastically overcooked. Along with the tortilla being far too chewy, the entire experience was akin to eating much.
Conclusion: Unless you can't find another TV in the neighborhood, I see absolutely no reason to go here.
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